Little Scarf Girl

Not Quite a Teenage Dream

2011-10-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

I received a phone call from someone advertising the new plays that would be coming to my area. I politely listened to the person talk about all the different shows, and although she refered to "my husband," I assumed it was just an honest mistake. However, toward the end of the call, she let me know that the show "Bring it On" would be perfect if I teenage daughters or nieces.

Teenage.

Yeah...

Mountain Dew Girl insisted it was because I bought 5 tickets for the last show we went to, and stated that the group had multiple students. I guess that could feasibly have been myself, my spouse, and our three kids ... but seriously, I just don't think I sound remotely that old!

(And for the record, I'm 23, unmarried, and definitely without children!)

The Expired Strawberry Bread Thing

2011-09-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm a single, twenty-something living by myself. I go grocery shopping once or twice a month, and I have a habit of buying things that a single, twenty-something living by herself should not be buying. I mean, I try to be reasonable. I get the half-gallon of milk instead of the gallon. The six pack of eggs, instead of the dozen. Most of my "meat" is freezer food. Bread ... well, it's only 99 cents, so it's not like I need to feel bad if I don't use the whole thing.

But in any event, no matter how hard I try (which, admittedly, isn't very hard) I inevitably end up eating out way more than I end up eating in, and all my food tends to go bad. By the time I want some cereal, my milk's a week past the expiration date. I have a need for eggs maybe once every 2 or 3 months. And bread? Well, you probably don't want to know how long I keep a loaf around.

(Although this is why I don't buy french bread...)

Because of this, though, instead of buying new stuff every time that I see that my current stock has gone past its expiration date, I just go ahead and eat it anyway. Milk expired 2 weeks ago? As long as it smells okay, I'll drink it. That bread is 6 months old? I kept the twist tie on there pretty tightly, it's still sort of soft. Mountain Dew Girl came over for dinner one night and was horrified at the expiration date on my milk. She flat out refused to drink it! (I guess I should also mention that I had to cut some mold off the block of cheese I was using before I grated it, too.)

So when I saw that my package of strawberries (which I actually just purchased earlier this week!) were halfway toward molding, I decided I would bake some strawberry bread with it. But as I was pulling out all my ingredients, I realized that most of them were, well, expired.

It was almost laughable. The Jiffy mix expired back in August. The margarine said best before April. I had the option of two different half-used packages of eggs: one dated May and one June. (After some careful deliberation, I decided to use the June eggs. I mean, come on. I needed to be somewhat reasonable here.) Even my milk had expired 2 days ago. The only things that weren't expired seemed to be the spices (cinnamon and imitation vanilla) and the powdered sugar, although, honestly I couldn't actually find a date on that last one. Maybe powdered sugar never goes bad!

Anyway, so with my iffy ingredients (and a lot of substitutions and guesses) I began forging my strawberry bread. I was using a banana bread recipe on the back of the Jiffy box as a guideline, but I made some edits: I used powdered sugar instead of granulated (since I didn't have any of the latter), I used margarine instead of shortening, I added a splash of milk because I thought it was too dry, and added cinnamon and [imitation] vanilla. And, of course, a bunch of cut-up, almost-bad strawberries.

The batter tasted really good. I tried not to eat too much of it, since, well, 3 month old eggs and all. So I sprayed the pan with some cooking spray, dumped the mess in, and popped it in the oven. I was doubtful about the 55 minute cooking time it had suggested for the banana bread, so I put it down for 40 instead, checking on it every so often.

The smell was delicious, and 40 minutes was just about the perfect cooking time. It came out looking like a [somewhat] well-made dessert. But how was it going to taste?

It was delicious! I gobbled up that whole piece in a matter of seconds. I was actually going to put some butter on it, since I usually do that with muffins, but I didn't even get the chance. (I'll probably do that on my next piece, though.)

It was sweet, and kind of tasted like a fruit muffin. I probably could have tossed in some more of the almost-bad strawberries (I wasn't sure how much was going to be too much) but it really turned out well. An admirable treat, I'd say.

So there you have it, folks: The Expired Strawberry Bread Thing. So next time you see some expired ingredients in your cabinet, use the following approach to see if they're still usable:

1.) Did it expire recently? (For example, within ~~the year~~ six months?)
2.) Does it still smell okay?
3.) Then it's still good!

Another success for expired food!

Cats

2011-08-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, Little Scarf Girl has been on a bit of a hiatus. We can just call it summer break, right? That's what I've been calling my ~~laziness~~ business ever since April. Haven't played chess in a while? Well, I was just on summer break! Not attending many Tae Kwon Do class? Summer break. Haven't written anything in a long time? Summer, of course!

Actually I had a pretty active summer. In May I went to the beach for a week with Mountain Dew Girl. It was relaxing, albiet a bit windy. I'll have to write about how we almost got "stuck" in a hot tub. In the beginning of July, we went out to California to visit some relatives, and then at the end of July we went to NYC for a weekend to attend a cousin's wedding. Someone laughed and said I was quite the world traveler, and while I've only stayed in the US, I have been all over the place lately.

All of my trips were awesome, although I did end up facing off against my arch-nemesis: cats.

I'm extremely allergic to cats. Not the kind of allergic like, "Oh, I sneezed because there's a cat in the house!" It's the kind of incessant sneezing that doesn't stop. The constant runny nose. The congestion. The itchy, watery eyes. A good friend of mine from high school had a house full of cats. Sleepovers at her place were pretty rough on the old allergies.

So as it turns out, my relatives that I stayed with in California for a week have not one, not two, but four lovely cats. (And I'm not being sarcastic there - those cats were really cute!) But there they were, slinking all over the house. Purposely coming over to me and being all cute. (I gave in to their charms one evening and played with them for a bit - big mistake.) Rubbing their little heads against my leg. Crawling up onto my lap. Just taunting me.

Needless to say, I was on Benedryl for the whole week. And seriously, if I weren't allergic to them, I'd probably own one. But boy, am I allergic.

In other news, I've started a sub-blog: Little Scarf Reviews

I figured I'm following enough TV series this fall, and seeing enough movies, that I may as well put my opinion on them out there, right? Cause there just aren't enough blogs where people give their opinions on popular media.

Popcorn List 3

2011-03-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

And now it's time for the winter edition of ... The Popcorn List!

Easy A - I liked this one. I went to see it with Mountain Dew Girl and Coca Cola Girl ... I think. It wasn't nearly as funny as I expected, though. It's more of a drama, with some funny moments thrown in. I did particularly like the scene where the main character and her gay buddy are jumping up and down on the bed and banging on the walls to make it sound like they're getting it on, haha.

It's Kind of a Funny Story - This movie was okay. Nothing special, but the overall plot was uplifting, and there were some amusing moments between the characters. Some of it was a little depressing, though, given that they're in a mental ward, of course.

Paranormal Activity 2 - I really liked the first Paranormal Activity. It was spooky enough to have me clinging to my friend's arm everytime the couple went to sleep. This movie is a bit of a prequel and a sequel, and is better than the first one on pretty much every level. There are a lot of jump scenes, the plot was good, and the characters were relatable. On one hand I'd love to see another one of these, but on the other hand, the two movies right now are so good as just a pair I'm not sure I want the series to possibly be brought down by another inevitable installment.

Due Date - This one I went to see late one evening with Mountain Dew Girl and a few friends. It was a lot of fun, and had plenty of laughs. Not as many laughs as "The Hangover," but still a lot of laughs. I thought the Ethan character was really pretty obnoxious and over-the-top, and pretty much understood why Peter was so uptight. I think I would be, too. But it ended well, and it entertained, so I guess that's all that matters!

Harry Potter 7 Part 1 - I'm so used to the usual routine of Harry Potter movies that this one was a real depart from that past installments. It's usually, Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to Hogwarts, find some sort of mystery, involve some other people, battle, win, and go home happy. This one spends the majority of it with the three heroes on the run. It's dark, depressing, and the characters almost have no idea where to go next, resorting to arguing and splitting up for a good portion of the film. Characters die right and left, and you know it's only going to get worse before it gets better in the next film. Still, a good movie in it's own right. It's just not really "Harry Potter Magical."

Tangled - I loved this film. Even though it was in CGI, I thought the characters were great and the story was fun and engaging. The songs weren't anything special, but it was nice to have a Disney movie that felt ... well ... Disney-ish! The last Disney film I remember seeing at the theaters was Bolt, and while it was cute, it really didn't feel as timeless as some of the older Disney classics.

Burlesque - The costumes and singing were great. Characters and plot were paper thin and almost nonexistent. See this if you like stage productions or musicals only. There honestly wasn't a single problem in the movie that didn't get solved within ten minutes of the characters really focusing on it.

Tron Legacy - While this movie was good, it wasn't quite my cup of tea. There was a lot of cool sci-fi stuff, and I did love the scene in the beginning where the main character turns back on the old arcade, and "Separate Ways" by Journey starts blaring out the speakers. Very 80s. The plot was fine, although I wish Tron himself had a little bit more to do with the plot. I feel like he was mentioned once, and then just showed up randomly at the end.

The Green Hornet - I went to see this movie with high hopes for my birthday, and was sorely disappointed. The guy playing Kato was cool, but the plot was really bad, and the characters didn't seem heroic in the least. And when the solution to losing the evidence against the bad guy is, "Let's just shove the bad guy out the window with our car!" you have to think that maybe we shouldn't be rooting for the "heroes" after all.

Justin Bieber Never Say Never - The only thing I can say is that I got my ticket for $4.50 by going to a non-mall theater on a Monday evening. I was forced into seeing it by Mountain Dew Girl and her friends. The movie was a documentary, with lots of music, about Justin Bieber, obviously. I learned a lot about him, but honestly, I wasn't really that interested in the first place. Not to mention, at 1 hour and 40 minutes, the movie was way too long for my tastes!

When Birthdays Don't Matter Anymore

2011-01-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

Little Scarf Girl is getting a bit old. (Just a bit.) This past week marked my 23rd birthday, which means I'm now 2 years into the "Birthdays-That-Don't-Matter."

Every birthday up until your 21st marks something cool. Some are more cool than others, and some are just plain boring, but they're all working their way up to that awesome "21."

1 - First birthday! It's a big deal, even though you won't really remember it later.
2 - Terrible twos. Everyone will dislike you for a year.
3 - Now you're a cute toddler!
5 - Aw, you're going to school now!
10 - Double digits!
13 - Teenager!
16 - Sweet Sixteen, and driver's license!
17 - The boring birthday in-between 16 and 18
18 - You're legal! And you can buy cigarettes.
19 - Boring birthday in-between 18 and 20. You're still a teenager.
20 - You're in your twenties! But you still can't drink.
21 - Tada! You can buy alcohol, go into bars, and pretty much everything else in life. Fun birthdays are officially over.
22 - The worst birthday ever, since now you're just getting older with nothing to "look forward," too. You're also graduating from college, leaving "being a kid" life behind.
23 - Boring.
24 - Will you even have a birthday party this year?
25 - You can rent a car without those extra fees for being a "young" driver.
26 - You've been out of college for 4 years now.
27 - You're officially in your "late" twenties.
28 - More "late" twenties.
29 - May as well just say you're 30.
30 - And...now it's really over.

So there you go. Between here and 30, there's just one little birthday with a small little bright side. But honestly, how often will I be renting a car? Not very. No, it just goes to show that all the fun birthdays happen before you're 21. After you can drink legally, there's not a whole lot else to look forward to. Doesn't that sound ridiculous? It's really pretty logical. Before you're 21, you can't drink legally because you're "too young." Even though it's annoying to be limited in what you can do, there's something about being told you're "too young" for something that makes you feel, well, young. This is why people in their 30s are always ecstatic when they get IDed for alcohol.

As for me? Well, 23 might not be an exciting birthday, but at least I've got looking young on my side. I'm betting I'll still be getting carded when I'm in my late 30s.

It's All Downhill

2010-12-02T06:37:00.000-08:00

When you knock an open bottle of deep, sparkly red nail polish off the bathroom counter onto the rug before you've even put your glasses on in the morning, you know that you're in for a terrific day.

I tried nail polish removed, which didn't do much, and then I threw it in the washing machine. I only ran it for about 10 mintues before I left, since I didn't want to risk flooding the house. (Normally I don't care about leaving my machine on when I leave, but I've never washed the rug before, and didn't want to come home and find my bathroom floor flooded. Now that would be just ridiculous.

I read up that hairspray does wonders for nail polish stains, so I'm going to pick some up on my way home. Maybe before or after I pay my rent. And pick up my sister. And go teach Tae Kwon Do. I don't know, I feel like my week has been going by on fast-forward, and that I generally only come home to take a shower and go to sleep. I was actually home one Sunday last month, and I was so surprised that I could open the blinds and let light in.

Mountain Dew Girl was having a discussion (or argument) yesterday about why it's not fair to compare your problems to someone else, or for someone else to invalidate your own because to them, they don't seem important. While I could see where this may have rubbed some folks with spouses and famillies the wrong way, it's true. Even I, Little Scarf Girl, have stresses and frustrations. Haha, you say! But you're a single girl, living on your own, with a good job! What could you know of stress?!

Well, you know, you're not me. And I'm not you. And we're entitled to be upset about our own issues, and as a friend, we should recognize that about each other. No one wants to hear, "Look honey, I've been there, done that, and it was so easy!"

I'm beginning to lose faith in humanity again, for a myriad of reasons. I am also really starting to understand why certain people think they way they do.

I'm being kind of moody and cryptic for a Little Scarf Girl post, I know. It's the nail polish, I tell you.

Blue M&Ms

2010-10-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

When I was in fifth grade, one of my teachers was absolutely convinced that blue M&Ms tasted different from all the other colors. It wasn't just that they tasted different: she didn't like the way they tasted, and refused to eat them. While the rest of us could find nothing funny-tasting or even remotely different about the blue candies, she maintained her position.

At any rate, her homeroom class decided that because of this, it would only be fitting to get her a gift: a jar full of only blue M&Ms!

Since this was back before you could just order a bag of only blue candies from M&Ms website, all the kids in her class did their part to collect the candies. What they ended up with was a jar full of tons of candies in all different shades of blue, from the various dye lots that M&Ms had. I can't remember if I were there when she got it, or only when she was talking about it later. I believe she put it on her bookcase, and just laughed, insisting that they did in fact, taste funny!

I wonder if her belief that the candies tasted different was due to the fact that blue M&Ms were newer. They hadn't always been part of the mix of red, brown, green, yellow, and orange. Because they were a new addition to the classic mix, she probably felt they didn't belong, which spurned this belief that they tasted differently.

Or maybe she was on to something! I never tasted a difference, but does anyone else think blue M&Ms taste differently from the rest of their chocolatey brethren?

Wishes

2010-09-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

I decided that I would take my lunch and eat it out by a water fountain in the middle of a shopping center. It was different, and I must say, pretty relaxing. I noticed a couple and their two little kids walking up to the fountain. They didn't really notice me or say anything, but I watched as the mom handed each of the kids some coins to make a wish. The little girl tossed a coin into the fountain, and (I kid you not!) these were her wishes:

Little Girl: I wish I was Batgirl! *tosses another coin in* I wish I was Supergirl!

I couldn't hear what the little boy wished for, as he said it more quietly and fervently, but I couldn't help but smile at the little girl's wishes. I wonder if she reads Tiny Titans, too?

They'll put you in a video game...

2010-09-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Kid 1: You know, if you do martial arts long enough, they'll put you in a video game.

Scarf Girl: What?
Kid 1: Yeah, if you do martial arts for a really long time, you get put into a video game. I read this article about a guy who did martial arts from when he was like, 4, to like 16.

Kid 2: Six-TY or Six-TEEN?

Kid 1: Six-TEEN.

Scarf Girl: Uh...that's not really that long. But they just put him a game?

Kid 1: Yep. He was like a 10th dan. No reason for him to keep going without any kind of reward, so they put him in a game.

Scarf Girl: They didn't know what to do with him, so they just put him in a video game?

Kid 1: Yep!

Later on, we were having a conversation about how old one would be to become a master, or 5th dan, in our system.

Scarf Girl: If you train consistantly after black belt, add about one year for each stripe you want to earn. So it would be 1 year for first, then 2 more years for second, 3 years for third, and so on. So you'd be 24 by the time you were a master! *to Kid 1*

Kid 1: Wow...I'll be like, one of the youngest masters!

Scarf Girl: Yep. They'll put you in a game.

Druggie Music

2010-09-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

My sister, Mountain Dew Girl, announced one day that I liked "druggie music."

Now, MD Girl is your typical college girl when it comes to her tastes in music. She likes the rock bands, Nickleback, 3 Days Grace, Linkin Park, and the pop girls, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and the like. Now, I like most of those things, too. But my taste in music veers a little more toward "80's Synth/Pop" and "New Age" stuff.

If you look a list of my favorite artists/songs:

Depeche Mode

Tears for Fears

Nirvana

When in Rome's - "The Promise"

Snow Patrol

Enya's - "Orinocco Flow"

Butthole Surfer's - "Pepper"

New Order

OMD

Ultravox's - "Vienna"

Cyndi Lauper's - "Time After Time"

I'm not sure if "druggie" is quite the word for it. Or maybe it is. I can see Nirvana's music and "Pepper" being put into that "druggie" catagory. But personally, I just like some music that has interesting lyrics, a good, sort of mellow or gloomy tune, and something that I can either pay attention to, or put a story to in my head.

Now, when I went to my dad and complained that I needed some new music, and explained that MD Girl thought I liked druggie music, I was sure he'd say, "Well that's not druggie music!" After all, a lot of this stuff (Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode, etc) were things he introduced me to. However, as he went through his list of music and recommended some new titles for me, he'd say things like, "Well, this one is sort-of druggie..." as if that were what I were looking for!

Not quite, dad. Not quite.

The Popcorn List 2

2010-09-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

And now time for another issue of, "The Popcorn List." I've watched quite a few movies in theaters this summer, so I'll be brief in my reviews for each.

Iron Man 2: First movie of the summer. Considering I loved the first Iron Man movie, and am a big comic book/superhero movie fan in general, of course I liked this movie. RDJr playes a great Tony Stark, with his eccentric behavior being one of the highlights of the film. There was lots of action, some good funny moments, and I enjoyed that Rhodes got to try on the Iron Man suit himself. And Black Widow was awesome, of course. However, there was something about the plot that bothered me, although it's still hard to place a finger on what. I've seen it twice, and I think it just isn't quite as good of a story as the first one. On a funny aside, we got to the theater an hour early because Mountain Dew Girl was paranoid about seats. We ended up waiting 45 minutes past when the movie was going to start due to technical issues. Boy, was I tired after that one...

Robin Hood: I actually didn't see this until very recently, although it came out in May. I really don't like stories set in this sort of era, and I hadn't really wanted to see it at all. (One of my friends invited me to see it at the campus theater, though.) I actually didn't mind it too much. I don't think I'd ever want to watch it again, but it had some good action, and a couple of laughs. But at the same time, it was a bit boring, and there was not enough character development or interaction. And where was Robin Hood stealing from the rich and giving to the poor? He only did that once in the whole movie!

Prince of Persia: I had really wanted to see this one, and wasn't disappointed. It had good action, and I enjoyed the prince's character. It reminded me strongly of The Mummy movies that I love, and was a lot of fun to watch. I wish there had been a little more character interactions between the prince and princess, and at the end, there was one little tidbit that I would have liked to have seen differently, as it essentially made a whole lot of character development moot.

The Killers: Again, I waited for the cheap theater to see this one. It was all right, but I felt like it wasn't quite as funny as it could have been. Ashton Kutcher is cute, for sure, but the story was pretty weak, and I thought the ending came out of nowhere. I'll give it credit for having some laughs, but I wouldn't want to watch this one again!

The A-Team: I never watched the old TV show, so I went in just having watched the trailer. I really enjoyed it for the most part. The characters were all very interesting, the plot made sense and had some good turns, and there were lots of laughs. I am embarrassed to admit the last twist did not make sense to me until after I left the theater, though!

The Karate Kid: Being the martial arts enthusiast that I am, of course I went to see this movie. I actually went to see it with Mountain Dew Girl, Guitar Player Boy, and our other friend, all wearing our Cobra Kai, "I kicked Daniel Larousso's Ass Back in 1984" t-shirts. :) I really did not like this movie very much, though. The kid annoyed me at times, and I just didn't like some aspects of the movie. Also, I felt like it was extremely long! I have since gone back and watched the old movie, and I liked that one better. Although the plots are very nearly the same (minus the living in China aspect) I liked the kid a lot more in the original. I think the story worked better for a teenager rather than a 10-12 year old. Plus, in the new movie, they're learning Kung-Fu, so I'm not sure why it's called Karate Kid at all!

Knight and Day: I went to see this with Random Knowledge Boy's sister and Mountain Dew Girl on a whim. My mom had reccomended it, and so we went to see it. Sadly, I really couldn't stand this movie. I felt like the pacing was bizarre (characters kept fading out of conciousness for extended periods of time, with little to no catch-up afterwards) the main character was a little peculiar, and the ending just didn't gel with me. Probably my least-favorite movie of the summer.

Inception: After all the hype surrounding this movie, Mountain Dew Girl and I went to see it when we were bored during our beach trip. It is a very inventive and engrossing movie. The main character reminded me strongly of DiCaprio's character from Shutter Island, which I thoroughly did not enjoy, but this movie was very good. I liked the characters, and I loved how the dream layers made it so that even when a character was "left behind" in the previous levels, they still needed to work to help the plan go smoothly. I got a little lost when it came to the logic in one spot, and my theory on the ending probably doesn't work, haha. But I did enjoy it very much.

Dinner for Schmucks: Again, I went to see this one on a whim with some friends. I didn't expect much, but it actually turned out to be a very hilarious movie. I was laughing constantly. The ending was very good, too, and there was no part of the movie that I wasn't enjoying.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: I knew nothing of the comic series this was based on, but I was really excited about this film from the trailer. And it didn't disappoint! This was definitely my favorite movie of the summer. It was off-beat, hilarious, and really enjoyable. I loved all the video game references, and the characters were great. I've already seen it twice, and would be more than happy to see it again.

Going the Distance: Mountain Dew Girl and I saw this at a downtown theater where we had to be carded to get in (and only got by because of the nice manager. It was 21 and up, and MDG is not quite of age yet.) There was a bouncer on a red carpet, you had to pick your seats, go up a multi-colored lighted escalator, and past a bar and restaurant. You could take food in with you! The seats were huge, and the whole thing was quite an experience. As for the movie, Justin Long is cute, but I didn't like it very much. The whole thing was hinged on sex jokes, which are funny in their place, but I felt like it kind of overtook the whole film. There wasn't much story, I felt like both characters were a little selfish and shallow, and ... yeah.

So there you have it! The Summer 2010 Popcorn List!

Short people have to look out for each other

2010-09-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

There is a little boy in one of the Tae Kwon Do classes I teach who is pretty small. He looks like he's maybe 4 or 5 years old. The water fountain just outside of the room where class is are too tall for him to reach. So when it's time for water break, I've been picking up him, and letting him push the button and lean over to get a drink.

While I do think there needs to be a smaller fountain there for the smaller kids, I can't help but think it's really cute. Besides, we short people need to look out for each other. I can remember countless times I needed to have the guys hang up the punching bag for me at the college club where I used to teach.

In a way, it probably looks a little curious to see a short girl like me teaching the class. I like to think I more than prove my worth, though!

Cootie Through the Ages

2010-09-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Everyone is familiar with Cooties. You know, these little guys?
Those cute and colorful game creatures, of course! Who doesn't remember playing Cootie as a child? In one of my board-game nostalgia moments, I got on Ebay to look around for a cheap copy of the game, since our copy had long since been lost. (No doubt, our mom was still finding Cootie legs and eyes under the sofa years after the game had been thrown out.) However, I discovered that Cootie didn't always look like that cute, colorful little guy. No, Cootie's origins dated back to 1949, when the game looked like this:

Oh my goodness! That thing looks terrifying! The box says, "An exciting, educational game for all ages," but to me, with the red, black, and yellow color scheme, it looks more akin to a box of bug spray. And with the way that Cootie looks, I'd say it would be good to have some of the stuff around.

In this version dated 1966, at least they're putting a somewhat colorful Cootie on the cover of the box, and showing two children "playing" with him. (Honestly, it looks a little more like they're eyeing him distrustfully. The little girl is holding him with two fingers, and the boy is simply staring.) But who could blame them? Cootie still looks like a scary, beady-eyed alien insect.

1972, and now Cootie is starting to look like his modern self. He's colorful, has a cheerful smile, and his apendages no longer have that "horrifying 50s alien" look. Even the kids look a little more happy here. On an aside, the Cooties on the cover appear to have different colored apendages, but I believe the pieces inside the game all have the yellow apendages.

Aww...now that's more like it. 1976 version of the game, and we're looking classic. Let's give those Cooties a hug!

I guess Cooties do like hugs! Once the creators found the working Cootie formula, the Cootie presumably stayed the same for 30 years. This Cootie game from the 90s is the version that I regard as "my Cootie game." I think we went through at least two different sets of this Cootie game in my youth.

And now, Cootie is still around for the new generation of youngsters...

Oh my gosh! What the heck happened?! Cootie went from being the loveable little guys that they had been for over 30 years to being bug-eyed, buck-toothed, kissy-faced, roller-blading crazy bugs! What could have possibly made the company think that these "hip" new Cooties could replace their tried and true, beloved by many generations, Cooties? :(

So there you have it. Cootie through the ages. But if I ever buy a copy out of nostalgia (or for my future children) I'll be purchasing the 90s version. I feel bad for the kids today who have to put up with "crazy Cooties." But least they're not the scary, sci-fi movie alien Cooties, right?

Though, I hate to say, I'm not sure what's more scary.

This:

Or this:

For Want of a Pretzel

2010-09-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had a hankering for a soft pretzel. Not the microwavable insult that you get at certian movie theaters. (The pretzel was delivered to me still in it's microwavable bag, with no salt. I had to specify I wanted salt, and then tried to figure out how to put salt on a dry pretzel. For shame...) But a real, soft-yet-chewy, buttery and salty, soft pretzel. (I think my recent encounters with Auntie Anne's pretzels during our trip to the beach are to blame for this craving.) However, I was left wondering how I could fit this pretzel into madcap schedule.

I had to go teach a martial arts class straight from work, at 5:45. I had to go borrow a pair of gii pants from Mountain Dew Girl, since she lives relatively close to where the school I was going to be teaching at was. There was a Target right on that road, and of course, Target food courts have soft pretzels. However, As I drove down the somewhat crowded road at 5:10, I realized there was no way I could stop and still make it to the school on time. I passed it by with a longing glance.

I arrived at the school just in time (although Fin's antics with the key caused me to be a few minutes late.) I realized that even after this class, I still had to be at another school for a class just 45 minutes later. There was no Target that I knew of on the quickest route, and I couldn't afford to waste any time taking a detour. Alas, it seemed that my pretzel cravings would go unsatisfied.

After teaching, I hurried back out to my car and started on my way to get back on the highway. However, as I pulled up at the red light to wait my turn, I spotted a most glorious sight in the distance: the red Target logo. There was a Target right there on the road! I rushed in, parked in a flash (and fortunately Fin was kind with the key), and bought my $2.50 Pretzel Combo. A soft pretzel never tasted quite so good. (Although Auntie Anne's are probably better.)

And so I drove down the highway blaring music, and enjoying my well-deserved salty snack. (And I was just on time for the next class, too!)

Fin

2010-09-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

My car is a 2003 silver Saturn Ion. His name is Fin. I got him last year to replace my first car, a 2002 green Saturn SL1 (or 2, I always forget which model he was) after I crashed the poor guy into the median on the freeway. (I'll have to blog about that story someday...)

Anyway, Fin features manual locks and windows, and I constantly have to remind my passengers to lock their doors. I told my sister that if I were to make a list of the things I say most often, it would go sort of like this:

1.) "Ah, very cool!"

2.) "I know, right?"

3.) "Lock your doors!"

Yeah...

But I could live with that. Fin's a good car, drives smoothly, and doesn't guzzle oil like my previous car did. However, Fin definitely has one very irritating quirk: sometimes, he randomly will not release the key from the ignition after I've turned off the car.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why and when this happens. I'll sit there struggling with the key for minutes sometimes, and other times he'll let it out no problem. It is this quirk, actually, that his name comes from. (Fin, as in short for "Finicky.")

I think it must have something to do with Fin not getting a signal that the car is off. I turn the key back and forth, push on it, take off my seatbelt, turn off the lights, push it back into drive, and then back to park, and even sometimes mess with the radio. It's a little bit strange that sometimes, if I listen to the whole song that's playing on my CD, when the song ends, I can turn the key and it'll pop out. MD Girl jokes that Fin just wants to hear the rest of the song. I'm starting to believe that.

But Fin's quirk has made me late on several an occasion. Although the car is turned off, it's not as though I can just leave my keys in the ignition and abandon the car. I'd have to leave the doors unlocked, and who is stupid enough to leave their doors unlocked with the key in the ignition?

Guitar Player Boy has suggested I get a spare key made, and use it to drive the car. When Fin acts up, I'll just leave the spare in the ignition, lock the doors, and use my regular key to get back into the car later. I might just have to do this. If for no other reason, than to spare me from moments when I pull up to Dominoes pizza to pick up an order, and sit there yanking at my key like an idiot for several minutes, while the man in the car next to me eyes me, taps on the window, and tells me to turn the key the other way. *facepalm*

Like a hat on the door, only different.

2010-09-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

I recently put up a "Please Knock!" sign on my bedroom door at the house.

If you were to walk by my door while that sign was up, you'd hear thumping, grunting, and the occasional victorious cry of: "Yes!" What in the world could I have been doing?

Why, I was practicing my handstands on the back of the door, of course. (What did you think I was doing? Get your minds out of the gutter, blog-readers!)

Reason being, I didn't want someone to open the door while I was doing a handstand right in front of it. That would have resulted in a crumbled pile of Scarf Girl on the floor, and it would not have been a pretty sight.

On the bright side, I have been getting pretty good at the handstands. Now if only I could get that handspring going...

Freeze!

2010-09-01T07:38:00.001-07:00

For those of you new to the blog, I teach martial arts at various locations in the area. So I was teaching at a school yesterday that I had never been to before. The kids there seemed energetic, and overall, I think the classes went well. However, I did a double-take toward the end of the first class when one of the students asked if we could play Freeze Tag at the end of class.

Little Scarf: "Er, no. What does Freeze Tag have to do with martial arts?"

Kid: "Well...we sometimes play it with our other teacher."

I just brushed it off and continued teaching. Then, in the second class, a different student asked me if we were going to play Freeze Tag. What was it with all these kids wanting to play Freeze Tag?

Little Scarf: "Do you usually play Freeze Tag??"

Kid 2: "Yeah, Martial Arts Freeze Tag! We play it for the last 5 minutes of class, and if you get frozen, you have to keep doing the same kick over and over until someone unfreezes you."

So I realized that made a lot more sense than just randomly playing Freeze Tag. I said sure, we could play. And I must say, I did pretty badly. I'm not used to sprinting around during class, haha.

Little Scarf might also be moving into an apartment on her own soon. I saw one the other day that's convenient to where I live, and has everything I could want in a place. There's nothing stopping me from going over and putting in the application ... other than the fact that this seems like a big deal. But at the same time, I feel like I'm ready to get out there on my own. I'll have to put down a bit of money on some furniture (since I've got about 2 pieces to my name at this point) but I think in the end, it'll be a lot of fun.

It's a Black Hole

2010-08-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

I think I've been sucked into the world of comics.

That's not to say I haven't always liked comic book characters. Superheroes, X-men, all that jazz. I've been watching cartoons and movies for a long time. However, I never did get up the courage to delve into the comic book medium for these characters. Comic books have daunting continuity, and tend to be a bit soap-opera and outlandish. Bad plots, bad characterizations, and frequently changing artwork. However, with my recent interest in the Batman world, I decided to give comics a try.

I started with the stuff based on the cartoons, and then went on to one-shot graphic novels. I continued to put a hold on just about every Batman book in the library that looked appealing. (I.e, had Robin, Nightwing, or Batgirl in it.) I think it was downhill from there. Nevermind the fact that I have 230+ comics sitting on the floor (neatly stacked up) in my bedroom at the moment.

And some of it is hit and miss. You'll have a great issue followed by one that's like, "What??" And it's hard for me as a big believer in "starting from the beginning" and a continous continuity to just throw my hands up and say, "You know what? I'm going to pick and choose what I like because there's just so much out there."

But there's one little series that I've discovered that I just can't get enough of. It can do no wrong, and that's mainly because it's absolutely cute and innocent to the max. That would be Tiny Titans. It's kid versions of most of the characters who were ever Teen Titans, having adventures at elementary school. Villains like Slade and Trigon have become the principal and substitute teacher. There's no soap-opera, no dying characters, just 100% fun.

Plus, the characters are drawn in an utterly irresistable way. Here's a panel below of Wonder Girl Cassie and Superboy Connor:

How can you not love that? Look at his little eyes in the second panel! Oh, the cuteness. :)

And I just realized that they're all drawn in a very similar way to Little Scarf Girl style. Which might also be a contributing factor in why I love them so much. But seriously, as another blogger pointed out, when the main comics have a beloved character addicted to drugs, losing family members, and halucinating in the streets, Tiny Titans has Batgirl and Supergirl having a picnic in the park. And who doesn't love picnics?

"The fire alarm is going off and I'm naked!"

2010-06-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

These words have been uttered by Mountain Dew Girl on numerous occasions. Yes, it just so happens that almost every time the fire alarm has gone off in her dorm or apartment buildings, she just so happens to have just gotten out of the shower. Pretty weird timing, right?

1.) On the first occasion, it was a typical fire alarm drill. It was merely coincidence that she was clad in a towel when the drill happened.

2.) The second time, Mountain Dew Girl's shower was the cause of the fire alarm going off. Mountain Dew Girl has been known to take very, very long and hot showers. (She once used up all the hot water forever at our house.) But after getting out of her steamy dorm shower, the fire alarm promptly went off. After scrambling for some clothes and trooping outside to wait with the rest of the disgrunted residents of her dorm, the fire fighters informed her that it had been her room that set off the alarm. Since no one else was doing anything that could have set it off, it was deduced that her shower had indeed set off the alarm. (It must have been the steam!)

3.) Third time, Mountain Dew Girl's roommate had left a pan of oil on the stove unattended. (Recipe for disaster right there.) Sure enough, the pan went up in flames on the stove, and the alarm sounded ... just as Mountain Dew Girl had gotten out of the shower. Apparently her first thoughts were not about the thick cloud of smoke in the living room. It was, "I am putting some clothes on this time!!"

The reason Mountain Dew Girl gets caught in a towel when the alarm sounds, however, is not totally due to bad timing. She likes to lounge around by her computer wrapped in her towel playing games for 20+ minutes after a shower. As strange as this may sound, I have to admit, I'm guilty of the same thing. One time I was sitting at my desk in my towel chatting on the phone to none other than Mountain Dew Girl herself. Guess what happened?

Of course. The fire alarm went off. And I literally laughed and screamed into the phone, "The fire alarm is going off and I'm naked!"

But anyhow, the lesson here is simple: Don't take really hot showers.

Also, don't leave hot oil on the stove.

But most importantly, try not to be naked when the fire alarm goes off.

References

2010-06-04T11:20:00.001-07:00

Is it bad that I get excited at references to other media and/or pop culture in the things I watch and read? Especially if I seem to be the only one who notices them? (Or perhaps the bad part is that I actually pick up on these references in the first place...)

For instance, I've been on a big Batman kick as of late. I took an interest in the character of Robin/Dick Grayson/Nightwing, and have been watching my fill of Batman animated programs that contain his character. (I think this may be the first time I've watched multiple shows at the same time. I'm currently viewing Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Teen Titans, and The Batman.) My interest in the Batman-verse will come up again in another entry, I'm sure.

But anyway, I was watching the episode "Breakout" of The Batman, one of the more recent Batman animated shows. The episode featured the villain Black Mask attempting to detonate a bomb in Gotham City. To do so, he needed to enter a series of numbers into a computer to initiate the sequence. He entered most of the code before Batman threw a Batarang into the computer, causing the screen to go out. Nothing unusual there, right? Batman stops the destruction of the city, and Black Mask will most-likely need to plan a trip to Best Buy to get a new computer.

Hm...let's take a look at the numbers that Black Mask was entering.

Look familiar? Look sort of like the start of the infamous number series from the popular TV show LOST?

Yes indeed! The Batman had a LOST reference. I can't help but be terribly amused by that.

And speaking of LOST references, perhaps I just have the series fresh in my mind, but when I was reading the chapter one excerpt on the library's page of the Batman No Man's Land novel, I noticed the two boy's names: Nicky and Paolo. Maybe I just have LOST on the brain, but I immediately thought of Nikki and Paulo, the non-so-popular background survivor duo from season 3. Coincidence? While the Black Mask firing codes are way too specific not to be a direct reference, this one probably is merely coincidence. But it's still funny, nevertheless.

The Importance of Wearing a Mouth Guard

2010-05-13T11:42:00.001-07:00

I hate mouth guards.

This isn't really a secret. I will avoid wearing one at all costs unless I'm specifically instructed that I must wear one. I find them uncomfortable. They hurt my mouth, they make it hard to breath, hard to swallow, and make it difficult to give a good "Kiiya!" before the sparring match begins.

So this past weekend at our bi-monthly belt promotions, I was assigned to fight a red belt for her test. Naturally, I didn't wear my mouth guard. What was the worst thing that could happen?

I got kicked in the face. And bit my cheek.

Painfully.

So now I have a large, infected sore in my mouth where I had bitten my cheek. This particular sore is very close to my teeth, so I tend to scrape it with my teeth everytime I speak. Chewing is painful on that side of my mouth. Even drinking can be painful!

So while I'm looking up ways to combat a mouth sore and dealing with the fact that crunchy foods have become my temporary enemy, the pain is a constant reminder of that little fact.

Wear your mouth guard.

And goodness knows, next time, I'll wear the damn thing!

Mud Fight

2010-03-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Despite what the title suggests, this entry actually has nothing to do with martial arts. (I have yet to spar someone with any amount of mud involved. For that, I think I can be thankful.) What the fight I am refering to, however, is between my car and the marshy ground on campus.

I have a night class this semester in one of the three buildings that are almost completely separate from the campus (past the recreational fields, almost out on the main road.) Because it would take quite a while to walk there from my campus apartment, and the fact that it's chilly and dark out at that time of night, I opt to drive over and park in the little lot beside the building. The lot is usually full, however, and I sometimes improvise with parking. I had parked on the ground beside the lot before, and that had always worked out pretty well. I never got a ticket, and it was always open because who else wanted to park on the ground?

Anyway, I parked there that night, and imediately realized that the ground was pretty darn muddy. It had snowed quite a bit the day before, and although it melted quickly, everything was very wet. I had an inkling in the back of my head, "What if you get stuck in the mud?" But I pushed that idle thought out of my mind and went on to class. But unfortunately when I came back to my car and tried to back out, my tires sank deep in the mud and spun helplessly.

I got the bright idea to try to drive around the grass/mud area to find firmer ground, and successfully got my car wedged in the mud at the bottom of a small slope, unable to move backwards or forwards. At this point, I'd begun sinking in the mud when I stepped out of the car, and my wonderful tye-dye sneakers were caked with the stuff. With mud on my pants, my shoes, my car door, floor, and steering wheel, I decided that this just wasn't working.

Defeated, I called AAA to tow my little car out. There was about 2 inches worth of mud on each tire, and driving was a little strange the next few days with the contstant "clink, clunk, CLUNK" of mud and dirt falling off. Of all the things to need roadside assistance for, I have a feeling that getting pulled out of the mud is one of the silliest.

The tow truck folks called out after me, "Maybe you should stick with the real parking spaces next time!"

And I think I shall.

Spring Break

2010-03-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

It's March! The weather is getting warmer, school is coming to an end, and right now it's all made sweeter by the fact that I am on Spring Break. And because of all this Spring-y-ness in the air, I've made up a couple of lists.

Things that Make Spring "Spring"

1.) CAT Standardized Tests. A once-a-year experience where my siblings and I would take a week to do standardized tests for the state. There were much anticipated, due to the fact that they were all the school we did for the week and we got done usually by lunch each day. They still symbolize spring for me, even though I'm in college and the only member of my family that is taking them is my brother, Guitar Player Boy.

2.) Life Savors. It was recommended to eat Life Savors during standardized tests, so this also became a springtime tradition. I went out and bought a package yesterday to follow tradition. Yum, yum.

3.) EZ Set Pool. For years, we had an "EZ Set Pool," the kind with the inflatible ring on top with rising walls, that we would set up in the backyard. It was an all-day, or multi-day chore that involved dragging the pool out of the shed, hosing the spiders, webs, other bugs, leaves, and general dirt out, dragging it into position over to its spot in the center of the yard, and then fill it with the hose. This pool not only forced us to have a bald sand circle in the middle of the yard year-round, but also was a hazard for the local squirels. More than one time, we'd return home from vacation and find a dead squirel floating in the pool. Also, since our yard is essentially a hill, although the pool was supposed to be "3 feet deep," one side was about 2 feet deep, and the "deep end" was about 3, but if you got too close to the wall with any sort of pressure, the water would force over the wall, dumping gallons along with any nearby swimmers out into the yard. Ah, good times!

So what am I planning to do for spring this year?

1.) Return to the creek. Many may remember my entry last year about wondering why in the world I was talked into going tromping around the campus woods and creek with Mountain Dew Girl and Bee Cool Boy. This year, I've decided to return, but with a bit more proper planning. I'm getting water shoes or hiking boots, wearing thick pants, no earings, and tacky shirt I don't mind getting splattered with mud.

2.) Go to the beach. I would love to go to the beach and be able to, you know, actually hang out at the beach a lot. (Without losing any facewear.) I'm thinking maybe a weekend trip with my family, or perhaps Mountain Dew Girl's roommate, Coca Cola Girl. I shall introduce her properly in a future entry.

3.) Finish Computer/Video Games. I have so many hanging video games/pc games that I need to complete, it's not even funny. I'm still playing the newest Nancy Drew PC Game, Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribultions, and Trace Memory, to name a few. I'm also wanting to keep playing/restart Croc 2, and maybe even Hype: The Time Quest and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Those games never get old!

4.) Write more. On my stories, and on the blog.

And that's all from the Scarf for today! What are your spring plans? :)

Kids, Ages, and Devotion

2009-12-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

On Devotion

This can't be expressed so much in dialogue, unfortunately, but it was too ridiculous not to post about. I have had a group of pretty good students for a year and a half now. There have been some serious students, some not-so-serious, and one particular class clown. This class clown hardly ever practiced, and usually got by testing on the skin of his teeth. He'd joke during class, and was mildly disruptive. By the time he started getting up there in the ranks, I held him back and wouldn't let him test until he actually knew his stuff. He slacked off for a while longer, and then one day came to class with the notion that he was going to work extra hard and double-promote on the next belt test.

I chuckled, and said that was very rare and he probably wouldn't be able to do that, but that I was happy he was being more active about his training and surely he could test as usual if he practiced hard enough. The next class, he said the same thing, and my response was similar. Then, this student never came back to class. I figured he had just had conflicting hobbies, or that the class was becoming too expensive. Later, one of my other students divulged to me that this particular student had quit "because we weren't taking him seriously."

On Ages

Me: How old are you?

Student 1: I'm 6!

Student 2: I'm 8, but people always think I'm 6 or 7.

Me: People always think I'm younger than I am, too. How old do you think I am?

Student 1: 15!

Me: *sigh*

They're getting closer! But then, I keep getting older at the same time. (I'll be 22 next month.)

Christmas Present Shopping 101

2009-12-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

Little Scarf Girl hasn't vanished, don't worry. She's still very much around, and very, very busy.

I always loved the Christmas season as a child. It was like this magical time of the year when all one could think about was getting those special presents on Christmas morning. There were cookies, parties, buying presents, music, pictures with Santa, church, the Advent calendar and wreath, and of course, Christmas Eve Mass. All of this led up to the wonderful Christmas day!

As for buying gifts, Mountain Dew Girl and I were given a twenty dollar bill and were to use it to buy presents for our family. With roughly $2.50 to spend on each person, we would wander into the Dollar Tree store and each pick out a plastic toy for Guitar Player Boy, a tea set or other small toy for each other, and a ceramic candle-stick holder for our mom. Our dad was always the hardest to shop for. I remember one year Mountain Dew Girl bought him a very, very outdated Sport Illustrated Video from the Dollar Tree, and I bought him a candy gummy foot from the candy store.

So with a firm budget and limited store selection and only four people to buy gifts for, Christmas shopping was fun, easy, and short back in the day. Today, however, it's an entirely different story. With multitudes of family (and in my case, Random Knowledge Boy's family, as well) and friends to buy gifts for, all with varying tastes, it becomes almost a chore rather than a pleasure. I just returned home from shopping with Mountain Dew Girl as we tried to pick out last-minute gifts for a couple of friends.

"Maybe he would like this t-shirt?"

"Would he ever wear it?""

"I don't know..."

"Does it matter?"

"...no? I don't know!"

For presents, beyond what to get someone, you must factor in how much one should spend on an individual present. Is a good friend worth $10? $20? Or maybe just a $5, "It's the thought that counts"-type gift? But even so, if you have a lot of good friends, that can add up pretty fast!

And who are obligated to buy a present for? Do you need to get your boyfriend's aunt a gift? What about your roommates? And then there's the horrible event of someone giving you a gift, and you hadn't even thought to buy them one. That's when you have to scrape the bottom of your Bath and Body Works bag for a bottle of holiday soap or a scented candle that could be passed off as a thoughtful present with some ribbon and a cute cellophane bag.

Once you've purchased all of your presents, then it's time to wrap the up. Cue the expensive, shimmery wrapping paper (or the cheap, "It'll probably rip when I move it" kind of paper), lots of tape, ribbon, and bows. Don't forget to pull off those price tags! (I had to unwrap one of my gifts this year because I had forgotten about the price tag.)

And then there's the gift-giving etiquette. I got a lot of gifts this year for friends who probably aren't going to get me anything in return. I don't mind that; it's not about what you're getting out of it. (For the most part.) But there is a certain gift-giving etiquette. Do you hand them the gift and tell them to open it? Give them the bag or wrapped present and tell them to enjoy as you're walking out the door? My favorite part of gift-giving is watching the reactions as they open them. In Japan, one never opens a gift in front of the person who gave it to them. Way to take the fun out of it!

Finally, there's the Christmas schedule. When to visit family, when to open gifts, when to attend Mass, what to eat, etc., etc. The list goes on and on. In an attempt to do everything, see everyone, and make sure everyone is happy, you end up stressing yourself out and miss out on the relaxing Christmas vacation you've been looking forward to all semester.

Sometimes, I really think that Christmas was more fun when I was a kid just tagging along for the ride and on the receiving end of most of the gifts. But I suppose the baton has been passed, and now I am among those adults caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season.

Go figure that Christmas is actually a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, right? (Unfortunately, I think that if the country were polled about the most important thing about Christmas, gift cards might somehow wind up as the #1 answer.)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Mountain Dew Girl

2009-10-11T10:20:00.001-07:00

Mountain Dew Girl is a quirky individual whom I often refer to throughout my blog entries. As her name suggests, she's a Mountain Dew addict, and is often found playing mindless online games, eating Fruit By the Foot (the right way), and drinking a cold can of Mountain Dew.

Just how much of an addict is she? Well, for the longest time she had a 300 can+ Mountain Dew tower sitting on our dresser. (Yes, this was the perfect place for it. There were many a night when I crept over to the dresser to grab a pair of pajamas only to have tower come crashing down around me, with the sound of hundreds of aluminum cans filling the silent house.) She has since retired these cans into their boxes, and has a Mountain Dew Jenga Tower that almost touches the ceiling.

You think I'm kidding?

Told you!

In addition to her Mountain Dew addiction, she has an affinity for online games. (Tetris, mainly.) She is the owner of all 13 Purple Moshi Plums (two of whom have been covered in The Stuffed Animal Biographies.) She currently keeps several at school with her, and the rest at home in a net.

And lastly, although the Mountain Dew Girl is a single girl, she has made clear two very specific notions regarding her future husband:

1.) He must not be Italian.
2.) He must not buy an engagement ring from Jared's.

Why these two things? Well, she absolutely hates pasta, and she hates the Jared's ring commercials!

Maybe the Ocean Needed to Sea?

2009-09-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

Last month, Random Knowledge Boy and I took a weekend vacation to the beach to visit some of his relatives. During the visit, of coruse, we went to the beach. Our first beach outing was tons of fun, and included walking along the beach (which was a mere 5 minute walk from his relatives' house!), collecting pieces of sand dollars (we think we collected about $3.50 worth) and swimming around in the wonderfully refreshing ocean water. (Fortunately no sharks got us!)

The next day, we decided to go to the beach again. Since we had been out and about that day, we decided to go to the public beach that was closer to where we were at the time. Now, the public beach was a little more crowded, a little more dirty, and oddly enough, the ocean was a little more rough. But Random Knowledge Boy and I didn't mind! It was the beach, after all. And a little bit of rough waves never hurt anyone, right?

Wrong!

After I was knocked completely over by a couple waves, and Random Knowledge Boy's swim trunks were momentarily pulled down by a rough wave, we moved a little further out in hopes that we could avoid the rough waves and just wade around a bit. This was fine for all of five minutes, after which a humongous wave crashed down on top of us, taking Random Knowledge Boy's glasses right off!

And in that split second that we were not able to locate the glasses in the water below us, the ocean sucked the tide back out and then hit us with another wave. We both quickly tried to get out of the water (I fell quite a few times trying to get my balance!), and then climbed back onto the beach.

We sat in our little beach chairs, covered in gravel and sand from being knocked down so many times, staring back at the ocean. What was there to say? The ocean had just confiscated a pair of expensive, essential eyewear. Needless to say, that put a damper on the overall mood. (Fortunately, Random Knowledge Boy had packed a pair of contact lenses. There's no telling how dampened the mood would have gotten if I were going to have to drive all the way back to our home city.)

After a few minutes of silence, staring at the ocean, Random Knowledge Boy spoke up.

"I guess the ocean said yes."*

"Yes, it did. Even though we said no!"

*Referencing YuGiOh! The Abridged Series. :) Pretty funny stuff!

The Life of a College Student

2009-09-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

This was a post I'd written up sometime in the middle of last semester. I'm not sure why I didn't post it at the time, but I figured it's still as relevant (and probably more amusing now that I'm out of those classes) now as it was then.

My Day

8:45AM - Alarm goes off. Hit the snooze button.

9:10AM - I wake up, throw my clothes on, and go to Communication class.

9:30AM - I get a 60 on a pop quiz. (And lament the fact that I changed one of my answers from the correct one to an incorrect one.)

9:40-10:45AM - Play Super Mario 64 DS. (And listen to communications lecture.)

10:50AM - Stand in line for Chick-Fil-A.

11:00AM - Talk to group project member who has not finished his part of the project that is due at 3:30PM.

11:10AM - Ignore chicken sandwhich and instead start trying to do the part of the project that is not done, and put together the final version of the whole project.

12:30PM - Skip database class to work on project.

1:30PM - Group member finishes his part of the project, so now we have two versions of the same thing.

1:35PM - Finally remember I can register for classes, and hurry to do so.

2:00PM - Skip Japanese class since I'd spent the time I should have been studying kanji working on a group project.

3:10PM - Go stand in line at the financial aid office.

3:40PM - Get to class late. Half of my group (including the procrastinator member) do not show up.

3:50-4:45PM - Play Super Mario 64 DS. (And listen to lecture.)

5:00PM - Drive home to get my mail.

5:30PM - Try to find my mail under the rest of my parents, grandparents, and who knows who else's mail on the dining room table.

6:00PM - Pick up Mountain Dew Girl and head to Random Knowledge Boy's place.

7:00PM - After establishing that Random Knowledge Boy's apartment is an "old people" apartment, we head off to Wendy's. Random Knowledge Boy is hopped up on generic brand Vicodin for his broken rib. (That's a story for another post!)

7:55PM - Go to the movie theater to see Watchmen.

11:30PM - Drop off Random Knowledge Boy, and head back to campus.

12:20PM - Drop off Mountain Dew Girl, and go back to my apartment. Set my alarm, crash in bed, and fall asleep.

Kids, Kids, Kids.

2009-09-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

So I do apologize for my lack of entries over the summer.

It wasn't for lack of ideas so much as it was lack of motivation, and lack of time. Over the summer I occupied myself with work, Tae Kwon Do, and selling Pokemon toys on the Internet. Good times, good times.

Also, I still find myself at a bit of a loss as to who the intended audience is for my blog. I tell stories that involve my friends, and while their names are changed, if they were to read through it would be quite obvious to them who is who. But because these are stories that I would tell any other friend of mine with the anonymous, "Oh, my friend so-and-so once did this or that," I feel that they are okay to write about. That said, my friends and people I know aren't the target audience. I really feel that the blog's anonymous nature lends itself well to being read by strangers on the Internet. Random readers and commentors, who might get a chuckle out of the sometimes interesting, sometimes not, events in the lives of myself and my friends.

That being said, I don't have a built-in audience, which makes finding these readers somewhat challenging.

But in any event, Little Scarf Girl has returned to tell her [hopefully] witty tales and inspire some smiles.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

On Relationships

Kid: Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: Yes...
Kid: Does Mountain Dew Girl have a boyfriend?
Me: No, she doesn't.
Kid: Well that's good! Cause what if you both had boyfriends, and they both wanted to move in with you?
Me: ....what?

Popcorn List

2009-06-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have seen a movie a week since the start of May! I figured I should give some sort of review for four of the bigger films that have been released so far this summer. Spoiler-free!

X-men Origins: Wolverine: Let me start off by saying I am a huge X-men fan. The first two movies are among my favorites, and X-men: Evolution remains one of my favorite cartoon shows. You all know the story behind the third X-men movie, but even given the fond memory of its viewing, I will never watch that movie again. I dearly hoped that Wolverine would be a chance for the series to redeem itself, and while it wasn't a bad movie, I can't really say that it did much for me. Really, my overall feeling was, "I didn't mind it." I really had no strong feelings one way or another. It was just "okay," and for being such a big fan of the first two movies, that was a bit of a disappointment. If you like Wolverine, Sabertooth, or flashy fight scenes, then by all means, check it out. If not, I think it's only really worth one viewing, even for fans, and not necessarily in the theaters. (And this is coming from someone who has watched the first two movies more times than she can remember!)

Star Trek: My Trek knowledge is limited to exposure to a handful of Next Generation and Enterprise episodes, and one movie. Therefore, having no knowledge of the original series, I watched the movie as a standalone. It was a very fun sci-fi action movie. I had Random Knowledge Boy whispering to me explaining the in-jokes, so I'm sure there were plenty of goodies for the fans, as well as the newbies. I recommend it if you like adventure movies or sci-fi movies of any sort. Similar to a super hero movie, but without super powers. (Although there are some slick fighting sequences.)

Terminator Salvation: I'm not the world's biggest Terminator fan. In fact, the only reason I watched Terminator and T2 is because Guitar Player Boy forced me to. I have only seen parts of T3. Therefore, what drew me to this movie was the fact that it did not look like a typical Terminator flick. And it isn't. It plays out a lot more like a action movie taking place in a futuristic war zone. The underlying Terminator theme is there, but it isn't so much about one super powerful machine trying to kill one person as it is about the war as a whole. I recommend it for any Terminator fans, or anyone who likes gritty action films. There's next to no humor, but the fight scenes are cool, and the robots are creepy.

Up: It's a Disney/Pixar film, and there's a talking dog who is distracted by squirrels. That's enough to go see it right there, but really, it's a great film. It made me laugh, it made me cry. (But I laughed a lot more than I cried, I promise!) It made me go "Aww!" In short, it was wonderful. I recommend it for anyone, but it carries a tissue warning!

Why it's Important to Keep Tissues in Your Purse

2009-06-01T08:39:00.001-07:00

I am a sensitive person. That's not a stretch by any means: certain things can make me cry like no other. Usually things associated with death and eternity are the real zingers. I remember crying when I was a little kid at an episode of Two Stupid Dogs because the dogs thought they were going to have their heads stuck in a hole in the fence forever. (No need to mention the fact that they really weren't stuck, but anyway...)

Random Knowledge Boy and I went to go see the new Disney/Pixar movie Up. I love Pixar movies. I feel like they always bring a really good mix of story, heart, humor, and good animation to the theater that you rarely see in other animated flicks. (Honestly, try to compare movies like Wall-E and The Incredibles to movies like Home on the Range and Shark Tale. It can't be done.) But this particular movie, I was a little wary of. The movie premise is simple: grouchy old man ties thousands of balloons to his house so he can fly to South America, and an 8-year old boyscout accidentally is taken along.

I had read a sneak-peak of the plot a long time ago, involving a sequence in the beginning of the movie detailing the old man's life from childhood, marrying his sweetheart, their life together, the fact that they were unable to have kids, their dream to save up for a trip to South America, and how she dies just before they were able to achieve their dream.

I almost cried right there. Sure, I was only reading a summary on a computer screen, but somewhere in that summary of life and the pursuit of dreams hit me right where I feel the most vulnerable. And the fact that I almost got choked up reading the summary made me certain that I was going to be a mess when I actually saw the movie.

And sure enough, 3D-glasses and all, I was sitting in the movie only 10 minutes in with tears streaming down my face.

The rest of the movie was very cute and funny. The talking dog Dug had some of the cutest, funniest lines ever, and the bird Kevin was hilarious in her gestures and sounds. The little boy Russell was the cutest little thing when he was whining and complaining about being too tired to go on, and flopping down in the dirt only to be dragged along behind the old man.

But then the movie hit me again with a second montage in which the old man looks through his wife's adventure book. And he realizes that to her, everyday life with him was the adventure. And her little note at the end, "Thanks for the adventure! Now go have a new one," reduced me to tears once again.

But why?

It's because it hits so close to where we all are in life. Wading through life, keeping our dreams close to us. In the end, what is the real destination? Heaven, of course. So our lives on Earth really are about the journey together. And when you realize that everyday life is enjoyable and fun, and full of excitement, it is so much easier to be happy.

But the movie was also a reminder of how easily things that we love can be taken away. Life is so fragile that nothing should be taken for granted. And you just hope that you'll be able to look back on your life one day as an old person and think, "I had a great time."

I hope I'll be able to accomplish all of my dreams in my life. To live and enjoy life, to travel, to be published, to raise a family, to enjoy all the little ins and outs of life that only happen once.

I was still tearing up on my way out of the movie. Random Knowledge Boy handed me his hankerchief that he'd brought along just in case (for me, of course!) which I promptly used to dry my eyes.

And then, in the most comforting way possible, he said, "Don't worry: I promise that if we're going to take a trip to South America, we'll do it before you have a heart attack and die."

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round...

2009-06-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

My phone decided to take a trip two weeks ago. It has yet to return.

I usually keep my phone in my jacket pocket. It's less obtrusive than keeping it in my pants pocket, but still readily accessible if I need to check the time. I remembered pulling my phone out of my pocket just before boarding the bus to go downtown for work. I stuffed it back in, and got on the bus. Just minutes after exiting the bus and watching it drive off down the street uptown, I felt my pocket and realized with great dismay that it was empty.

Given that information, it would seem that I had left my phone on the bus.

You don't realize how entirely dependent you are on your cell phone until you lose it. During the time I was without a phone, I had no idea what time it was, almost got lost and had no way to call someone for directions, and had to rely on the house phone for any calls that needed to be made. Since I only know a handful of numbers by heart, this meant my calling base was rather limited.

Immediately after losing it, I tried calling my cell a few times to see if perhaps it would get someone's attention, but I realized that I had left it on silent mode since I had been going to work that morning. No luck there. By the evening, calling my phone would simply transfer me to voicemail, meaning that someone had most-likely found and turned off the phone.

I decided I would try the transportation center downtown the next day to see if my phone had been turned into the lost and found. The first visit down to the bus hub provided me with nothing; the woman behind the glass window simply told me she had never seen a phone like mine, without evening bothering to check, and that I should come back later in the day. I walked all the way back to my building empty-handed. Around 4:45 that afternoon, I went back. This time the woman at the desk actually looked through the drawer of phones, but my wayward little phone was still MIA.

At this point, I had given up on actually finding my phone. Most probably someone found it and kept it. (Not that it would do them any good, since we blocked my number at the time.) With a heavy heart and an aching wallet, I went out to Best Buy to pick out a replacement for my trust phone. After browsing the not-so-appetizing selection of phones, it seemed there was no way out of forking over $200 for a new phone.

I still had a brand new SIM card from my phone upgrade, so I didn't need to worry about getting a new one of those. This handy little fact came in very useful when I was pointed to a selection of "pay as you go" phones that ran as cheap as $29. Apparently by using your SIM card, you could put one of those phones on your plan and use it just as you always had. Success! I ended up getting a $59 phone, and paid out the $10 for insurance. (Seeing as how this was my second phone mishap in a year, I figured I may as well go for it.) And since I've only had the little guy for a week and I've already dropped him in a mud puddle, I think the insurance may pay for itself.

So now I have a shiny little blue phone to replace my shiny little purple phone. Where my old phone is, we will never know. One thing for certain has been learned from this experience: never let your cell phone ride without you.

Also, be very wary of buses. Somehow one of my umbrellas has disappeared between my house and work, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the bus may have been responsible yet again.

The Joy of Ebay

2009-05-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

I will admit, I have become something of an Ebay addict. Not for everything on the website; I don't just randomly look for junk that other people are wanting to get rid of. No, my vice is none other than stuffed animals.

Two particular breeds of stuffed animals, to be more specific: Care Bears and Pokemon. (Yes, I really am 21 years old.) I have a weakness for all things cute, but in particular, these little bears and little battling creatures have captured my heart. (And my wallet.) Although I do have a fair share of other stuffed creatures adorning my bed, closet, shelves, and ceilings. (Many of whom will be featured in "The Stuffed Animal Biographies.") Mountain Dew Girl only adds to the chaos with all of her Plums.

In any event, I have been learning the tricks and trade of the bidding world while searching out my stuffed treasures. Here are some of the things that you should always keep in mind while shopping on Ebay:

1.) To bid, or not to bid? Sometimes when an auction has many days left, it's hard to tell what your best course of action is. Do you place your maximum bid and hopefully scare off all of the other bidders? Or do you let the auction sit and come in at the last minute? I've found that it's better to place at least SOME bid, because otherwise the seller can take their listing down. (I lost a giant Bright Heart Raccoon that way.)

2.) The Title is Everything. If you use the same search as everyone else, you'll find the same auctions everyone else is finding and bidding on. To avoid bidding wars, it is helpful to look for misspelled titles, or titles that conviniently forget a very key word. For example, I managed to find a very cheap Grumpy Bear plush due to the fact that seller called him "The Raindrop Bear" instead of by his proper name. Also, I found a wonderfully rare Pokemon on a Japanese auction site that no one else had even looked at since most people were searching for "Chikorita" and not "Chokorita." (I think I will call this little creature "Cho" when she arrives.)

3.) It's Not Over Until it's Over. Don't think you're safe just because the auction only has a few minutes to go, with no rival bidders in sight. I've been sniped at one minute, 30 seconds, and even 15 seconds to go! Refreshing the screen often is a key during those last few nailbiting seconds of the auction. The only way to really ensure that you'll get the item of your dreams is to put in a very high bid. (And even then you're not completely safe!)

4.) Don't Forget Shipping. Sure, that used Battlestar Galactica DVD set may only be $5.00, but with $25.00 shipping, suddenly it's looking more economical to just buy it new at the store. (Plus, then you can start watching your sci-fi adventure series right away.) Especially beware when buying overseas. (I thought that the invoice was just showing me the total for my item again when the shipping charge came up!)

In the end, you just want to be that winning bidder. Isn't there something just infinitely satisfying about seeing your username as the winner of a steal of an auction?

But watch yourself: you may find your bank account being sucked dry by Paypal payments to cover your Ebay auction spoils. It's important to find a balance, and know your limits. Ebay wins also feel a little empty since you don't get the item right away. It's important to remember what you've purchased already when you feel that itch to buy something while you're out shopping at Target.

If you keep these tidbits in mind while you're out searching the Ebay ocean for something that tickles your fancy, I guarentee you that you'll be able to make better decisions about your bids and buys. And maybe, it will leave you one step ahead of all the other bidders.

Down by the Creek

2009-05-14T06:34:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had one of those moments where you suddenly ask yourself, "How the heck did I end up in this situation?" Usually this thought process is accompanied by you suddenly realizing that you are doing something that you never thought you would, and are generally not too happy about it. I had this insightful little thought a few weeks ago...while I was standing barefoot on a bunch of sharp sticks in the middle of the woods of my college campus.

I'm sure you're all now wondering, "How did Little Scarf Girl end up in that predicament?" too. Well, it started on a lovely Saturday afternoon. Mountain Dew Girl and I had already been up since early morning being the busy bees that we are. We'd shown up to support the annual all-girl's chess tournament, performed a lackluster Tae Kwon Do demonstration for a kids-day event, and eaten a rather tasty lunch at CiCi's Pizza. I had gone back to apartment for some relaxation when I got a phone call from none other than Mountain Dew Girl.

"You want to come to the creek with me and Bee Cool Boy?"

What I thought she meant by that, I am still not quite sure. Maybe I assumed we would be dipping our feet in the water, and exploring the areas around the marshy creek on campus. Maybe I thought we'd be playing frisbee. Who knows? At any rate, I enthusiastically replied, "Sure!" and promptly got ready to go.

A few minutes later, MDG and BCB were outside my apartment, waiting for me. MDG was wearing short-shorts, and BCB was toting a Vitamin water and a frisbee. It looked like we were heading to the park! What fun. The weather was so pleasant as we walked past the school buildings and over the bridge to the field.

As we approached the creek, which was surrounded by trees and vines, I suddenly realized that we weren't going to be picnicing in the park.

"Okay, we'll cross here!" Bee Cool Boy declared, and took off his shoes, and waded into the muddy creek.

Mountain Dew Girl followed.

I blinked.

"Er, I think I'll leave my shoes on!" I declared as I started down the muddy slope into the creek.

Let us pause the story here for a moment to describe what I was wearing:

* Jeans
* [Borrowed] flip-flops
* Onigiri-shaped earrings
* A cute new t-shirt

None of these things were very compatible with wading into the creek water, which had a somewhat strong current. My flip flops came off and started flowing away with the current, and I had to scramble to retrieve them. BCB and MDG laughed at my lack of creek knowledge.

From here, we continued to wade up the stream. We stashed our shoes and belongings up on a manhole that was in the middle of the woods, and then continued, barefoot, wading down the creek. The water level got higher and higher as we went down, and the soft sand on the floor caused our feet to sink. The sand wasn't even as bad as the sharp rocks that kept jabbing our feet as we walked! Not to mention, the water temperature was extremely cold and numbing. Moving slowly with my jeans rolled up to my thighs, I was not having much fun. (The other two? Having a blast!)

Finally when the water got thigh-deep, we decided it would be best to climb over the muddy wall of the ravine holding onto the grass above for support. This brilliant idea resulted in my grass tufts (not Bee Cool Boy's!) being ripped out of the earth under my weight and sending me sliding down a muddy slope back into the water. I think any "fun" I was having had officially drowned at that point.

I was more than ready to turn back, but Mountain Dew Girl insisted on seeing the "waterfall," or the source of the current and where the creek originated. The creek itself had become far too deep to wade through, so we headed up on land and continued our quest through the woods.

Barefoot.

It was after a few minutes of sharp sticks jabbing at the pads of my feet that I called out to the others to keep going without me, and that I'd just wait for them. Mountain Dew Girl and Bee Cool Boy were more than happy to oblige. (I suspect they were sick of hearing me complain about the harsh conditions.) I could hear them off in the distance, although, they were obscured by trees, so I never actually saw this supposed waterfall. Instead, I was standing on a bunch of sticks, barefoot, surrounded by plants of questionable nature (I'm almost positive that I got poison-something on my ankles from this outing) and wondering why in the heck I ever agreed to go on such a trip.

Fortunately, we made it back in one piece. I took off shortly after we reached the field again, completely muddy, with poison-something covering my ankles and a splinter in my foot. And wouldn't luck have it that my roommate was using the shower when I returned to my apartment?

At any rate, the next time I get a call inviting me out on a seemingly fun and innocent outing, I have only to remember the feeling of standing alone in the woods with no shoes to remind myself of the consequences of saying "Sure!" without getting all of the facts first!

The Stuffed Animal Biographies: Plum Plum

2009-04-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

Another installment in "The Stuffed Animal Biographies" takes us to the younger brother of the moshi monkey featured in our last installment, Plumpy. Plumpy's younger and oftentimes more adventurous brother's name is Plum Plum.

Plum Plum originally came to live with us as a sort of "back-up" monkey in case something terrible ever happened to Plumpy. (I think the family was concerned that he might develop cancer from his chain smoking, although, Plum Plum's arrival also marked the end of Plumpy's depression.) Mountain Dew Girl was so fond of Plumpy that it was feared that if he were to tragically be lost, she would be beyond consolable. However, this tactic didn't work so well once Plumpy and Mountain Dew Girl discovered Plum Plum. The two of them managed to convince our mother that keeping Plum Plum confined to a box, only to be let out if Plumpy should die, was cruel. So Plum Plum came to live with Plumpy and Mountain Dew Girl.

Plum Plum is known for his very loud, often-times obnoxiously squeaky voice. He used to be extremely sensitve, and would often start to cry with very little reason. (Especially if someone asked him, however politely, not to speak so loudly.) He, too, enjoys cigrarettes, like his brother.

Plum Plum differs greatly from Plumpy in the respect that Plum Plum enjoys going out and visiting new places and meeting new people, while the latter would prefer a bowl of Chex Mix and to stay at home. Plum Plum became a bit of a "Flat Stanley," in that he went everywhere and had his picture taken with everyone from the guy selling popcorn at the movie theater to the priests at the local Catholic church, and everyone in between.

Plum Plum had a brief relationship with a friend of ours, Pretty Penguin Girl. The two started out quite steamy, but a scandelous image of Plum Plum caught in the middle a kiss between myself and Random Knowledge Boy caused a bit of a stir with Pretty Penguin Girl. She broke up with him shortly after the image made its rounds on Myspace. Plum Plum continually tried to win back Pretty Penguin Girl's affections, but to no avail. She remained disgusted with him, despite his finest efforts.

Plum Plum has filled the void in his life with other things, however, his favorite being traveling. He has dabbled a bit into martial arts, and has done two "music" videos, both of which feature hismelf and his brother Plumpy. His videos were not well-received, however, as critics panned them for their brevity and use of tabacco. This did not discourage the Plum, however, and he continues to show great interest in acting and videos. Below is one of Plum Plum's first videos.

And that's all for this issue of "The Stuffed Animal Biographies." Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in next time for another look into the life of a stuffed animal.

Kids Say More Funny Things

2009-04-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Another priceless comment from my students in martial arts class.

On Medicine

Kid 1: You know, compound fractures don't have to break the skin.
Kid 2: But they sure do break your bone!

Mr. Model Boy vs. The College: Round 2

2009-03-29T21:48:00.001-07:00

When something bad happens to you, you often look for some cause to blame for your misfortune. For instance, when you get sick late at night, you often blame the last thing you had to eat as being the cause. "Oh, I had tuna fish for dinner, so it must have made me throw up." From then on, tuna fish becomes associated in your mind as being connected with the memory of throwing up that night, whether or not it was an isolated incident, or even the tuna fish's fault in the first place. (Maybe you had come down with the flu, and the tuna fish was just an innocent bystander who happened to get thrown in to the mix.)

Ever since Mr. Model Boy hurt his back while training at the college, he had not come back for my weekly class. We joked that it was because he got hurt there and didn't want to go back for fear of getting hurt again, although, this wasn't really the truth. His work schedule had changed and he just hadn't gotten a chance to come back.

Recently, myself, Mountain Dew Girl, Martial Arts Guy, Mr. Model Boy, and two other black belts in our division had been doing a lot of training as a group for a demonstration. We decided to meet on the college campus to practice for this demo one Tuesday evening. This was the first time Mr. Model Boy had been back to the campus since the incident, but everything seemed to be going smoothly. We had our mats to protect us from any falls, and we had a great area to train in.

But on the first run-through of the demo routine, however, Martial Arts Guy took Mr. Model Boy down for a throw, and Mr. Model Boy landed on his shoulder the wrong way. At first he seemed only pained a little bit, but then as we started trying to go through the routine a second time, it became apparent that he had hurt himself. Upon investigation, he found that his shoulder didn't look quite right, and after a visit to the doctor, discovered that he had separated his shoulder.

This wasn't so good for the routine, which was to be performed in less than a week. We hurriedly rewrote the script to cover the parts Mr. Model Boy could no longer perform. The one part that he still played involved his using a cane to fight against and eventually beat Martial Arts Guy. Performed with one arm in a sling, this actually turned out to be a pretty amusing scene in the demo.

But it seemed that yet again, the college had defeated Mr. Model Boy. (To add insult to injury, he ended up with a parking ticket that night!)

So Mr. Model Boy is convinced that the campus has it out for him, and refuses to return. But is Mr. Model Boy unfairly blaming the college for his misfortunes, much like the tuna fish was blamed for making us sick?

The world may never know...

Kids Say the Funniest Things

2009-03-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

My students are generally a lot of fun. Most of them enjoy the martial arts, and enjoy learning and practicing. Some of them, however, are either too young to really care much, or just not into it at all. Either way, both sets of students sometimes say the most ridiculous and often times funny things. (Bear in mind, the oldest kid I teach is 14. Most are between 7-12.) A few favorites are:

Devoted Student

"Martial Arts Guy should open up a dojo that's like a boarding school! We should all just live there and do martial arts all the time."

"I want to be in a tournament! It sounds easy."

Memorization Techniques

"It's like a dog peeing!" *on trying to think of a good way to remember leg positioning for a side kick.

"It's like you're taking a ninja star and you're sliding it down your arm at someone!" *on how to do a outside chop*

On Politics

Kid 1: "Is the Grandmaster from North or South Korea?"
Kid 2: "Probably South, because you can't get out of North Korea."

Concern for the Teacher

"Do you get paid?"

"I heard you yelling at the other class!"

Random

"Why do beavers run so fast?"

"Cold water is bad for you because it takes longer to catch up to your body temperature."

Kid 1: "He put on too much deoderant!"
Kid 2: "Yeah, but I smell goooood!"

And although sometimes it can be a tough job keeping a bunch of kids in line and actually getting them to learn, all things considered, it's a very rewarding experience. (And their comments are sometimes just downright amusing.)

Wi-Fi? Why me?

2009-03-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

I love video games, although, I wouldn't classify myself as a hard-core gamer, even though I have plenty of systems. (I still have yet to complete Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.) However, I am pretty addicted to my newest handheld device, the Nintendo DS.

I bought the DS about a year ago in order to play Pokemon Diamond. I've since bought a few other games for it, and now it goes almost everyone I do. (Especially class.) My most recent purchase was the next installment in the Pokemon franchise, Pokemon Platinum.

Now if you have never played a Pokemon game, the simplest way to describe it would be to say it is a role playing game in which you take on the role of a kid who travels around collecting and battling Pokemon. There is a storyline weaved in the background, but that is the basic tried and true gameplay setup of Pokemon games since the original Red and Blue. You are given a starting Pokemon, and use it to battle and capture others.

Since I'm a veteran of quite a few Pokemon games, I really had hoped to play this new game with a team of Pokemon of my choosing. I had all the baby Pokemon ready to trade on my Diamond game, when I realized that without a second DS, I couldn't trade anything. (Both games have to be on at the same time to trade.)

I tried to think of a solution to this predicament. The first thing that came to me was simple: ask someone online to breed up a batch of Pokemon for me and trade them to me via the Wi-Fi connection. I found a couple of generous souls who were willing to help me out, and so all that was left to do was to find a Wi-Fi spot. Being on a campus, there were several. So I made my way over to the library so I could pick up their Wi-Fi signal, and communicate with these other Pokemon trainers via the library computers.

Unfortunately, that plan went awry. My little DS wouldn't pick up their Wi-Fi signal. I did some research and found out what the Wi-Fi antennae looked like, and managed to track them down. I'm sure many people gave me odd looks as I wandered down the corridors of the library scouring the ceiling for the elusive white antennae, DS in hand. But even as I stood directly underneath one of the antennae, the signal was still not being received by my game system.

Having given up on the school system (I believe it was password protected), I planned my next move: Mountain Dew Girl and I would go to Panera Bread with her laptop and my DS. (They had free Wi-Fi!) I could talk with the trainers via the laptop, and then we could set up to trade with our DS games.

However, this plan, too, did not fare so well in the long run. I was able to connect to Panera's Wi-Fi connection, but the signal was far too weak to maintain any sort of connection. Not to mention, after about an hour of sitting in the booth with two cups of condensation-covered lemonades, only one person had bothered to reply to my posts for assistance. When the connection didn't even work, we decided to call it a day.

But then I remembered that Mountain Dew Girl's roommate had a DS. I realized I could just use her DS to play both of my games at that same time and trade the critters to myself. And wouldn't you know, that worked perfectly? (And it only took about 15 minutes, too!)

And as I sat in bed that night, finally playing my video game with the coveted Pokemon, I wondered why I hadn't just thought of that earlier instead of messing around for several hours with ridiculous Wi-Fi connections?

*sigh*

Why me, indeed...

The Stuffed Animal Biographies: Plumpy

2009-03-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

I am very much a kid at heart. If most of the people who think I'm 12 or 14 years old ever saw my bedroom, they would probably never believe my real age. This is mainly due to the fact that I am a huge stuffed animal lover and collector. I've been collecting stuffties since I was a kid, and have kept them all. From my first favorite, little McGruff the crime dog plush, to my more recent giant panda plush that lays at the end of my bed, I love all the cute and cuddly stuffed animals that I own. My love of writing and stories compelled me to create personalities and back-stories for almost all of my plushy toys. Most of them even have a unique "voice" that is used whenever we personify the plush.

Fortunately I am not alone, as Mountain Dew Girl is also an avid (though not quite as diverse) collector of plush toys. Her main collection is of monkeys, and more specifically, a certain kind of purple monkey, who will be introduced in this entry.

"The Stuffed Animal Biographies" is going to be a new segment of the blog. I'll still be writing my normal, slice-of-life stuff, but in addition, there will be occasional posts about the "life" of a stuffed animal. Hence, a mini biography. Without further ado, allow me to introduce the original purple monkey of Mountain Dew Girl's bunch, Plumpy.

Plumpy came to live with us in December of 2004. His full name is Goku Plumpy Squishie I, although he rarely uses his long name. Most of his friends and family just call him "Plumpy," although he has been known to respond to "Plumps," as well. Plumpy's personaliy has always been sarcastic, and a bit apathetic. His catch-phrase, "Aah, phooey!" accompanied by a swing of his paw is his favorite response to anything that he finds silly or displeasing.

Plumpy is also extremely manipulative. He has been known to beg repeatedly with an unbearably cute pleading gesture with his paws. (The eyes get you every time!) It is very hard to say no to Plumpy's begging. For a few months back in 2005, Plumpy went through a brief bout of depression. If he were ever turned down or disappointed, he would sadly wander over to the paper shreader and threaten to throw himself in. Fortunately, this depression passed, and he was back to his typical cheerfully apathetic self in no time.

Over the years, Plumpy has lost a bit of weight and become somewhat worn in appearance. This may be due to the fact that he is a chain smoker, or perhaps the stress of having so many family members competing for the affections of Mountain Dew Girl. But worn or no, Plumpy's personality remains as sparky as it ever was. Ever the lazy monkey, Plumpy's favorite pastimes include sleeping, playing on the computer, eating Chex Mix, and watching TV. He currently resides on Mountain Dew Girl's bed at home. (He didn't like dorm life so much, and enjoys having free reign of the room while she is away.)

And that's it on Plumpy. Until next time, this has been "The Stuffed Animal Biographies."

Stampede in the Theater

2009-03-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Going to the movie theater can be a very fun experience. The dark theater, the big seats, popcorn and soda, and the thrill of watching a movie on the big screen are just some of the reasons that this outing is generally a grand old time. Of course, there are some factors that occasionally just might put a dent in your overall movie-going experience. These include, but are not limited to:

1.) Bad Movie

If you're seeing a sub-par movie, this will without a doubt put a bit of a damper on the fun factor, particularly if you are seeing the movie by yourself. (But then, that's no fun to begin with!)

2.) Bad Seating

Whether you are up in the front row where you have to crane your neck, in the back corner where you can't make out any onscreen words, in front of a bunch of kids who kick your chair, or behind a very tall individual, bad seating can ruin a movie experience. Don't forget you could always end up with a chair that breaks when you sit down, like Mountain Dew Girl did during a screening [that we were forced to attend] of "The Lizzie McGuire Movie."

Personally, I like to sit right in the middle of the theater, but further back, just to be on the safe side. (Random Knowledge Boy likes the edge in case he has to use the bathroom during the film.)

3.) Bad Audience

A bad audience can wreck even the best movie. If you're trying to focus on the adventurous plot, and all around you people are laughing at innappriate moments, shouting out random stuff, and throwing food around, it becomes very hard to get lost in the story. (And equally difficult to resist the urge to turn around and yell furiously at the inconsiderate people who would rather chat that watch the movie they paid to see.) The infamous quote, "Wha...? Sweeeeeet!" that is often remembered in my house comes from a noisy movie-going audience during a screening of "The Mummy Returns" back in 2001. (My mom also got hit in the hit with a hard candy during this particular outing.)

4.) Bad Presentation

Sometimes the problem lies with the movie theater itself. For instance, the movie may start with no sound, the sound may be deafeningly loud, the curtain may be lowered over a small portion of the screen, obscuring that section from view, or the picture may not be centered properly. These are all very distracting, and if you can't help but notice that the edge of your movie is not lined up with the edge of the screen, you're not going to be able to enjoy the film.

Once, while viewing "The Day the Earth Stood Still," the sound went out for the trailer of the new "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie, and that trailer only. The sound came back as soon as the trailer was over. Nevermind that was the trailer we had purposely come to see the movie for. (Mountain Dew Girl was highly miffed at that.)

But all of these factors aside, the hands-down weirdest thing that has ever happened to me during a movie-going experience was when Random Knowledge Boy and I went to see "Apocalypto." We went to see the movie at a theater that was located inside one of the bigger malls in our city. We were joined by two of Random Knowledge Boy's friends, Cigar Smoker Guy, and Water Drinker Boy.

I really didn't know anything about the movie, and frankly, could have done without seeing it. (Tiger ripping someone's face off? Hearts being torn out of bodies? Decapitation? No thanks...) I guess the boys liked it, though.

At any rate, the four of us were walking out of the theater and back toward the main mall area so we could get back to where we had parked. As we were walking, however, we suddenly heard the sound of running across the concrete floor. We looked up to see about a hundred people running full-speed toward us.

We immediately stopped and stepped aside to avoid being trampled by the people who seemed very eager to get away from the main mall area. (Being the small person I am, I was an easy target for trampling. Fortunately, I had three guys in tow, so I didn't have to worry about protection. I think Random Knowledge Boy was a bit jealous that Cigar Smoker Guy had protectively grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him first!)

The four of us quickly snuck out the back door of the movie theater and walked around front to where the cars were. We were not about to walk toward whatever had just made all of those people run away! When we got around front, we saw that there were security vehicles, lights flashing, parked up near the enterance to the mall. Whatever had made those people run away had also warranted security.

We checked the news for information the next day, but we never found out what had happened. We speculated that it might have been a fight, but we never heard any gunshots or screaming. And usually people crowd around a fist-fight to watch, not run away.

But in any event, out of all the odd and irritating things that have happened while out seeing a movie, nearly getting run down by a frightened herd of people was definitely the strangest thing that has ever happened.

Scapegoat

2009-03-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, I would have considered myself a goody-two-shoes. I was that girl who always did her work on time, got good grades, hardly ever talked, and never got in trouble. So the few times that I was scolded for doing something wrong in school are very memorable to me. One of the most memorable of these is one that even today I feel justified in saying that I did nothing wrong. I was merely a scapegoat for the other students.

It was the end of the day on a Friday afternoon. I was in the 5th grade. For some reason or another, there was going to be a teacher's meeting during school hours involving all of the teachers in the 4th and 5th grades. This meant that there were no teachers or assistants to watch the classes. (This is starting to sound like a great idea already, right?) To fill in this time where there would be no teaching going on, it was decided that all the student would watch a movie, which would be coordinated by several parent volunteers.

End of the day on Friday, no teachers, movie, and 5th graders. This does not sound like a quiet event. Throw some snacks into the mix, and you've got yourself a pretty noisy bunch. The parent volunteers tried to keep everyone quite as bags of popcorn and juice boxes were passed out. But despite the constant, "No talking!" the parents kept shouting, the murmur of 5th grade chatter still filled the room. As bags of popcorn were passed down the rows, everyone kept stating, "Pass it down," to let their fellow students know not to keep the bag for themselves.

I was sitting in my chair on the end of a row, being handed bags of popcorn that I continued to pass to the person next to me. "Pass it down. Pass it down." I continued to say in my not-louder-normal voice. I was so into the monotonous routine that I was startled when a parent suddenly came up to me and tapped me on my shoulder.

"Will you step out into the hallway, please?" she ordered in a very stern, commanding voice.

Being the good girl that I was, it took me a second to react to being called out into the hallway.

"What did I do??" I thought to myself as I slowly made my way out into the hallway.

Outside, there was already one other boy from class who looked as confused as I did standing there. There was also a second boy from class who was holding a large plastic bag full of juice boxes. After a moment or two, the parent emerged from the classroom with a fourth victim. She stood in the hallway (where we could still hear everyone chattering inside the classroom) and berratted us for being too noisy and not following directions by not talking.

It was at this point it occurred to me that the kid with the bag of juice boxes had been passing out drinks for everyone, though, he was now in the hallway being scolded by a random parent.

The parent was yelling at the kid who was passing out the juice boxes for talking.

That sounds like good logic to me.

We were sent back into the room after a moment of scolding, and never actually got in any real trouble. (I doubt our teachers even heard about the incident.) But at the time, I was so shaken up for having been called out that I couldn't even enjoy the movie. (It was about a dragon egg.)

But looking back on this event, I feel like I was just a scapegoat. She wanted to exert her power over the class and make them stop their excited chatter, so she called out a few people who were no more guilty than the others, and made an example out of them. She could have chosen anyone, and I was just unlucky enough to be on the end of a row telling my fellow classmate to pass the popcorn down.

You would think, however, that she would have picked someone other than the kid passing out the drinks, as he was probably more justified for speaking than any other student in the room at the time. And because of that, a bunch of thirsty students who had already received their popcorn had to wait for him to get yelled at for communicating with them before he could finish handing out their juice boxes.

The things I don't miss about being a kid...

I Am Not Your Father!

2009-03-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

Looking several years younger than you actually are isn't always a bad thing. I'm sure when I'm 40 I'll enjoy the fact that people will think I'm 32, or 34. But being mistaken for several years younger than you really are when you're 21 isn't really that great, as has been proven by the posts in several other entries. But perhaps one of the most embarrassing "short" stories was one involving Random Knowledge Boy and myself.

Random Knowledge Boy used to have rather long hair for a guy. It wasn't quite to his shoulders, but it was very full. His longer hair actually made him look older for some reason. (People always used to comment that he looked so much younger when he'd get a haircut .) So given this backstory, we can understand that Random Knowledge Boy looked older than his age because of his hair at the time, and I look younger than my age.

Random Knowledge Boy, his father, and I were all at one of the Tae Kwon Do schools where we were teaching. Random Knowledge Boy taught the class that night, and his father and I participated and helped out. After the class, one of the parents of a new student came over to introduce herself. Random Knowledge Boy and I were talking to her, and Random Knowledge Boy's father was standing a little ways away. During the conversation, the woman suddenly glanced closely at Random Knowledge Boy and I.

"Let me guess: Father/Daughter?" she inquired, gesturing at the two of us.

At first, I thought for sure she was refering to me and Random Knowledge Boy's father. I have occasionally been mistaken for Random Knowledge Boy's younger sister, so this didn't seem like too big a stretch, especially since I had thought the woman already knew that Random Knowledge Boy and his dad were relatated.

But after a moment, it became apparent that she was not refering to his dad, but rather to Random Knowledge Boy himself. He looked reasonably shocked.

"I'm only 22!" he exclaimed.

"And I'm 18," I chimed in.

The woman eyed me as if she didn't believe me.

"Really?!" she inquired. "You like like you're 12!"

At this point Random Knowledge Boy's dad joined the conversation and pointed out again that Random Knowledge Boy was his son. The woman and he proceeded to chat, but she kept coming back to how I surely did not look like I was 18. (RKD was far too embarrassed to mention that I was his girlfriend after being mistaken for my father.) The woman even mentioned my age to a friend of hers, as well!

The kicker was when I was leaving the locker room later that night. I'd taken my hair out of my ponytail since class was over, and was heading upstairs. I ran into either the woman or her friend (I've forgotten which) on the stairs. The woman stated,

"Well, with your hair down you could probably pass for 14."

*sigh* Somehow, considering the fact that I was 18, passing for a 14-year old did not give me much solace.

Of all the "short" stories, this one takes the cake for mistaken age difference. I think Random Knowledge Boy was more put-off about it than I was. Especially when he realized that even if I were a 12-year old, in order for me to realistically be his daughter, he would have to be over 30!

"Guys, I do this all the time!"

2009-03-07T01:10:00.000-08:00

I know quite a few interesting people. Interesting as in, quirky, different, just plain weird, or simply amusing. (Having been a tournament chess player for several years, you tend to run into interesting people rather frequently. But the chess world's quirkiness is a story in and of itself.) But the one interesting person who has done the most amusing things over the course of his lifetime (a whole 15 years!), is my younger brother, Guitar Player Boy.

(Hopefully because this blog is rather anonymous about identities, he won't feel the need to kill me when he discovers I've mentioned any of this.)

Guitar Player Boy did a lot of strange and embarrassing things in his youth. When he was 3 years old he wandered out of the house and was found by our mother walking in circles in the middle of the street. He liked to take refuge under the side table that was in the hallway. He had the misfortune of having his pants literally torn off by the family dog on New Year's day one year.

But it wasn't so much the thing that Guitar Player Boy did as it was the things that he said. (Or says, in some cases!) When he was just a little pre-schooler, he was (and still is) a very sociable person. (He would even make friends with random kids in the McDonald's play place.) But this also meant that he would talk to anyone. About anything that came to mind.

For instance, there was an old Asian man at the grocery store, who happened to have rather bad teeth. Guitar Player Boy sat in the front seat of the cart while our mom was checking out and kept saying, "Look at his teeth!" and gesturing to his own teeth to explain the difference. Fortunately for this case, Guitar Player Boy had a bit of a speech impediment, so he wasn't always completely understandable. The Asian man knew better, though. "Are you making fun of me?" he asked in his accented English.

My mom smiled, said "No, no!" and quickly moved along.

Along the same line, poor pre-school-age Guitar Player Boy was sent to time-out when he tried doing a Darth Vader impersonation for his teacher. Between the obviously less-than-pleasant dialogue of the sith lord and the slightly studdered speech, the teacher reasonably thought that he was talking back to her, and made sure to mention this to our mother.

Another instance would be when Guitar Player Boy and my mom were at the post office. There was a worker there emptying a bin of mail, and Guitar Player Boy casually blurted out, "Are you a child snatcher??" Needless to say, this question did not get a response from the man other than an incredulous glance at my mom, and to quickly finish his job and move on.

And then who could forget the time when we were wandering through a little strip mall that was cutely set up with awnings over each store, and a little cafe where people were eating lunch out on the patio. There was pleasant music playing over the loudspeakers. Guitar Player Boy broke this silence with the infamous exclamation, "What are we, in London or something??"

Guitar Player Boy loved Eyewitness books and videos on nearly any subject, but his favorite was "Eyewitness Shark." He watched this half-hour video so many times that he'd memorized the dialogue (as he had with many other movies and television programs.) He'd spout off direct quotes such as, "The Cookie-Cutter Shark takes cookie-cutter sized chunks out of its prey, and can cut clean through a turtle's shell."

Guitar Player Boy still has a curious way of remembering important events in his life. He does this by recalling what drink he had that day. "That was the tournament when I had that Diet Pepsi." "Oh yeah, I had a Mr. Pibb that day!" "Was that the one where I got that Cheerwine?"

I'll finish up this entry with a more recent Guitar Player Boy moment. A few years back, we were practicing our martial arts with a few others after class one day. Random Knowledge Boy decided to try out some rope techniques that he had been practicing. Guitar Player Boy grabbed a jump rope and declared that he was going to try it as well. When asked whether he knew how to do it, his confident reply was, "Guys, I do this all the time!"

What followed wasn't so much as a rope trick or technique so much as it was three slaps of the jump rope across his thighs. While he was less than pleased with his performance, everyone else definitely found it amusing in its own right.

And although Guitar Player Boy has grown up a lot, and perhaps while it isn't currently the best phrase to describe these embarrassing moments, I do believe it fits for when we were growing up: "I do this all the time!" definitely sums up the embarrassing and memorable moments of Guitar Player Boy.

The Very Bad Road Trip

2009-02-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

Most of the time, I can handle things that go wrong, because usually things just go a little bit wrong. For example:

1.) You get a ticket for rolling through a stop sign on campus at 9PM on a Sunday night. (Okay, I'm a little bitter about that one.)

2.) You have a fender-bender while on your way to help your boyfriend move into his new apartment. (It wasn't my fault!)

3.) You forget your purse at your friends house and don't realize this until you are more than halfway home, almost out of gas, and are looking for your debit card to pay for the fuel. (Mountain Dew Girl bailed me out!)

4.) You purchase tickets for the 12 o'clock showing of a new movie, and don't realize until you're standing out in front of the vacant theater at 11:55PM that the tickets were for 12PM and not 12AM. (This was actually Random Knowledge Boy's mistake. This was almost 2 years ago and he still can't laugh about it!)

These are all examples of things that can definitely put a damper on your day and overall mood. However, based on the examples above, everything works out in the end, and you're only minorly inconvinienced. However, sometimes it seems that everything and anything that can go wrong goes wrong all at once. This was the case on a Sunday night while myself, my boyfriend, Random Knowledge Boy, his brother, Mr. Model Boy, and their roomate, Vitaman, were coming back from a wedding we had attended on the coast.

We had taken the day to hang out on the beach, so we were getting a pretty late start on the ride back home. We followed Random Knowledge Boy's grandfather's directions, which he said were pretty comprehensive. But because this is the very bad road trip, the directions, for some reason, led us to a fork in the road, with no instructions to turn left or right. Our road had simply ended.

This left us with little options other than to turn one way, and try to find a highway that we recognized that could take us back home. We ended up on a creepy back road for a long time, with no cell phone signal. I tried my hand at reading the map, to no avail. Fortunately we found some sort of civilization, and ended up pulling off to a gas station somewhere and the boys figured out where we should go. With our direction reaffirmed, we stopped off at a fast food place to pick up something to eat before we set off on the last leg of our trip.

Shortly after leaving the restaurant, however, we were driving along the highway, when suddenly a loud roaring sound starting filling the air around us. I thought perhaps it was a truck right behind us, but the noise continued even after the truck passed. Random Knowledge Boy pulled off to the side of the road, and after stepping out of the vehicle, we saw that the back tire our Random Knowledge Boy's car had blown out!

Now this certainly put a damper on the mood, seeing as how we were stranded on the side of a busy road with a blown-out tire. The boys set to work to attach the spare, which unfortunately was buried underneath all of our luggage in the truck. So we pulled out all of our bags and suit cases (and suits, from the wedding) and laid them out as best we could on the somewhat marshy ground. Fortunately, we had not pulled off to the side too far, so the ground was solid enough to the change the tire with relative ease. Half and hour later, we packed the blown-out tire in the trunk with the rest of our belongings and went back on our way.

Now Random Knowledge Boy was driving slower than usual, since the spare "doughnut" tire was smaller and he didn't want to stress it. Also, he didn't want his other back tire to blow out. (That never happened, whew!) However, we were just starting to get over the delay from having to change the tire when we saw blue lights flashing in the mirrors. Sure enough, we were being pulled over!

Apparently the registration was expired on Random Knowledge Boy's car. Since he's been driving so slowly, it was very easy for the police officer to notice that fact. Random Knowledge Boy had to go sit in the police car with one officer while he wrote up the citation, while the other officer came to talk to the three of us remaining in the car. We were a little jittery, as demonstrated by Mr. Model Boy.

"Where are you folks coming from?" The officer asked as he shined the flashlight at the boys in the backseat.

"[state]," Mr. Model Boy replied, which was the same state where our city of residence was, where the city of the wedding was, and where we currently were. (In other words, we'd never left the state we were currently in during our travels.)

He quickly corrected himself.

After the ticket was issued, Random Knowledge Boy continued driving us home. No one was in a particularly good mood by the end of the trip, when we reached our home city around 11PM. Vitaman still wanted to "help" me carry in my luggage so he could meet my roommates, but that plan kind of fell by the wayside. We just really couldn't believe the luck. In one single 5-hour road trip, we had:

1.) Gotten completely lost, following directions.
2.) Had a tire blow out.
3.) Gotten a ticket.

Just one of those days?

The Worst Night Ever

2009-02-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

Many people can claim, "That was the worst day ever!" or "I have never felt so sick in my life!" Often times, they don't really mean that it was the worst day of their lives, or that they've never felt sicker. Really, the expression is merely used to describe that they had a miserable experience. However, there are times when one really does mean that it was the worst experience of their lives. Last fall, there was one night that I can safely describe as "the worst night of my life." (Although there is a close second.)

Before I start with the story, however, I am using a new naming scheme for all of the people [characters] in my blog. Just giving a fake real name just doesn't seem to go with the flow of the Little Scarf Girl blog. So, I will be giving everyone a relatively cute or amusing nickname. I'm sure my friends will love that. (Please don't kill me!)

Martial Arts Guy, my martial arts instructor, was going to teach the weekly college class that I usually taught. It was the first time he would be visiting my college club, so I was very excited. Along with him, a few others from our martial arts group would be coming. These included myself, Little Scarf Girl, my sister, Mountain Dew Girl, my boyfriend, Random Knowledge Boy, his brother, Mr. Model Boy, and Vitaman, their roommate. There were several other friends of ours present, as well as many club members. It looked to be a promising workout.

Everyone was stretching out before class on the matted floors. Martial Arts Guy was just about to start class when he noticed that Mr. Model Boy was lying on his back on the ground, not moving. He went to go help him up when it became apparent that Mr. Model Boy could not get up, or move his back at all. Somehow during the stretched, he had injured himself. Random Knowledge Boy helped his brother to the back of the room while Martial Arts Guy started class. I found myself a little bit distracted, and unable to concentrate given the circumstances. Halfway through the class, an ambulance had to be called for Mr. Model Boy!

When class was finally over, our group of friends headed over to the emergency room (which was thankfully right down the road from the college), where Random Knowledge Boy and Mr. Model Boy were in the waiting room. Mr. Model Boy was in a wheelchair, so the rest of us grabbed seats beside him in the chairs. It looked like it was going to be a long wait, so another friend, Lightning Bolt Boy, went to get some food for everyone. Mr. Model Boy was characteristically upbeat about it all, and everyone was laughing and joking to pass the time. Looking back on this, I'm sure the other emergency room patients thought we were very strange.

Around 10:00, after nearly four hours of waiting, Mountain Dew Girl and I left to take Vitaman. (He had gotten a ride with Mr. Model Boy to the college, and obviously he wasn't going to be driving anytime soon.) I got a call from Random Knowledge Boy around 10:30 saying that they had finally been seen, and that Mr. Model Boy was going to be okay.

This was good news. It had been a hectic evening, but everything was going to be just fine.

And then we got a call from our parents saying that our grandparents had been in a car accident. Everyone was okay, but they were sent to the emergency room...at the same hospital we had just been at with Mr. Model Boy!

It was at this point I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry.

I actually did neither one, and proceeded to drive back to the emergency room and wait with my grandparents. My grandfather had broken his shoulder, so they needed to have tests and x-rays done. This lasted from about 11:00 at night to 6:00 in the morning! All night we had to stay awake, waiting in either the tiny examination room, or as I did, out in the hall watching for the nurses in case they had some new information for us. (Such as, "Everything's done, you can go!" This, sadly, did not come in a very timely manner.) This wait was much longer, and full of far less jokes than our wait with all of our friends earlier on.

By the time we got back home, we were exhausted. But thankfully, both my grandparents and Mr. Model Boy were just fine.

Mountain Dew Girl and I sometimes tell of our epic ER wait. It turns out not be a very funny story. But it is a very coincidental story. The kind of coincidence that you hope never happens, or if it does, you hope dearly that it never happens again. But I can safely say that was definitely the worst night of my life.

Fast Food Smiles (And Frowns)

2009-02-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy it when someone does something really nice, or even just very friendly, somewhere where I least expect it. I've noticed that lately that the Chick-Fil-A restaurants around where I live have been extraordinarily friendly to eat-in customers. The past few times I've gone, food has been delivered to our tables, asked if we needed anything else, and even offered refills on our sodas! All with a friendly smile. How's that for a good eating experience?

And just the other day. It was Valentine's day, although, I really didn't expect anything special to be going on. (After all, isn't Valentine's day a holiday that is inclusive to only couples?) But lo and behold, when my sister and I ordered Bo-Berry biscuits at Bojangles that morning, we were treated to a wonderful surprise:

That's right: heart-shaped Bo-Berry biscuits! It was the cutest thing. And it really did put a smile on my face. It's nice to see people do a little extra to bring a bit of cheer to the day.

On the flip-side, sometimes fast food experiences are not all smiles and cheerfulness, particularly when the cashier rings up the order wrong. (Or you somehow end up with the wrong order, even thought it was rung in correctly.) Not to pick on my friend Chick-Fil-A, but in the past, they have had a nasty habit of messing up my "no pickle" Chick-Fil-A sandwich orders. When I say, "Chick-Fil-A sandwich, no pickle," that does not mean that I want:

A.) A sandwich with a pickle on it.
B.) A sandwich with extra pickles on it.
C.) A sandwich with no pickles, but a slice of cheese on it.

or my favorite,

D.) A sandwich that used to have pickles on it.

How do I know that it used to have pickles on it? The tell-tale pickle juice visible and (edible!) on the fillet, and the bits of green pickle pieces that litter the bun. This means that whoever made this order took a sandwich with a pickle, took the bun off, removed the pickle, and then put the bun back on.

I'm just glad I'm not allergic to pickles.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

2009-02-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went into the bank located in the office building where I work to deposit a check for the martial arts classes I'd taught. I handed over the deposit slip and the check itself, and then started watching the television screen behind the teller. After a minute, the teller looks up at me.

"Do you teach martial arts?" she asked, looking slightly skeptical.

It took me a minute to realize it was because she saw my check that she knew I taught classes. I just nodded and replied, "Yeah."

The teller nodded her head, still looking unconvinced.

"You just look too little to be doing stuff like that," she stated as she went back to processing my check.

Too little? And too little to be doing what? Teaching, or martial arts?

I had no reply. The other teller chimed in:

"Well, at least it's good to always look younger than you really are!"

I nodded.

"Exactly," I replied as I took my receipt and left the bank.

I can't remember if I had been wearing my teal jacket or if I had left it up in my cube. I guess not a lot of business folks wear teal jackets. Maybe colorful attire = kid?

...Or maybe it's just me.

What You Really Learn at College

2009-02-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

College students are very typical. Always tired, always busy, and always poor. I can attest to two out of three of those. (I wouldn't call myself "poor" per say.) But even so, there are many tricks to living on campus at college that are essential for getting things done.

1.) Quarters

Quarters are essential to college life. They're useful in vending machines, but they are all that the washers and dryers on campus will take, aside from money on your student card. So a mountain of dimes and nickles won't do you any good for getting your dirty clothes cleaned. This becomes a problem, since you only have so many quarters lying around in the bottom of your purse.

So in order to rectify this problem, I've discovered a short-cut to getting quarters: putting your dimes and nickles into the vending machines in intervals of 25 cents, and then pushing the coin return button. The vending machine will then return your money in the smallest amount of change possible: a quarter. Success!

Now I stand beside the vending machines outside the laundry room feeding in my multitude of dimes and nickles in an attempt to get quarters to do my laundry. Tedious, yes. Silly-looking, yes. But it gets the job done.

However, some vending machine companies have wised-up to this. Certain machines won't accept nickles, or the machine will return exactly the amount of change you put into it. (I was the unfortunate victim of this, when the machine spewed back out my 75 cents worth of dimes and nickles.)

But for the most part, this is the ideal way to turn those worthless dimes and nickles into shiny quarters to clean your clothes.

2.) Home Games and Food

The main source of food (Pizza Hut) for the campus on weekends is located in the same building as the basketball arena. When there is a game, all of the doors are locked except the doors where you would enter with a ticket. This means that even if all you wanted to do was come in, buy some pizza, and leave, you still need to purchase a ticket and go in through the ticket door.

Annoying, right?

But alas, I have been to several games where I've purchased a ticket (albeit free, because I'm a student), walked over to the pizza vendor, gotten my food, and turned around and left. I really could care less about who is playing whom in the game, or how well they are doing. Does this mean my school spirit is lacking? Probably.

3.) The Side Door

The dorms on our campus are set up so that you must swipe your student ID card to get into the building. If you don't live in that building, you only have access during certain times of the day. Since I lived on a branch of the "first" floor that was really located in between the first and second floors, there was an extra door at the end of the hallway that led out into the courtyard. It was closer than the regular doors, and going through would mean avoiding the stairs that led up to our "first floor" room. So it would have been the ideal door for we folks on the "pod" as we called it.

Unfortunately, this door was not set up with the ID locks. In fact, there was no way to open it from the outside. This meant that you could come out the door, have it close behind you, and then not be able to get back in at all. (Very annoying for the smokers, who liked to come in and and out and mingle.) You would have to walk all the way down to the other doors, and then walk back up the steps in the building to get back to your room.

To rectify this problem, people took to shoving a thin piece of cardboard (like that of a side of a cereal box) into the space between the door and the frame. This allowed the door to close, but not lock. This way, people could shove the cardboard in the frame, step outside, and then when they wanted to come back in, the door would still open. However, there were door alarms on every door that would go off it the door was open for more than 30 seconds or so. If this cardboard method was not done properly, the door alarm would go off. In the worst-case scenario, someone would have walked off to the convenience mart and left the cardboard in the door, and walked away before they realized they hadn't done it properly. The alarm would go off and continue to go off until someone went to go shut it.

Usually this individual was so irritated from having to get up and go shut the door that they didn't bother placing the cardboard back in place properly, defeating the entire purpose.

Foolproof? No. But if you could pull it off, it was convenient.

So there you have it. Three tips for college-living. Would anyone else in the world need to know how to properly stop up a door with cardboard, or change out dimes and nickles for a quarter in a vending machine? You never know. I myself have had to use the old vending machine trick at work once, since the feminine product dispenser in the bathroom only took quarters.

Ah, the many useful things you learn at college.

Children and the Children's Menu

2009-01-25T16:32:00.000-08:00

I believe I mentioned on one of my previous posts that I teach martial arts. I myself have been taking classes for over three years, but I've only been teaching for not quite a year. What started off as just a weeknight activity gradually turned into a huge aspect of my life. Not only has it kept me in shape (I can do a split all the way to the ground) but I have met and befriended so many wonderful people that I never would have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. (Including my boyfriend, but that story is long, and shall be saved for another time.)

I started off taking classes in a rather large class with mainly children participating. Also taking the classes with me were my younger brother and sister. Within a couple years, we'd achieved the rank of black belt, and were a part of the small percentage of advanced students in our area. So when the grandmaster of our organization was going to be paying a visit during one of the belt testings, we, along with the other more dedicated and older students, were invited a breakfast with him on the morning of the testing.

It was a nice setup. The breakfast was buffet-style at the hotel across the street from the testing site. Granted, although the three of us were the younger of the group (I believe I was 19 at the time, my sister 17, and our brother 13), aside from my brother, we were by no means children. The waitress leading us to our tables, however, spotted the three of us in the group and inquired, "How many children's menus will you be needing?"

My instructor's fiancee looked over at my brother, and then back at the waitress.

"Well, he's the youngest one here, and he's 13, so I guess we won't be needing any," she replied.

The waitress looked confused, and gestured over at me.

"You mean, the young lady is older than the young man?" she asked, clearly surprised.

I couldn't believe it. It was yet another mistake based on my youthful appearance. In front of the grandmaster, no less! I was extremely embarrassed.

"I'm 19," I spoke up, not wanting to be confused as a little kid, when clearly, I was not.

The waitress looked very surprised, and the rest of the group had a chuckle.

It seemed that even my younger brother had a more grown-up appearance than I. (Granted, he's far taller than I am now. I think at the time he was about the same height, if not just a little bit taller.)

When it comes to teaching, too, parents don't seem to approach me with any questions until after I've put on my gi, or martial arts uniform. After I've donned my black belt, however, they immediately come forward and introduce themselves, or inquire about anything they had been meaning to ask. (I guess there aren't too many teenage-looking girls who are martial arts instructors? Honestly, though, the average age of the students in that particular class is about 9 or 10!)

However, it's easier to gain the respect of my students, who range from 6 years of age, up to adulthood. (But mainly in the 6-14 years range.) While it is more of a challenge to teach younger kids than adults, it does have its own set of rewards. For example, I have one student who has repeatedly expressed her desire that my instructor should start up a martial arts boarding school, "where students would live there all the time, and just study martial arts, and weapons, and train to be warriors! "

It makes me smile every time.

There are, however, a fair share of instances where I do not feel like smiling. Unruly students, students who don't want to be there, and students with no enthusiasm at all, are amongst those that do not encourage my smiles. However, in a small class the other day with an older student two very small boys, their unenthusiastic behavior forced my hand.

I had announced that the older student had passed his belt promotion, and was receiving a new degree. I instructed the two boys to give him a round of applause, as is custom, for his achievement.

The two boys, however, did nothing but stare at the ceiling, or fall on the ground in boredom.

"Or not," I had to laugh as I awarded the older student his degree. "You two are the worst classmates ever." I then informed them.

Needless to say, they didn't seem to care.

Benefits

2009-01-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Now looking like a middle-schooler isn't always bad. There are some cases where my youthful charms can be used to my advantage. (These times do not include: teaching martial arts, staying in the pool during adult swim, or acting as a sponsor stand-in at my brother's Confirmation practice.) However, it is extremely handy when playing the "Guess Your Age" game at our local amusement park.

I saw the little stand as I was strolling through the park with my younger 18-year old sister, my 14-year old brother and his friend, and my sister's 13-year old friend. I spotted the words "Guess Your Age or Weight," and knew that I just had to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. I handed my black purse off to my sister, and promptly went over to the person managing the game.

"I'd like to play," I said cheerfully, handing over the $5 needed to play.

"Would you like me to guess your age, weight, or birth month?" The game manager asked as she pocketed my money.

"Age." I stated, determined.

She took out a little pad of paper, and asked a few simple questions (such as what my name was) as she scanned me, my siblings, and our friends. She scribbled down something on the pad and then asked me to tell her my age.

"20," I declared.

And just like that, her eyes widened, and she put her hands to her mouth to hide her laughter. I smiled politely.

"Really?!" she asked incredulously.

I nodded.

"Yeah," I replied. "Would you like to see my ID?"

But my offer to prove my age went on deaf ears as she continued to laugh, showing us the number she'd written on the pad.

"I wrote that you were 14!!"

She waved her hands at the barrel of stuffed toys for me to pick my prize, as the rest of our friends giggled. Since my sister had funded the little game, I chose the prize that she had wanted. She happily took the purple gorilla I had won her, and our little group moved along.

I didn't mind. I'd already had my fun.

Little Scarf Girl

2009-01-20T19:01:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the blog of Little Scarf Girl. The title doesn't exist solely just to clever: I am a short young woman, who has a penchant for wearing scarves. (Hence, Little Scarf Girl.) People who know me very well can vouch for the fact that I do enjoy wearing scarves. (Silk scarves are my favorite, but I also like the classic winter scarf, as well.) But anyone who so much as glances my way can tell you that I am not only quite short, but also extremely youthful in my appearance.

The amount of double-takes, ridiculous conversations, and shocked expressions have become too numerous for me to count. However, there are quite a few that stand out rather clearly in my mind.

One time, while on a road trip with my boyfriend and his family to visit his relatives, we stopped by a gas station so his father could fuel up the van, and we could get something to fuel our stomaches. We wandered around the convinience store for about ten minutes before proceeding up to the counter to pay for our road trip snacks. When I presented the cashier with my debit card to pay for my Fritos and candy bar, she laughed and exclaimed, "You don't even look old enough to have a bank account!"

Now, there is more than one reason why her statement is ridiculous. (After all, since when was there an age restriction on bank accounts? My father put my name on a shared bank account when I was an infant!) But I, a then freshman college student, was baffled. (And embarrassed!)

My response was a very witty, "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Another more recent incident was when said boyfriend and I decided to go out and see the movie The Spirit. I had received a giftcard for Christmas to the movie theater, and so I was looking forward to watching a [hopefully] good movie, and not having to pay for it. Because we were running a little bit late, and there was a bit of a line at both ticket boxes, we decided to stand in opposite lines to see which one would get to the cashier first.

The ticket boxes were on opposite sides of the theater enterance, so when my boyfriend reached the cashier first, he motioned for me to come over as he told the cashier, "Two for The Spirit."

Since I was the one with the giftcard, I dashed over to the other line as the cashier punched in the ticket orders. As soon as I came into view, however, I noticed a price change on the screen. Instead of being the ridiculously over-priced $20 that I had expected, the screen now read $15. My boyfriend was fumbling around in his wallet for his debit card (no doubt having forgotten that I had a giftcard) so I could only assume that the cashier had seen his college ID, and had given us a student rate.

I quickly handed over my giftcard, the cashier ran it through, and handed us our tickets. I eagerly examined my ticket, wanting to know exactly what sort of discount we'd received that allowed me to save a whole $5. Curiously, my ticket appeared to have only cost $5. (Meaning that my boyfriend's ticket was $10, for a total cost of $15.)

Upon further examination, I saw a little "CH" before my ticket amount.

I asked to see my boyfriend's ticket, and sure enough, there was an "AD" before his ticket price.

They had charged me for a child's ticket. I, a then 20-year old college student, had been charged the price reserved for children under the age of 12.

Somehow, as I dashed over to the counter, clad in a frosty teal jacket and with the giftcard in hand, I must have appeared to be a youthful 12-year old to that cashier.

What did my boyfriend say to this?

"Awwww," as he pinched my cheeks.