Here's a Rant for Thursday.

I firmly believe that the Walmart in this town is one of the busiest in the country. Add Christmas shopping on top of the regular mess and yesterday was by far the busiest day in Searcy Walmart history. I spent an hour in Walmart running my cart into shelves, children, and other people's feet. I couldn't help but think of how much easier shopping would be if people just obey basic traffic laws. For example, when you are coming out of an aisle and into the main aisle, you yield. Push your cart on the right side of the aisle. Do not block the flow of traffic by parking your cart on one side of the aisle and standing on the other. Come on people! Is it really that difficult?! No, you do not need to stand in front of the freezer door for 3 minutes while you read the description of every single Lean Cuisine.

On another note; watch your kids. I legitimately had a child climb on the bottom rack of my cart. Who are you? Picking out the perfect oranges may seem necessary, but when I run over your kid you're gonna have bigger problems.

A Lesson In Biology

Everyone knows about that terrible feeling you get in your stomach. That feeling you get when you're a kid and you break your mom's lamp; now you just have to wait for her to get home and find out. Or maybe it is that feeling you get in high school when you get called to the principal's office. I don't really know what to equate it with as an adult. Maybe it is the feeling that you're just going to fail at life no matter what you do. It's just that feeling.
I've got that feeling. Sometimes it happens and you just can't figure out what it's from. Not this time. I have a pretty good idea what (or who) it's from. 1

I got a little curious and started doing some research on that feeling. Here's what I found...

This is a minor form of anxiety. Anxiety is hormonal and neural just like every other aspect of your body. The hormones that cause this are the adrenal medullary hormones, more specifically catecholamines.

Neurons from the brain run down the spinal cord and into the medulla, located just above the kidney. These neurons stimulate the cells of the adrenal medulla to produce catecholamines. The catecholamines then spread through the bloodstream. Blood glucose levels rise, blood vessels constrict and the heart beats faster. This raises the blood pressure. Blood is diverted from temporarily nonessential organs to the heart and certain muscles. 2

So basically, all of your blood is centered around your essential organs. Where are your essential organs? Stomach area. It is unknown why your brain sends these neurons or what triggers your brain to send them, but it just knows.
I find this all so fascinating and useless.

1 Details will remain unpublished do to lack of knowledge on who reads this blog.
2 Source: Rachelle's Biology Book

Being a Sister Wife

Two of my roommates got me started watching some HBO series. I usually stay pretty far away from TV shows. Revolving my life around a one hour block each week just seems asinine, but they had the first season on DVD so it was convenient. I could watch the first few episodes with them and that would be that. Not so easily done. Big Love. It's about a polygamist family, living in the city, that got exiled from the Mormon compound in Utah. They live normal lives except for the fact that there are three women, seven kids, and one man. They have three houses and no fence in the backyard. Now this show is complete with poisoning, underage marriage and sabotage. I'll be the first to admit that it's lacking substance. I'm already on the second season and still don't really care what happens to the characters, but the show itself is just mesmerizing. One of the first things we all realized is how unnatural polygamy is. There are times when the show is just plain weird.
I've been noticing the affect that the show is having on me. Besides my unhealthy obsession with wanted to watch three episodes a night (which I do not let happen), my thought process has also been a little off. I am very incompetent in the morning, I will admit this, but usually within reason I would like to think. Last week I set my alarm early so that I could wake up and write a paper. One of my roommates, Erin, wanted me to make sure she was awake. When my alarm went off I was very tempted to just go back to sleep until I really had to wake up, but I immediately thought, "No, it's my sister wife duty to make sure Erin is awake." Sister wife duty?! I don't have a sister wife duty! It didn't take me long to realize how absurd that sounded. But still...

This Is How We Do It- Michigan Style

It's summer time and I am back in Michigan. After my semester ended I decided that I was going to come back here and live the life of the average Michigander...
First things first, I had to arrive in style. I showed up in Ann Arbor via public transportation. Because I had no car, a train was the cheapest way to travel. Saving money is very important since I am unemployed. 14% unemployment rate, I guess that means it's the cool thing to do. I am classifying myself as one of those people who knew this was coming and took a buy out. I had a little money saved coming into this whole adventure, and because of that, I have been able to travel some. Once again taking advantage of public transportation, I took a nice day trip to Chicago as well as a weekend getaway down south.
Back in March after my dad had been without a job for 5 months he started his own business. VSP Foreclosure Cleanouts. Perfect. He goes into foreclosed houses and does the necessary repairs on them. He got his contractors license and took advantage of the situation we are all in. Well, I have been able to do a little work for him, and this means I get to see all of these houses. I can't begin to tell you how tempting it is to move back here after I graduate next year and buy a house for under 5k. I keep having to remind myself that I won't be able to find a job to pay for food.
After I hear stories about work from my friends I am occasionally relieved that I didn't look for a summer job. A friend of mine who waits tables at Olive Garden told me that a man handed her his money and said, "Sorry, economy is bad." He left her an 8% tip. If the economy is that bad, don't eat out!
Needless to say, I am not trying to provide for a family while unemployed, but I really do feel terrible for those that are. Spending most of my time out of state kinda makes me feel like I am wearing blinders. You don't really understand how bad it is until you're here.

Attack of the Swine Flu!

I have been affected by the Swine Flu.
How many people do you know that can actually say that? Ok, so maybe it isn't as bad as I am making it out to be, but I am pretty angry about it.
Back in February I bought a ticket to go to California this summer. My cousin knows a family that lives in San Diego and they invited us out to stay with them. They said free lodging and food, and as college kids we know not to pass up a deal like that. We were all set to leave June 8th and spend some time in the sun. It was going to be perfect...then came the Swine Flu.
My cousin got an e-mail yesterday from the family we were going to stay with that said they were leaving California. THEY DON'T WANT TO GET THE SWINE FLU!! Are you kidding me? The e-mail said they live 20 miles from the border of Mexico and just couldn't risk putting their lives in danger. They were just going to up and move, and they are sorry. Sorry? I just spend $300 dollars on a ticket because you told me I could stay at your house!
Now we are faced with the predicament of what to do with this plane ticket to California. I am not ok with being out $300.

Alligators on a Plane

Did everyone get that memo about 7 years ago that airplane travel wasn't going to be the same anymore? I was young so my memory maybe be a little off, (which rarely happens and I don't think is the case here) but I thought we came up with these new rules that you aren't allowed to fly with things like knives, box cutters or chain saws in your carry on. Crazy, right? Then, on top of that we can no longer pack liquids in our carry on. No one really understands what harm a Diet Coke can do, but we comply because we know someone out there can make a bomb out of tooth paste.
I fly about 4 times a year. I assume that this is a little more than average, but I guess I was under the impression that people are up to date with TSA regulations. Apparently I was wrong.
In South Florida's 3 major airports there were 51,000 prohibited items last year alone. They have confiscated 14,000 items this year already. People try to hide these items in the most ridiculous way. They have x-ray machines- they can see through your stuff. One lady even attempted to hide a snake in her shirt. That's an impressive attempt. Some of the more interesting items discovered would have to be 2 bloody alligator heads that were stuffed into check baggage, and 2 frozen alligator heads in a bag. Last year a security officer at Palm Beach International Airport found several human heads in a cooler. Turns out they were being transported by a research team who has a permit, but still...
Last year, at these same 3 airports, they found 902 guns leading to 84 arrests, over 28,000 knives, and many other items such as ice picks, meat cleavers, power drills and walking canes that convert into swords.
There is never a time when I am at the airport waiting to go through security and someone doesn't get mad that they have to throw away their toothpaste or their full bottle of Mountain Dew. Come on guys, put your chain saws and mouth wash somewhere else.

Cannabis Isle

I was sitting in the drive-thru line at McDonald's waiting on my sweet tea when I heard a commercial on the radio. I usually ignore commercials or change the channel, but this one caught my attention. It was an anti-drug commercial that made me laugh. The main point of the commercial was that you aren't saying what you think you are when you are on drugs. I don't care what this girl though she was saying, she was hilarious! I saw a similar commercial on TV and couldn't figure out what it was about until the end. All I knew what that those kids were the happiest and funniest kids I'd seen. What do you think?



This made me curious. I found my way to abovetheinfluence.com and began milling around with Kyle. You wouldn't believe how much fun that site is! We watched a video that told us it's fun to have friends that smoke pot because you get to choose where you eat, what you do, and when you do it.



After that we made our way to Cannabis Isle. It was there that we were able to study the activities & lifestyle, health & fitness, and the social life of a stoner. After you have watched the intriguing studies there is even a test to take. Such interactive fun!

Chicks and Bunnies

I got my Easter package from my mom. Easter candy is one of the most incredible luxuries that life has to offer. Mom sent me a wonderful "basket" as well as some goodies for my three roommates. I just can't explain how much I love Easter candy. I got some Cadbury eggs and those alone would have been enough to make my day. A four pack of the big ones filled with caramel- Yum! I also got a dozen of the cute mini eggs filled with creme! That's a lot of Cadbury eggs. I just bit into a sour pink bunny. The best part is they are all pink! No need to pick through them to eliminate the bad colors and save the pink ones for last. How perfect! Thanks Mom! Yesterday I eliminated the carrot shaped bag of Reese's pieces. I can put away some Reese's pieces. Two bunnies, I got two chocolate bunnies! AND, one of them is filled with caramel. If you haven't gotten the idea already, I love chocolate and caramel! I think I am going to have to eat that tomorrow. What is Easter morning without a bunny to eat?! And finally, Peeps. The chicks, not the bunnies. I think Mom wanted to let all of the animals participate. I have a special way of eating my Peeps. I make a few holes in the plastic and hide them until July. I like them stale. Stale? Yes, I like them to be hard. They make for a wonderful summer snack!

Camping 101

Camping always seems like the best idea until you wake up in a tent, you're covered in sweat, you realize you have to clean up an entire camp site, and everything you are loading into your car is covered in mud.

Over the weekend I went camping with about 10 people. It was unique. Unique is a good way to put it. The camping trip evolved before it ever started. I initially put the trip together, but by the time we were leaving I was still discovering who was going, where we were going and what we were going to be doing while we were there. The night only got more interesting ...

I learned a few very important lessons from this camping trip, some of which I think could be very helpful to future campers.

1) If you want to listen to music on your camping trip, bring a radio. You may think your car radio will do the trick, but you may have to park a distance from the site.

a) If parking far away is necessary, do not attempt to bring the car closer.
You were forced to park far away for a reason.

b) If for some reason you do attempt to get closer and get stuck, do not
attempt to dig the car out with your bare hands. It won't work.

2) Don't run your Jeep into a tree. Just don't do it.

a) If for some reason you decide to run your Jeep into a tree, the best time to
do it is not with 2 strangers in the car.

b) Remember to buckle up.

3) If you think there is any possibility that you may vomit that night, don't eat
hot dogs.

4) Choose your fellow campers wisely.

a) All campers should get along and there should be no camper-to-camper tension.

b) All campers should intend to remain at the camp site the entire night. The
camper who goes home in the middle of the night because of sleeping difficulty
makes for potentially frustrating travel arrangements in the morning.

Enjoy yourself and happy camping!

I Met a Boy

In pre-school I was called “a social butterfly” by my teacher.When I was in kindergarten my teacher put my desk by the girls. I talked too much so she moved me with the boys. I still talked too much so she made me sit by myself. I talked to myself.
This continued throughout school and even senior year I was moved to the back of the room by myself.

Today I was called quiet. I’ve been called this a few times recently and for some reason it gets to me. I don't want to be labeled quiet. Sure, there are some labels I will take, but quiet just isn't one that I am ready to accept. Would this be the denial stage? I suppose. Quiet...Don't you just automatically think boring? I do, but maybe that is a misconception stemming from my "loud" mind.

I'm going to have to face the facts: there are just times when I am quiet. All for good reasons though. I have come to realize that people rarely care what other people have to say. (Why do I blog? We'll never know.) Now I know this isn't the case all the time, but have you ever been around someone who wouldn't stop talking about nothing and all you wanted was for them to shut up? I thought so. There can be such a huge benefit from just sitting and listening to people. I have formed so many of my own opinions from just observing and listening to two sides of an argument. I can say that it has made me stop and realize that I need to think before I speak because so often words come out and just sound so stupid.

Maybe everyone should consider just being quiet sometimes. Just stop and listen to what other people have to say. Don't jump to form a quick opinion. Be open minded. It really isn't that bad.

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Running Out of Cocks

I couldn't pass this up.
"Wangs, however, have experienced dramatic growth." Who isn't intrigued? There is apparently a man somewhere in Britain who decided he would do some research on the decreasing number of amusing surnames.
"The number of people in Britain with amusing surnames like Cockshott, Balls, Death and Shufflebottom has declined by up to 75 percent in the last century." The number of people with the name Cock shrank from just over 3,000 to almost 800, Balls lost about 1,700 people, and Deaths were reduced to 605 from 1,133.
The researcher believes a lot of these people are changing their name due to the change in definition of the word. If I had a last name like Cock, Balls or Gotobed there is no way I would change that. Smellie decreased by 70%- that I can understand.
The full article is definitely worth taking a look at!

And Then There Were Blogs

I like Courier for my font. It has that professional look with a bit more spunk than Times or Arial. Nothing seems adequate for my first entry. I guess I could just start with the basics. I have no intention of rambing on about the daily events of my life or the monotonous and uneventful activites of each day. The idea of reliving every dull moment and them publishing them is absurd. Instead, I'll choose to enlighten you and fill your mind with fascinating and humorous insights. (Hehe- good luck to me)
Where to begin...I am attending college in a random city in Arkansas where not much goes on. I'm 800 miles from home and have no idea why. I have some good friends and some not so good friends, but who doesn't? I have two job. That's where things begin to get entertaining. I work for a 101 year old lady named Mrs. Baxter. I'm not kidding, she's 101. She lives by herself, cooks for herself, does her own laundry, and walks around just fine. I've been working for her for six months and she still blows my mind. Last week she told me that if anyone asks what I do while I am over there I should tell them I look under her bed. If they ask for what I should answer, "Men's shoes." Yes, I know, she has an amazing sense of humor. Now, it's true that I look under her bed, and I do this almost every time I see her. (which is 3-4 times a week) She has a talent for losing things, but I am usually just looking for things like teeth and eye drops. And only last week did she discover Depends!
My friend Rachelle is a biology major. A few weeks ago she mentioned something about life span correlating with the length of our DNA strands or something. I don't know a thing about science, but this seemed interesting to me. I ran across this article today and I thought it fit nicely with this conversation.
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/03/can-humans-live.html
They are working on immortality. Really? Can you honestly say that you want to live forever? No? No, I didn't think so. Hundreds of years seems bad enough. Can you imagine if the Pilgrims were still struttin' around? Ha!