MCTS

This is another rant, so I apologize to anyone that's getting sick of them.

I don't have my driver's license. The primary reason being I was too broke to do Driver's Ed in high school, and now I'm too broke to take the tests on my own. That aside, even if I did have a license, I'm way too broke to afford a car, even a clunky beat up car. So I rely almost entirely on the bus system to get around.

Which wouldn't be so bad, if the bus were ever ON TIME.

There's nothing worse than standing outside for 20 minutes because A) the bus came early, or B) the bus is super late. Especially when it happens to be somewhere around -3 degrees out.

I hate being late for anything. In fact, I'm usually 15+ minutes early for everything. Except when I have to take the bus.

Ok, so on average it usually isn't a problem. Maybe I just have the worst luck with the bus route that I use. But it is getting a little out of hand. I understand that the buses are all running late because of the snow. Totally out of my control, but I'll still be late for work, and I'll still get written up for it (another rant that I will not air publicly like this).

Even in the summer, for no reason apparent to me, I'll have a bus show up a full half hour late. If I were to ask the bus driver, they usually get super defensive and hostile. I've also noticed that drivers take really long layovers, and frequently leave the mall 5-10 minutes after they're scheduled to.

I don't know what to do about it but it's driving me nuts.

Snow

Alright, time for another sporadic, semi-ranting blog post. Today's subject: Snow.

It's currently snowing again. We got roughly 11 inches on Friday, 4 more Saturday, and now the white stuff is floating down from the heavens like so many feathers from a ripped down pillow.

And I hate it.

You know that part in the song where it goes "And since we've no place to go, let it snow let it snow let it snow!" Yeah. I ALWAYS have someplace to go. And it's usually by bus. And I'll usually end up standing in a snow drift up to my thighs waiting for a bus that's 25 minutes late (Yeah, that happened today). And not only is it snowing like the dickens lately, it's also colder than a witch's teat. Apparently Gaia sees fit to alter between death by burial in snow and death by frost. I don't even know if it should be snowing. Last I checked, it was only 3 degrees out.

On the bright side, it was a white Yule and it'll be a white Christmas. On the other hand, in about three days all the snow will turn brown and gray with dirt and sludge and will freeze and accumulate in epic proportions. I read in the Journal-Sentinal the other day that we've already had more snow than last year, in the month of December. I hope the trend doesn't continue, because we all remember last year.

I definitely live in the wrong region. I'd be perfectly happy if I never saw another snowflake again, even a paper one. It's freezing in my apartment and snowing outside and all I can do is fantasize about lying on a beach in Hawaii drinking a strawberry daquiri (virgin, of course).

I wish I wasn't poor and in insane debt, because I'd love to be warm for once. In California, or Hawaii, or Florida, or anywhere where it doesn't snow. Maybe Mexico, or the Bahamas. Yeah, I could definitely take a cruise around the Carribean.

Well. At least the stuff is pretty, for a little while. Now if only it were warm...

Vampires

I haven't seen the Twilight movie yet, and to be honest, I'm putting it off. First of all, I'm rarely ever happy with book to movie translations. They always ruin some part of the storyline. Sometimes its forgivable (Interview with the Vampire) and sometimes it isn't (Blood and Chocolate). Maybe it'll be alright because Stephenie Meyer got to give input during the production of the movie. The same was true of Anne Rice in Interview. Movies that just have the rights to the characters and plotline generally suck on an epic scale. Blood and Chocolate was a good movie, but if you'd read the book you'd be screaming at the screen ten minutes in. Also, Queen of the Damned was a good movie (still one of my favorites), but again if you'd read the book you'd think it was awful.

I am excited to learn that the third Underworld movie is coming out next month. Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycan is a prequel to the other two. I have a feeling it may be a straight to DVD thing, as the second Underworld didn't do so well. I'm excited either way.

You may also have noticed that I really like vampire movies (and books) as well as movies (and books) about werewolves. Ironically, I can't handle zombies.

Something else that I want to point out: I have a feeling that the young dating scene has now been completely ruined by Twilight. Girls are reading this epic romance and boys are watching porn. Talk about a gap. I still haven't convinced The Boy to read Twilight, but he has (extremely reluctantly) agreed to take me to the movie. I think we'll wait on that until it's playing at the Budget.

Race

I think I'm a few paces ahead of you. I'm sorry. But, I don't know how to slow down. The most I can do is stand in one spot and pray you'll catch up to me.

I want to turn back the clock, just one year. Things were much more simple between you and I. I would tell myself not to sprint right out of the starting gates. I would tell myself to jog right alongside you, even if I knew I could win the race.

Though I still have miles in me, I'm going to stand here in this spot and wait. Please, don't quit the race. You'll catch up to me and we can jog right alongside each other.

I'm sorry.

I love you.

Holiday

I know it makes me sound like a Scrooge, but I absolutely detest the holiday season.

I enjoy being with my family, but that's about it. Gift giving is expensive and stressful. Cooking for a large amount of people is stressful and expensive. Working during the holiday shopping madness is stressful and frustrating. I can't wait for all of this to be over.

Except then that means that we get no hours at work. Not that we're getting much now. I'm not going to go into that rant, but it is getting a little trying. Especially since The Boy has been temporarily laid off AGAIN. There just isn't any work for him coming in, because companies aren't doing the same advertising that they did this time last year. His aunt keeps telling him to just get a better job, but the problem is, there aren't any other jobs for him out there. Let alone a job that will provide him with the health insurance he's finally getting, and at the pay rate he's at. Or a job that's willing to let him study while the machines run.

Maybe it was bad timing, but I put in my 2 weeks notice at ON. I'm not even scheduled next week though, and I'll be willing to bet that I won't be scheduled the week after next either. Not that I was making more than 50 bucks a month anyways.

I'm going to see if the 24 hour store needs any help for late shifts. I like working at that store, and I'm awake into the wee hours of the morning anyways so what can it hurt? Though I'm not expecting to find any hours, we're all feeling the crunch.

So instead of a holiday season similar to last year, this year is all about scrimping and saving while still trying to do nice things. For example, my secret santa at work was lamenting that she might not be able to get anything for her daughter for Christmas, because she's getting such low hours, and on top of that we're cutting labor. So included in her present I'm getting something for her daughter (something small, like a barbie or something). I hope it isn't to forward but since I'm in a better place than she is, I feel like its something that I should do. You know, put good things out there and good will return to you.

The Boy and I also got our pictures taken today at Sears. I requested the wrong photographer by accident (there are two by the same name), but it went all right. Except for how breathtakingly un-photogenic I am and how stunning The Boy looks. Sigh.

Well...that's it for now I suppose. I haven't been updating but its gotten a bit hectic around here.