Is this growing up?

I got a call from my dad today. He's being as helpful as can be with this whole wretched apartment search. He said he started looking at duplexes, and then he found some houses that i might be able to afford. TO BUY.

Is it possible? Can I buy a house?

Yikes, this is scary, folks.

Kitty Behavior Modification

Okay, so here's the thing: my cat's a whiner. She woke me up at 5:30 this morning wanting to be fed. I picked her up and put her outside my room. This continued until I fed her at 7:45.

It's ridiculous. It puts my mood in a horrible set for the rest of the day because I'm not getting steady sleep.

And she's a talker anyway. It's not a big deal, but it is when she won't. shut. up.

So I looked up cat behavior, and I have to start pouring on the encouragement when she's being quiet and ignoring her when shes yapping away. This is tough because, well shes picky. Sometimes she wants to be left alone. This experiment will be interesting and I'll have to share it with Shawna, my roommate.

**Update**
This morning (4/25) I woke up and Jolie was sitting quietly at the foot of the bed. Success! I couldn't have done it without Shawna! And the treats I gave kitty randomly when she was being quiet..... But yay!

Car show ... ness

Okay, so I know I have more important things to do than blog right now, and if I accidentally sent my blog email to my professors and they're lame enough too look here (just kidding! thank you for taking an interest in my life!), I'm in big time trouble ... BUT ...

I check yahoo every few hours to see what's there to distract me, and apparently there was a car show in Beijing recently.

No, I don't give two ***ts about cars; I want to go from point A to point B without Mobile acquiring my entire MasterCard credit.

But I do like pretty cars. So I checked out the article that went along with the little blurb .. and then I went straight to the slideshow because nothing in the article interested me.

And here is my minuscule rant:
WHAT is the deal with car show models? I mean, they're pretty, whatever, butI think they need some better training. Call up Drew Carey and model some $3.09 whole wheat pasta for a few years before they put you in front of a car (that your outfit MATCHES. really.). Maybe it was just a poor shot, but these models? Ugh.

My "secret(s)"

Okay, so you all know I have no secrets because of my above-average-sized mouth. But seriously, here are a few pet peeves that I will SELDOM voice in public:

• I think it's really pathetic when people post their kid's (or kids') picture on their facebook or myspace profile. I mean, is that how you define yourself? Because if my parents are doing that, they're up for some serious disappointment. Let your kids define themselves when they have the ability. Don't START THEIR BLOG FOR THEM at TWO YEARS OLD. That's just plain wrong.
• BUT I don't feel the same way about people and their pets. Well, at least the part about posting the picture. For obvious reasons. My cat is beautiful.
  
• If you get a message from someone asking for information about your apartment, CALL HER BACK. She will have money, I swear!
• I have no place to live for the end of June. I'm not freaking out ... yet.
  

Here?!

So apparently there was an earthquake. I was sleeping. And aftershocks? No clue. I can't believe I "missed" it!

A Midwesterner's yearly sickess...

Perhaps this occurs in other regions of this great country, but I see a frightening epidemic that I would like to call Midwesterner's Disease. or Syndrome. Yeah, Syndrome's better.

Symptoms: happy for seemingly no reason whatsoever, desire to "just sit" outside, compulsion to show excessive amounts of pasty and unshaven skin, incessant need to use the word "gorgeous" in conjunction with the other "weather." 3 or 4 criteria necessary for diagnosis. No known cure, but seems to dissipate in 3-6 months on its own.

That's right, spring has unofficially sprung (apparently it was back on March 20th. You'd never know because it SNOWED a couple days ago for about 3 minutes). People are happy because they can wear shorts, but they have forgotten that there's no "going green" code against shaving. Ladies, I'm talking to you. Guys... I just don't know.

I really hope this lasts. I just bought a couple cute shirts that have short sleeves and the thought of sporting them underneath a coat kinda makes me want to weep.

Really?!

Okay, so I have a lot of work to get done for tomorrow, but I also have to find a place to live for June. So I opened up my neat little portfolio and started calling landlords for info. Now, let me set you guys up for this: a week and a half ago, I drove to Bradley (1 hour and 45 minutes away) and rode around with a very nice real estate guy who's a member of the school board. I was fine then. But I'm starting to melt. down.

I wrote down 8 numbers on that day and called them all today. Four went to voicemail. One guy said all his apartments are now taken. Another said there were no one-bedrooms. One chick said to call her back in two weeks. And then another lady said she has one one-bedroom apt, but it's empty now, and she's going to have it filled by the next person who has payment. Everyone was really nice, but I'm just waiting for the other four to call back and say NO. So I went online to the local paper's website and started calling those people. more to voicemail. I got one lady on her cell, I think, and she gave me all the information. So I had to ask about the "no pets" thing, because a lot of places are willing bend the rules for an additional security deposit. She sounded REALLY irritated when I asked, so I said "Thanks for your time; have a good day."

I really need to afford a 2 bedroom, because apparently that's all that's out there! If I didn't have these blasted student loans, I'd be okay.

A week

Okay, kiddies. This is going to be a blistering week from Egypt. Please don't expect anything fabulous from me for at least 7 days. Except maybe the occasional one-line entry, begging for the power to freeze time. Man, that'd be awesome.

What could DeKalb use?

I went to Schnucks today because I didn't feel like driving all the way to Jewel, and there's still an empty building next door. I wonder if anyone's rented it yet.

But that got me to thinking....
If I were renting it, what business would flourish? this is quite near the 88 tollway entrance/exit...

Translation service? (there are several Spanish-speaking families in the area)
Tutoring Service? (I think there might already be two)
Non-starbucks, non carabou coffee shop? (might be a good, but theres a bucks at the oasis)

Any DeKalbers have any ideas? Just for conversation's sake. I have no money (or credit) for such an endeavor in reality.

Not quite an outrage... BUT

Pre-blog side note: I hate the fact that I have to buy my own perfume. I'm 25. Men should be buying me perfume. But frankly, I'm not as picky about anything as I am about perfume. So I guess this works out in some freakish way.

So I ordered some beautifully smelling perfume last week (narciso rodriguez for her (eau de toilette), which I discovered via samples from Sephora), and I got it from UPS today. I was wondering if it was indeed just the perfume because the box it came it was HUGE. I thought maybe I got some special gifts for being a new customer... nope, just those old-school packing peanuts (not the biodegradable ones, tsk tsk) and a teeny tiny sample of another kind of perfume.

Granted, I didn't pay shipping, so I shouldn't be picky. However, you'd think that a 1.6 oz perfume bottle could be shipped in something SMALLER than a double-wide breadbox.

Can you find the quote's error?

Yeah, I've had a bad couple of days with WW ... and things in general, and Mumo suggested this book that she's read. This is what Amazon.com has as a review. Find the error, little ones!

From Publishers Weekly
Fitness guru Michaels, a fitness and life coach who has appeared on NBC's The Biggest Loser, brings her tough-love style to the pages of her first offering. For those familiar with Loser, Michael's no-excuses approach here may seem less intimidating than it does to those meeting her on television. She writes with an edge, warning readers that they cannot make excuses, they will work hard and they will suffer setbacks, but they will also change their lives for the better. Her "3-S" (Self, Science and Sweat) plan covers the mental and physical, and Michaels dedicates equal sections of the book to each. In Self, she announces to readers that she was an "overweight and unhappy teenager" who took charge of her life, challenging readers to do the same. While no book has the power to change a person, the tips Michaels provides-create a support system, keep a journal, change your self-talk-do. In Science, Michaels dispels common diet myths (skipping meals is best, diet pills work), provides recipes for meals and snacks and introduces the concept of fast-, slow- and balanced-oxidizers, which determines a person's ideal diet. The final Sweat chapters include easy-to-follow exercises accompanied by photos, and a five-day-per-week, 12-week fitness program centered on burn-and-tone cardio training. The book and coaching come relatively cheap, but to follow the program without substitution exercises, readers will need access to a gym or a weight machine. And, unfortunately, Michaels does not make house calls.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Publisher's Weekly
"While no book has the power to change a person, the tips Michaels provides...do." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

for crying out loud...

Okay, so I have yet another rant for my lovely readers.

Do I have a sign on my forehead that says "I am a therapist, please unload allll your problems on me whenever necessary"? NO. Do I give any indication that I'm always awake during ALL hours of the day? NO.

My dear friends, unless I have an eerily close connection with you (only about five people qualify, not including family) or you are in danger, etc, please let me sleep. I may be nice while I'm talking to you or texting you, but I get pissed about it in the morning. Or, you can write me a REALLLLLY long email, and I promise you I'll call you when I have had -- oh, I don't know -- more than two hours worth of sleep.

There IS a difference between being a good friend a being a doormat, right?

The next thing...

• I started Weight Watchers on Monday, and so far I've been good. I ate a pizza (yes A PIZZA... j'avais un faim de loup!) on Monday, and thanks to this "flex points" thing, I'm still good for the week. I haven't been eating much bread, but i have been eating a LOT because even if i have a huge subway salad for lunch, my metabolism must be raging because I'll be hungry 2 hours later.
• My other blog, my review one, is back up for you guys to peruse and comment on. There's not much there yet because I'm waiting to write again on Saturday.
• I'm going into Bradley again to look at apartments with a member of the board. He knows the area well and can give me tips on good neighborhoods, etc. Lots of people have asked me if I'm going to rent of buy, and I think thats really sweet that my friends think I have the ability to purchase a house. Not for AT LEAST another year.
• Reading As I Lay Dying (Faulkner) and am very happy that I'm doing so in a class. I would have thrown this book out the window if I didn't have to read it for class. Any Faulkner fans out there? I have acquired the ability to appreciate the uniqueness and innovation in his writing... but it ends there, I think.

So kids, I have a stack of papers waiting to be writing (the stack is in my brain, I guess), but I'l try to keep everyone as up-to-date as I can as far as my living situation goes :)