Side note...

So when I went to post a comment on my mom's blog (yes she has a blog and she named the site after me! www.tahleensmom.blogspot.com haha), I saw a little handicapped symbol next to it. WHY I ask you would the computer need to indicate a comment being handicap accessible? Someone please explain it to me because I don't understand.

Another problem I might need a 12-step program for.

I bought 13 books today. THIRTEEN. I only spent $9 but still. I did a count of the books on my bookshelf and I have not read 46 of those books. Oh, by the way, those were only the ones I have here in Ithaca, they do not count the ones I have back at home in Burlington.

I'll never read all the books I want to read. Gah.

On a side note, Olivia introduced me to Green Star market, and though I've always known it existed, I have found a new grocery store. God help me.

The (less than) glorious return.

I had not entered the gym doors for over three years. The last time I was in there was I think the very beginning of my second semester in freshman year. But I have recently decided to be healthy and exercise, and so here I was, standing in the entrance with my student ID and little gym bag.

Let me just make this clear: I hadn't been there in years. I forget how things work. Which was why I was hesitant and a bit nervous (dumb I know but leave me alone). Turns out there was good reason for me to feel my inexperience.

When I got down to the locker rooms, I wasn't sure if there were locks for me to use, so I asked the girl at the desk; then I asked if I had to sign anything, but apparently I just had to give her my ID card. As I was walking into the locker room, I looked at the combination lock she had given me and realized I hadn't used a lock since high school. Yes. I had forgotten how to use a lock.

Swallowing my pride, I went back to the girl and asked her to show me how it worked. She gave me a weird look but showed me anyway. As I walked back into the locker room with a deflated ego but new-found knowledge, I opened a locker and started to change. I opened my bag and took out my pants.

Only to realize it was a T-shirt. Awesome.

Let me paint a picture for you: Me, in a locker room, in my underwear, holding a T-shirt, a confused look on my face turning into one of frustration and an Oh-my-God-I'm-an-idiot expression. So, even more embarrassed than before (which is saying something), I turn in my lock to the girl and tell her what happened; I'm sure she didn't care to know.

To sum up the rest of my story, I went home and got the correct apparel, went BACK to the gym, and actually did run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Here is the happy part: I ran two miles with only two walking breaks! Hooray for me!

I might need to enter a 12-step program.

So I've recently realized I have an addiction to shopping at Wegmans. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a grocery store that is actually a wonderland. I go there at least three times a week and it is not good. I try to be good when I'm in there but I end up spending lots of money anyway... Whatever. At least I'm buying good stuff and not junk (<3 organics section <3). Anyway here are some recent discoveries I've, well, discovered that have made my life just that much better.

1. Quaker Chewy Granola bars. They are 90 calories each like the Special K bars I used to buy (no more!), have less sugar than SK bars, less fat, and better flavors. And they are cheaper. And more come in each box (10 vs 6! That is a lot wouldn't you say so?). So I was ecstatic to find these needless to say.

2. Oikos Greek yogurt (from Stonyfield Farms). Not only does one serving have only 80 calories, it has 15 GRAMS of protein! That is insane! I love it. PLUS it is superthick and has active cultures in it for digestive help, AND it is delicious. The only big problem is it is pretty expensive. But I think I love it too much to go back to regular. Oh Greek yogurt you have spoiled me.

3. Almond butter. Though this might turn out to be a downfall instead of a boon. It is more delicious than peanut butter and is probably better for you. Unfortunately I tend to eat it right out of the jar waaaaay too often and find I can't stop myself from taking just a little bit more. Next thing I know half of it is gone. Oops. Also this is pret-ty pricey as well. So I think I'm going to have to stop buying it. :(

4. Luna bars. They are delicious, have most of my daily vitamin needs, lots of calcium and protein, and are 180 calories each (except Chocolate Raspberry which has 190 but that is not even worth thinking about). I eat one every day pretty much. They are so good.

5. Vitamin D supplements. Apparently nobody gets enough Vitamin D (it comes from sunlight) and it's necessary because it helps you absorb calcium. No Vitamin D = calcium deficiency. The supplements I bought obviously don't taste like anything but hey they are softgels and who can resist those I ask you? Not me. They are delightful and way easier to swallow than my huge multivitamins (boo to them, they taste bad).

I also love the baking section which could turn out to be a problem.

A penny for my thoughts. If only.

I was having a lovely morning. It was relatively warm (though overcast) and even though the campus smells like poop thanks to the newly mulched areas (why they think looks are more important than smells I will never know), they had FINALLY turned the fountains on!!! I have not seen the fountains for almost an entire year, as they had turned them off for construction purposes.

My morning, however, took a sad turn when I attempted to make a copy in the library. The copy machines will not take coins (why would they, it's not like that would add revenue or anything) but insisted I use my ID Express instead (money that is on my ID card, sort of like a debit account). I remembered that I had a small balance on my card and thought I'd have enough for one 10-cent copy. The balance on my card: 9 cents. Of course.

So I was literally a penny short and could not do a thing about it. I did not get my copy, and I did not get a penny for my thoughts, which I would have gladly used to copy said thoughts through the use of the copy machine.

Thoughts on America.

I don't know if it's because I was listening to Bill Bryson read his book I'm a Stranger Here Myself (a collection of columns he wrote about America) or what, but as I was driving home today I noticed some things.

As I was driving down the NY Throughway, I glanced to the right of the road and felt a thrill go through me when I saw a hawk eating a dead animal. I thought it was so cool and I think the word "majestic" might have skittered across my mind, but then I realized something. It's really sad that such a natural occurance is cause for such wonder, especially because it is something we seem to think of as rare. At least I do; I've seen a hawk eating an animal three times in my life, all in the past year. We've paved over so much of our country that birds of prey are almost a sort of entertainment, especially when they've got something bloody in their talons. I also realized the thing it was eating was probably road kill.

Another thing I noticed, and this one is about our eating habits, was in the Gulf Mart at the Ludlow Plaza on the Mass Pike. I was looking around for a small snack and I wanted almonds, so I was looking in that general area. Do you know they didn't have any plain, raw almonds? Everything was salted, and spiced with some unnatural flavoring that shouldn't have been on a nut in the first place. I think one of them was jalepeno flavored. Why can't we just get almonds because we like the taste of almonds? If I wanted jalepeno-flavored something I'd have looked for a jalepeno. I wanted something that tasted like almonds. The sad thing is I probably could have found some sort of food that was almond flavored.

Anyway, those were a couple of thoughts I had. I know, I'm so poignant.

Screw you public safety.

I didn't turn on my blinker last Thursday while I was on campus, and OF COURSE the car behind me was a cop. He was really nice and didn't give me a ticket, but he gave me a campus summons. I had no idea what this entailed and I didn't see "failure to turn on signal" under the list of fines, so I didn't really think it was going to be too bad.

Ha ha, jokes on me.

I brought my summons to Parking and Traffic Services yesterday, thinking I'd be dishing out $10 or $15. WHAT THE HELL WHY DID IT COST ME 45 FREAKIN DOLLARS. Really???? It was a FIRST OFFENSE for me ever, I've NEVER been pulled over before this, and they charge me $45?? I hate you public safety. I hate you and your smug charging ways for stupid reasons. It was 9 p.m., who the hell was going to be affected by my not turning on my signal?? Gah.

Loveliest of music, grace me with your eternal presence.

Why oh why did I not go to Pandora sooner? This is by far the most useful website I've come across in quite a long while. I now can listen to music in WHATEVER GENRE I FEEL LIKE. It is an amazing feeling. Plus only a few commercials, so awesome.

If only I had known about this my freshman and sophomore years, and had actually listened to my friends last year when they first spoke of it. But maybe if that were the case I would not have developed my deep and abiding love of country music. (Possibly to the delight of my car passengers, but they will just have to deal with it dammit.)