The big day

Loree is running a half marathon tomorrow. Wish her luck!

I, on the other hand, plan to drink. I may walk quite briskly from the bar to the table though, and considering my coordination, may need some luck myself.

Happy Friday everyone!

$10 Airfare... yeah right

So, I really have nothing good to blog about. Nothing new anyway... but I thought I'd share information that I originally got from Consumerist via Loree and then through an insane "media blitz" (I hate that phrase, but it seems appropriate) here in Cincinnati.

Have you heard about Skybus? It's a new airline advertising $10 one-way airfares on select flights through December. Of course, with all the coverage, the $10 flights are pretty much sold out. But!! They are still cheap enough to get me from Columbus (closest airport) to Vancouver for $175. Not too shabby.

I really need to plan a trip!

If I had a million dollars

I have a plan if I win one of those insanely insane powerball jackpots. You know, the ones that include so many millions of dollars that you immediately have to change your name and relocate to another country to avoid being stalked for cash by every person within 150 square miles.

After I change my name and relocate to some exotic Caribbean location, I will visit the world's best restaurants one by one. Yep, that's it. $225 per person -- no problem.

I'm especially intrigued by The Fat Duck in London, which has menu items described like this:

"This is the place that does bacon-and-egg ice cream, snail porridge and sardine-on-toast sorbet. So you can safely say you’ve never had a meal like it."

Yeah, that just sounds bizarre and horrible, but that doesn't matter! They were THE best in 2005, bacon-and-egg ice cream and all... I must go. We can just hope they do bread and cheese well. Bread and cheese make the world go round.

So now that you know what I'd do with my millions, what would you do with yours?

Stephen King Weighs In

Every time there's a school shooting and the gunman is a writer, I always spend a lot of time thinking about what (if anything) teachers and other students could really do in advance of such a tragedy occurring.

I was a creative writing minor in college, and we had workshop classes where we had to turn in two stories a semester, and every week we would analyze one student's piece of writing. My personal writing style has never included a great deal of violence (I tend to suffer from "navel-gazing, depressive protaganist" syndrome) but violence--and we're talking the gory, disturbing stuff--is something that many other students explore in their writing. And, I don't know. I guess when someone wrote something terrible and scary, I would occasionally wonder what they were like outside of class, or what issues they might be working through... probably much the same way they wondered if I went home to drink booze, watch The Golden Girls and feel sorry for myself.

And I think about the writers that I read--Stephen King, and really any other horror, mystery or true crime writer. These guys have written some of the most disturbing stuff on the planet; for instance, I recently actually gagged when I was reading James Ellroy's memoir because I was so disturbed by a scene he described imagining as a child. But, as far as anyone else knows, these guys have, for the most part, been fine, upstanding citizens.

So it was with great interest that I read Stephen King's thoughts on the topic in Entertainment Weekly. I don't know that it puts us anywhere closer to a definitive solution on the matter, or what actions should or could be taken, but I think he makes some interesting points.

For the love of beans!

I love beans... black beans, kidney beans, refried beans, adzuki beans, garbanzo beans, soy beans, navy beans, black-eyed peas, pinto beans, great northern beans, lentils of all kinds... need I go on?

I guess not, but I may need this shirt!

I Am A Running Nerd...

My husband sent me this link earlier today. It's funny, because I totally use a number of gadgets and special products when I run, including an iPod, Garmin 305, Body Glide and Dri-Fit running clothes and socks. I even ordered a special running outfit for the half-marathon I'm running (well, maybe more like running/walking) in a couple of weeks. (The outfit is Nike, of course, because I'm a sucker for their women-targeted marketing.)

One might think that I'm a hardcore athlete, but really I think this is just indicative of a greater problem that I have: I tend to get freakishly obsessed with things, and I won't stop until I buy every little techie gadget or product associated with said obsession.

Maybe, following Laura's financial planning below, I need to establish an obsession fund.

The Fund for Everything Fund

So, I have stuff I want to get done... stuff that requires money. I hate money. Sometimes I wish we could go back to a time based on bartering, but then I remember I have no skills that can produce anything worth bartering. So, to acquire this elusive money I've decided to get secondary employment specifically geared toward the following:

1. Fixing my fireplace before next winter for warmth and a nice boost to my home's value.
2. Paying down my evil, evil, evil credit cards--what I call the "DC Debt."
   
3. Buying patio furniture for my porch. (This is definitely the immediate short term goal.)
4. And shopping... shopping... shopping. My shoe collection is getting a bit tired.

So these goals are all well and good, right? I mean, they aren't all stupid and shallow... a girl NEEDS shoes! So, today I sucked it up and decided to look for some "help wanted" signs at various retail establishments. I learned some important things.

First and foremost, working in a shoe store would be a bad, bad idea. I barely made it out of DSW without multiple pairs of shoes. There were some kitten heeled gold peeptoes that were awesome, and some tall strappy red heels, and a pair of really cute canvas olive green flats... sigh. I would only be able to accomplish goal #4 if I worked there. My second learning was that I'd have to be very very careful to choose a location to work where I wouldn't be the oldest employee by about 7 years. That cut out a number of the clothing places. I have a feeling it's going to be a long search.

Really, I just want a job that has a social element that I can work 10-15 hours a week. I'm not looking for anything lavish or high paying, but sheesh, it's not as easy as I thought. Maybe I'm just too picky. I guess I'll lose the pickiness soon enough if I see my goals going down the tubes.