So Much for Plan B....

Ok, so my job search has officially begun. My graduation ceremony was on Monday and now my full-time job on top of my part-time job is to, you guessed it, FIND a job. The current economic state is definitely going to make this process an interesting one but, for as long as I can remember, I have always had a back-up plan in the case that I couldn't find a job right away and that is being ... a flight attendant.

Ok,ok,ok. I know it is not glamorous, fun, or would not even pay very well, BUT I am ALL about the ultimate perk: Free Travel! I would scoop dog poop for a living if it meant free trips around the world! Ok, well, I decided to go ahead and see if any airlines were hiring new flight attendants and well, they are... they are just not hiring ME!

I was reading about about flight attendant unions, uniforms, salaries, and job requirements when I came to the bulleted point:

"Must be a minimum of five feet two inches in height"


In case you didn't know, and you might not considering all of my shoes add an easy 3 to 4 inches, I stand at a staggering 5'1''. I am freakishly tiny and I always forget until I see a picture of myself with my friends or walk past a reflective window while walking with other people, but I am still in shock that my height is actually preventing me from a JOB! It's crazy! They also administer a test to see if you can reach a point on a wall that is six feet and ten inches above the ground. I tried. I can only reach six feet and EIGHT inches above the ground!

Well, I am terrified flying in planes anyways- haha! But it's nothing I can't endure if it means reaching some fantastic destination. In fact, the average person would have no idea that I am scared to death every time the plane hits the slightest bit of turbulence unless they notice how tight I am gripping the arm rests or hear me squeak as I try to constrict a small scream, but mostly I am just screaming inside... haha.

So, I guess there goes "Plan B". I guess I should get to work to find out what "Plan A" is.

But, I have to say, I am STILL beaming from graduation on Monday. I might not know what I am going to do, but I am still very happy with what I have DONE : )

We've been ELFED!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Filing Boards = Arch Nemesis

I have to admit that I have a rather long list of neuroses but not being able to stand nail filing is by far the most intense. I have no idea why I am this way, but nail filing actually triggers my gag reflex and sends chills down my entire body. I can't even stand for other people to file their nails around me and, actually, I feel tense even talking about nail filing. By the way, I am completely aware that I sound like a crazy person right now... Well, despite my issues, I went to get my nails done yesterday for the third time in my life (the first for my 15th birthday and the second for my junior prom) for graduation tomorrow.

When I sat down, the "nail lady" whipped out the nail file and I hung my head as if I was being punished. I told my mom about my issue and told her to just keep talking to me so I wouldn't have to think about it. We talked about everything in US magazine from Miley Cyrus' annoyingness to Hugh Jackman's abs, but NOTHING could distract me from the torturous nail filing! I looked away the entire time but still felt completely nauseous and had to whisper an occasional "oh my gosh...oh my gosh" and giggle nervously to get through the process. The experience was only about 3 minutes, but it felt like DAYS! The lady getting her nails done next to me was laughing at me but she already knew I didn't do this often after I was asked what color I wanted for my manicure and I just said, "regular" -hahah! Apparently, FRENCH manicures are different than just a manicure, wow, I am such a nail novice...

Anyways, my nails look awesome now, so I guess it was worth it, but it will be a loooooooong time before I let anyone touch my toes! I really have no idea what happened in my life/childhood that causes me freak out any time there is any pressure or scraping on my nails, but I wish I did so I might be able to just get over it! It was really was fun being girly yesterday and even as I am typing this now I am thinking, "Damn, girl! You're nails look fiiiinnneee". So maybe I will learn to tolerate nail filing in the future, but, for now, I will remain an often unmanicured freak : )

Blankets are SO 2004!

Have you guys seen the informercial for "The Snuggie"? This shit cracks me up! They talk about blankets like they are useless pieces of crap! All a "Snuggie" is, is a freaking robe worn backwards! WOW! HOW AMAZING! Here is an actual quote from the informercial:

"Blankets are OK, but they can slip and slide! And when you try to reach for something, your hands are trapped inside!"

HAHAHA! Wow.

Milk

I saw Milk last night and it was FANTASTIC. It was so inspiring. It annoys me that Sean Penn is SUCH a great actor. He is such a know-it-all in real life... well, maybe he does know it all, who knows? James Franco is adorable despite his short curly afro and the story is just amazing.

We live is such an amazing time. Within the past hundred years or so this country has experienced the Civil Rights Movement, women gained the right to vote and went from being forced to stay at home as maids slash baby making machines to CEO's. It wasn't long ago that young men were drafted into unjust wars without a choice. And it still very recent that gay people can "come out" and still have the same opportunities in their personal and professional lives as straight people (sometimes). But no matter how much progress has been made or will be made, we will still never eliminate bigotry or hate. That is why I love seeing movies like this. It reminds us to keep fighting for what so many incredible people worked so hard for. Because my friends and I live in our social bubble where all are accepted and discrimination is something we hear about in the news, it's easy to forget that if we step outside our relationships or even our neighborhoods, discrimination is everywhere and we should not get too comfortable with the state of acceptance in this country.

That is my PSA for the day, but I would also like to mention that about 3 million amazing movies are about to come out and I cannot WAIT! I am excited to see: Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and, most of all, Revolutionary Road. After all of the crappy action and scary movies that always come out in the summer and fall, I am excited to finally see good acting again! And, PS. my inner 13 year old is longing to see "Jack" and "Rose" together again in a movie : )

Dialogue in the Dark

Today Darius and I went to "Dialogue in the Dark" at the Exhibition Center in Atlantic Station. It was such an cool experience. But before I write anything else, if you plan on visiting "Dialogue" and if you do not want to know what to expect during the tour, you might not want to read the rest of this post.

So the way it works is you walk into a room were the lights slowly get darker and darker until it's pitch black. You are given a stick to use to prevent you from walking into things which, in my case, did not help a lot, but, still, you get the point. You are lead through a series of settings by a blind guide that include a city, a grocery store, a park, a cafe, and you even board a boat! The entire tour is about an hour long and I never truly got used to following my tour guide's voice or finding my way by tapping my cane.

At times, the process of making my way through the tour was very frustrating and I felt a bit helpless and kind of dumb to tell you the truth. I mean, I could hear my guide say, "Follow my voice" and I kept thinking, "Where the H is your voice!?!". It definitely takes more than an hour for your others senses to compensate.

I was surprised by some of my behavior during the experience. For one, I could not bring myself to just close my eyes. Even though I could not see a thing and I could feel my eyes straining as I tried to look around, I felt even MORE blind when I closed them! I was also surprised to find how small everything felt. I guess to think of anything as being bigger than me was overwhelming and I kept trying to duck into hallways even though after feeling the wall, I could not even come close to touching the top even on my tippy toes.

Another thing that was cool about the experience was how everyone in the group let go of a lot of their social boundaries. We were all standing so close to each other and I felt people besides Darius touching me to try to follow me. Everyone felt comfortable relying on each other for help. I thought that was really cool. But, above everything else, I think the coolest thing about "Dialogue in the Dark" is that the blind guides have the opportunity to orientate others into something unfamiliar instead of the opposite. I am sure it is very empowering for them to not only have this leadership opportunity, but to have the chance to share their "view" of the world for once.

At the end of the tour, we sat down in the cafe and had a Q&A session with our guide. I got to ask him a few questions I have always wondered about blind people: Do they value travel as much as the sighted world does? Are there "blind-friendly" cities? And, the million dollar question, If you could, would you undergo a procedure they could give you sight? Through his answers, he reminded me that there is more to travel than just what you can see. You can taste, hear, and feel culture just as much as you can see it. He told me Atlanta was fairly "blind friendly" and, lastly, he remains undecided as to whether or not he would want gain the ability to see. At first I was surprised, but then I realized that to gain sight for the first time in your life at 25 years old would be just as jarring as losing your sight at that same point in your life. It would entail re-learning everything you do. You would have to re-meet everyone you know. You would have to learn your way around just as a sighted person who became blind would. But what his undecided answer says to me more than anything else, is people become comfortable in their lives, abilities, and states of being. And whether or not a change in a person's life would be considered socially "positive", the unfamiliar will inevitably remain intimidating, scary, and even unappealing.

I really valued my experience today and remain astounded that such small changes in our bodies have the ability to create such immeasurable obstacles in our lives.

TLC

TLC only has shows about 3 things:

1.) Little People
2.) Obese people
3.) People with obscene amounts of children

Seriously. WTH?

I wonder why they are doing this. I mean, are a bunch of TLC executives sitting around a big table and one of them jumps out of their chair and says, "I know! Let's have a show about people who have a ton of children!" and the others say, "But don't we already have that with John and Kate Plus Eight?" and the excited exec replies, "Yeah, but these people can have, like, more than eight kids! Like, we can have a show about people who have 12 kids and another show about people who have 17 kids and maybe even a show about people loving shows about people that have tons of kids! This multiple kid business is a gold mine!" and everyone high fives each other???

And don't get me started on the incessant specials about primordial dwarfs and obese people.

I. am. over. it.

But, yet, I cannot change the channel...