SWF’s Story

I want to be on a television game show. I think I could win a good amount of money on any game show but jeopardy. I really think these shows look for the dumbest people, which is actually not a bad business move. People at home are entertained by the stupid people who usually try to make up for the lack of intelligence with goofy antics. As a bonus, the game show awards less money to contestants. So, the big question is, how does one act dumb enough to be picked for a show and yet be smart enough to qualify? This is a delicate balance I must work on….

Thanks for everyone that came to the party this past Saturday. I apologize if I was out of control or mean. I have been told that I said some unkind things and I really don’t remember them. I need to work on not being a mean drunk I guess. I really don’t know what causes it. I am happy with my life generally, especially with no school. I know lately I have a lot of pent up aggression because of my pulled calf muscle…I have not been able to run and play sports. I almost wonder if this is part of my problem. Anyway, I wanted to make a blanket apology and if a personal apology is necessary, please don’t hesitate to tell me since I do not remember a whole lot about that night :-/

I have seen some pretty good movies lately. I recently received Children of Men, The Last King of Scotland, and The Queen. I especially liked The Last King of Scotland and would recommend it to anyone. Forest Whittaker really does have a wonderful performance. I am also just finishing a book on Thermopylae, the battle that the movie 300 was based on. Next up is a book called the Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver and Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath. TPBW is about a woman is presented with the choice to either stay true or cheat on her husband. The chapters then go back and forth, with every other chapter about her life after staying true to the husband and the other chapters expand on the what if she had cheated. I think it is an interesting concept, bouncing back and forth between what happened and what might have happened. It seems relevant to what everyone thinks at some point in their life - - what if? Made To Stick is about why some ideas stick with society and some fade into oblivion.

Hopefully I will see some of you at the Monkey Chase Beer Pong tournament this weekend!

So, now that I am done with the bar, I have begun to read for fun. I have been reading the Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta series and have made it to the last book, Predator. However, I took a break to read a few other books. I will from time to time mention books I am reading that I feel others might enjoy. If you don’t enjoy them or reading, oh well

I really like The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. I don’t think there is any relation to John Edwards, that kooky psychic guy on TV, but who knows…It was a bit more serious than any other book I have read in a awhile, but it was really good. Toward the end something happened that took me by surprise so much that I actually put my hand over my mouth as my jaw dropped. I happened to be sitting near Dilcos…I think he might be rethinking this marriage thing :-/

I also just finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid or Hamid Mohsin (I forget and already returned the book). This was only about 200 pages and a very fast read. It is written a little bit differently in that the entire book is from the narrator’s point of view in a conversation with another person, but you do not know who the other person is. The narrator talks about his life as a Pakistani in America before and after 9/11. I have to say that I got to the end and went to turn the page to read more….there was no complete resolution to the story. However, it was a very worthwhile book to read as it gives a different perspective  on terrorism. I can’t say I agree with it, but it was interesting to read about anyway.

I am currently reading 19 Minutes. This book had me from the opening page with a Chinese Proverb which I absolutely LOVE: If we do not change course, we will end up where we are heading. I think this is a beautiful quote in its simplicity….think about what we are doing today because it affects where we find ourselves tomorrow. So simple and yet so powerful. The book itself is based on Columbine. It is a fictionalized version, but from the reviews I have read, it tries to stay pretty true to what the author learned about those events through her research. I am only about 20 pages in right now.

On tap, I have The Plot Against America by Philip Roth about what would have happened had Charles Lindbergh become President of the United States before the first World War. Apparently, we would have sided with the Nazis? I don’t know yet, but there is a swastika on the cover….Any other suggestions on books? I have a long list, but am always looking to add to it. And please Berry, no vet books!

Today we had a crazy guy in court…and I do mean completely off the wall cuckoo. Communication was made difficult because he needed an interpreter - - provided by the court with taxpayer dollars, of course. I am not sure what the language was, but it was some African tribal dialect. Through the interpreter, he kept talking about how America, Russia, England, and France took his kingdom from him and that he is the king of everywhere. He also said he believes in love and peace, and that he is a very religious man. He also talked about how he does not like politics and that America hates poor people. We could not get a yes or no response as to whether he would take the plea offered. I asked the city attorney if she felt he was mentally capable of going through with a bench trial as he appeared to be mentally unstable to me. Without any interpretation by the interpreter, he turned to me and said, in perfect English, “I understand. I take medication CMH tells me to take and I am fine.” So, all I could do is let the judge know the bad news…he was going to have to conduct a bench trial with this guy who does not qualify for court appointed attorney (because there were only two charges of trespassing and one disorderly and boisterous charge, both misdemeanors with no jail time), through an interpreter.

It was even worse than I expected. He tried rambling again about hating politics and America, how America hates poor people, how he wishes he were dead and envies his brothers because they are dead. And to top all of that off, he says that he wishes he never came here and wanted the judge to send him back home. Now, I cannot say what the quality of his life is outside of the court, but our judicial system made sure he had an interpreter at no personal expense of his, to make sure that he had a fair hearing. Just because he couldn’t follow the judge’s repeat orders to only ask questions and make statements relevant to the cases (in fact, I believe at one point he complimented the judge’s eyes), does not mean that our country is awful….Needless to say, he was found guilty, fined $400 and given a two month extension to pay the fines. I can honestly say that I hope we never see him again. About halfway through the hearing, I noticed he had a bedraggled backpack on….hmmm, can we say suicide bomber? Someone disgruntled and unhappy with America….they definitely do NOT pay me enough!

Anyway, the point - - I know that refugees are given no say in where they end up. It seems like most refugees would them request Hawaii or something like that. I do think though that there should be some consideration as to where they will fit in best. Factors like job skills, religious beliefs, mental stability should all be taken into account when finding a placement for the person. If the people want to stay in some war torn area, then leave them there for crying out loud. This man really, really did not want to be here.

Of course, if he ever sobers up completely, he may realize that it is the freedoms that this country gives to individuals that allow him to continue to exist and be taken care of while continuing one intoxicated state or another and not really hold a meaningful job or be a productive member of society. But capable people refusing to hold a job while I pay for their babies is another topic for another day….

So, I managed to go all of February without making one post…I need to be WAY better about this. There has not been a whole lot going on for me, which makes it even harder than normal to post.

One thing that happened in February is that I officially got old. Yes, my brother turned the big 2-1. Really it wasn’t the age he was turning that made me feel old, it was the fact that the Saturday morning (around 2 am) that he called to see if I would pick him and his friends up from the bar, all I wanted to do was fall asleep. O-L-D spells Keri.

I started going to a chiropractor just because I have insurance that covers all but $10 of the first visit and completely covers up to 24 visits a year after that. A couple people also had suggested it to me because they had found it beneficial. Now, I am the type where I yell at Dilcos for grabbing my toes or fingers and cracking my knuckles, so I was a little worried about some guy making my neck crack.  However, it really wasn’t that bad. In fact, I went into my first appointment with the chiropractor with a headache and by the time I left, it was gone. My neck also hurt when I went into the office and was also completely gone by the time I left. I have to say, I am hooked. It also helps that the doctor is so awesome. Some chiropractors require or bully their clients into coming in at least twice a month or something like that, but this guy just says to come in when I feel like it.

I play on a bowling league with my mom every other Monday. I bowled a personal best of 176. Also, this past Monday I went up to bowl and the pins fell out of the rack and then the arm that usually pushes the pins knocked over back actually pushed them outward  toward where I was standing. Half of the pins made it halfway down the alley! It was crazy looking….

Last weekend was Foster’s long-awaited Seinfeld party in D-town. It was SO much fun! Everyone had great costumes from Elaine to Jerry (great tapered pants and frilly shirt Foster) to the soup nazi. Shannon and Foster went all out with the many soups available and beer pong was great! Quite a bit of the night is a blur…especially after Beth brought me a 40, which I drank out of a paper bag Here’s to more good times in March!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Merry Christmas Eve everybody! I hope this post finds everyone healthy, happy, and enjoying the Christmas holiday with friends and/or family.  The title of this post refers more to my feeling after finding my wedding dress. It was the last dress to try on at the last store in the Lansing area….well, not really in the Lansing area. At least it wasn’t from David’s! Becker’s Bridal in Fowler is where I found the dress and it fit perfectly. The people at Becker’s were so friendly and helpful, not pushy and rude like at David’s. The dress is wonderful, just a little hemming and a few additions, but they said to just bring it back a couple months before the wedding. I guess I have to focus on not losing too much weight and just toning and keeping myself where I am right now since the dress fit so well. I just feel so relieved to have found the dress and to have it hanging at my parent’s house It was an awesome feeling to put the dress on and not just feel like it was okay, but to look at myself in the mirror and absolutely LOVE it!! Now, for all those other pesky details like a photographer and a florist….

I really dislike it when salespeople are pushy.  I went to 3 different dress stores today and experienced 3 different types of sales techniques.  The first was the Wedding Bell in Okemos which is quite small.  My mom and I were the only 2 in the store which was nice and we were able to browse through the dresses ourselves.  It was nice, but the salesperson did not help me lace up any of the corset dresses and waited until the last dress to mention that we could walk out of the dressing room (which was quite large) into the better lit and larger area outside. Basically, this stop was a no-pressure browse and shop experience, but with a relatively unattentive salesperson.

The next place was David’s which I was warned by numerous people, including those who have worked there, that it is not a nice place to order a dress from. I went there anyway as one of my first stops because I figured that a big chain store like that would have a larger selection than most and that I would be able to figure out what I like. Well, my mom and I walk in early to the appointment thinking we would look through the dresses….we were quickly informed that only the consultants could walk through the dress area, but that we could look through a catalog. I am still baffled as to why that was worth my time. I marked certain pages and the lady that helped us even put little check marks next to the dresses I pointed to, but I think I only tried on maybe one out of the seven I picked out. This may or may not have been because it was her first day “on the floor” as she put it. Another lady was helping her out, but both of them were quite pushy. I tried explaining that it was my first shopping trip for dresses and that I would try on anything….ANYTHING. Everytime I put on a dress and said I liked it but I didn’t think I loved it, they would ask, “well, what DON’T you like about this one?” in a very confrontational way. It almost made me feel like they were trying to bully me into liking one. I was disappointed when I found a dress I really liked. I don’t think I could bring myself to ordering a dress from them after what others have told me, but also after today’s experience.

The last place was Letts Bridal and we did not even have an appointment. They were the perfect medium. We were allowed to just browse through the dresses ourselves and the lady that helped us was very nice. The seamstress was also available to show me some bustle options and give estimates on the costs of alterations, etc. when I found a dress I did like. They were also very understanding when I said I was not going to buy one today because I felt like I was getting tired and didn’t want to rush into a decision. Why can’t more places be such a pleasant experience? Good customer service in this day and age is very hard to find….Here’s to trying again another day!

Congrats to Pete and Berry…Mr. & Dr. Tirrell I am sure you will have a great honeymoon in Jamaica! Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your wedding day. It was a great time!