29 February 2004

25 Signs you are over 25

Someone sent me this list a while back. After reading it, I must ask myself, "Hey, when did I grow up?!"


  1. Your potted plants are alive. And you can't smoke a single one of them.
  2. Having sex in a twin-sized bed is absurd.
  3. You keep more food than beer or wine in the fridge.
  4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to sleep.
  5. You hear your favorite song on an elevator.
  6. You carry an umbrella. You watch the Weather Channel.
  7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of hookup and breakup.
  8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 7.
  9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as 'dressed up.'
  10. You're the one calling the police because those darn kids next door don't know how to turn down the stereo.
  11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
  12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
  13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
  14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's.
  15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
  16. You no longer take naps from noon to 6 p.m.
  17. Dinner and a movie - The Whole Date - instead of the beginning of one.
  18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 a.m. would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
  19. You go to the drugstore for ibuprofen and antacids, not condoms and pregnancy test kits.
  20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer 'pretty good stuff.'
  21. You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time.
  22. "I just can't drink the way I used to," replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
  23. Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
  24. You don't drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
  25. You read this entire list looking for one sign that doesn't apply to you!


If these signs also apply to you, Welcome to the Wonderful World of Adulthood.

By the way, I didn't order this whole adulthood package... I want a refund! :)

February 29, 2004 - Leap Year

Leap Year Links of the Day:

It comes around only once every four years... leap year.

But why do we have leap years in the first place?
Click here to find out... or here... or here...
(Yes, today I am too lazy to write the information that is already provided by a multitude of websites!)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have leap day for a birthday? Or... If someone is born today, will they be 1 year old next year or not until 2008?
This website, dedicated to those born on leap day, will give you some information.

Did you know there was a World Wide Leap Year Festival?

Or a Leap Year Online Museum?

28 February 2004

Techno Pack-Rat

According to my personal lexicon, a "techno-pack-rat" is person who can not delete any files or otherwise get rid of any obsolete electronic equipment.

My husband and I come from "pack-rat" families. Everybody knows somebody that just can't throw anything away... and for some reason everybody (with the exception of us) in each of our families are like that and we try really hard not to be that way. Of course, as time goes on we all accumulate junk, but unlike a pack rat, we can throw things away.

But one night, A. was going through the files on his computer and mentioned to me that he had files with creation dates of 1993! I asked if he was going to delete them... he hesitated... I asked if he REALLY needed them... he hesitated again. It was at this point that I called him a techno-pack-rat. We then traded verbal barbs for a few minutes, but now he will forever be my techno-pack-rat!

27 February 2004

Cultural References

Sometimes I forget that A. didn't grow up in America (he's Austrian) and experience the phenomenon that was American Pop Culture in the 70s and 80s with me.

A few nights ago after pulling the sheets out of the dryer I wrapped them around me and proceeded to the living room chanting "TOGA TOGA." When A. looked at me with curiosity, I asked, "What no toga party?" He quite innocently replied back to me, "What's a toga party?"

After some cross-examination I learned he has never seen Animal House!!!

I guess I should have been tipped off the other day when I popped Ghostbusters into the DVD player and found out it was the first time he had seen it in English! (Don't you just love the language choice menus on DVD players?)

Doonesbury and $10K

I have only read Doonesbury sporadically through the years... but this is great!

23 February 2004

Anybody but Bush

Well, it is official. I had been waiting for Ralph Nader to announce that he was going to join the election race again. And now he has.

Now I am a (unofficial) member of the Anybody but Bush in 2004 Campaign, but I have serious reservations about Nader, especially since the fiasco of the 2000 election, which I believe was directly affected by Nader's campaign and the support he received from the populace. I don't exactly blame the people that voted for Nader last time. I mean, there really was very little difference between Bush and Gore. However, if it weren't for those who voted for Nader, Gore would have had no difficulty proving that he actually won the presidency. And if Gore were in the White House today, even after the disaster of September 11, I don't think there would be such an assault on fundamental American rights and civil liberties.

As for my election behavior in 2000, I supported the Libertarians. In fact, I voted almost a straight Libertarian ticket. In every race except the big one (president), I voted for them and I even seriously considered voting for their presidential candidate Harry Browne. But with the presidential race so close, I knew that any vote NOT for Gore was one FOR Bush. So, even though I had some serious misgivings about Gore, it was he that got my vote. And this time around, I feel even stronger in my anti-Bush sentiment. So, while I identify with the Libertarian philosophy, what is more important to me is getting Bush out of the White House.

Sure, I currently live on the other side of the Atlantic, and you might ask why I care one way or another. But living over here has given me a better perspective on the United States and its relationship to the world. The world is linked like never before and how the United States is perceived by and how we act toward the rest of the world is hugely important. There has been much hype about this whole "Anti-American" movement, but in truth people here are not so much "Anti-American" as they are "Anti-Bush."

... And besides, I just think Bush is a moron.

21 February 2004

Cat Wash!

Scooter is my 8 year old cat and he gets habitually gets dandruff near the base of his tail. Poor baby! He seems to just be a kitty with dry skin and in the wintertime it is worse than at any other time of the year. I brush him frequently, but sometimes the dandruff gets so bad he just needs a bath. Lately, his dandruff seems to have gotten worse, so I decided that today was bath day.

Some people may think that it is not possible to bathe a cat. Out of my three cats, I would agree that it would be impossible to bathe two of the three, but Scooter is different. He is a very mellow kitty and he lets me do just about anything to him. In addition, I have been bathing him 2-4 times a year since he was a kitten, so he is sort of used to it.

After brushing him thoroughly, it's time for the shower. Luckily, I have a movable shower head and can adjust the water pressure, so overall, bathing Scooter is relatively easy. And afterwards, he looks like a brand new cat!

Now, in case you are interested in giving your cat a bath, here are some pointers:
  1. DO NOT get his head wet
  2. DO NOT dunk him into a full tub of water
  3. Use warm (tepid) water
  4. Talk to him in a soothing voice
  5. Rinse well... He will, without doubt, give himself a bath when you are finished. DO NOT leave soap in his fur, as in the end he will ingest it.
  6. Dry thoroughly with a towel, DO NOT use a hair dryer!

18 February 2004

Movie Reviews

Yesterday, I watched 1.) The Hours and 2.) American Pie. I know, as far as films go they are on opposite ends of the Ricter Scale... but the educated, literature geek in me had been wanting to see The Hours since all of that Oscar-buzz about it last year, and the crude, immature, high school girl wanted to see American Pie (I may be educated, but I still enjoy toilet humor now and then), so I decided what the heck, I had all afternoon free...

I started with The Hours. I am still mulling over this movie in my mind. It was one of those movies you see and find yourself thinking about afterwards. It was obvious to me that there were many levels of meaning here and I am still contemplating them. The most apparent topics were depression, suicide, homosexuality, and the questioning of life decisions.

Now, I have studied literature and I am familiar with Virginia Woolf, though I have never read Mrs. Dalloway. I also know that this movie is based on a book (not Mrs. Dalloway, but one called The Hours, by Michael Cunningham). I must say, now that I have seen this movie I feel like I need to read both Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours to really appreciate it. Perhaps if I get enough ambition I will read them and then re-review the movie, but until then...

Virginia Woolf was well-known for writing in "stream of consciousness" style and I felt this movie was depicted in the same manner. In conjunction with the stream of consciousness style, this film was what I refer to as "a film of character". In other words, this movie wasn't about a particular event, it was about the characters. (As a matter of fact it takes place on one day in each of the three main characters lives'.) The cast did a superb job of portraying these characters, but until I began to understand the characters and how they related to one another, I didn't really understand where the movie was going.

This movie was a bit intimidating, very literate, yet sad and depressing. Yet, I think I can say I appreciated it for what it was. However, I would recommend this film only to those who appreciate movies that have more to them than cool special effects and explosions. On a scale of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest), I would give it 4.

Then, in order to cheer myself up a bit, I watched American Pie. I have seen the two other classic movies in the wacky sex-obsessed high school genre, namely Porky's and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, countless times. And while I found American Pie funny, compared to the afore mentioned movies, something was lacking... On my star scale, I can only give it a 2.

16 February 2004

Laundry Detergent Thief?

Turns out I was not the only victim of the laundry detergent thief. My neighbor lady's laundry detergent also went missing the other day. In fact, she was so outraged, she wrote a nasty note addressed to "the sick pig" who stole our laundry detergent. But, it wasn't just the two of us either! Everyone who had full (or nearly full) bottles/boxes was affected.

I'm sorry, but I just don't get it... well, I hope the laundry detergent thief has clean clothes now. I guess we need to be on the look out for someone with really clean clothes, then we will have our man (or woman)!

Country Comparisons

Yesterday, I read an article that mentioned that Asia's largest slum will be getting some renovations. The slum happens to be in Bombay, India, and in this city of 12 million people (Bombay is the third largest city in the world) about 600,000 of them live in this slum.

This made me wonder how many people live in India anyway, how much money do they make, and exactly how big is the Indian sub-continent in relation to China, the US, and Germany? I knew that India was the second heaviliest populated country in the world, but the rest I wasn't sure. So here are the facts:

India:
1 billion people (2003 est.)
3.3 million square kilometers
$480/year (2002 average est. income)

China:
1.3 billion people (2003 est.)
9.5 million square kilometers
$940/year (2002 average est. income)

USA:
291 million people (2003 est.)
9.6 million square kilometers
$35,060/(2002 average est. income)

Germany
83 million people (2003 est.)
357,000 square kilometers
$22,670/year (2002 average est. income)

From a world perspective it boils down to this:

The most populous countries in the world are China, India, and the USA respectively. Germany is the 13th most populous country in the world. This means that on average in India there are 303 people per square kilometer, in Germany there are 232 people per square kilometer, in China there are 137 people per square kilometer, and in the USA there are 30 people per square kilometer.

The USA is third, China is fourth, India is seventh, and Germany is 62nd in terms of land mass.

The average income in the USA is the highest of the four countries and India is the lowest. World-wide, the USA ranks sixth, Germany 22nd, China 135th, and India 159th.

No wonder so many things are out-sourced to China and India, huh?

UPDATE 7/8/04:

A comment to this post suggested that I double check my stats and what do you know... Where the hell did I ever get those statistics anyway? I thought I got them from The World Almanac 2002, but when I doubled checked they aren't even close to what I have here.

It is true, I am mistaken: According to the 2002 World Almanac the information is as follows:

  1. Russia; 17,075,400 sq km
  2. China; 9,326,411 sq km
  3. Canada; 9,220, 970 sq km
  4. USA; 9,166,601 sq km
  5. Brazil; 8,456,511 sq km
  6. Australia; 7,617,931 sq km
  7. India; 2,973,190 mil sq km
  8. Argentina; 2,736,690 sq km
  9. Kazakhstan; 2,717,300 sq km
  10. Algeria; 2,381,741 sq km

Germany; 349,907 sq km

Boy, do I ever have egg on my face...

13 February 2004

Paraskevidekatriaphobia: Fear of Friday the 13th

With all the hype over Valentine's Day this week, I completely forgot today was Friday the 13th!

Actually, I have never really had too much fear about Friday the 13th. I guess once you have watched all 7 or 8 Friday the 13th films more than once and on an actual Friday the 13th, Jason doesn't jump out of your closet, you really have nothing to fear. Honestly, I am a bit more concerned on any month where the 13th falls on a Monday... :P

But why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky? A while back A. asked me the same question. So, I got to thinking about it this morning and did a little research (you know, that is what we librarians do... research) and this is what I found out...

*****************************************

Praskevidekatriaphobia, or Fear of Friday the 13th, is probably the most widespread superstition in America: over 20 million Americans admit that they are at least a little apprehensive on Friday the 13th.

Nobody really knows the origins of Friday the 13th. In fact, no one has been able to document the existence of such beliefs prior to the 19th century. However two separate strands of folklore concerning the unluckiness of the number thirteen (13) and the unluckiness of Fridays may have converged to make Friday the 13th the unluckiest day of all.

The Number Thirteen (13)

No one understands why human beings first associated the number 13 with misfortune, but the belief is assumed to be ancient and there are many theories claiming that its origins extend beyond antiquity. However, all ancient civilizations weren't unanimous in their dread of 13. The Chinese and ancient Egyptians regarded the number as lucky.

Some sources propose that 13 was intentionally vilified by the founders of patriarchal religions because it symbolized femininity. In many goddess-worshipping cultures, 13 was honored since it corresponded to the number of lunar cycles in a year.

Friday and the Christians

For some, Friday's bad reputation originates in the Bible. Supposedly, when Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit it was Friday. Tradition also indicates that the Great Flood began and the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday. And of course, Friday was the day of the week on which Christ was crucified.

Friday was execution day in pagan Rome, but in other pre-Christian cultures it was the Sabbath and the pre-Christian Teutonics considered Friday to be quite lucky. Of course, these pagan associations were not lost on the early Church, which went to great lengths to suppress them and eventually Fridays were associated with the Witches' Sabbath.

*****************************************

So there you have it, the some background information about the number thirteen and Fridays. However, as you may have guessed, the complex folklore of Friday the 13th doesn't have much to do with people's fears today.

"The fear has much more to do with personal experience. People learn at a young age that Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, for whatever reason, and then they look for evidence that the legend is true. The evidence isn't hard to come by, of course. If you get in a car wreck on one Friday the 13th, lose your wallet, or even spill your coffee, that day will probably stay with you. But if you think about it, bad things, big and small, happen all the time. If you're looking for bad luck on Friday the 13th, you'll probably find it."
-- click here for the site from which I lifted this quote.

12 February 2004

The Places I Have Visited

A couple of years ago I did something I had always wanted to do. I printed out a blank map of the United States (from National Geographic) and colored in all of the states where I had lived and/or visited. I did this after I made my cross-country move from Mississippi to Oregon and after my honeymoon to the American Southwest. Needless to say, I have been in about half of the United States. Some days ago, I discovered that you can do it online and so now I can share my travels with the whole world! (You too can do it! Just click here.)

The United States



The Rest of the World


Mary, Mary Quite Contrary...

Sometime last week (Thursday or Friday, I think) 18 cockle pickers were killed by rising tides in Lancashire's Morecambe Bay. (In case you wonder, Morecambe Bay is in England.)

When I first came across this news I was just browsing the BBC's headlines and didn't click through to read the news. However, I asked my self, "What the hell is a cockle picker?" Honestly, the first thing I thought of was that it must be some porn term that I was unfamiliar with and then I went on about my daily business.

But I just couldn't get the word "cockle" out of my head, for some reason I felt I should know it (aside from the porn connotation). Later that day I happened to watching CNN International when they did a report on the "cockle pickers." It turns out that cockles are shellfish! And from what I understand a mighty lucrative business...

Then I remembered! The nursery rhyme...

"Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row."

AH HA! Mystery solved...

The Case of the Missing Laundry Detergent

I just went downstairs to do a load of laundry and found that my laundry detergent is MIA. How odd!

Here in our apartment building we have a laundry room, but I must mention that it is different than any laundry room in any apartment building or complex in the US. Here you install your own washer and dryer in the laundry room and in order to make sure the creepy guy next door doesn't use your machine, the outlet is equipped with a lock. However, this doesn't preclude someone from stealing your machines, but I guess since everyone in the building has their own machines anyway, it isn't an issue.

Honestly, I must admit I was a little nervous with this system at first. If such a system existed in any apartment building in the US where I have lived, my washer and dryer would have been stolen, so I guess I should be happy that only my detergent has gone missing.

Anyway, every time you do laundry you unlock your outlet, plug in your machine, turn on your water, and you are good to go. And almost everyone leaves their laundry detergent on top of their machines. I have done so for almost two years with no problems... until today.

The odd thing is that I just did a load of laundry yesterday afternoon and my detergent was there then. I guess sometime in the night either a.) the detergent was unhappy in the cold basement and grew legs and walked away or b.) someone stole it. Hmmm...

10 February 2004

Culture Shock?! Part 2

Over a week ago, I promised to identify the Stages of Culture Shock, so here they are!

Stages of Culture Shock

Generally, there are five recognized phases of Culture Shock:

  1. The Honeymoon Phase
  2. The Shock Phase
  3. The Negotiation Phase
  4. The Integration or Acceptance Phase
  5. Re-Entry Shock

The Honeymoon Phase:

Typically, this phase is the shortest phase. In this phase a person is euphoric and pleased by all of the new, exciting things encountered. Everything is great, nothing is wrong; the person is having a wonderful time.

The Shock Phase:

During the Shock Phase, a person may begin to encounter difficult times and crises in daily life. The transition between the familiar methods of home and those of the new country is a difficult process and takes time to complete. Because of this, there may be feelings of discontent, impatience, anger, sadness, and incompetence. During this time, the newcomer may also begin to feel aggressive and start to complain about the host culture/country and only remember the good things about his or her home country. It is at this crossroads that the newcomer either gets stronger and stays, or gets weaker and goes home.

The Negotiation Phase:

During the course of the Negotiation Phase, a person gains some understanding of the new culture. The individual feels more comfortable in the environment and is able to deal with the problems set before him or her. In this stage, the language barrier and customs of the host country are not as demanding of an issue, and therefore the person can move around without a feeling of anxiety.

The Integration or Acceptance Phase:

When the person realizes that the new culture has good and bad things to offer, he or she is experiencing the Integration or Acceptance Phase. This integration occurs as the person starts to define and establish goals for him or herself and is accompanied by a more solid feeling of belonging. In short, the person has accepted the new culture and the differences he or she is experiencing.

Re-Entry Shock:

Re-Entry Shock occurs when a person returns to his or her home country. He or she may find that things are no longer the same. The individual may no longer be completely comfortable in his or her home country, and it may take a little while to become re-familiar with the cues, signs, and symbols of home.


A Few Final Notes about the Stages of Culture Shock:

The stages of Culture Shock can be present at different times or happen simultaneously and each person has his or her own way of reacting to each stage. In addition, it is important to remember that not everyone experiences all the phases of Culture Shock. Consequently, some stages will be longer and more difficult than others. Many factors contribute to the duration and effects of Culture Shock as well. For example, the individual's state of mental health, type of personality, previous experiences, socio-economic conditions, familiarity with the language, family and/or social support systems, and level of education can all have a profound effect on how a person deals with Culture Shock.