...And Another Month!

Alrighty.

So last I updated, I told everybody how I was tres malade and was interested in working for The Mouse.

In the past month I have been working on an art project that my teacher didn't give me an extension for. I thought I would take one anyway. I also planned a "cheap" trip to Orlando with my Dad. It would've been inexpensive had it not been for the zillion taxis we had to take. Oh and the hotel switch.

The first hotel we booked SPECIFICALLY because the website said it had public transportation. TWO different kinds, to be exact.

What a bunch of BS.

We went to check in and could hardly understand a word of what the concierges were saying. Way to make things SUPER confusing....
Then they said "You want a Disney ticket?"
Dad: "No, no. We're only here for a short time. Unless, you want one Emma?"
Me: "Yea, why not? A free ticket? Maybe we could go to EPCOT and you could go on Soarin'?"

I actually didn't say anything about EPCOT but that's what I was thinking. So after offering me a ticket for ANY park, the non-english speaking guy doesn't give me one.

Um???????

So we find we have NO internet, NO transportation, besides a guaranteed $20+ taxi ride, and the floors shake when someone runs down the hall.

Oh yea, and you had to hold down the lever on the toilet for like a minute until it flushed.

Nevertheless, my dad and I try to make the most of the situation and stay optimistic. We head to Downtown Disney (did I mention the website also said that the hotel was only 2 miles away from WDW? Another lie.) where we figure out where the "Casting Center" is. We found it and talked to the security guard driving around because the building was closed.

I hoped that the security guard wouldn't notice the bar in my ear, and I held my hands together in front to look professional and to hide my tattoo while my dad explained that I had an interview the next day.

I absolutely loved the fact that the door handles into the Casting Center were the talking ones from Alice in Wonderland. I don't think I would have been surprised of they actually talked.

So then we went back to Downtown Disney, just a block away, and had dinner at Portebello's(sp?) which was an amazing Italian restaurant. My dad had this wonderful thought that since it was Father's Day AND my birthday, we should eat wherever we want, not worry about price. He has some pretty great ideas sometimes.

The food was great, the service was great, the atmosphere was great, AND we got to color on our table cloth with crayons! Wicked fun stuff. Ohhh and the dessert...mmmmm.

Next time I'm down, I am eating there again!



Next on our list is to explore for a little bit, then go back "home."

I need to get ready for the next day because my interview is at NINE AM. I'm not exactly a morning person. I decide to re-iron my nice collar shirt, and iron my long, professional brown shorts and shirt to wear underneath.

I've ironed a few times in my life, so I'm not horrible at it. I DO know what I am doing. So I tested the iron on a towel to make sure it wasn't going to stain my clothes. Nothing. Awesome, good to go. I get my pants/shorts done with no fuss. I move on to my undershirt, a cute tanktop with hearts all over it that my mom suggested I absolutely NOT wear. Well, things went well for the first half of the shirt, then it started to turn brown. THANK god I have my Tide-to-Go!

So I'm super pissed about the iron but still have my OUTSIDE shirt to do, which is, of course, white. I get most of the stain of my hearts shirt and then try to blow dry it so it doesn't get that nice wrinkle effect.

I get through most of my white shirt with no problem, BUT get BROWN on the FRONT!!!
I'm about ready to freak out. Right, Tide-to-Go. Always a good thing to have. I use most of it on the shirt, create some nice waves of texture and realize I would have to flatten that out. No way am I going to use the iron. So hair dryer to the rescue. I hang everything up and hope no one notices how much of a spaz I am. But my outfit was all brown hues anyway, sooo, what a great color to have!

I jump in my bed, which squeaks like a banshee (ewww) and sniff under the quilt to make sure the sheets actually might be clean. Smell like bleach to me! Sleep comes and I remember I had weird dreams, when we get up the next day I learn that apparently my dad had weird dreams too. Must be the room...

I have to hustle, I have an interview and want to be extra prepared and ON TIME, something that I'm not so good at on my own. Before I shower, I notice BUGS crawling around the sink.

Yummy.

So I tell my dad. He acts like its no big deal, but while I took a shower, he not only got breakfast from Dunks (which there was like RIGHT across the street, I didn't even know they had DD in Florida!), but he also got a room at the hotel next door. Which we have to move into....now.

That got me anxious, because I'm already hurrying, and now I have to pack and then unpack and continue getting ready. I have to carry a gillion things and try not to wrinkle my outfit which I carried across my arm while holding two drinks.

Making a long story short, Quality Suites Inn was a thousand times better. I told my (lawyer) dad that he should try to get his money back. Which he did (try) but the company has to do that, not the actual hotel. I guess they sounded surprised that we were checking out a day early.

Whatever, free internet next door. And breakfast. And two TVs, plus free drinks at happy hour.
It all just seemed.... less shady.

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My interview went smoothly. I have no experience whatsoever. But I got a "skill code" which I'm told means I'm a STRONG candidate. I think I got a job. I like the way my friend puts it: "so technically you got the job. They just don't have an opening for you right now."

I was offered a job. Working Main Street Magic Kingdom, with two weeks in which I had to pack, leave home, find a place to live, be bombarded by people when I don't know what I'm doing...

She noticed I was hesitant. I told her I was up for anything, I'm willing to try, but she told me if it doesn't work out, they have to start over and turnover costs Disney money... Not like they have a lot or anything....

But there weren't many openings because they just hired a bunch of people in May for the 4th of July season, AND because of my "tattoo..." (that's how she said it, "your tattoo..." like it was a trashy unwanted thing. Well, at Disney it IS unwanted, I wasn't going to tell her about it, but she asked, and my attempt to cover it with makeup failed miserably. I told her I could get the patches, but "Disney doesn't allow those.") I have even limited possibilities because my costume needs to be long sleeved.

So my jobs opportunities are working merchandising at Fantasyland in MK, or World of Disney in DTD. Both are fine with me. I just can't wait to start something new and work at Disney. I get paid next to nothing, but it's not like I have a family to support.

She also said I could work foods, but she didn't really want me there. I've read that Disney discriminates pretty hard, and they want "pretty" people out front, interacting with guests, while less attractive people work behind the scenes. Since I, thankfully, fall under the former category, I get to mingle. And pin trade!

I'm really apprehensive because they said if they get an opening, they will call me, but I've interviewed for other jobs with no call back. On the other hand, they ARE always hiring, and I think I did pretty well in the interview.

I am such Disney material, I know it, people in Orlando know it, I am bound to get a job. My favorite part of the interview was when she was explaining all aspects of merchandising and trying to make it all sound horrible, but it sounded just fantastic to me. She talked about stocking merchandise, labeling prices, security tags, occasional sweeping...
...she even told me that I might have to be all alone at my own kiosk. "Is that alright with you? being all alone?"

My answer seemed to be spectacular based on her response.

"Yeah, that's fine, but I won't be alone. I'll be surrounded by the guests!"

She kind of sounded pleased when she said, "Yes! Thank you." It was as if I said something I was supposed to say, but something different and refreshing. After she said that, I felt much better about how I was doing.

I truly hope to get a call soon because I really can't wait to go back down to gorgeous sunny Florida, get all the benefits of free park admission, ride the rides, possibly get a motorcycle (I really don't want my nice New England car there, but I HAVE to have reliable transportation. A motorcycle would be easier to maneuver through traffic and much easier to park.)

But what I'm most excited about is getting discounts on merchandise and getting more Mr. Potato Head pieces to add to my new collection that I started last week!

A Brighter Future, Literally

Wow. It's been a month? Time sure flies when you're busy. Let's see... I had tons of homework/finals/projects to prepare for, was sick for 3 weeks, 1 of which I spent in and out of the hospital trying to figure out what was wrong with me. They ultimately decided, "let's just say you have the flu and hope you get better soon. If you don't, you'll get a cat scan.

That first week I stayed home from school which sucked because it was the second to last week. So even though I still felt terrible the second week, I HAD to make it to school, it was the last week AND I was leaving early to go to DISNEY!!!!

I think I stopped being sick 2 or 3 days into my vacation. Before I left, I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. I thought I might move somewhere ANYWHERE in the continental US and get a job doing something fun. Now I know EXACTLY what I want to do for the next year. PLUS, if I get a full time job in merchandising, I can get affordable health insurance.

I'm moving to Orlando, baby!

That's not for certain, of course. I don't actually HAVE a job at Disney, yet, but I'm doing muchos research to figure out the best way to go about starting the process.

So even if I AM pasty white and have to wear spf abagizillion every day, I think it would be so much fun to live in Florida and work for Mickey giving guests the "Disney experience" that I got while I was there. I must admit, it really was the PEOPLE who made the greatest difference down there. I am just so excited to get away from this place and do something new. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.

My house is being taken over by TICKS!

Gross.

I don't think I can stress how disgusting a matter this is. I love in the boonies, with fields and woods aplenty. I'm used to ticks and have often taken them off my dogs, but in just one weekend, I have been the discoverer of 4 out of the 5 ticks we have found.

The thing that puts me off guard is that they are just crawling around. Usually they are just fat ugly creatures attached to the dogs or cat, but the other day, the first tick of the season was on...

ME!

Just crawling around my thumb. I was laying in bed just watching TV. I looked at my hand and thought there was a tiny spider and I was about to freak out when I saw the tear drop shaped belly. Interesting though, I have been doing muchos research on these foul things and have come to learn that they are related to the spider family.

I didn't flip out when I found out it was a tick because I didn't want to fling it somewhere unknown in my bed, so I just grabbed a tissue and squashed it. It wouldn't die though because it was a flat belly, remember, it never attached to me.

So I went to tell my rents I found a tick, even though it was the middle of the night. I thought they might be somewhat concerned seeing how ticks can carry Lyme disease and other repulsive infectious bacteria. Nope... more fascinated by sleep.

That's okay though because it wasn't a huge deal, we've just never had them crawling around before and I wanted to warn them that it was now officially tick season. Which until this weekend I thought only occurred in the summer/fall. But I get mixed up pretty easily with time and seasons and when certain events happen.

MUCH freakier the next day (today - Wednesday [I'm still up so I consider this Wednesday night even though it's technically Thursday].

I wake up to get ready for school and my mom tells me that my DAD had a tick. What? A tick? On my dad? We've never had ticks before. Ever. Not on us, not on the impenetrable perfect human flesh that surrounds our very being. Gross.

Apparently it was on his thigh and was dead yet still attached. I've never even heard of that. And still after my hours of research, I have not heard a similar story.

THEN, I'm petting my doogle and find a bump. Yay! Another one! First thing in the morning, no WAY I'm dealing with it. I want to eat my breakfast without vomiting, thank you very much. My mommy takes care of it and all is well. My dad is out at a meeting so it seems that he's alright and his leg can be checked out later.

Later that morning, after showering, beautifying myself and all that jazz, I again go see miss Frankie, the wonderfully cute but not so smart dog with the under bite. I see something shimmying around on her thigh and look closer. It was like the thing I had on my hand the other night!

"Wait here Frankie, don't move an inch."

Of course she moves in the less than 5-second time span it took for me to run to the bathroom and get a tissue. She had her head on her leg, but luckily, she didn't lose the little sucker. It just went to her cheek. Flushed it down and warned the cleaning lady that I found another tick, so she would be on the lookout.

Here's the fun part of the story: I come home from school and thank the lord my dad is home. He shows me the bite which I then inspected for a bullseye. It wasn't at all what I expected. There was like this black crater surrounded by red. The red could have been a ring, or maybe inflammation. I have never seen anything black like that, though. So I am immediately freaked out, tell him to go to the doctor. He tells me he's going to go chainsawing, so I GOOGLE tick bites to compare the marks to see if he will get weak and pass out in a short amount of time.

The information we found led him to call the doctor's office. Nobody was there. Why would nobody be at the doctor's? That is THE stupidest thing I have heard of in a looong time.
It's just like, hey I'm having a seizure, but I'll wait until tomorrow when you return. Oh, I guess I'm not that allergic to bee stings... maybe the venom won't flow until you return tomorrow. This severe food poisoning? I should be able to hold out until tomorrow...

Anyway, my dad hasn't gone to the doctor and I am super paranoid that he is going to have paralysis or something severe. The closest resemblance I found on the internet is:


Minus the little red bump at the top. But, uh, the name of this kind of worries me: African Tick Bite Fever.

I don't know if that's what my dad has, necessarily, but I'm thinking the worst so I can't be surprised if it turns out to be something REALLY bad. And this picture = pretty much what is on my daddy's leg. Although, I would like another look, especially after all the pictures and different bullseyes I've seen since I first saw it.

The story doesn't stop there, oh no, that would be too convenient for this house. My cat, of course had one HUGE tick that I found right before I was planning on going to bed. I of course never ended up falling asleep because I had to take care of the situation and had the curiosity to do more searching on GOOGLE. I got to try a different removal technique. I didn't know that they let go on their own, but that website helped with this advice:

"To remove a tick from your skin, the proper way is as follows:
First, using tweezers, grasp the tick as close to its head as possible. Gently lift the tick away from your skin until your skin puckers.Hold the tick in this position until the tick lets go. This may take a few seconds to one minute."

There are products that help one to remove a tick without squashing it. If you do squash the tick's belly, it will release its contents back into the bitten animal which puts the pet (or person) at higher risk of infection. Another thing I learned, although I never tried any of these methods, is that contrary to popular belief, one should NEVER use alcohol, nail polish, nail polish remover,a lit match, a just blown out match, etc. with a tick. What happens is the tick senses something is trying to attack it and as a result, it regurgitates back into the animal. Again, putting the animal at higher risk...

This website, although having many bad suggestions, has insightful ones also. I did not know that you can tell you got the whole tick when you see something that looks like a "long white tube" coming from its head. When I pulled the tick from my cat, I looked for that, and sure enough, I got it out correctly.

I love learning new things via the internet, but also love hearing real testimonials of what is actually good advice or a bad product. So the last little tidbit I am going to add is that this final website was consistently the most knowledgeable one and although I had the misfortune to find it AFTER my last tick removal of the day, it is still an interesting read and I now know that flushing ticks does not kill them.

I can't wait to see where this great tick adventure will take me tomorrow.

Oh, wait. Yes I can.

"Guarana? Tsk, tsk."

You know that 5 Hour Energy commercial? I know you do. It talks about how bad guarana is. Well actually, it talks about how the other pick-me-up drinks have guarana - "tsk tsk."

My mom and I were watching TV when this commercial came up. She asked, "what's guarana?" My response was: "I don't know. I've been wondering that for awhile now."

So here come in my two favorite sources, GOOGLE and Wikipedia. My findings were shocking: guarana is a seed that comes from a plant native to the Amazon and Brazil. It has three times as much caffeine as a coffee bean.

Funny, according to 5 Hour Energy's ingredients, the formula includes caffeine. So why is the ad dissing guarana?

Furthermore, and this is my favorite part, taking 37.5mg or 75mg (based on studies) of guarana increases memory retention, alertness, mood, physical endurance, and other general cognitive effects. Tests were done both on rats AND humans.

"Other laboratory studies showed antioxidant and antibacterial effect, and also fat cell reduction from chronic intake of guarana."

Well, guarana doesn't sound so awful to me. Does it sound that bad to you? Just remember the power of advertising and bogus suggestions that people assume to be true or just don't give any second thought to.

*One negative side effect is that guarana CAN cause seizures in SOME people in excessive amounts. I feel common sense is one huge thing to have and anybody who drinks too much soda or caffeine or anything like that is pretty much asking negative things to come to them.

I'm getting sued by a Corporate Company? Not uh!

So I've been selling these really sweet shirts that I designed and made in order to support the Obama campaign. I have sold some to family friends who actually don't live in the state I'm advertising.

Anyways I guess these shirts have been gathering debate among the buyers and those who notice them. I had based the logo off of a famous company's logo, same shape, colors, different design. Poor friends think I, a tiny little college girl, so alone and lost in a giant confusing world, am gonna get sued.

Fortunately for me, I have a live-in lawyer whom some might call my daddy. The other night, when we went out to eat at the local pub, he started telling me about his friend's worries. He started telling me about Andy Warhol.

I love pop art, by the way. I am currently making this layered construction paper collage-thing of one of Lichtenstein's comics. It's pretty amazing. I'm just awesome at thinking of cool new things. Back to mon novelle.

Andy Warhol, if no one remembers, did that Marilyn painting, the very colorful one? That's one thing he's famous for, but we're gonna talk about soup cans.

Campbell.

Andy Warhol was sued. He also painted soup cans for commercial publicity and probably other reasons, like the fact that soup cans look cool. But he was never charged with anything because of this little thing called the "fair use" copyright law.

Which I guess means if you take something and make it your own, everything's good in the hood. The only thing I would ever be afraid of if I was sued would be bringing negativity to the Obama campaign. Of course, like his pastor, Obama has no controlling of what I do and so it would be non of his fault. Would be pretty cool if he knew who I was, though.

At the Peacejam thing, several people said I should market my shirts. And I'm not gonna take any legal or executive action, just continue making them. But I may throw an ad in the back of my car and drive to a much bigger town. First I gotta make a bunch, because as of now, I have none.

Until I have chance to pick up some more tees for a custom order, my shop is on hold. But for shameless commercial purposes, if anyone is interested in finding out more (I don't write details because I don't want people to steal my idea that I worked so hard on), just leave a comment or something. Selling them for $15, or about 20 including shipping, with ALL proceeds being DONATED to Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

It's the little people like me that makes Obama so revolutionary, not to mention Obama himself. Vote for the one that didn't grow up as a politician!

It's been over 3 months and I STILL can't believe I have a giant bar in my ear!

Industrials.

Not just a term for machinery. Nope, in the piercing world, industrials refer to a double piercing, most commonly known to be in the ear:


That's my ear! Courtesy of the wicked high quality webcam on my laptop.

Pretty much I'm a chicken. I hate needles. Hate them. Probably not as much as my sister (who hid under the doctor's table thing when she was younger to avoid getting shots), but I've been known to be quite threatening when approached with a syringe.

The last couple experiences with needles initially didn't seem so bad, but I have pretty bad reactions. Last summer, I had my blood drawn. Not fun. Would NOT recommend it. EVER. They didn't tell me they would need to fill up 3 vials. And neither did my RN mother. She said it would take 10 seconds.

Thanks mom.

Not quite, it was like forever in my mind. And it didn't feel nice. An achy kind of pain that you just want to cry through. Like a really bad day, not so much a sharp pain, but a dull, ebbing pain. I would absolutely not have agreed to the blood drawing if I didn't feel like such a toughie for getting my tattoo a week earlier. And it was either two days before or after that that I had my meningitis vaccination.

The meningitis shot is exactly why I hate getting poked and prodded. I use the shot guard thing, because, again, I am a chicken. So it hardly even hurt. I was like "Oh wow, that was nothing, I don't know why I've been scared of needles for so long."

I got a wake up call later that night. I had a REALLY bad reaction where my right arm started cramping and aching and numbing. Then that pain jumped to my left arm as the right got worse. And my mother, the RN, wouldn't help. I even went into my rents' room bawling and nobody cared, all the while the cramping continued to take over my entire body.

Things like that are just scary. My sister ended up taking care of me, bless her soul. Gave me a few benadryl and ibuprofen and I was out in about half an hour. Thank science for (legal) drugs that quickly take pain away.

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Anyway, I meant for this story to start at one point and go forward, but it seems to be going backwards in time. Oh well.

Ever since fourth grade I had wanted my belly button pierced. My mom did too (mine, not hers) for some reason, even though she wouldn't let me get my ears pierced a second time. At age 13 at the end of 8th grade, I was given a paid appointment for my birfday. I ended up chickening out, which I am SOOO glad for because as it turned out, the place I went to never had a license for navel piercings. I found this out when I called up 2 years later and was told they no longer did piercings. The guy who did end up piercing me told me all these horrific stories about the woman there. Eck. He was awesome though, Pat. With the giant earlobes. My sister recommended the shop after getting her tattoo (really brave of her, but I would guess symbolic reasons and emotional connections helped to encourage her).

So my navel piercing was really my first big step in facing a needle phobia. It was the MOST intense pain, like I knew the meaning of the word "pierce," but that feeling was the shortest moment of time. Like the snap of a finger; a millisecond. So I thought I was good because after that I didn't feel a thing.

But then I was told to stand. And I passed out.

I guess something about blood running to and fro or something like that, it leaves your brain and bam, you're falling with no intention of doing so. Fortunately the chair/table thing was behind me AND so was my dad! Who caught me before I like hit my head or something.

So the rest of the day I feel faint, although, it was one of the best days of my life. Also I got really good ice cream afterwards.

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So last year, I figured "if I could get my belly button pierced, I can get a tattoo, especially if Libby could get one too."

So tattoo, no whoop. I was surprised. Yeah, it hurt, but nothing I've never experienced before. I went to the same place that I got my piercing. Turns out, everybody there remembers my daddy because he wants this lame-ass Boston "B" on his bicep (I lie, the Boston "B" could never be lame, even on a bicep) and I guess that stands out in people's minds. I think it was also the fact that he made such a big deal about actually being with me when I got it done. He's a big wussy: can't stand wiggly teeth and other little weird things like that.

My tattooer said that people describe the pain like a cat scratch or a beesting. And it pretty much felt like someone was carving up my arm. The best way I can describe it was that it was the worst tolerable pain. I hadn't had a beesting since I was like 5 so I don't remember what that feels like but after it was all done and wrapped up and paid for and ready to go, it had this annoying burning sensation that I can only imagine is what people felt when they described tattoos as beestings.

When I got a touch-up, I didn't get that burning feeling so hooray! I would totally just ink up my entire body if I had the money (and if that appealed to me) because in the end, it was really no big deal. I though I would feel weak like when I got pierced, but I felt pumped and ready to go. "Slow Ride" was playing on the radio and lasted for like ever and I think I spent the rest of the day playing video games.

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So one good experience and I'm all "needles can't be that bad....and if I could get a tattoo...and a piercing...I could go ahead and get health-related vaccinations."

Then I had those terrible experiences...

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Main point of the story:

I had seen an industrial for the first time my senior year of high school and immediately I KNEW I wanted one.

So finally, I'm 18, I can do whatever, I just got money from Christmas and my friend is getting a tattoo. The guy who pierced me before has left "my" shop, so I have to go international (outta state) anyway. My friend and I make a pact to get art-ed together so we go to her choice shop a few days before New Years.

Oh My Geezum. The industrial is supposed to be one of the most painful and most highly rejected piercings. I thought I might chicken out, but as you can see, I didn't.

In fact, I didn't get the chance to. The piercer, a woman with horns surgically implanted in her head, made fun of me when I freaked out when she brought the pen to my ear. I didn't know it was a pen. But she goes and makes fun of me, and I relax a bit because I'm thinking, "Oh, she's making the placements, so I'll still get to look in the mirror before needle time."

My lobes (I think), b-button AND tattoo were all "placed" and I got to have the ultimate decision if things were placed just right, so I just assumed that this would be the same case.

Nobody warns me that she's about to stab me with a giant hollow needle. I think she planned it that way. Seriously genius. I wasn't even given a chance to chicken out. She has one hole done and I hardly felt it, it hurt less than my belly button. And before I can truly comprehend the situation, she says "take a breath" and the thought that I'm halfway done and there is no backing out ran across my mind and I automatically did what I was told. The second one didn't feel as sharp of a pain, but was more wide spread.

So then I made new friends in my new semester and one of them has hers done. I guess it had started to reject so she went to some wicked good lady to consult who told her that she shouldn't have had it pierced in the first place. She apparently doesn't have the right kind of ears.

And get this! The lady she went to go see turns out to be the lady who pierced my ear! AAAAND... I guess she is like one of the best piercers not only in the area, but in Massachusetts. In New England.

So I got pierced by the best of the best. A great experience, but seeing that I'm still surprised that I have a permanent piece of art on my arm and it took me forever to get used to my navel piercing (which is now weird for me to be without), I'm still not used to metal rod in my head.

And I still can't believe that I went through with it! I'm so surprised with myself on a daily basis now. And I'm currently looking for the perfect picture of a dragon to get tattooed on my hip. I had originally thought that would be my first one, but the rose is MUCH more meaningful to me.

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On a completely unrelated side note: The Wedding Singer is just about the greatest movie ever. I think it was the first movie I ever saw at this house and is just a great classic with great songs. It's on ABC Family right now and brings back quite a bit of memories.

Stephen Colbert, will you Marry Me?

Dancing to "Funky Town" at 15 till midnight is just about the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Getting that song out of a fish? Even better.

After months of watching your show, I have become addicted. Yes, every single night. I'm hooked, there is no living without "The Colbert Report." I must admit, however, that I first fell for John Stewart's show.

In my social studies III (roman numerals - so fancy!) class in high school, my teacher, who in a pinch could BE John Stewart, would have us watch John Stewart. He would tape it the night before and bring it in the next day. Of course, the clips he would show would be completely relevant to what we were discussing in class that day... Or of Bush being in idiot.

I never used to watch these shows on Comedy Central. I'm a South Park/Lil Bush kinda girl. I would watch bits and pieces of "The Daily Show" every now and then when I was flipping through channels, but it never interested me, even though politics always has.

After my social studies class, I started to watch Stewart. Sometimes record it on my DVR, most of the time, not. I would always change the channel after that. But then, you know how TVs always manage to mess up things somehow? Your show became one with "The Daily Show" in its own little news comedy hour long fun package. Or it could have been me being bad at recording, this was over a year ago.

I started watching "The Colbert Report" quite often as well. It probably wasn't until the writers strike that I started watching EVERY day. I really got to see how great you, Stephen, and John are at improving. I honestly think that the shows became much better and really took off during that time. You guys were wild and could let loose and talk about anything, ANYTHING.

Unfortunately, after the strike, when the writers came back, Stewart's show started to, well, kind of lag.

But yours Stephen, oh wow! It still REALLY soared. Being quite the sarcastic person myself, I have really fallen in love with your asstitude. I am in awe with your over flowing abundance of personality and charisma.

My mother often finds you to be insulting and rude, but she also doesn't know anything about anything. And she talks back to the TV, which I might add is one of the MOST annoying things people can do. Unless they argue with it, because that's just funny. But no, she agrees and says stupid stuff that just irritates the skin off of my body.

Getting back to the point, I know you are married, and I am not wickedly attracted to you physically (no offense, you know you're charming), but holy cow. Being with you must mean never going to bed angry.

Well, I guess that isn't much incentive, because that is already true for the here and now. Watching "The Colbert Report" right before bed, who could be mad?

Maybe my mother.



That was meant to be rhetorical, but oh well, I answered my own don't answer question. You closed the deal for me tonight with this little black fishy (which is now on pause because I felt I HAD to write this RIGHT now with NO time to waste).

Funky Town is just one of those wicked funny songs. Towelie = the best person making fun of it (until tonight) in that one episode of South Park. "That's it. That's the melody to Funky Town."

But he doesn't dance. And he only finds the music through a code thingie, like the telephone tones. You found the music through a fish. A fish! Which apparently had just been discovered to make sounds.

A fish. Jeez, Colbert, you are a genius. My respect for you is forever undying.

Peace Jam Northeast! Spread the peace!

Yep. Chilling in Springfield/Chicopee in support of my auntie. And, of course, world peace. I mean, why not?

Last night she spoke at this opera house building. Funny story: I get to drive there because I'm the automatic DD. Well, we took two cars, but I parked the CR-V in a pretty close parking area, same one as the other car. The other car gets to park in handicap because I guess my grammie has a hanging thingie (you know what I mean). Like five spots down is one car, empty spot, one car. This is the extent of the parking area; it is quite small.

I had no choice but to park in between the two cars because the rest of the spaces were handicapable. I drive on over to my designated space which is TINY. I mean TEENY TINY. The car on the left is not only right on the line but also angled in. The car on the right was not so much on the line but was also angled in. It was like I had to park straight in a triangle. In a mini-suv.

I have to warn you right now that I have road rage. Not like a "Oh I'm mad, that car just cut me off," but more like a, "Don't do it m***********! It's MY turn. Stay there, stay, don't pull out.. oh F***! You little B****!" Then I would go on yelling about how he better speed up fast because I'm not going to slow down. My theory is that if you are going to pull out in front of someone, you should quickly speed up to their pace before they catch up to you. Aaaaand, if they didn't, I would get right on their bumper, because they so could've waited, there was no one behind me.
Stupid drivers. Huge pet-peeve of mine.

Anyway, no one cut in front of me, that was just an example of how I would react. You don't want to see me around tractor trailer trucks. Actually, I don't know if I already mentioned this, but my dream way of dying is in some crazy car accident involving a tractor trailer truck and it would be the LAST accident because they would then BAN trucks from roads and highways in accordance to the Emma Law.

Yes, quite off track, but that is my dream. Hopefully way down the road, I am still quite young.

When I park, I have to readjust several times to squeeze in. This big gang member in the back of the car (yes, my car) was like, "maybe you should let me out first..."

So I park, next to no space. Once I open my door, I have like six inches to get out. Sometimes I have to do this at school, so it doesn't really bother me, but when you're in an actual parking lot in an actual public place, I feel like someone has to be such a huge ass to not be considerate enough to fix their parking. So I am angry in this instance. I would also like to say that I am not stick skinny, so I do have to do a little shimmy-ing.

I locked my door and started shouting at the way bad parked car to my left (where I just got out) and then to add insult to injury, or vice versa (that's how I was raised to say it, I guess it's wrong - oh well, get over it), I went and kicked the bumper of his stupid blue trash heap.

I go over to the members of the other car: my mother, grandma, and aunt (a different aunt) and start complaining about how it's WAY to close, the other guy is stupid and he would probably scratch the car on the way out. Or on purpose.

We are in Springfield. Shady place.

We see my aunt Jo-jo speak, then mingle upstairs at a little reception thing. My sister and I get back to the car, and to my delight, the other car isn't there. We get in all ho-hum and then Libby notices that one of the wipers is up and puts it back down. I'm like, "Why was that up??"

Then she starts the car (she's driving this time), and I hear this weird noise. I look back and the wiper in the BACK is going (it was raining earlier). The wiper was also snapped. in half. with the hard plastic still hanging on being pushed against the window.

I go, "Libby, the back one's broken."

"Crap. Someone messed with the car."

Now I know it was not broken when we LEFT the car because I was driving and I often look in my rearview mirror, and sometimes watch the wiper in awe. My car does not have one. I was impressed with how well it pushed the water away. My front wipers don't even work that well.

So, using deductive reasoning, I conclude that it MUST have happened sometime between leaving the car in the lot and coming back to it. My ultimate thinking is that the car next to me was pissed that I parked next to him. Perhaps it was the passenger who had a hard time getting into the car. Maybe they tried to break the front wiper but couldn't, so they deigned to snap the back one. Cool.

I hope they think they are tough.

I mean it takes SUCH a big and decent person to park badly on their own fault and then beat up the car that parks next to it.

Big heros. They really helped themselves out there.

It just infuriates me that people have to be so destructive to make themselves feel better. Being the psych/criminology student that I am, I'm gonna go ahead and guess that daddy wasn't there during his child hood. Maybe he was and slapped around the lady. Poor kid couldn't deal and has to start acting out in forms of obnoxiousness (bad parking) and destruction (wiper) and maybe even stealing here and there.

The thing that really bugs me is he doesn't know me. Maybe I'm a struggling teenage mother with a really sick kid who was amazingly able to get me a car through make-a-wish so I could drive him to his hospital appointments. Maybe, if that stupid punk got to know what I could be, he would feel SO bad that he did that.

I feel like kids these days have NO common sense OR decency. It makes me so angry. Fortunately my story above is not true, but people need to seriously start THINKING before they do stupid stuff like that.

I bet you twenty bucks that my life was at least twice as hard and depressing as his and I turned out find. I obviously relieve my stress by writing, which is sooo the opposite of destruction. I have NEVER stolen in my LIFE. Not even a candy bar or a pencil when I was little. I have never egged or TP-ed anybody's house. I have never purposely done anything harmful to a car especially out of vengeance. Surprisingly, the only car accidents I have ever been in (besides benign "fender benders" that did NO damage) were completely other people's faults. I have never been in a fight that I started. Basically, what I'm saying is that I don't do mean things to people who don't deserve it.

UGH. Springfield. Can't wait to leave.

Fun for me though, we're staying one more night than I was told. I have no clothes, no supplies, undies, anything for another day. I packed as lightly as a possibly could, which was very little considering I brought only a backpack that had my laptop, binder, notebook, textbook, and power cords already in it. I could re-wear something, but since I've seen the same people for two days, they could tell, and yes I am that shallow. Plus I have to look good, I'm part of "The Family."

This one kid asked, "do you wake up every morning and say, 'oh my god, Jody Williams is my aunt.'" And since this is a college aged event, my sister and I socialize with the HUNDREDS of kids here to see Jody. Just saying. We're kinda a big deal :)

I'm gonna marry Tyson Ritter

Pfth. I wish.

The lead singer of my favorite band and I am absolutely IN LOVE with his voice. All-American Rejects' second album is infinitely better than the first. It has better quality, a different tone, great music. I just love it. Of course I bought this like two years ago, but what made me think about it was one of their songs came up on my iPod as I was driving home from school.

"Kiss Yourself Goodbye." This, I believe, is one of their best songs and it is not even on a cd. I'm so glad I found it though. Another song where Tyson's vocals really impressed me was the sensual and seductive "Dance Inside."

When I first got "Move Along" (the album, not the single song) I listened to it CONSTANTLY. I drove a lot so I had a lot of time to listen to it. 15 minutes to school and back in each direction. I would also drive to friends' houses in distant towns. I would just have it on repeat and would listen to it every day.

I love the fact that I'm not a crazy obsessed fan who knows everything about everyone in the band. I couldn't tell you a single thing about any of them. Except that I know the lead singer's name and that he plays bass.

And is totally my type.


Gorgeous, right? Not to sound school-girlish or anything... So anyway, I have been listening to these guys since 8th grade and my how they've grown. Like I said, second album: way better than first. And this is one of the only bands that I would actually support by not just downloading the songs, but going out and buying the actual album. With a plastic case. And artwork.

Remember those? cds? It's been awhile. The only other artist I do this for is DMX. I just noticed a pattern between these two singers. I absolutely love their voices and they are quite unique.

And they pretty much turn me on. I highly suggest if you've never listened to an All-American Rejects song, DO IT. Do it now. You'll see what I mean.

Maybe someday I'll talk about DMX. I don't even remember why I started buying his stuff. But I'm glad I did.

So if I can't marry Ashton Kutcher and I can't marry Clark Kent (aka Tom Welling), then I'm going after Tyson :)

I'm looking to make a quick buck

Green. The color of money. And coincidently, my eyes.

So I thought the font should be green if Imma talk about lazy ways to make money.


Nowadays, there are so many ways to get scammed. But a good thing to remember is that if someone really wants your business, they probably won't make you pay.

Like in modeling. If someone thinks you have enough talent, that agent or company will pay for your photo shoot. Which I wish I knew back in sophomore year.
Oh well.

Back to my point... I thought to myself "hey. I'm online a lot. I mean A LOT. I also give out my opinion FOR FREE. Don't those survey companies PAY people for that?"

If you've ever seen Ellen Degeneres on HBO then you know she has this awesome philosophy. It goes something like "well I could go to therapy and pay them a lot to tell them about my life. OR I could charge YOU to come and listen to me talk about life."

So it seemed to be killing two birds with one stone. Let me tell you that I did my research, yessirree. I Googled. A lot. and then a lot more.

So after many (quick side note - I just realized I say "so" a lot. And "A lot" a lot.) readings and searchings and thinkings, I signed up with some highly recommended sites. And since helpful bloggers helped me out, I thought I would repay the favor. By writing about the exact. same. thing.

So here are my findings:

...Keep in mind that I've only been signed up for these for a week...

I'm gonna analyze these in order that they appear on my bookmark toolbar.

>Greenfield Online seems to be a big disappointment. It came highly recommended and by many. The problems I read about this was sometimes they don't credit you for surveys you take, so you have to keep track of all the surveys and their serial numbers.

I haven't done this because again, I'm lazy. I haven't been paid for a single survey on this site. I never qualify. And when they send me "opportunities" via email, and I click on the link, I got to it "too late" and enough people have taken it, or it's just for a sweepstakes entry which I could do just by going to the site. Lame.

Maybe eventually Greenfield will get better for me. Each paid survey is worth anywhere from a whopping 1-3 dollars.

These emails ended up in my spam folder, but I just told it to unspam it and now they are being sent to my inbox. I think they send too many emails for what little opportunity you actually get.

I suppose since this is a legit site and many people like it, I will give it two stars
**

>Mysurvey is pretty chill. This one came at the top of everyone's list. I like it. This is a points rewards survey site. I actually earn points!

Simple surveys given at the beginning AND initial sign up give you points. If you download the "MySurvey Messenger," they give you another 40 points. Today (Monday, not the technical today) I got an email giving me another 25 points for now becoming a "full member" whatever that means. I didn't do anything. I like that this company just gives you random points for doing things. I have only received one survey through email, but I actually got to take it AND they gave me points, so hoorah. And according to what people say about these sites, 2-4 surveys a month is normal, so I'm pretty pumped about it.

Apparently minimum payout is $10, meaning you need to rack up ten dollars worth of points in order for them to send you a check. This might take awhile. Ten dollars is the equivalent of 1,000 points, which according to my math is 100 points per dollar. I have a mighty 160 points. Which I'm actually quite proud of.

Right now I'm giving this site four stars. Perhaps it will get a complete ranking once I get more surveys, or a check.
****

>Survey Spot is fun because after each survey I get to play a little scratch game or slot machine, depending on what I feel like, even if I don't qualify for the whole paid survey. These little games get you 5, 25, 50, or 100 entries for the $25,000 monthly cash sweepstakes. I guess there are other prizes too, but I'm less interested in the big bucks with little to no chance of winning.

It's hard to qualify for surveys, I never know what kind of demographics they want, so it's hard to lie on the qualification questions. And it's rare to come across a money paying survey, but MUCH easier than other sites. They have several surveys a day and if you keep doing them, they will send you back to take more. I can't really describe how it works, but I am told that you should take all the surveys even if the have no cash incentive. That way they will give you more $ survey opportunities.

Surprisingly, I earned three dollars through this one, taking a survey about hair and hair products and healthiness. I was impressed with myself that I got past the qualification round :)

If you choose to sign up for this, go to the questions page and make yourself a password. A big bummer on a lot of these cash earning sites is that it takes 4-6 weeks for the reward to be added to your account, so if you get it, cool, but sometimes these sites don't give you what you've earned (like Greenfield) so you have to remember what you took to earn it. I'm not that uptight about it because it's just spare money, not anything I'm basing my life on. It's just a bonus. I don't know what minimum payout is, but I think you can cash out whenever. Your rewards accumulate, I believe, until you do so.

Survey Spot seems to have two different kind of home pages, and they seem hard to navigate between each other, but if you bookmark the one with the surveys on it, you should be fine. I think the way to get to that one is a link they send you through your email. Besides this, the website is still quite professional.
I'm giving this one four stars because it's fun and there are many surveys to take. And the fact that I earned cold hard cash within a week of sign up, even if I do have to stretch the truth on occasion.
****

>Valued Opinions I read a lot about. I think this was one of the sites that you can't sign up through their website, but have to find a banner ad with them "inviting" you to join. But usually if you do a search for "_____ survey sign up" or something similar, you can find sites of people giving you the weblink that sends you directly to the sign up page. I think Greenfield may have been one of these too. I just went to check, maybe Greenfield's not one of those. Anyway, I think the address I gave for that one sends you directly to a "join" page. My cookies have it so it goes to my login verification.

To me, this one is worthless. There are no surveys through the site. I guess you sign up and they send you email when you can take one. I have received a total of two emails: one telling me to activate my account, the second one welcoming me. Maybe I will get more within the month. I hope so. When I first set out for these "pay for surveys" I expected quite a few, but have learned that they come once every few weeks.

It also does not literally pay. You earn a certain amount of money per survey which goes towards a voucher of your choice. I wish there was a Dunkin Donuts one. I would sign up with a survey company so quickly if they offered Dunkin Donuts rewards. I probably spend more money there than I do on, well, anything. Being a poor college student, I generally don't eat lunch, well also we don't have a cafeteria. The only food provided is apparently due to several students starting up a business. So the school has no requirement to feed me. I hate fast food, but have no time to go anywhere else. Therefore, Dunks! Mmmmm. The coffee of New Englanders. Don't ask about Starbucks, the closest one is like an hour away.

Anywaysssz. The options they give you are $25 Marriott gift card (I have NO idea what good that would do anyone), $20 Macy's gift card (I generally don't shop at department stores), $20 Amazon.com gift card, $50 eLUXARY gift card, and $20 fragrancenet gift card. Keep in mind that you have to EARN each of these amounts, so if you chose the $50, it would take you that much longer to receive your gift card. If you wanted to just get a gift card and then unsubscribe, I would highly discourage a high dollar gift card. Seeing as I have no interest in the Marriott or Macy's, the eluxary is too expensive for a site that has $1,500 goods (meaning not for me-if you were saving for something expensive and were looking to shave a few bucks, I suppose this is a good option), my perfume is not discounted on fragrancenet, is less expensive on amazon and would even be cheaper in stores because lack of S&H, AND I just got a new bottle for Christmas (I'm one of those people who find a perfume and stick with that one. Clinique Happy has been my perfume for like five years :) ), my only logical choice would be to go with the amazon gift card. Which happens to be perfect. I shop there frequently, generally for used video games or books or DVDs (the only things I will EVER buy used) so those only cost a few bucks, saving me greatly. Even if I didn't, amazon is still a really good discount website and I've been a member since like 8th grade. Furthermore, it's the cheapest gift card.

I think the amazon gift card may be the only good thing about this site. That is if you ever get a survey to earn it. And if you don't mind getting rewarded by credit at stores instead of moolah.

The website and even the website layout is boring. There are other ones, like Mysurvey, Survey Spot, and GlobalTestMarket (coming up next) that are designed both professionally, and fun. If I had come across any website that had too many options or was hard to navigate, I would not sign up. There was this one suggested by one website that was like "barbie" something that had way to much. A simple website seems to be the case with the more legitimate ones.

I give Valued Opinions one star
*

>GlobalTestMarket (isn't it weird that some are one worded and others aren't?) has got to be my absolute favorite. This survey site uses the point system. But instead of so many points are ten dollars, they give you a set amount PER point, so it seems more worth it and less arduous. I'm sure you could convert both Mysurvey and GTM points to be so many points per ten dollars or so much money per point, but that seems like too much thinking right now.

Mysurvey conversely has 1 cent per point. I decided to figure it out anyway. This is compared to GTM's 5 cents per point. GTM requires 200 points per ten dollars. Yay math. Good job Emma!

Okay, so furthermore, GlobalTestMarket's minimum payout is 5$. Guess how much I've earned? In a week? 140 points. That's $7! Obviously I'm going to wait until like 25$ to cash out. The great thing is, 100 points are pretty much free. There are ten profile surveys that each reward 10 points. That's 50 cents per survey. I mean compared to the other sites this is EASY easy money. It is like for sure, instead of, maybe, if you qualify, we'll throw you some benefits. And the Valued Opinions profile surveys you get to take for free. Yay...

I could only get 90 points because the automobile survey won't work for me. I don't know if it's a bug, something wrong with the website, my profile, or something that they are in the middle of changing, but I check every day to see if it will work and it says "This study has been temporarily closed. Please try again later." I don't know when this will be fixed, but I'm going to keep trying.

It seems to be a company by Yahoo. I think I went through Yahoo to get to the website, I don't really remember. But the Y! is what is in the corner of the tab as an emblem. Or, if you're a IE user, the symbol before the web address. That gives me faith because I trust Yahoo. Good faithful site.

What I really like about this site, besides everything, is that the surveys they send you through email ALWAYS reward you, or so I assume. I liked this one a lot before they sent me an email, so I was EXTREMELY impressed when I got one on Saturday. The email said that I would get 5-50 points for this survey, so I was expecting like 10, because I am new and don't have all the good surveys rolling in like those survey vets. I remember that it wasn't that long, or boring. I think it might've been about shopping. I GOT 50 POINTS! Oh I love this site. That's $2.50 for ten minutes of my time. That's more than minimum wage. Let's see, if I did that consistently, I would earn 15 dollars per hour. I wish that was possible.

So, loving this one. It gets a whole five stars plus
*****+

>Opinion Outpost seemed to have a lot of praise. I give it none. This is one of the websites I hardly ever check. I don't think I have a single email from them besides "welcome." The website has a cowboy theme. I think the idea is the same as Valued Opinions where you sign up and you...

Okay so I just went to the site (while in the middle of typing this, yes, I like to be informed and precise in my information. I really don't like false facts.) and I guess I had a survey waiting. Apparently you don't just sign up and they send you emails. I suppose you visit the site and go to "members area."

I didn't qualify, but I did live in one of the areas they asked about! Sometimes I just lie and say "Boston" because a lot of times that's listed, and being in New England, everyone is really from Boston, right? I mean, in a way? I will probably be living there in a few years anyway. I'm not that far off. But I didn't have to lie this time! I guess I didn't know enough about my house mortgage. Why should I? I'm 18. Also, we literally just bought the house last Friday. Been in the process of it for years. My aunt finally decided to let go. But back to the website. I feel like it's so boring I could fall asleep. Coincidently it is 2am and I stayed up all night last.

But I was from the area they wanted, how come they didn't want my info? Weird. Just because I don't know a thing about mortgages doesn't mean I'm completely in the dark about the housing market. But like I said, I never know what they want when they look for demographics.

Point program again. 10 points per dollar. Nice. The survey I just took was worth 23 points. If I qualified and got to finish. I got no little extra sweepstakes entry for spending time on the weeding out process, so that's stupid.

But there was indeed a survey. I was about to bash that there wasn't an email, but I just checked, I guess I missed it. I can't believe the survey was still open since Thursday. Usually they close up in like 10 minutes. I wonder what that says about their standards of qualification, or popularity.

It did come recommended, but I don't really like it. It doesn't even have the "sweepstakes" surveys like Greenfield, but it did have one more survey than Valued Opinions. I guess that means it gets a star and a half. Since I don't have half a star on my keyboard, I'll just round up to two
**

>American Consumer Opinion or ACOP I heard a lot about. Well, I heard about it a lot, not so much with details. I can't really do that either.

I have two emails, one to finish registering and two "thank you for joining."

There is a link on the site that takes you to "fun surveys" which is a roundabout way of saying "hey, we don't reward you for these, but they might be interesting one question one answer tidbits that you wanna put your voice in." My answer for whose famous wedding I would want to go to was not Charles and Diana, it was Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson, in case anyone was wondering.

The "about" page tells me that surveys pay anyway from $4-50. AND there are "online focus groups" that pay $25 usually. I don't know how you become a part of that, but whatevs. They might also ask you to participate in phone surveys or snail mail surveys but the online way is generally how they do it to it.

They have no real survey link through their website, but it DOES seem to have potential. I am giving ACOP three stars
***

FINIS

I want to give a few tips about all of these websites.

1) None of these have sent me spam. So far. I don't know if they will, but apparently they haven't sold my email address to 3rd party companies. I take this as a good sign

2) I highly suggest to READ THE RULES. I am one of those few who do this for almost everything. But these regulations have some pretty important info. Generally the specifics are no more than one member per household. Probably to avoid people from creating multiple accounts. Which is also prohibited. If they find you are guilty of doing this, they can kick you out without warning or reward. I assume the sites take note of the IP address so I don't know if you can sign in at other locations. I can only guess that would be ok.

3) Take all surveys. I don't know if I mentioned this earlier or not, but it allows the company to know that you are interested and they send you more surveys and more paid surveys. Along those lines, fill out your profile. It may not help weed out surveys not specified to your demographics, but I am told that it again, helps the company to send you more surveys.

4) None of these sites cost a dime. Or a penny. Or a halfpence.

5) Speaking of which, these sites generally only pertain to the US of A. Oftentimes Canadians get the same benefits, but sometimes not and no, it isn't fair. I agree. But I am thankful I live in the most greedy, obtrusive, egocentric country in the world. Countries outside of these two seem to get less than sub par benefits, at least compared to the Northern Americans. England, and maybe greater Europe, seem to have their own survey sites. I got really confused because I found a forum talking about earning Euros and all those high fashion money labels.
The other countries cannot earn actual money, I think. But they can earn vouchers and gift cards. I don't know all the specs, I don't really need to read about the outside countries and am not going back to every site to get a general idea. I know of the other fundamental rules because I read the terms of agreements of each site when I signed up.

6) There are different ways to receive payment. Usually. The common option is by check or through PayPal. I chose the check option. I know a lot of people like using PayPal because they don't have to do anything, but even though I have a PayPal account, I don't know what is involved in using it for this reason, but I don't like giving away personal information, if that is what is needed. Plus I'd rather have a check to take to the bank in exchange for the green, the real deal. The reason in which I decided to do this in the first place.

7) Usually there is a payout amount in which taxes must be filed or something. If I remember correctly, GiftMonkey said any amount over $500. GiftMonkey pays in gifts, however. I do not know the maximum amount for cash/check prizes. Perhaps $50. I would look at each website's details or a government site to find out. (BTW, I didn't talk about GiftMonkey, it was the very first thing I signed up for, but was WAY too complicated)

8) I have not received a single check yet, I only just signed up, but in total from these seven sites, have earned about ten dollars. If you decide to sign up and have a bad experience, I will not be held responsible for any... well, anything legally involved. Just don't blame me is what I'm trying to say. And I think writing that down is a legal contract. Weird how law is.

9) I have found that many of the well praised/legitimate sites don't have those "get rich quick" testimonials. Occasionally they have sweepstakes winners featured in the "winners" or "rewards" links. If a site tells you that "You can make $500 an hour!" especially on the home page, it is probably a scam site.

10) Never send money to sites. You should not pay in order to be paid. Do not pay for sites that give you a list of legit sites. Any of that info you can find for free. Like here, for example. A side note, Survey Scout apparently USED to be legit, but was hacked or something and is now not trustworthy. You might find several bloggers praising it, but disregard this. Always check the dates of when something was written about a site. The date may or may not make the info irrelevant. If you research deep enough, you can avoid being scammed. I spent days reading about these sites and hope to high heavens that they will do what they say. If not, I just have the knowledge that I have not been truly scammed for I never send any money or get ripped off. The only thing I will ever waste is time. Be sure to check multiple sites to see if the info backs itself up. If it contradicts between sites, chances are the site is no good. A great keyword for phony sites is "paid surveys." The first and last two sites I evaluated include this term in their tabs, but not the web addresses.

11) My last bit is just to make your own judgements and go by your instincts.

Someone wrote about my Blog!

Okay so here's the deal. Yeah, I'm skipping between topics right now meaning you won't be able to read about my dead baby until I feel like writing it.

Anyway, the other day when I was trying to figure out the web address of blogpudding (it had been so long and it wasn't in my little web bar anymore), I did a Google search because Google is the best search engine ever!

So I just did a simple search and the first website was NOT MINE. Believe it. Or not.

Just kidding, this isn't Ripley's. You have no choice but to believe it. Because I said so. The website includes all these links to other people's websites generally involving media hooplah like what's on tv. But some are really random and I just can't quite figure out what the website is about. Oh well. I don't mind.

I just think it's weird is all.

I mean who cares who Tila picked anyway? She's having another season so the first "winner" matters not.

I spilled Gingerale on my lover and it broke :( PART 1

Hi there. Remember me? It's been QUITE a while.

Here's my story.


I bought my wonderful beautiful laptop in, well, June. Apparently, it wasn't even supposed to be on the market yet, because Sony had not even made these models yet, and seeing that mine was custom made would take some more time.

When I finally got it (Over a month later), it was love at first site. "Cosmopolitan Pink," was my color of choice. Seems to match my phone. ANYWAY... My family/house finally got high speed internet at the end of July so I was all wired up. Or in this case, wireless. Ha. Get it?



La la skip months later to January...

After New Years, I got sick. I still don't know with what.

Here's the setup:
My computer is on the floor, upside down because I'm paranoid of it overheating. It is next to my bedside table. I will forever be mad at myself for a) having it upside-down and b) NOT having it on the table.
Setup 2:
An empty BOTTLE of gingerale sits behind an ALMOST empty GLASS of gingerale.

Okay, so you know when you are sick and you get a feverish sort of high? Yeah, so I'm walking around in a daze when I see the bottle and decide to clean up a little bit. I guess instead of lifting the bottle, I lifted and pulled the bottle, unknowingly knocking the glass over.

I didn't even notice at first because I didn't feel the bottle against the glass. It's as if the glass wanted to fall over. So after I hear the glass spill, I immediately jump into action! The first thing I do? Curse, of course. That is so me. I should probably learn to not do that so much.

Then I find some paper towels laying very conveniently around that exact area and clean up the mess on the rug. Then pick up the glass, noticing that there is still quite a bit of the almost nothing gingerale in it. It finally occurs to me that I should PROBABLY wipe of the laptop.

Pretty simple stuff. After wiping down the bottom, I opened the laptop which brought up the screen: good sign! it still works!

But I want to take precautions. I don't want to electrocute myself so I unplug it, then quickly shut it down. I take q-tips to inside slots and clean EVERYTHING as best as I can. I put the laptop right side up on my bed hoping that gravity will do it's job proposed by newton and force the droplets to fall onto the bed where it would soak up and or evaporate as opposed to just sitting there, keeping other drops from coming on down.

I guess that didn't work out like I wanted it. Later that night, I grab my lovely and bring it downstairs to the living room where my sister and her hunny bun (Mike) are.

I was setting it up, thinking I'm about to play one of those hidden object games that I'm currently addicted to thanks to my sister. I might suggest that those are a GREAT way to procrastinate.

I wish there was a job in procrastination. I would make millions. I would be the Trump of procrastinators. I'm great at it, and I'm great at getting other people to do it.

I should figure out a way to make that work for me....

...anyway. My sister wants to know what that smell is. "What smell?" Comes out of my mouth.

"Something smells like it's burning..."

After many moments of sniffing around, I narrow down this funny smell to the back of my computer. I bring it to my sister and stick it in her face.
"Is this what you were smelling?"

"Yeah that is definitely it."

Normally this is where I would write quotes with many provocative and offensive words inside, but this site frowns upon that, so I'm just going to assume that you get my point about what I said.

I tell my sister what happened and that I thought it was going to be fine, etc, etc. Then I realize I'm in deep doo-doo.

I go to the laptop in the kitchen, because, for some reason, we have like 20 million all over the house via my dad's work and my family's ability to break them down. So I look up all this stuff about what I can do and if I really am in trouble.

I also highly recommend this: If ever you are looking for information online, use FORUMS! They are the only thing that has honest comments and opinions not edited by websites and whatnot.

They say I should TAKE OUT THE BATTERY IMMEDIATELY! Luckily I did that when I was talking to my sister. I ultimately found more liquid in the cave-thing where the battery goes. So the forums say that I should have down that right away because even if the laptop is shut down, there can still be energy and stuff running through and processes going on that you don't know about.

*This is something EVERYONE should know. I mean there are certain things that every computer user just knows to do, or not do. Like not to spill on the computer. Bad news. Or not to sniff the compressed air/keyboard cleaner. Or simpler things like plug it in when the battery is low.

I wish I could tell the world to take their batteries out. That is just something sensible that everyone should know. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't the case where it was just ME who didn't know. I'm pretty tech-savvy. I mean I did build this little baby.

Getting back to the point, I realize I have to call the tech guys and see what I can do.

(This is PART ONE of the story. To read about my tech support experience and how the guy didn't know what gingerale was, stay tuned for PART TWO! -- I figured this post was getting long enough and that I needed to stop typing and get to not failing my English class. From last semester.)