My Dogs are Mooing

It would have been nice to have a fabulous post today, right?  I had the best of intentions. Unfortunately, I'm having a really hard time concentrating thanks to the neighbor who is playing music so loudly that I can feel it in my fillings.  Really, what's the point?  What is the appeal of listening to music at inhuman decibel levels?  I seriously doubt it's studyin' music. I'm starting to really dislike living in a complex inhabited almost entirely by college students.  I'm sick of the trash lazily left next to the dumpster because it requires too much energy to lift it 4 feet in the air into the bin (or perhaps it would ruin the suntan obtained after countless hours next to the pool/perpetual keg party).  I even found a half-full beer can next to my door.  Today I had to step carefully so as to avoid the gum left outside my door.  What's really annoying is that a lot of these people -- based on the cars in the parking lo...

Sorry it's been a bit since my last post; starting back to school has been quite the process!  Fear not, faithful readers -- I've got a story that more than makes up for it.  As many of you know, I recently moved to town. I was fortunate enough to have some AMAZING friends help me along the way.  Unfortunately, they fell victim to Walkwaygate 2011 (for a little reminder, you can check out my first post, "Taking a Hard Left into Wackytown.").  In a moment of Norma Rae-like enthusiasm I decided to forgo some of the cleaning requirements to get my deposit back. Let's be honest -- does anyone really clean behind the fridge? I had forgotten about my lack of cleanliness until I received a large envelope from my old landlord last week.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a sweet check for over half of my deposit. That would have been enough, but oh no -- the landlord had to make my day even better. The rest of the envelope was filled with a thick packet of COLOR d...

The other night some gnarly storms hit town and caused some power outages. I happened to be in a certain shopping establishment at the time:   Fearless shoppers continued their quest for crap by the light of the generators and their cellphones.          However, the people down the street had it much worse. This is so NOT where I'd want to be in a blackout.   But fear not, fair citizens -- the righteous few were spared from the wrath of the electric gods: 

Goodness, what would the man think?

Last night a good friend and I had a girls' night out -- dinner, shopping for cheap accessories, and yogurt.  Apparently we've been swept up in the self-serve yogurt hoopla, so we decided to visit a new location.  As we were paying I noticed the following sign behind the register: While you still probably won't see bacon on the menu anytime soon, this is a solid first step.  My grandfather would be proud.

I start training tomorrow for my new job.  I will be teaching robotics to 4th and 5th grade.  Basically, I get to hang out with kids all day and play with computers and legos.  Yeah, pretty sweet. Although I've been studying the software, there's probably one more step I need to take to be fully prepared: Robot Insurance, SNL

For all South Park fans out there, Wal-Mart has finally come through for us.  Soon we will be able to indulge in Cartman's favorite snack, Cheesy Poofs!  Imagine all of the variations on "I'm not fat, I'm big-boned" we'll be able to come up with.  In the meantime, here's a crumb for you: The Ultimate Cheesy Poofs Commercial (adweek.com)          But beware of Starvin' Marvins; those Ethernopians are going to want some too.

A normal car door and power controls: My car door and power controls: My new nemesis: To be fair, my father and brother-in-law did their very best to repair the car using gorilla glue; however, their hard work was no match for Hades-like heatwave we've been experiencing.  Since I don't want to spend the insane amount of money I'm sure it will cost to fix it, I'll just have to get used to my new way of life -- no ATMs, no bank drive-thrus, no locking my doors from the inside, no fast food. That last one's actually a bonus, although it has been an awful long time since my last Route 44 from Sonic...

My apartment complex is having the parking lot resurfaced.  They are going in sections, so every 2-3 days about 50 spaces are cleared.  The landlord warned us that parking would be at a minimum and asked us to be patient and do what we can to make room for everyone.  Thankfully, some of my neighbors are going above and beyond in order to make this easier on all of us: It's moments like these that make me proud...to own a camera.

In a classic "I need to pull over and take this picture NOW" moment, here's a sign I found near my new apartment: Of course, there's always this gem -- which just goes to show the value of art education in the United States.  All this really proves, though, is that I will go to great lengths to get stupid funny photographs.  

Location:  an AT&T store, which ranks up there with the DMV, hardware stores, and Texas in the summertime as places I try to avoid at all costs.  Surprise, suprise -- I had to wait in line.  It was a small store, so it was easy to overhear the conversations between the customers and the clerks.  I was just standing there, politely waiting my turn, when I noticed that one gentlemen was unhappy with the service he was receiving.  He kept asking about his bill and why he was expected to pay and if he owed any money.  From what I could gather, the man was forced to give up his previous phone and open a new account.  He kept insisting on getting his old phone number back, but the clerk said he need to contact customer service with the name of the originial account holder and the last four digits of that person's social security number.  "I can't do that," the customer replied.  "That's my wife, and she's got a restraining order against me." ...

To most, I appear to be a nice, normal, almost 30-year-old with a pretty regular life.  I go to work, I hang out with my friends, and occasionally I manage to stay out past 10:00pm.  However, every so often my boring life is interrupted by a random occurence.  Friends have noted the frequency of such situations and suggested I write them down.  Actually, they suggested I write a book; unfortunately that requires way more time, committment, and attention then I'm willing to devote to something besides watching Food Network.  So, what's the next best thing?  Facebook!  Been there, done that, and some situations require waaaay more than the word limit on a status.  That's what's led me here to the world o' the blog. To start this little social media experiment off, let's go with a classic.  I was preparing to move from Columbia, MO to Springfield, MO for work.  Thanks to some sort of black hole in my karma, I was shocked...