cotton_candy_confetti's Xanga

Would You Live In A Trailer?

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:18:42 GMT

What's wrong with living in a trailer?

I don't live in a trailer. But check this out: I felt the need to disclose that piece of information because even I can feel the embarrassment that comes from allowing people to think you live in a trailer.

But really, is there anything wrong with living in a trailer?

Picture this: Single girl. Mid-20s. Upper-middle class professional. Buys a few acres. Sets up a garage and a 10-year-old SINGLE-WIDE TRAILER HOME!

She has big dreams, but dreams in realistic boundaries. One dream she has is to build her own home. So she buys the trailer, plans to pay off the mortgage, then start building!

But she's too embarrassed to have a housewarming party when she moves into her trailer home simply because it's a trailer. Her co-workers want to see pictures of her home, but she's to ashamed to show them the outside.

She bought the trailer because she doesn't mind living in it for a few years; it was cheap and temporary. The only thing she minds is the opinion of others when they hear she lives in a trailer.

It's easy to tell her "Get over it! Other's people's opinions don't matter!" But sometimes it sure feels like they do. Could you happily live in a trailer? Would you invite your friends and co-workers over for a housewarming party?

The funniest thing about this situation is: if people knew how tiny her mortgage payments were, they may envy her. If they knew she was planning for her self-designed dream home, they may envy her. When they see the home she will build in a few years, they may envy her. But for now, all they see is trailer trash! Pity.

Why do we look down on living in a trailer? Why do we attach such a stereotype to trailer homes? Let's stop right now!

Ever Seen the Sun Rise?

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:07:33 GMT

Jobs discriminate against morning people!

I was not born a morning person. I was BORN a night person, I tell you! I'm never tired before midnight and can't get up when my alarm goes off for work in the morning. That's why I'm always late. Always. ALWAYS late!

But working-class America believes that you MUST be at work in the early morning hours [if you have a typical paper-pusher career]. If I ever get fired for being late, I think I'll take it to the news: "Company Fires Worker for Not Being a Morning Person." Perhaps I can sue (isn't that the popular thing to do these days?): "Sleepyhead vs Corporate America." Perhaps I can even get my own TV series: "Early Birds and Night Owls."

I enjoy getting up early, don't get me wrong. The days that I don't go to bed at all are great! Around 5:30ish am, when the sun starts to rise and you can get a whole bunch of things done that you become too lazy to do throughout the day. So, last night, I set my alarm for 5:30 am rather than 6:30 am. I still slept until 7:09.

I concluded that I have absolutely no talent for morning wakeup.

My alarm goes off. I don't hear it. My second alarm goes off and I turn it off, knowing that there is a third alarm. The third alarm goes off and one of these thoughts go through my head:

"It's too cold. I need to stay in bed where it's warm."

"I was almost on time to work yesterday; I can be late today."

"I'm always late. People expect it. I'm going back to sleep."

"I think I better set my alarm for another five minutes from n…..zzzzzzz!"

It's as if I have no conscious control over these early morning thoughts. They flash through my mind and before my conscious thoughts can remind myself that I NEED to get up now or I'll be late for work I am back asleep again.

"Go to bed earlier" people have said. But that doesn't work. Whether I'm in bed at 6 pm or 2 am, I can't get up when the alarm goes off.

"Set your alarm an hour early so you can go back to sleep for that hour" people have said. That works even less. When I do that, I usually end up not hearing the next alarm.

"Set your work schedule for later. Go in at 9:00 rather than 8:00" people have said. But that doesn't work either. I used to work at 6:30 am. Always late. So I started working at 7:00 am. Always late. I began working at 7:30 am then 8:00 am. Always late.

So, due to the loss of my morning beauty sleep, I'm here at work wondering how to wake up rather than working. Whoops…better get back to work!

I wish I had a flip I could switch that would turn me into a morning person on the weekdays and a night person on the weekends…but sadly, I just can't find that switch!

Get Out Of My Way!

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:49:03 GMT

Mr. Posh in his pure white Lexus SUV with sparkling chrome trim drives me nuts! Swerving in and out of traffic like he's King Tut of the road - and without using his blinkers.

He pulled out in front of me today then threw me the bird. I, in my 7-year-old, slowly-getting-beat-up truck, was tempted to ram my dented bumper right into the hind end of his Lexus. What a sight that would be!

What would I be out…a couple dollars for a reckless driving ticket and a few more dents to my truck. That's nothing compared to the satisfaction I'd feel in ruining snotty Mr.'s day and making him shout - perhaps making him step out of the shineymobile and get his top-of-the-line shoes a little dirty!

Today's Mr. Posh was some foreign dude. Probably from Sri Lanka or Saudi Arabia. If he doesn't want to play nice this American then he best pack up his leathers and wing it on back to his ancestral homeland! That's exactly what I was thinking when he pulled out in front of me. Along with "Stupid foreigner! Learn to drive!" It's a pity how the actions of one foreigner can momentarily affect one's opinion of all foreigners of that nationality, isn't it!?!

Those thoughts flashed through my head in a millisecond. One millisecond later and there I was smiling at the guy in my cheap sunglasses, driving with my windows down and country music cranked up. I didn't yell. I didn't throw up contoversial fingers. I didn't even flash him with my brights. I just gave him a quick, instantaneous glare (that he didn't even see) and then thought thought "Today is a beautiful day!"

6 Things I Realized After Giving Up TV

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:02:00 GMT

6 Things I Realized After Giving Up TV

Lifestyles TV is a huge part of people's lives. Bigger than we've ever thought. It's practically an epidemic. Once you give up TV, you're acutely aware that it is TURNED ON each time people plop down on the couch in front of it. It's noisy and you can hear the fat cells growing as they sit on their butts eating Pringles.

Necessities There are some shows a girl just can't live without. The Bachelor, for example. But that is why mothers own a DVD TV-recording technical gadget DVD-player thing. Thanks Mom! (What do you call your recording device?)

Alternatives You can get so much more done in the evening after work with no TV. Lots of Xanga-ing.. A little reading. THINGS OUTSIDE! Step one: no TV. Step two: get a yard and a rake. Step three: Rake leaves! I'm on the five-year-plan.

Conversations Exactly how much people TALK about TV. Conversations frequently start with "Did you watch <INSERT TV SHOW NAME HERE> last night?" Which I promptly envision saying back "No, I don't like to be a fat, lazy deadbeat after work." but only utter the words "Nope."

Friends When a special show is on, like the Early Show featuring YOUR FAVORITE SINGER or the Olympics or the Superbowl, you have to find a friend and borrow their TV, share their couch, and eat their popcorn. When you don’t' watch TV, TV becomes a special event which bonds you, you see.

Miss It But the biggest thing I realized is that I don't miss watching TV. Not one little bit!

Confederate Flag

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:56:07 GMT

Does flying a confederate flag indicate that you don't like black people?

The Game of Life

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:48:16 GMT

Life is just a game. You can go to college or go to work. Sometimes the college kid ends up in rehab and the worker starts his own business and is a huge success. You just never know what's going to happen.

Like a well designed game, there are many, many choices that the player can make. Should I kill the vampire first or go search for the missing red gemstone? Should I shoot poisonous arrows at the Beast or should I whack him with my 2-handed Basher?

Sometimes you lose either way. You pull out those arrows and the Beast runs after you and rips your head off. On your next life you grab the Basher and the Beast runs after you and rips your head off. Game over.

We play games because they are fun. And life should be fun, too' just a fun game we all must play.

I made a choice in my game to date my ex-fiancé once upon a time. He asked me to marry him and I said yes. Then the Beast came. And while we were battling the beast, we were surrounded by Goblins and Spiders who spat fire at us. But as we began to battle our troubles, we began to also battle each other. The Beast ran after us and ripped our hearts out. Game over.

Fortunately, there are many sub games in our game of life. The engagement game was over, but other games were still in play. The game of church. The game of work. The game of friends.

When the engagement game was over, I thought that was it. But, as it turns out, we had another life left. My ex-fiancé and I have begun the game again. Round Two. But this time we're starting back at the "dating game" level. We might see "You are Victorious, Strong and Mighty Warriors" at the end of our game or maybe we'll see "Game Over."

But just because a game might end doesn't mean you shouldn't play.

And so goes the game of life.

Genuine and Real

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:27:00 GMT

Who wants to befriend a shallow girl hiding behind her expensive sunglasses and designer dress when there's a down-to-earth chick willing to sit down for a heart-to-heart with you then kick your butt in a game of Tetris?

I think we all want to be genuine and real. Some of us make sure that everyone knows how genuine and real we are because we go out of our way to share our life stories, dreams, and beliefs. Others of us are coy; wanting only to let "those deemed worthy" to see our genuine and real self and hiding it from the rest of the world.

Here's how to be genuine and real:

Truth. When you tell stories, don't hide or exaggerate parts of them. Tell it like it is.

Don't let rejection bother you. Not everyone will agree with what you say or do. Take pride in your words and actions, be yourself, and brush rejections off your shoulders.

Be yourself. You don't need to spend weeks trying to figure out just who you are (we all change constantly), but if you know you're typically a nice person, act that way. Don't turn into a jerk just because someone else is acting that way.

Forget perfection. Be the best you can be, but realize that you ain't all that! To repeat the very true cliché; there is always someone better than you at something and someone worse than you at something.

Did I get it all? (Probably not.) How else can you be genuine and real?

Not now...Not Ever

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:27:46 GMT

Have you ever told someone who asked you to be his girlfriend (or boyfriend) and you told them that you're not in a place in life where you want to be dating and thinking about the future?

I told this to a guy once. I suppose it was half true. I would rather be single than date him and I would prefer to not think about a future with him.

I thought it was a considerate way to let a guy know that you didn't want to date him. Little did I know that he would follow me around like a puppy chases a frisbee.

He took what I said to mean that I would possibly date him someday; just not now. So he proceeded to try to be the greatest friend he could to me. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We remained friends for a little while..until he started saying "people at church keep teasing me that we are a couple" or "I know we're not dating, but if we were, what would you want for Valentine's Day."

I didn't care too much for the guy, to say the least. I didn't mind having him around until I realized he really wanted to date me...as in really wanted to date me. I later told him that I didn't see us dating ever. It was a very difficult thing to do.

As a girl of my age, I get asked out quite a bit, as I'm sure most girls my age do. Sometimes by good friends; other times by aquaintances or people I just recently met. I'm trying to figure out the most considerate (and easiest) way to turn down an inviation for a date or a proposal for a longer-term relationship when "no thanks" just doesn't seem to work.

Too bad lying is always wrong. "I'm married" seems like the easiest way to get rid of an unwanted dude.

Give a Shout, Tomboys!

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:25:01 GMT

Can I hear a shout from the girls who are (or used to be) tomboys?

The girls who refused to wear dresses as kids. The girls who spent more time participating in sports than taking piano lessons or ballet. The girls who wanted nothing to do with anything frilly, pink, or poofy. The ones who weren't afraid to race the boys on the playground or dig for worms out in the woods.

Why is it that girls are often encouraged to be more masculine growing up while boys are often prohibited from acting more feminine?

Hearts and Our Playhouse

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:51:12 GMT

I love hearts.

There is a guy who takes pictures of all hearts he sees. His web site is here: http://www.rickruggles.com/

But I didn't always love hearts. I used to think that they were too pink and too girly. While my sister was drawing hearts and writing "I heart Johnny" on the foggy winter windows, I was drawing horses. While she was planning weddings for her Barbies, I was building a fort in the woods with my best friend.

Our fighting began when my dad built us a playhouse. One day while I was at school, she decorated it with flowers and pink curtains. When I got home, I was furious! I threw her stuff out of the playhouse and filled it up with tools and other adventure items like a compass, rope ladder, and the necessary construction hat with the light. She threw my stuff out the next day. When I got home from school, it was full of dress up clothes and kitchen things.

In the end, I convinced her that we needed the tools to build a BIGGER house, so she let me keep the tools in the playhouse. And I told her that she should work on a beautiful flower garden OUTSIDE of the house, which she was happy to do.

It's funny how two siblings could start out so different yet end up quite similar to one another.