What I learned at the Big E

The Big E is a huge fair in western Massachusetts. I found it very educational. Here is what I learned.

Vermont is known for their flannel thongs aka the "vong"

 Lil' Muffin is ALIVE! Thank God.

Llamas nap like this.

I look pretty good with a mustache.

Passenger shaming

I was reading this article on passenger shaming photos and it reminded me of two interesting people I encountered on flights.

On a solo flight to Kansas many years ago I sat next to a woman who had brought a feast with her on the plane. She reached into her purse and pulled out two turkey legs. Not small chicken legs but giant turkey legs. Then she pulls out a tupperware container that is filled with deviled eggs. And last but not least she brought a small bottle of paprika which she starting sprinkling on her eggs. I was kind of impressed but also grossed out. How did she get all this food through security?

My first trip to Florida was in early spring. This means you layer so when you get off the plane in Florida you're not dying of heat stroke. When the pilot announced that we were making our decent into Orlando the guy next to me stood up and ripped off his pants revealing shorts underneath. He was wearing those Adidas snap pants. If you've never seen these they look like track pants but they snap all the way up on either side of the legs. I turned to him and said "you are definitely ready for Florida". He agreed.

Because I'm a quitter

Here's a picture of my fridge.

Why am I showing you this? Well besides my pussycat card and my amazing bird magnet, this is the photo I took on the 8th day of my attempt at taking a photo every day for a year. I should have started on January 1st but you see I'm a quitter.

I have a habit of starting projects and not finishing them. I'm going to crochet a blanket! I'm going to write a book! I'm going to improve my French! I'm going to do all the things! I start something with good intentions and then I realize this is harder than I thought it would be or I get distracted by another idea for a project that sounds better than what I'm working on. It's a bad habit that I'm trying to break. 

It's great that I want to do all of these things but it doesn't really count if you don't follow through.

I'm tired of not finishing things so I'm taking baby steps. I shall no longer be a quitter. I've wanted to do a 365 project for a while. I meant to start one on January 1st but must have gotten distracted by something shiny. This time I have to do it. I'm declaring this on my blog so you can chastise me if I abandon the project.

So for one year I will be taking at least one photo a day and posting it on my instagram. So far I'm on day 8 and I'm finding that some days I don't know what to take a photo of and so you get a photo of my fridge. The weekends are much easier because I'm out and about and have more interesting things to photograph than my desk or my floor.

You can look me up on instagram under ginntastic.

It's happening. The quarter life crisis.

As of right now my life is going pretty good. I have a great boyfriend, amazing friends, a loving family and a decent job but despite all of that I think I'm having a quarter life crisis. I've been wondering what the heck I'm doing. Do I want to be a legal assistant the rest of my life? I like my job but I think part of that is because I'm comfortable there. Should I stay because I'm comfortable? I think the answer I think is no. I want more. I want to make a name for myself. I want to DO something.

When I was younger I thought I would be married with multiple kids by the time I was 30. Life doesn't work out exactly the way you planned it when you were 10 (thank God). I honestly don't know when or if I'll have kids. Certainly not now when I'm wondering if I'm on the right career path. There's also the whole enjoying my social life and not feeling financially secure enough to have a child. I can barely cover my cat's medical expenses and still have debt I'm trying to pay off. I know it's not the right time.

I met up with my cousin for dinner and drinks last night and she mentioned that she's questioning if her job is the right job for her and what she should do. Go back to hair dressing? Nursing school? (She works at a hospital now but not as a nurse). I told her I felt the same way. I don't see law school in my future. I'm too much of a sensitive person, at least to practice family law. I have this feeling that there's something else I should be doing.

I'm always one to trust my gut. If only my gut could send a detailed message to my brain with the specifics.

I know I'm not alone though. I feel like quite a few people in my life are experiencing the same feelings and it's helpful to just talk about it. Despite not knowing what I should do I believe at some point it will become clear. Life takes twists and turns that we don't necessarily expect and that keeps things interesting for sure. I'm still learning what will make me happy and how to make that happen and if I work towards that I have faith that it will all work out in the end

And hey if you're feeling this way too, it's ok. We're in this together. We'll figure it out.

It's time to make a start

To get to know your heart

Time to show your face, time to take your place

In every speck of dust

In every universe,

When you feel most alone, you will not be alone

Wearable Art

The Copley Mall is showcasing wearable art by MassArt students. I'm getting ideas for a whole new wardrobe.

 I would have gone with the Capri Sun dress simply because you'd have to drink all that Capri Sun.

The gold part of the dress is made out of thumb tacks.

This is my favorite dress, the Doritos dress. I don't think I could wear it though because I would be hungry all the time.

No MAGIC! You are rude.

I'm sure by now you've heard the song Rude by MAGIC! If you haven't, you're lucky but now I've probably jinxed you and you'll start hearing the song everywhere. The song as about a man who goes and asks his lady love's father for permission to marry his daughter.

Here is the part of the song that irritates me:

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life?

Say yes, say yes 'cause I need to know

You say I'll never get your blessing 'til the day I die

Tough luck, my friend, but the answer is 'No'

Why you gotta be so rude?

Don't you know I'm human too?

Why you gotta be so rude?

I'm gonna marry her anyway

Marry that girl

Marry her anyway

Marry that girl

Yeah, no matter what you say

Marry that girl

And we'll be a family

Why you gotta, be so

Rude

Listen guy, why bother asking permission if you're going to marry her anyway? Not only are you going to marry her anyway, you're going to say this to her father's face? I'd like to hear the father's side of the story. Maybe he has a good reason for saying no? Maybe this guy is a loser who can't hold down a job and her father wants better for her? Maybe this guy wore his girlfriend's shirt to dinner and didn't make the best impression?

This is pretty much exactly what I pictured a Canadian reggae band to look. I am pleased that I was correct.

We need a rebuttal from the father.

Why you gotta be a tool?

My daughter can do better than you

Why you gotta be a tool?

Be careful what you say

If you're going to follow antiquated social norms be prepared to face the consequences

I got a good one

Derek was talking about his new ipod and what features it had when he mentioned that he had a picture of me on his ipod. I asked to see which one and he showed me. It's a photo I took of myself from my friend's 30th birthday last weekend.

It dawned on me that most of the men I dated in the past would never do something like that. Keeping a photo of me around is something so simple but it really put a smile on my face. I don't need grand gestures or expensive gifts, I just need to know that he cares. I'm lucky though because Derek is also a very thoughtful gift giver.

I wish I realized I deserved better when I was in my early 20s. I dated guys that did the bare minimum to keep our so called relationship together. I often felt like I was the only one putting effort into the relationship. I was smart enough to not stay in these relationships but some of these guys I should never have dated in the first place. 

That's what your 20s are all about though, you make mistakes and learn and tell your 30 year old self to not judge to harshly.