I Smell Pumpkin

October has arrived! Every corner and grocery store is busting with pumpkins and chrysanthemums. If I was not living in south Louisiana, I would swear that it was Fall. I love this time of year when the weather cools off a bit and the Rice Festival rolls into town.

By the way, check out that pimp pumpkin in the picture. That was my first (and last) pumpkin that I ever carved. Not too shabby, eh? That was back in one of my old apartments too. OH...how I do miss those times of independence.

These are new ones!

You Are 40% Sociopath

From time to time, you may be a bit troubled and a bit too charming for your own good. It's likely that you're not a sociopath... just quite smart and a bit out of the mainstream!

Are You A Sociopath?

What Your Bathroom Habits Say About You

You are a giving soul. Way too giving in fact. You often get stuck doing the dirty work that no one else will do. Your look is put together, classic, and stylish. You always look fashionable without trying. You have the perfect blend of confidence and class. You're proud of who you are - but you don't broadcast it. In relationships, you are practical and realistic. You have a romantic side, but you only let it out when it's appropriate.

What Do Your Bathroom Habits Say About You?

You Were Very Naughty This Year!

Naughty, naughty! You've given Santa a broken heart. You probably won't get anything from Mr. Claus Except for a well deserved spanking (Which you'll probably enjoy, you sicko!)

Were You Naughty or Nice This Year?

Your 1950s Name is:

Alfred Raymond

What's your 1950s Name?

Your Summer Anthem is Best Of You by the Foo Fighters

"I've got another confession my friend I'm no fool I'm getting tired of starting again Somewhere new" While you may seem bright on the outside, your insides have a distinct angst flavor.

What's Your 2005 Summer Anthem?

You Are 80% Brutally Honest

Most of the time, you tell it like it is. Even if it's hard for people to hear. Sometimes you hold back though, because you never want your honesty to be hurtful.

How Brutally Honest Are You?

You Are 64% Gentleman

You are definitely a gentleman. You're very considerate and you have excellent manners. Occasionally, you slip and do something foolish... but usually no one notices!

Are You A Gentleman?

You Failed 8th Grade Spanish

Sorry, you only got 1/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Spanish?

Brainy Kid

In high school, you were acing AP classes or hanging out in the computer lab. You may have been a bit of a geek back then, but now you're a total success!

Who Were You In High School?

You Were a Lizard

You are able to bounce back from adversity and regenerate what was lost. Facing your fears and controlling your dreams comes easily for you.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Your Dominant Intelligence is Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

You are great at finding patterns and relationships between things. Always curious about how things work, you love to set up experiments. You need for the world to make sense - and are good at making sense of it. You have a head for numbers and math ... and you can solve almost any logic puzzle. You would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, or mathematician.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

You Are 50% "Average American"

You are average because you wouldn't pay to go in space. You are not average since you live more than three miles away from McDonalds.

How "Average American" Are You?

Your Musical Tastes Match: Jennifer Garner

See her whole playlist here (iTunes required)

What Celebrity Matches Your Taste in Music?

You've Experienced 60% of Life

You have a good deal of life experience, about as much as someone in their late 20s. You've seen and done enough to be quite wise, but you still have a lot of life to look forward to.

How Much Life Experience Do You Have?

Your Christmas Stocking Will Be Filled With Little Wrapped Presents

You've made Santa a very happy fellow this year. Don't worry - what happens at the North Pole stays at the North Pole!

What Will Be In Your Christmas Stocking?

You Are

A Franken Pumpkin Face You would make a good deformed pumpkin.

What's Your Pumpkin Face?

Your EQ is 113

50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick! 51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese. 71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. 91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that. 111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. 131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. 150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

Your Hawaiian Name is:

Mamo Keona

What's your Hawaiian Name?

I'll Show You a Thing or Two

I love to run or jog. I find that it is a great way to shed the fat, improve my cardio/respiratory fitness as well as my emotional well-being. As I drive through Lafayette, I have seen many people who have decided join the ranks of runners. It's good to see people getting off their couches and doing something productive, but I can't say that I see good things out there.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when running:

It is important to stretch before running, but you don't want to stretch cold muscles. Try walking at a fast pace for about 5 minutes before stretching. Now your muscles are warm and ready to be stretched. It's good to stretch for at least 5 minutes. When you strech a muscle, hold it for 15 seconds, and repeat 3 times.

I often see people, while stretching, bouncing up and down. This is bad, and you look like a retard for doing it. Have you ever tried stretching a rubberband over and over again? That's what it's doing to your muscles. What happens if you keep doing that to the rubberband? Right...it pops.

Hydration is vital at all times. Make sure that you are adequately hydrated before running, and I'm sure you're going to want to drink plenty of water after running. Water is the best thing to drink to rehydrate your body. Many people drink a sports drink to replenish lost electrolytes. These drinks are packed with sodium, which is an electrolyte. We should not get more than 2300mg of sodium each day. That amount is equal to one teaspoon. I know we all get way more than one teaspoon, so water is good enough. However, it doesn't matter what you drink, as long as you drink something.

Speaking of hydration, I have noticed so many people around town wearing sweat suits to run. I see this big 250+ pound guys running around the streets wearing a sweatshirt. Why? I don't understand. Sweating is something that your body does to cool itself. If you are wearing something to increase the amount that you sweat, you are only increasing the amount of fluid loss in your body. You are NOT increasing the amount of fat loss.

The appropriate thing to wear while running is light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. It hot weather, shorts and a tshirt are appropriate.

If you can't run a long distance, walk instead. Walking is also a great cardiovascular workout, and it burns calories. The longer you walk, the more fat you will lose. Simple, huh?

At the end of a run, it is good to stretch for an additional 5 minutes using the same methods applied before running.

If I catch you doing something wrong, I'm going to honk my horn and flip you off.

Blowing Off Some Steam

I tend to let things build up inside. When others say something negative, I either shrug it off or let it bother me. There are times when I do snap back, but most times I don't think that it is worth the effort. It isn't worth my breath because the other party is ignorant, or it will just snowball. I find other ways to release my tension.

My brother's most recent ex-girlfriend just recently became a pain in my ass. Since it is quite a web of confusion, I won't go through all the specifics. However, since a friend of mine thinks that she is "trashy," I am the one automatically guitly of gossip.

I usually don't waste my time on this chick. The only gossip that I am guilty of is some funny story at their expense.

In the end, my friend was just calling it the way it is. Let's be honest, it only takes a few key observations to make that call. It's not like I let everyone know that my brother's most recent ex-girlfriend had two abortions before she graduated high school, and one of her baby's daddy isn't the man she claims.

Now...that would be perceived as trashy, right?

Towel Heads

Means Nothing to Me

I don't know about you, but I could not care less about Suri Cruise, Tom, or Katie. I'm tired of hearing "the latest."

Pecan

There's my girl Cypress hard at work on the trail this summer in Northern Califonia. She left at the end of May, and she will be up there...well...I don't know when she's coming back, actually. I sure do miss dat guh. Come home soon.

Well, look who got slapped with the model stick while she's on the West Coast. Don't let it get to your head.

Hooka!

Oh Yes I Did

I have recently noticed that I have a bit of a sinus congestion issue. Of course, who does not have sinus issues in South Louisiana? Anyway, with these problems comes....what's a good way to say it....drainage.

I have never been good at spitting. I just never have enough spit, apparently. Even if I have such drainage, I have about a 50% success rate on getting the job done.

After the rainstorm, I was driving back towards campus. I felt the urge to eliminate some of this drainage from my throat. I don't know what made me think that I could do this without flaw, but I tried it anyway. While driving, I decided to roll down my window and hock one out. I felt something nice and wet on my face. Immediately I think, "Ooh...I think this one failed too." I wipped my face, and it was nothing more than a little saliva. No big deal.

I parked, at school, came into the library, and wrote the previous post. After that, I made a quick pass by McDonald's to eat a bite before my class at 18:30. I decided to sit inside and eat because I had plenty of time.

After leaving McDonald's, I still had plenty of time before class. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I went to Albertsons because it was close. Also, I guess partly because I'm a dork.

While washing my hands in the bathroom, I do the same thing that everyone else does....I check myself out in the mirror. I started to examine my rain jacket. It did an excellent job, and it's bright red, one of my favorite colors. Then, I do a double-take. What's that on my left shoulder? Phlegm! Yes Phlegm! I had been walking around in front of tons of people with this mass of nastiness on my shoulder. Of course I was embarrassed, but I bursted out laughing alone in the bathroom. (Which could be a new complex situation of embarrassment, but no stories there.)

Moral of the Story: If you think you will fail, don't even try.

Long Time No See!

I know...I know. I haven't posted in a decade or something. I'll fill you in. I moved back to Crow-town "temporarily." I think I've been back 2-3 weeks. I'm not quite sure. All I know is that it has already been too long.

On my break between the summer and fall semesters, I worked 190 hours in 3 weeks. Most of my days worked were consecutive. All I did was eat, work, and sleep. Although, it was nice to be away from my temporary home.

Since I am back in Crowley, I don't have internet access anymore. I disconnected the phone line when I moved out. I live so far out in the sticks that our only available connection is dial up. I'm not about to reconnect a phone line because it would be pointless.

Right now, I'm on campus, and I am soaked. After leaving my previous class, I walked through water that reached my KNEES! Yes, my KNEES! I think the water came down so fast that it didn't have anywhere to go. Well...That, and UL's less than adequate drainage system.

My classes seem ok so far. Not going to be too difficult of a semester. I guess the most difficult thing will be tolerating the sorority-type chicks that make up most of the school of nursing.

Let me think....No....I really haven't been up to much else. Now that I'm back around people, I'm sure I'll have stories to tell.

Entrepreneur Dies

Meeeooooowww!

This is how we get to have fun during the summer semester. I have to admit, I am not a cat lover. When this cat was let out of the bag, she was in this position. I couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, I know it's horrible, but I think it goes way back to high school.

A friend and I used to ride around Crow-town. I remember one specific day, there was a yellow cat on the road that had obviously ran out of its nine lives. She rolled down the window and made a long, drawn out "Meow." I don't know why, but it cracked me up. So, now I'm cursed when I look at the disected cats because I think of them having that expression.

All in all, I guess it's better than most of the girls freaking out over the smell of formaldehyde. I hate to see when they become nurses and have to clean up vomit and poo.

I just looked at my previous post and remembered that this all occured on the same day my bike was stolen. The evil spirits that made me chuckle may have caused my bike to get stolen as well. Hmmm.....

Nah!

Chaps My Butt

Just after I turned off my alarm this morning, Katie called. I am glad that I was already awake. We talked, while I ate breakfast and got ready for class. It was something different from the daily routine, and I enjoyed it.

I rode my bike to class, same as always. I parked it on a bike rack closer to the building that I am in. I usually park it a little farther because I don't like riding my bike through crowds of people. I find it annoying when someone, on a bike, is two inches behind me.

I get out of class, and I don't see my bike. Right away, I begin to second guess myself. "Did I really park it on this side of the library?" So, I walk to the other side, my normal parking spot. "Not here either!"

Now before you think it, yes, I locked it up. Really, how stupid do you think I am? Apparently, most people must think I am a complete moron because that is the first question I have been getting asked. I guess people are suprised that I can dress myself and keep the droll on the inside of my mouth. Of course I locked up my bike. I don't live in freakin Mayberry.

I went ahead and filed a police report. I know nothing will come of it, but "just incase." You never know when something is going to come up, or the pawn shop may magically have my bike.
So, now I'm on foot. I have my car, but I'm staying so close to campus that driving is useless. I can drive and park in a parking lot that is 3 blocks closer to campus from where I live. Oh, and I can pay $1.00 to park, plus $0.25 per hour. Hmm....I think not.

Some thugs just moved in downstairs. I guess my car is next to be stolen. Accords seem to round out every Top 10 Stolen Car Lists that I have seen. The bright side is my car has insurance.

Now I'm home, and I'm working on bringing down my hypertension. I'll pass the collection plate for donations.

Human Anatomy & Physiology

1st and 2nd Test = A

Now what? [That was with attitude]

Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July Everyone! I hope that all you fellow American's enjoyed celebrating our independence day. I spent mine with the family. It's one of those days of obligation. I was hoping that I would have had to work, but I couldn't get out of it that easy. I think my family gets more wacked everytime I see them. Lawzy!

Say that 3 times fast

It has been forever and a day since I have posted, but I have just (within the last few seconds) come across the longest word in the English Dictionary, while studying for Anatomy and Physiology. Are you ready for it? Here it is:

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

The definition: a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust, mostly found in volcanos.

It was originally postulated by Everett M. Smith, simply to serve as the longest English word, but has been used in several sources as an approximation of its originally intended definition. The plural of this word, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, which is equally long.

Hello

Hi! I am 5 months old today. Where's my treat?

YUCKY

I am not usually a Community Coffee drinker because I support my hometown boys. However, I decided to try it this time because a saw this chocolate flavor, and I thought it would be pretty good. Wrong! It is not good. Maybe I have to develop a taste for it, or maybe not. I can barely even tell that it is coffee. I am not a fan.

Let me know if you want to come over for a cup of coffee. You may like it, and if you don't, well, then you know not to buy any. I need help getting rid of it.

Mello Joy will be my next purchase. Stick with old faithful.

June 1: Hurricane Season Begins

Still today, we are living in the devistation of Hurricane Katrina, the only hurricane last year. It seems like before we can turn around, another active season is upon us. The predictions seem pretty bad, but I can only pray that it will not ruin too many lives.

With that, Happy Hurricane Season 2006! If you are in a low-lying area, I hope that you have learned how to EVACUATE. Take everything you need, who knows what you're going to come back to. I don't live far from the coast either. I wish everyone the best.

Waiting...

Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long and Luis Guzmán are just a few of the random employees at a Bennigan's-like restaurant (called Shenanigan's), killing time before their real lives get started. But while they wait, they'll have to deal with picky customers who want their steak cooked to order and enthusiastic managers who want to build the perfect wait staff. Luckily, these employees have effective revenge tactics.

Tonight, I watched Waiting...I thought it was just OK. Having spent too much of my life in the same situation, I thought this movie was a little more tame than the actual restaurant life. The movie took a much slower pace than reality, and it was so quiet. A real restaurant is noisy, very noisy. Although, I'm sure it is more quiet for the public's viewing pleasure, and that it is filmed in a slower pace because it would be hard to follow if it were in real time.

Of course, there were several situations that were not covered in this film. No one was stiffed, only small tips. Small tips are a classic sign that you are working at a Bennigan's like restaurant, anyway. There were no Canadians (408s), Pentecostals, large parties, sex in the cooler, running side work, screaming multiple managers, screaming people on the line thinking that they have power, diva waitresses, and no one was in the weeds. I have to give credit because everything that it touched on, does happen, except for the "alpha sprouts." I'm so sure that you could put that on someone's plate without them noticing.

Overall, as I said before, the movie was OK. It could have been so much better. They should have contacted me.

Thought I'd Share

Cypress and I hung out together on one of her last days in Lafayette. We decided to take a walk downtown from her apartment. It was so freaking hot, but still a beautiful day nonetheless. She's sporting her new satchel that she sewed herself in this picture. She had to have one because she can't exactly carry a purse on her, with her horse-paking job in California.

Last Saturday night, we celebrated Stephanie's graduation at the Blue Moon. In this picture is John (left), Cypress (middle), and Stephanie (right). I'm not sure why everyone is looking in the same direction. Later when they saw the picture, they didn't even know. Go figure! Stephanie is leaving next month to move to Honduras.

Amber also graduated on Saturday. We took this picture right after we hit up the table with all the free food. I'm sure you can figure out who is who in this picture. Cypress is already in California. Amber is moving to Tennessee in August. This is probably the last time we'll be together at the same time. I think everyone is leaving me behind.

Cypress and I, pictured here, on the dancefloor at the Blue Moon. That was a fun night. I miss that girl.