HA I always knew paper towels were better than air dryers

Whilst perusing my July 2011 O Magazine, I discovered a pretty interesting article entitled "Health Myths - Busted" and it covers 6 topics, thus establishing that:

1. Sitting to close to the screen DOESN'T ruin your eyes

2. Vitamin C prevents scurvy, not colds.

3. Jet hand dryers are actually LESS sanitary than paper towels, and spews germs more than six feet (I've been saying this for years, no one believed me).

4. Nothing in a glass of warm milk helps you sleep better, but it could be a placebo effect for you.

5. Pouring hydrogen peroxide on a wound actually slows the healing process.

6. Green mucus is NOT caused by a bacterial infection, it could be viral also (this one is lame).

Go read the article! I recommend it: Health Myths - Busted

Favorite Logos

I discovered this website where these women (former models, no less) actually handmake/cobble leather sandals. Impressive, and all I noticed was that their logo is awesome. I definitely would love to be a graphic designer (among a million other professions). So here is a collection of my favorite logos:

Movie Review: Life As We Know It

I'm thoroughly enjoying a movie I found at my local Redbox. It's called Life As We Know It, and stars Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. Basically, their characters, Holly and Messer are polar opposites and don't get along at all, but they're godparents to Sophie, the baby daughter of their mutual friends, Peter and Allison. When Peter and Allison are killed in a car crash, and Holly and Messer are named co-guardians of Sophie.

One thing that frustrates me a bit is that Katherine Heigl's only successful role it seems, is playing the Type A control freak, and Josh Duhamel is typically seen playing the devil-may-care bad boy, and then, they almost exaggerate them here. So I mean, if those are the only two roles they can play, then sure, it's a good movie for those two, but eh, they could stand to branch out a bit.

SPOILER ALERT:

One thing Heigl and Duhamel know is comedy, and they have hilarious moments that leave me clutching my stomach. I'll list a few snippets: neither of them know how to change a diaper so it's a crash course that he abandons her in...then the neighbors show up as she's finishing, and she doesn't know about the poop on her cheek; Holly takes a one-time night off to drink a bottle of wine and the social worker makes an unannounced visit...later they eat pot brownies, also as a one-time thing...and the social worker again shows up; he tries to teach her how to ride a motorcycle...it gets run over by a bus; Sophie starts to poop in the bathtub and they can't get the childproof toilet open in time...so Holly grab Messer's hat off his head....; get the idea? It's a funny movie.

Overall, the movie ending is predictable, but any romantic comedy has to pair them off by the end, so I'm not mad. And the premise of the movie is still believable while keeping us on our toes about what's going to happen.

What I took away from it: This is an excellent example of how any two people, no matter how different, can fall in love and have a beautiful life, if they both work at it.

Quotes that made me laugh:

"It's like slumdog millionaire in there!...it's like a poop unit"

"If I knew where the Wiggles lived, and, I'm working on it, I would murder them with an AK-47."

"I can't believe he asked you out, doesn't that defy some docter-patient thing?"

"Well he's a pediatrician, so if he's dating a patient, yeah, that's a problem."

VERDICT: Good for a laugh on your own, good for date night, good for the 15+ girl's sleepover, even co-ed parties would probably enjoy it. Younger kids probably won't be too into it, it's not wildly inappropriate, but there is swearing/drinking/illegal drugs/sex innuendos (nothing shown though).

I'm not always this melancholy, I promise

So I write poetry and song lyrics sometimes, but it's usually when I'm feeling my worst. Luckily, those times are few and far between these days, but because that's the only time I write, it seems, if you read my stuff, like that's how I feel all the time! Totally not true. So I'd like to share a song I wrote the other day, just bear in mind that I'm NOT feeling like this now! At least I can constructively use my sad moods, right?

Why can't I trust the world?

And trust myself to them

I'm fighting a lie

Living without a life

chorus:

And I remember

the years I lost

believing an illusion

following the reason

I have these scars

Why can't I fall in love?

And give myself to him

I'm dying alive

But I can't bring myself to survive

(chorus)

I feel the pain of all I'm losing

But I lost control to heal it.

I'm scared to be alone, and scared to trust someone...

(chorus)

Five Fast Findings

1. Anyone else weirded out about Casey Anthony? I'd like to read transcripts of the trial, but I'm inclined to bet (as a law student-friend suggested) that since she's not really bright and her lawyer is inept, the prosecution dropped the ball. Disgusting, proving "beyond all reasonable doubt" shouldn't be so hard it lets the guilty go free.

2. I'm watching Shrek Forever After and it's kind of hilarious. I wouldn't have paid $9 at the theater ($1 at Redbox, baby), but seeing Puss in Boots as a pampered, fat lapcat makes it almost worth it:

3. So my phone, a Samsung Intercept, has some serious letdowns. Overall, it's a pretty good phone, I just got it, and I'm liking the cell reception that Virgin Mobile provides (via sprint), but if it dies, then there's this flashing Samsung logo across a black screen, then even when I charge it, it doesn't go away unless I hook it up to the computer (it comes with a USB cord) to "kick it out" of that mode. But then today, it wouldn't get on the network and texts I tried to send out wouldn't send, plus I didn't receive any messages in the past 12 hours. It was incredibly weird. All customer service at Virgin said was that it didn't look like it'd ever been properly put on the network because my number was ported from T-Mobile. WTF? I've been using this phone for several weeks now! So when the lady started giving me information on how to get it on the network, she told me to grab a pen and paper, and i was like yeah whatever I can remember it...then she started spouting off a crazy weird number to check the msid (##847446#, whyyyyyyyy virginmobile) and I was like crap, I better write this down. Luckily I had a red sharpie on my nightstand, and my new August 2011 Glamour Mag. Done deal. Pretty sure Virgin was just full of it cause my phone info was accurate but whatever. I guess I just didn't receive any text messages last night or this morning.

4. I need a new swimming suit. My current one provides the WEIRDEST tan lines, since that purple flower at my neck is PART of the swimming suit, leaving a nice large, white spot at the end of the summer, just high enough to be seen with every shirt I own. (photo taken years ago, on a boat. I need a new swimming suit regardless, I've had it for soo long):

5. I went to Seattle this weekend. The flagship REI store was cool, the Mariners game was...interesting (they lost), and the Fremont Troll was covered in tourists. Pretty cool for a place that used to be overrun by loitering teenagers and drug dealers. Go Seattle!

The clothes are really cute, okay?

I have a confession. I am addicted to Sorority Life on Facebook. It's the BEST game ever, especially for a window-shopaholic like me.

Anyway, more on the game later, but every so often, the creators open up "study abroads" for us to go to and complete to get new outfits and accessories. Beijing just closed, and now there's a poll open on the Sorority Life Forum to get input on where we should "go" next. A lot of people are voting for London, but I'm voting for Russia. Fur everything, matryoshka dolls as "pets" and heavy, rich-looking evening gowns? Yes. This sums up everything I want for a Russia study-abroad:

(Britney Spears, Elle Magazine October 2000)

Vote Russia for Sorority Life! and maybe help me find a job!

I never got a tricycle as a kid...

So I got sucked into an Internet ad the other day (yes, sometimes they really work) and discovered the Can-Am Spyder Roadster. Basically a motorcycle, except it has two wheels in the front, presumably for better control (and, ahem, better balance). So curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to find out how much they are. Enter Craigslist...

they make pink ones.

(cue Hallelujah chorus)

(please note: link may be invalid at the time you read this, it is included for reference)

This is a 2008 model (how have they been making them for that long and I've never heard of it??), priced out at just under $15,000, with about 5,000 miles on it, from SS Auto Brokers in Ogden. Is it redundant to say I WANT IT?

Washington State requires a motorcycle license to operate this, though, due to its oddness, that is not necessarily the case for other states. The Can-Am website does provide state-by-state requirements. Smart.

For me, I think the draw is that it's "open-air" and I don't have to worry about a patch of gravel taking me out like it would on a bike. That being said, apparently these things only get a max of 35mpg on the freeway, which sucks compared to your average bike, and regardless of whether it's pink or black, these definitely look like chick bikes. There's also a semi-automatic option on them, so it's easier to shift than a standard motorcycle. Bonus for me, but kinda hurts the street cred. I'm so terrible with shifting and using the clutch that who knows if I'll ever get a bike for real. It's no fun if I kill it every time I come to the freaking stoplight. The new automatic-transmission bikes have me hoping though...