Rants and raves Posts

12Aug
0

C25K Hiatus

Maybe you noticed that I haven’t been updating my C25K progress lately. And then today I took that page down. Why? Because I can’t run anymore.

Anymore = indefinitely.

I went to the foot doctor yesterday. Apparently my feet are “not anatomically designed for running”. What does that even mean? I have feet. They work (sort of). One in front of the other!

But apparently running is a problem. Something about everything in there being defective in some way, causing pressure in all the wrong places but especially on my nerve. So to avoid further nerve damage, I can’t run for the foreseeable future.

I like running though. And I certainly don’t like being told that I can’t do something. This might be a tough one for me. But I guess now is as good of a time as any to learn how to swim better. Or take my bike out. Pretty much anything that will give me exercise without another cortisone injection.

Posted by Caro in Fears, Health, Life, Rants and raves, Sports, Things to do
21Jul
0

Reality Succumbing to Non-Reality

I love Top Chef. I get that you don’t get to actually taste the food, but it’s fun to watch and see who has the seemingly best food. I actually went to Harold‘s restaurant (season 1 winner) and plan to go to several more. But I am having trouble getting into the current season.

The people aren’t that interesting, and they seem to be producing mediocre food. I feel that as a way to “spice” things up the show’s producers are focusing on the so-called drama between the chefs. It’s like this thing between Angelo and Kenny is 100% made up. (Today for example the challenge is to pick off one of the competitors, and these two just so happen to be on opposite teams. Gee.)

It all just seems so contrived this season, which makes it less enjoyable. I really like watching them cook and get feedback. That’s interesting enough. If I want to watch stupid drama I’ll put on Real Housewives or something. Take the bs out of my show and let’s go back to some great cooking!

Posted by Caro in Food, Rants and raves, TV
08Jul
1

Movie Reviews: Eclipse

I should start by saying that I was dragged to this movie on opening night. Thankfully opening night was a Wednesday, so the theater wasn’t as mobbed as it could have been. This was really my saving grace.

Before I comment on the movie, I must comment on the things that happened before the movie. I saw Eclipse with my mom and sister. My dad felt left out, so he took my niece to see Toy Story 3, which was playing at the same time. However, we had to arrive at the theater over an hour early so we could brave the line of angst-ridden tweens who are obsessed with one or the other of the main characters in the Twilight Saga. This is a summary of the stuff I saw/encountered:

  • Someone asked if the 4 year old would be coming into the movie. No we are not taking a 4 year old into a PG-13 movie she’s not old enough to understand and will easily be bored by. She actually said to me “Oh I thought she might be a Twilight fan”. Are you kidding? She’s 4. YOU ARE CRAZY and shouldn’t be allowed to have children
  • The theater had set up chairs for us to use while we waited in line for the theater to open. Seated next to us was a group of 4 maybe 13-year-olds. (I say maybe because kids are looking younger and younger to me, and yes that DOES make me an old lady.) They all have on these bracelets, the rubber kind that were made popular a few years ago by the LiveStrong Foundation. Except these bracelets said “I <3 Justin Bieber” … I tried to covertly take a picture but the chick closest to me kept moving her arm.
  • When we got into the theater I realized I was sitting next to the only grown man at this showing. Was he there with his teenaged daughter? Nope. He was there with his same-age girlfriend.
  • The remainder of the theater had an average age of about 15 (my mom, sister, and I raised the average significantly). There was an occasional teen guy, obviously dragged there by his girlfriend. Some tried to cover their faces, others embraced this as a challenge. It was entertaining. Especially the dude in the Edward shirt LOL
  • Before the movie started, a woman came into the theater to sell Twilight t-shirts. OMG they’re selling t-shirts here? It’s like a concert. Only not. I think the most entertaining part of this is that people were screaming with excitement about this prospect, but not a single person purchased a shirt. I guess they should have asked their parents for more money!

sorry so grainy!

  • The movie started and I swear I lost some of my hearing when Jacob first came on the screen, shirtless of course. I’ve never heard girls shriek at such a decibel before. It’s mind blowing.

Anyway that’s all of my observations. I was expecting the shrieking, I was expecting the tweens, but the other stuff was just icing on the cake. Now onto the movie:

It was good! I could have waited to see it a week or two, but I definitely enjoyed it. The acting was significantly better this time, although Kristin Stewart is terrible regardless. The special effects were also pretty awesome. The plot is the one thing that bothered me (well besides the fact that the whole thing has blatant Mormon overtones and the fact that the main female character is so unbelievably weak. But those were just a given). I mean, you could remove this entire movie/book and nothing would change in the saga. We’re still left where we were at the end of New Moon – Bella and Edward are going to get married, Jacob is in love with Bella.

Regardless of the negatives, it was still well worth my (sister’s) $11. Very entertaining – 4 stars.

Posted by Caro in Fears, Movies, Rants and raves
08Jul
0

Movie Reviews: The A-Team

I saw The A-Team this weekend, and wasn’t sure what to expect. I kind of thought it was going to be different than it ended up being, but I definitely liked what I saw. Partly because it included Mr. T, Bradley Cooper, and a crazy dude (we all know how I <3 the crazies lol). I also didn’t realize that Jessica Biel was in this one. That’s just an added bonus as far as I’m concerned.

The special effects were pretty good. Stuff blowing up + attractive men = usually a winning situation. The story line was a bit out there, but then again, that’s what you expected. I think this movie worked for me because they made fun of how ridiculous they were being. If it had been a “serious” movie I probably would have hated it.

So all in all, a good movie. I’d see it again, but not in theaters. I guess that warrants 4 stars? Yes, 4 stars :)

Posted by Caro in Movies, Rants and raves
28Jun
0

A Letter to FIFA

Dear FIFA:

I would like to thank you for tainting the 2010 World Cup. Because of your regulations, I have found myself yelling at my television set like a maniac. This is doing nothing for my stress level or my blood pressure. I know I’m not alone; your decisions have impacted teams from most continents.

What am I talking about? Goal-line technology. Or rather, a serious lack thereof. Any kind of replay would be useful really. But because you choose to remain in the stone age, we are left with referees having to rely on what they think they may have seen. And honestly, it’s just not working.

I’m not even writing as an angry American fan. Yes, you fucked over my team. Twice. TWO TIMES. Group play game 2: I’m still not sure what that penalty was. Offsides? A foul? You tell me. Then in game 3: Dempsey was perfectly even (or even a little back) with the last defender. That’s a goal.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir8RPnLXmyU&feature=fvst[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXXHXwzMRE8[/youtube]

But again, I’m not trying to be an angry American. Let’s look at some of the other muffed calls:

  • Italy vs. New Zealand: Smeltz is clearly offsides. No goal. No tie. NZ shouldn’t have gotten that point. Sorry Kiwis!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADZn0GB-674[/youtube]

  • England vs. Germany: I’m sorry, but that ball was at least a full foot over the line. There is NO question that was a goal. When your tying goal is disallowed that really changes the mentality you have in the game. It’s just not OK. You tell me – how did this not count?

  • Mexico vs. Argentina: Mexico got FUCKED. This was clearly offsides. From here they self-destructed. I would like to at least dream that the game would have been much closer were it not for this terrible call by the referee AND line judge.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ0nNsZ53aI&hd=1[/youtube]

So there you have it. 5 solid examples of game-changing, even tournament-changing calls that would have easily been correct if replay technology were allowed. As a true fan of soccer, I urge you to maintain the sanctity of the game by allowing such technology onto the pitch. The status-quo just isn’t cutting it anymore.

Sincerely,

Caro :)

Posted by Caro in Rants and raves, Sports, TV, Videos
22Jun
0

Purely Stupid

Yep, that’s me.

Let’s talk about my student loans for a minute. (To anyone considering borrowing money – don’t do it. If you absolutely HAVE to, seriously consider the repayment amount BEFORE you borrow. Then borrow the bare minimum you have to.)

Anyway, I’ve already bored you with a portion of the consolidation drama. What a pain in the ass. Now that I’m in repayment and everything is “set”, this should be easy right? Nope.

I went to school at a bad time. Interest rates were HIGH. So now that I’m in repayment my interest rate is like double what any current going rate is, and you can’t refinance this type of loan. Awesome. Thankfully my lender offers incentives: 0.25% reduction if you enroll in auto-debit. 0.8% reduction once you make your first 12 payments, on time and in-full.

That’s over 1% off my rate. YES PLEASE.

So I signed up for auto-debit. Apparently it takes them “60ish” days to get that set up. There’s a very clear disclaimer once you submit your info: You are not enrolled in auto debit until you receive something in the mail. Continue paying as usual until you get this notice.

So I don’t get a notice. It’s been over 60 days, but there’s nothing in the ‘scheduled payments’ section. And no mail has come to me saying I’m enrolled. 2 days before the due date, I freak out. I can’t miss this due date or I lose out on a 0.8% interest rate reduction. And over 30 years, we’re talking about a substantial amount of money saved. So I scheduled a payment.

The payment posted.

I went to my parents house and saw that I had mail. SHIT. My loan paperwork gets sent to their house. I open the letter. FUCK. I’m enrolled in auto-debit. FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK. They auto-debited my account the day after I made a manual payment.

Yep. I’m retarded, and I paid my loans TWICE this month. TWO LARGE PAYMENTS!

Because I borrowed so freaking much, I paid more on my loans in June than I did on my rent. So now what? I’m already broke, this was NOT a good time for this to happen. (I’ve checked – auto-debit will still collect my money on the next due date.)

Basically there’s nothing else that can be done but sell a kidney.

Maybe that’s drastic. But I am selling TONS of stuff on eBay right now in the hopes of recouping some of that cash so I can pay my July rent.

THIS, ladies and gentlemen, just proves that you should never borrow money. The end.

Posted by Caro in Money, Rants and raves
18Jun
0

Waterboarding

Today I was a victim of this method of torture.

I was scheduled for a pelvic ultra-sound to rule out a cyst. Apparently this requires that you drink 4 glasses of water before the exam. FOUR.

I was pretty thirsty when I woke up this morning, so the first 2 weren’t bad. But let me tell you, that fourth glass was pretty torturous!!

On the bright side, this is kick-starting my pre-hydration for Texas this weekend. Unless I pee it all out in the next hour.

Posted by Caro in Health, Random, Rants and raves
11Jun
3

Alex Reads Twilight

Before I introduce the greatest youtube series ever, I need to give some background.

Typically I am anti- all things that tweens are into. These things tend to be so incredibly sappy, unrealistic, and generally extremely terrible. To top it off, I can’t stand large groups of twelve year old girls squealing together and thinking they own the place. It obnoxious and it drives me out of my mind.

Then Twilight came out. Not even going to give this a chance. It’s all the things that I just described.

Then New Moon came out. I kind of was interested from the previews. A lot of my friends are super into the whole saga, so eventually I broke down. I saw Twilight, then a week later saw New Moon (in theaters, and sweet Jesus there were SO MANY squealing teenagers!).

I’m not even going to try and closet my feelings. I <3 Twilight. I’m genuinely happy I gave it a chance, and I’m actually pretty surprised I liked it so much. I could watch it over and over (well maybe no more than twice a month lol) and not tire of it. Edward? Yes please.

But we also have to talk about the fact that it’s all of the things I traditionally hate. I’ll give the sappy, unrealistic-ness of it all a pass, since that’s part of what makes it enjoyable. But the acting is abhorrent and there is no excusing that. And I can’t get past the Morman undertones/subliminal indoctrination. To top it off, we’re talking about a SUPER unhealthy relationship here. Edward is kind of a stalker and Bella needs some self-esteem stat. I haven’t read the books yet, but I have a feeling that the quality isn’t going to be that great so I’ve been putting it off.

And then MZ introduced me to Alex Reads Twilight.

OMFG I haven’t laughed this hard in years. He points out all the nitpicky things that I would find problems with and makes fun of them. Whether you love or hate the Twilight Saga, I really think you’ll appreciate this series just based on his sarcasm, wit, and British accent.

So here it is: Chapter 1

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L253VLwH3w[/youtube]

(note: he seems to only do ~2 chapters a month, and as of today he’s only up to ch. 14. it’s completely worth the wait)

Posted by Caro in Discoveries, Hilarious, Rants and raves, Videos
21May
0

Incompetence

Let me first start by saying that I’m not upset about the 10 cents I was robbed of. It’s the principle that this kind of thing just shouldn’t happen.

I went to the coffee cart today. Ordered an average-tasting mocha from the barista, then moved to the cash register to pay. Asked for a bagel and cream cheese to go with my drink. OK the bagels are very clearly on TOP of the pastry case. This guy goes into the pastry case and fishes around, then pulls out a croissant. “This? It’s our last one.”

No dude. I asked for a bagel. Here let me grab one for you. Cream cheese please? He grabs me a bag. Just a bag. WTF am I supposed to do with that? I guess it’s white – the same color as what I was asking for? Anyway whatever. I somehow conveyed my need for cheese of the creamed variety. Total: $5.41.

I have a lot of change and I certainly don’t want more. I hand the guy a $20, then pull out 2 quarters and a penny. Paying $20.51 should give me $15.10 in change.

This guy was not understanding. I handed him my money and he told me I needed to give him “9 more cents. No wait 10.” Why would I give you ten MORE cents? He grabbed 10 cents from the “take a penny” jar. Then handed me an even $15 in change.

I was going to start explaining to him that he needs to check his math, or better yet, enter the amount I gave him into the register rather than trying to calculate this all in his head, but my coworker was waiting on me so I let it go.

Seriously, maybe you’re hard of hearing and have trouble with an order. Fine. But not being able to make change? Don’t work at the fucking cash register dude.

This kind of incompetence seriously bothers me.

/end rant

Posted by Caro in Food, Money, Rants and raves, Work
18May
0

Bad Habits

I decided over the weekend that it’s time to start breaking bad habits. I don’t even know where to begin listing these habits, but I know where to start: locking my car door with the “lock” button inside the car instead of using the button on the remote.

I got into said habit pretty recently. I inevitably have WAY too many things to carry (lunch, coffee, water, purse, etc) on my way into work that I just don’t have enough hands. So I found the fastest way to solve this problem: turn off the car, put keys in bag, grab all of my crap, lock the door from inside the car, get out, close door, walk away.

I knew this would bite me in the ass one day, but I chose to do it anyway. It’s even become a regular thing now, even when I don’t have a ton of crap to carry. BAD IDEA!

So here I am on Saturday morning, running late as always, trying to find parking in the city. Found a spot – SCORE! Of course I had a backpack, a gift, and a box of bagels to deal with. I also had to come up with change to feed the meter.

For some stupid reason, I decided I would feed the meter THEN grab all my stuff from the passenger seat. Only I put my keys in my backpack, opened the door, LOCKED IT, then got out and closed the door behind me. As soon as it shut I knew I had just done something stupid.

So here I am, running late to a pot luck brunch on a warm day, now with perishables locked in my car. I called AAA and wouldn’t you know it – they can’t find me in the system. After 15 minutes she finally just said “Well you can show your card when the truck arrives. Now where are you?”

I tell her, only to have her say “Oh well that’s a problem. I’m going to have to transfer you to another number that handles calls in that area.”

Are you fucking kidding me?!? Turns out the number on the card is the number for HALF of California. You’re stuck in the other half? Yeah there’s a different number for that. One that’s not printed on my card.

About 45 minutes later I got into my car. What a pain in the ass. Breaking this habit starting today!!


Posted by Caro in Life, Random, Rants and raves, Things to do
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