Absent~

I've been gone for a while, sadly.

Updates: We have a new dog, Eugene. All my plants died.

Rant of the day?

People. Well, people and their annoying habits.

I cannot stand it when someone either says they're going to do something or says they're going to be somewhere and then they either don't do it or don't show up. It makes me grind my teeth and makes steam come out of my ears.

I cannot grasp how it's so bloody difficult for someone to pick up the phone and give me a ring to say, "Oy, can't make it. Sorry." Is it going to kill you to pick up the phone? Did your phone magically turn into flesh eating monster that will devour you if you so much as look at it funny? No. Therefore, there's no reasonable excuse. Honestly, at least try to make something up. You always get points for trying. "I forgot" is not an excuse. It really and truly isn't.

Second annoying human thing: Habitual lateness. My eyes twitch at the very thought of it. It jus seems to indecent to be late for every single outing when you're informed of every single outing at least three weeks in advance.

Third and final irritating human thing for the day: Plan changing. Spontaneous, random, uncalled for plan changing. A quick side story here - I'd had something planned for two weeks, and a person whom I know decided they were going to plan their get together on the same day as my get together, three days before said get together.

Person proceeds to cancel their get together the night before my get together and yet doesn't inform me of the cancelation of their get together, meaning I can't ask anyone to come to my get together. You follow? Then again, since all those who were going to person's get together previously knew about my get together get decided to go to person's get together I guess I don't really want them at my get together anyway. You follow?

Mold in the workplace. As a general...not loyalty, but whatever, I'm not going to say the name of this company. Mother dearest works for said company.

She showed me a rash today that is spreading across her buttock. This rash led me to google as she has stated her office has a very dark, almost black mold. To my greatest knowledge, black mold is especially dangerous.

Internet and book searches led me to some pictures, which I showed her. "Yes, about a foot and a half up the entire parameter of my wall is that." So yes. Black mold. Her and the coworker she shares the office with have been complaining for months.

I also became aware of a carpet that is so green and covered in mold, they cannot remove it, until they get all the gear to suit up and properly dispose of this.

Both mom and her coworker have severe rashed, head aches, nose bleeds, etc. All symptoms of mold poisoning. I've given her all the articles and photos to take into work, but I told her she has to tell her boss to set her home computer up - no more working from the shop.

I honestly think this is disgusting, despicable, and so wrong. Thoughts, readers?

Dear Tums,

You say you taste like fruit, but you don't. No matter how hard you try, you never will. You just taste like garbage and fruit is not garbage. Stop it.

Sincerely, my taste buds.

Alcohol fun times.

Does anyone who reads this watch Glee? I found it ironic that the night I chose to have a drinking night, was the same day they had their Alcohol Awareness episode. It was a good episode, but seeing all the TV reviews and such - have they gone too far? stuff like that - kind of makes me roll my eyes.

Teenagers are going to drink. You can try to stop them. You can enforce curfews, ground them, do whatever the heck you want. You know what that's going to do? It's going to make them want to drink more. All it's doing is opressing their natural urge to experiment and explore.

My own mother was very open about this stuff: sure, try it, what the hey. But if I was going to get drunk while underaged, she wanted me to do it at home. If I was at a friends, I had my cell phone to call my grampa if I needed to get home. She didn't approve, but she knew it would happen, and instead of trying to tell me "no" she said, "I know" and gave me ways to be safe. I never really got drunk as an underaged teen. A few times, sure, but never at clubs or parties or while sneaking...because I didn't have to sneak.

Now as a legal adult, I don't want to go out and get drunk and party with my friends. I'll sit with my mom and have a few beers, and I'm more than okay with that.

It goes for everything, not just alcohol. There's sex, the ever-evil marijuana. People are going to try things. It's kind of a part of life. I'm not saying I agree with anyone doing illegal acts, but it's going to happen, and trying to lock those urges up in a vault doesn't help. It makes the urge stronger.

I began smoking while underaged, sneaking it from my mom and such. As soon as she found out, it kind of lost it's...flavor? It became dull. The more lenient you are with kids - in my opinion - the less they feel the need to hide things.

Everyone has their own parenting style though, and I'm really not trying to preach. I'm just saying: think back to when you were a teenager. Remember how you felt about this.

You can tell people about your own mistakes, but you can't force them to not make their own. We learn from mistakes, but only from our own. Your horrifying experience at =insert something here= and you telling me about it, doesn't mean I won't ever do it. If it sucks for you, you tell me, but also give me pointers on where else to go/do, then kudos. I might not do the original super sucky thing.

Have you ever fallen in love with a friend? What does it feel like? What did you do?

Better yet. How did it end?

Plants: Update

My little plants are obviously not sprouting yet. I'm going to water them in just a minute, as their soil was damp yesterday. They're settled in the sunshine around various parts of my house.

I'm planning on setting up my bedroom so I can put the little pots in the sunniest part of it. I want them to grow up strong and healthy! Yes, they're just plants, but I don't care. They're my plants.

After I repot them, they're more than likely have to go outside. I was wondering about getting long window boxes for my room. I won't put my current plants in there, but it'd be nice to plant something.

So my question for now is this:

Do any of you grow plants? If so, do you talk to them? Sing to them? Or merely give them the basic requirements of water, sunshine, plant food for older ones?

I sing to my plants sometimes, and always have. Tell me your thoughts!

Collectibles

I really, really want to find the Royal Doulton HN2742 - Sheila figurine. My grandma would just die if I could get that for her. It's such a pretty collectible, but it's retired...ironically enough, it retired the year I was born.

I wish I had money so I could have gone to the auction in Ottawa, starting bid was only fifty for it, and they had much older Doulton's for bid. I think it only fetched a few hundred. I'm digging around everywhere online to see if anyone has it for sale, but no such luck. It was started in 1983 and retired in 1991. It's not that old at all actually.

And as a side note: I'm a freakin' idiot. Yesterday I was at the Salvation Army thrift store, being nosy with my sister and stepdad, and they had a giant collection of China. I was looking at some of the stuff, and a really pretty tea cup stood out. It was only $2.50 - most likely because it didn't have a saucer - and it was a Royal Albert Collectible. Royal Albert is owned by Doulton now, and it's a line of bone china that has been running for a hundred years or more.

The freaking cup was part of the Country Rose line, and was actually numbered. Country Rose is the most popular china pattern. I suppose that makes the cup not worth all that much, but still. It was a classic...I would have actually got it, had it come with matching saucer. I refuse to buy cups without it. I'm sure it lowers the value a bit, but besides that, it just looks tacky to me, having the tea cup without the saucer.

I must sound like an older lady, talking about Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, bone china and Country Rose. Heh, I'm not, obviously. My grandmother - who sparked my interest in it - isn't exactly "old" either. Her mother collected these things and left them to her when she passed away. I've just got an eye for "expensive" things. Plus, collectibles are awesome. It's so great to look at my gramma's cabinets and think about how long some of the items have been in her family. Because I like them so much, she wants me to...eventually, you know...have them. She has well over thirty thousand dollars worth of china and figurines, but I wouldn't be able to sell it either.

Grah, I want that figurine so bad. I also want Claire and Samantha...they're newer ones, if I'm not mistaken.