seven things that you’ll love (or hate) about me. October 1, 2008

yes, that is a miley cyrus reference. and i will not be ashamed. ok, maybe a little.

anyway. i have been “tagged” by someone who will remain nameless (kelly). evidently in internet world ”tagging” gives you a pass to spew useless knowledge about yourself. i think i prefer the classic chasing people in circles version. but i’ll try my best to unveil the many, or at least the required seven, mysteries of jenn. drumroll, please. I now present to you seven things that you may not know (but probably do) about me:

1. i was once chased by a man in an el camino in mexico. i was on foot. he did not like americans. he had an ice pick.

2. i have a closet love for the band paramore. i particularly enjoy listening to them while i work out or in my car. i guess i still have some pent-up punk rock teenage angst somewhere inside. this helps release that. i would like to redeem myself by saying i also own multiple cure and radiohead albums. but that may not be enough.

3. my grandfather came over from italy “on the boat.” his birth surname was badalassi, but he eventually took his stepfather’s last name, who was also italian, which is where roman comes from. on this same note, if i had to rename myself i think i’d go for cecilia for the italian flair.

4. i’ve never had a boyfriend. “WHAT?!” yes, it’s true. i’d like to think my wit, charm, and amazing good looks are just too intimidating.

5. i’ve always wanted to get my nose pierced. not like a ring, but a cute little diamond stud. (hi mom! i love you!)

6. i made several appearances in commercials for our local fox station in middle school. including promos for frankie’s fun park (we got to drive the go carts FOREVER), basketball camp (awkward when you don’t know how to play basketball), and voice-overs for their holiday commercials (“Merry Christmas from the Fox 24 kids club!”).

7. one of my biggest regrets is quitting piano after five years when i was in high school. stupid teenager.

ok. so i’m supposed to tag 7 more people, but i don’t know 7 people with a blog. so you get these seven fun facts about me just for the fun of it. wooo! don’t get too excited.

a few disconnected things. September 25, 2008

there’s quite a bit of things i don’t claim to be knowledgeable about. the obvious first is boys. but i’m not going to go there. in a close second is government/politics. i’m used to feeling a bit in the dark during elections. this isn’t something i’m proud of and i do try to do my research. but a part of me feels hopeless in this pursuit cause i don’t feel like anyone is being truthful or acting with integrity. not that anyone is perfect. but people are just being dirty. i, like many people, wish for a third choice. it seems silly that we’ve narrowed ourselves to two completely opposite ideologies and we’re expected to hop on board with one or the other.

and now this whole “bailout” business? this hits a little closer to home now that i’m older and responsible for myself – you know, the whole bills & retirement business (which is not fun at all i might add). as much as i don’t want another “great depression” this whole bailout thing kinda smells like socialism. or at least a little too much intervention on the government’s part. sometimes you have to let things work themselves out. but i guess we are talking about an entire nation. i just don’t see this as a solution. just another something for the government to get involved in.  all i know is, i spent $12 on chicken last night and a gallon of milk is 5 bucks. i can’t afford to feed myself.  here’s the bright side: bad economy = automatic diet plan.

in other news, a few (girl)friends and i have started a bi-weekly supper club of sorts. we’ve recently been referring to it as the “finer things club” after the episode of The Office. i would like to think it’s rather appropriate, if you excuse the occasional banter about things not-so-sophisticated. ahem. anyway, it’s been a great opportunity for me to get to know a few more people in a deeper way. and it’s been good. it started with one of the other girls inviting us over for dinner one night – we had such a good time we decided to make it a reoccurring event. i’m cooking the main dish tonight – chicken mozzarella Parmesan. mmmm. it’s one of my favorite recipes my mom used to make. it’s basically italian bread crumb-crusted chicken baked in a tomato/orange juice sauce topped with cheese. and then the gravy is great over rice. annnnd of course we get to enjoy the season premiere of the office tonight. yesssss.

Boot-scootin’ September 9, 2008

listen to this, yall. i get to participate in a square dance tomorrow night. which is pretty awesome in and of itself, but to top it off…it’s a square dance with international students! just visualize the amazingness that this event will be. unfortunately i do not have any cowboy/girl/person (if we were to be pc) boots. if you’re feeling generous you can always buy me these:

yeeeee-haw!

 please email me for my address, etc. heck, i’ll even let you take me on a date if you buy them for me (unless you’re my brother…because that’s just weird) AND i’ll wear them on the date. how much better does it get?

k. thanks.

ps. i promise there is a post coming tomorrow with some actually depth. not a list of everything i want. but i’m willing to risk looking materialistic if i reach just one person with my need for boots. because i do need them.

so hungry i could eat a _______. September 4, 2008

well. i’m not getting off to a great start. hm. i’m in the last 40-minute stretch of work, and one thing is for certain…i’m dang hungry. i’m currently on the 4-day work week schedule, which means i’m here mon-thurs from 8 am until 6:30 pm with a 30 min lunch break. phew, i get tired just typing about it. but then there’s the glorious, glorious 3-day weekend. but by 6 o’clock i’m ready to GO. i’m in the process of deciding if this schedule is indeed worth fridays off, or if it would be more worth it to get home in time to actually relax, work out, eat before 9 pm, have an hour lunch, etc, etc. i’ll let you know what i decide. whoever “you” may be.

i caught the tail-end of sarah palin’s speech last night. she’s a fiesty one, for sure. a girl like me has a really hard time with the internet because there is SO much information. today i read a gazillion word article on how great she is only for the next click to explain just how horrible and sneaky and manipulative she is. oh if i could only sit down and talk to her! a part of me is prone to be completely apathetic when it comes to politics, but there’s also the side of me that knows the importance of these things. it’s just frustrating when you know you’re not getting a straight story from anyone. grrrr.

in other news, i am currently lusting after this fine piece of photography equipment:

Nikon D80. See it and weep.

heck, i’ll even settle for a D40.

6:05. 25 minutes and counting…

a metanarrative on blogging. August 26, 2008

hi world, it’s me again, the compulsive blogger. i hesitate to start this because all i need is to start another project and then over-analyze it into extinction. but here i am, so evidently i didn’t hesitate too much. i’ve decided blogging is hard for me on many levels. for one, as already alluded to, i tend to over-analyze, which means it’s hard for me to construct entire sentences, much less cohesive short essays without scrapping it before i can make a first edit. second, words scare me. i’m a strong believer in the power of words and sometimes putting ideas, circumstances, beliefs, etc., into words makes it all that more real and, heaven forbid, i might have to do something about it! i can easily throw ideas and thoughts around in my head with little coincidence to anyone else, but as soon as it’s in words for everyone to read it creates instant accountability. and really, who honestly likes being held accountable? sure, it’s healthy, but not fun. oh, and then there’s that vulnerability thing. not that i plan on pouring my heart out about boys and revealing my inner angst on a regular basis, but i also realize that i have a lot of acquaintances who are not privy to my day-to-day activities, or some of my beliefs that are bound to make an appearance. i can hear it now… “OMG, i read jenn’s blog the other day…she drinks margaritas! we need to stage an intervention…” or “did you know that jenn is a christian? total whack job.” or maybe “dude, jenn has eaten mexican food three times this week. someone feed her a salad.”

but when it comes down to it, i mean, really…do people care THAT much? i probably have nothing to worry about.

ALL of that being said, i’ve decided the benefits have the potential to outweigh all of the above. writing has always been something i’ve enjoyed, but never really utilized outside of work/school. and even though words are scary, it really does help me mull through ideas and put things into perspective. also, i’ve come to the very scary realization that i’m beginning to forget things. my college roommate recently moved back in with me and she has a memory of elephantesant (i made that word up i think) proportions. she’ll be all, “hey jenn, remember that really big event we attended in college? you like gave a speech in front of 2,000 people and got this award and sang a solo. and i did an interpretive movement to bette midler’s ‘wind beneath my wings.’” and i’ll be all like “uuhh…nope, don’t remember.” so i want to remember those things. i may also happen to have, oh, let’s say several hours a day of free time due to a less-than-demanding (currently) desk job, and a girl can only surf facebook so much. evidently people don’t update their status/pictures/profile every 5 seconds as my just-as-frequent page refreshing would suggest. also, it’s a FREE hobby. and if it’s free, it’s me.

ok, that’s all for now. i may have some more words of an introductory nature to come, but my fingers are tired, and most people probably haven’t read this far. except for my mom – hi mom!