kittlee123's Xanga

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:30:12 GMT

The dating scene really is everywhere.

I'm not talking about myself, here (not this time)-- but for the last hour or so I've been eavesdropping on what has to be a first date between a man and woman who both must be more than twice my age. It is *so* interesting. Eavesdropping may be a slightly inaccurate term, seeing as there is no possible way that I could avoid overhearing them... but I guess I just hope I am never in their shoes. That's not to say that you can't find a lasting relationship after a certain age, and of course people get married at all different ages now... but I just really do not want to be going on first dates when I'm in my 60's or 70's.

The guy, for his part, seems like a decent enough guy-- fairly softspoken, but in a gentle, "I don't need to impress anyone" way, not a meek-and-mild way. The woman, on the other hand... my gosh. I know this is a horrible thing to say, but she kind of looks like how I would imagine Cruella De Ville would look if she had been a real person and had died and risen from her grave as a zombie. It's rare that I'm actually horrified when I look at someone, but there is just something about her that is severely unnerving.

Anyway, for the last little bit I have heard her many opinions about everything under the sun (the first thing I heard out of her mouth was an "unladylike" comment about some other guy, I'll spare you the details), and I just wonder how this guy is putting up with her. At one point, it was almost funny... one of them would talk for a while, and then the other would talk, and they just kept totally missing each other-- neither of them was actually listening or responding at all, they just took turns talking AT each other.

Sometimes... life just amazes me.

Yard Sale Marathon!

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:41:25 GMT

So yesterday, my friend Jenn and I decided to indulge our latest fun hobby and hit the yard sales bright and early. Well... early. Maybe not quite so bright. (I admit, I all but dragged myself out of bed. It was so worth it though!)

Fifteen yard sales and a few thwarted attempts later, we called it a day. Man. We were SO exhausted. Who knew that so many people wanted to set up tables to sell old random stuff from their houses on Saturday mornings? We just kept seeing them everywhere!

We definitely found a few fun and unique deals and interesting items. Jenn bought an antique bone glove-stretcher that basically looks like a hair clip for 13 cents. I bought a brand new, still-in-the-box George Foreman-like grill for $5. Early in the day we went to a woman who had her own scrapbooking business who was selling all kinds of high quality paper (including vellum) for a dollar an inch! You could easily pay a dollar for two SHEETS of vellum in stores! Between us we also got a couple games, some jewelry, and other random assorted stuff.

At about midday, though, Jenn and I decided that we were going to give each sale a grade, since we'd had so much exposure to them. So generally, here's the criteria/helpful guide to yard sales that we came up with:

1. Signage. Signage, signage, signage. Don't assume that people know your neighborhood. If it's way down some random street, you need to put signs up telling people that they're still going the right way! Oh. And along those lines, also not cool to put signs like 5-10 miles from the sale.

2. Advertising. Use craigslist, the newspaper, above-mentioned signage... the whole point is that you want people to come, right? But be honest. "Huge"= at LEAST 6 folding tables (the big ones) worth of stuff.

3. Decide beforehand whether you are doing this yard sale primarily to make a few extra bucks or to get rid of crap around your house. Don't change your mind halfway through and try to squeeze out a couple extra bucks just as people are paying. Lame.

4. Group appeal. Plan in advance, and get others in your neighborhood to go in with you. It's way more effective and more appealing to potential buyers to have at least a handful of decent stuff to look through, and it's way more fun than sitting outside by yourself for 6 hours.

5. Lemonade. A very nice touch. Loved it. A+.

6. Organization. If you're not even willing to dig through your own crap, what makes you think that anyone else would want to? And while ok, some things may have been in storage and therefore may be a little dusty... if anything is just gross (I saw mold, nasty goopy stuff, and tiny bits of leftover food stuck on pots and pans)... that's not fun. On the other hand, when people can see things, they're way more likely to buy them!

7. Markdowns. After a certain point, 1/2 off or "stuff a bag full for a dollar" (both approaches we saw yesterday) vastly increase your chances of getting rid of all your extra stuff.

8. Friendliness. People are more likely to buy from someone they like than someone they don't like. (Although you might also want to avoid the other extreme, which is hovering.)

9. Consider the environment you're creating. Jenn and I left one sale almost immediately because several people were smoking and it just made it pretty unpleasant. Another woman literally left a sale running because the lady's dog had gotten outside and she was severely allergic.

10. Timing. Saturday mornings are best, because you'll catch people in yard-sale mode. It'll be harder to get people to stop by on a Friday or a Sunday, because most likely they're doing something else.

Overall, though, it was a blast. I still didn't spend much, but I came away with all kinds of goodies. Yay for yard sales!

Friday, July 06, 2007

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:23:48 GMT

After a long break, (duly noted by Katy and Jaci ) I think I might be getting back into this whole xanga thing again.

Today, I'd like to take a moment to celebrate the wonder of my favorite places for girl-on-a-budget. I've had more time than usual to play recently, so I've been able to swap some time for fantastic deals... and basically, I just get really excited about that!

1) eBay. Already I find it hard to remember life without it! This week I dove back in with a passion, although from the other angle... trying to sell stuff this time. I think I tried this once before and was pretty disappointed with the results. This time, it's way better! I've already made about $30 in the last week just for random stuff I had lying around my apartment. Sweet!

2) Yard sales. I've been hitting them with a fervor. Not much else will get me out of bed at 8am on a Saturday, but (sadly) the prospect of some unique little find somewhere is pretty much what it takes. Recently, I've been able to acquire a beautiful wood mission style cabinet, a space heater, three necklaces, a pair of earrings, a cute little wicker jewelry box, a shoe rack, a big package of cardstock for scrapbooking/making cards, Scrabble, and a wooden salad bowl with four matching smaller bowls, all for about $50. The cabinet alone easily would have cost more than that new (maybe even double), and it's in excellent condition.

3) Craigslist. Again, how did I live without this? Oh yeah-- I remember, that's when I didn't have to worry about things like buying furniture. I have bought and sold many things on craigslist and have never had a bad experience. Plus, no better way to find out about all the yard sales (although driving through town the morning of can also be a good bet). And the fact that it doesn't cost anything to post is a major bonus. A little tidbit that I stored away in the back of my mind is that a lot of times people will sell gift cards on craigslist because they want the cash more than the card... so if you know you're going to buy something at a certain store, it's worth a look- most of the time they'll sell them for at least $10-20 less than they're worth at the store.

4) Paperbackswap.com. If you like books, this is a must. I've already received 10-15 books through this system, and it's genius because you trade what you have but don't want for what you want but don't have, and all you pay is a buck or two for postage. It's like a gigantic national library, only you get to keep the books.

Now, I just have to make sure I still keep within my budget since there are so many good deals out there!

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 02:17:23 GMT

Amy and I were watching the news, and it's amazing what you can learn about your own neighborhood...

Apparently, some woman had a pretty bad case of road rage and threw a bottle of urine at another driver. (About 3/4 a mile from our apartment.) Awesome.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 23:05:48 GMT

So, apparently I'm not very good at actually posting anything here anymore. However, I came across a couple articles today on MSNBC and couldn't resist getting up on my soapbox a little. On the one hand, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that "charity news" has its own separate subheading on the website. That's the first time I've seen that, and I learned several encouraging things-- like that there is now a game out there like SimCity that helps kids build and manage their own nonprofits. Ok, that's pretty neat... especially as it got good reviews.

All too often, I get discouraged when I read about this stuff (giving to nonprofits.) Some of that comes from the fact that I have a very vested interest in the overall pulse of the country when it comes to charitable giving since that's how I get paid :) And it's upsetting to read about many charities that have abused their tax-exempt status and how that's affecting morale overall. But especially when I read about giving within the church, it's a little disappointing.

Here are a couple things in particular that I wanted to comment on:

"Individuals and households accounted for $199 billion of the total — giving away nearly 2 percent of their incomes on average, it said."

The thing is, many people would say that that's a lot- 2%. Lots of Christians, too. (The national average among Christians is about the same, maybe a little higher, maybe the 2-3% range.) The thing that I've found in general is that people like to feel generous without needing to sacrifice anything. That may be harsh, and in many cases is untrue, but 2-3%? Come on, guys! We're unbelievably rich. And besides, what ever happened to tithing? (A tithe would be about 10%) I read recently that if the church simply tithed and gave 70% or so of that to battling poverty, it would be completely wiped out. That certainly gave me pause...

"Similarly, recent surveys by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University found that people making less than $50,000 a year make most of the donations to U.S. charities and that the median gift after major disasters is $50 – the kind of donation that comes from cookie jars rather than bank vaults."

This is the most fascinating quote of any of these articles, I think. Ok, I'm going to go out on a limb and risk offending people here... know that that is not my intent, but I just need to be blunt about this. My job, or more accurately, my paycheck, is dependent on others' generosity. I don't apologize for working in full-time ministry which is not a money-making profession. I think there is much to be said for community collaboration for the things that as a community we truly value.

As part of my job, I meet with people to explain what I do and why, and to invite them to partner with my financially if they feel so led. This is never intended to be a pressure thing. It's just how the bills get paid :) Often I'll ask someone (if the conversation has gone reasonably well) if they know anyone else who might be interested in hearing what I just shared with them. Often they say yes... but here's the kicker... they immediately start qualifying anyone they think of based on how much money that person has. It drives me nuts! First of all, because that's not the point... if they can't give, they can't give, it doesn't mean I don't want to meet with them. Secondly, it's counterlogical, but I often don't want to meet with people who have lots of money. It would be unfair of me to suggest that this is true across the board, because it's not. But this quote resonates with my experience... the more money someone has, the harder it is for them to give it away. Of course you read about multimillionaire philanthropists. But most people who give generously are just ordinary people.

I am in danger of getting riled up and far more self-righteous about this than I really should be, so I'm going to stop now...

But not before I tell you about my two new favorite websites. It has nothing to do with the rest of this post. But it's pretty awesome. Especially if you like books or CDs

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:01:28 GMT

(This image is taken from a PostSecret fan club on facebook. I thought it was especially moving.)

Ok, I know it's been a long time since I've written anything here. My apologies.

So... here's my dilemma, and I would love the feedback of anyone who has stuck with me through this long writing drought and possibly still reads this.

I really love PostSecret. I find it utterly fascinating and a welcome breath of fresh air. It exposes our secrets, levels the playing field, provides an opportunity to connect with others in an anonymous way. It's kind of sad that that's the only way sometimes that we feel like we can share these things with other people. Honestly, I think a ton of that has to do with a legitimate fear of judgment and condemnation, and a lot of that has been perpetuated by the church.

This semester, we are attempting to recreate the PostSecret idea at UNH. We are collecting postcards/secrets from students on campus, and plan to have a display of these at the end of February. I'm pretty excited about it.

Here's my dilemma: as part of a Christian campus ministry, I have really been struggling with the idea of censorship. In general, I am completely opposed to any censorship whatsoever because it goes so much against the grain of what this project is about. How can you say which secrets are "appropriate" and which are not? And what does it tell someone whose secret has been censored out?! If our aim with this is to be real and raw and embrace people wholeheartedly, then trying to make something like this polite and "above reproach" (there's a little Christianese for you) seems totally contrary to the whole idea.

On the other hand, we have people involved with this outreach who are excited about it, but who might struggle with the content displayed. I'm thinking particularly of the guys, though in no means exclusively is it their issue. I have hesitated to send students to the PostSecret website, only because many of the secrets and images displayed there (moreso the images than the secrets themselves) are basically pornographic. For anyone who is disturbed by images like these, and is perhaps battling an addiction to pornography or other sexual addictions, I hardly think that including images like these is going to be helpful or kind in the one place they may be able to go to escape our culture's obsession with sex.

I guess my question to you all is: to what degree is censorship of explicit images appropriate when you are attempting to provoke and encourage people to express the things about themselves that they feel like they can't tell anyone? Is a disclaimer that there may be explicit images adequate? Is it worth displaying these to break down the stereotype that Christians can't handle anything that is messy or disturbing? Um... yeah... what would Jesus do? Your thoughts are appreciated.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 03:02:02 GMT

So, um, it's been a long time.

It's been strange not having Amy here. I got so used to having a roommate who I actually talked to that the day she left, it felt really strange to be here. Now it's been a week, and I think I've decided I don't like it anymore. I think I'm one of those people who can never live alone.

It's been fun having some more flexibility, though. This weekend Jon and I went out to dinner in Portsmouth and then to the Candlelight Stroll on Strawbery Banke, which was every bit as much of a cute Christmasy romantic evening as it sounds. Ok, so most of the people there were families, but it was really special to me to be able to do that. I absolutely love Portsmouth.

I haven't written much here recently, and it's because I haven't been thinking much about things that are xanga-ish. There have been some really hard and confusing things that I haven't been able to think about clearly enough to articulate, and then there have been the mundane things- like how much laundry I have, or my to-do list... those kinds of things. Not much in the middle.

But one recurring thought I have had at various points in the last month is that if, on the day I graduated college, you had asked me what I would have wanted my life to look like 2 1/2 years later... this is pretty much it. Living in my own cute apartment with a fun roommate, settling into New Hampshire, working on a great campus with a great team and great students, having an amazing boyfriend who I can't ever seem to get enough of... those things, the things that would have mattered to me, I think, are all panning out exactly like I would have wanted. Of course, it's not entirely a rosy picture, because life never is... and the things I never really worried about when I graduated have in fact become bigger issues than I would have thought. Here isn't the place to go into some of those, but it strikes me as funny that you can get everything you want, and yet still have issues.

Still, with so much in my life that is really great right now... I'm thankful.

Smells

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 02:35:26 GMT

I have a really poor sense of smell. That's not to say that I can't smell things, but just that I occasionally find it really hard to articulate what a particular smell is. Maybe "poor sensory recall" would be a more accurate description (that actually sounds somewhat technical!)

So, I'm sitting in my kitchen, and I smell something, and I've been smelling it for a while and I can't figure out what the heck it is! I actually got up and did sort of a "smelling tour" of the kitchen cause it bothered me so much. Sniffed near the trash (which gave off a foul odor, but it wasn't "the smell" I was smelling...) I used a new shampoo today, so my hair smells, but it wasn't that either. Walked over to the window and smelled "outdoor smells," and I've been sitting here racking my brain trying to figure this thing out. It's not a bad smell... though it's not a particularly good smell either. But, probably more good than bad. I thought maybe it was some of the herbs my mom planted outside.

Agh! I give up.

SUCKFEST!

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 19:31:30 GMT

Sorry for the language if that offends anyone.

So, what's some really great news that you might hear from your Dad?

Well, one thing that would be really great would be that he would say, "Hey Claire, guess what? I won free Red Sox tickets at work, but they're for when I'll be away on business. Do you want to go with your brother?"

To which I would have (hypothetically, of course) said, "Sure, Dad! That sounds fantastic!"

So, for the past couple weeks I have looked forward to going to see a Sox game... I don't see many of them, but it's pretty fun to go to at least one a season. And, hearing that they were pretty good seats made it even better- because, let's face it, I'm not enough of a baseball fan to shell out lots of money for good seats, even if I could get them. But when they're free, then heck yeah!

So actually, in case you hadn't figured this out, this is a real scenario. Which makes what happened next that much more devastating.

Callum and I were getting things together, planning to leave early to avoid some of the craziness... he'd put the envelope with the tickets in it on our kitchen counter, and I picked it up, saw my Dad's scrawled handwriting on the outside: "Tuesday, July 17." Didn't pay much attention, til I opened the envelope and looked at the tickets, and the tickets said Monday, July 17.

Check your calendars, folks. The 17th was yesterday.

Suckfest!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 04:24:37 GMT

So, even though this post is going to show up as posting on the 5th of July, it's the 4th of July (haven't changed my computer clock to Mountain Time, and I'm certainly not going to now) which means one thing: America Day.

For some reason, my nationality has come up a lot in the past week or so... just the fact that I'm not a U.S. Citizen. It made today a little weird. I don't really get very excited about the 4th of July, and I'm definitely not what you would call patriotic. That's not to say I'm not grateful for the freedoms that we have here, or the safety, or that I don't want to honor veterans or anything like that. And, I like fireworks and barbeques. (We got to watch fireworks last night from the side of a mountain... so we were actually looking DOWN on them. So weird!) I just don't feel all that tied to America, even though I've lived here practically my whole life. There are so many other fascinating countries in the world... I don't dislike America, I guess I just don't have much national pride.

The one thing I will say, though, is that by virtue of the fact that today is a national holiday, I got to watch a parade this morning which was sort of fun. Well, parts of it were boring (and/or annoying... I mean, local politicians campaigning amidst the boy scouts and high school marching band was a little tiresome after a while) but at the very end there was some major excitement...

... the LAWN CHAIR BRIGADE! Six men, all in their 30's-40's, wearing Hawaiian shirts and opening, closing, and twirling lawn chairs to a routine they'd made up. SO funny, so bizarre...

...except the even more bizarre thing is that as I told people this, they were like "oh yeah, we used to have that in our town." What?? Are lawn chair brigades really that popular? Is this some common hobby that I have been unaware of my whole life?

Seriously! What?!