Confession #43: Traveling makes me a little nervous

I have been flying on planes since I was a couple of weeks old. I think it is safe to say that I have flown at least 100 times and I have been to many countries. When I was a little kid, I would occasionally get motion sickness on flights but I was never really bothered by it. 

Flying never made me at all nervous until I was an adult and I had to start flying alone. I am not nervous about the actual flying (which is what makes this so ridiculous). I am nervous that I will get lost, get on the wrong plane, miss my flight, etc. But I think the TSA gives me more anxiety than anything else. I am always the one who gets her bags routed through, gets patted down, and gets the evil eye from all of the agents. It's not so bad when you have someone with you that stands and waits for you and is there for you to vent to.

But I guess we all have to grow up and learn how to board a plane on our own at some point. I have flown internationally by myself, and domestically for work. Still, I never get any less anxious about going to the airport.  

Confession #42: I love Broadway musicals

One of the things on my bucket list is to see a Broadway musical actually on Broadway. I have seen my fair share of off-Broadway musicals and I am obsessed. I can't imagine what it is like to see the real thing. 

The other night I went and saw Chicago in my local city. I have seen it before in London which was incredible, so my standards were pretty high. Some characters were not as good this time, but overall, I just really enjoyed myself. I would recommend Chicago to anyone who enjoys a good musical. It is about a group of women in jail who, for various reasons, have murdered a man in their life. It is a hilarious look at the U.S. justice system. and portrays the intensity of love and jealousy. Plus the music is so catchy. I love the mix of jazz and theatrical music. 

Although Chicago is excellent, my top 2 favorite Broadway shows are Wicked, and surprisingly enough, The Lion King. I have been crazy about Wicked since I was very young so when I finally got to see it live, I loved it even more than I thought that I would. I have seen it 3 times and I would see it again in a heartbeat (I may also know all the words to every song). I would venture to say that Wicked it at the top of most people's list. When I first went to see the Lion King, I will admit that I was skeptical. There are so many amazing Broadway shows out there and I just didn't think that this show could ever compare to the likes of Rent or Cats. But I was blown away within the first 30 seconds of the show. If you haven't seen it, well...you have to. Every single second of it is intensely incredible. 

Confession #41: I get really annoyed when I buy something online and it never shows up

I have been trying to do more "likes" than "dislikes" as confessions (or at least alternating each day between good and bad) but today I have to do a second dislike in a row. I apologize in advance.

So I order a new Vera Bradley makeup bag from Amazon (which, by the way, I absolutely love Amazon) and it is shipped from a third-party. I am super excited about it and a few days later I get an email from Amazon saying that it has been delivered. 

Weird...I have been home all day and no one ever knocked on my door with a package. I go to my front door and there is no package and I do not have a "Sorry you missed us" sticker on my door. I live in an apartment complex so I go down to my mailbox and the package is not there but I have a message saying that my package has been left in the apartment leasing office.

Great! So I happily skip along to the office while daydreaming of all the wonderful makeup I can put in my new bag. And when I get to the office, guess what? No package. The leasing manager says to me "Ohhh sometimes they forget to bring it to the office so check back tomorrow". Fine. I am busy for the next few days but by the time I finally get down there (6 days later), still no package. The post office blames it on the leasing office and the leasing office blames it on the post office.

I blame it on everybody. I am angry, broke, and makeup bag-less. And no one can give me any answers. I swear I have the worse luck in the world. 

Confession #40: I hate it when mandatory events are labeled as "not required"

The whole unspoken rule of non-mandatory events is quite frustrating. If you want me to go somewhere or do something that I probably won't want to do, tell me that it is required. Because come on...if you give me the option of not going, we all know what I am going to do. 

I get so mad when people tell me I don't have to do something but then get upset when I don't do it. I know this is a very vague vent (say that 10 times fast) but it just really gets under my skin. 

If a pizza place tells you that you can have a whole pizza for free with the option of paying $5 for it, you are probably going to take the pizza for free. If they don't give you the option, you pay the dang $5 because otherwise you would either have to steal it or have a lonely pizza-less night. Bad example, I know. But seriously. 

Let's just be honest with each other. There should be two, straight-forward categories: mandatory and not mandatory. The third made-up category ("it's not required but if you don't go I will chop your head off") should be discarded immediately. 

Confession #39: I let my cats lick the spoon

When I first got Cal, she was only 9 weeks old and she weighed 2 pounds. After almost doubling her weight in 2 weeks, I was worried about how quickly she was gaining weight so the vet told me to start feeding her wet food for dinner. Neither of my cats had ever really been crazy about food....until I popped open that very first can of wet food. They are both obsessed with it now. Every time I walk into the kitchen, they think I am going to open a can up for them and they freak out in excitement. They literally both try to climb my legs as I am scooping it into their bowls. So, I started letting them lick the spoon in an attempt to calm them down and get them off my legs. I seriously need to film them at dinner time someday. They would be the next YouTube sensation.

Confession #38: Watching the presidential debate is a challenge

Yes, I said it. I swear I am not an ignorant woman who isn't the least bit intrigued by political ideas. Trust me, debates get my wheels turning. I think the problem is that my wheel turns a little too much. I get so riled up and angry, that pretty much no one wants to be around me.

My stress levels have already been pretty high this week so when I turned on the debate, my blood pressure almost went through the roof. So, I decided that it wasn't worth spending my very small amount of relaxation time stressing out over the debate.

I know that the debate helps some people decide who they are going to vote for and I strongly believe that everyone who votes should research both candidates so that they make an informed decision come November. I get so mad when I hear people say things like, "well I am voting [insert party here] because that is what all of my friends are doing". NO. Vote based on your own research and don't let other people influence you. Personally, I don't need to watch the debate to form an opinion because I have spent a lot of time looking into both candidate's platforms. If anything, the presidential debate just makes me hate the other candidate even more.

So, that is my rant for today. I wish I could sit back and enjoy a good, political debate. But, clearly I am too emotional and opinionated.

Confession #37: I love rainy days

It's all about the senses for me. I love watching the rain and listening to it hit my window but I think my favorite part is the smell of cool rain hitting warm asphalt. 

"Anyone that thinks that sunshine is pure happiness, has never danced in the rain"

So what do I do on rainy days? Well, as long as I am not working, rainy days are lazy days for me. I cuddle up with a blanket, watch movies, and fall asleep listening to the rain. In fact, it's a rainy day today and I can barely keep my eyes open to finish this post. 

Even if I have to work on a rainy day, I love to come home and go out onto my balcony with a glass of wine and great book. Fortunately, my balcony has a roof so I can enjoy the rain without getting wet. As you can see from the picture above, my cats love to watch the rain as well :).

Confession #36: I don't trust people who can't spell

For some reason, my brain is wired to believe that spelling is indicative of intelligence. I am not talking about typos or an occasional oversight. I am talking about the people who really do not understand the difference between then and than, were and where, their and there and they're.

When I was in graduate school, I was a teacher's assistant in an undergraduate class called "The Basics of Business". Throughout the year we taught them interview skills, dressing for success, business etiquette, how to write memos, and we even conducted grammar and spelling lessons. At the end of the year, they all filled out anonymous class evaluations and I was assigned to review them all and put together a report. Let me just tell you that I almost died when I read them. When asked "What was your least favorite part of this course", almost all of the students answered that the grammar and spelling lessons were unnecessary. But here is the kicker: 60% of those students spelled grammar as grammer. Grammer? Really? Clearly, the lessons would not have been pointless if you would have paid attention.

Based on my own personal observation, it seems to me that intelligence is somewhat linked to a person's ability to spell (however, I know that there are exceptions such as dyslexia). The people that I know that I consider intelligent (high test scores, higher education, intelligent conversation) are almost always better at spelling than the people that I consider less intelligent. Is this a coincidence? My own warped perception? I'm not sure. But I do know that I take people more seriously when they can write something coherent with little to no spelling errors.

So, yes. I am a spelling Nazi. No one is going to take you seriously if you don't learn how to spell. I have known employers that have thrown resumes in the trash simply because of spelling mistakes. It's called "spell check", people!

Confession #35: October is my favorite month of the year!

If you follow my blog, you already know about my obsession with fall so it should come as no surprise  to you that October is my favorite month. But just to clarify as to why no autumn month competes with October, I have decided to share with you my top 5 reasons why October is the bomb.

1. Halloween. 

When else do you get to have a bowl of candy lying around your house without feeling guilty? Every Halloween I get a glass of wine, a bowl of candy, and a big fluffy blanket, and I sit and wait for trick-or-treaters. Mind you, I have mostly lived in apartment complexes so my doorbell doesn't get rung very often....but darnit, if I have to eat all of that left over candy then I will make that sacrifice!

2. The changing of the leaves. 

There isn't much in the world as beautiful as mountains lined with trees colored red, yellow, and orange. I get a little too excited when I see the first leaves starting to change. Whenever I have a yard of my own, I am going to rake up all of the leaves into a pile and then dive right into them. As for now, I will just have to wait until an unsuspecting neighbor rakes his pile of leaves. 

3. Scary movies.

Ok, so maybe not like...really scary movies. Because I am kind of a wuss. I was thinking more along the lines of Hocus Pocus and Casper. But for those of you that can handle scary movies without sleeping with the light on all night, movies like Dracula, Psycho, and Friday the 13th aren't bad choices.

4. Pumpkins.

Need I say more?? Here is a list of pumpkin things that I love: pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, pumpkin candles, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin decorations...the list could go on for days. Pumpkins seriously need to be a year-round thing.

5. Campfires.

Sitting around a campfire with your friends and family is pretty awesome. Add marshmallows to the mix and you have a serious good time on your hands.