Pickled liver? I'll pass, thanks....

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy not-so-far away, I was almost kicked out of my grandparents' house because my grandpa did not like that I was out until 2 a.m. or later most nights of the week. And, though I assume he suspected so, most of those nights out involved alcohol.

Flash forward a bit. My friend circle has shrunk dramatically, but those left are those of quality--people who actually want to know what's up when they say "Hey! How are you?" and I answer with "Not so great....".

What is the point of this silly little story? It's simple, really: I'm older and wiser now. No, not been-around-the-block-enough-times-to-make-your-head-spin old. Instead, I'm at the old-enough-to-know-what's-not-working old. I did my time drinking until I'm drunk and doing it again the next time. And I'm done with it. I enjoy drinking, don't get me wrong. I just don't feel it necessary to have to get slammed every time my "friends" want to hang out. This is why the circle has shrunk. Because I refuse to go out and spend $40 a night getting hammered just to hang out with people. The people I love and care about enjoy a few drinks as much as I do. But we're also capable of having them at someone's home instead of bar hopping.

Don't get me wrong, a night of bar hopping on occasion isn't completely out of my repertoire. In

fact, on of my very good friends is hitting the big 2-1 tomorrow, and that's exactly what we'll be doing. But you probably won't catch me doing it again for several weeks. Because it's just not fun anymore.

So all you "friends" (who probably aren't even reading this anyway, but that's irrelevant) who are upset that I don't hang out with you as much as before......maybe try actually having a get-together that doesn't involve a crap load of people I don't know getting hammered? Just sayin'.....

Stupid hopes

Every time I plan a trip to Albuquerque to see my family and friends I get super hyped about it. I get all worked up and anxious to get there and do so many awesome things.

But then I get there.

I don't know why I still do it. I KNOW that when I get there it won't nearly as exciting as I want it to be. I KNOW that I will spend more time just sitting around doing nothing than doing all the fun and money-draining activities I want to do. And I KNOW that I will spend my time thinking of all the things I could be getting done if I were at home. I KNOW all that. But I always seem to ignore that part of my brain.

So I come. And I've been here for a whole 8 hours--2 of which I spent sleeping--and I want to leave already. Here I sit, asking my family if they'd be upset if I leave earlier than I planned. I told them I want to work as many hours as possible before I may get laid off--which is part of it, I admit. But I also don't want to waste half of the month of June sitting in a town I don't really know anymore, waiting for the few good friends I have left that want to see me to get off work so we might sit and hang out for a few hours or so.

I feel like a horrible person, telling my family I'll be here for 10 days to do lots of fun things, only to turn around and say "Just kidding! I don't like being here."

But I'm leaving earlier anyway.

Initiative for the addition of Valium to the Tucson water supply

I know I complain about the crappy drivers in this town, but this last month has seen a scary trend: the exponential increase in very angry and/or very inept drivers. In a matter of only a few weeks, I have heard accounts of incidents involving people getting so angry behind the wheel at the most mundane places, i.e. old woman laying on her horn in the drive-thru line for the Walgreens pharmacy. I don't know what is up with people--what possible stress has accumulated so rapidly for them, but I do know that their inability to chill the hell out will lead to a drop in the world population due to persistant heart attacks.

Seriously, though, it concerns me to see that people are getting increasingly hostile over pointless things. It makes me fear for people I care about and myself....

Again with this living thing?

Okay, I know, I'm posting yet again within the same week. Get over it. This one's gonna be short anyway. Onto me....

I have grown completely tired and frustrated with life. No....not life. Life is good. It's the people in it that cause distaste in my mouth. The whole world has all but converted to a completely shiny plastic thing in the universe. It's so hard to find someone who is really who they claim to be, and the handful you can find are either ignorant, hateful, or just plain crazy. So finding that tiny little circle of people you can stand to be around and know are real is slowly becoming the most complex process on the planet--even surpassing mating rituals of wild animals.

The thought sickens me, though. To know that almost every person you think is your friend really only associates with you for benefit of some kind, and really doesn't give two shits about your answer to "How's life?"

Like, omigod, HI!!!

Recently, I've had an odd occurrence......occur. And it's got me thinkin'. What am I thinking? Well, I am thinking "Why the FUCK would you think that we're friends now that we're out of high school and 'grown up'?". Let me explain.....

When I was in middle school, I had an enemy. An enemy of the over-the-top dramatic, pre-teen kind of fashion. You see, in P.E., I fell on the dirt track because a snotty little girl tripped me. How do I know this? Because, while passing her, she moved closer to me causing my foot to catch on hers. Furthermore, she not once bothered to see if I was okay. Instead, she and her friends laughed. So, I complained to my friend in line at lunch, only to be overheard by a friend of this person. This friend told her what I said, and she felt the need to corner me in the locker room telling me off. Oh joys of middle school that I miss so much....NOT.

Anyway, by the end of middle school, I realized I really didn't give a shit about this person and basically just ignored her through high school. I had an awkward moment after we graduated when I walked into Keva Juice (which is like Jamba Juice.....but better) only to hear her voice behind the counter saying "Nicki Priest! How are you???" (People called me Nicki in middle school....that's a longer, but irrelevant story).

Recently, this person has added me to her Facebook friends. Weird, but whatever. But today, another person added me as well. My connection to this other person is basically nothing. We knew of each other's existence, and we might have even had a class or two together. I don't recall exactly because WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS.

So now I'm confused. This "social networking" thing seems to be violating all laws of logic. Have we really evolved to a point where our thought process goes something like "Hey, I know that person sorta. I mean, we went to school and we never talked, but I know who they are and I'm sure they know who I am, so we should be friends on [insert currently popular social networking site here]!"?

I'm just confused at this phenomenon.....

Grab-bags are the roulette for children.....

So, I'm failing out of school. Seemed better to just outright say it. My defenses: online programs are not as easy as online colleges and school advisers lead you to believe. Here's how I think the conversation went one day:

"....But if they're online, they aren't learning as much!"
"Yes, we have to make sure they learn as much as in a classroom."
"NO. We must make them learn MORE."
"So, the foregoing of classroom activities means.....?"
"MORE WORK! Read 4 books instead of 2!"
"Yes, and write papers on all of those books, then more comparing them to each other!"
"And make them participate in 'discussion boards', where they must write the equivalent of a short paper EVERY WEEK!!"
"Yes! Excellent......"

(*some points make be exaggerated for dramatic purposes)

I admit, though, that it is mostly through my fault alone that I am in this predicament. The heart of the story is this: because I screwed up so early on in my career at NAU, I was placed on academic probation. Basically, that means I MUST earn a 2.0 GPA for each term until my cumulative GPA is 2.0 or higher. Here's the kicker: if I don't earn a 2.0 for the term, I am "academically suspended"--I'm not allowed to return to the university for at least one semester AND before I can return, I must submit a request and be approved for an academic reinstatement. I have to prove to some committee that I am capable of earning and maintaining a 2.0 or higher by providing past or current records of such (basically, my transcript from Pima will work wonders).

At this point, I'm almost looking forward to having a semester off. Though, it will make the following semesters hard as hell to keep up on (full-time online program = crappy). Whatever. I'm so tired of all the bullshit in the world, I just want to disappear to a far off island to live out the rest of my lazy life. *sigh*

But what can I do.......?

Que Será Será

I am young, hear me roar.

In the last few months, I found that I have been continually looked down upon by older persons. That age ol' saying "Respect your elders" will only go so far for me because I am a part of Generation Y: Why would I respect someone who treats me like I am dirt?

I like to think I am a pretty well-mannered person. I say "please" and "thank you", I hold doors open for people as I'm walking in or out of places, and I say "excuse me" when I have to cut in front of people or squeeze past them in tight spaces. Does that not count as respect? Because if it doesn't, I am very confused about the values of this society.

Here's my philosophy: Yes, I do dumb things and act immature at times. BECAUSE I'M YOUNG. Every person who is older than I am was once my age and did similar, if not worse, things. To lecture me for doing something you've done makes you a hypocrite in my eyes. People aren't perfect. In fact, I neither want to be perfect, nor associate with people who perceive themselves as such. So please don't hold me to your values that I don't share.

Here's a myth I'd like to break right now: "You're young, therefore you don't really know." The best example of this myth in action would be my job. I bet if you asked every parent that walked into my office how long they think I've been working here, they would bet on something under 2 years, if that high. But the truth is I've been working here for 4 1/2 years. For any person in any job in the history of the world to NOT know anything about the workings of what they do after that long.....well, I don't imagine they've actually manage to be in a job that long. But parents and older people come in, look at me, and a good chunk instantly judge me as "wet behind the ears" or "just a student aide". I am not. My level of knowledge has easily met and is passing that of my coworker who has been here for 12 years.

Don't get me wrong, not all the people who come in judge me as such. I am grateful for all the people who come in with open minds and good humor. They're the ones that make my job worth it. They're the ones that earn my respect because they treat me with respect.

If you work in ANY occupation that requires you to interact with people--whether you enjoy it or not--here's a tip: Be nice. No, not everyone will be cheery when they interact with you. People have bad days. How many times have you had a bad day? Yeah....exactly. So, instead of treating someone who comes in grumpy like trash--which will only worsen their bad day and mood, try smiling and being extra nice. Sometimes--but not all--you'll brighten their day and put them in a better mood that's better for both of you to work with. There will be people who are just eternally grumpy. But they aren't the only person you'll deal with in a 24-hour period, so why let that one person spoil you for everyone else?

I got off-topic, I know. But here's where I come back: I may be younger than you, and you may or may not be in a bad mood, but I will not treat you with respect if I am polite to you and you respond with utter rudeness. Not okay. I am tired of being underestimated because I am young. I am Generation Y. Like all other generations, we have flaws AND perks. We understand the importance of working hard and playing hard. We aren't [all] dumb. So please give us some credit. Don't just write us off right away because of the way we look or the things we own or play with. Because I know that when people of my generation are set and determined to get something accomplished.....it happens.

In the next few decades, my generation will be the big one in charge: our parents will be retiring, and our children/nieces/nephews will just be coming into themselves. Whether you choose to respect us or not, you better start trusting us. You won't have a choice soon.

As a final note, I'd like you all to read this article: 10 Ways Generation Y Will Change the Workplace. Also, take a moment to soak in the meaning of this picture:


Just some things for you to keep in mind.