Craigslist hauntings

The title really could allude to so many of my life experiences... mostly in real estate, but today I speak of an old blog post topic, revisited in my life.
If you don't feel like reading that, the basic story goes: I replied to a Craigslist personal about an Australian wanting to meet new people in New York. It was mostly for the story but I was also intrigued. I have a thing for accents. It didn't end well and I never met the man, despite his attempts at email charm.

Today, 11 months after our last exchanges, he strikes again!
---------------------------------------------------------
"somehow next week never happened... !

but now it's spring and i've been training with a rugby team and have
really come to love new york.. and i was thinking back to my earlier times
here and i regretted our never having got to go out together.

our last e-mail said "next week"... maybe we should just count it as
next week aka a week from this one, and get together finally,

j (from australia, if you recall)"
 --------------------------------------------------------
I admire his audacity, but I'm shocked he thinks he's got a chance. Afterall, a girl does not easily forget being stood up.  Especially not her first time. 


 

The Case of the Recurring Nightmare

There could be several reasons that cause my insessant nightmares: Stress, real life inspiration, alcohol... who knows? One thing is for sure: I have them almost every single week! The week before I left for Texas, I had them EVERY single day. And while there, I had them at least twice a week. What is wrong with me?!
I must explain though that not every dream is actually horrifying per se. Some aren't even scary at all but there's this intangible fear and anxiety I feel as my character in the dream, like a "sense of impending doom or panic"... as if my dream were in a movie and the sound track just got spooky. Does that make sense? 
Last night for example, I had a horrible dream that I had to take care of a baby for hours on end. It kept misbehaving or ruining its clothes so I had to continually care for it, EVEN THOUGH I had all of this Science homework to do. I was so tapped out with anxiety!
It's mostly bizarre, because a) I've never had to take care of a baby, and b) I was in my parents house where I lived in high school and goodness knows what "science" meant in dream code. I'm thinking Physics.
The absolute oldest recurring nightmare I have is the one where I'm on a bike with my brother and we ride off of a dock into the ocean. We just sink and sink into the darkness until I wake up with a start. I've had this dream minimum 15 times over the course of just as many years.
The American Sleep Association website says I have a problem and need to see a therapist. That's not uplifting.

I'm starting a new job on Thursday. I hope that decreases stress levels and my subconscious eases up on the frightmares.

kuotes on job hunting

This is a conversation I had with a friend at the end of 2010: 

    me:  I should just apply. It wouldn't hurt. you're right

okay

I'll start sending apps when I'm sober... and on Monday 

    Kuotes:  : i think drunk job applications may be fun

  
    me:  i did that once

i made a new email address

sent out like 5 resumes via craiglist

i got like 2 responses... pretty good for a CL hunt

But they were sooo stupid.. clearly my drunk judgement for suitable jobs was... down  

  

Kuotes: its like looking for boys at a bar

need a couple of drinks to get going, even if it lowers your standards

often times something is better than nothing

even if sometimes nothing is better than something the next day

PS. I am now employed! I've had WAY too many drinks in the past few months, but at the end of the day nothing is better than something the next day... if only for just a few months. But boredom gets boring fast.

New job starts next Thursday. Details to follow :)

Platelet Donation Adventure

I was going to take a couple pictures of this adventure today but I was so grossed out by my inner liquids being swirled around in tubes and centrifuges that I couldn't bear it.

It all started because the New York Blood Center sent me an email and promised me free baseball tickets in exchange for my little platelets this month. I've donated blood since junior year of high school when they started doing blood drives at Panas. This would be a cinch.

But then I started reading. This is when you really are better off just NOT knowing. The whole procedure can take anywhere from 30 minutes to TWO WHOLE HOURS! Not only this; A machine draws your blood out, separates the platelets out, AND THEN puts the rest of your blood back in you. In my mind, this would happen in a nice little circle pattern: One needle out and one needle in. I was mistaken. It would be one needle that would constantly go from drawing and returning blood in ~one minute intervals. Thee absolute worst part: I had to watch, because I was told to squeeze a ball (one of those "stress relief" balls.. HAH!) when blood was drawing and to relax when the machine was returning my goods.
Needless to say, I was throwing around dozens of horrified facial expressions (For those who know me well, you know what I"m talking about). The nurse kept asking if I was okay because I'd bug out every time I FELT the blood "returning."
An hour and twenty-nine minutes later, I was finally done. I'd never felt so relieved.

Despite all of the trauma, I'm glad I donated (and get my baseball tickets in the mail). Maybe it seems silly, but I have this karmic happiness every time I donate. I really encourage everyone to try it out, at least once. Or at least a whole blood donation! Despite my description, the whole process wasn't as excruciating as I had imagined. And I got the cutest wrap afterwards!

The United States has the lowest track record for blood donation in all of the developed countries. Despite the millions of people who are eligible, only about 5% actually donate every year. Although it's disputed how long the shelf life of blood is, one thing is certain: It's short. So hospitals and critically ill people are in need of supplies in a consistent flow, especially during the holiday seasons. The Blood Centers throughout America give regular donors "advantage points" that accumulate and can be exchanged for gifts. They also have seasonal prizes for certain donations, such as iPods and baseball tickets. NYU gives free movie tickets!