Turpentine

"Its vapor can burn the skin and eyes, damage the lungs and respiratory system, as well as the central nervous system when inhaled ... can cause renal failure, among other things."
- Wikipedia

Among other things?!

I came up with the great idea last month that I would personally build or create all decorations for my apartment from now on 'cause I was frustrated with not ever being able to find exactly what I was looking for in stores. I planned to give myself a 2-month trial period to make sure I didn't unknowingly relegate myself to living in a room that resembled a toddler's who was allowed to paint his own walls.

I started that trial period this past weekend, and I think I passed the first test! I like to represent. Yeah, I think I'm a pretty good representer, so I wanted to find canvas paintings of three flags to hang up somewhere in my apartment (MD, DC, USA). I never saw anything I liked so I decided to make "learning how to paint with oils (on canvas)" my 1st project. I would've started with the American flag because I'm a very big fan of the states [and the very manly men who defend it*], and then ideally would have painted the Maryland flag next because it's the best state in the union and I spent 18+ years of my life there. I decided to go with DC first, though 'cause I figured my current artistic talent would only get me maybe 3 stars and a couple stripes into a painting before it expired in some tragic & irreversible way.

I did pretty well! [see above...] The only issue was that I chose turpentine as my paint thinner and failed to read the warning above until today. I read this warning today because I thought it was strange that 1) the small and unventilated room in which i sleep (and now paint, i guess) still smells like Turpentine himself has moved in and set up permanent shop, and 2) after sleeping in that room two nights in a row, I have a dull headache I can't get rid of. It only recently dawned on me that the two could be connected & now I'm just thankful I didn't end up on Reuters: Oddly Enough in a story about a girl who turpentined herself to death in an effort to honor the capital of her great nation.

I may have jumped the gun and tried to awaken my artistic side a little too quickly. For a math major, data analyst and scientific researcher, random acts of creativity can be deadly.

*I am also a fan of the women who defend this country, be they manly or not.

Curing A Vice

Over the past few weeks I've realized that I spend way too much time analyzing the appropriateness of daily events in my life in order to determine if I really want to put them on here for all to see. While that in itself may very well be a sign that I need to make some serious lifestyle changes, I'm going to go ahead and ignore that warning and blame this dilemma on one of my most entertaining pastimes: Hating.

If you know me - you know that I am probably one of the most optimistic and generally happy people you'll ever meet. I have a smile on my face about 95% of the time, and you have to be an exceptionally detestable person to really get on my bad side. I am, however, a recreational hater. It's always been a hobby of mine, and my stint last year working 4 nights a week at a hipster-esque bar in downtown DC helped solidify my status as a card-carrying member of the Haters Club (in my official gear, above). The thing that's different about my joking, though, is that I really just do it in good fun, and I'm actually best at making fun of myself -- I just have a feeling that if I followed my tendencies and blogged the hate, people would get the wrong idea.

I mean, I seem to continually put myself in ridiculous situations, so I could very well fill this entire blog with stories about said ridiculousness - but I just naturally find myself wanting to write about, for example, the guy walking behind me on campus today who (in a fledgling attempt to woo a fellow doctoral candidate) somehow managed to utter the words bathos and polyglot in the same sentence. I'm not even gonna touch that, but please know that if listening to you talk makes me question the grasp I have of my native language: that is grounds for hating (brits, customer service representatives & people from Lynchburg, South Carolina - take note).

Anyway - I really don't want this page to bring any negativity to anyone's day - and since I'm probably the only reader, i might as well not bring any negativity to mine! So, I'm banking on this whole 'not blogging the hate' thing to help cure me of my joking ways. Instead of going through the day noticing too-tight pants and weaves gone wrong, maybe I'll start to look for more positive, light and entertaining things to observe and provide commentary on.

We'll see how it goes. This weekend should be a good test as I have engagements in venues that are normally rich with prime hater material (a hip dive bar, a swanky new lounge/club, an adult kickball game...). I, however, will focus on the positive and report back.

Weening Myself Off the Haterade (sp?!),
Girl

UPDATE: Between losing my 4th phone in almost as many weeks, slamming my head against taxi doors, and trying to stay afloat while paddling along the Anacostia (ew!) - I was left with no time to worry about other people's issues!! Progress.