Who do you miss the most?

My dad. I don't see him nearly enough.

Ask me anything

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Agreeing to Disagree

Is it just me, or is disagreeing with your parents one of the hardest things to do? (As an adult, of course. For some reason this was real easy when I was a teen).

Maybe my situation is a little different for two reasons- 1) My mom is my best friend and 2) My mom happens to be a fellow MPDG, which means our personalities work REALLY WELL together when we agree, but it's borderline NATIONAL DISASTER when we don't.

Wait a minute, I thought you said it was one of the hardest things to disagree with your parents. How do you know what it's like to not get along? Easy. We have tiffs. We argue and get mad at each other. Not a lot, but it happens, and it happens on a major scale. What I mean by disagreeing in THIS scenario- major situations. Like telling your father you want to move out, or telling your mother you want to study in Costa Rica, telling your father you're getting (read: got) a tattoo, or telling your mom that you disagree with her on a very specific (and equally big) decision/situation/event.

All of those are real scenarios for me, by the way. I survived them (all but the first- my mom did it for me. Hey, I was 16, give me a break), and I actually survived the last as well. Barely. Did I cry afterwards? No. Did I want to? Absolutely.

One of the unfortunate side effects (we really need to think more of the positive ones on this site, don't you think?) of being an MPDG is that you will have people in your life who disagree with you. You will have people in your life tell you that your ideas are unrealistic, unattainable, or just wrong. You're married now. You can't travel. or how about You can't quit your full time job to go back to school. How will you live?. I've heard both, although I have yet to do either, both are still on my list. Thankfully, however (here's the positive side!) as an MPDG we have some form of confidence, and therefore we can hopefully deal with these people without killing our dreams or ideas. It's just a matter of how to do it, and it is, unfortunately, rather frightening to do so at times.

So how do we do it, you ask? Depends on the situation. In my case, I just brought it up, mentioned that I had talked it over with someone whose opinion I knew she would consider, and told her that I was thinking ......... (enter completely specific decision here. I'd honestly explain it to you, but do you have a few hours? Because it would take that long.) Be gentle. It's almost always a good thing to have sources, have your reasons in order, and maybe even mention that you thought about certain points for the alternative and why they didn't sway your vote.

Life is tough, and this is not an advice collumn. This is just my brain thinking that maybe I'm not as alone in this as I think I am. Maybe someone who shares my pain doesn't know that they aren't alone. Does any of that make sense? I hope so.

Awesome Pop (Soda) Substitute

Here's a quick little post, inspired by some awesome people.

I don't normally drink pop, but I don't have the time to keep making tea (or coffee) or buy it, and water is just blah. Juice is supposed to be bad for you (sugar, anyone?), and milk is just not the best option if you have to be at work all day (yuck... no thanks).

So what's an MPDG to do?

Sparkling (Carbonated) water mixed with juice. You can choose all different varieties of water and juice to have an infinite amount of possibilities!!!!!

Personal favorite - peach mango orange juice with tropical fruit flavored sparkling water. Or maybe the papaya juice and... well, now I don't remember, but I'm thinking peach sparkling water. Either way, it's really good stuff. It tastes better than water, but doesn't have all the sugar that plain juice has. It has fruit (if you get the right juice), and for the soda kick- your carbonation (but not as much as pop). :)

You just can't go wrong with it. I promise.

PAX East, or Being a Girl Gamer

PAX East is a huge gaming convention. It is the East coast version of PAX. At PAX, everyone knows what PAX is. At PAX, pokewalkers are the must-have accessory and people dress up like this guy and people like Wesley Crusher deliver the keynote.

I've spent the last week lurking at the Enforcer forums- (I was an Enforcer, one of the volunteers)- lurking, harvesting pictures and videos, trying to relive it. I spent two days fully immersed in gamer culture, and the world outside of it is suddenly that much harder to take.

No matter what you liked, there was someone else there who liked it too, and probably was dressed up like them. You were not weird.

A lot of being a manic pixie dream girl is the fact that we are weird. Most of the world sees us as strange, buzzy, wonderful creatures, but strange. Always strange. So entertaining, so enlightening, in our strangeness. We are Other. We are not like Them.

Come to PAX. We are like them. We are all strange and wonderful.

I miss it.

I don't have much else to say, so I'll steal from Mr. Crusher:

"I was completely exhausted by the end of the day on Sunday - but not sick! HA! HA! I WIN AT NOT GETTING SICK AT PAX! - and as I sat on my bed in the hotel, zoning out at something stupid on television while my HP and Manna bars slowly climbed out of the red, I began to feel a familiar sense of ennui. I feel this way every time a PAX is over: a sense of sadness and loss that I've never really been able to identify more eloquently than "post-PAX blues." A fellow PAX attendee e-mailed me this morning, though, and summed up the feeling in one word: Homesickness. I'm home, yet I feel homesick. I know that may sound weird, but it perfectly sums up how I feel today."

The Real World is Anticlimatical

There's this story from my childhood. My brother, who had to be just out of diapers, told my mom one day that when he grew up he was going to be an apple tree. Me being only 16 months older promptly told him that he would most likely be the rotten apple that fell off of the tree.

That famous question- what do you want to be when you grow up? I never had an answer. I have a friend who has been saying he was going to be an astronaut since he was 5 years old. He's not on the moon yet, but he is now an aerospace engineer working for a private space program in LA. Then here is me- 23 years old, working as a Jr Accountant (not as prestigious as it sounds, but having a job right now at all is actually prestigious, so...), with a Bachelor's degree in Spanish. I STILL get the "what do you want to do" question, and I have no more of an answer than I did when I was 5.

It was so nice growing up as a kid and hearing everyone say "Oh, you are just so smart!!!! Do you realize you can do absolutely anything you want???". Do you know what that really comes down to? There are a million different departments, a million different jobs, a million different paths to choose from. How the hell does someone do that???? Believe me, I've tried several of them. The decision is impossible.

So after college my goal was to work for money, because eventually I'll choose my "dream job" and go back to school where I'll need the money. So I'm a Jr. Accountant. I don't honestly like accounting, but it's a stable job, and my boss likes me, and it's money and benefits. Welcome to the real world!!!! Within 1 year of graduating college, I have graduated, married, and bought a house. Sounds exciting! Not really...

Reaching the real world is like getting to the end of the book, and the ending is torn out. It's an anticlimax. All the hype and this is it? I feel like I've almost wasted the last year of my life. Almost being because we did, you know... get married and buy a house and I did actually graduate. But as for life experiences, I have sat on my ass. I've gained weight. I've done very minimal because at first the idea is to get a little rest after the very very long period of being awake (college). But then it becomes habit, and habits consume you. Wrong path to take!

I'm obviously attempting to remedy this situation, but it's tough to do. Maybe this blog can help hold me accountable for what I do. Maybe I can find a way to make some good solid goals and gradually work up to the awesome life I have ALWAYS expected to have. I've already started! I'm working on getting in to a grad program to earn a masters and license to teach. Other goals include developing a work out program that I enjoy, learning to eat the way you are supposed to, and to incorporate a little more fun and a little more socializing into my life.

Hold me to it. Leave me ideas of different things I should try, or new adventures I should find. That's the real key to life.

Lynzie

5 Things I Learned Working At A Call Center

1) Always ask for what you want.

For example:

You: Is there any way I can get free shipping?
Me: Unfortunately, we aren't running any free shipping promotions at this time.
You: Can I get free shipping, anyway? Since I'm such a great customer/had to wait so long to talk to you/it's my birthday?
Me: Let me check... Sure!

Your mileage may vary, depending on the policies of the company you're talking to, but know this: the rep always has to inform you of what the policy is first. If what you wants falls outside of policy, you have to ask again. They'll get in trouble if they offer to break the rules for you, but not if you request it!

2) Some of my co-workers are dicks.

If you think that you are right and the rep is wrong, ask to speak to a supervisor. Nine times out of ten, the supervisor will back up the first associate you spoke to, even if that associate was a complete ass. Hang up. Have some tea. Call back in half an hour, and you'll get someone new. Explain that you weren't completely satisfied by the resolution of your first call. This happens all the time, and you are not a jerk for doing it.

3) You won't always get what you want. Ask anyway!

Getting rejected by a call center employee is like getting rejected by that girl you only asked to the dance because your mom thought she was "sweet." You might feel kinda embarrassed, but your heart isn't broken.

4) "Our Policy" and "The Law" are very different things.


I cannot refund your sales tax. I'm sorry, neither me nor my manager are authorized to take the government's money. Want lower taxes? Go vote.

5) There are people who think "Website Customer Service" and "Phone Sex Line" are the same thing.


You wanna know the real difference? Phone sex operators get paid a lot more than me. I am talking to you, creepy pretending-to-buy-bras-for-his-newly-18-year-old-daughter guy. (I know he's pretending because he never actually buys anything. Which would be a whole 'nother level of creep.)

The Stupid Easy Exercise Plan

I am lazy.


Therefore, if I wanna start a new habit, it has to be easy. Especially if the only one effected by the habit is me. I'll bust my ass training for color guard, but if I'm just trying to stay healthy, I'm lazy. Laaaaaaaazy.


I don't wanna feel sore all the time. I wanna feel good. That's why you exercise, after all- to look and feel good. Well, that's why I exercise.


If you're like me, then I have a secret: start whatever routine you want to do at stupid easy.


That's right folks: stupid easy.


Wanna run 30 minutes every day? Start by running ten. Wanna do 20 push-ups? Start with ten, or do 20 of the knee push-ups. Start with something so easy you can already do it.


Obviously, the Stupid Easy plan does not promise instant results.


However, the reason I like it is that you establish the habit first. I'm in no hurry. I'm not training for anything except life, and if this lazy girl is going to have healthy habits, they need to feel good. I can afford to spend a week or two on Stupid Easy before I progress to Easy. And you know what? It is really hard to skip something so small.


I'll admit, I can get impatient. I want to feel like I worked hard, like I blasted the fat away, like my muscles are growing as we speak. But that impulse never lasts. Like I said, at heart, I'm lazy. I need to show myself that it's no big deal before I'll really commit.


So there you have it: the Stupid Easy Exercise Plan. Let's review:


Step One: Decide what you want to do.


Step Two: Do about half of that. (Do it at the same time you would do your full workout.)


Step Three: Laugh at how easy it is. Smile. Feel like you accomplished something.


Step Four: Repeat for each new fitness goal! And don't forget to smile :)


That's it! This won't get you to the Olympics, and it won't help you lose a thousand pounds, but it will help you establish the kind of healthy habits that keep you in good shape. Enjoy!


<3


Dirty Carrie

How To Fail Your New Years Resolution

Happy New Years, Pixies! While Lynzie makes her way back from New Orleans, recovering from her New Years partying and the Game That Shall Not Be Named, I thought I'd stop in and actually write an article.

New Years Resolutions. To be perfectly frank, I don't know a single person who has ever totally kept their NYR. Oh, I know lots of people who lost ten pounds, and got organized, and got into grad school. They succeeded, all right- but not without failing first.

That's the trick- knowing how to fail. One piece of cake may mean you've fallen off the wagon, but it doesn't mean you'll never lose the weight, and it certainly doesn't mean you're a bad person.

Perfectionism is too often an excuse for not even trying. Love your resolution. Take risks for it. Fail, and fight, and succeed for it. If you screw up, who cares? You're still awesome. You're still worth it. You deserve to get what you want.

Go get 'em, Pixies!