I stumbled upon a new name-blog a few nights ago and was pumped. It's got all sorts of cool stuff, from name suggestions to "sibling sets" to old birth announcements for twins named Lloyd Joel and Boyd Noel. Anyway, add to this discovery a dash of boredom and a sprinkle of, ahem, loopiness from medicine and we've got a new Baby Name List idea: favorite names for each letter of the alphabet. Liz, my long-suffering friend who oft puts up with my baby name craze decided to participate too! As has Dana!!!! (She doesn't get as many obnoxious baby name convo requests from me as Liz does - she's more my "Harry Potter questions in the middle of the night" person - but we have talked about names and we may or may not have once fought over "Teddy," eventually deciding I'd use it for a boy and she could use it for a girl.) This list doesn't include all the names we love, just our very favorites for each letter. (I also didn't want to include any names I would never actually use, which is why the letter U, for example, has no names even though Ulysses and Urban are fine names.) In cases of multiple favorites, the very best is in bold. Without further ado.....
A Names
Charlotte: Annie (as a nickname), Agatha/Ambrose, Augustine
So I guess it's a win for Oliver, Theodore, William, and Samuel. ;) This post was super fun to write. I loved seeing all the overlap (Magdalene/a! Felicity! Henry!) and I got a kick out of how surprising some of the names were (still not over Dana's choice of Greg or Liz's pick of Griffin). I like that even with a decent amount of overlap, you can still sense our different styles.
Also, Keagan will forever remind me of kegels. BUT YOU DO YOU, LIZ.
Whenever I’m feeling a little Scrooge-like, I try to fake myself into a good mood. Does that sound horrible? Wouldn’t it be better to be, I don’t know, an emotionally intelligent person and just actually change my mood, genuinely, on the spot?
Prob to the lee.
Alas, that’s not (usually) in store for me, so I stick with my tried and mostly true motto of fake it til you make it. If I’m in a shit mood I’ll go watch funny Youtube videos or read one of the happier blog posts I’ve written or eat pizza rolls and watch Gilmore Girls while sending messages to Liz to tell her I’m eating pizza rolls and watching Gilmore Girls.
And sometimes, it’s enough to trick me into a good mood. Like magic. Hermione Granger ain’t got nothing on me.
(Okay fine, Hermione Granger could probably take me if not for her fictionality.)
Back to the topic, Char.
One of these tricks is thinking of some of my favorite moments.
“Oh, won’t you please write down your favorite moments?! We want to read all about your favorite moments!”
– None of my blog readers.
But my word of the year was “persevere” so let’s do this thang:
1. Olivia and I went out to eat a few months ago. We were sitting at our table and could overhear the conversation at the next table. Sadly (but beautifully), someone’s family member had died. But being a horrible person, I suppose I thought it was okay to joke about. They said, “Yeah, well, 101 years old, you can’t beat that!” I texted Liv and said, “WATCH ME.” And she kind of gave a stifled laugh (make the joke, yeah, but don’t be outwardly rude) and said, “102! 102!”
This is all nice and good but what I remember most is O’s face when she got the text and then responded. Liv and I are essentially family, and I don’t know. Remembering her stupid sparkling eyes and genuine happy face makes me happy.
I just called her eyes stupid because I felt like I was treading into the waters of “Too Sentimental for Emotionally Unintelligent People.”
2. I guess because I've known her forever, Olivia's going to go ahead and take another spot up here.
Her family has this awesome blue house with an awesome porch and a big yard (at least for the area) and have had more parties than I can remember. Her family is a big Irish family and some of them are ridiculous. In the best way! I vividly remember sitting there eating something during a bbq and cracking up because her dad and uncle were talking in absurd voices to each other. And because they're the kind of jokers that find themselves funny AND each other funny, they couldn't keep straight faces. So it's just two massive guys cracking up and making everyone else crack up. This happens at basically all of their family gatherings, but every time I picture it again it makes me smile.
3. Olivia is here yet again. What a greedy B.
We were camping and it was her turn to do the dishes. A guy who was at the spot next to us and had talked to us before said something like, "Hey, you're already done with dinner? I haven't even started yet! I'm envious."
My main B replied, "...I'm Olivia."
Then she asked me if "envious" was a word or a name and I'm dying laughing just thinking about it.
4. In high school my friend Dana and I were a doubles team in tennis. We were so good. Our trick was eating Taco Bell before each match. Our coach didn't know this, so the one day he walks by and sees us sitting on the sidewalk, each of us with two tacos and a Coke, he gave us the most surprised/angry look. We explained that we always did this, and that we always won. He was in disbelief.
We won the match that day.
5. When I went to have surgery, my asshole friend Lizette was there. I was super paranoid about an air bubble in my IV so my much nicer friend, Alison, went to get a nurse. Before they came back, Liz looks at me, looks at the air bubble, and starts saying, "tick tock tick tock" as it gets closer to entering my body. IT WAS SO MEAN.
But thinking about it cracks me up and usually puts me in a better mood.
There are so, so, so many more of these! But it just occurred to me that I can bunch them in groups of five, that way I can write a post like this whenever I need a little non-alcoholic pick-me-up. (Also I'm getting lazy and don't feel like writing anymore.)
By now you all know I like talking about/reading about/thinking about names. (Thisremains one of the most popular posts on the blog.) I love names in general, whether we're talking about future kids, characters on a show, characters in a book, etc. Sometimes I think it's a little nutty to love talking about baby names, but then I come across things like this and I'm comforted by the fact that there are others out there! Woooo, I'm not alone!
I'm going to get around to that article (and of course divulge triplet name choices) but first enjoy some name-related links and a random assemblage of name-related thoughts. (Or just scroll to the bottom for the fun part.)
I've mentioned it before, but I really lovethis blog. Every Monday there's a new "name consultation" and Kate, the author, gives naming advice and suggestions to parents expecting a baby. The suggested names match the style of older children and often have special meanings/connections to saints. There's a lot of other great stuff that goes on over there throughout the week, such as history of a name or discussions regarding naming trends, but the consultations are my favorite and I always look forward to them.
Here's another site that offers name advice and daily spotlights on all kinds of names. My favorite thing I've read over there is this post discussing potential names for North West's sibling. Totally kind and thoughtful and... I never imagined I'd say this, but I hope Kim and Kanye name their son Wild West. Not going to lie, I rolled my eyes when they decided to name their human child North West. But it's their style, not mine, and if they're going to roll with it then I think Wild West sounds awesome as a brother to North West.
Also, check this out. Another example of great names in movies. (Annie also happens to be one of my faves.)
Do you remember the Youtube sensation, Charlie Bit My Finger? Their children are named Harry, Charlie, Jasper, and Rupert. I think those sound perfect together.
Other great namers: Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. Their kids are named James Wilkie, Tabitha Hodge, and Marion Loretta Elwell. I remember reading somewhere that the middle names were family names.
While at my cousin's fifth grade graduation we overheard the name Fritzraldo. I'd never use it but I loved it immediately.
This little girl is named Heavenly Joy. Normally I'm not for that much play on names. Somehow, she ROCKS it.
One of my best friends, Olivia, has a family chock full of great names. Olivia is a great name and she has a brother named James (one of my personal favorite boy names). Her dad is named Edwin and he has brothers named Michael and Francis. Her Uncle Fran's boys are named Brian, Michael, Frankie, Pauly, and Terrence. They remind me of Good Will Hunting - the scene where Will says he has 12 brothers named Marky, Ricky, Danny, Terry, Mikey, Davey, Timmy, Tommy, Joey, Robby, Johnny and Brian. Big Irish family!
J.K. Rowling is great at naming her characters. I swear, I read HP and all the sudden names like Albus, Rufus, and Neville seemed great to me. I particularly love the names of everyone in the Weasley family. (In case, for some grave reason, you're not familiar with them, the parents are Arthur and Molly, and their children are Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny. Not sure if Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Fred are short for William, Charles, Percival, and Frederick - if so they still sound great together. We know Ron is Ronald and Ginny is Ginevra.) The only names I don't really like in her books are, go figure, Harry's kids' names. James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna... eh. The names are all fine, but they don't sound great together. I saw something once that said, "Harry named his kids like some nerd who had just finished reading Harry Potter." Quite right.
Speaking of Harry Potter - is Hermione out of the question for names? I think it's an awesome name - it's long, it's got a great history, there's a saint Hermione - but does that universal association with HP make it less wearable? (At the very least, I think people would assume you were a Harry Potter nerd, and that there was nothing else behind the name choice. Maybe for a middle name, though?)
Parenthood is one of my favorite shows. (Naturally, I started watching just before it ended - good thing Netflix exists.) The four Braverman siblings are named Adam, Sarah, Crosby, and Julia.
At first, it bothered me a little that Crosby seemed like a totally different style than the other names. (I started this blog post by saying that I'm nutty, so don't judge me too harshly for analyzing names in tv shows, okay?) After watching for a little while, though, I started to feel differently, and now I think it's totally fine to mix up name styles for siblings. They can still sound perfect together. (This is different to me than naming one child something really out there while giving the other child(ren) very traditional or common names, though. Theo, Michael, Amos, and Claire - yes. Different styles, for sure, but still lovely together. Theo, Michael, Skyscraper, and Claire - no. That just seems mean [and strange] to me.)
Buuuut where were we? Styles. I'm glad that Parenthood came along and changed my mind because I like a lot of names that aren't necessarily matching styles. Catherine, Elizabeth, Suzanne, Anne - all great. But then I also like Margot, Loretta, Evangeline, etc. Hell, I even like Beatrix and Winnifred from time to time. We're talking years down the line, obviously, but when I have to start naming kids I'm cool with combining styles, both within each name (different styles for first and middle) and between siblings. I'm also totally into the idea of two middle names - you get to use more names plus it's easier to include saints names, or family names if theoretical future husband wants family names in there.
One last thought before the article's prompt.
When it comes to names that invoke a sense of power, I think there's an imbalance between names for boys and names for girls.
Heavy-hitters for boys: Augustine, Alexander, Theodorus, Miximilian, Maximus, Ignatius, Aquinas, Leonardo, Nicodemus among many, many others.
Heavy-hitters for girls: ....it's hard to think of any that give the same feel as the names above. I think Victoria and Elizabeth come closest because they're royal names. Anastasia and Antoinette close behind. But still, none of those seem to pack the same punch as the male names. I mean, Maximus???
I think it's probably a result of history being written largely by and for men. So maybe we'll see a shift.
(Alexandria and Cleopatra also feel like contenders, but then you might not be able to escape the feel of Egyptian influence. Not a bad thing, but not what everyone might be going for with a name.)
There are plenty of powerful and influential women to name girls after. The names themselves just don't seem as grand.
OKAY. So, that link. It's a Nameberry prompt to name your theoretical triplets. My kind of people. I'd be terrified at the thought of carrying and birthing triplets, but naming them? f-u-n
There are a couple hundred responses so far. I haven't read many, but I did read one from a woman who loves Frederick, Theodore, and Edward - but then has the Fred-Ted-Ed dilemma. I feel her. I love those names as well.
IF I had triplets, I'd probably try to incorporate the archangels in their names. You know, groups of three and what not.
(If I had to name triplets, I might not necessarily use the same names I'd pick if I were to have le singleton or twins because if I had multiples I'd want to connect their names in some way, which means I might pick different names based on sound. Example - I love the name Harriet but might not use it for triplets since I'd want to use the Archangels' names and I don't love the sound of Harriet paired with any of them [Michael, Gabriel, Raphael].)
Triplets - three girls
Starting with the archangels - Of the three, Michael is my least favorite name when it comes to the feminine forms. I wouldn't use Michelle (nice name, just not my taste) and I'm not overly fond of Michaela, either. But... would scrambling some of the letters in Michael to form a new name count? Because if so - Alice is a nice name, and includes all but two of Michael's letters. The other two options I'd consider would be just using Michael, but making it a middle name, or using Mico/Miko. (Miko is a real name - I don't know if Mico is, but Nico is so it's not that far-fetched.) I like both Gabrielle and Gabriela, and Raphaela is nice, though I'd only use it if I found myself having to name triplets.
Margot Raphaela Elise
Mico Grace Victoria (probably would go by Grace or Victoria)
Catherine Rose Gabrielle (or possibly Catherine Gabriela Rose)
While I like the names, I don't love the cadence in all of them. I guess that's what happens when you feel the need to include three masculine names....
Triplets - three boys
Gabriel Francis Owen (would go by Gabe)
James Patrick Michael (possibly nicknamed Patch)
Hugo Lewis Raphael
If I'm using the archangels in the names, I definitely prefer the boy options.
Two girls, one boy
Margot Raphaela Elise
Mico Grace Victoria
Gabriel Francis Owen
Two boys, one girl
Margot Raphaela Elise
Gabriel Francis Owen
James Patrick Michael
If I didn't try to use the names of the archangels (which... after seeing how difficult it is, I probably would not) the names that come to mind first are:
All boys: Teddy, Sam, and Arlo.
(Well, Theodore and Samuel, but you get it.) Those might change after looking for middle names that sound good, but that's another day's post.
All girls: Madeleine, Loretta, and Vivienne. Again, might change with middle names.
I asked Liz what she'd name theoretical triplets. Her choices are swoon-worthy.
All girls: Abigail, Felicity, and Genevieve
All boys: Samuel, Alexander, and Oliver
She and I have some overlapping taste in names.
(Nameberry also did a what-would-you-name-quintuplet-boys - maybe we'll tackle that another day.)
It's unclear what my full first name is, though. On some birth-related documents, "Charlotte Patricia" is listed as my first name with "Anne" (with an e ;) as my middle, others have "Charlotte" as my first name with "Patricia Anne" as my middle name. My family, including my parents, aren't clear on this either. (How? I don't know.)
Of course, Charlotte is what I normally go by. As a kid I badly wanted a nickname because I'm named after someone, so I was always called "Little Charlotte" or "Baby Charlotte." Alas, I never had a real nickname.
That said, there are a lot of names I answer to.
"Char" and "Charl" are used frequently, but neither are nicknames so much as shortened for ease. (Like "Em" when addressing an Emily or "Cher" when talking to a Cheryl.)
"CP" is used occasionally, for Charlotte Patricia. It was used much more often in my pre-college years.
"Charlotte Patricia" is used by certain friends. Especially Olivia and Stephanie. I think they just like the sound of it. I actually like it, too, but it's so long and cumbersome that I never refer to myself as this. Stephanie swears I introduced myself as this, but I have no recollection of doing so. (Maybe I did in an attempt to get away from the "Baby Charlotte" dilemma?)
"Char Patty" was used for a bit while I was in school and... I don't miss it.
I had an uncle who genuinely thought my name was "Scarlet" and........ no one ever corrected him.
I'm also called "Red" frequently (my hair).
Olivia calls me "Charlie" a lot. Others have used it, but she does so consistently.
"Char Char" is used by two friends, but again, not exclusively. (As in, they call me Charlotte, but sometimes fondly [I think?] go with this instead.)
In fifth grade - and I know this because a few years ago I looked at my old yearbook and the notes were almost all addressed with it - I was, apparently, called "Chestnut." I'm not mad that this moniker didn't last.
For a while, "Charla" was huuuuge. I'm indifferent to it, but no one really calls me this anymore.
*Edited to add* "Sippee" - Liz read this post and decided she's calling me "Sippee," like for "CP." She then asked me if I get it, so I'm assuming she wants to know if you, dear reader, also get it? C-P, Si-ppee.
And because everyone's got a sense of humor, I'm called "Annie" from time to time:
Rant: There are different shades of red hair and mine is not the same as orphan Annie's and, STOP CALLING ME THIS.
Also, I get called "Red Headed Step Child" too often for my liking and while it's fine now, as a kid I hated it because, uh, I was a red headed step child. So.
BUT those are the main variations of Charlotte and Charlotte Patricia that people have used for me.
Other nicknames I've heard used for Charlotte are Lottie, Harley, Arlo (in the trend of using boy nicks for girls), and Carla/Carly. Of those, I like "Lottie" best.
For previous posts in this series, go here: Weeklings A few months ago I stopped writing these because they became repetitive. Every week was pretty much a new health problem, going crazy without having a job, and basically just stressing.
Some of that is still the same. I'm not in good health yet and I had to move and have not found a job yet, but it feels different because at least some of my health stuff has been handled (had surgery) and so I can look for a job without worrying about needing to take off for medical procedures all the time. So that's cool and I guess it might be time to bring these back.
Happenings
Like I said, I had surgery. That was probably the biggest thing. They diagnosed endometriosis. The surgery was mostly successful, but there was more growth than they anticipated and some of my organs are still "stuck together" which leads to a lot of pain. The hope is that I don't need another surgery, but my doctor did warn that there was a solid chance I might need a more extensive surgery involving an additional surgeon. Thanks, Obama.
I needed to move to North Carolina. I'll probably be here for a year, year and a half. I miss New York and that's where I really want to be, but wow the weather here is amazing. It was 65 degrees the other day. In February. Swoon.
I'm also watching all the Star Wars movies, so there's that. Probably the most important thing in my life at the moment, no?
Also, Valentine's Day. Nothing special, really, since I'm single (and probably not that special if I wasn't) but I do like any reason to bake pretty things. I wasn't going to do anything, but there are more people here than we were expecting (winter break), so FOOD.
Thankful for
Aforementioned beautiful weather. The best fitting jeans ever, making it possible for me to dress without hurting the incisions from surgery. My friends, Olivia who is always entertaining (and pulled me out of freezing water after I fell through ice - I forgot to include that in her post) and Liz, who is joining me in some penances for Lent even though she is Jewish. What a friend.
Books I'm reading now
Currently working through Red China Blues.
Random
On Saturday (Valentine's Day) I started having chest pains. I've had chest pains before, but not like these. But, I didn't want to be a drama queen and I figured it was nothing so I ignored it for 10-15 minutes until it got so bad that I couldn't. At that point I woke up my grandpa and it was so bad that I hardly got the word "hospital" out. My hands got tingly and numb and then my hearing got muffled and I got really dizzy.
I've been scared plenty of times, but I have only been that scared a few times. The single worst time was when my sister was taking a bath. I knocked on the door or called her name every few minutes to check on her, and one time she didn't answer. So I said her name again, louder. (My palms are getting sweaty just thinking of this again.) She didn't answer. I freaked so bad. I threw the door open, putting a hole in the wall with the knob in the process, and saw that she was under the water, eyes closed. That was the single scariest thing I've experienced. I pulled her up out of the water and she was fine. In fact, she said she was just relaxing and she yelled at me for ruining her bath. I could have killed her. I told her she'd never take a bath again. Reasonable and Rational are my middle names. (She has taken baths since.)
Another time was recently, when another little sister and I went to the movies, and at the end this man in the front near the exit stood up and pointed his hand toward the rest of the theater and started yelling. It was obviously pretty dark, and no one could see well, but the way he was pointing his hand, combined with the facts that he was yelling and was near the exit, made everyone think the worst. The first thing that came to mind was the theater shooting a few years back. I felt numb and started putting Rebecca to the floor, telling her to get down and other people in the theater started doing the same with their kids and friends. It turned out to just be an angry man yelling about something pissing him off (after the movie he was in the hallway complaining about getting hit with popcorn). That was another terrifying thing.
This Saturday was the third scariest thing I've experienced. After the pains didn't go away and once my hearing got muffled I thought that I had been wrong, it wasn't nothing, and that there was a chance I was going to die. It was horrible.
Turns out, I had the perfect cocktail of way too much caffeine paired with post-surgery medicine and that little combo triggered something very similar to an anxiety attack, causing the exact symptoms of a heart attack. Fun, fun, fun.
To-do
Ah. No fun DIY things. I need neeeeeeed to find a job.
Watch this video of a host implying that a Muslim man is incapable of writing anything valid about Jesus. (And, the way he describes his book and talks about Jesus as a revolutionary makes me want to go get read the book right now.)
I love Snape, but this article is on point. He's a good character and all, but the worship is a little much. And the article is right, he probably would be uncomfortable with Harry naming his son after him.
I looooove this. "So I don’t feel right saying things like “Jesus is my personal lord and saviour.” For starters, I almost never feel like he speaks directly to me in private. I almost exclusively know him through you folks, and he only enters my heart through interactions with you... Jesus is our lord and saviour. We are saved collectively." On point.
Valentine's Day - Maybe I should have concentrated all of my Valentine's Day-themed stories for one spot in this post, but hindsight, right? The day before Valentine's Day, I decided I'd throw myself a little pity party and went to the store to buy myself some chocolate. Then, when I got there, I was like, "Is this really treating yourself or are you just making excuses and doing something you'll be annoyed with yourself for later?" And then, probably for the first time ever, I turned away from the chocolate aisle, left the store, and went for a walk. I told myself that was probably actually treating yourself and whatnot. And then I did a little research on some vitamins, because I'm sick of feeling lousy all the time.
Lent - I already mentioned that Liz is "doing Lent" with me this year. We just made a semi-plan. She's giving up candy and not eating meat on Fridays. And she's taking up exercising a bit. (She recommends morning yoga. Bunny edition...)
On top of fasting and of not having meat on Fridays, I'm giving up Coke completely. I wasn't sure what to do, because I've already tried giving up or at least decreasing the amount of bad crap I do. I eat and drink way less sugar (and wow, am I ever going to enjoy coffee again?), I don't buy as much stuff, etc. etc. So I think not drinking any Coke at all (as opposed to letting myself have some, but not as much as I used to) is good. I'm also limiting myself to one cup of coffee a day, but that's something I was going to need to do for health reasons anyway. Liz and I also agreed to work on doing some of these every day: 25 Science-Backed Ways to Change Your Life by Taking Better Care of Yourself. Annnnnnd I'll be reading some of this every day: God Is on the Cross: Reflections on Lent and Easter.
Bonus
That nice weather I was just loving on? Yeah, it just started snowing.
No one calls her Elizabeth but "Liz" just didn't look right in the picture so that's that.
In my head I refer to Liz as her first and last name, but as I don't want the whole wide world knowing her deats, I'm not using her full name here and it is irking me real hard. So I think I might make up a last name for her for this post. OH HOW ABOUT BENNET? Thanks, Jane.
Liz Bennet and I met when we were nerds in our university's student association. We were senators, and this kid neither of us talk to anymore said we'd get along and so we sat next to each other and shared Swedish Fish and the rest is history, as they say. (But really, how could sharing Swedish Fish not force a bond? Liz could be an ahole and I'd still be her friend because Swedish Fish are just that good.)
She also just logged off of Facebook even though I have more things to tell her. What a B.
I have different kinds of friends. There are the ones I've known since childhood, some I enjoy hanging out with but will probably never think of as family, and there are the select few that I really grew up with. Like, we met when we were quasi-adults but pretty much still teenagers and we've navigated this whole becoming an adult thing together. Liz is one of those friends. I think we've seen each other become ourselves (I mean, we're still in the process, but you know) and that's amazing when you think about it. Or at least I think it is. I mean, being along for the ride while your friend figures out who she is? Gah, teary-eyed.
Liz Bennet is like, I don't know. Quirky? She talks with her hands like no other. And her facial expressions are on point. I haven't tried, but I could probably have a full conversation with Liz without her verbally uttering a single syllable. She is that expressive. It's great.
I just decided that Liz Bennet is now Liz's actual new nickname.
Liz is all accomplished now. She's got this job that she is very into and she's doing awesome things with it, such as publishing this report (!!!!!!!!!!). It's a lot of fun to watch. She is doing the whole being-an-adult-living-life-well thing like a boss. In Grey's Anatomy, Cristina and Meredith are getting over a fight they had when Meredith, who is clearly happy that Cristina is achieving her goals (because duh, they're BFFs, of course she's happy for her), says, "I'm so jealous of you I want to set things on fire." I have bad luck and if I lit something on fire I'd probably just end up burning myself or suffering from smoke inhalation but let's just say I'm the Meredith to Liz's Cristina. (More happy than jealous though. Because like, we're not in the same field.)
Now that I am thinking about it, we totally could be Meredith and Cristina. I mean, they are called the twisted sisters. We've also compared ourselves to Lorelai and Sookie before.
It's sickening how accurate this is.
Liz and I are similar. Like, very similar. In fact, ten minutes ago we were talking on Facebook and it turns out that we had just been doing the same things (reading the same article, browsing the same website) and she asked if we share a brain. Sometimes, I think we might. We both are into books, want to have our own libraries in our houses, go to bed fairly early, enjoy Say Yes to the Dress and Gilmore Girls entirely too much. No, just kidding, there's no such thing as enjoying GG too much.
We both love food. Usually, I don't like talking about or eating too much junk food when I'm with friends who are very thin (good confidence levels over here), but Liz is the exception. She and I text each other when we eat McDonalds or buy a box of donuts at the store. If I looked at all 40,000 of our fb messages, I think I'd conclude that we talk about food more than anything. Liz Bennet is the only person who doesn't judge me (and actually, who agrees!) when I say that Taco Bell is helpful when you're recovering from sickness. Unless it's a headache sitch, in which case, go get yourself chicken nuggets and a Coke from McD's.
She's a fairly good person. Liz has this phobia/hatred of throwing up, and yet when I called her this one time when I was incredibly sick, she brought me bananas and ginger ale. What a fucking friend, am I right? (I swear, Liz, I didn't even think of that fact that you hate throw up when I called you that day. My bad, bro, my bad.) I'm told she basically boiled her hands after touching the doorknob. Again, quite the friend.
As similar as we are, we also want totally different things in life. Liz has dreams of travel and incredible career goals and I'm over here like, omg I want to get married and have kids. She's endured many an "I'm going to end up alone with 700 cats" rants and only sometimes looks at me like I'm crazy when I say my ovaries hurt whenever we see a baby or something. For real, some of my friends super judge when I talk about wanting that kind of life, but Liz does not. At least not maliciously. She'll say I'm nuts, but it's usually lovingly. I think slash hope. I think the fact that we want such different things but feel totally comfortable talking about them to each other is proof of how strong our relationship is. Good friendship, man.
Any concept of boundaries is pretty much nonexistent with us. We looked at pictures of my uterus and ovaries while eating dinner one night like it was no big thang. Neither of us have a problem telling the other about bodily functions, let's say. If one of us is sick (neither of us get an A on the health situation), we usually don't hesitate to give the other very specific, detailed descriptions of symptoms. It's gross and great. It's so nice to have a human to talk to about certain things instead of having to google it since you're too embarrassed to ask a friend. Hell to the no.
I talk to Liz more than I talk to anyone (poor thing). I sent her a message earlier because it was so weird that we hadn't talked in over 12 hours. I cannot decide if this is cute or pathetic, but it is. And that's nice.
We've been friends for around four-ish years, but I think the fact that we always get the same results on Buzzfeed quizzes indicates that we can plan on being friends for that x20 more years, for sure. (Ugh, it's gonna be a long life. ;)
I opened a package from Stephanie, one of my closest friends, a few weeks before Christmas. Inside was a notebook with a picture of Dr. Seuss on it. I opened the cover and saw that Steph had written "The Parking Lot" on the first page. Other than that, there were just blank pages.
"So, is this like a little game? She gives me a title and I have to write a story or something? That's very cool. And a little demanding..."
Alas, that was not the purpose. I found a letter she had folded and stealthily placed in the back of the book.
Something you need to know about Stephanie: she is one of those people who believe in "positive thinking." I mean, I believe in positive thinking. I'm pretty positive this glass of Coke I'm about to have is going to be delicious. My point is that Stephanie would read The Secret and believe it. I'm a little more cynical and don't know if writing down things that I like about myself are going to make me happier or more confident or productive, you know? But yes. Steph has always been into making lists and reading positive quotes and all that. She is also very organized and she does have really good habits that I probably should have picked up on while we were roomies, but hindsight, right?
"The Parking Lot" is a blank book where you write any random thoughts or notes you may have throughout the day and want to think about or dive a little deeper into later on. I make fun of Stephanie (and other positive thinking followers...) but it's a good idea. So good that I've actually told all three people I talk to about it. YOU MUST DO IT.
I bring this up because I have a case of procrastination, and I keep meaning to put this book into my bag, but I continue to not do that. Because God forbid I have to walk back up a flight of stairs to get it out of the drawer and place it in said bag. Since I haven't done it yet, I haven't written down any of the blog post ideas I've had over the last few days-weeks. Which means I sat down at my computer a little while ago and had absolutely no idea what I wanted write.
Which brings me to another close friend, Liz. Liz, bless her soul, is pretty much my go-to person when I am experiencing any problem or non-problem. Sorry Liz! So I go on Facebook and I tell Liz that I want to write a blog post, but I have no idea what to write about. Liz suggests using a topic generator. So one google search later, and I get this:
"How to take a screen shot" in my screen shot. I am a real professional. (Also, I am good about reading emails. Also, in case you're really looking at the pic and want to know what I was reading, go check out this post about Catholics and politics.)
After looking at those suggestions, I was like............ what. So, obviously, I looked up another generator, and it suggested I write about people who cut in line. This is hilarious and I will be writing it. Just not now. But I mean, something to look forward to, amirite?
I don't have an idea for a nice cohesive post to write, so time for everyone's favorite thing to read: rambling.
I know it's January 10th, but I guess a good thing to do is be a huge follower and do what every other blogger on the planet does - reflect on 2014 and lay down some hope and plans (hahahahaha) for 2015.
Semi-quick vent about a big part of 2014. Skip if you don't like whiny vents.
This may be a bitch thing to do, but I have not written much about someone who really screwed me over this year, and I am going to do that now. I haven't because I'm not really into the idea of talking about people and not to them, but now that I am thinking about it, this blog has maybe two regular readers and both of them know about this person. Pretty much this is venting to no one, and my hope is that I stop fucking dwelling on this one person's horrible effect on my life this year. Also, I don't use names, so really, who cares.
I had a few "bosses" at my job. One of them, the one most involved in our work, hired me with the understanding that I was going to work in the main office 2-3 days a week and in the other offices (each between one and two hours away) 2-3 days a week. That was the deal. I did that for a while, and it was a strain, but it was doable. A few months into the job, and this person told me I needed to start going to the other, distant offices five days a week. Well, I got sick (like, to the point of being hospitalized and needing surgery) and was not physically capable of doing that. It would mean never being able to get to the doctor because I'd be out of my city from 8am until 6-8pm. On top of that, it would have cost me $800 after partial reimbursement every month. That's literally half of what I was bringing home every month. So, I was "let go" because I couldn't do DOUBLE what I was hired to do. And the explanation was that the 2-3 days/week plan was only temporary. Seems like something I should have known, no? But then, just to make it worse, during the meeting in which they let me know I was being let go, this person guaranteed me that I'd still have the medical reimbursement program. Guaranteed that for the rest of the year, I'd be able to get my health costs paid. So, I sent in my receipts for various appointments that totaled around $500 only to find out that nope, I was not allowed to be reimbursed. Ha. I know $500 is not the end of the world, but when you're trying to figure out how to pay your rent and you would have put the appointments off until medicaid kicked in a month later, that shit can hurt. I can't even explain how angry I was an sometimes still am. I do really need to just stop thinking about it though, because there's nothing I can do about it. But not thinking about things that shouldn't be thought about is not my strong suit.
Vent over.
So yes, 2014. Of course there were a lot of good things, but overall, the things I remember most are rough. Needing surgery, losing my job. Finding out there was something wrong with my liver, then my spleen, then finding out there is something wrong with a lymph node in my abdomen. I've had abnormal blood results every time I've had blood drawn this year (20+ times). Finding out there's a mass on my ovary (and stressing about what that could mean when it comes to having kids).
One of my coworkers lost her son when he suddenly passed away. Another found out her dad has cancer. One is struggling to survive financially. One whose family is losing their home. Just a lot of bad things.
There were some good things, which I'm going to write because good God I just put myself in a bad mood. Guardians of the Galaxy came out. Also Maleficent. I became closer with some of my friends. Even though I ended up losing it, I had a job, which is good because now I know what that feels like, and if I didn't I wouldn't be motivated to try hard to get one I love. I bought a car that I love. Liz got a job that isn't (I think? Liz?) completely 100% her dream job but is basically it and is what she is good at and loves and that makes me happy. Stephanie is in nursing school and reaching her goals. Emily is student teaching. I got over the whole paranoia thing (still a nervous person, but I don't turn on all the lights and check every crevice of the house if I hear a noise at night). And after gaining waaaay too much weight, at the very end of the year I started to actually lose some of it. So there. Good things.
Now for the fun part.
Things I want to do? I still don't know the answer to that question, really. I have some ideas, though.
1. I want to write more. I don't mean just on here, but in general. I mean submitting articles to different sites, bidding for freelance work, actually formulating a plan for my own book. You get the idea.
2. Read more. I made a reading list last year, but didn't stick to it at all. I did read more than I usually do, though, so that makes me happy. This year, I think I am going to make monthly lists instead of one list for the whole year.
3. Get back to my healthy weight. I'm not sure what that exact number is, but it's in the 165-180 range. I think the bmi chart says I should be more like 145-155, but no. I think I'd have to basically eat lettuce and run 20 miles a day to maintain 145, and I don't think I'd look that good. I've been at 165 and felt great, mentally and physically. The same for anything up to 180. Since I'm in an idgaf mood right now, I'll go ahead and say that I'm at 235 right now, so I have a ton of work to do. But a month ago I was 246, so at least it's happening.
4. Get a job? I mean, I definitely want and need a job. What I'm worried about is what kind of job. I'm going to be in the south for a year living with family while I get my health together and try to save money. I've had to suddenly move twice in the last two years, and it's meant losing most of my stuff. It is emotionally exhausting and I can't handle that again, so I'm just staying here for a year so I can save enough money to move back to New York with enough money to hold myself over if I have any sort of emergency. I miss my friends and my life, but it's not really an option anymore. So I haven't decided if I should get a job that can turn into a career or look great on a resume when I move, or if I should just get a job that has nothing to do with what I'd theoretically want for a career but will pay enough. Decisions, decisions.
That's pretty much where I am at. I'd say get into a relationship or something, but I don't know if I want to do that only to move away in a year. Ugh.
And to continue the theme of "what every blogger has done" here are my favorite posts of 2014:
10. And for this one, I'll do the most popular post (well, the second most popular, but since the #1 post was only really aimed toward NYers I'm gonna go with this one): Twenty PERFECT Pairs of Baby Girl Names for Twins
Whew. Time for 2015-specific fun things:
Saint of the year: Saint Anne.
Since apparently e'erybody does a word for the year: Persevere.
I could not come up with a word, so I googled that bad boy and landed on a website (my one word or something) and it had an image filled with words. I closed my eyes and pointed to a word (think Cher choosing where to relocate in Mermaids) and it was "persevere." So there. In case you're interested, two of my friends who are doing this chose "growth" and "change."
Necessary image of mentioned movie.
January book list:
1. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
2. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
3. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
4. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
5. The Book Thief (I am almost done with this, but stopped reading it for some reason. Time to finish.)
Annnnnd I think that is it for now. 8:49pm aka 49 minutes past my ideal bed time.
Thanks for hanging around for the world's longest blog post.
This is Olivia, my oldest friend and guaranteed maid of honor unless she becomes an ahole. She helped with this post. In theory.
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