What's your dream?

Because it's the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march on Washington, I feel I need to say something profound about Dr. King or the movement itself, but the only thing I can think to say is that I'm glad these courageous people took the risk to move humanity forward - not just for the sake of black Americans, but for all future generations. Is there less racism today? Maybe. I guess it depends who you are and where you are. Being white, I can say that I have run into more than a few white people that are still quite racist and think they can express their beliefs to me because we have skin color in common. They are wrong.
I think judging someone on race is stupid. I judge people on how they act. If you act like a fool, I'm going to treat you like a fool, because why else would you act like that? If you act like an insensitive asshole, I don't feel the need to associate myself with you. I don't feel I need to waste my time on inconsiderate dickheads.
I remember when Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie and everyone was talking about how Elvis would be turning in his grave. I just didn't get what all the fuss was about until I was standing in line at a grocery store and saw a picture of Michael and Lisa on the cover of a magazine. That's when it dawned on me: Oh yeah! He's black and she's white. That must be what everyone is talking about.
Would Elvis have disapproved of that union because of race or ridiculousness? I vote the latter because it was. They were "in love"? Seriously?

Now please enjoy this video by the late Mr. Jackson:

Black or White video 

I hate you, August!

One more week of being broke! 
Yes, I had no spending money this month because stuff kept coming up: my car needed to be fixed for one ($200+), registration ($56) for my car and inspection ($35) and tune-up/oil change and what-not ($100+ ) for it as well, unexpected charges on my credit card for AAA I forgot about and Sirius radio, who didn't even send me a notice. I maxed out my grocery money and gas money trying to make up for it.
And to top it off, I didn't get approved for a loan I needed for school. Apparently I have limited credit experience. HA!

Today I finally found out that the paperwork I filled out to receive my full Pell Grant (rather than partial as I had been getting) was finally approved by the Dean of my school! So I don't really need a loan to finish out the next semester, but a few hundred dollars extra wouldn't hurt since I will almost drain my savings account. My mom and dad agreed to send me a few dollars and, embarrassed, I agreed. I don't want to take money from them, mostly because they don't have any to give away. I don't know how hard it is for a parent to want to give something to their child and can't.

If the damn government would just cooperate and do what they promised-- give me money for school -- then I wouldn't have this problem!
I don't know about you, but Canada keeps looking better every day - and you all know how much I hate cold weather.

I just couldn't take it anymore today! I broke down and had a burger combo at Twisted Root! I had to spend money! I just HAD to! Thirteen dollars later I had a huge burger topped with ham and pineapple salsa, fresh cut fries, a rootbeer and all the pickles I could eat!

Despite a lot of crying this month, I did have a few good days:
 I had a craft day with my friend Marci. We made soup mix in a jar and crocheted bracelets from video tape. Also went out to karoke with my friend Jarred, where we also played darts, which I hadn't done in a long time. I hung out and drank ice-water at Ozona Bar and Grille with some friends and my friend, Tony kept saying he would buy me a drink if I wanted one. I went to the Dallas Museum of Art with my class and friend Nick and had fun - for free! And next week we are going to see a play at The Pocket Sandwich Theater. I have my budgeted $5 for that. But since I went crazy today, I may buy food there, too!

Now while I wait to see if I got approved for a few credit cards to boost my credit experience (again), please enjoy these photos:

crocheted bracelets from video tape

me and Nick get photo bombed at the DMA

a "table top tent" I made in Adobe InDesign. We had to
print this out in color and turn it in. I paid for it with
change from my change bucket I keep.

how the "table top tent" would look sitting on a table. I like it,
my critique was mostly "needs more spacing between lines of text"
Ugh.

Wanted: playmate

Okay, I was joking with some girls at work today that I was gonna take out a personal ad.
Here's what it would say:

Wanted: male playmate, preference: male.

I'm not too picky on looks, he just has to be good-looking to me, and fun to be with. I am not looking for a boyfriend, just someone to go out with and kiss and hug on (maybe other things, depends)

So if you know anyone, send them my way :) Just make sure you ask them if they would be interested in dating a poor art student who likes to play skeeball and eat.

In other news, I have recently been exposed to a new YouTube channel: The HodgeTwins.
These guys crack me up. When I first saw them, I couldn't hear them because a classmate of mine was watching them during class break. But I have since watched several of their videos on my own. Their accent is SO country, it hardly matches what they look like. I think they started out making fitness videos then started answering fan mail and decided earlier this year to make a YouTube channel just for answering fan mail. They are pretty vulgar, just a warning, but check out this video:

HodgeTwins on YouTube

And don't forget to feed Mayor Goldie Wilson!

my plate is full

Despite what I thought was gonna happen on Friday, I had a pretty full day.

I woke up and thought, "What day is it?" This is usual for me,  asking this question is the first thing I do in the morning.

Then I asked, "What do I have to do today?" I lay in my bed since I didn't hear any squeaking of the floors yet and pondered this question. "Oh yeah, go see my financial lady at school, got Digital Grid class today. Wait, did I have to print anything out? I don't know, guess I'll find out when I get there. Oh and going to eat Mongolian food with Jerrad tonight. Groovy."

Then the floor started to squeak and I said, "Well that's that." and got out of my tent. (for those of you who have not kept up with my blog, my mattress is inside my tent which is set up in my bedroom.)
The floors have not been too bad since Thursday, but my neighbors have compensated for that by raising their music and/or tv noise by a million decibels. So that's soothing.

Okay, on to the financial front: I am filling out paperwork to reset what FAFSA had for my yearly income since I don't work full time anymore, only part time now. I may qualify for the full Pell Grant amount if I get approved. I'll know by the end of next week. If this happens, then I won't need an additional loan to cover me through the end of the year. Yay! Sallie Mae did not approve my loan for $2000 because they said I had "Limited credit experience." Well, that would have been a completely different story about 10 years ago when I had store credit cards, Mastercard, 2 Visas, a bank loan and a car loan. I wonder if I would have been approved then? Anyway, I will talk to Sallie Mae again on Monday and ask if I go and get a few store credit cards if that will help unlimit my experience. My current credit report is only 2 pages and one page is an explanation that this is a credit report. Ten years ago, I had a novel!

Now off to class. We did have to print out our assignment, but he gave us class time to do that. We went through the critique and I finished my redo in class, so I don't have that for homework. But I do need two ideas on what I might sell in a catalogue. Setting up a 20-page catalogue is going to be our final project. So I gotta think on that one. Any ideas?

After class, I drove through the ghetto to Jerrads apartment. It's a good thing I have a crappy car or else I might not be welcomed as I am in that part of town. "Hey, it's a white girl. Ah she's cool, look at that hooptie, she must be one of us."
We took off to the The Ghengis Grill on Greenville ave. It was just ok for me even though I do like Mongolian food.

Later, we perused a few stores: The CD Source on Greenville and Premiere Video on Mockingbird. I loved both stores! The CD Source is like a dive, it's dingy and cram packed full of cd's, DVDs, movie posters and records! I bought a Christmas record because I love Christmas music! At Premier Video, they have all kinds of movies: classics, new releases, plays, ballet, operas, foreign films in English and the foreign languages. Also VHS tapes! The owner also offered to let anyone use a machine to view a DVD if our player won't play it! Neat. I will definitely go back there to rent some old favorites and some films recommended by my Humanities teacher.

Now on to Central Market where Jerrad wanted to buy some lamb for tomorrows dinner. Lamb and asparagus on the grill with a side of quinoa. Sounds good to me. When we pulled into the parking lot, I saw the Krispie Kreme neon light on - which means fresh and FREE donuts!!

Of course I made a bee line over there then met up with my friend inside Central Market. They had up a "now hiring for cashiers" sign in the window and I am totally filling out an application for it! Ten bucks an hour plus a discount, benefits and food!

After we dropped off the groceries, we trailed out to Liquid Zoo since Jerrad wanted to sing some karaoke. I like this place. It is a mixture of people, young and old and all races. The food, I hear, is great. It's greasy bar food like burgers and fries, but it always smells good. I might eat there one day. There are also tv's, a giant Jenga game, poker tables with games always going,  darts, a pool table and a shuffle board table. The bar is pretty stocked and there are slices of cake sitting up there too. It's kind of a weird mix of stuff going on in this place and it reminds me of being at someones house party with all the music going on and game playing and tv's on. It's a fun, chill type of place.
At about midnight we called it quits.

When I got home, I checked my mail and "the game" had finally arrived! This is a game my friend Valerie and I have been playing through the mail since last May when I still lived in Amarillo and she took a summer job up in Montana. She mailed it over two weeks ago and we thought it had been lost, but I have it in my little fingers now! I can take my turn and write a letter and send it out into the world again so it can find its' way back to her way out in Alexandria, Virginia.

So, that's it. I had a full day and didn't stab anyone in the face.

No Squeaky Floors? Day 2

I went to bed in peace last night about 11:30.
"Ahhh" I thought as I spent the next half hour or so drifting off to sleep.
(Yes it takes me that long to fall asleep no matter if I just ran a marathon that day or lay on the couch watching reruns of M*A*S*H all day. I don't know why, it just is.)
Anyway, about 2:30 in the morning my upstairs assholes decided it was time to go to bed. I know this because I was awaken from a dead sleep when they both ran into the bedroom "playing chase" me while giggling and screaming around the bed, sqeaking the floor with each footstep. This lasted about 10 minutes or so, off and on.
Of course it took me another half hour or so to fall back asleep. This is why I always look so awful in my videos since they are shot first thing when I am out of bed. Also, I'm starting not to give a crap about how I look. I mean, who do I have to impress anyway? Guys don't seem to like me and girls could give a crap.
Now my upstairs neighbors are up and sounds like they are moving their furniture back into place. The floor still squeaks on the other side of the living room. WTF?
So, I still have squeaky floors and we will see how long it takes me to loose my mind over this section of the apartment.

here is the previous day in case you missed some of the drama:http://bohemiangirl72.blogspot.com/2013/08/is-that-light-at-end-of-tunnel-or-joker.html

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel or a joker with a lightsaber?

No Squeak Floor?  Day 1:

I slept with earplugs in last night and woke up with sore ear holes this morning and a headache (which is usual for me about 2-3 times a week since April). As soon as I unstopped my ears, I could hear the squeaking. It continued on for an entire non-stop 30 minutes. I lost my mind and ran upstairs (still with sleep in my eyes, knotty hair and my pajamas on) and knocked on my neighbors door, yelling "I know you're in there, I can hear the floors squeaking! Can't you just calm down for a while, I've got a huge fucking headache!" When I got to the bottom of the stairs, the door opened and a little brunette head poked out saying "We're not doing anything in here and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell us you have a fucking headache." Then he peeked his curly-headed blue-eyed self out the door and said, "I don't know what you expect us to do, we're just walking around and standing..." I was so mad I was shaking, so I said, "Then stop doing that! You don't understand this goddamn noise I have to listen to every day. I can't stand it anymore!" I think they tried to offer me some aspirin, but I just scoffed and said, "No." and walked away.
I took some ibuprofen and started making a ham and broccoli quiche. About 10 minutes after that, I heard an enormous amount of banging, hammering and sawing happening upstairs. I thought "Holy shit. The manager was telling the truth, they REALLY are fixing the floor." A few minutes after that, one of the contractor guys came down to tell me what was going on and I just said, "Praise Jesus!"
Here is the video I shot this morning:

see the video here: http://youtu.be/ErEw6hRsh-o

So, now I'm back from craft day at my friend, Marci's, and all is so quiet here! I know they are home because the floor in the kitchen floor still squeaks softly, which is tolerable, especially since they are hardly ever in their kitchen. Now all I hear is some noise coming from either a computer or their tv.

I'm going to try to go to bed and see how that works.
UPDATE!! SEE DAY 2: http://bohemiangirl72.blogspot.com/2013/08/no-squeaky-floors-day-2.html

Introducing THE MOST ANNOYING SOUND IN THE WORLD

As some of you know, I have been dealing with my upstairs neighbors since the day I moved in. Their floor - my ceiling- squeaks so loudly and constantly, I feel like I'm being tortured. I would rather have nails shoved into my face than listen to this constant squeaking noise.

In the first few weeks, I would go upstairs and say "Hey, I would like it if you would stop making the floor squeak, I'm doing such and such and need some peace and quiet for a while. Thanks" But that did not work. So, I started losing my mind slowly and yelling at the ceiling "Jesus fucking Christ! Shut the fuck up!!" But that doesn't work either. One day when I was passing a kidney stone, I just needed some quiet since I had such an enormous headache from the pain pills the doctor gave me. I was banging on the wall to get their attention because that's literally all I could do since every time I moved I got sick. All those assholes did was bang back.

I still scream at the ceiling every night and I know they can hear me. The other night I lost my fucking mind! I screamed at the ceiling until my throat hurt then slammed the door to my apartment so hard when I left, everything on the wall fell off. I believe everything my neighbors had on their wall also fell off because the evil blue-eyed guy upstairs opened his door and started to say something to me, but apparently thought better of it when he saw the crazy look on my face and just quietly closed his door.
I went to my friend, Marci's apartment to cool off. Her apartment is great: it doesn't squeak, even when her neighbor, David, is home.

We went and sat by the pool for a while. I realized then that I used to think a buzzing alarm clock and screaming children were the most annoying sounds in the world, but I was wrong.
I have complained to the managers office several times and they say a contractor is supposed to be out to redo the subfloor. I don't believe them. This would involve a lot of work and money. But we will see how it goes.

For now, please endure these few seconds of video. It is not nearly as loud as what I have to listen to, but you will get the point. I also found another video on YouTube about a neighbors squeaky floors while uploading my own, which I've also included for your listening pleasure.

P.S. If I ever do go to jail, it will be for stabbing my neighbor in the face because I just can't take it anymore!

http://youtu.be/ccg9CMNA3Us

http://youtu.be/m7L5XwIA_zc

"One time I grew into an adult and it really sucked..."

I've always felt that my theme song was Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again", but I have recently discovered a NEW theme song: "I hate being a grown up" by Jenna Marbles.

I find myself singing it often, like on days when the dishes need to be washed so I can continue to cook and eat, or days when I have to do laundry and put my clothes away (both of which I equally hate, why can't we just be living like the Jestons already?)

My new theme song comes in handy especially on days when I have to pay bills! Ugh!

So, here is the video to my new theme song, it's all in the first two minutes, the rest of the video is just here screwing around with her dogs.

see video here

Big Fat TURD!

Yes, today was a big fat turd...

I took my car in for oil change and tune-up and it ended up costing me more than I planned because other stuff was wrong that needed to be fixed. I am glad for it to be fixed because I knew something was wrong, but geez, $200 more than I originally planned. Now I have no spending money for the remainder of the month!

I did not get approved for my winter quarter school loan and I don't know why! All the lady kept saying was "you just need a co-signer". Maybe I should have asked her if she would do it! Now I have two choices for the money
1. ask my parents to cosign, which I don't want to do even though I know they will (I mean, shit, I'm 41 years old with excellent credit and a job, what do I need a cosigner for??)
or  2. put the money on my mastercard which I really don't want to do because that's what I put my car repairs on and I'm working on paying that off now!

Then, to top it off, my friend's cat died!

WHAT THE FUCK, MAN!?

In memory of Harlem, my friend's cat, I will miss her fluffy face and demanding mews.

The weekend is here...so what I still have to work

I do miss having days off. The way things are going now, if I'm not in school, I'm at work. 

But that doesn't mean I don't go out and do stuff. Today is the first Friday of the month, which means ArtLoveMagic sets up shop for live art and music down at BuzzBrews Kitchen in Deep Ellum. Yeah buddy!

I had asked someone if he wanted to go, but he already had plans, so instead of sulking of course, I went by myself...and had fun and met people there as usual!

I watched visual artists painting at their tables set up along the sidewalk on Commerce street and in Buzzbrews parking lot. I talked to some of them. On occasion I buy a print or piece of jewelry, but not today. I went inside, got an ice water and sat at one of the bench-lined tables and started drawing and listened to a guy singing and playing guitar. He was good, bluesy sounding. Later some other people sang and more people came in to draw and color with me.

After a while, I strolled down the street and saw paintings on the buildings and sidewalks - which I'll have to come back in the daylight to take pictures!

I stepped in to The Free Man Cajun Cafe and Lounge and sat at the bar.  I ordered a cup of Gumbo and listened to the jazz band playing. They were a bunch of old guys from all over that get together and travel around. Tomorrow they are heading to Topeka. The one guy on the steel guitar must have been about 100 if he was a day and he could JAM! The guy on the drums was also the emcee and had a few jokes. The trumpet guy was pretty good and there was another on keyboards and a clarinet. 

I was enjoying myself, but I wished there was someone there to dance with. After their set was over, I headed out toward my car. 

Stupid work, always interfering with my leisure schedule!

Now enjoy these pictures:

along Commerce st. outside of Buzzbrews

a planter box outside the place

me drawing...I didn't take a pic of the final, but I left it there

one lady from ArtLoveMagic said "Let me take your picture!"

my finished pieces all lined up

a few seconds of the jazz band