"To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery."-- from the To Write Love on Her Arms website.
my arm today.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." -- Plato
I wanted to post about something else today, and if you want a real post where I write about actual things, you may want to go one post down and check out my money-saving celebration tips, but a gazillion Facebook statuses and news stories prompted me to mention something entirely different.
The high school I went to banned the word "meep."
Just sit back and process that for a second. Meep. Like what Beaker says. You know, that lovable Muppet who never gets a break.
Meep like that.
All I could gather from the annoyingly vague articles was that students suddenly started saying it all the time in a certain area of the school (rumor has it, where a much-maligned teacher who "looks like Beaker" has his classroom, though I can tell you he doesn't really at all and isn't a bad guy). And then, horror of all horrors, they started a Facebook group to organize a some sort of "disruption," which I can only guess would have been everyone going to a certain place and meeping at the same time. Which is, yes, disruptive and immature, especially if it's really being used to make fun of a teacher, but I doubt sending a phone call home to parents that their kids will be suspended from schoolif they meep is really the way to solve things. I mean, don't they always tell you that if someone is just being plain ol' annoying, ignore them and eventually they'll stop having fun and go away?
Now I don't know if "meep" has been given an actual meaning by the kids as Danvers High School. They say it has no meaning, but of course, I'm pretty sure kids wouldn't tell reporters that it has some offensive connotation. The principal says, however, that he doesn't see banning the word as an actual banning of the word, but of the disruptive conduct that's been paired with it. He is also setting up a forum for parents about Facebook and how children are using it (sometimes) for ill.
Really, I just wanted to share with you my pride in Danvers High School. See, back in my day, all we had were the football cheerleaders who got completely trashed before the only championship football game our team had pretty much ever been in ever and proceeded to resist arrest and pee in cop cars. Then there were the basketball cheerleaders who made a sex tape and distributed it by e-mail. And then we had a bomb threat that lasted several days, but that's pretty boring when you compare it to our other two major scandals.
Did I mention now if you type "meep" into Google, the first prompt is this:
Pride, people. Major pride.
What was the meepin' craziest thing that ever happened at your high school?
Yesterday was my second anniversary with wonderful and oft-talked-about Luke. I'm going to avoid getting all mushy gooshy, but I love him to death. We're both very happy we made it to another milestone, and we can't wait to see what's in store for us from here.
We had some pretty nice plans for our anniversary, but it all got thwarted when we both found out we were in possession on a collective $150 in our checking accounts. Ouch. We decided to be responsible adults and cancel our plans for the sake of saving the cash we have until we're back working. It got us thinking, though, about how to celebrate an anniversary without spending a lot of money.*
Make the Gifts
Some of my favorite ideas? Make a mix CD with all the music that makes you think of him or here, with "your song" (if you have one) as the final track. Make a scrapbook out of all those Facebook photos, movie ticket stubs, loving doodles, and flower petals you have laying around. Decorate a small box and fill it with scraps of paper detailing all the little things you think are so wonderful about your boyfriend or girlfriend-- I gave one of these to Luke and I called it his "Self-Esteem Box." Put together a comic book depicting his or her proposal to go steady. Pretend you're a wee little child again and make a bracelet, necklace, or ring out of beads and stretchy string. As long as you put thought into it, your significant other is bound to love it, and all with minimal damage done to your wallet. If you're not into making gifts, though, try sitting down together and giving each other a strict budget. As long as you both stick to the rules, $15 won't feel cheap.
Research and Development
Decide ahead of time what you'd like to do, and then find out how much the special day will cost. Make phone calls and look at websites so you know exactly what you're getting into. You may have heard of a play on Saturday night that's "really cheap," but you don't want to find out at the ticket booth that it's actually way over your budget or that you needed your student ID to get in for a reduced price.
Remember: Your Student ID is Your Friend
Following up on the previous note, you student ID can be a Godsend when it comes to saving cash. For instance, back at home, I can go see a movie for $7 if I bring my Clark ID, versus the $10.50 it would run me without (and if you want to go to a movie, for goodness sakes, sneak in the candy! Ladies, bring a large purse and get a big bag of sweets to share at Target). Many plays and musicals have discounted "student rush" tickets, but they're usually limited in number and you have to buy them at a certain time (research this!). It may be possible that if you go to a town with a lot of colleges, you can get into events like dances and concerts at other universities as long as you have your card with you. Also, a lot of museums have student discounts, which is awesome because for a relatively low price, you can get an entire day's worth of activities.
Go Dutch
Splitting the cost of a date is often a huge relief, and going Dutch may even make a trip to somewhere pretty nice pretty doable. For instance, my boyfriend and I love going to The Cheesecake Factory, and when we're there the bill is usually around $40. It's a pretty pricey meal for young people who don't have "real" jobs, so it's a lot more enjoyable when we split it, since neither of us is worried about paying so much money or is feeling guilty that the other is spending half a day's pay on cheesecake and strawberry lemonade (best stuff ever).
Start a Special Occasion Savings Account
Why not? If everything's on the up-and-up and it doesn't seem like too big of a commitment, go to a bank you can both agree on (preferably one with a lot of ATMs in your area-- you don't want too many withdrawal fees) and start a joint savings account just for fun. It only takes a few minutes to set one up, and you don't even have to start with very much cash in it-- my bank requires a minimum balance of $5. Make a habit of each of you depositing into the account whenever there's a little extra cash to spare and watch it grow into something big and wonderful. I mean, let's say every week for one year, you put in $5 and your special person puts in $5. Now we do the math and.... voila! $520! How easy is that? And if you don't have a job during the school year, you can just put a little more away each week when you're on vacation-- or consider that the same $5 each during about 4 months of summer vacation would make for a cool $160. More than enough for dinner and a movie, am I right?
Work With What You Have
Okay, so let's see.... I have a nice new camera and plenty of free time. How about a photo scavenger hunt? Got a video game console? What about a [your favorite two-player game here] marathon (you could even start a new file and try to beat it in one sitting, or check out used games and buy something completely ridiculous on the cheap)? Have the box set for your favorite TV show or movie series? Microwave some popcorn, procure some sugary treats, and snuggle up together in your warmest blankets and watch from beginning to end. You met through a friend in a game of Monopoly? Borrow it if you don't have it and recreate that first encounter-- you know that game can keep you busy all day. Got a bed? Well, you see where that's going. You already have plenty to do if you take the time to really assess what you already have. I know you may have watched Family Guy together a zillion and one times, but if you set it up as something extra special, it will be extra special, trust me.
Forget What "Everyone Else" Does for Their Anniversary
If your best friend and his girlfriend went hot air ballooning over the Grand Canyon, who cares? I mean, that's pretty cool, but it's not you. You might feel jealous over what the people you know have done on their special days, but you have to remember that everyone is dealing with different circumstances. Maybe they dug into their savings, or got some free tickets, or asked their parents for a little extra cash to make the night amazing. That's all well and good, and I'm not knocking people who want to make something extravagant happen, but it's not necessary, especially if you're doing it just to keep up with the Joneses. Comparing your situation to someone else's can really screw with your standards.
ANECDOTE ALERT: When my boyfriend and I started casually looking at engagement rings (just for fun-- we're not planning on getting hitched for a few years yet), I had in mind a single ring a friend had shown me when she was briefly engaged. It cost $700-- cheap by engagement ring standards-- and was 1/2 carot. I thought it was beautiful, and when we first got roped into trying rings on by a very eager saleslady at Kay's, it was all I wanted to see. In fact, I tried on the 1 carot version of the ring and thought it was way too big. But as I got caught up in the joy of looking at all these rings and reading about diamonds online, I got more and more convinced the ring I liked wasn't "good" enough. It was too small, too low quality, and from a mall jewelry store. The more I read, the more I thought we'd have to find a big ring at some swanky store that my boyfriend on his what-will-then-be-law-student budget would have to save up thousands just for this one gesture. I did try on a ring at Zales that I was in love with, but found out after I was drooling over it that it was almost $3000. The boyfriend started sweating at that point, but I wouldn't ask him to spend that much, especially when we're just starting our lives together. But still, I kept thinking about what if my friends aren't impressed by my ring? Who cares? All that matters is you. If you think your ring is special and wonderful and amazing, everyone else's opinions can screw off.
A long example, maybe, but all I'm trying to say is that the more you allow yourself to make value judgements based on what everyone else is doing, the more you may fall into the trap of becoming dissatisfied with what you might really want. You can spend whatever your heart desires to on your anniversary, whether that be nothing or your life's savings.
How do you-- or would like to-- celebrate your anniversary? Got any of your own patent-pending money-saving tips for the financially challenged?
*We haven't celebrated yet, but we're contemplating taking Clark's free mall shuttle to try Red Robin for the first time-- they've got seriously tantalizing commercials, people.
This is not to say that any copyright infringement is going on here. Both pairs of flats are pretty basic and great deals, but I wanted to take this chance to talk about why you should most definitely go try on the Old Navy pair and attempt not to fall in love.
1. They are not made of suede like the Report pair. Suede, while lovely, is a pain in the backside to take care of, especially if you live anywhere where there is a vague potential at all times for rain. Living in Massachusetts, I've learned to just shrug my shoulders when in the middle of a sunny September afternoon, I look out my window and notice it's suddenly snowing (true story). So no suede for me, as it just gets ruined too easily.
2. "Faux-leather," while technically some kind of plastic, is vegan. So though these shoes will someday be chillin' undecomposed in a trash heap for hundreds of years, at least you can say a cow didn't die for you to wear them.
3. It has been years since I found a pair of flats that isn't uncomfortable. In fact, though I at one time owned three pairs, only one pair was comfortable enough to wear more than a few times, and they're made of denim (sounds hideous, look cute, just trust me), so if you refer back to number 1 on this list, you can infer what the problem is with those. I've tried on countless pairs of flats, and none of them worked for me: the edge against my heel was too stiff, the material scraped at my toes, toe-cleavage everywhere! A mess, yo. But then I found these, and they are completely awesome and cute (I love the ruffles instead of the typical bow). They're so super comfy that I'd love to own a pair in every color. These are miracle flats! For serious, guys, if you've had trouble finding comfy ballet flats, drive down to your local Old Navy and buy these right away.
As many of you on the Blogosphere (did I seriously just say that?) already know, Winona of Daddy Likey wrote her very own style book! You've probably seen the funny, fabulous guide, Closet Confidential: Style Secrets Learned the Hard Way, on some of your favorite blogs as well as sites like Mod Cloth and Amazon, but maybe you haven't acquired your own copy yet. The book will run you $18.99, which is none too shabby, but if you don't have the cash or you just love free stuff, why not get your copy for free? Handbag Heaven is giving away 5 copies of the Closet Confidential to some very lucky commentors, and I really hope you'll all go try your luck at winning it.
What can you do to win? You have 3 options:
1. Tweet it. 2. Blog it. 3. Facebook it.
There are more specific instructions on the site, of course. What are you waiting for?
Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.
--Voltaire
all photos from weheartit
Spend your day making the most decadent cupcakes you can imagine.Experiment with different flavors, frostings, sprinkles, and piping toolsuntil they look too good to eat-- and then eat them anyway.
Maine's decision to ban same-sex marriage is extremely saddening. I'm very disappointed that this had to happen. Approximately 53% of voters checked off "yes" on Question One, which repealed the rights for gay and lesbian couples to marry in the state. It's heart-breaking that such a small majority can pull the rights of the minority out from under their feet. Of course, gay rights advocates are not going to stop here. Indeed, this is yet another setback, but there is so much more work to be done to make equality, one of the principles our country is supposedly built on, a reality in America.
If you want to help, I encourage you to: Write your Congressmen. Go to NOH8 and post a self-portrait. Wear a white knot and/or organize an event to give them out at your school. Join a GLBTA club in your community. Love everyone. No matter who they love in return.
* There's going to be a Blog Carnival at *eLLa*! Submit some of your favorite articles or brand new content to the blog and possibly get featured during the festivities!
*Princess Khutulun told Genghis Khan, her uncle, that she wouldn't marry until she found a man who could win against her in a wrestling match. If they lost, they had to give her 100 horses. She dies leaving no husband and 10,000 horses. More unsung female heroes.
Personally, I'm a little confused by the butt-veil. For one, it's not really veiling her butt. It's just sort of hanging down with no purpose in life. Oddly, Victoria's Secret attempts no mention or explanation of said butt-veil. I don't like when there's something that seems to be important in the picture and they don't mention it-- does a butt-veil actually come with these panties? I'd better get that much fabric if I'm shelling out 30 buckaroos. Furthermore, how long is said butt-veil? I need measurements, people. I don't think I'm tall enough for these panties. I'm pretty sure the night would start out all great and seductive and end with me sporting a really attractive shiner (something blue!).
Mostly, though, it just kinda of reminds of what you would wear if you want to dress up for Halloween as one of the Pastoral Symphony centaurs from Fantasia.
