The cosmos hate me..

I am someone who believes in Astrology. Every January I always look up my horoscope for the new year, just to prepare myself for what i'll be in for.
Normally, it says something along the lines of; "You will meet someone special around April" or "If you're looking to purchase a house or car, February is the month to do it."

Not this year. This year I get: "You will be mentally disturbed until November 23rd."

Are you kidding me?! Is this a prank?
After reading this, I actually felt mentally disturbed....

Makes me laugh the more I think about it.
Does it mean i'll just be bitter all year, or should I start looking into local mental hospitals?

Here is my take on this disturbing situation:
I've always been a very cheerful person. I like to make people happy and say hi in the halls. I try to look at the glass half full, instead of half empty, and hope that others will follow my lead.
Maybe we all start out that way, and after being in a city like Seattle, start to build a sort of "sarcastic barrier".
I wonder what the ratio would be of cheerful people who wear a genuine smile compared to just plain- tired and cranky people, and what is the in between?
I've been thinking this for that last few days, and now have a new found respect for all those women I thought were just cranky or overly sarcastic.
I'm sure when they were 20 years old, they were very cheerful and thought they could do anything in our big world.
Then they had their first love and loss. Lost contact with people who were once their BFF. Learned how sleazy and cheap some men can be. And learned how to rely on only themselves.
It's not their fault at all that they've ended up this way!

So the cosmos may say "mentally disturbed", I say I'm pretty freakin normal.

Where did you think you'd be in 5 years?

My good friend Stephanie and I get together every Sunday for our "Steph and Britt Day".
We sit around and drink wine, eat good food and watch chick flicks.
Yesterday, we were sitting around watching "Romie and Michelle's High School Reunion" and reminicing about our High School days as we flipped through her old yearbooks.

One thought went through my head as we sat there: "Wow, I never would have thought this is where i'd be 5 years after graduating. Isn't it funny where life takes you?"

In highschool we all try to morph ourselves into what is "popular" or "cool"
I'm finally (thank goodness) at the stage in my life where I'm happy just being myself, and if I know someone doesn't like who I am and what I stand for, well then I don't really need them as a friend.

I used to see all the popular girls walk around with their blonde hair and cheer outfits, and I wanted to model myself after them. Would I need a nose job? Boob job? I can save up for that!

Thank God I grew out of that one!
From all the things that have happened to me over the last 5 years, I have become such a better person than I ever thought I could be.

I assumed I would still be managing tanning salons and going out to the clubs, own a brand new car, live in some sweet condo in Kirkland, date some gorgeous guy and get married by 25...... wow was I wrong. But lately I've realized that's not a bad thing at all! Instead here I am working for this great company, with brilliant people, and doing all these things I never thought I would. I'm happy with where I am.

Where did you think you'd be 5 years after graduation? Are happy with where you really ended up? What would you have done differently?

Whatever happened to fairytales?

Have you heard of the movie "Pan's Labyrinth?"
It wasn't hugely advertised, and hardly anyone has heard of it, but if you get a chance, GO SEE IT. It's gotten absolutly amazing reviews already, look it up on Hollywood.com or Rottontomatoes.com. (If Rotton Tomatoes says its good, you know it's worth paying for at the theatres.)
The reason I was so eager to see this movie, is because I am a huge fan fairytales and princesses meeting their prince- they always make me remember what it was like to be a kid and see the world through different eyes.
I love stories like Alice in Wonderland. The young girl (who by the way, was actually written to be a brunette... interesting...) who becomes bored with the real world, and dreams of a place she can escape to, and make new friends, talk to a smoking caterpillar and sing with flowers.
If you enjoy these types of stories, you'll like this movie.

It's not all flowers and butterflies, however.
This is more of a modern, adult, dark fairytale... with a good amount of graphic violence... so definately don't take the kids to this one.

This movie made me wonder: What happened to us? Why don't we believe in fairytales anymore? Are we all so grown up and busy that we can't use our imagination and have fun with it?
Whenever I go to Disneyland, I become a completely different person. I'm a kid in a candy store and I don't care who knows it! I have a Little Mermaid purse as well as an Alice in Wonderland one. Sure, I may only get compliments from 2 year old girls, (Which made me seriously think about purchasing a Dooney and Burke..) but it's something that makes me genuinly happy so I really don't care what anyone thinks about it!

Fairytales make me happy, I just wish more people would appreciate them.

P.S. I totally have a Little Mermaid watch too. Oh yeah- I already know how cool I am.

To: Airline and Hotel Staff!

Do you all have no soul? Did you grow up under a rock and learn your ABC's from a caterpillar smoking a hooka? DO YOU JUST ACT THIS WAY TO PISS EVERYONE OFF FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT? To the women who work at Hooters Hotel and Casino: Just because you have a big rack and get your teeth whitened every week, doesn't mean you have the right to talk down to the rest of us! To the woman who works at reservations at this hotel- There is a reason you are not working out in the restaurant serving drinks and makin big tips, even your phone skills are poor, and you're not fooling anyone by telling them you work at Hooters. I'm onto you.

Don't get me wrong, I love the work I do here at Impart, but you have to admit that call center specialists at Expedia, United, Alaskaair, Cheaptickets, and every airline except Jetblue and Frontier should not be legally allowed to work in the real world.

Some days I can make humor out of their stupidity... today is not one of those days.

Have we all forgotten our manners?

I'm sure that the majority of us were taught basic manners growing up. If this is the case, why does society not use them as much as we used to?

I can't tell you how many times in a day I think to myself "Wow, that person needs to learn some manners!"

If you look back at Emily Post's etiquette books, you'll see exactly what I mean. Have we all forgotten our proper ettiquette? And 20 years down then road, is the situation only going to get worse?

I was shopping at Target yesterday, getting some cat food and hangers and such, and it seems like I was always the one to to say "Oh I'm sorry, excuse me!", even when i wasn't the one at fault! And the part that gets me the most, is even when i say that, they don't crack a smile, don't slow down, they just keep walking as if they're too important for such things. Everyone is just sooooo darn busy, that they can't take a second to lighten up and and put on a friendly face? That just seems crazy to me.

Again, walking down the aisle at Target yesterday (let's just say I wasn't having the best day) and this woman is walking towards me, pushing her cart, with 3 kids by her side. I have a cart as well, and I was assuming she would say something like "Oh kids, watch out for this lady, please move out of the way." Oh no, she just didn't really give a crap. I actually found myself pushing my cart to the side so these stupid little brats could take up the whole aisle. I'm not talking like one of the aisles up and down the store, I'm talkin the BIG aisles that connect the smaller ones.

Come on lady! I know how it is to walk around with several kids in a store, trust me i do. But you're their mother, how else are they going to learn manners if you don't even realize you're being rude. You're the adult, it's your job to teach manners to your children.

I bet you 10 years down the road, i'll be in a store and one of those little brats will cut me off and not say a damn thing. I'll freaking put money on it.

I think we should all invest in some reading material, and remember that we are civilized people. So let's grow up and act like it!!!!

Some books that may be helpful:

1. Emily Post's Etiquette by Peggy Post

2. Business Class: Etiquette essentials for success at work by Jacqueline Whitmore

3. Better than Beauty: A guide to charm by Emily I. Gondor

4. How to be a lady: A contemparary guide to common courtesy by Candace Simpson Giles