Tattoos, Piercings, and the Workplace (and/or School).

You guessed it. I'm gonna talk about why tattoos and piercings shouldn't be discriminated against in the workplace. And I'm not biased because I have both.

At my job (Jimmy John's delivery) I can't have a tattoo showing. Now, out of all jobs, you wouldn't think Jimmy John's would be that way. I don't understand what the big deal is. It's the 21st century!!! Tattoos are even allowed in schools now! C'mon! School - 1, Work - 0.

I can understand how piercings can be distracting, but why would it be pegged as "unsanitary"? Do they think that we touch them and we take them out or spit them into the food, and then we put it back in? Do they think that somehow an eyebrow ring will fall out, or somebody sneezes a nosering into the food (why in the world are you sneezing within that much distance of the food..)? I think that wearing a small stud should be just fine in a workplace because it wouldn't be so big and distracting. That applies for schools, too (we shouldn't get in trouble for wearing a clear, plastic retainer that you can only see when the light hits it a certain way.)

Some people are so ridiculous.

My Top 3 Favorite (Old) Nickelodeon Cartoons.

Everybody knows that cartoons are definitely not what they used to be (and I'm sure that people older than I am said the same thing about the cartoons from my generation). I seriously cannot wrap my head around some of the stupid shit they call cartoons these days. Like "Yo Gabba Gabba"... wtf is that anyway? "The Backyardigans"?? Oh, the poor children of the 2000's. What happened to the cartoons that the parents could slightly enjoy while their offspring are hogging the television? Most of all, WHAT HAPPENED TO FACE?!?! (if you don't know what I'm talking about, it sucks to be you.) This list is of my personal favorite Nickelodeon cartoons that aren't ridiculous.

1. Rugrats
Yup. Everyone loves Rugrats. I could never get enough of Tommy, Chucky, Phil, and Lil. Oh, don't forget Angelica, that spiteful little brat. Now, don't confuse my love for Rugrats with "Rugrats: All Grown Up". That was a stupid spin-off, seriously. There's just something about the animation from the '90's that totally rocks, which the spin-offs are missing.

What I loved about Rugrats was that it encouraged young, impressionable children to use their imaginations. Kids today rely on television and internet way too much for entertainment. Honestly, how many kids can you think of that seriously want to play outside instead of watch TV or go online, or even make up a game to play? Rugrats also conveyed good morals in each episode.

All in all, Rugrats was the shit. :)

2. Rocko's Modern Life
I love Rocko simply because he's a wallaby. And his dog is awesome.
But, in all seriousness, now that I'm old enough to understand, I love the innuendo. It's hilarious to think that I watched it growing up and now my brain is warped. Maybe the creators knew that they were subliminally corrupting kids, but I don't really care. Between Rocko, Spunky, Heffer, and Filbert there was never a dull moment.

3. CatDog

CatDog was probably one of the ONLY cartoons (besides spongebob) that my dad watched with us. Actually, he still sings the theme song. If that doesn't tell you how awesome CatDog was, I don't know what will. This duo of a wise, old, grumpy cat and a hyper, neurotic dog, is by far the best pair of characters in any cartoon. No matter how much Cat hates Dog, Cat still loves Dog. The love-hate relationship kind of portrays the relationship between siblings. They fight a lot but they still love each other. Not to mention how CatDog opens your mind to cross-breeding between cats and dogs. Now that's what I call "i-maaaaaaa-gin-aaaaaa-tion".

Cats. (The Actual Animal, Not the Musical.)

Well. Here it is; The long awaited blog on, you guessed it, CATS!

Who DOESN'T love cats?? They're quirky, cute and cuddly, fluffy, sometimes fat, and fun.
Seriously, if you don't love cats there's something wrong with you. They say that cats are evil and dogs are angels... but that's so WRONG! Just because they're not annoying like dogs doesn't mean they're evil. Cat's are independent so they don't need your constant attention. Besides... how many dogs can you find as far as internet memes go compared to cats?? Very few because, you know, dogs aren't as awesome as cats. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate dogs, I just don't like them as much as I like cats. I guess you could say that one day that crazy cat lady everyone talks about will be me.

I've had a cat ever since I was conceived. My first cat was a Siamese cat named Max. I was born with apnea and was on lots of monitors for a while, and from what I'm told he used to sit on the edge of my crib and watch me while I slept. A lot of people say that you shouldn't have cats around babies; I think that's a load of crap, unless your cat is stupid and mean. Anyway, Max was my first best friend, I loved him more than anything (and still do) and I even named his tail, Wormis... When he died, on December 9, 2002 (yeah, I remember), I went to school wearing all black clothes (my parents wouldn't let me stay home even though I was hysterical because I was the one to find him). He lived 14 years.

Then there was snowball. She was an asshole but awesome at the same time. She was the mafia leader of the neighborhood and beat a lot of asses (without her front claws, even). My dad used to talk and sing to her and she would reply every time. She wasn't one of those cats who liked to cuddle a lot or be petted, but every once in a while she would lay in bed with you or cuddle with you on the couch. Everything was on her own terms. When she died, February 9, 2008 (I remember that, too, 6 years and 3 months after Max..) I, once again, was the one to find her. FML. She lived 16 years.

The last segment of my personal cat stories is about Manny (Dingo). He was the first cat that was actually mine (I paid for the adoption and took care of him... for the most part). Dingo always wanted outside and I didn't want him to be an outside cat, even though we lived out of town at that time. My dad started letting him outside, and you know how that goes. After Matt and I moved from my parents' house I didn't want to take him with because we lived off of a busy street in town. About three weeks later (March 6, 2011) he got run over, and my dad found him in the ditch across the street. I wore his collar as a bracelet for a long time, but now it hangs from the rearview mirror in my car. He was about 4 years old.

I now have Gracie. I know I said that Dingo was the last of my personal stories, but I lied... Gracie is one of the most beautiful cats I have ever seen, even though she's a real fat ass. I've had her for about 9 months now and I love her, despite her attitude lol. Gracie is about 4 years old now.

I don't really know what else to say about cats, except for some fun facts I guess.

• Cats' brains act in the same way, emotionally, as a human's.
• The cat's tail is used to maintain balance.
• Cats have the largest eyes of any mammal.
• Ailurphile is the word cat lovers are officially called.
• Purring doesn't always mean a cat is happy. Loud or heavy purring can indicate distress or pain.
• In the UK and the US, cats are kept as pets more than dogs are. At least 35% of households with cats have 2 or more.
• On average a cat will sleep 16 hours a day.
• A cat's sense of smell is 14 times that of a human. In addition to being able to smell with their nose, they also have sensory glands located on the roof of their mouth. So when you see a cat leave it's mouth slightly open after smelling something it's because they're catching a better whiff of a scent that they enjoy.
• Cats have glands in their cheeks and paws that secrete pheromones, so when they knead or rub their faces on you they are marking their territory.

Now, go watch this video so you can be happy today:
http://www.slothster.com/2352-Cat-On-Boat-Plays-With-Dolphins.html

Living with Chronic Migraines.

Living with migraines isn't awesome, but it's not the worst possible ailment to live with, either.

I'm not fishing for sympathy here, I'm just trying to open peoples' eyes to how bad it actually is (and that it's not fake).

When I was really young, starting around 1st or 2nd grade, I can remember having headaches so bad that I couldn't open my eyes. I remember crying so hard because it hurt so bad, even though crying only made it worse. Having migraines that young didn't throw up a red flag, I guess.

It wasn't until I was in 7th grade, (age 12/13) that the migraines started getting really bad. I went for 2 months straight with a headache, so my parents did the obvious: took me to my doctor. The doctor I was seeing at the time had been my doctor since I was conceived. I saw him once or twice in regards to my migraines, and he told my mom that "they're all in her head." Please withhold your laughter, maybe it's not his fault that he's stupid.

Anyway. After that, I obviously started seeing a new doctor (one who is much younger and cares about her patients). It's been 6 years now that we've been working towards finding out what's causing my migraines, and it's still a mystery. I've had x-rays, MRIs, CT Scans... you name it, I've had it done, and everything always came back clean.

I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating it is. Some days I wish I could cut my head off and go buy a new one. The worst part is that there's nothing you can do but pop pills for it, but even then, the more drugs you take the chances of your migraine going away become slim. Who knew pain medication can cause a migraine? The typical dosage for migraine medications is "up to twice a week", due to the possibility of becoming "immune" to the drug. That kind of sucks if you experience more than 2 migraines a week, like I do.

It's hard to live like this, and I'm willing to bet it's just as hard on my husband to go through this with me. He has to listen to me complain about my head hurting all the time, he listens to me say how I wish I were dead rather than having to suffer like this, and he sees me bang my head on things for any bit of relief I can find. No matter how bad I get (and I get pretty bad, and mean) he sticks with me through all of it.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that migraines have ruined my life, because I'm still alive, but I'm sure my life would be the complete opposite of what it is now if I didn't suffer from migraines. I struggled to graduate from high school because of them (I also missed the graduation ceremony because of a migraine). The last job I had was in 2010, where I was fired due to my attendance because of my migraines. I rarely leave home because I have a migraine. I've also missed a family Thanksgiving due to a migraine. I have even attempted suicide because of a migraine.

It is a daily struggle that I have to deal with, and after all this time I'm still trying to figure out how to cope with this, rather than to suffer with this. One thing that has helped me cope quite a bit is talking to people who have migraines, too, because it helps me to know that I'm not alone. There's comfort in knowing that there are people who, literally, share your pain, I guess.

Migraines are a serious matter, they can even be deadly. If you have a migraine more than twice a month, go see your doctor, don't let them get so bad that you can't function anymore.

View this link for more information:

http://www.headaches.org/education/Headache_Topic_Sheets/Migraine

Lack of Motivation.

That's what I'm suffering from lately.
No motivation. Except for yesterday. I cleaned everything.
But I just don't feel like doing anything.
I don't feel like socializing or answering my phone.

So, I'm sorry about not blogging for an eternity.
I think I need a swift kick in the ass to get going, kind of like the way we beat up electronics to get them to work.