Obvious Observations with Brit: Technology

Oh, Technology! Thank you for allowing me to never remember my friends’ phone numbers. Thank you for giving me the ability to call out the incorrect “know-it-all” with the proper information via Google. But mostly, thank you for giving me the ability to creep late at night on friends’ and strangers’ personal photos. That’s the BEST!

When Parents Text

You know, we sure make fun of those poor older folks who try to be hip and join in on the technology bandwagon. The tagline for WPT is “small keypad, old hands” But sooner or later, we, the children of the texting age, will have feeble motor skills and poor eyesight. I can’t wait to see what brutal ways the following generations will make fun of us.

Kudos to those folks who are staying with the times by texting and emailing! I greatly respect them for that.  I love when my parents text me!!

Facebook

*stands on soapbox*

Facebook reminds me a lot of having crushes in junior high. Your self worth is dependent on whether you are accepted (He likes you too!) or rejected (He’s not interested!) Back then, this could make or break a girl. These days, we’re a bit desensitized. You make a nice gesture to friend someone, and they don’t accept your request. So then you analyze it. But why didn’t she accept it? Am I not cool enough? Does she think I’m a loser? I just don’t get it, what’s wrong with me! Then it just ends in “oh, whatever.”

Or what about when a Facebook friend deletes you? The same thoughts run through your brain. What did I do? I never post annoying things or send massive game invites!

To be fair, I’ve been on both sides. I’ve been rejected and deleted. I’ve also not responded to friend requests and *gasp* deleted friends.

When someone that I know of, but have never in my life spoken to, requests my friendship- I generally don’t friend them. Of course if we have interacted even once, I’ll add you. But if we’ve never spoken, why do you want to be friends with me?

Why would I ever delete a friend? It’s kind of complex and there are numerous reasons why. To be blunt, we’re just not friends, and I don’t want certain people in my biz anymore- could have been a break-up, bad influence, or maybe I’ve just come to realize that the “friend” just isn’t even an acquaintance anymore. A couple years ago, I did do a massive friend list clean-up, thinking that I should only be friends with people that I am actually close to. But, that was just silly!  Since then, I’ve friended people I’ve met all over the world, even if it was briefly. The thing about my current friend list, is that I genuinely care about the people on it, even if we met only once in Asia, were childhood friends, or just talked occasionally in high school or college. It is really fun to see where everyone is going, and where they ended up.

I’ve also realized that high school reunions are a thing of the past. The point of the reunion is to see how everyone changed: married, pregnant, rich, etc. Now, you can scope out the sitch in the comfort of your own home, without the rigamarole of questioning your fellow alums. I dig that.

Anti-Facebook

To my dear young Facebook friends: Please be careful. The pictures you post, the words you write, and the things you “like” are being seen by more people than you think. And it will forever be in cyberspace. Besides, don’t forget you were the ones who friended your older relatives. Do you really want Grandma to see those racy bikini pics and see you drop the F-bomb in your status updates? Probably not.

Let’s keep it classy, kids.

Smartphones

I am consistently in awe of what those fancy things can do, and super jealous that I don’t have one. In the break-room at work, everyone spends their time browsing the net or checking out Facebook. All I can do on my non-touch screen brick phone is skim through the pictures.

Even my dad has an iPhone now. Whaaaaat?!

I’m sure one day, if I ever become very busy or important, I’ll get myself a smartphone. For now, I’m happy with my flip phone.

This has been another episode of Obvious Observations with Brit.

Star Wars: A Lost Hope

Ok, here’s what happened…

After a year of simple living in Korea, I decided my parents needed to follow suit and go through a major junk cleanse in their basement. The first to go? VHS tapes. My dad had built a little closet with shelves just big enough to hold our complete multimedia collection. The DVD collection didn’t quite have enough room to grow, so it was time to get rid of the VHS. Besides, we didn’t even have a VCR anymore! Boxes and boxes were off to Goodwill.

By the end of May, my parents’ basement had a complete makeover. There was a place for everything and everything was in place. The media closet was like a mini video store, even alphabetized.

Later that summer, my brother and I were talking about how they were releasing the complete Star Wars saga on DVD and Blu Ray. He was upset that George Lucas was only releasing the edition that he had (in his mind) “improved” with special effects.  It was then that Aaron said, “Well at least I still have the old originals on VHS.” My heart sank.

With all of the other video cassettes that had made their departure from the movie room, the Star Wars collection was indeed with them.

I decided to be upfront. “Aaron, I may have accidentally given your Star Wars collection to Goodwill when I cleaned out the closet. I’m really really sorry!!” Luckily, my brother is neither materialistic or has a temper. He just accepted it as one of those things, shrugged, and said “oh well.”

But I still felt like the worst person in the world. My brother is a huge film buff, currently in film school, and I may or may not have taken something irreplaceable from him. I was determined to get it back. And so begins the long, ridiculous journey of Brittany hunting for the original boxed set VHS of the Star Wars trilogy.

You may wonder why I felt that I needed to right my wrong immediately when Aaron wasn’t upset at all.

Let’s dial back…circa 1991.  My dad had bought Aaron and I the “All Dogs go to Heaven” soundtrack and a used CD store for about 3 bucks. We more than loved it. It was the best CD ever! We listened to it day and night. We danced, we sang- all the time.  The CD had a permanent place in my dad’s CD changer. One day, the CD player stopped working. Dad sent it away to be fixed, not knowing that he also send away “All Dogs go to Heaven.” We were devastated. I remember him trying to call the company to see if they could retrieve it for us, but it was a lost cause.

Since then, I’ve always looked in music stores, thrift shops, and now online hoping to find the CD again. The good news is that we found the CD. It can be purchased on Amazon used for between $80-$129. I just can’t justify spending $80 on such a small piece of childhood nostalgia!

And this brings me back to the Star Wars predicament. Will this be the same type of thing? Will all the true Star Wars fans snatch up all original copies from thrift stores and our only option of purchase would be for hundreds of dollars on the internet??

I jumped on Amazon and found the original Star Wars (1997 release) boxed set. This is it! I bought it for only $3. It arrived. Oh no! This wasn’t the right one. This was the one they released after the added special effects. I needed the one released in 1995. Back to the drawing board.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll still be at the Goodwill I donated them to. Two big carts I rummaged through. I found about 8 copies of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but none of the of the original 3 Star Wars… until….

“Empire Strikes Back”, $1 check! 1 down, 2 to go!

For the holidays, I was in Dayton with family. I told my in-laws all about my hunt for Star Wars. My brother-in-law, new sister-in-law, and I raided the video section of the local thrift shop. Nothing…nothing…Episode 1! Nope, don’t need that crappy one from the 2000s. We’re specifically looking for “Star Wars: A New Hope” and “Return of the Jedi.”

Hot Dog! It’s a Christmas miracle. They had both! We all squealed with joy. $2. The collection is complete!!!!

When I got back to St. Louis, I was so excited to surprise my brother with the results of my treasure hunt. I wrapped them up and planned to give them to him on his birthday, which is this Friday.

So are you ready for the twist?

New Year’s Eve, a package arrived in the mail for Aaron from Amazon. He opened it up, and it was the exact set (in the box) that I had been hunting down this whole time. “AHHHHHHHHHH!!! What the heck!? Do you even know what I went through to find you those?!” I shouted. He said, “I don’t know. I was on Amazon and they were already in my cart for $1 so I just bought them when I was buying a book.”

The big mystery is how did these Star Wars tapes end up in Aaron’s Amazon cart? Because his big dum-dum sister put them in there in the midst of her desperate hunt, thought it was her own cart, then forgot about it.

And so now we have two copies of the most prized edition of the original Star Wars trilogy.

 

General Public: I hate you, I love you.

I’ve made a recent career switch from education to retail. And with every job in retail comes Black Friday. It’s just a perfect example of how disgustingly materialistic Americans are. Do we really need pepper spray? We were initially celebrating the birth of our Savior, and now people fight over video games and stuffed animals.

What happened to all that Christmas cheer that Bing Crosby always sings about?

Being on the bottom of the totem pole, I get the honor of pushing lots and lots of carts. It’s amazing how in 15 minutes, I can absolutely hate the general public. 10 feet from the front of the store and you simply leave your cart stranded next to your car. Really? Or the ones who won’t walk 5 feet so they just launch their cart to the corral, hoping it makes it in. Nice. Then you have the people who make comments: “Shouldn’t they have a guy do that?” or my personal favorite, “You women wanted equal rights. Hope you like it.”

After a long work week with blisters on my toes, I’m finally resting my bones and reflecting on my many interactions. They weren’t all bad. One man came up to me as I was lassoing a line of carts and handed me a pair of work gloves. “Here,” he said, “this will help a lot.” Then the time the nice old gentleman returned his cart to the corral and left his smoothie in the cart. He came back, “Ma’am, did I leave a smoothie in there?”

“Yes,” I joked, “I thought you were giving it to me.” In all seriousness he replied, “Oh you can have it. Or, would you like me to get you one?” People can be so caring and sweet. They really make up for those jerks out there.

It’s great how you can make a connection with someone on a personal level and it brightens everyone’s day in a second. A girl walked through the checkout with a Harry Potter shirt on. Well that couldn’t go unnoticed! And after a customer’s purchase of the movie Elf I got into a conversation about She & Him’s Christmas album, which the lady had rented from the library. Who knew?

There’s the good, the bad, and the stupid when it comes to the general public. But the good really does makes up for the rest. Thanks to all those sweet strangers who are friendly, caring, and who empathize with a lowly cart pusher.

Happy Holidays!!

Obvious Observations with Brit

Did you ever notice in most zombie movies that the electricity is still on. Those girls in Zombieland had no problems switching on all the carnival rides. It’s a good thing that all those zombies were running the power plants for them. The Walking Dead got it right. “This shelter will self destruct in 30 minutes, our generators have lost their juice.”

I’ve never believed in Santa. Ever.  Too many contradictions. Santa is supposedly this unseen legend who lives at the North Pole and only leaves home on Christmas Eve to deliver the presents. So, why does he show up at all the malls across America to charge people to take pictures with him. And, if Santa brings the presents, why do parents go Christmas shopping. PLOT HOLES!

It’s illogical. Sorry I’m such a cynical unbeliever.

I went to the dentist on Thursday. It was the first time in 5 years. I was pretty sure I’d come out of there with set of dentures. Luckily, only two little cavities- but lots of plaque and tarter. The cleaning was terrible. I clenched the chair so hard as the dental hygienist scraped away the yuckies on my teeth. Then my gums bled all day. Note to self (and to everyone else who avoids the dentist): go to the dentist every year. Don’t be a dummy.

Good News!! I got a job. I’m super psyched about it. A) Making money rocks. B) Being around people regularly is healthy. The bad news is that enjoying the holidays might be tricky because (surprise!) I’ll have to work.

Yesterday I bought myself a pair of accessory glasses, mostly because I want to look like Buddy Holly. Though, Aaron thinks I’m a hipster. Personally, I think I just like going through phases. I was in an Aretha Franklin phase for a long time. I once was really into cheese. And another time it was steel drums.  As you can see, I also had a ukulele moment. I feel a Freddie Mercury stage coming on soon- Expect a mustache.

 

Ahh…the little things

I made a deal with myself that I wasn’t going to use this blog for a constant vent fest. As a result, I’m pretty infrequent in posting.  Everyday I find myself pining for travel and adventure. I wish I’d hurry up and and land a job already, to distract me a bit! I’ve been feeling pretty down lately, feeling stuck, and not having confidence in my future. T_T

So, in spite of the downward spiral of depression, I’m focusing on the little things. Those little nuggets of every day life that bring us joy.

When I was in Korea, I found myself in a similar yet reverse funk– yearning to be home. I was sad. I cried. I missed my family. I found myself embracing the small stuff- any little thing that would bring me joy. When I discovered that I could make a decent mac & cheese with limited Korean ingredients, I was ecstatic.

Last Thursday was the season premiere of Community, our new favorite show.  We had a themed dinner party to celebrate. It was just Josh and I. It was silly. But we had fun!

Big cookie: too much of a good thing

Then on Friday, my sweet hubby took me on an adorable date, reminiscent of our first one. After the bubble tea, we went on a hunt for a hookah pipe. Shisha is something that we have enjoyed with many different friends in Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Sitting around with good company, tasting the fruity flavors of the tobacco, and savoring sweet music in an exotic location: This is a formula for supreme life reflections.

After attaining our own hookah, we created yet another fun, superchill evening. And it refreshed my memory: I absolutely love spending time with Josh. He’s the ultimate hangout buddy, hands down. I love love love love love him.

score!

We can get so wrapped up in our own drama or self-loathing, that we don’t pay attention to the true richness of life. And I’m not saying that materialism is the key, either. Occasionally, we just need to appreciate something little to see the bigger picture.

Yeah, it’s unfortunate that I’m not traveling abroad right now. Or that I still don’t have a job. (boo-hoo) But this time at home is priceless. I get to enjoy comfort food. I get to cuddle with my puppy. And most importantly, I get to spend loads of time with my family!!

Life really is great. {Attitude successfully adjusted}

What little things bring you joy?

Are all girls really princesses?

It’s a topic that all girls think about. I know there were thousands of 20-something women around the world with broken hearts and a tinge of jealousy when Prince William married his fair maiden, Kate. Disney does it best. We are absolutely trained for our fairy tale happy ending. Let’s fill in the blanks: ________ is having trouble with ______. She must overcome the evil _______ so she can end up with handsome Prince ______. Result: I am entitled to “happily ever after” with Prince Charming. This is the message I got when I was 4 years old.

It is really odd for me to write something like this because I am in a great marriage and I honestly feel that I have found a prince. One of my dear friends is getting married this weekend, and it just got me thinking. I thought back to when I was a little girl and of all the messages I was hearing from various places. Bear with me. This is by no means a guy bashing post. Rather, it’s more about every little girls disillusionment that seems to be passed down from generation to generation.

I think the worst upon worst is The Little Mermaid, which also happens to be my childhood favorite. Go fig. Thanks, Walt Disney, for the great expectations.

Don't get me started on her outfit...

Summary of The Little Mermaid:

Ariel sees this totally gorgeous guy from the wrong side of the tracks (or water). Her father forbids her from seeing him. So she does what, you ask? Oh right, she rebels, gives it all up for some guy, all the while abandoning the family and friends who love her and only want the best for her. Good thing that guy was a prince.

Now, doesn’t that just mirror so many (obviously) failed relationships that occur in reality? The only difference is in that real life, the happy ending is just several cartons of Ben & Jerry’s and maybe a few months of recovery time before a new  independent-woman attitude is found. It is not the charming prince, but another jerk who hurt a girl.

Disclaimer: I realize that not all guys are jerks, and princes can be found.

But girls sure do put a lot of pressure on guys (when they find a good one). This is all thanks to romantic comedies. Yay! Now, my favorite little gem in this category is When Harry met Sally. At the start, Meg Ryan cannot stand Billy Crystal, but after a few coincidental meetings they become friends, and their friendship grows into love. Couldn’t we all be that lucky? Sure it sounds pretty dull; but in the film, Harry is thoughtful, funny, and he always offers a shoulder to cry on. It makes us women weak in the knees.

Back to the question: Are all girls really princesses?

In fifth grade, I was told yes, every girl everywhere is a princess. In the movie, A Little Princess even the poor servant girl was a princess, once she had some nice clothes and a friend.  Is that all it takes to make a princess, if you don’t have a prince?

The dictionary defines it quite simply. Princess – n. a nonreigning female member of a royal family. That’s lame. Nothing about handsome men, fine clothes, or friends! But I guess the word royal gives easy access to all of those things.

After all this, it means nothing to me to be a princess. Because however you use it, it refers to some type of entitlement. When and if I have a little girl, I don’t want her thinking she’s a princess. I don’t want Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, and the lot of them to be her role models. I don’t want her to think being pretty and submissive is going to get her a prince, and that he’s all she needs. It doesn’t always work like that.

I don’t want my little girl to think she needs to wear expensive clothes and be popular to be a worthwhile human being either. That’s a big ol’ pile of crap. I didn’t really intend for this to be a soapbox on how I plan on raising my kids, so I apologize for that.

The definition of prince is the same as princess, male of course. But nonreigning royalty sounds pretty bland. Most girls like to define a prince as handsome, romantic, caring, heroic, and usually wealthy. Disney movies are the gateway drugs to chick flicks. The delusion never ends for us girls. Poor guys, expected to hold a boombox blaring Peter Gabriel outside your bedroom window (Say Anything). That’s a hard act to follow.

So, assuming that a great guy (a prince) finds his soul mate (a princess). There still is no happily ever after! It isn’t all rainbows and butterflies after you find “the one.” Sorry to pop your balloon. There’s good AND bad. Kids, you’ve just got to deal with it. You aren’t entitled to 100% happiness, 100% of the time. Why don’t they make Disney movies like that? I’d love to see Ariel and Eric 20 years later. Is she bitter that she traded in her fins and left her family? Does he make comments about her gaining weight and not fitting into that seashell bra anymore?

Another funny thing that I often find myself doing is giving myself treats because I deserve it. I’m going to buy myself some chocolate because I’m a princess I had a rough day. Seriously? All this stems from the movies and tv I watched as a child? Oy.

We should  be happy with the life we’re living. And we need to enjoy every little morsel of it without unrealistic expectations. That means embracing it with or without a prince, things, or popularity.

There are so many women I know who are doing just that. They know what they have to work with, despite the rough patches, they’re living their life to the fullest. I love them, and I’m so proud of them. I hope you all know who you are. These are the women who I now admire. Ariel, you’re history!

I do wish I had a job. It’s getting a little old sending out applications. Maybe it is a little lame that I’m back to living in my parents’ basement. This definitely isn’t that perfect happy ending scenario I pictured after saying “I do.” But that’s alright. I’m not entitled to anything. The author Leo Tolsoy once said, “If you want to be happy, be.” That’s exactly what I plan to do. I’m going to take what I’ve got, and be happy. Princess or not.

The Thesis

I find it kind of embarrassing to admit that I really want to be a writer. That’s like saying I want to be a pop singer or professional baseball player. It just sounds ridiculous.

And besides, even if I would decide to shoot for my dream, I need a schtick. Every successful writer has it in some form or another. There’s Nicholas Sparks’ always teary ending of lost love. Or in the case of Jennifer Weiner: the chubby girl gains a sense of self worth (and ends up with her dream guy). Always the same, but we still love them.

Then you have those epic one-hit wonders that draw massive cult followings. They had something so good (or not) that it sells like hotcakes ie. Harry Potter or (gag) Twilight. Why didn’t I think of a school for wizards? Who knew vampires would be the next big thing?

Once in awhile, a person will have an experience so awesome or unique that it spawns a memoir (see Eat Pray Love or Running with Scissors). The one that gets me every time is Julie Powell’s blog turned book Julie & Julia, all because she had the brilliant idea to cook her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And you know, there are millions of bloggers out there hoping that they have that fresh angle that will make them a “real writer.” Kind of like me.

But, it’s a pipe dream. It’s taken me a long time to admit that I want to be a writer, to have a book published and be quasi-famous for it. Even after the past year of semi-unique and awesome experiences, I have nothing to show for it except for a Chinese e-magazine post. With that said, the realist in me does not seriously expect that it’s going to happen. I don’t have a schtick, I don’t have an angle. I have nothing to hook an audience.

I don’t have cute kids to blog about and share their funny stories. I no longer have travel adventures to report. I’ve been unemployed for the last four months getting more discouraged and fatter as days go by. Essentially, I should have nothing to write about, and maybe I really don’t.

So here is my thesis statement: I’ve just come back from an amazing journey. My perspective has been broadened, and I see the world in a whole new light. And even though I feel that I’m coming back to an ultra dull life, I’m going to write. I’m not going to stick with a theme. I’m flying by the seat of my pants. This is my electric walkabout.