Wow, Thanks. I Feel Much Better Now!

Since I don't really know how to go about finding a good psychic, so I decided to just do my own tarot reading and film it for you guys. However, my camera has now started just shutting off for no apparent reason. So yeah, no video today. Anyway, it seemed at least semi-accurate but was not exactly encouraging. The way I do my spreads, the final card is supposed to be the outcome of the current situation. My last card was called "Challenge" #15 of the major arcana. I didn't like the book that came with my tarot cards, so I have been using a generic tarot book. When I looked up #15 in my book, it turns out that it's not normally called challenge (my cards were just trying to be nice), it's really called "The Devil" and it represents "negative thoughts" and being the "prisoner of poor choices". Awesome.  

Ⓥ Gets Me Every Time

I am probably the most jaded, desensitized, pessimistic person I know. Nothing really surprises me anymore; nothing really gets to me. Other people hear news stories about death, cruelty, injustice and become very upset about them, but not me. I know how the world is and, though I do want to help stop these things in any way I can, I am not remotely surprised when they happen.

Naturally, the things that always bothered me the most were instances of cruelty toward animals, but even those have ceased to be as powerful as they once were. I have seen so many images and videos, and read so many stories of the horrible things that happen to animals in our world that they no longer impact me the way they did before. They still provoke a sense of sadness for the animals and anger toward the humans responsible, but the feeling is sort of superficial now.

In a way, this is probably a good thing. If I felt the full extent of every terrible thing that humans do to animals, I doubt that I would be able to function at all. However, I still feel a pang of guilt every time I hear about these things and am able to just brush them off. I feel like I should feel these things more deeply; I mean, nothing I could feel seeing pictures of torture could ever compare to what the animals feel having to live through it. I just don't anymore though. I still care. I still desperately want to make things better for them. But I don't feel their pain the way I used to.

There is one thing that still gets to me though; one thing that still brings out a strong emotional response. That thing is children reacting to cruelty toward animals. Many of you have probably seen various videos going around the internet of very young kids learning that the food they are eating came from an animal (or similar situations), and being absolutely heartbroken about it. In some of these videos, the parents respond with compassion, but in others they seem to think of the whole thing as a joke. Either way, I can't help but be deeply moved by these videos.

I think there are two reason why they affect me so much, when nothing else does. First, this is the only situation in which I see anyone respond to the horrors of animal abuse with an appropriate level of revulsion. Children have not yet been desensitized the way the rest of us have, so they are able to react in the way that we all should, when faced with such awful truth. Seeing them feel the pain of this realization so deeply gives me some hope that someday things may actually change. Second, as glad as I am that these children have seen the truth, and as hopeful as I am that, because of that, they may truly be able to make a difference in the world, I can't help but feel sad for them. There is something inherently awful about watching someone's illusions about the world being shattered. They will never be able to recapture the innocence they once had; they will never again truly believe that the world is a good and kind place. I only hope that other people are as deeply affected by these videos as I am, and that they will be inspired to change the way they treat animals. Then, at least, these kids can grow up to know that they have made a difference and the pain they felt was not for nothing.  

I honestly think this is one of the most powerful videos I have ever seen. There is nothing gruesome, just pure, honest emotion and the love and compassion of a child for his friend.

Camper Update 2 (Video)

Since my sister and I still haven't managed to procure a reaper (I'm still hoping we have time before the end of the pepper growing season) and, therefore, I was not able to do another pepper review this week, I decided to just do a quick update on the camper. Sorry, I know that's not nearly as interesting as watching me try to burn myself to death from the inside out.

Humor

Here is another post from my old blog. Once again, this one still rings true after all this time. 

A lot of "funny" meat-eaters out there may think that vegetarians and vegans have no sense of humor. What other explanation could there possibly be for us not laughing when they make hilarious jokes like "if we're not supposed to eat animals why are they made out of meat?" Well, there is a very good explanation. That's not fucking funny! In fact, that is so not funny that I want to rip your face off when you say it.

Shortly after Riley and Petunia (my adopted pigs, for those who don't know) came to live with me, some guy was driving by and saw me walking toward the barn. He stopped and asked me what was in there. When I told him they were two pigs he laughed and said "are their names ham bone and pork chop?" I'm sure he thought I was quite rude because, not only did I not laugh at his remarkable wit, I simply said "no" and walked away from him. Though I'm sure it did seem that way, I didn't do this to be rude. I did it because, had I tried to stay and talk to him, I would have said something much more rude than "no".

I have actually had several people make similar jokes about Riley and Petunia and I know at least most of them are not trying to upset me. They genuinely think they're being funny. But if I made a joke about murdering your family would you think it was funny? Riley and Petunia are my family. And when you make jokes about eating other animals it's like making a joke about murdering someone else' family, still not funny.

The truth is that most vegetarians, vegans and animal rights activists do have a sense of humor. Most of us are quite capable of laughing at ourselves. Personally, I will not be offended if you make fun of me, of vegans in general, of vegan food, of whatever. Just don't make fun of the animals who are suffering, because that will never be funny.

I am a fairly stereotypical vegan. I'm socially awkward. I dress weird. I eat strange things. I like animals better than people. I buy environmentally-friendly everything. And the list goes on. There is plenty of comedic material there. Make as many jokes about that as you want.

A lot of vegan food is pretty weird. It also happens to be quite delicious, healthy and not made of the flesh or secretions of tortured animals, but none the less it is kind of weird. Yesterday I happened upon this image

and thought it was hilarious! I love Tofurkey, but it is sort of inherently funny and most omnivores are rather horrified by it.

The point is, when animal rights activists don't think you're funny it's not because we're so full of ourselves that we can't take a joke. It's because what may seem like a joke to you is just a heartbreaking reminder of the fact that animals are being tortured and killed to us. Suffering isn't funny. If you took a moment to try and see things from our perspective, you might realize how horrible what you're saying sounds to us.

So the next time you see me, if you want to point out the fact that I am entirely incapable of having a normal conversation with another human, or inquire about the mud stains on my jeans (which are there because Riley and Petunia smear mud on me and I'm not willing to use chemical based laundry detergent to get it out) go right ahead. Just don't try to pretend that there is anything funny about what happens to animals in this society, because there isn't. Thanks.

Give It a Shot

Today my sister and I are going to Connector Art's artist and artisan fair in Fairmont, at Palatine Park, if you get a chance you should come check it out. I'm not holding out much hope for actually selling anything, based on past experience with this sort of thing, but you never know I guess. It seems like it might be kind of fun though.

On a totally unrelated note, I think I have everything I need for my Typhoid Mary photo shoot. My swords came yesterday, and I bought the last little pieces for the outfit. I still have to paint the swords and do a little bit of sewing and whatnot. Other than that it's basically ready though. I thinks it's going to be pretty fucking cool.

Necessary Expense

I went back to Aikido last night. There were only two other people there, plus the sensei, my friend and a woman who is a brown belt. It worked out really well because I worked one-on-one with either the sensei or the brown belt pretty much the whole time, which is good since I still have basically no idea what I'm doing.  

Anyway, we learned this one move that requires you to lift the other person's arm up behind their back and them swing it down and forward "like a sword." When the sensei told me this, I informed him that I hadn't worked with swords yet. So he got out one of their training swords and showed me how to do the basic movement. This was really cool because 1-I've always wanted to learn how to use a sword (you know, because it's such a practical skill to have) and 2-I may have ordered a pair of training katanas on Amazon, for my Typhoid Mary photo shoot, and now I at least know the proper way to hold them. 

I couldn't help it, the shoot just wouldn't have been right without the swords. Plus, these were a good investment because they are wood instead of metal so I can use them when I get to that point in Aikido. I'll just have to paint the blades for the shoot. Plus, this set was cheaper than most of the single steel swords.

Coming Soon to a Computer Screen Near You

I just thought I would give you guys a heads up on some things that I have planned for this blog in the near future.

1- Starting next week I will be posting a series of videos (which, by the way, are much better quality than my regular videos because my sister helped me with them) of me "reviewing" a selection of ridiculously hot peppers. The will include a ghost pepper, and at least two that are hotter than the ghost pepper. So yeah, hopefully you guys will get some amusement from my pain.

2- I think I can now say with confidence that my new body weight exercises are working! I'm pretty pleased with the results I've been getting, especially since I was half afraid I was going to end up losing the results I had gotten from my workout with the sandbags. Because of this, I wanted to get some new pictures taken, and my sister has agreed to take them for me. You guys probably don't care about this, but I'm kind of looking forward to them. I think I might get kind of ridiculous with them this time, do some crazy shit.

3- Okay, so I have this idea.......I can't decide if I'm actually going to go through with it or not. I feel like it could be fun, or it could just be really fucking embarrassing. I think I've mentioned a few times how I've always wanted to try acting, but never really had the opportunity? Well, at this point I think I can safely say that's never going to happen. I still think it would be fun though. So I had this idea that I might make some fake audition videos for parts that I would want to play. I don't know though...........maybe.....maybe......

Peach ghost pepper ^

Ⓥ The Price of Success

Most people probably don't pay much attention to this, because it just doesn't seem particularly relevant to them, but vegans tend to keep a pretty close eye on the companies they support. We like to buy from companies we can believe in. When you do start to pay attention, you notice that formerly animal-friendly companies are constantly making decision that go against everything that they supposedly stood for.

Recently, there was a slew of non-animal testing cosmetic companies that decided to begin testing on animals so that they could sell their products in China, where animal testing is still required by law. You would think that selling in every other country in the world would be good enough, but these companies decided that missing out on the profits from that one country was so unacceptable that they would rather sell out not only the animals but also all of their loyal customers who care about animals.

Then, of course, there are all the vegan food companies that get bought out by larger companies that also sell animal products. I suppose this isn't quite as bad, because those particular products are still vegan, but it just feels so much more ethical to buy from a company that is completely committed to protecting animals than to a vegan sub-section of an abusive conglomerate. Not to mention the fact that if these people were to hold onto their businesses and slowly expand them, they might eventually be able to put the corporations built on animal products out of business.

The problem is that, for the most part, the second a company starts to make money they inevitably decide that they need to make more. And most of them are willing to toss their morals out the window to do so. It's just so strange to me that it's so easy for people with very little money to put their beliefs and values first, but those who experience some level of success forget what was once so important to them.

Why is it easier for people to stick to their beliefs when they have fewer resources than it is when they have more? You would think that it would be easier to commit to a cause, knowing that you have more to offer and less to worry about. If you knew that you had plenty of money to get by, wouldn't you think that would make you more inclined to use the excess to do some good? This doesn't seem to be the case though.

I would understand if we were talking about different sets of people here, people with more money vs. people with less money. Maybe people who have successful companies have a certain level of selfishness that prevents them from committing to a cause? But that's not the case. These are the same people who started out trying to do the right thing and then later decided that the right thing wasn't so important anymore. My question is, how, and why, does this happen? Why is it that success make people forget everything they once cared about?

I ordered this online and was really excited when I got it, and saw the packaging. This ^ is on the front, and on the back it says "Teach peace. Be nice to mice!" I thought "Any company that prints that on their products has to be completely ethical, right?" Well, I looked them up, and it turns out they also make glue traps (for bugs, not mice, but still.).

Come Gather Round, Friends, and I'll Tell You a Tale

I want to tell you guys a little story about an interaction that I had a few nights ago.

It was around 10:00, and I was walking down the hill to the pig barn, water buckets in hand. I noticed headlights far in the distance and thought "If I hurry, I can get to the barn before they get here." because when a car passes, I have to crowd over into the weeds on the side of the road to avoid being hit. Unfortunately, it was pitch black out and the road next to the barn contains several of the worst pot-holes I have ever seen in my life. This meant that rushing could easily result in twisted ankles and/or spilled water buckets.

So I just kept walking at a careful pace and moved into the weeds when the vehicle got close. It turned out to be a large pickup truck being driven by a guy with a buzz-cut. Instead of just moving on by (you know, so I could climb back out of the waste-high weeds and get on with my life?) He stopped in the middle of the road, right beside me. I will now recount for you the conversation that followed.

Guy- Hey! You feedin' them hogs?
Me- (Well, I am carrying water buckets to the barn so.....) Yeah.
Guy- Them are some pretty big hogs.
Me- Yeah.....they're pretty big.
Guy- So you gonna butcher 'em or what?
Me- (GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!) No.......they're just.......they're rescues.
Guy- Rescues.......?!
Me- Yeah.
Guy- You from around here?

At this point, I assumed he was making a joke. Like, "You obviously can't be from here because no one around here would ever have rescue pigs" (hurhur).

Me- Yeah, I do.
Guy- I've lived here my whole life, and I never seen you before.

At this point, I realize that he was not, in fact, making a joke. He was actually asking me if I was from here.

Me- (Seriously!? No, I just travel around the country, feeding other people's pigs at 10:00 at night. What the fuck?) I live right up there.
Guy- Oh yeah?.......Hey, what is the name of the people who live up there?
Me- Metz.
Guy- Right. So what's your name?
Me- Whitney Metz.
Guy- Well, you look like you're kind of struggling with those buckets, hahah.
Me- (Grrrr. Snarl, poorly disguised as a smile) No, I got it.

I immediately realized this was a mistake, because I'm sure it sounded to him like I was encouraging him to continue talking. When what I was actually trying to do was assure him that I was not some weakling who was incapable of carrying a couple of buckets.

Guy- Hey, do you know........

He then proceeds to list names of my relatives as I confirm that I do, in fact, know them.

Guy- Hey, be careful down there. There's a big bees nest on the barn.
Me- (Yeah, I'm down there every fucking day, and the thing is about two feet long. I kind of noticed it. Also, they're yellow jackets, not bees.) Yeah, I know. It's been there for a while.
Guy- Yeah.....? (Look of utter confusion)

Apparently, allowing a bees nest to continue to exist on the side of my barn for an extended period of time was what it took for the guy to finally decide that I was too crazy to talk to anymore.

Anyway, this was one of the most awkward conversations I have ever had. And, for me, that's saying something.

The title is a reference to this ^ song.

   

Ⓥ Compromises

I try my best never to compromise when it comes to my beliefs. I make a point never to do things that I will have to feel guilty for later. I am especially strict when it comes to matters of animal rights; I am probably one of the pickiest vegans in the world. I do everything in my power to avoid harming any living being, even the ones that many other vegans don't take into consideration (like various "pests").

Unfortunately for me, I live in a place where compromise on these issues is often necessary just to get by in society. I think one of the necessities of the animal rights cause is to attempt to spread the message that animals deserve better than the way our society treats them, to as many people as possible. However, it is simply not feasible for me to be open about my feelings about the treatment of nonhuman animals here. I have to deal with people on a daily basis who are involved in animal exploitation, in one way or another. At work, I end up talking to hunters, farmers, breeders, and even people involved in rodeos. I can't exactly tell these people what I think about the things they do. I'm pretty sure I would get fired, and it really doesn't seem like a good idea to get on the bad side of everyone who lives in my area.

As much as I hate the activities encouraged by this culture, I do still live here and therefore am required to deal with the locals, whether I like it or not. I feel like, in the long run, it's probably better to be "the vegan girl who gets along okay with everyone" than to be "the angry animal rights activist who antagonizes her neighbors". I still don't like it though. It's not that I actually believe I could change their minds if I did tell them how I feel, but it still feels like a betrayal of my beliefs to stay silent.

As if dealing with this in normal social situations isn't enough, I have to face it even more because of Riley and Tuni. There aren't exactly separate stores for people who want to buy feed for rescued farm animals, and if there were they certainly wouldn't be in West Virginia. This means that every time I have to buy pig food, I have to interact with other people who are buying food for farmed animals, and not one of them is doing it for the same reason I am.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, sometimes no matter how hard you try not to, you do have to make compromises, even when it comes to the things that matter most to you. I can only hope that someday this will not be the case, but for now I can see no way around it. I tell myself that, as long as I stay true to my beliefs, it doesn't matter whether I express those beliefs to the rest of the world or not. I'm not certain that I really believe that though.

That's a Little Better

My (online) human interaction went a little better today. I decided to give one more try to the whole commenting on posts thing, and this time I actually got a very nice comment back, and a couple of "likes". So that was cool. Also, someone posted what the called a "vegan friend bomb" and said to comment if you were open to friend requests from others in the group. I commented and now I have so many new vegan friends! Of course, in all likelihood, I will never actually talk to any of them but it's still nice to have them there. Plus, I got a really encouraging comment, from a real-life friend, on yesterday's post which made my situation seem a little less hopeless.

On a totally unrelated note, I'm probably going to post my video tomorrow because I feel like I might have something more interesting to talk about on Wednesday. You see, I have been invited to an Aikido class tomorrow night, and I feel like that is bound to yield interesting talking points.  

Broken

I swear, there is seriously something broken in me that makes it physically impossible for me to have healthy interactions with other people. Every time I say this to anyone they say "No, you just have to try harder." But the harder I try, the worse it gets. It's like I'm just fucking invisible (and inaudible) until someone wants something or sometimes, until someone feels like bitching at somebody.

I've been trying desperately to force myself to talk to people more, in the hope that eventually I will either get better at it or find someone who I feel comfortable talking to, even if only online. Over time, I have joined quite a few vegan groups on Facebook, but I almost never actually participate in any discussions. So a few days ago, I joined this new group and decided "I'm going to participate this time!" Amazingly, I actually have been. I've been answering people's questions, and even offering a little bit of semi-personal information a couple of times. Yet, I have managed to have not one single meaningful interaction with anyone. The only interaction I have had at all was when I somehow managed to incur the wrath of one of my fellow members after offering advice to a different member who had asked about vegan cat food. 

This is why I don't talk to people; it inevitably ends in either disappointment, when I am overlooked entirely, or an increase in my level of misanthropy, when I end up involved in some sort of conflict that I never wanted. Seriously, what is it about the way I communicate that causes people to react with either utter disinterest or unwarranted hostility? 

Guess what? Not that fucking simple!

Ⓥ Food Chain

This is something that I have been thinking about for years, and writing last week's post, about Cecil, sort of reminded me of it. In light of all of that happened with him, I hope no one takes this the wrong way. I have no scientific basis for this theory, it's simply a thought I had that has stuck with me over the years. I only mention it here because I often still find myself wondering about it.

Have you noticed that it seems that the majority of species that are threatened, or engangered, or that have increasingly low populations tend to be carnivores? Obviously they are not the only ones, but there seem to be very few carnivores who aren't, in some way, at risk. Now, obviously, a very large part of this is caused by humans. We see carnivores as threats, either to ourselves or to animals that we raise for food. Humans simply cannot stand the idea that they may not be the most dangerous species around, and therefore feel the need to kill any other species they perceive as competition.

However, I have often wondered if there is another reason why the carnivore populations seem to be declining so much. I think that perhaps nature is gradually moving away from the need for animals who depend upon the flesh of other animals for survival. When you think about it, it's really not a necessary thing for animals to kill one another at all. Nature has a way of keeping things in balance without this violence. Everyone thinks that (as it is often used to justify hunting) if no one kills the herbivorous animals they will become overpopulated and end up dying from starvation. This is true to some extent, but it would only take a few generations for them to adjust. Animals who are often prey for other animals, or humans, procreate in excess to compensate for the number of them that are killed. If they were no longer being killed, they would soon start producing fewer offspring.

Furthermore, the food chain becomes less and less stable closer to the top. At the bottom, where the herbivores are,there are lots of options. If something happens that one plant species is no longer available, there are about a thousand others to choose from (at least for most animals). Further up though, there are fewer options. If, for some reason, a carnivore is unable to attain the animal he normally depends upon for food, he is in a lot of trouble. The entire system would be much more sustainable if no animals had to depend on other animals for food. As much as our planet has been changing in recent years (albeit due almost entirely to humans, and our irresponsibilty) I'm afraid that it will soon become necessary for all beings to be more flexible with their diets.

I'm also starting to suspect that there may be some sort of transition happening in the mentality of some predator animals. I have seen quite a lot of stories in recent years about animals, usually (but not always) domesticated ones, befriending other animals who would normally be considered food for them. There have even been instances of carnivorous animals raising orphaned herbivores. I can tell you from experience that my cat (one of them, though not the other) has always shown almost no interest whatsoever in hunting. I have never known him to kill even so much as a bug, though he does enjoy watching them sometimes. And I have seen many other stories of other people's cats who seem to be equally nonviolent.

I just can't help but wonder if the dwindling number of carnivores in the wild, and the apparent trend of normally predatory animals losing interest in killing, might be nature's way of moving toward a more peaceful existence. Whether it is or not, the best thing that we can do is to stop interfering (by this I mean killing animals and destroying the environment) and allow nature to sort things out as it sees fit. The less damage we cause, the easier it will be for other species, and the planet as a whole, to make the best of all that we have already done to disrupt the system.

Convenient!

I discovered something pretty cool (at least in my opinion) recently. You know how I usually use henna on my hair? but that I get the best results by leaving it on overnight (which is kind of a pain in the ass)? Well, I have found the most convenient way to color my hair ever. It doesn't come out quite as bright as I would like, but it's totally worth it. I have been putting Manic Panic in my conditioner.....That's it, that's all. I started doing it because I hoped it would help keep it brighter between colorings. Then, at some point I realized that my roots should have grown out a long time ago, but that I didn't seem to have any showing. So yeah, not only does it save me the hassle of coloring my hair, but it also saves me from ever having to deal with my roots growing out, and looking stupid until I get around to coloring them.

If anyone wants to give it a try, I used the Vampire Red (but there are lots of colors I think would probably work well) and put a lot of it in my bottle of conditioner. I wash my hair first thing, when I get in the shower and let the conditioner soak in while I'm shaving and whatnot. Be forewarned, the stuff will also stain your hands but I have found that it washes back off by the time I get out of the shower (I take really long showers, so there is a chance that won't happen for everyone, but if you just wash your hands a couple of times you should be fine). Anyway, just thought I would share my little discovery with you guys.

Keep in mind that the colors olny come out like this ^ if you bleach your hair first. The conditioner method will only give you a slight tint, but mine comes out looking much closer to Vampire Red than to my natural color, Gray-ish Brown. 

Postponed

Today is supposed to be my animal rightsy post day. I do have one that I've been working on, but it's not ready yet. So I'm going to put it off until tomorrow or the next day, so I can take the time to make it a little better. Anyway, since I'm not doing my animal rights posts today, I thought I would take this time to ask you guys a question.

When I get moved into my camper, I'm thinking of setting up a space to do videos. I'm wondering if you guys would rather see more video blogs and less written blogs? I know there are a lot of people who would rather watch videos than read posts, and I'm wondering if I should start leaning more toward a video blog? What do you think?

My New Home (Video)

Here is the video I promised of my new camper. Don't judge it too harshly, it doesn't look great right now but I think it has a lot of potential.

Look What I Got!

Yesterday, my dad and I went to Home Depot to get some stuff for my camper. We got a hot water tank, and some plumbing stuff (not terribly exciting) but I also got something that I am pretty excited about. Try not to laugh, okay? I bought some of those weird puzzle-piece foam tiles, like they put down in classrooms for small children. Here's my reason, I have been thinking forever about putting some kind of mats down in my exercise room and I thought that, since we have to replace the floor in there anyway, I might as well go ahead and do it the way I want to. I've been working out on various rugs my whole life, and it's just awful! They slide, they don't provide nearly enough cushioning, and (here's my favorite part) they give me fucking rug-burn on my shoulder blades and tailbone when I do sit-ups! Now, for the first time in my life, I might actually be able to do my workout without slightly injuring myself every time.

And I don't even give a shit if it looks like I'm living in a kindergarten classroom.

Riveting Update

I just thought I would let you guys know that I got all of my blueberries dried. It didn't work quite as well as I had hoped, but I suppose they aren't too bad. The first batch came out more like freeze-dried than dehydrated. I wanted them to be like raisins, but instead they were more like a combination of gravel and dried leaves. Of course, I ate them anyway, but it was kind of unpleasant. I dripped some water on them, to add some of the moisture back, and that seems to have worked pretty well. Now if they just don't mold or anything I'll be good to go.

This is what I was going for......not so much what I got.

To make up for the really boring post, here is the trailer they just released for Suicide Squad. If you haven't seen it yet, it's ridiculously creepy/disturbing/amazing! 

Lazy-ish

I know I've talked about this before, but I don't have anything better to talk about, so I'll just reiterate. I'm so lazy, in the most ridiculous ways! I will put absurd amounts of effort into certain things, but other things (that require far less effort) get completely ignored. It seems like I'm really good at making myself do things as long as I do them everyday, but things that only need to be done occasionally get put off for-fucking-ever. I literally have to make myself do things every day, even if they don't need to be done every day, just to make sure they get done at all. For example, my nails haven't been painted for like two weeks now, simply because I haven't bothered with them. I hate the way my hands look without polish, but not enough to actually paint them. It's not even so much the painting that bugs me, as the waiting for them to dry. It's just so fucking inconvenient! I need to be able to use my hands! I don't have the patience to wait around for my damn nails to dry.

At this point, I'm actually starting to get used to the no polish look.

Another Bright Idea

Yesterday my mom, my sister and I went to pick blueberries. I thought that it might be nice to dry some of my own fruit. See, I eat a shit-ton of raisins and I've been wanting to try something else, but everything is just too fucking expensive. So instead, I thought I would buy a dehydrator, then spend a couple hours picking berries, then pay eighteen dollars a gallon for them, then spend many hours letting them dry, after which they will most likely not add up to enough to last me for more than a week. Yet another of my brilliant ideas in action.

Also, the blueberry bushes were covered in weird, angry caterpillars. Like these^.