20 Things that Drive Me CRAZY

A common question on most questionnaires is "What is your pet peeve?" I have always had a hard time thinking of an answer to this. I do not mind people who pop their fingers or grind their teeth. Eating with your mouth open won't bother me a bit. Neither will humming. I don't even get road rage and grammar mistakes aren't as annoying as they probably should be for a future English teacher. But the truth is so many things drive me crazy. They just aren't common things. So here is a list of really strange, incredibly stupid things that drive me absolutely bonkers.

1. Bathroom stalls that don't go all the way to the ceiling. There is the bathroom in Andrews Hall on campus and when I stand up I can see people washing their hands. I can't even use that bathroom. 

2. When people leave empty boxes or bags in the fridge or pantry. There is nothing as exasperating as reaching for a granola bar and only finding an empty box. 

3. Going along with the last one, when people open bags or boxes upside-down. Why?

4. Socks. Just in general. I can't stand socks. They make my feet both sweaty and cold at the same time and I don't know why. I try to pull them off as soon as I get home.

5. When your recliner just won't go down. 

6. How dirty keyboards get. They are impossible to clean too. Ick.

7. Really small desks. Just because I am in college doesn't mean I am able to write on a desk that's the size of my hand. 

8. Driving with the sun in your eyes. 

9. When my eye itch and I have mascara and eyeliner on. The struggles of being a girl.

10. Ice cream with chunks of ice in it. It makes me cringe thinking about it.

11. When a strand of hair sticks to you in the shower and you can't get it off.

12. Having to share armrests at the movie theatre on both sides.

13. When the toilet paper is on the roll wrong. It should always, always roll clockwise.

14. Having to go to the bathroom after you have a one-piece swimsuit on. 

15. Too much ice in my drink at restaurants. You are just going to have to refill it for me more.

16. When I get mail addressed to someone else. This keeps happening in my new apartment. They don't live here anymore.

17. Brown and black together in an outfit. I understand they are both neutral colors. But they don't go together. (As a side note, I believe everyone perceives colors differently and this may be why this color combination looks good to other people. http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/your-red-same-my-red)

18. Headphones that are always tangled no matter what you do.

19. When the string in your hoodie or sweatpants gets stuck inside and it completely worthless.

20. Wobbly tables. How does this even happen?

Interesting Questions

I found this list of questions and thought I'd answer them for fun since I didn't have any other prompts this week. Maybe you'll learn something new about me...I actually might have learned about myself. Feel free to answer some about yourself in the comments too!

*What was your favorite childhood toy?

This is tough. I don't remember being much into Barbies or dolls. I remember a shopping cart that I pushed around and safari animal figurines that I played with a lot with my cousins. I also remember spinning a globe a lot although I'm not sure that counts as a toy. The one that stand out to me was Rajah, a stuffed tiger from Aladdin. I remember sleeping with him most nights. I have no idea what happened to him.

*If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

Depends on if this is a physical characteristic or a personality trait. Physically, I change my skin to get rid of my chicken skin and stretch marks. Personality-wise, I'd want to be more comfortable meeting new people I guess.

*Which character from a book would you most like to be?

It's probably cliché but I have to go with Hermione Granger. She is so confident in who she is and strong and smart and has awesome friends. And she can do magic of course.

*Favorite kind of weather?

Definitely sunny and warm. I do like rain and thunderstorms a lot, but nothing beats a day when there is no clouds in the sky and you can feel the sun on your skin. One of my favorite feelings in the world in when you are in a cold building and you walk outside in the summer.

*If you could travel in time, when and where would you go?

This is hard! I have no idea. I think I'd go back to when something momentous was built. Like the pyramids or Stonehenge or Mayan temples or the Great Wall. Those things fascinate me and I want to know WHY? Why would they build them and how did they do it. It just sounds intriguing to me.

*Favorite and least favorite article of clothing?

Favorite is jackets. Which doesn't make sense since I love summer but I just love jackets. I have so many of them, it's ridiculous. My least favorite as of right now is leggings. They are not pants people. I can't tell you how many times I've seen girls underwear through their leggings in the past few years.


That's all for now. I'll probably come back to some of these as writing prompts later. Have a terrific Tuesday!

Being Part of a Team

Until recently I'd never been part of a team. You don't notice that you've been missing something your whole life until it happens to you. As I get closer to my "real job", I have collaborated a lot with colleagues in the process of learning to create lesson plans and manage classrooms. This group dynamic, working toward a common goal, is revitalizing. I couldn't figure out why I loved working with others so much when I used to despise anything that involved the words "team" or "group." So I've reflected and realized it's because I never had a functioning team effort before.

Sometimes the lack of teamwork in my past was my fault. I chose to take on all the work in every group project I was ever in for school because I wanted it "done right." I did an individual project for FCCLA and individual events for the most part on the speech team. When I joined clubs, I either let others do the work or completely controlled an event. I never wanted to collaborate on any pages in the yearbook. Other times, it wasn't entirely my fault. In volleyball, I was bullied by the other players and pushed aside by my coaches because I wasn't coordinated or athletic. The same held true for softball as a kid. The plays I was in in high school should have been a group effort, but I think everyone was out to be the best they could be (or just goof off) instead.

The key is, now that I understand I was missing the group dynamic, to continue working with others. I think teaching can be an isolating job if you choose to make it that way. If I take on 100+ kids next year and decide I can handle everything they through my way on my own, I will be missing out on valuable information from others who have had similar experiences. Every person has something to contribute and it is so exciting to work together sometimes.

13 Reasons Why Spongebob Is Awesome

Some of you may be laughing right now, thinking this is a joke. And others are thinking, "Oh Roxie and her Spongebob." Spongebob has always been my "guilty pleasure." I still get home after school (now teaching) and turn on Nickelodeon to unwind. But I really don't think I have to be embarrassed by this show. Spongebob is an amazing show. And this is why.

1. The characters are completely original. I have actually heard people refer to others as "Squidwards" before.  They are memorable and unique.

2. The voice actors are awesome. I can recognize Spongebob's laugh from across a room and smile.

3. IMAGINATION. Whenever I hear this word, I imagine a rainbow between Spongebob's hands. Only viewers of the show will get that one, but it's probably one of my top 10 episodes. Overall though, the show uses so much imagination, it makes us think outside the box too.

4. The songs are catchy. I have often caught myself humming the FUN song or Best Day Ever when I'm happy (and sometimes Goofy Goober).

5. The show has had guest stars including Johnny Depp, P!nk, and Amy Poehler.

6. Spongebob has a crappy job with a terrible boss and mean coworker and still manages to love his job. "I'm Ready. I'm Ready. I'm Ready."---I sometimes need to tell myself this too.

7. For the most part, the show doesn't have to use bodily functions (farts, snot, or even vomit--ick!) to get laughs like most cartoons on television right now. I just happened upon a show called Sanjay and Craig the other day and the entire episode was about having gas. I'm not over-exaggerating.

8.The show has been running since 1999. It is one of the longest running animated series after The Simpsons and IS the longest running animated TV series for kids. So I'm not the only fan.

9. You honestly never know what's going to happen next. Because really anything goes in Bikini Bottom.

10. The friendships. Spongebob has Patrick, who is about the dumbest being on earth and makes him want to tear his hair out sometimes, and Sandy, who is a brilliant scientist and often talks way over his head, but it doesn't matter. Friendship transcends differences. That doesn't mean you don't fight. They blow up at each other all the time, but they always make up.

11. It's the little things. Even though Squidward always makes fun of him constantly for his hobbies, Spongebob is perfectly content blowing bubbles and jellyfishing.

12. The animation is often very detailed and really put the show above-par compared to competitors (Fun fact: The creator was originally a marine biologist and was inspired to draw based on weird creatures he observed.)

13. Pharrell had a Spongebob themed birthday party this year. He turned 41.

The World Isn't Black and White

Have you ever asked an 8th grader why they don't like something? If you haven't, I'll let you in on their response 90% of the time: "It's just stupid." It's a pretty clear cut statement and you can't argue with them. But I'm can't really be too frustrated when I get that response because that's exactly how I saw the world at that age too. There was only black or white. There were mean girls or nice girls. Things were stupid or cool. You were in the "in crowd" or you weren't.

I was personally one of the worst about this. I refused to go to movies that I thought would be "dumb." I would change the radio station if the music wasn't the genre was into at the time. I would judge people by one comment they made to me at one time that I completely overanalyzed. I hated math and biology just because they weren't my best subjects and even in English, my favorite subject, I didn't finish two books because "I got bored."

Recently, I have realized how much that has changed.  I spent a lot of time with family recently and realized there were many things about people I had known my whole life that I didn't know. I have also tried new things and/or tried things I didn't like the first time again and was pleasantly surprised. Books I used to just hate now have many redeeming qualities. I have heard many friends and classmates reveal the same sort of changes in their life recently. One friend has recently decided not all country music "sucks." Another made friends with someone she thought was "so mean" in high school.

Some of my classmates were recently telling me about how the students in their class were writing essays about how much better it was to be an adult than a kid. I laughed at the time, thinking how they wouldn't think that when they starting paying bills, but I would never go back to their age. Why? Because I love seeing the world in color. As I have grown up I have learned that the lines are not so clear cut and that is what makes the world so bright and beautiful.

Why I'm Not "All About that Bass"

So many (or most?) of you have heard the song "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor on the radio. It is constantly on and, despite my slightly misleading title, I usually turn it up. It is insanely catchy. But a few weeks ago I heard some girls talking about how "empowering" the song was. What?

Sure, the song rejects the idea of Barbie doll type proportions. There are a few lines about loving who you are. I guess I can see where the girls got the idea. But let me show some lines to you:

Yeah, my mama she told me don't worry about your size
She says, "Boys like a little more booty to hold at night."

So, first of all you are only worth as much as a boy tells you they are. Second, now girls aren't just worried about being skinny enough but also having enough "booty to hold at night." I remember when I was in high school, I had a conversation with a group full of girls about the "handful test." This was a test you gave yourself to make sure your boobs were big enough for a guy to grab onto. This line definitely reminds of these ridiculous standards we have.

Next, what in the world is this song even about??? The chorus to this song is I'm all about that bass 'Bout that bass, no treble.  I am not a musician by any means, but I played piano for several years and I understand the concepts of bass and treble. I obviously understand that bass is alluding to her rear end. I'm not entirely incompetent although my brother told me a few weeks ago that I was getting old and out of the loop (I'd never used the phrase "This is how we do.") Treble is higher notes and bass lower right? So when she says "no treble" does she mean no upper body? Or no going up, just getting down? I don't understand. I really don't. 

Back to the lack of empowerment. Here's another line:

But I can shake it, shake it
Like I'm supposed to do
'Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase
And all the right junk in all the right places

Here's my opinion. There is no "all the right junk in all the right places" girls. Everyone is shaped different. There is nothing wrong with "big booty." There is nothing from with being thin either. And don't try to kill yourself so the boys will chase you. Please. 

I will leave you with some wise and funny words from the wonderful Tina Fey. 

Things You Learn When Living Alone

"Aren't you going to get lonely?" That's what everyone asks when I tell them I'm living alone this year. It is a valid question. Many people go their whole lives without living alone with their families, roommates, and significant others always around. I have only been officially living here for 3 weeks now, but so far, the answer is no. I love it. But here are a few things I have learned already.

1. I can't wear necklaces or dresses with zippers in the back. No one is there to help you latch or button things up. If you can't independently dress yourself, living alone may be a problem. I had no idea I owned so many difficult outfits and accessories until this month honestly.

2. The fridge is always going to look empty. It sometimes looks pathetic but when I am just cooking for myself, I don't need a stocked fridge.

3. I do miss conversations with roommates or family members. I don't miss having to be quiet when they're sleeping.

4. Coming home to silence is amazing. One of my favorite feelings in the world actually. I love the peace in a quiet apartment.

5. I can walk around in whatever clothes (or lack of them) that I want. I don't even have to close your bathroom door. It's sort of liberating.

6. It's not cheap. No splitting utilities or using your roommates dishes. It's up to me to pay for everything.

7. My bathroom gets ridiculously dirty for one person. Like I said, I've only been here 3 weeks and I was staring at my shower today wondering how in the heck a shower gets dirty. Doesn't it clean itself?

8. There is not very many cheap options for food. Food goes bad quickly and it is always too much for one person. Ramen has become my best friend.

9. No one is there to judge you. I can pile up dishes for weeks or play Guitar Hero for a ridiculous amount of time instead of homework or take an hour nap at 7 pm for the heck of it and I don't have to explain my odd behavior to anyone.

10. I am super proud of my place. For the most part (not including dishes), I have kept this place cleaner and more organized than any other place I have lived. It is my space and I feel pride in how it looks even when I'm the only one who sees it.

11. I've learned problem solving. My TV wasn't working so I had to call around myself to get it fixed. The smoke alarm went off so I learned to disarm it as well as turn on the vent for future cooking.

So that's all for now. There may be a 2nd part to this blog post once I've lived alone longer. So far, so good. :)


(Note: There is a new addition to my blog this week. There should be a bookshelf image at the bottom of the page and it will always show the book(s) I am currently reading.)