5 Everyday Things that Make Me Nervous (Guest)

Here's a post from Nicolas D'Alleva about things that make him nervous.

There are some quirky examples in there and I especially love the kerosene story because I have my own "flammable liquid" incident. Here's the really quick version:

When I was working at a university front desk, we had someone piggyback into the building that shouldn't be there. He was older, dirty, likely drunk or at least mentally unstable, and started harassing my coworker. He opted to finally leave a message for the manager and agreed to leave. After writing down the message, he proceeded to wad up the paper and eat it. He left, though, and they were relieved, only for him to return a few minutes later with a bucket of oil that he flung across the counter, covering my coworker, the desk, the floor, everything. Holy cow! Fortunately he left for good after that.

Anyway, back to Nicholas. Do any of these things make you really nervous, too?

5. The Metal Detectors at Banks

I really don’t like those double door security entrances to banks. You know, the ones where you have to open a door, step through a metal detector, wait for the first door to close behind you, and then step through a second door. I seem to always have my laptop bag when I go to the bank, which always trips the detector, which makes me anxious for a moment. A few people in the lobby turn to look at you when they hear it, which can make you feel like you’re making other people feel nervous too. It must happen all day long, though, because the bank employees don’t give it much attention. I don’t really know what the purpose of these detectors is; they just indicate a person has something metallic with them, making the devices about as useful as if they detected wool or rubber or any other material.

Despite encountering this again and again, that beeping noise still makes me a bit nervous, so I might suppose their point is to deter would-be bank robbers from bringing in weapons. If someone has their mind set on robbing a bank, though; are they likely to be dissuaded by a device that reacts the same way to guns as it does to any number of harmless items? Is it really giving anyone a worthwhile heads-up to the possibility of someone with weapons in the room? Not if it just goes off all day long. I suspect there is more to this but, for me right now; they are just annoying and make me nervous.

4. Really Loud Express Trains on the Subway

When on the platform for the local train, I’m always caught off guard by the express trains. Between trains, the subway tunnel can be as quiet as a tomb and, suddenly, an express train will roar through at high speed. I’ve witnessed this happening hundreds of times and it continues to surprise me.

3. Mentally Unbalanced Homeless People

For the most part, I don’t mind encountering homeless people. Although it might be kind of sad to say, they largely blend in to their surroundings once you’ve become used to them. They hang out in doorways holding cups and asking for spare change, they ride public transportation, and they sleep on park benches. Despite their appearance, they usually won’t cause you any more harm than anyone else out there on the street. That is, of course, unless they are mentally unbalanced.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine encountered this sort of person while waiting for a bus. First the guy started talking about how he’s been having bad luck lately, then he started talking about some sort of conspiracy directed at him, then he started talking about the weather. He continued, changing the subject frequently, not making a whole lot of sense overall. Finally my friend asks him “What do you want? You’ve been going on and on and I get the impression you’re leading up to something, so… what do you want from me?” After a moment, the man’s eyes got wide and his face lit up in a crazed expression as he gave his answer, “KEROSENE!” Meeting someone who, inexplicably, is asking strangers in your neighborhood for a flammable substance is sure to be unsettling.

2. Low Cell Phone Battery

In the same way I suffer from cell phone separation anxiety, I get anxious when the battery gets low and I don’t have an opportunity to charge it. The concern isn’t so much that there will be an emergency and I need to contact someone. I could just borrow a phone from someone or use a nearby landline for that. No, I get anxious because I’m out of touch. If my battery dies and a friend wants to tell me about something cool going on later that day, I’d be losing out. If someone needs to ask me something urgent, they’ll be inconvenienced until later when I can finally answer their text message. I know it’s ridiculous how attached society has become to their cell phones, but it is still uncomfortable when one of your main modes of communication is out of commission.

1. Icy Roads and Sidewalks

For a large part of the year, I don’t have to worry about slipping and falling suddenly on the sidewalk. Crashing my car is hardly a daily concern. This is, of course, unless it’s the winter and the roads and sidewalks have iced over. In that case, I make a point of walking more carefully, not driving as fast, and taking better notice of any ice in front of me. But no matter what, I end up wiping out on some steps or experience my car sliding when making a turn. At this point I get even more careful and end up taking even more time getting places. It’s worth it not to have an accident. Eventually the weather gets warmer, which tricks me into thinking the ice has gone; but then I make the mistake of riding my bike and skid sideways through some melting snow.

Nicolas is the owner of Specialty Answering Service, a nationwide toll free answering service that caters to both large and small businesses across the country. Specialty provides a Spanish answering service for those companies that need both English and Spanish support.

Show me those ears - Quirky bares all

Okay, so maybe not 'all' but I have been a very, very busy little bunny over the last few weeks. If you're friends with me on Facebook, you already know this. If you're not, you should be! Duh. :P

No really, you've really been missing out. I've found that FB is quite the great link dump when I have it set up to auto-feed from other places (like Tumblr). And I've been meeting some of the most amazing people (read: incredibly silly, but awesome people like DIY Marketing Nerd Jen and Crazy Jef).

That means, I've also started some new projects, posted hundreds of things you guys haven't even seen, and bared all in a few different ways. So over the next couple weeks, the goal is to sorta catch you guys up here. You'll probably be seeing several "link dump" type posts where I point you to several different quirky locations all in the same post instead of featuring individual ones.

You'll still be getting normal posts. You have to; they're already scheduled. :P But it's just a head's up that there might be even more posts and a ton more links, so clear your schedule for some quirky time. Your spouses, kids, dying grandmothers, and dogs won't mind one bit. It's worth it. :P

Oh yeah, and expect to see way more ears. I've got 'em in pink, yellow, white, and two shades of blue. ;) If you want more now, you know where to find them.

Quirky Jessi blog connections, other sites, updates

Yep, it's one of those rare times where instead of posting something completely random, I'm going to talk about the site itself for a few minutes.

Well, and other sites, too. First up, the reminder of where you guys can find me and/or other silly stuff I post.

Quirky Cookery - My cooking site that I finally have up and going. I post all sorts of silly kitchen products, strange recipes, and my own quirky creations.

Quirky Tumblr - I toss a ton of pictures here on a regular basis, along with the occasional links and videos. It's basically the place I throw the things that I find interesting, but not worthy of their own post here. And sometimes, they're perfectly worthy but I have such a backlog of things I could post that I put some of it there anyway.

Twitter -
I'm not there all the time and I've definitely abandoned it several
times, but I still check in regularly to share links and quotes, and to
chit chat with others. It seems I use it in spurts, so if I start fading away again, I'll probably be back soon.

Facebook - Yep, I have an account there, too, but I don't use it much. I 'have' found that it's proven quite useful in keeping in touch with those who don't use Twitter, though. I have tweets cross-posted and have found myself in a few great conversations with people on FB because of it. I've had people contact me there instead of email several times, too, so if that's your thing (or even if it's not!) be sure to send a friend request.

Gather - I rarely use this site any more because of my own time constraints mixed with the community there going down hill. When I do, though, it's mostly personal stories. I'm hoping to get up several posts about the few weeks I just spent in Vancouver. There's still plenty of "quirky" there, but I don't tend to post the personal tidbits here much any more.

Email - There's always email, too!

I'm thinking of doing a weekly or maybe monthly sort of "round up" of some of the above. I know most of you aren't subscribed to the other sites and you're missing out on some really cool stuff....but I feel like if I post some of the exact same stuff here, too, then some people end up with repeats and it's no fun.

Maybe post some of the best Tumblr pictures I put up in one post here every so often? I could do the same with the cooking site, but not as frequently since it's pretty new and I don't post quite as often there yet. I haven't quite decided, but I think you'll be seeing a bit of cross-over soon.

Just a couple more websites....really!

This is exactly how it goes for me. I get it set in my head that I'm going to write up a couple dozens posts for QJ, and the next thing I know, it's 3 in the morning and all I have to show for my night are a million more tabs and bookmarks. Gah!

You can still play your old NES and Super Nintendo games!

Yeah, yeah, "geek week" is turning out to be more like "let's play Nintendo! please, please, please??"

What can I say? I liked the original Nintendo systems and still have at least 3 in my closet at the moment, along with dozens of games. Unfortunately, the last working system I have requires a well-placed butterknife to be slid in on top of the game juuusssttt right, and you can't even so much as breathe the wrong way while playing or it'll lose connection. Yes, it's sad, but I couldn't bear to risk losing the only playable systems for all those games.

Well now there's the Retro Duo NES/SNES Game System on Think Geek. *Drools* Not only is this thing a beauty, but it's functional 'and' cheap. It plays both NES and SNES games, both of which are top loading. As Jeff says over at CNET:

"That means no more trial and error playing "Legend of Zelda" or "Super
Mario Brothers 3." No more taking the cartridge back out, blowing on it
furiously, slamming it back in the console and powering up, hoping
you're not greeted with a screen of wavy lines or misformed game
sprites only to once again take Mario's name in vain."

Oh so true! And at roughly 50 bucks, it's well worth it to put all those old games back to use. Did I mention how stylish, chic, and amazingly drool-worthy it is, too? Yeah? Okay, just making sure. You can even use your old controllers or stick with the ones included with the system. Choices, choices. Can you say Duck Hunt gun??

(And yes, I know there are other retro-type systems out there that claim to offer the same experience, but they're usually not-so-cool, require game chips, etc....not the same as this at all!)

I like you, I like you! I really, really like you!

No really, I adore you guys and this is the perfect way to express it! Quirkiness and all!

See how much I like you

Leaving food for stray animals

There's a website called "Found" or "Found Magazine" and it's basically a collection of random things that people have "found." Clever, huh? :P It's usually bits of paper with notes scribbled on them or letters that never got sent, etc. Sometimes there's some really interesting stuff there. I've been stopping by to discover their new findings for a couple years now, I believe, and thought it's about time I shared.

Actually, talking about the site wasn't my original intent. I'd been writing up several posts for QJ and several of them were personal (some of you requested more personal stuff, so I'm working on it). This reminded me of when I was a kid, though, so I guess maybe it stood out above some of the other things I've seen there in the past. They're usually humorous notes or really unusual pieces taken out of context. I suppose this somewhat fits the category, but hey, I went through that stage, too!!

And I never outgrew it. ;-)

A video to make you go "awww" and a personal story

This really touches me because I have experienced first hand what it is like to raise wild animals and then release them into the wild. You don't normally get the chance to see them ever again, and generally, they wouldn't remember you anyway. And for this to be a lion....an animal so large and generally seen as being aggressive....and for them to be told that there was no way he would remember them....

Yes, I'm touched. I remember one particular raccoon that I had raised and released. I don't mean just bottle feeding from infant state or wiping butts with warm water to stimulate the area so they could, um, do their thing. No, I mean even doing things like buying feeder fish and teaching them how to fish out of a bird bath. Picking wild blackberries and exploring unknown territory together.

One time while they were out by themselves, she climbed up a tree and got stuck. It wouldn't have been a big deal because they'd been out by themselves for large chunks of time before at that point, but there was a storm coming and she started getting scared. She was up there crying and fussing.....and then I started crying. I got my parents out there (yes, I was a "mere teen" at the time) as well because I really wanted her down and in my arms. I could only climb so far up the tree myself and after quite a while of finding new foot holds and begging her to just come down a little further to reach me (she kept trying to reach....makes me want to cry just remembering). Eventually, my dad switched me places and was able to get high enough to reach her.

She was my Baby Girl and oh how I miss her dearly.

What makes the story stand out from other animals I raised and how it relates to this particular story is that I had released her on our own property out back. Where we lived at the time, it was way out in the middle of no where (you could barely see the two nearest houses out in the far distance. We were surrounded by fields and way out back there was a pond, trees, and blackberry bushes, etc, so it was ideal.

Raccoons are night creatures, so there is no reason I would ever stumble across her, especially after she returned completely to her wildness. Long after she was gone, though, I was out back doing something....probably feeding the rabbits or a similar task. And there she was, halfway up a silo pipe. She was scurrying up and I said "Baby Girl?" She stopped and just looked me. We held eye contact for much longer than you can imagine and much less than what it actually felt like. I said a few more words of comfort and she walked on up the pipe, only looking back once, as I walked away to finish what I was doing. I don't remember if I cried at the time, but I know I've been reminded of the occasion more than once. She remembered me. I was her mama and unless you've ever felt a deep connection to your pets before or experienced what it's like to raise a living being like that, then you can't possibly know what I mean. I know there are many parents out there that would scoff at the idea and even shake their heads at the idea that animals are anything like human beings, so it's impossible to connect the two.

If you've been there before, though, you know. And I know.

And that video up top? It doesn't even begin to describe the feelings. Regardless, though, isn't it beautiful?

Here is another video. The beginning is the same so if you can skip through it if you'd like (I didn't want to, heh), but the end has some different footage.

Birthdays made more than just special

This post reminds me so much of my mom. No, I wasn't young enough to go through a Harry Potter phase and I haven't even read the books -- they don't interest me, although I have seen a couple of the movies because we had them at camp and the kids loved them.

That's beside the point, though. The point is, look how much time and effort she put into the Harry Potter themed birthday party! I won't give examples or even say "hey, she even did such 'n' such." No. Just go look. It'll take you less than 30 seconds if all you even do is go look at the pictures, because they tell the story on their own pretty well.

And how is that like my mom? Because I can remember very little from my childhood, strangely enough, but what I 'do' remember is mainly things my mom did, especially for birthdays and Halloween. I remember a scavenger hunt birthday party when I was really little.....my Hungry, Hungry Hippo game (which I still own, by the way) was in the refrigerator and there was an angel fish (in the bag, of course) in the bathroom sink.

We were recently discussing past birthday cakes my mom has done and there were oh so many that she created. No, she didn't pick them up from the store, nor did she generally use standard molds bought at the store. To name a few, she did a 3-D double rainbow, a 3-D ladybug, Raggedy Ann and Andy for a double birthday we had, Mickey Mouse, a Hershey bar, a lobster.....so many that I can't even think of right now, but I can picture them all. I used to love the cakes she made. She still makes them actually. For M's birthday she had a cheese cake....no, literally, it was a 3-D triangle wedge of "cheese," complete with mouse. And my little sister requested a Kit-Kat mountain along with her cake. Yes, she stacked and built a mountain out of Kit-Kats.

I was at a yard sale this summer and spotted a rubber ducky cake. Now I don't have an obsession with rubber duckies, but something screamed "you have to have that!" I threw my mom a look and immediately went into "can you please, please, make this for me!?" Yes, I went into cute, little, "I'm your daughter and I don't ask for hardly anything" mode. I haven't been home for a birthday in several years, of course, and my special birthday cakes ended long ago.

I graduate in December, though, and I'd already decided that I wasn't going to do the whole graduation ceremonies here. Instead, I wanted to go home and have a get-together with family and friends because I only see my mom three times a year....which means much of the rest of my family I haven't seen in a long time.

And so it was born. Within minutes, I had a rubber ducky mold (hey, it'll make it easier for her) and a complete idea in my head of how I wanted my cake (the duck won't feed everyone.....so there's gotta be a blue lake, too, hehe). I was giddy. It was silly and crazy and more than likely un-adult-like, but there is nothing wrong with enjoying life.

All of this came flooding back when I was glancing over Jen's birthday party post. I can only hope that I make the time and put the effort into my kids' parties like she and my mom do. And hopefully, I'll continue to have as much fun with them. After all, I get excited for the little ones' birthdays and thrive on the energy of little kids....so if I can help make that even more magical, everybody wins, right?

Random post addon for Blogger -- Finally!!

(No, there's no proposal discussed below, but this is the greatest picture I could find to express my excitement, hehe.)

~Edit~ There's a new version that works even better! It doesn't rely on your archive gadget to be set up a certain way, and it can pull from your entire archive now instead of just the last 100 posts. So great! You can find it here: Inkweaver-Review Random Blog Post Widget ~~

This guy is my hero right now. For months I've been looking for the code for something like this and he finally created it! I was so excited when he posted about it on Bloggeries and then it didn't seem to work for me. He tweaked his code and then also looked through my settings to get it all figured out and now I'm all set!

So what is it? Well, it's similar to the Archivist plug-in that was created for Wordpress. It pulls a random link from my archives and shows it at the top up there (or anywhere I choose to put it.....it's there for now because I'm just psyched it works!). There's been a "Feeling Lucky?" addon for the longest time, but all it did was put a link that people had to click in order to randomize....but I wanted something that automatically pulled a title so that people might actually click instead of it being ignored.

And I'll admit, I spent several minutes just clicking through it myself because I find myself forgetting a lot of the stuff I've covered here in the past. (Currently, this is only capable of showing the posts from this year because of Blogger's coding, not his, but it's still better than nothing). I don't see this on many sites, but when I first discovered the Archivist, I fell in love because I was new to that particular site and it gave me a glimpse at previous posts without me having to dig through archives myself. Then I found another one that would pull pictures from the site in a similar fashion, but I'm not really a photo blogger, so that only helped so much....especially since the code didn't work here either.

But that's all rambling. The point is, this one works now and I'm super-excited because I really did search everything I could and ask for help from everyone I knew that might know of something. I'd already given up when Nathan showed up with this and I don't even know how to begin to thank him for it.

To you, it might be something silly, but come on, this is all about quirkiness, right? One of my quirks is enjoying some of the simplest things in life....and getting uttterly excited about them. People may never click the links up there at all, but it doesn't even matter because I searched and searched....and now it's here!

And it's all thanks to Nathan. I'm so glad he even took the time to keep looking things over when it didn't seem to work for me. He didn't just shrug me off or ignore my issues, so that's all the better. Thank you Nathan!

If you use Blogger and are interested in it for yourself, check out the link here. And you should check out the rest of his site, Inkweaver Review, for lots of, as he says, "quality reviews of quality literature," (along with the launch of a new prose/poetry site).

Ebay and Half.com Accounts

Here are the links I said I'd get to you....

Ebay

Half.com

Expect plenty more updates from me in the near future. I've written up almost 2 dozen posts in the last few days and have gotten several things ready for Ebay, so I really am working on stuff!

I have been updating....and thinking!

So I have been back from camp and I'm finally somewhat moved into my new place. Why has it been four whole days since I posted something new then if I had so much stuff for here, right?

Well I've been doing a whole bunch of stuff on the outside (and some thinking, like the subject line says, but hey, don't get ahead of me here...I'll get there!). And since I've been updating on the outside, then it's time to do a little updating on the inside. Here's some of the stuff I've been up to:

• Facebook. Ew, no. I hate that place. Really, I have a personal one for school because for some odd reason, Facebook blew up and landed all over college campuses. Suddenly, it was a place to share notes and agree on study group times and well, to stalk people. Mine says something to the effect of "I hate this place, please email me or call me instead, and no, I'm not going to update here. Yeah, that's how much I dislike it. Sadly enough, it was even talked about in the opening ceremony when I started college, though, so it was more or less required for us to have one.
  
  So what the heck does that have to do with here if I hate is so much? Well, I thought maybe the reason I disliked it so much was that I really didn't want to stay in that sort of connection with everyday people that I go to school with or work with. There was all this talk in the blogging world of using Facebook as social media and how great it was. That was a year ago and I finally decided to get an account for my blog.
  
  Then I forgot about it. Ha! Well this is another attempt at really getting into it. I really don't know what I'm hoping for, but I thought I'd give it one more stab. So if you have a Facebook account, come by and say hi....add me as a friend if you might like me maybe just a little. ;-)
  
  Here's the link to my profile: Quirky Jessi
  
  
• Ebay! Now this one's a bit more exciting because I really do enjoy using Ebay. I have an entire storage room back home that's almost full of stuff that needs to be sold on Ebay. I have one quarter of school left and my next plan of action is to go home and start tackling that storage building. 'That' part isn't exciting.
  
  When I moved in for this last quarter, I sent my mom home with all the stuff I had in storage 'here' (yes, I had two....I don't exactly have a place that I "live," per se, so my stuff gets shuffled around from my mom's house, school, CT for camp, and then the storage buildings for the rest, depending on if it's needed for home or school).
  
  Unfortunately, as I was moving in, I was also going through the stuff I have and my Ebay pile has already grown tremendously while I've been here for a week. I started getting some of the stuff listed and thought I would share with you guys.
  
  You see, a couple months, I actually planned this in advance. Yep, me, procrastinator to the max, had this planned out (see how I'm just now putting it into action, though? lol). I changed my Ebay username so that it was neutral and viewable by everyone who knows me.
  
  "What in the world are you talking about?" you might ask, if you're even still reading, that is. I didn't have a name like "babyangeldaddysgirlprincess93708974018374" or anything. Someone shoot me if I did, lol. But it wasn't a username I have associated with this blog and I like to keep things separate, remember? The name change went smoothly and now it no longer shows on my record, so yay!
  
  Boy am I rambling, huh? This is what you get for wanting me to come back from camp. :P
  
  So anywho, today I listed quite a few books on Half.com (it's Ebay's book site, if you're not familiar with it, and you can use your Ebay account to make purchases) and got started on Ebay stuff. Clothes are the main thing that I'm swamped under, so within the next couple weeks, expect lots of clothing to be listed. Mostly women's clothing at this point, but in a few months when I tackle the storage at home, I have tons of clothes ranging from infant to teen. This is gonna be fun.....right?
  
  I'll do another update in a couple days with Half.com and Ebay accounts. The books aren't showing up yet and I don't want to point you to a nearly empty Ebay auction page. Stay tuned, though, as I'll be doing quite a bit of listing stuff as time permits.
  
  
• MSN. I did the same thing with my MSN messenger that I did with Ebay. I made it neutral playing ground. Again, the name wasn't inappropriate or embarrassing or anything you might expect, but I wanted to be able to have everybody I communicate in a central location. I visit forums, I blog, I play games, I handle business, and there was no better time than now to merge everything and simplify my life a little, haha.
  
  Notice I said 'my' life. If I wanted to simplify everyone's and I really wanted to make everyone happy, I would've sucked it up, redownloaded AIM, created a new name there, and connected with more people on a crappy messenger. Now don't get me wrong, I don't really like MSN either, but it's a compromise of not-so-pleasant messengers.
  
  I'm really attempting to get back out there and get to really know some people again. I lost touch with some people and there are plenty that I've never really talked to outside of isolated environments (like a particular forum or commenting on each other's blogs). If you happen to use msn, add me with the email address justmejessi AT msn.com. I'd love to get to know you. :)
  

Okay, I might've lied. This post got rather long and I know your attention spans aren't all the greatest, so I'm going to stop here. That means the thinking will have to wait until the next update post. For a preview, expect talk about NaBloPoMo, possible redesign, RSS feeds, my birthday, and some ideas for contests. Expect some talk about Lady Language again soon, too!

Pick up the nearest book

Here's one I haven't seen before and thought it was interesting. Play along!

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

"By the fourth day the waves calmed, and when my death wish had passed, I finally stagged up on deck. Again, I had to go up flights of stairs and meander around mazelike corridors before I found the Warners in the second-class lounge.

The children yelled with delight to see me again."

Ties that Bind, Ties that Break --Lensey Namioka

It's a book I haven't read since high school, but I had just placed it on my bookshelf while unpacking a couple hours ago. It's a story about Chinese foot binding practices.

I'm back from camp!!

Okay, so I'm finally back from camp and boy was it rough! It's over now, though, and soon I'll be back to my regular posting like I was a few months ago. For a couple quick stories, I posted about camp here: QuirkyCamp

Otherwise, it's good to be back and I have so many things I want to share! I hope everyone is doing well and I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep up at commenting/visiting your blogs. I move back to my place on the 10th and as soon as I'm settled in, I hope to get things back into motion again. Missed you all bunches!

Just a reminder (Gather)

Hey guys, just a reminder that I'm writing on Gather still. You're getting automated posts here, but I'm blogging about camp there with little stories and currently rants because I'm not having the greatest of times. For those that want something a bit more personal or are curious about camp, though, you can find some stories there.

Gather -- It's time to share with you

Keep in touch.
And discover something new.
My stuff:
http://quirky-jessi.gather.com»

Okay, so I've been meaning to write this post and I'm just now getting to it. I wanted to "do it right," but somehow, I never get around to writing posts like that, so here's my thrown together version....and no, this isn't post dated.

I've been spending a little more time over on Gather than I probably should simply because I'm having fun with it.....and I'm getting paid a little bit of pocket change for it, too, but shhh, that's not the important part. It's basically a social networking site of sorts, but for writers....a place where writers come together and share their work, but it has expanded over the years and also includes photographers, artists, and people who just want to share odd jokes, random thoughts, vents, rants, elations, stories -- just whatever!

Now you'd think that's what I have this place for, but I've been posting stuff there that I wouldn't necessarily post here. Over the weekend, I went to the zoo with some family I was visiting, and you can see tons of pictures over there that I uploaded -- those are things I wouldn't post here because they're personal, but they're perfect for there. There are also articles and randomness that I've posted that just don't seem quirky enough for here.

Some things I cross-post, but most content is different. I'm sharing this with you guys for a few different reasons:

• I don't want to distract you from reading my blog, but there's some stuff I've been writing and sharing there that you guys might like
• Several of you have mentioned that getting more personal would be okay here, but it still doesn't seem like the place to do it. Gather is, though.
• A lot of you are writers....or photographers...or artists....or talkers. You'd have fun there (as long as you don't forget about my blog in the process, hehe)
• You can earn gift cards (or money) for browsing around there and enjoying yourself. It's not a ton, but it adds up rather quickly once you get the hang of it.
• I feel guilty for sharing some of my work over there, but not including my regular readers. I want to share it with you, but wasn't sure how much I wanted to distract from what was happening here.
• Once I introduce the site, I'll be able to link you guys some of the stuff I find there or write over there without it seeming weird.
  

I'm including the "invitation page" link because if you sign up through it, it'll let me know you joined and I can add you as a friend right away.....that way I know you made it over there. You certainly don't have to sign up through that, but I thought it'd be neat if some of my regular viewers signed up.

And if not, that's cool....I still like the idea of being able to mix the places, so don't be surprised if I link to stuff over there. I already have a folder of links that I've saved of things I've found that you guys would like. There are some amazing people there, so I'd love to share some linky love with them. I had to get an intro post made before I could start doing it, though.

So for now, you guys can click through and just see some of the stories about my weekend at the zoo -- like my little sister getting bitten by an ostrich and the baby giraffe that was only 7 days old. <3

Blog about camp?

Okay guys, this is going to be up to you. Should I attempt to blog about camp this year? I started up last year with the intent of semi-blogging the experience, but gave up rather quickly and didn't really look back.

Until this year....when the fourth person asked me if I was going to blog it this year....and do it right this time.

Darn.

People actually paid attention.

So what do you think? Think I should attempt to sorta blog it? I can't do anything too personal because we're not even allowed to have cameras on camp grounds for security reasons and I don't show myself....nor do I even really talk about myself. So would it be worth it? Is anyone curious about what goes on up there or should I just do some scheduled posts here and get back on track when I come back in a few months?

Automatic posting finally!

So I haven't had the chance to really stack posts yet and I haven't in the past because if I have to stop by to manually post it, then I could just write the post then.

Now that Blogger has finally made it possible to future date posts so that they'll automatically post on that date, I'm thrilled. It's been my biggest, and pretty much only, complaint about Blogger. It seemed like every other blogging platform had the feature, so even though I preferred using Blogger, I was always jealous of that feature.

Once again, this summer I'll be away working at a camp, and won't really be here to post a whole lot. I'm really hoping to have the chance to get at least a few posts made up in advance, though. I haven't been here much lately because life is too hectic, but that means my "to blog" folder is absolutely overflowing. I have so many things I want to post about -- it's insane!

Cross your fingers that I'll catch a break between now and the time I leave, so I can get a few more posts ready to go and this place won't fall apart while I'm gone.

6 Quirky Things about Quirky

Alright, it's been a while since I've done a meme and I don't usually do them at all. This time, though, it's coming from the lovely Lady Language 'and' it's about quirks, so how could I pass it up?

Anywho, here are the rules:

Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six un-important things/habits/quirks about your self. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let these random people know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Before I begin, a while back I did a post about the ABCs of Quirky Jessi. There are tons of little quirks about me and who the person behind the blog is.

So here we go:

1. I can't wink. I've tried a million and one times, I'm sure, and I used to spend time as a kid getting completely frustrated because I couldn't get one eye to do anything without the other doing it, too. It was sad because everyone I knew could wink, so I thought I just wasn't doing something right. Turns out, a lot of people can't wink and it's not something I can force myself to do, so I gave up on it years ago.

2. I can't roll my Rs. This one still bugs me, though! Lol. As a huge cat lover and someone who goes by cat-related names on several sites, portraying a kitty-like persona both online and offline.....it kills me that I can't purr. :( And when I was learning Spanish, my biggest hang-up was that I didn't like knowing I pronounced "perro" (dog) and "pero" (but) exactly the same. *cries* :P

3. I'm just under 5 foot tall....and I *like* it. I have no desire to be tall at all. :)

4. I get really funky food cravings. I thought I talked about them here once before, but I can't seem to find a post about it. The only thing I ran across was one where I mentioned a condensed milk and paprika sauce I accidentally created and couldn't get enough of. I go through cycles where I'll want the same thing for a week straight....like cottage cheese and french dressing, baked potatoes with salsa, avocados straight out of the shell, and those flat popsicles every 5 minutes. (Good thing they're not too bad for me!)

5. I have a very personal relationship with my laptop. I sleep with him....er....we share the same bed at night....

6. My first license plate was Crzy J 1. When I started this blog, I thought crazy was waaayyy too overrated and mainstream because well, apparently everybody thinks they're crazy. I once went through a meowing phase......that's not the same as someone who gets frazzled and calls themselves crazy. So eventually, Quirky was born and I ran with it. I never actually planned to stay as Quirky either, but I wouldn't change it now. :)

And as for tagging, you're all it! Post a link in my comments to yours and I'll stop by to see it. :D

Winning a Contest, Lady Language, and the First Picture of Quirky Jessi Ever Posted!!

*Deep breath*

Okay, so this post keeps getting pushed further into my folder of "things to blog." It keeps getting ignored on my lists of "things to do today." It keeps getting dropped from my mental agenda of things I want to get taken care of this week, month, year....and to put it simply, I'm tired of something so simple getting shoved to the side, as with so many other things I've tossed aside in the last few months.

Except this is different. This isn't some random link that can wait a year and still be relevant to my blog. It's not some useless meme that makes no difference if I ever respond to.

No. This is personal. And Quirky Jessi doesn't really do "personal" here. I don't avoid it either, of course, because I don't have anything that I'm trying to hide, lol....but this blog swayed away from 'my' life after the first couple months....even though shockingly enough, I've stuck with the blog title of "The Quirky World of Jessi."

To top it off, I knew I was going to take a while to write the post. No, not going back to fine tune every word I said....in fact, I won't even go back over this to nip typos in the butt because I know I'll end up deleting, altering, and screwing up the post if I do, hehe. The main time sucker will be once I start linking. And I know I'm going to ramble because uh, I already am. :P

~~~Intermission: Great. I've already said "nip, shoved, butt, and sucker" all in the same post. I can't wait to see what kind of random searchers I end up with now. *Rolls eyes....and then hides*~~~

So right....my point. Almost 2 months ago to the day, I stumbled across Lady Language. I couldn't have even told you how if it weren't for the comment I left them that day (I was fumbling through the NaBloPoMo randomizer, commenting on random blogs I found).

A fashion blog.

Actually, one step worse/better. A fashion blog there because of the store they own/run. Great, I thought. <--Sarcasm at that point. You see, not only was my intent that day to comment on other blogs in hopes of them following me home back to Quirky Jessi (of which I didn't think a fashion blog/store owner would be interested), I also don't keep up with fashion. As if you haven't noticed by my randomness here, I tend to march to the beat of my own....well, I can't play the drums, but you get the idea, hehe.

I can tell you what looks good on a persona....and I can tell you what looks bad...but I'm certainly not going to tell you what's "in fashion" right now because it doesn't make much difference to me at all. I wear what suits my body and what I *feel* like wearing.

And I've been on "fashion blogs" before......those that cling to the every item of clothing that drapes from one celebrity's body or another. No thanks.

So why the heck am I blogging about Lady Language? Because this blog *wasn't* like that. And because the top post was about this hot little red dress that read "Holiday Sweepstakes" Okay, so I took a deep breath and opened the comments. I was going to find *something* to say if it killed me because I'd already spent more than my allotted 10 second time deadline pondering whether to click the "randomize" button to pass to the next blog.

But it was a sweepstakes...and there weren't that many commenters. And even though I don't wear dresses with Christmas right around the corner, I thought it could be a nice little surprise gift for someone I knew if I happened to win. So I tossed out a comment about how gorgeous the dress was (because well, it was, lol....but I don't wear dresses and haven't since I was little, so it also made me envious of those with bodies to pull off dresses, heh)....and moved on.

A while later, I had a message in my inbox showing me someone else had replied to the blog post, and she made a relevant point....the point that was going through my head, but mine was in not-nearly-as-nice words:

Any body type, you say? I'd like to see that. I've had no luck finding flatering dresses, of late.

Exactly. This dress was a fiery red plunging v-neck halter top dress:


At a mere 4'11", that dress would not only swallow me, but it'd make me look like a bright red penguin. It would hang to my knees, the v-neck would show my belly button, the back would dip to my waist line, and that flowy, care-free fabric blow that screamed "wide load" at the waist-line already? Oh yeah, it'd show that my hips were twice the width of my top half that would 'not' be flattered by such a gaping neckline. Heck, I'm lucky to find split pieces to fit various parts of my body appropriately...trying to find a one-piece to cover all proportions? Ha!

As I said before, I don't pay attention to fashion, but I'm not going to go outside dressed in something that makes me look awful unless I'm proving a point, lol. And to put myself into a dress after convincing everyone that I'd wear blue jeans to my wedding instead of a wedding dress? Psh. No thanks.

But the dress 'was' nice. And it's not like I was going to win anyway, right? And I knew other people that might love it 'and' have places to wear it (because well, I don't have that either...the occasion to wear a dress like that to). So I just watched. And I waited. And I kept going back to the site to see what else their store offered. And I read through blog posts to see what else they talked about....because it wasn't a normal fashion blog. This was 'real' people, talking about 'real' clothes, and selling 'real' items at 'real' affordable prices.

Pretty cool if you ask me.

And then lo and behold, I got the email. Don't tell me you're surprised. I wouldn't have this kind of build-up if I was going to be drastically disappointed by my loss at a random blog that was talking about something that interests me little and gives away something I don't wear.

But I won. Yeah, me, QuirkyJessi, non-winner of anything ever, non-wearer of dresses, non-buyer of things that make me look like enlarged penguins. I won.

And I was giddy.

The site was new, though, so maybe this was all a gimmick for page hits. Maybe they weren't really going to send anything out, I'd get the run around, and if I tried to question it, my IP address would be blocked? It certainly wouldn't be the first time it's happened in the internet world.

But then the follow-up emails guiding me through picking a size that would fit me best and congratulating me personally. This wasn't a gimmick. I'd really won something...and a dress at that!!

And I wasn't going to give it away either. It was MINE. And a few days later, it arrived promptly, safely, and perfectly....right before I had to leave for work and I had no time to try it on, lol. What a way to prolong the excitement! (And well, the fear of it being a disappointment, not fitting, etc).

The next day I tried it on and it actually fit...and didn't look half-bad really. I made a few alterations....experimented with how tight to tie the halter-top because it would create totally different looks, tossed on heels so I didn't look so frumpy, and paired it with a strapless, half-corset underneath to add a twist of covered comfort, contrast, and decreased sloppiness. And it 'was' comfy! The fabric was so soft and breezy and because it didn't cling in all the wrong spots like many things do, I wasn't nearly as scared of the dress as I had been.

Yeah, that might work.

So after all this rambling of avoiding the picture (I've never posted a picture of myself here and I'm still not going to really because the face isn't there), here it is:
Judging from that photo, you'd never guess that I struggle to find clothes to fit me (although the length 'is' still too long for that style of dress, but hey, I'm short...'everything' is too long unless it's kids clothes, and even then, kids are getting so tall these days!!)....and you'd never guess that I was scared to death of a dress, lol.

If you've stuck with me this long (hey, we all skim....it's okay if it only took you 20 seconds to get down here), Lady Language is still doing give-aways even now that the holidays have past. There's even a $250 shopping spree give-away going on right now, so better hurry. Prizes or not, though, the chicas over there are pretty cool and it's not your average "fashion blog." But if you 'are' into fashion, well, so are they....and their store offers great deals on a variety of clothing.