CSN Stores: A Review Preview

Well, it's officially summer here in the desert, triple digit temperatures pretty much put the kibosh on my strip mall, bag on wheels, budget-blowing junkets. I'm resigned to the treadmill and online shopping-that is of course when I want to avoid the discouraging grimace of the spouse.

Recently, due to my amazing blogging prowess and wonderful readership- Winks and guns- I was invited to write a review on any product of my choosing from CSNstores.com. Admittedly, until this opportunity I'd never heard of them. Wouldn't you know they have over 200+ stores and stock everything from Staedtler pencils (I'm a writing utensils snob.) to the sleeper sofa?! Pretty fantastic, eh?

Well, I'll be placing my order sometime this week and will fill you all in on my experience from e-cart to door front and beyond. In the meantime, feel free to browse their amazing selection of goods here.

Peace and the power of purse strings

Easy Like Sunday Evening

Simple.

Sunday evening,

supermarket sushi and Stella.

Solitude.

Silence.

Sunday evening;

sublime.

Peace

This Feral Mind o' Mine

Okay, it's official I am an intellectual forager and I am struggling with the "spoon-feeding" facet of my education. Argh! This type of learning-which I have not done in a long time-is now foreign to me, I am untamed; feral.

I'm doing well, actually very well, but...in the most concrete terms I can conjure, the process is akin to creating a great work of art with my left -(not dominant)- hand.

Yesterday I took a test-a test. Grimaces. And, there were multiple choice questions on it. Now for some this means, "Yay!" But, not for me, nope. I spent a ridiculous- so ridiculous it timed out and I had to take the test again- amount of time on two questions. Why? Well, because the choices were so similar. The voices in my head were debating instances when some if not ALL of those answers could and would be applicable. Alas, there was no person with which to debate. I spent far too much time meeting with professors the first time around when I was younger and things were perkier and they were far more inclined to humor me. Winks.

So, what did I do? I reticently chose the answer I would not have chosen had I been able to discuss my lesson notes-complete with highlighted points and bubbles where I had thoughts which warranted discussion; it was right. However, in my rampant haste to "just get the damn thing done already" I skipped the first question (of which I was certain of the answer) altogether! Grade: 96%, blood pressure: significantly higher, conclusion: This endeavor is going to be far more interesting than I'd anticipated. The brain-training, if you will, has proven far more labor-intensive than the subject matter itself.

Peace and perseverance

Schoolery and Jewelry

I can't believe it's been 4 days since my last post, certainly not for lack of things to say, I guess I've just been busy with schoolery, jewelry and the requisite spatterings of foolery.

School is going well; my feet are firmly planted and I've caught my stride. In truth, that first "A" helped to loosen the cogs. Writing on command, well...pretty much anything on command doesn't exactly appeal to my inner renegade. That, and remembering not to go off on italicized digressions-I love me some side babble-is an undertaking.

I'm still designing daily, and feel a renewed sense of creativity. My latest designs and ideas are feeding off of each other; each piece, I feel, speaks more about the current source(s) of inspiration than the last. The lack of a target audience has been a healthy move for me creatively, I'm tapping into and chartering new territory. Now, if I can just get the supplies to flow in as expediently as the ideas. [see photo on left.]


I hope all is going well for my favorite friends in the blogosphere, I'll be making rounds again shortly.

Peace

Social Notworking I

I was chomping most ferociously on the above chips and salsa when it occurred to me that I had fairly recently -sometimes I lag on the uptake- been offended...eh more like mildly miffed- by something recently said and/or implied by TWO different people on Facebook; this makes for good blog fodder. Here, have a chip.

"Foolish Human #1" sends a friend request, and I do my usual: I read their profile, followed by, hmm, let me see if this person's pictures are private or not. It's a good thing when I can satisfy my curiosity without satisfying theirs; my pictures are private. Eh, not too bad, they're married, got a couple of attractive kids, a lot of faithbookery going on on the wall, but otherwise no red flags. Wrong. I accept the request and the first message reads:

GOD is good. Look at your beautiful family. Noone would believe me if I told them how you turned out after the way you were in [insert name of grammar school]. You were always hella smart, but honey you were WILDDDDD. lol. I still remember when you fought [name] and her cousin [name]. Do you remember that? Girl, GOD is TOO GOOD all the time.

Blank stare, hits remove from friends.

"Foolish Human #2" sends a friend request, I repeat steps 1 and 2 and accept because...oh I don't know why. Now, I have certainly reconnected with some wonderful old acquaintances, but the truth is if I haven't looked you up since our third grade school play, chances are, I don't like you. First message:

Hey Tam -already unacceptable- Nice family. I read your profile, "fundamental fortune cookie [-ist]"...somehow I knew you'd turn out like that. LOL, You look good, though. God bless you (anyway). Signed, [insert name].

Raises left brow, (I can't raise my right one, can you alternate?) types up snarky reply, recalls interaction with Foolish Human #1, ugh transference-thinks better of it, deletes unsent snark, removes from friends and retreats to blog.

Um, can the people say, "What the hell?" Faith schmaith, the bible babble is the least of my worries, but do people really define others based on childhood experiences? Reflecting on both of these people along the same vein, I'd expect one of 'em to have served time for chocolate milk and Tater Tots extortion, and the other a member of the "high-waters-wearing-ringworm-having- booger-eater-ati" among many other grammar school faux pas.

It's become amusing now- well of course after typing that last part- but I couldn't help-if just for a moment, feel the familiar sting of social injustice which led me to whoop the two aforementioned girls' asses in the first place. Smugly smiles.

Peace and progress people