Life Lesson: Literally Everyone Likes to Take Selfies

Life Lesson 7,250: Do not, under any circumstances, leave technology unattended in the presence of pets.

Look, guys. I know about half the Internet twitches with outrage at the title of this blog post. I questioned it myself*. But then I learned this lesson for real.

*No I didn’t. All my best pictures are selfies because I would never, ever let anyone else take eighteen pictures of me in a dinosaur costume. I do have SOME pride, people.

The hard way.

I want to show you something. And it may shock you.

My phone was covered in cat drool.

“Oh, hai Internet. I can haz selfie skills.”

This is the selfie my cat managed to take of herself. Because, you know, clearly I wasn’t taking enough pictures of her. Animals don’t even need us anymore. It’s like Animal Farm, but with more technology, and probably called Animal Myspace.

We can’t let that happen. It’s just awkward for everyone.

So it’s really important to know one thing: if you leave your phone on the couch, your cat will learn to take pictures of herself using her face.

I can’t even add a completely different thought at the end of this blog post. I’m too shocked, horrified, and concerned for the future of us all.

The Post Office in My City Is a Magical Place

Hey guys. Don’t freak out or anything, but I just found the coolest place in the Queen City. 

Google Maps knows all the places

Please try to contain your excitement.
Image courtesy of Google Maps. Thanks, Google!

And it’s my local post office.

You may be wondering how this could possibly be. Everyone* knows that the post office is a circle of hell around the holidays – especially if you live in a city.

*All the people I mention my love of the post office to. Which actually IS everyone.

And I do, in fact, live in a city.

Real. City.

See? Big buildings = real city. Point proven.
This image is also thanks to Google Maps, which has way more geographical knowledge than I do.

See? See? There are cars. One of them is a taxi.** Just out of this shot is a wad of police cars, proving we have city-like crime. And we have a bustling metropolitan area with traffic and annoyingly complex parking structures.

**To be honest, this is actually the only taxi I have ever seen in my city. The South does not believe in taxis. 

But just forget all that when it’s time to go to the post office.***

***Unless you actually live in Uptown****, in which case, you are super screwed. Have fun waiting in line forever, suckers.
****Which is what the Queen City calls our downtown, because we’re all clearly out of our minds.*****
*****Also because our downtown is the highest geographical point in the whole city, which I hate knowing, because it takes all the fun out of the fact that we’re clearly out of our minds.

When it’s time to go to the post office, you’re going to travel through time and space and into a strange land. A land where rednecks are probably going to murder you to the Deliverance soundtrack, and people are totally selling boiled peanuts on the side of the road before Christmas.******

******Apparently this is a totally normal thing. I asked the guy. His name is Jim. I did not take his picture in case he was barely containing his Deliverance-murder instincts. 

Mmm...gun pie.

This is what is directly across the street from my nearest post office. This is clearly the liveliest part of this neighborhood.
Also, thanks again, Google Maps!

I even took a picture of my own to prove that my post office is not somehow just trapped on a strange country-town street. It’s literally an entire neighborhood that does not belong in a city.

WHERE DID THE CITY GO?!

No tall buildings, as far as the eye can see.

So basically, my drive to the post office was surreal. Also, unnerving and terrifying.

But by golly, I had Christmas presents to mail. And they were going to get there BY Christmas, for once.******* And so I persevered through this disturbing land, and finally got to the post office.

*******Despite the impression I give of clearly having everything together, I am notorious for giving people Christmas presents in, like, February.

Where everyone was smiling an happy. The Friday before Christmas. The place oozed a sort of zen I have never seen. It was like going to the post office in Mayberry********

********Which is also in North Carolina, as it happens. Check it out, y’all.*********
*********This is the most terrifying place in all of NC, in my humble opinion. But that’s a story for another day. 

It was MAGIC, guys.

In other news, if your Christmas shopping isn’t done, allow me to recommend this:

Because a knife is too complicated

Specially designed to be the most useless gift in the history of time. You can click here and buy 10 on Amazon.

The perfect gift to convince everyone that you are the worst gift giver of all time. It’s my new favorite thing on Amazon.

Life Lesson: Insults with Class

Life Lesson 7,249: “You’re a Mean One, Mister Grinch” makes insulting people in daily conversation easy AND fun.

So here’s the deal. Sometimes, I say things to people that are not nice.*

*Just kidding, Mom. Also, please stop reading this now. It’s only going downhill from here.

Sometimes, I have been accused of vicious sarcasm. Worse, periodically, I actively choose to insult people.** Mostly, I make it my mission to insult them without making them angry at me. I have a tendency to get away with this, as I am blonde**** and look harmless. Apparently this gives people the impression that I’m always just being funny and am never actually angry at anyone.

**Only the deserving.***
***People who don’t read my blog.

****Look inherently too brain-damaged and simple for cunning insultry.

And while some of my best material has been gleaned from movies, like Blade Trinity***** the truth is, my greatest source of perplexing insultry has always been “You’re a Mean One, Mister Grinch.”

*****If you don’t know the insult I’m talking about, you need to go watch the movie.

I mean, think about it. This classic children’s song is a handy guide to rarely-used insults that will leave people both wounded and confused. When used in daily conversation outside of the month of December, no one has any idea what you’re talking about.

Let’s look at some of these gems:

“You really are a heel”

Lookit! I can draw toes!

Because few things are more insulting that foot anatomy.

As a child, I took this to mean “you’re totally the end of a loaf of bread.”****** It’s only now, in my adult years, that I understand that people just happen to think feet are gross.*******

******Obviously the most disgusting part. It’s all crust. Children HATE crust.
*******I am actively choosing to ignore the fact that this clearly originated from the meanings “low point” and “contemptible person.”  Because it’s no fun to be accurate on the Internet.

“You’re as charming as an eel.”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I cannot draw anything as terrifying as this.
Click for source and science.

This pretty much speaks for itself. Eels are terrifying. HOWEVER, by including the word “charming,” people automatically think that you’re complimenting them, and you’re off the hook.

 “You’re as cuddly as a cactus,”

Cacti hate cuddles

It is key to recognize cactus cuddling as a mistake BEFORE commencing the hug.

Don’t hug cacti. Even the fuzzy looking ones. They are not fuzzy. And therefore, this is an ideal insult. Basically it’s saying “I want to hug you because you look fuzzy, but I know it’s a lie. You’re a liar.”

“Your heart’s an empty hole.”

Mmm...chocolates

What, do you NOT picture an empty chocolate box for this line in the song? Is it just me?
Crap, it’s just me.

If people get mad at you for using this insult, just pretend you were expressing medical concern.

“You have termites in your smile.”

Wooden Teeth: A universally bad idea

It is difficult to draw termites and not have them look like braces. Also: Don’t invest in wooden teeth

This one is OBVIOUSLY a double insult. But if you say it in a concerned tone of voice, people check their teeth.******** Which is funny.

********I’m serious. They will. It’s instinct.

“You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile.”

I'm just being honest about it.

I’m just being honest about it.

Much like calling someone “charming,” the inclusion of “tender sweetness” ensures that people will stop listening to your insult before you get to the insulting bit. You’re off the hook.

“You nauseate me”

The bathroom is a ROOM OF PRIVACY

Sometimes you should just be honest with the people who follow you into the bathroom.

“Your heart is full of unwashed socks”

Ew ew ew

This is not a good place to keep socks. Clean OR dirty.

And my all-time favorite:

“Your brain is full of spiders,”

I write about spiders a lot

Seriously. Ew. Also, it’s like a thousand times worse than that story where a spider laid eggs in a lady’s face.

Now, I have accused a plethora of people of having spiders in their brains. It’s worked out well for me. In part because people are more confused than insulted. And when that happens, they don’t get mad at you. It gets all the insulting out of your system, without all the hurt feelings after. Win-win!

In other news, that guy who uses his bajillionaire powers for good made Jurassic Park a real thing.

DINOSAURS

Click for amazing, amazing source

It’s a DINOSAUR THEME PARK.

This marks a historic moment in time, guys. This marks the official moment when there is finally a romantic replacement for the “Jaws popping out of the water at Universal Studios” proposal.

Finally.

Nothing Says “All American Fashion” Better than…

Fanny packs.

I have solved your last minute Christmas shopping.

This is the way I remember these highly fashionable, practical devices.
Click for source, which you can’t buy anymore. But don’t worry. THERE ARE MORE ON SALE.

Let’s face it. The convenient tiny waistpack (that makes either your stomach or your lower back look like it’s grown a camel hump) is pretty much an American staple.*

*Have you figured out yet that I know absolutely nothing about fashion?

Now, you may have thought that fanny packs were simply the butt of 90s related jokes. You may have thought that they were a terrible time in clothes-wearing history that we, as proper countrymen, would all agree was better left behind us.

Well, you’re wrong.

People are trying** to bring them back.

**Succeeding. If you can call making fanny packs popular “success.”

Apparently.

Apparently Rhianna is to blame.
Click for source.

And Etsy, home of all things ahead of the fashionable curve, is totally behind this.

RUFFLES!

The ruffles add a lady-like appeal that ruins the once multi-gender fanny pack fun.
Click for source, and to buy your own, which you totally should.

But best of all, there’s a Kickstarter. We all know how I love prowling around Kickstarter.

It's like a hug - for your HIPS

Guys. GUYS. It comes in paisley. This is the wave of the FUTURE! Also, this is not a video. It’s just a picture. The play button is a lie.
But if you click it, you can visit the source, and help fund this project. (DO IT.)

This one is my favorite. In part because, well, it’s next to impossible to make a fanny pack subtle. But this Kickstarter totally succeeds. And also, because there’s totally a BONUS THING TO WEAR.

FOR YOUR WRIST

Meet “The Gnome.” But I call it “The Wristpack.”
Guys, it’s a fanny pack FOR YOUR WRIST.
Click for source and wise investment.

Basically, the lesson here is:

The Internet will never let the 90s die.***

***And we’re all very grateful for that. Right, guys? Right?

Inflation Is Even More Ridiculous Than You Think It Is

Hey, you know these cookies? These classic, joyous little sugar treats? These festive reminders that the holidays are a celebration of calories?

More delicious pictures

These cookies are a lie. Spritz cookies never come out that vividly red or green. Don’t trust these cookies. They are for example only.
Click for source.

When I was a kid, we used to make them with the coolest cookie-making toy: The Super Shooter.

I miss this

Ours looked exactly like this. Except with more child-sized hand prints in red and green food coloring decorating the outside of the box..

Click for source. Or to buy me one.

It’s a magical cookie gun, guys. Unlike the super lame cookie presses of today, the Super Shooter was electric. You were leashed to the wall by a cord, demanding a certain level of cookie-making coordination that shaped my youth. It happily buzzed when you pulled the trigger, pushing cookie dough neatly* out onto the cookie sheet.

*Or everywhere. When a 7 year old is in charge, it pushes cookie dough EVERYWHERE onto the cookie sheet.**
**And the table. And the floor. And the wall. Ah, youth.***
***It’s possibly my spritz cookies came out as circles with Christmas-tree-shaped dents. Maybe. Shut up. Extra cookie is always delicious.

Because the ‘70s were all about convenience. Apparently. Anyway, this is my most favorite cookie device in the whole world. And while I’m sure it wasn’t free when it was originally sold, I’d like to make you aware of what Amazon thinks it costs:

Seriously?

Ignore everything that looks like a reasonable price. Someone thinks it’s worth $300.

The cost of convenience is going up, guys. I’m really worried.

In other news, the ridiculous-ness and late posting hour of this blog post are brought to you by the fact that I was very busy and important last night****. And in the interim, Russia found my blog.

****Harassing a friend who had to go to the hospital. Same thing, right?

Yay! Communism!

HI RUSSIA!

This has taught me two things:

  1. The media has convinced me that I should always be afraid that Russia is totally going to hack me and steal all my…Internet points? I dunno. I don’t get money through this site. Please don’t steal my Internet points.
  2. Russia is SO BIG.

I’ll be over here drinking coffee until I explode. Happy Tuesday, y’all.