Weeping Willow

Weeping Willow

I don't know what's come over me lately but I've been really weepy. Okay, not like everyone is setting me off but I definitely have been feeling very Eeyore-esque these days. For those of you on Facebook, I'm not really suicidal… just hating work right now.

Aanywho - it's no secret that I'm a little dead inside. Hugging makes me uncomfortable, sympathizing/empathizing with people in reality doesn't come very naturally to me and I'm just kind of a mean person in general. However, talk about animals, the elderly or just show me something sappy on TV and I'm a mess.

Example 1

I watched Young @ Heart the other night. I thought it was going to be an uplifting movie about the elderly rocking out to Punk songs. I was really stoked about it! I mean, how great is it to see grandma singing The Clash? Fantastic!


So I'm not sure why I didn't think anyone was going to die. To quote Old School, "That's what old people do. They die." But I was wrecked. Most of the movie is very uplifting and I highly recommend it to everyone but hot damn, when they announced the death of some people - I bawled like I had just lost my own grandparent.

Regardless, I hope that I'm able to rock out like the Young @ Heart chorus when I get to be their age. A 92 year old woman was mentally sharper than my OWN parents who are only in their 60s. This is what exercising your brain does - it keeps you young.

Example 2

Most stories regarding animal cruelty upsets me. Any story that deals with a death of a dog really kills me.

I was reading People magazine the other day and they featured a story on Puppy Mills. I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch the Oprah special I DVR'ed on Puppy Mills. Anywho - did you know that the Amish are notorious Puppy Mill owners? THE AMISH?! Apparently that's a big moneymaker for them.

Did you also know that THEY SHOOT THE DOGS that are no longer able to produce babies or who have fallen ill. SHOOT THEM. One Amish farmer reportedly shot 80 dogs because he was court-ordered to get them full vet check-ups or face fines of up to $300 per dog. So he thought the best thing for him to do was to fucking shoot all 80 dogs.

I don't want to get on my soapbox about puppy mills and my thoughts on them so I'll just attach a few links as to why puppy mills are bad:
The Humane Society's Facts on Puppy Mills
Stop Puppy Mills

I'm not trying to offend anyone here especially since I feel that all dogs deserve a good home, but it is tough for me to support such a practice.

Anywho - needless to say, the article made me SOB.

Gah - I'm such a nerd sometimes. I really need to get out of my Eeyore funk.

Called Out

I got called out twice over the extended weekend.

First, I was called out by my dentist. It seems, well... actually its confirmed, that I have a few cavities. How many, you ask? 6. I haven't had a single cavity since I was in elementary school and I've never gone more than a year without seeing a dentist. Since starting at my current company 5 years ago, I haven't gone more than 6 months without seeing a dentist. So I am not neglectful of my teeth.

My last visit was fine. Totally fine. This time, I have 6 f'n cavities. How the hell did that happen? I have to go in for a couple of procedures to get them taken care of and one happens to fall on Valentine's Day. I'm not a big V-day celebrator but still, the idea of half of my mouth being numb on any occasion just seems pitiful.

My dentist, after bearing the bad news, said to me, "Have you not been flossing?"

Well of course I floss daily. Have you been flossing your molars?

Whoops. Nooooo... I stop flossing up to my fangs. Its difficult to floss beyond that point! And of course that's where all my f'n cavities are. Go figure.

The second time I was called out was actually through an anonymous comment to an old post (the one about my purse):

I'm confused and slightly disturbed by this blog entry. Aren't you the same mrstwink that became a vegetarian a year ago partially based on the fact that you are a born-again animal lover who secretly desires to join PETA? Aren't you the same mrstwink who wrote this comment "Recently, my distaste for beef came from reading and then watching "Fast Food Nation". [...] The movie, however, included a scene of the slaughtering of a cow. While the Mr. didn't even flinch, I was bawling uncontrollably. This poor unsuspecting cow was shoved into a pen where it was shot in the head then dragged into a factory where awful awful things were done to it. That image still haunts me."

mrstwink, what about the cow that was slaughtered to make this lovely bag of yours? And the other one that was slaughtered to make a whole new replacement bag b/c there was a small broken piece on the original?

I am disturbed at the fact that you would look down on the practice of killing animals for food and at the same time turn your head at the practice of killing animals for fashion.

Yes, my friends, I am a full-fledged hypocrite. I can't bear the thought of injesting an animal (although I will still eat dairy... I can't quite handle going vegan anytime soon) but I have NO problems carrying around a leather handbag. I see it. I acknowledge it. Am I ready to change it? I'm working on it.

My problem is this... I suffer from a bit of label lust (although I wouldn't necessarily claim my handbag to be a well-known or sought after label) and somehow attribute high cost to high quality. Even so - I detest canvas or nylon bags. I prefer handbags (or at least my daily one) to look polished, chic, etc. I also prefer them to be high quality so they last longer. Unfortunately, I only find these in leather handbags.

I only know of 1 designer that's "animal friendly" in terms of NOT using leather and its Stella McCartney. While owning one of her handbags is one of my dream purchases, I simply can't afford it. Paying over $1k for a purse just makes me a little queasy but only because I don't have the means to do so. I'm sure there are other labels. So help! My faithful readers, point me in the direction of an "animal cruelty free" handbag that is (1) high quality (2) sophisticated and (3) under $500!

I recently read a blurb about Natalie Portman designing some vegan shoes and was stoked. Well... until I saw how much they were! I can't shell out that much for shoes. I just can't. My feet stink. Badly. Very very badly. So I don't invest much in shoes.

Help me people. Its tough to stand by my convictions of eating meat when I'm still wearing it!

Any suggestions?

Best Holiday Card Ever

I've declared "... so I kicked it down the stairs" one of my new favorite phrases to say after I complain about something.

My co-worker really pissed me off today... so I kicked him down the stairs.

The Mr keeps leaving his f'n socks all over the house! ... so I kicked him down the stairs.

My dogs wouldn't sit still for their annual holiday photo in their dorky reindeer ears... so I kicked them down the stairs.

You should try it. Its fun! The last statement was what I wrote in about half of my cards this year (only to those that would get that I'm joking).

We were a little late in sending out holiday cards this year. And by we, I really mean ME. I had ordered 2 packs of cards from PETA along with my super cute t-shirt that says, "My Dog is a Rescue". The card has a dog on the cover in the snow and it states, "Count your blessings this holiday season..." and on the inside it has, "... and give them a hug. A cookie wouldn't hurt either." yeah yeah yeah, its totally dorky but I loved it!

We've received several cards depicting children or cartoons with presents and a phrase about farting. I'm sensing a trend this season...

Anywho, since purchasing stuff from PETA - they send me e-mails. This is what I received in my inbox today:



Ha! A cartoon Colonel Sanders. Haha! And it sent me to this super fun link where you can shake up a snowglobe containing the people that PETA isn't too fond of this year. Check it out! Perhaps its not THAT fun, but it made me laugh. Who doesn't love pretending to inflict bodily harm on others?