Sugar and Spice but I'm not very nice.

Oh guh-ross! Barbies?? Blegh! I do not like Barbies. The doll that looks like it belongs in the playboy mansion. The doll that comes with . . . *shudder* Unicorns and. . . blegh, adorable pink bunnies, and even worse-

A career!

I just saw a commercial for Barbie. And let me tell you. I wasn't wrong to distrust those plastic boob havin' , 1950's Doris Day lookin', unattainable goal projectin' . . . punks!

Growing up, I played with toy dinosaurs. Those things are awesome. And they were the kind that had the name on the belly so you could tell what dinosaur you were playing with. I had two Pachycephalosauri who constantly bumped heads with my one triceratops. One Anklyosaurus, who liked to bludgeon my Iguanodon, a Tyranosaurus Rex, and an orange one that was bigger than the t-rex, but didn't have a name on the bottom. But he was a carnivore for sure.

Anyway, so whilst I was playing with my dinosaurs, my best friend was playing with barbies. When she brought barbies over to my house, I would play with them, yeah. But they'd be doing something awesome. Like re-enacting some scene from Rambo, or flying.

My mom never bought me Barbies. And I thank her endlessly for that.

This commercial I saw just a few minutes ago had the usual Barbie commercial song. Stating that you can "Be who you want to be! B-a-r-b-i-e!"

And you know what career they were giving her today? Today- the inaugural day of the first Black President. Today- nine years and twenty days into the twenty-first century. Today! The time when women can not only vote, but can also have careers and lives outside of housework and homemaking!! Hallelujah the strides we've made!

And today- Barbie was cooking. Barbie was making pie, I think, to be more specific.

Now, what's wrong with cooking? Nothing- lots of people do it. What's wrong with pie? Nothing, I enjoy pie, and I myself can make a pretty mean apple pie.

What's wrong with the commercial? Everything. Barbie is a sort of example for girls out there. A sort of spokeswoman if you would. And you know what she was telling your little girl? She was telling your girl to be who she wants to be. . . as long as it's feminine.

See, I have this sort of problem with these sorts of ads. I have a definite problem with multiple toy commercials. Commercials for barbies, commercials for hot wheels, commercials for video games, etc.

Any commercial that tries to draw a line and put "toys for little boys" on one side and "toys for little girls" on the other gets on my last nerve.

And McDonalds is the worst! Every month or so, they come out with a new promotion. Giving away new toys in their happy meals for little boys and girls to enjoy. What's the big deal? I'll TELL YOU what the big deal is! When you order a happy meal for your kid, they give you a specific toy based on the gender of your child. If you have a little boy, he gets a hotwheels car. If it's a girl, she probably gets a pretty little barbie.

But what if your little girl doesn't want to be restrained by the ideals of society? What if all your little girl wants to do is race her brother down a mountain with a wicked awesome car? Well too bad, little girl. You'll lose that race. Because you know what? Barbies don't come with wheels, specialty paint jobs and amazing modifications (. . . insert joke here). Barbies come with dresses and aprons and cleaning supplies. And those don't stand a chance against brother's new corvette up on that racing mountain. Not a chance.





Little Tikes Hot Wheels Car Adventure Mountain




Weird but relevant- Whenever I get happy meals, I always have to specify that I want a "boy toy" (. . again, insert your own joke here).

My first (kinda) Video Post. . .

. . . In which I make a fool of myself.

Ummm. . . alright, so. . . . . . . . .

I was bored. . . it was late. . . my camera was, like, right there waiting to be used. . .

Sooooooooo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . yeah.

I pretty much started off by saying hi and about two seconds into it, I thought that I was starting off my video the way that Doc A usually does. So I got a little carried away pretending to be everyone's favorite medblogger/podcaster. But it was fun. You have no idea how hard it was keeping a straight face.

Also- sorry but it's kinda sideways. I would've fixed it, but I honestly didn't want to spend that much time on it. I'm lazy. (Ask my mom- she'll tell ya all about it.)

So learn to deal. And just so you don't have to look sideways to see me right side up, I'll even put up a picture!

Awesome Hat was made by my friend Lisa's Mom! Thanks Lisa's Mom!! How awesome! I love it and I'll probably be wearing it nonstop for a while. I love it!

Awesome Polka-Dot Long Johns were bought for me by momma

Awesome Pink Tank-top was bought by me from some store down in Myrtle Beach this summer.

The vid is kinda dark, so I don't know if you'll be able to see that well. It was lighter on my camera . . .

Don't forget to check out the REAL Doc A show! Show number 67 this Thursday, January 15th, at 9pm Eastern time! It's gonna be gooood!

Ninja Ropes

Ninja Ropes. It's a game of skill, intuition, luck and a bit of hand eye coordination. And it only works on. . . firefox. Well, at least for me. It's the only thing I use firefox for.

The Game:
Ninja Ropes Extreme

I have that open at the same time as I have youtube open. Because for some odd reason, Ninja Ropes only lets me get a super high score when I'm listening to the Ninja Ropes song. Here it is for you all to enjoy!

The Song:


The song came from "Commentary- The Musical!" which is a musical commentary that came with the DVD version of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog". It's a pretty awesome movie. When you have 42 spare minutes, go check it out for free on hulu.com !

The Movie:
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I've never been the biggest fan of the director (Joss Whedon) before. I'm just not into the whole vampires, sci-fi, etc thing. I mean, it's not like they weren't good shows- I've seen an episode or two, they're just not my bag.

But this was fun. Dr. Horrible was brilliant. The songs are addicting and the acting is hilariously well done. I think I'm actually a huge fan of Neil Patrick Harris now. I had no idea he could sing that well and his acting was superb. I even went back and watched a few episodes of his early series Doogie Howser, MD (also on hulu) and am now a fan!

So play the game, listen to the song, check out the movie, and have fun!

My Ninja Ropes record:

83.39 Yards Can ya beat it?

Screenshot Proof:

Extra Credit if you can see whose blogs I have bookmarked up at the top there. Speaks volumes.

Happy Holidays!

So Christmas is over, but that doesn't mean the fun has to end! I've got tons of presents to play with, and a few parties to attend!



A few of the more notable gifts I received include:

• A brand new digital camera (red)!


• Some long johns. Those are fun!


• Mamma Mia Soundtrack- which I immediately put on my zune and can't stop listening to!


• Raspberry Hot Chocolate!! I flipping love hot chocolate. I should register that phrase as a trademark. Hahaha. I say it often enough. But it's true!
• A lava lamp (from a white elephant christmas party, so it's still technically "something I got" for christmas)

So anyway. I have a party to get ready for. I've been cleaning all day. Some high school friends and I are going to get together. I'm not going to tell you which nerdy club we were all in, but I'll tell ya - it's sure as heck not Physics Club ;) hee hee!

So I've been putting up old articles and flyers from "back in the day" (this phrase here means 2006) . And I kept some of the props/costumes from then, so I've been putting them up on diplay for the partay. (Note: "partay" was spelled as such in order for it to match the word "display". Don't think for one second I can't spell "party". I won the spelling bee in 4th and 5th grade, yaknow. Got the ribbons to prove it. And besides. When you p-a-r-t-y as much as I do, it's hard not to spell it right!)

I'll be at a different party tommorrow night. At Jenna's house as per the usual. That's where all the hip-hop-happenin' people go for things like chrismas parties or new year's eve! That was where the aforementioned white elephant christmas party was held as well. I can't count the number of times I've gone to their house. It's just so much fun! (But don't worry, Mom- I have much much more fun staying at home and watching movies with you than I ever will at anyone else's house ever!)

So those are my end of year plans! See y'all later!

Guest Post: Why Doctors Go Unheard

I got an e-mail awhile back from Kelly Kilpatrick who writes articles for Nursing School Search, a site dedicated to helping nursing students find exactly what they're looking for in a school! The articles she writes are very good, and I was sort of surprised that she wanted to guest post on my site. I don't think I was the only person to whom she sent a request to guest post, but unlike some other bloggers, I'm a risk taker. ;) Hee hee. So anyway, on with the awesome guest post!

GUEST POST:

____________

Why Doctors Go Unheard…

There’s not much sense in going to see a doctor if you’re not going to accept their diagnosis and follow instructions for your treatment, but that’s just what most of us do at some time or the other. We recognize signs of illness and wish to get them checked out, and so we go to a doctor. But there are times when we fail to listen to them, and the reasons are:

• We may feel the suggested treatment is too aggressive: Some patients get it into their heads that the doctor is out to make more money off them and so, recommends diagnostic tests and medications that are not actually needed. Some feel that they’re under pressure from the drug companies to prescribe their products, especially if the medicine is not life-threatening. Other patients feel that the doctors are scared of being sued for malpractice if any serious disease shows up later, and so, are trying to cover all the bases by taking extra precautions.

• We may feel the suggested treatment is insufficient: Some doctors are considered too lazy to properly examine the patient and then diagnose his or her condition – they use superficial symptoms to make a hasty diagnosis and prescribe placebo-like medicines. Some patients feel that their symptoms are too strong to be dismissed as just a common cold or a viral fever, and if the doctor pooh-poohs their fears, they get to thinking that they’ve not been subject to the right amount of treatment.

• They feel the doctor is not competent enough: Some patients feel that they know enough about medicine to tell when a doctor is good and when he or she is not. They may base their decision on the questions the doctor asks and on his or her bedside manner.

So what happens when a patient refuses to accept a doctor’s treatment at face value? Well, if the treatment is perceived as being too aggressive, they may decide to skip a few of the suggested tests or forgo a few of the medicines prescribed. And if the treatment is thought of as being too mild, they may seek another opinion before following the original prescription, or they may decide to change doctors altogether.

The dicey part of not listening to your doctor is that you don’t know if you’re making a big mistake or if you’re just being smart enough to call things as you see them. A large part of medical treatment involves trust; you need to trust your doctor because you are literally placing your life in his or her hands, and when this trust does not exist, it’s time to question your doctor’s diagnosis and seek another opinion. Remember, it’s not the doc who has anything to lose if you decide to leave and go elsewhere; but if your decision is wrong, it could cost you your life. So follow the treatment, one that you trust.

By-line:

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of choosing a nursing school. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com
____________________________________________________________

To read other articles from Kelly, try out these links!

The Heparin Conundrum

Caring for the Caregiver

And don't forget to check out the rest of the site over at http://www.nursingschoolsearch.com/!

Thanks, Kelly for the wonderful guest post! If you are ever in the guest post-ey mood again, feel free to drop me a line! And that goes for the rest of you as well!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas needs to get here already!!

Okay, so I love Christmas. I really really do. The little kids getting excited, the toys in the store, the smell of winter, that chill in the air. Not to mention the christmas songs on the radio, the "magical" tv specials, and that feeling in the air on a cold winter's night when you're cuddled up on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa, there's a Christmas song playing gently in the background, a fire crackling in the fireplace and the Christmas tree glowing brightly in the dark night.

And I wish it would hurry up and get here! I mean, I know I still have shopping to do. I'm a procrastinator. But I don't mind shopping. Just the other day, the heavy-set hispanic clerk at the local dollar store said I had a nice smile (I smile all the time, smiling's my favorite)! How cute is that? I had a little skip in my step the rest of the day from that little self-esteem boost.

But other than a bit of shopping, I'm soooo ready for Christmas to come! I can't stand waiting! The presents are piling up under the tree and it's getting colder and colder outside. We've always had tons and tons of presents under the tree. Growing up, there were 8 people in the house all buying (or having mom buy for them what they picked out themselves) presents for everyone else. That's 8 people buying one present each for Mom, Dad, and each of their 5 siblings. And then Santa would always fill our stockings with more goodies than we ever could imagine. Big family, big Christmas.

Now that the family has grown up a little more, we're including two nephews and a cousin/roommate who will be getting and giving presents! There are going to be a ton of presents under that tree! It's going to look awesome!

My favorite part of the holiday season is giving. I know it sounds lame and like I'm only saying what I'm supposed to say, and I'm not going to lie to you. I love getting presents. But it's really not so much the stuff, or what I get. I like seeing what sort of thing people get me. For example:

My big sister always gets me some sort of girly stuff. Like those baskets with lotion and body wash and things. One year she got me perfume. Britney Spears' Curious perfume to be precise. This sort of gift shows not only that people give the type of gifts they love to receive, but also the kind of gifts they think the person would need or like. I used to hate the gifts she gave because I didn't like "girly stuff" or I thought she was trying to send a certain message with her perfumes and soaps. But I've come to appreciate the thought that went into it. No, she doesn't think I smell bad, and no, she doesnt' think I'm a slob. She knows that having those things for her helps her feel better about herself and makes her feel pretty. And I think that by giving those things to me, she's trying to make me feel better about myself. Which is awesome, because those gifts work. She always knows exactly what to get me to make me feel like a grown up woman, and not a little girl. And I deeply appreciate it.

So when I give presents, I like to show people how well I know them. I love showing my mom that I was totally paying attention that time we were in the store and she was eyeing that cute towel set. I like to show my brother that I totally get his taste in music and know that he would love to have this cd or that record. I love showing my big sister that even though we might not see eye to eye on the things we like, I still care enough to get those things for her.

The message we send when giving gifts is priceless, and helps to convey feelings and emotions. These messages help to define the relationships we share with those around us. And even if we lose that one gift from our cousin we didn't really need but still liked, or keep that boring gift in our closet to re-gift next year, or even if we use that really awesome gift over and over until it's worn down, it isn't really the item that matters. It's what we're saying by giving it.

So this holiday season, I'm going to pay attention and see how my presents are recieved. I'm going to try to get the perfect gift that will convey the message I want to send with exactness. And remember that it's not the size or the price of the gift - it's what you're saying by giving it, and how you can convey your love in the right way to the right people.

(Just a random side note: That little baby crab that Dora helps out by taking it to it's mommy is adorable. I love that episode.)

Getting a little personal.

It's raining right now. Pretty hard, too. The rain is beating against the window pane and I can feel the cold seeping in from outside. I just know that later, when I go outside, I'll be able to smell it. You know that smell. The "it just rained and everything's starting to dry off" smell. I love that smell.

I was born in Austell, Georgia. The house I grew up in was right across the street from the elementary school that my siblings and I attended. My best friends lived next door, across the street (Not at the school, but across the street the other way. Our house was on the corner.), and halfway down to the cul-du-sac.

The sidewalk near my house had eight handprints on it. When they put it in, Mom and Dad took us out to go make handprints and write our names on the sidewalk.

In the front yard, there was a pear tree that never really produced alot of pears for some reason. Also in the front yard was a tree that was good for climbing. I mean, to even reach the lowest branch, you had to prop your bike up against the tree, but still. Once you got to that first branch, the rest was an easy climb to the top. There was a tree like that in the backyard as well. The climbing tree in the backyard was my favorite. It was right up against the fence, so we could climb up the fence and into the tree with ease. Needless to say, my siblings and I were a climbey bunch of kids. We must've climbed every tree in the neighborhood and the small woods around it at least once each.

So mid '96, when I was about 8 years old, my dad built a loft in the garage. Now, since our house was a split-level house, the garage was pretty darn big. It went from the very bottom, to the very top. And none of the other rooms in the house did that. If it was clean, we could've fit a couple cars in there with plenty of room to spare. But we had so much stuff to store, we could never clean it all. Thus the loft. The loft was supposed to help with storage and getting things out of the way. I'd say it was about 16 feet high, and took up a corner of the garage.

Now, to an eight year old, 16 feet is pretty big. And at first, we probably weren't allowed up there at all. But there were things stacked against the loft, and we were able to climb up and hang out there. Eventually, a TV made it's way into the loft, a couple of cushions, maybe a blanket or two, and it became the place we would go after school to hang out. Just my siblings and I. But mostly just me. I was probably the youngest kid who was allowed up there. My little brothers wanted to come up, but mom never really let them until they were bigger.

So after school, I'd go up to the loft, lay on my stomach next to the 16-foot drop (it's where the tv was, okay?) and watch my afternoon cartoons, play video games or read books. I loved reading books, and I'd be up in that loft for hours at a time with my boxcar children books. Sometimes, my friends and I would hang out in the loft. I think if their parents had seen the loft, they might not have let them come over to our house anymore.

But one of the things I remember most about the loft was that since there was no room above it, and no rooms around it (except the kitchen on the other side of one wall), you could hear the rain very very well. So I would go up to the loft whenever it started raining hard. I say this because when it wasn't raining too hard, I would most definetly be going on adventures in the woods with my friends. But when the heavy rain started and the thunder started pounding, I would go up to the loft, with the lights off, and just lay there, listening. I would even fall asleep sometimes laying there in the dark, listeining to the rain. Since the loft was in the garage, the sound was even louder because of the empty space. I would lay there until mom called me in for dinner or something. It was very nice. And I knew I was safe in the loft. My Daddy built it, so why wouldn't I be? Although I do remember almost falling off of the edge, and that scared the heck out of me. But mostly, I was comfortable with the edge. I would sleep with a leg and an arm hanging off of the edge, or I would be dangling my feet down, or just lay on my stomach and look down at the garage from right there on the edge.

Everytime it rains that hard, I think about the loft, and how I'd love to go back and take a nap in it. But sadly, in the winter of 1999, we tore the loft down because we were moving to Memphis, TN. The people who wanted to buy our house didn't want a loft in their garage, and wouldn't buy our house until we took it down. So down it went. My safe place. My old friend. My loft.


R.I.P Loft
1996-1999