Lady: I just called customer service and they just laughed at me!
Me: (Oh boy... this is going to be good.)
Lady: I'm being billed double for my drum kit! I normally have auto-pay and they take $33 from my credit card. This month they charged me $33 and then my capital one credit card says I owe a balance of $120. You are charging me double!
Me: Well, we don't have anything to do with your capital one credit card. We bill you each month, but we don't send you bills through capital one.
Lady: Yes you do! I only use my capital one card for your company, so it is you!
Me: Ma'am, we send you bills from us, but we don't send you any bills for your credit card. Let me see if I can figure this out for you. Are you renting or financing that drum kit?
Lady: They told me if I kept paying I would own the drum kit.
Me: (::blinks::) So, uh, is it for a school or is it a big drum set for your house?
Lady: No, it's for school.
Me: Ah, okay. So you're renting. Okay, I'm looking at your account now and it looks like you're all current. You don't owe us anything currently. If you chose to, however, you could pay us $84 right now and then you would own the drum kit. Would you like to do that?
Lady: But I already owe you $120! If I pay capital one that $120 then I will have paid off the $84 and I will own it. Okay. I'll do that.
Me: Well no, that's not really how that works. You see, you don't owe us anything, but if you chose to you could pay off the drum kit right now by paying us $84. The $120 is owed to your credit card company, not us.
Lady: So you're telling me I have to pay you $120 and THEN $84? That's double! I'm not paying double!
Me: Well no, it's not. What's happening is you are using your credit card from capital one to pay for the drum kit from us. But see, it's really that capital one is paying for the drum kit. They are billing you because you have to pay them back the money you borrowed from them.
Lady: But it says “_your company name_” on the credit card statement. It says I owe $120!
Me: Right. But that's the money you owe to capital one, not us. We have nothing to do with capital one. You borrow money from capital one to pay us, but then capital one needs you to pay them back for what you borrowed.
Lady: I know, I understand, but I'm still not paying double for that drum kit! I'm going to pay capital one the money and they will pay you for the drum kit and then I will own it.
Me: No, you need to pay us if you want to own the drum kit. Whatever you pay to capital one goes to capital one, not us.
Lady: So I have to pay you and then you're going to just charge me more money from capital one!?!?!?
Me: (JESUS FUCKING CHRIST) No, ma'am. You pay us with your credit card, but then you have to pay back the money that you borrowed from capital one.
Lady: (At this point she's yelling and crying simultaneously) I'm going to pay capital one the money and then they will pay you. I will take care of this myself! And I'm not shopping at your store anymore! (*click*)
A few mixed things...
The puppy we were fostering went back to the kennel. He wasn't compatible with our other dogs and he was a lot to handle for my mom. Then, yesterday, my mom came home with a miniature black poodle puppy. He's adorable... tiny and featherlight, with no spine whatsoever so he's incredibly floppy. He's adorable... I can't wait to show pictures!
"Hard Candy" starring Ellen Page.... disturbing, but a great work of art. My parents agreed, surprisingly.
I guess that's all I have energy for, as I just woke up after dozing off at my computer.. yeah..
This morning I was greeted by a big, clumsy, affectionate puppy. :)
Yes... that means he's at my house now! We're going to foster him for awhile.
So far the other three dogs are taking it well. The pomeranian doesn't like new dogs coming here to live, but she's definitely not visibly upset or anything yet. Our long-haired chihuahua is excited, as we expected. She's always loved big dogs, which is quite hilarious to watch. She gets all giddy and spins around and tries to play with them, so I think we're in for a good time in that regard. And lastly, the papillon-poodle. He's the baby, so he's not been through this whole "new dog" thing yet. He's pretty upset, and is clinging to whoever is farthest away from the new dog. He also keeps crying whenever the puppy comes near him, but that's not surprising, as we've always called him the "Drama King".
So, this was a pleasant surprise this morning, and I'm crossing my fingers we can keep him eventually. :) ...../' <--- Haha.. The puppy just smacked the keyboard in an attempt to sit on my lap. What a cutie. Anyway, since I'm talking about animals, I'll stick with the theme....
What does it mean to be yourself?
Who am I?
Am I a happy person?
Sometimes
But sometimes I am not
Sometimes I cry
or get angry
Sometimes I am scared
I don't always know what I am scared of
Am I myself when I don't understand my own emotions?
Sometimes I cry so hard it hurts
Sometimes I laugh so hard I cry
Sometimes I do both at the same time
I often think about feelings
That doesn't mean I understand them
But I try to
Feelings can be so overwhelming
One day, it can all be so clear
Then the next...
Something changes
and I'm lost
How am I supposed to know who I am
when I can't understand my own emotions?
Emotions do not define a person
but a person needs to know the reasons
for feeling the way they do
I do not know who I am.
--:--
My family and I visited a pet adoption center today. We met with this adorable little guy. He's a Pointer/Beagle Mix and he's under a year old. He was so incredibly sweet and kept jumping up to give us hugs. He still has the adorable puppy run and the extra-large paws... I'm in love. We met with the kennel owner and we're going to find out on Monday whether or not he will be able to stay with us for a trial period. We already have 3 babies at home... a Pomeranian, a Long-Haired Chihuahua, and a Papillon/Poodle Mix, so we are all a little concerned about how well this guy will handle such little dogs. Fingers crossed though; I want him to come home with us. :)
Alright, onto some updates.
1. My birthday was this past weekend. It was a tad bit depressing, but I will share the good details... I got two new (well, antique really) rings. I am very excited about this. I have a pretty big obsession with collecting antique jewelry -- primarily rings -- so I was excited when my mother saw one of the rings I was eying but wasn't about to spend that amount of money on....
Pictures!!!
This one I bought for myself. It's a rather large blue topaz stone set in sterling silver. I love it. I love how bright and shiny and huge it is... gawd... I'm such a girl.
This one is a bit harder to see, and the photo certainly doesn't do the ring justice. This one my mom bought for me. It's a white gold ring with diamonds and white gold filigree. It has a very intricate pattern to it and is so beautiful to look at. I absolutely love this ring. If I can get a better picture of it later, I will post it.Over the weekend, I discovered an amazing new place to display my artwork and experiment with new techniques. There is this website called "ratemydrawings" and it's great because you can draw on the site's own photoshop-esque program and then... (this is the best part)... you can watch your drawings played back to you. You can navigate through the site and see other artists' work and you can watch how they did it and then rate their work. It's a wonderful concept, and I will be spending a lot of time there from now on.
Oh... and just because... here are my cousins and I... making asses out of ourselves (a few years ago). Enjoy! :)
**The top picture in this post is one I made a year or so ago. You can see more on my Deviantart profile HERE.
*The artwork above is a Bipolar piece of mine. It was done during a severe manic episode a week or so ago, and it reflects the sporadic behavior I've been accustomed to lately.
1. The truth comes out eventually... you just have to be patient while waiting for it.
2. Sometimes things that should make you happy, instead, make you very sad.
3. I guess I'm a little late... and that really sucks.
On another note, I discovered an amazing database of graphic design stuff... and it's just fantastic. You must check it out if you enjoy, at all, new trends in graphic arts.
http://xatal.com/internet/the-top-35-web-design-galleries-on-the-internet/
and... last but not least...
Try not to smile while watching this video. Go ahead, try. Yeah, you fail.
Kingsford Goes to the Beach - The most popular videos are here
'Til next time, folks.
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Celie. Celie was a cheerful child who enjoyed the company of her friends and family, and enjoyed having a happy life. She would always call her friends on the phone, spend time with them on weekends, and she loved having them in her life. Celie also loved her family very much and would always make sure to keep in close contact with them. She believed in a close-knit family and always wanted to know how everyone was doing, especially since she lived far away from most of them. Celie was always known as a happy person, a kind and caring girl with lots of positive energy to share with all of the people she regularly interacted with. Celie was a ray of sunshine in the dark, cruel world.
As she got older, Celie started to change. She slowly started falling away from all of the people she was close to. She called them less, visited them much less often, and even pushed some of them away deliberately. She did not recognize the change in herself until after she realized many months had gone by since she had last spoken to the closest of her friends and family. Once Celie realized that she was no longer part of their lives, she was too ashamed, too devastated to even make an attempt at mending those relationships.
Celie was alone, except for one relationship... her relationship with Jynx.
Jynx had once loved Celie. He cared for her, made her the center of his world, at least for awhile. Suddenly, Jynx wasn't around as much. He spent a lot more time with his other friends, and he would leave Celie alone in the middle of the night; alone to cry while he had a great time.
"There goes another relationship," thought Celie.
Instead of mending the broken relationships, Celie looked elsewhere for replacements. She thought that perhaps since she was not deserving of forgiveness from those she abandoned, that she would just need to find new friends to take their places. Celie was very lonely and was desperate for something to fill that new void in her life.
Celie lost control of herself quite frequently.
First, she let the world know that she needed a friend. She didn't care that she already had Jynx.
She wanted more than that.
Celie was not able to recognize that her reasons for making these new "friends" were all the wrong ones. Like a millionaire opening his vault for all the world to dig into, Celie opened herself up to the world for whatever the world wanted. Unfortunately, the world is full of very bad people.
First, Celie met Eli. Eli seemed to be a sort of Prince Charming, at first. He was polite, intelligent... a very upstanding gentleman, she thought. Eli told Celie that he wanted to know all about her; she willingly agreed. When Eli looked Celie in the eyes for the very first time, his eyes burned her like fire. Celie's body felt like it had gone up in flames. Eli was not a Prince Charming after all. In fact, he was just the opposite. He wanted Celie to cry, he wanted her to burn, he wanted her to know that she was inadequate, imperfect, not good enough... especially for him.
Celie was heartbroken.
Celie decided it was time to look elsewhere for friends. She thought that maybe she had set her sights too high... that perhaps Eli was right... she was not good enough for his level.
Nolan was very interested in meeting Celie. He thought she was beautiful, and he made certain she knew that. Nolan got a little over-anxious around Celie, however, and it bothered her that he was so easily amused. Despite her loneliness, despite how desperate she was, Celie didn't like it when someone thought more highly of her than she thought of herself. Nolan thought too highly of Celie, wanted more from her than she was willing or ready to give. When Celie tried to walk away from Nolan, he objected.
Nolan was a villain, too.
He followed her around, begged her to change her mind. Celie was scared, so she hid away for a long while. It seemed to work out very well, as she didn't hear from him for a long time, but then one day, he found her. Nolan was very disappointed with Celie and that she ran away from him. He felt that they belonged together and that she should stop hiding. Celie told him that if he didn't stop chasing her, she would cause him great harm. That was when Nolan finally slipped away, leaving Celie alone.
Then Celie met Wes. Wes was very kind and affectionate, a wonderful friend. Celie and Wes talked for hours each day, getting to know each other very well. Celie thought that she had met a perfect friend. Then one day, Wes told Celie that she had to make a choice. He told her that if she didn't surrender herself to him completely, he would not give her what she wanted most - his companionship. Celie loved being someone's friend, but she also did not like being controlled. In desperation, Celie lied. Wes gave her his companionship, only for a short while, until Celie abandoned him just like she abandoned everyone else.
The Elders were Celie's guardians. They tried their very best to keep a close eye on Celie, but she was mischeivous and deceitful, she lied to them too.
The Elders were very displeased when they found out that Celie was giving herself out to the world. They believed in truth and honesty, in self-respect. The Elders believed that Celie was hurting herself by giving herself away. They thought she deserved much better, that she was destroying herself with her rash actions.
Terrified of what the Elders were going to say to her, Celie ran away.
Jynx was there to rescue her, but for all the wrong reasons. Jynx liked to make Celie feel bad about herself. To him, it was a game. Celie was blind, though, especially to Jynx's real intentions.
Celie thought she loved him.
That's when she told him that she wanted to give her very soul to him, and she wanted his in return. He agreed, and Celie thought that it was true love. Little did Celie know, Jynx only wanted to see her cry. He knew that if he agreed to what she wanted, he could easily turn around and change his mind. Jynx looked forward to what pain he was about to cause little Celie.
Jynx betrayed Celie.
He told the Elders where she was, and let them come and find her. The Elders took Celie to a big building, where lots of different people go when they are sad.
Celie was lost.
Big, scary people invaded her brain, invaded her thoughts... made her tell them the truth. Eventually Celie was starting to feel a little bit better, a little less lonely. On the night before Celie was to be released from the big building, she recieved a phone call from Jynx.
Jynx wanted to hurt Celie.
He called her to tell her that he didn't want to be her friend anymore, that he found a new friend named Ren who was going to take her place.
Celie had to pretend like she wasn't sad so the big, scary people would let her go home.
Celie was very good at lying.
It was time for Celie to go home, and she was anxious to get back to her life. She was still very sad about how all of her friends were gone, especially since Jynx had jumped ship as well. She tried to occupy herself with artwork, music, games. Nothing worked perfectly, but she never gave up.
Celie's life changed one day.
A very unexpected gift was given to Celie. It was bright and shiny, beautiful, but at the same time, it was also as black as Jynx's heart. Celie felt sad, scared... excited? Celie was equally as happy about the gift as she was terrified.
The Elders were not pleased.
They wanted Celie to give her gift back, for fear that it would only be a distraction during her recovery process. They feared that the gift would ultimately destroy her.
Celie knew that the Elders were right, but instead of deciding right away, she called Jynx for some help. Jynx knew that since he once loved Celie, and she once loved him, that he too was obligated to decide what to do with the gift. Jynx didn't want the gift around... he wanted Celie to throw it away.
Celie was very protective of her gift, and didn't think she was able to just throw it away like that. The more she thought about it, however, the more she realized that it was going to hurt her in the end.
The Elders helped Celie throw away the gift, but were very unhappy with Celie for taking so long to decide, so they asked her to leave.
Jynx let Celie stay with him for awhile, but he still left her alone most of the time. He didn't truly care about Celie, and didn't care how much he hurt her, as long as he got to be close to her from time to time.
Celie travelled to other worlds when she was alone.
In one of the other worlds, she met a wonderful new friend. His name was Gio. Gio was very perceptive. He knew right away that Celie was broken and needed to be fixed. He showed her all of the beautiful places in his world, showed her how to fly. Hand-in-hand, Celie and Gio flew over the world. He knew her so well in such a short time that Celie barely had to share her feelings anymore.
Gio made Celie smile for the first time in years.
It was Gio who showed Celie that Jynx was a villain. Gio gently carried Celie back to her Elders, tucked her back into her bed. Gio restored the peace in Celie's world.
Celie was caught by surprise when an old friend, Orion, stepped out of the shadows. Celie had always known Orion to be a nice person, someone she very much admired, but she never thought herself to be good enough for his friendship. Orion looked into Celie's eyes in a way that no one else ever had before. He knew about her secret pain, her secret pleasures... he knew her before she could even speak a word to him about herself.
Orion cast a magic spell on Celie, made her feel beautiful, special... made her feel like she belonged in the world. The spell was so strong that Celie let Orion into her life while simultaneously pushing Gio out of it. Gio did not deserve the pain and the abandonment, but Celie knew in her heart that he would be better off with someone more like himself -- a much better person than Celie would ever be.
Orion and Celie were both very sad...
...but it was their companionship that made them happy. When Celie was sad, Orion would cradle her and make the pain go away. When Orion was sad, Celie would hold his face in her hands and kiss his forehead to stop his tears from falling.
Celie and Orion understood each other.
Years went by and their love grew. Celie and Orion were inseparable. They argued often, but only because they were so in-tune with each other's feelings that it sometimes got the best of them.
Celie seemed to be doing much better... for awhile.
Then, the feelings started rushing back to her... the pain, the confusion, the intense and overwhelming sadness. Celie could not identify where the feelings were coming from, nor did she know how to make them go away.
Celie couldn't sleep sometimes. She would stay up until sunrise, doing nothing important, instead of getting the sleep she knew she needed. She would go out often, spending money on things that she did not need. She got very upset when Orion didn't pay attention to her at the exact moments she wanted him to. She confused people she talked to, speaking too quickly for them to understand what she was talking about. Celie was falling apart.
Sometimes Celie would cry for days. She would be so upset that she could barely breathe.
Sometimes Celie's mind would race. She would feel like her mind was moving at 200 miles a minute, so quickly that she couldn't even understand what she was thinking. Her chest would feel fluttery, tingly... and she would feel as if she could run all the way around the world - twice. She felt wonderful... euphoric, even. She would create beautiful artwork, play beautiful music, and she felt as if she knew all the secrets of the universe.
And then, sometimes, she would crash again.
Laying in her bed at night, Celie would clench her fists and wrap her arms tightly around her chest, staring up at the ceiling. It was in her bed that Celie would let all of her emotions out.
The pain was so intense that Celie thought that she was dying.
Inside her, a little monster was trying to tear its way out, clawing at her heart, her chest... pounding on the walls of her skull. Celie wanted more than anything to make the pain stop. She wanted to reach inside herself and snatch the monster out.
Celie knew that once the monster was free, she wouldn't hurt anymore.
But the monster was quick. He took over her whole body, making Celie helpless. She could no longer control her appetite, her actions, her words, her emotions, her appearance. Celie was no longer in control of herself or her life... the monster had taken over everything within her.
Celie was scared.
She confided in her Elders, knowing that they would understand. She also confided in Orion, knowing that he too would try and help her get rid of the monster.
Unfortunately, to this day, Celie's monster is still slowly eating her alive.
Hopefully, someday, she will find a way to scare the monster away forever.
Touch my world with your fingertips...
And we can have forever
And we can love forever"
I can't believe I ever doubted, ever questioned, our fate together. It is inevitable... we are meant to be together, and together we will be.
Neil Patrick Harris is so cool.
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a doctor so badly because of this guy. I watched Doogie Howser religiously, mostly because I was pretty much in love with him. It was such an addiction that my parents started using the show as a way of explaining lengths of time to me. Whenever we would go on trips or longer-than-usual drives, and I would nag like any other child, "When will we get there?", they would say, "In two Doogies," or however many was appropriate. A "Doogie" meant a half-hour, and so I would sit there, thinking myself through an episode that I remembered well, in order to pass the time.
I know, I know... why would anyone bother sharing this story? Honestly, I don't know... :-)
But in any case, this video made me laugh my ass off the other night. I was stumbling around and came across it, and wondered how I didn't see it sooner. If you were a Doogie fan or just love the great NPH, you must see this. It is very much a parody of him, but it's done so well and it's hilarious.
Enjoy!
"They were taking pictures like every other fan – they were really cool and appreciative of me being there. I really liked that."
-Miley Cyrus, when asked how it was performing for the Obama girls.
Jesus. When is this girl going to realize that the world does not revolve around her? I mean, she met the PRESIDENT'S KIDS and she thinks THEY were privileged to have met HER? Rigggghhht.
Oh yeah... THIS is why.
The man is a genius. He creates some really awesome music, makes artistic music videos, and my favorite part... it's all so sexy. I love it so much. Guys, girls, whoever... admit it... this shit is HOT.
I had an extraordinary weekend. I got to visit for several days with someone very dear to me, my wonderful boyfriend Ryan, and we gallivanted all over the place in search of exotic food, art, and architecture. I hadn't exactly forgotten how much I love the city, but it was surprisingly fun and exciting to wander around D.C. again, as I haven't in a very long time.
First, we visited the renovation site of an amazing estate in Georgetown. It's on a large plot of land in the middle of downtown Georgetown, surrounded by a brick wall with wrought iron gates, and is shaded by tall trees and shrubbery. The house is very stately, with large windows, balconies, a tennis court, carriage house, and many levels filled with rooms that still have the remnants of gorgeous antique floral wallpapers. The house has been torn apart and is in the middle of a multi-year renovation process, which my boyfriend is actively helping in. The ceilings are being reinforced, walls rebuilt, and modern electricity and plumbing installed. I'm not sure that I will be able to, but I'm hoping I will be able to visit again when the project is complete. If I could choose a home to live in, this house would be it.
Our next stop was to this FANTASTIC Korean restaurant in downtown Georgetown, which unfortunately, the name I cannot remember. I had my first hot sake, which was apparently a very high end brand... it was amazing! Sake is always very interesting, I am told, but this particular type was very complex, rich in flavor, and had a really nice earthy aftertaste. I would love to get my hands on a bottle of it. For dinner, we had seaweed salad and then bulgogi bibimbap. This was my first experience with bibimbap, and I will be happily having it again.. hopefully soon. It's a simple dish, but the way the flavors mix is just out of this world. This particular type is made by cooking rice, then layering 9 different vegetables and bulgogi (korean barbecue beef) on top. When it is served, it is not mixed; the vegetables and meat are just laying on top in piles. You then add as much fish oil as you'd like and, if preferred, spicy sauce, and you mix it all together very well. When it is mixed, the heat of the rice blends the flavors of all the vegetables and meat together. It's a fabulous dish, and I am going to be learning to make it very soon. :-)
Next stop... the Hirshhorn. This place is my absolute favorite art gallery. It's always full of exciting and strange exhibits, and is constantly changing. I love the National Gallery of Art as well, but the Hirshhorn just has so much more charm.
Lucky for me... Ron Mueck's "Big Man" was still on display. I have been privileged enough to see this piece many times in the past, but it has been years since I have been to the Hirshhorn and I was sure he would have been moved by now. Apparently, I was mistaken.
Since I brought it up, however... let me introduce you folks to one of the most remarkable artists of today... Ron Mueck, a hyper-realist sculptor.
Final stop... bubble tea. :-) It had been awhile since I went out and got any, so we headed over to where the bubble tea place always was. The bad news is, the place that was once there, "Bubble Cafe" was gone, but... the good news is the new place, a family-run Vietnamese restaurant, also sells bubble tea. Honeydew.. mmmmmmm.
Then, Grand Mart for all of our exotic grocery needs.... Jelly shots ("Does Not Contain Konjak" heh.), wasabi peas, ginger root, chocolate cones, lychee jellies, and ritters.
Oh how I love Grand Mart. I really wish they'd put one near here, but this area is too white for that. :-p
Then on Sunday, we went to Next Dimensions and had the best meatloaf in the whole wide world. Seriously, people. This stuff is ridiculous. I think they put drugs in it because every time I've had it, it's just blown me away.
Y'know, I promised myself I would never talk about my day on this blog. Oh well...
I recall one summer's night
Within the month of June
Flowers in mahogany hair
And smell of earth in bloom
Only such a melody
Comes without a sound
More than faintly heard by those
Who know what they have found
Now it's just a memory
Silently we wander
Into this void of consequence
My shade will always haunt her
But she will be my guiding light
In search of truth and confidence
So many hopes were lost here
Along the way
From morning to night
Meet me by the wishing well
In cover of the moon
Whisper to me tenderly
That I will see you soon
Sing that song from long ago
So I remember you
Flowers in mahogany hair
And mellow days in June
Only for the memory
From ashes we were born
In silence we unite
