Pet Peeves

We all have those little things that drive us crazy, some like to call them pet peeves, some say pep peeves; I guess it's where you come from. Pet or pep, either way, today was a day packed full of some of my favorite pep peeves that drive me crazy. Here is a list of almost all my pet peeves. I realize this makes me sound crazy, but if you took the time to write down all those things that drive you crazy, you would have a long list too.

1. Talking / making noise during a movie - THIS DRIVES ME MAD! There is one person in my life that is terrible at this. I want to scream when he's in the room and I what to avoid watching movies with him at all costs...my dear dad. He just talks to the dog, eats things in loud wrappers, turns the other TV on so loud Canada can hear it, decides to nail something, etc. We all know these people. If you're one of them, please never watch a movie with me. It will ruin my opinion of you.
1B. Dilly Dallying around (yes that's what I said) and coming into a movie 30 minutes late then asking the whole time who's that? What's going on? .... Basically either sit in silence with me and enjoy the show or let me watch it alone. I know that sounds harsh but I love my movie time.
2. People who don't turn on red - If there isn't a sign then turn. I can understand if traffic is heavy, we do need to be cautious. But if there isn't anyone on road then why don't you turn?
2B. Right turn signals on traffic lights - You have a right turn signal with no "No turn on Red" sign and no left turn signal...WHAT? That makes no sense at all. Why have the Turn on Red law then?
3. Ketchup on steak - That is a good way to ruin a perfectly good steak. No excuse.
4. Squeezing the toothpaste from the top or center.
5. People who check their text / respond to a text while in the middle of a conversation - They just hold up their finger as to say "hold on one minute while I check this text that is way more important than what you're saying"
5B. Bluetooth
6. Putting toilet paper on the holder with the flap hanging behind instead of in front - the picture shows the way that doesn't drive me crazy
7. Red pen
8. People who dress their dogs
9. Putting stuffed animals in the back of your car so I have the pleasure of staring at them in traffic.
10. Talking in the morning - I'm not a morning person at all and I love the still quietness that only comes with the morning. Don't try to make small talk with me while I sip my coffee and watch the sun rise.
11. TVs in the bedroom
12. People who air box after making a joke. My boss does this.

Becoming Jane

A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.
The year is 1795 and young Jane Austen is a feisty 20-year-old and emerging writer who already sees a world beyond class and commerce, beyond pride and prejudice, and dreams of doing what was then nearly unthinkable - marrying for love. Naturally, her parents are searching for a wealthy, well-appointed husband to assure their daughter's future social standing. They are eyeing Mr. Wisley, nephew to the very formidable, not to mention very rich, local aristocrat Lady Gresham, as a prospective match. But when Jane meets the roguish and decidedly non-aristocratic Tom Lefroy, sparks soon fly along with the sharp repartee. His intellect and arrogance raise her ire - then knock her head over heels. Now, the couple, whose flirtation flies in the face of the sense and sensibility of the age, is faced with a terrible dilemma. If they attempt to marry, they will risk everything that matters - family, friends and fortune. (Yahoo Movies)

This is truly a beautiful story of love vs. society, irony, and perseverance. Jane Austin has always been a favorite of mine. The first time I read Pride and Prejudice was in the 8th grade and it was the first book I actually read all the way through. Ironically I do not own any copies of her work, which is a shame. Her stories are so well written that I always wondered where her inspiration came from. This film captures her growth from scattered thoughts strewn out on a piece of paper to an unexpected and life/career changing inspiration that sparked the famous work, Pride and Prejudice. Anne Hathaway portrayed a stubborn, young and wide eyed romantic Jane Austen in a way that deserves an Oscar nomination. Maggie Smith played her typical role as the hardhearted old woman, but did an amazing job at it none the less. I wanted to punch James McAvoy (Chronicles of Narnia) the first quarter of the film, then kiss him the last half.

I won't begin to go into the beauty of this film. It is so simplistic. The costumes weren't trying to make some huge symbolic statement, nor distracted your eye away from the story. Lush greens and muted pastels flush the screen and calm the eye. That's what I'll leave it at for now.

I walked out of this movie with tears in my eyes. A movie rarely makes me cry, when it does I know that it's something worth considering adding to my library. I couldn't help but find myself relating to the young Jane Austen. I saw characteristics and passions in her that I shared. Part of the time, I felt like I was watching my life on screen, excluding the pressure to marry into money. What can I say, I am a hopeless romantic that was saddened to see Jane live a life without the man that inspired one of her greatest works. No one writes love better than Jane and this movie will show you why.

This is a wonderful, moving film and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading the works of Ms. Austen.

Alone in a Crowded City

The past few weeks I've been going through some mental and physical struggles. What seemed to be me quickly adapting and enjoying my new home in Charlotte was short lived. I mistakenly took my immediately busy schedule as a sign that I was going to have plenty of friends and things to do. Now that things have come to almost a complete halt, I'm starting to see otherwise. I've become painfully aware that my best friend just moved literally across the country and my other good friends live 3 hours away. These past few weekends especially have been hard. I come home after work on Friday (or any night) and sit on my couch then eat a quick dinner by myself and forget about turning my phone off silent b/c I've learned that no one will call. Saturday is usually the same. I wake up, do a few errands around the house then I start volunteering to do errands for my parents, then I go to bed about 10pm. Sunday's have been stressful. I get up early and go to a church I don't like only because I'm helping their youth group (which seems to be cool) start up a media department. After church I forget to eat lunch then head to my real work to log live audio for 5 hours from the race. This past Saturday my parents made dinner plans without me and I was offended. They assumed I had plans, but I didn't, I never do. (It's sad when your only weekend plans hinge on if your parents are free.)This sent me into a brief and severe depression that lasted till I feel asleep.

Finding friends is hard. I love the people I work with, but if you don't want to sit in a smoky bar all night and get trashed then they don't want to hang out. The only other people I know and consider a good friend here is my childhood best friend, Carissa, and Shea. Carissa has a little girl so any plans involving her require planning 2 weeks in advance and then we can only hang out for a couple of hours. I know, surely I know other people. I do know other people, but those other people are married and we all know that married people don't hang out with non-married people. To add to the fun, my parents, brother and sister-in-law have been furiously trying to find someone to set me up with. Apparently there is this guy Dan that went to school with my brother and my mom has already talked to our neighbor (who is a shop coordinator for Evernham Racing) and started making plans for me to meet and have a rock climbing date with the 22 year old NASCAR driver Brian Vickers...geeze. So I have this feeling that there will be awkward and torturous blind dates in my future.

To add to my wonderful feelings I've been sick. Not a cold or allergies, but some weird stuff that your body does. For a few days now I've had serious stomach cramping, migraines, blacking out, no appetite, light headed, nauseous and just very very tired all the time. After staying up most the night in serious pain, I managed to go to work. I made it till 12 then I called my doctor and made an appointment. I sat in the doctors office for 2 hours and they gave me pills and shots. I now have to go to the doctor every 3 months to receive a shot that will stop my suffering that is supposedly caused by too much hormones or something. Needless to say I'm feeling sorry for myself and quite sick of my pity party. Sorry for the depressing post but I told you that I would post what's on my mind and this is it. Hopefully my spirits will be lifted soon.

On a happier note, I do visit www.frankcaliendo.com and listen to his ring tones...hilarious. He's a comedian who does impressions. Some are stupid, but some are funny...George Bush, Al Pacino, and Christopher Walken are some good ones.

How'd I get here doing that?

You know when you're driving somewhere and you arrive at your destination then you think "How did I get here?" That happens to me a lot. Either I'm convinced I drove and slept at the same time or I just get sucked into an alternate world where my brain exist and my eyes stay back to make sure I don't plow into anything. Either way I think it's something 99% of drivers experience daily, especially on those Monday and Friday morning commutes. On Monday, when you're driving to work (if you have to sit in traffic like me) try to not zone out of a while and take a look at your fellow road mates...their eyes wide open in a dead stare and their hands feeding coffee to their mouths. We're all a bunch of zombies and it's funny to watch.

There is a second kind of driver though that takes over usually in the afternoons after work when we are in a rush to get to our next responsibility. I like to call these drivers the Multi-taskers. Yesterday I saw a man with a pair of tweezers pulling out nose hairs (eeeek). Actually, I think there is an Allstate Insurance commercial about it. Anyway, I am the record holder for this type of driver. Eating, putting on make-up and changing shoes is for the amateur. I'm somewhat proud and ashamed to admit that I have (more than once) painted my fingers and toenails, change complete outfits down to the skimmies, read a book on my way to Florida, written homework assignments (high school and college), and curled my hair with a battery powered curling iron then plucked my eye brows. Funny thing is that I usually drive just as well while doing these things.

I'm curious to know what ya'll do while driving or what you have seen.

Drivers, Supermodels, and Jane Austin OH MY!

Today has been a very long day, but a very good one as well. I woke up at 5am which is unheard of for me because I am not a morning person (ironically my name is Krystal Dawn resembling my mom's favorite time of day)...anyways...Today I spent 9 hours on my feet at RYR (Robert Yates Racing). My company is deep into production of a movie for CMT about the history of NASCAR. Part of shooting for this film is going to be all the Owners and influential people in the NASCAR industry and doing 4 hour long interviews. I was pretty nervous on this shoot. Not because race shops make me nervous and provide plenty of opportunities for clumsy me to hurt myself or even the the fact that I could be incredibly late for the shoot because I could sleep through an alarm, nope I was nervous because my current boss Jonathan informed me yesterday that I was going to be strongly watched on this shoot. Apparently me and another guy in my department have been placed on a list for future promotion. How soon this promotion will happen, I don't know. But I busted my butt today and not only impressed everyone on set with my incredible dolly pushing skillz and ability to run the show when the Producer was called out for an emergency, but I impressed myself which is hard to do because I am my worst critic.
I get back from the shoot and I was wrangled into my bosses office to which I begin to think that I'm in trouble for something even though I know I did nothing wrong, but that's just how my brain functions. I sit down on the stool in his dark little office with jazz posters all over the walls and he hands me a stack of DVDs. (Blank stare) "Follow me please." My heart dropped to the floor and I tried not to break into a nervous sweat. A fellow co-worker and I are led back to an empty office with one TV. "I have a special assignment for you two. I think it would be a good idea if you could keep this under wraps." My thought: oh my gosh, we're going to have to kill someone! (I watch a lot of gangster mob movies). Luckily I didn't have to cut off my pinky or whack anyone. I am getting generously paid to watch through three 4.5 hour long DVDs of drivers racing and their driver audio, nothing else. I'm listening for curse words and anything discriminatory against NASCAR.
Long story slightly short, I brought the DVDs home and began on my first take home assignment. To pass the time I watched 3 hours of an America's Next Top Model and listened to Drivers audio. It made for a strange evening of entertainment but now quite funny looking back on. My brain felt like mush so I topped the night off with one of my favorite movies Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austin is an amazing author and the new P and P is so beautifully made...it makes my brain feel better and makes me feel less bad for sitting on the couch for 4.5 hours with my laptop on my lap and the TV on and not getting up unless I needed a bathroom break or to grab a Diet Coke from the fridge.
PS- Does the saying "plain Jane" come from Jane Austin?

Here's a picture of Danica Patrick. She races in the Indy Car Series and has made a side business out of modeling...I thought it was appropriate.

Calorie Conspiracy

One thing I've always wondered but never seemed to get a satisfactory answer for is this: how, exactly, does one find out how many calories are in something? Now I know where calories come from (supposedly), but how do you take something like gum and be able to measure that there are 2 calories in one flavorful, minty little strip? Lets take this even farther down the line of ridiculousness and go ahead and mention that some health obsessed genius was able to decipher that a POSTAGE STAMP has 3 calories...WHAT?! How people, how in the world? What is the method? Reveal the formula to me. Do you take an oreo and put it under a supersonic strong microscope that enables you to see these dreadful little things or is it just some guess? Either way, I'm going to eat what I want. The thought just drove me crazy today because women at work always approach me when I eat and tell me how lucky I am not to have to count my calories and to take advantage of it before I start laying on the pounds after my metabolism shuts down on my 35th birthday. My response to them, in my head of course is: how are you even sure calories exist? What if your weight gain is actually caused by the build up of all those processed frozen Lean Cuisine dinners packed full of hydrogenated oils, sodium, and high fructose corn syrups for preservatives you eat? Cause if that is where the weight gain comes from, which calories skeptic me thinks it does, then I'm in good shape (no pun intended) because I avoid foods like that and eat smart...Just a thought to ponder. OH, and another thing...who gets to decide how much a serving is? Why is one scoop of ice cream a serving and how big is a scoop? What if ice cream was my only source of nutrition for the day then how much would a serving be? Tell me that.
Secondly, I was cruising the web and ran across a photographer that I fell in love with just by looking at the first 3 pictures on his site. His name is Lars Raun (http://photo.net/photos/Lars%20Raun). I don't know what it is about his work, but it's so calming to look at. It's almost like looking at stills from a dream. He does beautiful work and I highly recommend him to any art lovers out there.

Infected

I've been "bitten" by Shea of the Dead causing me to slip into a zombie-like state and provide 10 things about myself. Here we go:
-You BLOG 10 things about you that are seldom known, strange, etc...
-You then note in the blog 10 people that you will "tag" to play the next round.
-DON'T FORGET to go to those 10 folks profiles and let them know they've been tagged!

1. I HATE the smell of shaving cream. HATE IT! Makes my skin curl. That's why I usually prefer men who don't shave that much. I'd rather cuddle with a teddy bear than a bottle of cold shaving cream.

2. I'm allergic to the strangest things on earth. Some of these include: spinach, band-aid adhesive, and liquid fertilizer. I'm also lactos intolerant, but ice cream is one of my favorite foods.

3. I don't tell many people this so consider yourself honored, I was once in the Miss NC pageant...next subject.

4. I was born with a deformed vertebra that leaves my immobile for several days if I work out too hard and usually in some sort of pain everyday. My senior year of highschool I went to the spinal doctor 4 days a week for 10 months, it was terrbile.

5. I'm extremely clumsy. This past Christmas I knocked over 4 displays in Macy's pretty much at one time, I once caught our porch on fire and I've knocked over a tree while mowing the lawn (those are just an examples, there are far more stories)

6. Two misconceptions people have about me when they meet me are that I'm uber shy or that I'm a snob. Truth, I just don't talk much around people I don’t' know that well until I get a better feel for them. I'm really quite the talker and get along with pretty much everyone. So for future MIRLs...don't judge too quickly.

7. The second toe one each of my feet turn out slightly. I used to be embarrassed over it, now I like of like it.

8. I check behind my pillows, under my sheets at the foot of the bed, door ways at night, and in my shoes everytime b/c I'm paranoid that there will be killer spiders hidden there. I was ruined after I watched a special on Discovery Channel and then my dad almost lost his leg from a spider bite...I hate the little 8 leg spawns of Satan.

9. I can't sleep unless every door in the room is completely closed and the fan on.

10. Purple is my least favorite color.

Daydreamer

Apparently I have no excuse for my lack of posting. I've been throwing out reasons such as I'm so busy and tired, blah blah blah. Truth, I really have nothing to say or write about. Nothing clever or interesting, I don't write about movies unless they blow my mind or all most kill me from boredom (I've seen none lately, except Bourne, but Shea and Avid Andy took care of that review for me), nothing spectacular has occurred, nor have I had any amazing thoughts. I will admit that I think about my blog everyday and feel a rush of guilt for neglecting it and for neglecting to post comments. The result...I have about 2 readers, no comments and I'm quickly losing credibility in the blog world.

Tonight, as I sit here in my house with broken air conditioning and 105* weather outside and 85* inside and watching The Cider House Rules out of the corner of my eye, I began to think to myself that I'm going to have a purpose for my blog, that's what I've been lacking from the beginning. I think that's what's been lacking; it's why I've slowly faded from the blog world. So I'm sitting here, racking my brain of something to write about, something that will bring a smile to your face or contemplation to your day...and I have nothing. As I began to get slightly depressed over my seemingly loser-like blogging character, I got an idea. I'm going to write about the things that most people don't feel like sharing with the world, and no I'm not talking about sex, I'm talking about those things you day dream about at your desk, sitting in traffic, or lying in bed on those sleepless nights. Yep, I'm going to take notes on my daydreams and spill them out to the world (nervous smile). I realize this will either bomb and leaving me completely embarrassed for the rest of my life, especially around those bloggers I do see like Shea, Avid Andy and Adam...or, this could be very entertaining for you and therapeutic for me. I hope the latter. I also want to write about the things others are going through around me. So if you have something you want me to write about, I'll add some color to it and maybe even elaborate/exaggerate as I feel needed, who knows.

So bare with me these next few days as I work out a system. Some days I may just have the lyrics to a song that I woke up with in my head, or some days I'll have a pity party, some I'll hesitantly share personal thoughts and emotions, some days you get a glimpse of my how weird and hilarious it is to be inside my head. Either way, I hope you enjoy. I can't promise I will stick with this new style or method or whatever you want to call it, but I can promise that I will do it...

Graffiti Bars

So I was cruising the web looking for a cool new background for my computer. I ran across something that caught my eye. It was called Graffiti Bars "Great Chocolate. Pure Street." I immediately stopped what I was doing and clicked the link to the picture I was looking at. I got very excited because this was something I love to eat and something I love to look at...chocolate bars wrapped in the art of local NYC graffiti artists. The company that began this tribute is called The Chocolate Bar in New York City. They decided that it was time for people to recognize this historic art form and appreciate it so they took 10 local NYC graffiti artists and asked them to create the wrappers for 10 flavors of chocolate bars. Not only is this unexplainably cool, it gets better. A portion of money from these chocolate bars goes to the children's art organization All Stars Project. So, being a huge fan of chocolate (my favorite vegetable), graffiti art, and also having a serious issue with the fact that school systems are eliminating art classes from their curriculum, I am immediately a huge fan of the Graffiti Bar. I'm thinking about buying a few bars just to keep on display and give to friends that share my appreciation for this form of art. I love graffiti and think that this is such a clever way to enjoy this underrated art. Below is a picture of some of these awesome, eatable works of art. By the way, they also have bars wrapped in stencil art and some truffles with designs "painted" onto the tops. It's pretty amazing if you ask me.

Check out their site at www.chocolatebarnyc.com
Buy some bar, although a little pricey, well worth it I would think. Plus, you will be helping out a good cause!