bucket lists, The Buried Life... and Maria ThomaslsdflkdsjfkfjslkdjflkasjdflkjLKJ!

have you guys heard of this show called The Buried Life? it's on MTV and it's all the rage right now. it's apparently about these four guys who have a show about crossing things off their bucket list (a list of things they want to do/accomplish before they die), which sounds pretty much... um, AWE-some. even better, with each episode, they also help a random person cross things off THEIR bucket list as WELL. sigh- even though i'd never heard of this show before, im such a big fan of them now, JUST because their show actually helps others too...

why in heaven's name am i even bringing this random topic up (aside from the fact that my blog is nothing BUT randomness in spirit-finger formaslkdfj?!)?

so earlier this week, i got on facebook (you know, the standard) and noticed that one of my family friends' (oh, who am i kidding? this girl is like a little sister to me) facebook walls was TOTES blowing up with posts and status updates. of course, it doesn't take much for me to be all intrigued.

enter... Maria Thomas. maria is a 19-year-old freshman at ohio state, who i have known since she was born. sigh, she just makes me so HAPPY. i like to think of us as twins-separated-by-a-decade, if you will... in the sense that we're both, well, pretty on par with one another in that whole craziness department. hahaha. but i digress.

sorry, this is the only picture i could pull at the moment... hope you two don't mind! hahaha. ANYWAY, so maria (the one on the left) is apparently more than a little obsessed with this show, The Buried Life. so obsessed that... hmm... what would be a good analogy?

okay, got it. maria's obsession with the buried life is analogous to christie's obsession with will smith ... like that one? i thought of it all on my own and everything. ANYWAY, so i guess the buried life was scheduled to come to ohio state in february but had to cancel at the last minute due to an awful snowstormy catastrophe (sigh. gotta love ohio!)... umm, i think saying that maria was devastated would be considered a complete and total understatement to the adjective. she actually told me that she went to the SEL and just watched clips of the show on her computer... and cried. HAHAHAHA. if you didnt think maria and i were twins-separated-by-a-decade before, you most certainly should NOW (if you knew me in college that is... because only then will you remotely understand the extent of my relationship with the SEL... sigh. good times. haha).

anyway, so hooray! the buried life, being the goodhearted people that they are, ended up coming to ohio state earlier this week to give a talk and do some good, old-fashioned Q&A. apparently, maria was like the first person to leap on up to an open microphone during the Q&A segment (thatta girl! i couldn't be PROUDER of the shamelessness, really) and start... well, just chit-chatting with them... about who even knows what (the poor thing didn't even remember what she was rambling on and on about... in front of a crowd of 200 students and, well, the entire buried life cast... but whatever). THEN, she told the buried life cast that one of the things on her bucket list would be to crowd surf...

easy enough, right? so easy, in fact, that the buried life cast decided to take care of crossing that one off her list right then and THERElkasjfdlkajsdlkfjdsljfKL! who does that HAPPEN TO?!?!??!?! needless to say, maria was likely on the verge of fainting and/or experiencing some serious heart palpitations. so what happens next, you ask? ummm... the cast gets a group of the ohio state people together and proceeds to CROWD SURF MARIA!

(i stole this picture off facebook, so THANK YOU to whomever took this AWESOME PHOTO!)

ummm... pride doesn't even begin to describe what i feel at this moment in time. as she was relaying the story to me, i couldn't help but get so squealworthy excitedlkajdsflkjsakdf.... and i wasnt even THERE!!!!

but i really think it's all about good karma. i mean, she's such a good person... why SHOULDN'T something so wonderful and memorable happen to her?!?!?! her literal words to me were "yeah, i really thought i could die happy after that" which... i must admit, are pretty much the exact same words that i used when recounting my not-so-chance encounter (okay, some slight stalking was involved) with the one and only will smith.

lkasjfksjdflj! i couldnt be PROUDER of my twin-separated-by-a-decade! couldn't be PROUDERlkjfalkdsjflsajfdlkjaldsjflasdkjflsj!

anyway, have you guys ever thought about a bucket list for yourself?! i decided to buckle down and start working on my own little bucket list after that ridiculous story... in no particular order, do enjoy (this is only the first five i came up with so far) and start thinking of your OWN bucket list please!lkjfdsalkjflk!:

My Bucket List

1. host a TV show (or if i can't host it, at least be a GUEST on Ellen... it's too late to get on Oprah, i guess)

2. skydiving in new zealand or switzerland

3. meet prince william and princess catherine ... potentially become FRIENDS with them?!?!?!(okay, so im kind of caught up in the hoopla at this moment)

4. change at least one person's life (in a good way! OBVI haha)

5. visit all 50 states

The Royal Wedding, c/o your special correspondent

this is going to be my shortest blog post EVER, which is ironic considering it's alllll about one of my greatest obsessions of allllll time.... THE ROYAL WEDDING!!!!!! but really... really. how can you NOT love a couple that just exudes happiness and love and all that is good in this world?

alkfdslakjfdlkajdslfkjaldskjflkdsajfl ksalkcmldsakoaijewlkdnhlkdsanhflk dsjfl;jdsflakjds;lfajdslkamds,nklhjroiwejrlkJ!LKjljfdlkajsdlf klsdjflkdsjfoiwekijflksadjflaksdjflkjlk sdjflkadsnflaknjdlfkj!LK!JLK!J hearts and flowers!!!kljaldskfjlsd!

whew! and that's an understated version, let me tell you. i wish 3 AM would hurry up and get here already... you better believe my DVR is all nicely set up for every minute of wedding gloriousness... i mean, who CAN'T wait to see that DRESS?!!! and omg what is kate's HAIR going to be like??? up/down/half up, half down...umm, talk about ENDLESS possibilities!! and omg the KISS on the BALCONYlakjfdslksadjflkj!!

because i know they're totally going to be reading this blog since they clearly have all the time in the world, i just have to say... CONGRATULATIONS, CATHERINE AND WILLIAM! the world needed something like this... something uplifting, uniting and just plain DELIGHTFUL!

christie's venture with philanthropy... and lack of shallowness

so i've been thinking more and more about my life's prioritizations and have come to the conclusion that i want to be a bit more philanthropic. now that i am done paying off my student loans (huzzah!), i feel like i can have a lot more flexibility in terms of my spending patterns and behaviors. don't get me wrong, who are we kidding? it's not like i lead this high maintenance kinda lifestyle who'll be dropping cash like... well, i don't know like what, but you know what i mean, right? i mean, im just not one of those people that needs a lot to be happy!

as such, ive been so pleasantly surprised to see how my bank account has been steadily increasing over the past few months. please, it's not like it's this exponential rise to richness and glory. at the same time, it IS noticed enough that i feel like i want to just DO something with it. and trust me, the idea of a shopping spree is so not along the lines of what i had in mind... can i help it that i find shopping to be one of the more boring tasks ever invented in life? sigh. what kind of girl am i? i know, i know... but oh well.

anyway, so a couple of weeks ago, i was really thinking long and hard about what i should do with the money that would otherwise be going to my student loans. okay, by long and hard, i mean i was thinking about it while i was waiting for my bus... but whatever, you get the idea. anyway, i had an inkling that i wanted to start taking a more active role in philanthropy, primarily by just starting to donate money to charitable organizations which totally have a tug at my heartstrings type of feel, you know? hahaha. (if you know me, just picture me clutching my heart like i do when describing everyone that i "adore"... which is, quite frankly, the majority of people i encounter. but whatever.)

anyway, i started mentally narrowing down the list of organizations of which i am aware that would spark my interest in warranting some significant monetary contributions. but then, i walked into my neighborhood grocery store and came across one of my favorite homeless people... this man is ALWAYS at the same street corner in my neighborhood. but he never really asks for money- he just is always so polite and friendly. sigh. tug at heart strings type of moment, if you will. it was while i was in that grocery store that i was just kind of like, you know what? why NOT just give some money to my homeless man friend on the street corner? i typically wouldn't do this, because i'm all about just getting homeless people some food, since you never really know what they could be using this money for, but whatever. i was having a moment. so, in a grand act of charity, when i walked out of the grocery store, i (slightly awkwardly, since i dont really know how to approach a homeless man who isnt blatantly asking you for money) handed him ten dollars. sigh. his smile and simple "thanks so much, lady" was TOTALLY enough to melt my heart right then and there.

so that's how i decided to start my philanthropic journey, folks... by just giving money to INDIVIDUALS who simply seem to be down on their luck. it's that whole personable factor that makes me feel so much warmer and fuzzier than i otherwise would if i were just donating it to a large organization.

well, that's all well and good but practicality started getting the better of me and i started second guessing just how well i can "read" people. i mean, this methodology worked fine with this particular homeless man, because i see him basically everyday and he is just the most consistently polite, discreet individual EVER. however, i mentally told myself that i can't just keep on randomly handing out cash to every homeless person i see. i mean, that's not the most effective way to begin my philanthropic sojourn, if you really think about it. this is the renewed lightbulber of a moment that i came to this weekend.

but then... well... okay, so i was in a different neighborhood this morning so of course, of COURSE, i had to hit up the local starbucks. i mean, when in rome and all that, right? anyway, so there was this homeless man standing on the street corner, and he totally held the door open for a slew of starbucks customers that were simultaneously entering and exiting the place. and it was that simple gesture that already warmed my heart, right? but then i walk by him to slide on into the 'Bucks when he greets me with a simple "hi, young lady"... and since i had already developed warm and fuzzies for him by seeing his kind gesture earlier, i gave him a small smile (normally, i dont really make eye contact with people i dont know) and said "good morning"... to which he responded with... "thanks for the beautiful smile, young lady".

UMM!!!! so much for aiming to not really give money to random homeless people anymore. you KNOW that as soon as i left starbucks this morning, i nestled a nice little Andrew Jacksoner into his hand. lksadjflksjdflkjsadlkfjsdlkj!

okay, so i got a little carried away. but... well, who are we KIDDING here?! he complimented my SMILE! HELLO!! you KNOW if i carried a benjamin around, he would have TOTES gotten it as well...

yup. that's pretty much the end of this story. no lessons learned, no words of wisdom to pass along to you... just... another instance of winning me over by complimenting my smile...

on a side note, just to clarify... i'm not shallow!! hahaha. sigh.

why i should never get another massage...

after returning to chicago slightly unexpectedly this week, i was quite excited for my weekend here. huge party plans this weekend? a fancy schmancy wine and dine event going on? please. ironically enough, the primary reason i was quite excited for my weekend here was because i had absolutely ZERO plans (aside from mapping out a way to "coincidentally run into" Sherri Shepherd while she's here in CHICAGOidskljflkdsj!!! I LOVE SHERRI SHEPHERD!!!!!)... a welcome relief after the past month and a half or so, where i don't feel like i can keep up with a lot of things going on in my life. but whatever. let's focus on this weekend of rejuvenation and relaxation, if you will. i was already bracing myself for a gloomy, rainy weekend. but when i woke up this morning, the doom and gloom really set in. i mean, LOOK at these clouds... can it GET any more depressing?

whatever, lemons and lemonade and all that. i decided to seize the day and make it as rejuvenating as possible, gloom and doom and all. so first thing in the morning, i took the opportunity to schedule myself a hard-earned (haha. yeah right) swedish massage. i'd been to this place, Spa Soak (http://www.spasoakchicago.com/), about a year ago and loved my deep tissue massage (not like i really knew what i was getitng myself into with a deep tissue massage, but whatever, it sounded all scientific and cleansing and whatnot)... this time i just went for a standard swedish massage (primarily because it was cheaper... frugality is my middle name) for a half hour, because i distinctly remember going stir-crazy during my hour-long deep tissue massage.

i highly recommend Spa Soak to everyone. the grand total two experiences i've had there have been PHENOM. it also helps that you totally feel pampered and all high-class and stuff, considering it's housed in the ever-prestigious Belden Stratford hotel... tell me that YOU wouldn't feel all important if you were walking into THIS:

yup. that's right. even though the Belden-Stratford is located down the street from me, i still kinda just want to vacation there. haha. oh well. so i head down the stairs to Spa Soak to begin my enriching, pampering, relaxing massage.

it started out all nice and relaxing and soothing. i mean, the MUSIC they play is enough to make you melt into a state of complete and total relaxation. so there i was, getting all settled into my little massage experience when... well, i certainly dont remember this happening with that deep tissue massage but... i got all ticklish when the masseuse started working on one area of my back! im a little sensitive about my ticklishness because i think im more ticklish than the average joe. it's to a point where it's a little scary about how i CANT stop laughing so hard my stomach hurts.

so you can imagine my slight sense of panic as the ticklishness starts to set in... and i have no release! i mean, i cant start like CRACKING UP while on the massage table... hello! that would totes defeat the whole purpose of a relaxing, meditative masssage. so there i was, trying to just hold the giggles in (my stomach has never been so clenched in its life), when the masseuse finally moved on to a different, non-ticklish part of my back.

whew. crisis averted... oh wait. because of course, of COURSE, the masseuse has to make sure that ALL the kinks are out of my back, ticklish spots or not. aaaand so, that area was revisited just a fleeting few minutes, if not seconds, later. i resumed my clenched stomach position to contain the giggles but you can already clearly see how non-relaxing this whole massage experience was turning into, right? i mean, it was actually turning into a nice, informal pilates exercise, if you will.

as if that weren't enough... my darn phone started vibrating a few minutes later, thus TOTALLY killing the whole zen ambiance that the music of that room was supposed to be providing. ugh, i was a little mortified and apologized to the masseuse (who just kept right on massaging away... making me think she was a little more than used to this kinda thing happening... right?)... but then... well, you read my last blog post right?

of course, after hearing the phone vibrate, i couldn't stop THINKING about my phone. who was calling? why was said person calling? did that person leave a text message? hmm, did i have email? i wonder if anyone had written on my Facebook wall in the past half hour? i mean... i was totally in a situation where i couldn't even SEE my phone! who KNOWS how much activity my little green blinky light was reflecting?!

GOD, well after THAT... forget about it! i just got all stir-crazy! here i was, thinking a half hour would be just long enough to appreciate the massage experience yet avoid the whole stir-craziness factor of my last hour-long massage... but, well, not so much. i couldn't wait to leap off that massage table and grab my phone.

the massage ended shortly thereafter (although it felt like EONS to me), with the masseuse leaving the room with the kind, zen-like words of "take your time getting up, there is absolutely no rush".

HA. little did she know. as soon as i heard that door click shut, leaving me with all the time in the world to 'get myself together', i literally like LEAPED off that massage table and, before even putting my clothes back on, checked my phone.

ugh, my life is reaching new, technologically-addicted lows. but GOD, just having that phone safely back in my hands was so self-satisfying... so rejuvenating... so... the feeling that that massage should have been providing me in the first place.

oh well.

my obsession with that Little Green Blinky Light

Man, what in the world did we DO before Smartphones came about?? I feel like the biggest hypocrite ever because, here I was, going on for years and years about how I never understood the point of a Smartphone, since I couldn't imagine having this need to feel connected 24/7. (Sadly, for proof, please see The List of Things I Don't Like that Most Other People Do... But I'm Not Picky!) Fine, I admit it. I was wrong. So, I got the Droid over Thanksgiving and was like, okay, whatever, a luxury for which I'm appreciative, sure, but likely just something else that I won't be using all that often (kind of like my Ipod... heaven forbid, I know, but whatever. I'm not like SUPER into music!)... man oh man, how wrong I was. Dude, this thing is a-mazing! And I know I'm not even NEARLY using all of its capabilities. As a matter of fact, the only things I really use on the Droid are as follows: 1. Texting - um. My text messaging volume has gone up like EXPONENTIALLY since I've gotten this darn phone. Granted, I still don't really like the tiny keyboard (as compared to a nice computer keyboard) but... well, I clearly like it ENOUGH if I'm texting as abominably frequently as I have been. It's a little absurd. What ever happened to picking up the PHONE? Hell, what ever happened to not feeling this need to communicate with people 24/7? Like, why all of a sudden do I feel the need to tell people that I'm "five minutes away"? What ever happened to just showing UP? If you're late, you're late. If you're not, you're not. 2. Gmail - yup. It's like pretty instantaneous email checking at this point. I've become one of "those" people. Now, ANSWERING all the emails is not necessarily instantaneous, primarily because I still am an old-fashioned girl who considers emails to be more "formal" than just texting or Gchatting or whatever, so I still prefer to answer most emails on a computer, when I have free reign to type as much as I want (whereas if I respond via phone, it's usually an informal one to two liner... trust me, when you get an email from me, you'll EASILY be able to differentiate if it was typed on a computer or phone, based on the length of the email alone). 3. http://carrotsncake.com - this is like the only blog I read on a regular basis and for good reason. This blog is ADDICTING! I aim to emulate her blogging capabilities... but I guess that requires taking a LOT more pictures on a regular basis (doubtful, considering I can barely remember when to charge my camera) and, well, shortening my blogs... and while I'm TRYING hard to do the latter, well, I'm sorry, but it's HARD! I have a lot to say! Haha 4. www.bustracker.com - GOD THIS IS THE BEST INVENTION EVER. I'm addicted to it. Granted, now that the weather is better, it's not that bad standing outside waiting for a bus, but MAN, in the wintertime... talk about a lifesaver. This is just about on par with my love for Google mapping while in transit on the Smartphone. Just about. 5. Words with Friends - I was just introduced to this app a couple of weeks ago, but man, it sure doesn't take much to get me all addicted. I mean, it's basically like Scrabble for the digital age. But still. What is it about the technological age that gets people all amped up on Scrabble?? I don't remember Scrabble being the #1 game of choice when I was growing up, but it's all the rage now that it's on a phone?? I don't understand. But whatever, I'm not complaining. Well, I'm only complaining because I've SUCKED at some of the games, but I think I need to review some rules here... like, WTF, what kind of word is QI or THIEUS? Seriously. If you are a serious technology/Smartphone user, you'll realize just how LITTLE I am taking advantage of a Smartphone's capabilities. But whatever, I'm happy enough with that list because... GOD, THE ADDICTION I HAVE TO MY LITTLE GREEN BLINKY LIGHT THING IS UNREAL. I like LEAP for my phone from time to time when I see the little green blinky light go off. So very sad (yet comical for some, annoying for others) to see THAT spectacle unfold, let me tell YOU. So, for all you technologically savvy/Smartphone advocates out there... you were right, I was wrong. The Smartphone has changed my life. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration... just kidding, it's totally NOT an exaggeration. GOD BLESS THE SMARTPHONE! God bless texting! God bless Words with Friends! Who am I kidding? God bless nonstop communication with all the world, really...