The ice cream truck

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . November 21, 2009 . 4:23PM

I was going through my old journal entries and I found some that I decided Blueshelled.com would be remiss without. That, and I’m pretty lazy and I haven’t been writing enough lately. This one was from September of 2008.

Our life is like a sitcom:

*softly tinkling music in the background while Jillian and Leon watch a movie. Adrian is upstairs*
Jillian (looking up at Leon): I hear the ice cream truck.
Leon: Uh-huh (back to the movie)
…2 seconds later…
Adrian, from upstairs: ICCCCEEEE CRREEEAM TRUCCCCCK! *sounds of crashing and running legs going down stairs, the door flies open and we see a flash of red going out the front door*
Jillian (barely looking up): Give me a second to pull out my money.

Cactus: An unfortunate event

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . November 20, 2009 . 3:22PM

You may have come here expecting a video of someone running crotch first into a cactus. We live in a society conditioned by America’s funniest videos to expect the worst, don’t we? This is bad, but not that bad.

Leon and I have been together almost ten years. About 3 years ago, Leon decided that, due to my brown thumb and my inclination to kill plants while I tried to keep them alive, that he would get me a small cactus. He proudly proclaimed, “Honey, you can never kill this thing!”

When he recovered from the death glare he received, he handed over the little cactus, which was about the size of a small shot glass. I took it from him and watered it when I remembered to do so. I gave it light, when I remembered to do so. And I remembered to move it from our apartment to our new home, when we moved.

The little shot glass sized cactus LOVED the new house. I’ve never seen anything like this. I put it in the window in my kitchen, right next to all the dirty dishes I won’t do, and it flourished. A lot. And it still does. To where it has become this. And this is why I can’t have houseguests. Enjoy.

Motivation

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . November 18, 2009 . 8:21PM

Last week, I talked to you about my new zest for exercise. And now I have to confess something to you about my motivation: I do weird things to keep it going.

Do any of you remember Ally McBeal? Ally was a 20-something lawyer who had a vivid imagination and quite a few eccentricities and quirks. Her character made me feel better about myself. Her male counterpart, J.D. on Scrubs, also had the fantasies he would visit when he was uncomfortable or needed a break from reality for a bit. It’s a great coping mechanism and a sign of adaptability.

Or, at least that’s what I choose to tell myself.

When I’m on the treadmill, I dance in my head. In a club. With some of you. And we shake that thing. Every now and then, I get so into it, I forget where I am. It happened to me tonight at the gym for a brief second. You were shaking your thing and for a half second, I shook mine while I power-walked on that treadmill.

And the man on the elliptical behind me laughed.

What I want to know is how many times I’m doing this that I don’t catch? And what was he doing watching my thing? Pervert.

Cold sensitivity

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . November 17, 2009 . 8:38PM

I’m a sensitive person. I’m sensitive to light, sensitive to moods and emotions, and I’m particularly sensitive to temperatures.

And I hate being cold.

I will go to extremes to avoid being cold. This involves having 4 dogs to puppy pile on the couch in the winter. This involves layering myself with four layers of clothing in 50 degree weather. It involves secretly coveting a snuggie but not telling anyone. It involves always wearing socks. It involves bringing a jacket to school even in the summer.

I hate being cold.

If I’m cold and you are warm, I will put my cold hands on you. It doesn’t matter if this is outside your boundaries. Sorry about that. Just be glad you don’t sleep in my bed. Cold feet will find a place even if it’s the only warm place on your body to be warmed. I am shameless.

I hate being cold.

This translates into the fact that I’m an awesome cuddler and if you are a warm person, I’m going to like you. I’m going to like you a lot. Especially in the winter.

I may also stick my nose in your ear and call it a “nose slipper.” I know it’s gross. Sorry.

I hate being cold.

Drinking and Driving

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . November 16, 2009 . 10:40AM

This is the post you don’t want to read if you are guilty. This is the post you don’t want to read if you don’t want to hear it. This is the post you don’t want to read if you think it’s just a soapbox.

This is the post that you should be reading regardless of all of those things because even if you don’t think it’s YOUR problem, it’s OUR problem and I’m seriously worn out by it. The only way to fix it is to pull together and collectively decide we’re done and that we are going to publicly shame and shun for this offense and quit letting people slide. The only way to help that is to create stronger messages. And, chances are, you know someone who has a problem with this and, chances are, you are shaking your head and getting ready to close the window on this post. Let me explain myself.

Before my 18th birthday, I’d lost several friends to drinking and driving. I’m not talking about people I’d heard of through the grapevine. I’m talking about living, breathing people. One was in the band with me. One could hug like you wouldn’t believe. One shyly told me in the 6th grade that he wouldn’t mind dating me at all (ah, 6th grad boys). One was the quiet guy in the corner that never said a word. Those are just a few. By my 21st birthday, the numbers went higher and higher.

Less than a month ago, I received word that a boy from my hometown was killed. He was adamantly against drinking and driving and involved in some of the same groups that opposed it that I was involved with in high school. This 19 year old was also the nephew of my junior high best friend, so I’d spent a lot of time with him in his younger years. He’d had many health issues and struggled so much just to have a normal life. What I remember most about him, at that age, were these gorgeous, huge eyes that stared at me, and a beautiful smile that wouldn’t quit.

By all accounts, this boy turned into a young man, was succeeding in life. The man who hit him survived. The family is devastated. Shouldn’t they be? Wouldn’t you be?

If it were AJ…I don’t know that I could be rational.

So, when does it stop being acceptable? When do we stop allowing our friends to drive when they insist they are ok to drive? When do we push the cabs on them or make sure there is a DD before we serve them? I’ve never had a problem being DD being that I’m not a big drinker. Surely, I’m not the only one out there? Many restaurants offer to pay for cabs. Many bars do as well. How many of you would turn down someone if they called asking for a ride? So why isn’t this happening?

Why is it, when we find out someone has committed this offense, that we write it off as just another mistake? Is it not, and I’m going to say something extreme here, so please brace yourself, techincally attempted assault, at the very least? Attempted harm to another person? Suicide is illegal. At the very least, attempted harm to oneself? Attempted murder? What makes this any different from someone who actively goes after another person? Or someone who is going after multiple people wielding a weapon weighing over a ton? I’m aware they are charged with DUI, but it doesn’t feel like enough. Especially when many people are allowed to slide after multiple DUI’s for reasons such as knowing the judge in a small town.

Yes, I KNOW they think they are fine to drive and who are you to tell them they aren’t? They are impaired. It’s what alcohol does and why people like it so much. If it didn’t make people feel uninhibited, they wouldn’t drink it. Some people are fine to drive. Some people aren’t.

When do we stop giving them a free pass?