Starry Eyed Surprise

Life is full of little surprises.  Here are some things that have surprised me lately:

1. The Postal Service does a really kick-ass version of Beyonce's "Crazy in Love". 
2. The Wal-Mart by my house is suddenly clean, organized, and aesthetically pleasing.  Weird.  
3. Jodie Sweetin was a raging alcoholic by age 14. 
4. I really, really like Rhianna. 
5. The new show Parenthood couldn't hold my attention, despite having Lorelei Gilmore as a main character.
6. Classical Music really does help you study.
7. Jaycee Dugard's family released recent home videos of the former captive, and then immediately asked for privacy. Um, don't invite the world into your life if you don't want them there... 
8. Swimming at the Y gives me a lot of energy, and relieves headaches.  Who knew? (Okay, I did...)
9. I love Orange Juice.  A lot. 
10. Apparently, I'm not a feminist.  (Read HERE to find out why.)
11. The paradox that is public accounting.  You're required to work 55 charge hours/week, but then you're yelled at for putting too much time in on your clients.  Not sure there's a way to win in this situation...  

What about you guys?  Anything surprising happening in your lives?

Always Look On the Bright Side of Life

As you know, I took the dreaded CPA exam yesterday.  And, yet again, I failed to finish.  Which means that, yet again, I failed.  

This is the third time I've taken this section, and the collective 10th time I've sat for a portion of this stupid exam.  I've been taking it for what feels like a lifetime. I've spent so many hours, and an insane amount of money, on perpetual failure.  All I want to do is say to hell with it and quit. But, I'm SO close now, and I've already put so much of everything I have into it...  

So, with my new super positive outlook on life, I'm trying to actually take something from yesterday's failure, other than the extreme annoyance, exhaustion, and invariable self-loathing that quickly overcame me.  

I'm reading Dr. Dan Baker's What Happy People Know.  It's loaded with psycho-babble, but it also has a lot of wisdom in it as well.  Baker discusses the components of happiness (which is far more complex than you think), and the "Happiness Traps" we all have to navigate in our lifetimes.  Second only to love comes optimism in the list of 12 happiness components.  I thought optimism was just thinking positive all the time - being Mary Sunshine and all that crap.  It is, in a way, but there's a little more to it than that.

Baker defines optimism as "realizing that the more painful the event, the more profound the lesson." (p. 20)  Well, failing the CPA exam yet again, and flushing another thousand+ dollars down the drain is definitely feeling pretty damn painful right now.  So, my job, in the spirit of optimism, is to realize that there's a big lesson in this, and then figure out what that lesson might be. 

I realized that I've already learned a couple of lessons in my fruitless attempts at certification.  Albeit a little too late, I did figure out how I should have been studying all this time.  So, I know that from now until the next test date, I need to put time in every day on my new method, and just get it done.  Also, I finally talked to the folks at the testing center.  Now that I have officially been diagnosed with ADD, I can receive "special accommodation" for the next exam, and take it either un-timed, or at least with extra time.  Either way, the study/extra time one-two punch should be just what I need to finally wrap this damn thing up.  And, I can use these lessons when I sit for the bar this summer, and maybe avoid taking that test twice a year for the rest of my days.  How's that for optimism?

Registration fees for the Financial section of the exam (3 sittings): $1,200.  Rescheduling fee: $96.  Practice test software and study guides: $150.  Wasted effort in Becker courses: $3,500.  Figuring out that there's a bright side to everything: Priceless. 

      

Random's Manifest - Thursday Thoughts

I like being random from time to time, so I've decided Thursdays are now themed!  Every Thursday I will present my random musings.  


WARNING: Topics discussed below will likely have no cohesive theme or, for that matter, make much sense at all.  Read at your own risk. 


Where the HECK are my pens?? 


I have kind of a sick obsession with pens.  I love them.  Seriously.  One of my favorite things to buy are cool pens.  Fountain pens, gel pens, marker pens, ball-point pens.  You name it.  I am particularly fond of the Dr. Grip-type pens, with the big, ergonomically designed grips.  I like these pens for times like this, when I'm studying like crazy and writing a novel's worth of notes.  I have a whole slew of Dr. Grips, but I can't find a single one!  I did just move in December, so chances are they ended up somewhere totally random, but how did they ALL make it there together??  I am just hoping against hope that they didn't make it into the Rescue Mission donation bin.  That's a LOT of money's worth of pens they got if they did... 

Post Script: Thanks to Patty for sharing this gem in her comment below!  SO funny - I had to include it here!

The Itchy Kitty 


The whole Fam-Damily is sick around here.  My sister and nephew have the Swine, and my dad is probably catching it, too.  I've had a migraine forever (see prior post on my laziness and unwillingness to do the one thing that would remedy this - exercise).  Even the pets are sick!  Poor little Stinky Dog (aka Snoopy) is all but crippled with arthritis in this cold weather, and the Rupster is COVERED in hot spots from his terrible allergies.  "That's not funny", you're thinking.  But, you'd be wrong. 


Treating this cat is a trip.  He is unbelievable.  For those of you who know us, you know that poor Rupie had a bit of a brush with death about this same time last year.  He went in for vaccines and got a cortisone shot for the same allergies from which he's currently suffering.  This was standard procedure for Rupert, but this time, the cortisone put him into heart failure, and the Lasiks for the heart failure put him into kidney failure.  He wasn't supposed to survive.  (You're wondering when I'm going to get to the funny part.  Well, hold on - we're almost there.)  They told me, at best, he'd likely have a few months or so.  Well, that would not do!  $5,000, endless prayers, and an ocean of tears later, Rupert was fine. Yep!  MIRACULOUS recovery.  They even call him the Miracle Kitty at the vet.  His heart righted itself and is operating within normal ranges (I know nothing about the heart, so I can't tell you what this means - only that it's good), and his kidney levels are normal as well.  It's been a year, and he's great!  Except for the itching...


Rupert picked up some interesting habits during his stint in the ER.  They make it damn near impossible to treat him for anything, and include: 

 
1. Pills - When Rupert sees me open a bottle of pills (he knows when it's for him, versus when it's for me.  It's amazing how he can just tell...), he starts foaming at the mouth.  Like, Rabid Dog foaming.  Drooling buckets. Gallons.  It's gross, but highly effective.  Even if I can get past the drool to shove the pill in his mouth, it dribbles right out!  It doesn't matter what I do, he is NOT going to swallow that pill.  If I am somehow able to catch him off-guard and get the pill in his mouth before his salivary glands go into overdrive, he will store the pill in his cheek like a chipmunk.  Thirty minutes later, while I'm happily watching Toddlers & Tiaras, he'll strut across the room, spit the pill out on the floor, and then saunter off.  He's incredible.
2. Liquid Medicine - Because of the pilling issue, we switched to liquid antihistamines.  I thought that would have to work.  He had to swallow if 5mm of bubblegum flavored Children's Benedryl was squirted down his throat, right?  I would be WRONG.  He again foams at the mouth, and then will induce vomiting, if the drooling isn't effective enough for his liking.  Now, I have Benedryl all over my carpet, sweatshirt,  bedspread, and chair, and I still have an itchy cat.
3. The Baby-T - The vet suggested that I make my cat wear a shirt to cover the itchy sores.  He wouldn't be able to chew/lick if his skin was covered.  Made sense, so I went to the dollar store and bought some baby onesies.  I was able to wrestle Rupert into the onesie, but once it was on him, he literally fell over onto the floor and wouldn't move.  He refuses to walk, and lies "straight-jacket style" wherever I happened to have clothed him.  I figured this would wear off, and he'd get over it.  I mean, the cat has to eat, right?  Well, apparently he doesn't.  His record is 36 hours in the same spot, refusing to move for food, water, or the litter box.  Clearly, the Baby-T approach isn't going to cut it.  
4. The Conehead - I hate "E-Collars" (short for Elizabethan - like Queen Elizabeth used to wear).  They are terrible.  You know what I'm talking about - they're also referred to as cones, halos, or whatever.  Rupert hates them, too.  A LOT.  He has a similar response to the E-Collar as he does to the Baby-T, except, add to the list of behaviors that he will only walk backwards while wearing one.  Amusing for me, miserable for him...
5. "Bitter Yuck" - Yep, there's a medicine named Bitter Yuck.  It's supposed to totally gross the cat out, so it won't chew.  I bought said "Yuck" at PetSmart the other day and promptly applied it to Rupert's wounded shoulder.  He looked at me warily, and proceeded to lick it right off.  Didn't even flinch.  I closed the bottle, taped the receipt to it, and will be returning it for a full refund. 

So, what ARE we going to do with the itchy kitty?  I was just going to deal with it, but it's gotten horrible.  Therefore, I chose the lesser of the aforementioned evils, which happens to be the E-Collar.  I guess, since his shoulders and arms are free, he's more willing to deal with it than the Baby-T.  So, he's a conehead now.  He hates me.  But at least he isn't chewing holes into his flesh anymore! 

(He's too ashamed to look at the camera.) 

Ice Cream Man

I've been home studying all week.  The Ice-Cream man is back.  Every day.  The other day, he made his rounds at 7:00 pm.  It was dark, and at that point, 27 degrees.  WTH?  

Blogger Woes

Inserting images into a post is tough.  I still can't get text wrap to work where I actually want the picture to go.  I wanted to insert that picture of Queen Elizabeth into the Rupert portion of the post, but it wouldn't let me put it under the E-Collar discussion.  Only at the beginning of the list of Rupie habits.  Grr... 

Another blogger woe - READERSHIP.  Please - recommend Musical Musings to your friends!  Follow me!  Read me every day!  I'm so fun!  And witty!  And cute! 

Waiting on Fed-Ex

I still haven't gotten my dresses from eShakti.com.  I'm hoping I don't end up disappointed with this company, because they have some GREAT stuff.  This new skirt, in particular, is on my wish list: 

C-ute!!!  If my dresses get here and fit, and don't arrive sometime next winter, I'll probably order it.  I don't know what's gotten into me with the shopping thing.  I act like I actually have money!  I think it's part of my desire to completely reinvent myself this year.  I would like to start fresh with a new wardrobe, to go with my new attitude.  Other things I'd like to do this year include: 

• Watch all 7 seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (again)
• Read at least 3 books/month
• Pass the CPA exam and the Bar
• Join a book club
• Get in shape
• Meet my future husband

I'm thinking the first two are actually doable... 

Alright, well, that's it for today!  Back to learning about Stockholders' Equity and Capital Leases.  Don't be too jealous.  

Here's a random video to go with my random thoughts.  LOVE this song! (And the 80's mix I've been listening to that inspired it.)  As for the video, I have NO idea...

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

Second post today, because it's a SNOW DAY!!

Well, sort of. It is a Saturday, so there's no work to get out of, and it didn't really snow all that much, but WHO CARES! I still call it a snow day - which means I feel absolutely no remorse about still being in my pajamas, and watching Nickelodeon Movies' "Snow Day" on DVD. Yes, it's geared towards 9-year-olds, but that doesn't mean I can't love it, too!

So, here's some random, Snow Day inspired thoughts and musings:

The Soap:

Trolling the Y&R Chat Boards to find out about why in the world CBS found it necessesary to re-cast the role of Tucker McCall (No more Boy Meets World Dad? SAD!), I stumbled across the following comment, which I felt sums up the soap quite nicely:

dailyobserver
Fri, Jan 15 - 6:09 pm
I like the current Tucker. I see no need for a new one.

A few suggestions...

Get that baby back to Sharon.
Let Jack be Summer's father.
Find Jill's mother.
Get Lilly some decent hats.

This is still the funniest video ever:

Miscellaneous:

I wonder how much it's costing taxpayers to have the Pres and the VP at the big game today? (I don't have a clue who's playing, and I don't care - but I do know that our fearless leader is taking a day off to partake...)

I wonder if the Ice Cream Man will endure the actual ice today to deliver his goods?

Maybe all this sleet will stay frozen, and the Snow Day will turn into a Snow Weekend, which will then run over into a Snow Monday. Wouldn't that be just the greatest??

I've signed up for NetFlix. I am getting "Post Grad" on Monday. What are the odds that I will live to regret this, as it will likely become one more thing to which I get addicted?

I love Mallomars. Even the store-brand kind.

Oh, Tim, how your Facebook statuses make me laugh: Tim: I've been told that I look just like Timothy McVeigh so you'll excuse me if I don't post a dumbledorfer or what ever it's called.

Stupid Girl

Grr... Signed up for a free trial and then forgot about it and got charged for a subscription. Darn it! I'm such a sucker!

In other news:

For some reason, the Ice Cream Man visited my neighborhood today. Isn't that normally an activity reserved for months other than January? I wonder if they are connected to the drug dealers that operated under the guise of Ice Cream men and out of a warehouse across the street from my high school. Hmm... I may have to investigate further...

In addition: BEST FACEBOOK STATUS of the week:

Tim: Please stop posting kisses, hugs, angels, wishes, blessings, smiles or any other manner of hippy bullcrap onto my profile. Also, I'm not going to help you find a lost cow or some gangster's lunchbox. Sorry. I'm just not. So don't do it.

Here, here, Tim! We salute you!

For Tim: http://s0.ilike.com/play#Violent+Femmes:Kiss+Off:15424:m4376691