SB is 23!

So, I'm now 23. Have looked 17 for about 5 years now...or maybe younger than that. Young enough to be asked by two different waitresses if I wanted a kids menu (a KIDS menu???). They say I'll be greatful for these assumptions by the time I'm 40...too bad that's another 17 years from now.

Alwell. It was a fun time. I got to see some close friends in sunshine-y Texas. Then I came back to Ohio where the temperature was 50 degrees lower, and the sun almost nonexistant. Surprise surprise.

Sharon and I have the same birthday!



She's exactly 3 years older than me

As for gifts, I got time with amazing friends...

And...last but not least...

Yeah, that's right. Pretzel earrings!! Apparently Justin knows me well...not to mention that the A&M shirt, the earrings, AND the pretzel and pickle Christmas ornaments were ALL stuffed inside a pretzel box.

Don't worry, I got to actually eat the pretzels that came with the box too :)

Oh, and this...

That sucker is THRICE thickness of an Auntie Anne's pretzel in Ohio...I was impressed. Then again, "everything is bigger in Texas!" I should have known. Forgive me, I'm just an ignorant ol' yankee.

The big dreams of a broke college graduate: a rant

I hate how everything worth doing in this world costs money. The people who are most qualified for professions that involve saving lives, curing illnesses, or bringing justice to crime victims are stuck in debt because everything is so damn expensive. At the same time, we can't devalue the "working man" jobs as alternatives for those who never had the chance to pursue higher education because those are the jobs that we never think about, but we would be screwed if they did not exist: the garbage men, the postal workers, the plumbers, the mechanics...

I got into this debate with my mom a couple days ago: is it necessary for some students to fall through the cracks, so to speak, so that we have people to fulfill those job positions? Is this sucky economy locking the newest graduating classes into jobs that may not allow them to use their full potential, since all the higher paying jobs require training that intelligent but indebted students just can't afford?

I am writing this, if you couldn't already tell, from the perspective of a disgruntled college graduate who is struggling to choose between a grad school with a perfect chaplaincy program, but has a tuition cost that will require selling off my firstborn to pay for it, and one with a not-so-specific-to-my-chosen-field-of-study program with a surprisingly reasonable tuition cost...and my heart is torn. The decision about which grad school I end up going to can't be made solely based on the cost, can it?

Perhaps I should start spending my tip money on lottery tickets, put out an ad for a sugar daddy on Craigslist, or sacrifice my dream of an apartment with a wall-to-wall bookshelf and settle for living in a shoebox. I am already feeling jaded and bitter about a future that has barely even started. *Sigh*

Then again, Joan of Arc was a fifteenth-century peasant with zero education who was somehow able to lead an army and change the world. I mean, if that was doable, then surely I can find a way to impact the world without having to sell my soul to pay off my inevitable debt...right? Right?

I had this picture in my head/Of where I ought to be and when/But it's just like the good advice/That John gave when he said/Life is what happens while we're busy making plans... "Sandcastles," Kate Voegele.

On a positive note, here's a little puppy cuteness to brighten your day:

"Why you put me in da sink, Mom?"

Answer: Because we found you sleeping in your own pee, you silly pup!

Kim Kardashian and homosexuals didn't ruin marriage...we all did

I hate to jump on the "Let's hate on Kim Kardashian for making a mockery of marriage" bandwagon, mostly because all the punch lines have been shared to death already. But this picture on my Facebook newsfeed got me thinking:

I agree with it, for the most part. There is a lot of hypocrisy about the sanctity of marriage being perpetrated by straight people. But using a celebrity like Kim as a means to expose this hypocrisy is wrong for two reasons:

One, I think it's safe to assume that 72 day long marriages are rare among average, non-famous people. Whether or not you believe that the divorce was planned right along with the wedding for publicity's sake, the reality is that Kim's fame alone makes her an unlikely candidate for a long, happy marriage. We all know that celebrity marriages tend to have an extremely limited shelf life, as they are often made on a foundation of jello instead of genuine commitment. I mean, if you're bordering on becoming a has-been before you even start to get gray hair, a high-budget wedding is a great way to get your name back in the press.

Secondly, getting back to my point about how Kim's divorce makes the debate on gays ruining marriage seem silly: the quote from the above picture makes the faulty assumption that divorce is not a big deal to Christians. Obviously, Christians can and do get divorced, but that's no excuse for the church to suddenly change its stance. Jesus' teachings don't change just because society does, and "everybody's doing it" is no excuse for down-playing the seriousness of marital commitment.

I'm not about to argue why I don't believe in gay marriage, but from the Christian perspective, I will say that it isn't fair at all to blame homosexuals for ruining the sanctity of marriage. That is one thing that picture gets right: straight people, Christian or not, are doing a great job of that all on their own.

The gay marriage debate will go on, but in order for their stance to be taken seriously, Christians need reminders on what "Till death do us part" means just as much as everybody else, before they open their mouths to protest the nuptials of their homosexual neighbors.

Long story short, human beings are fickle creatures, regardless of sexual orientation, who want to have their wedding cake and eat it too. And in other news, water is wet.


Last but not least: WE GOT OUR PUPPIES! Introducing Oliver and Dodger, the newest Caplin critters:

The new brothers first meeting: "What is this thing, and why is it in my space???"

I'm in love!!!