So I was wondering if it would be cheating to wear a kymaro body shaper under my gown? I probably wouldn’t go with both pieces, but I could definitely use the girdle part. I’m convinced that this would not only make me look better, but allow me to actually zip up that dress I need to get into. Seriously, I’ve tried everything else, so why not this?

I think this comic over at The Oatmeal sums up my feelings about Twitter quite nicely. These are definitely things that people should stop sharing with the world!!!

What kind of improvements am I talking about? Well, we could really use an interior paint job to cover up some of the hand prints, paw prints, cracks, and peels that our current paint job exhibits. Furthermore, I would love to replace some of our old light fixtures with some more modern ones from Murray Feiss lighting to give the bathrooms a whole new feel. And we could definitely use a new dishwasher at this point, because ours is quite finicky about working when we need it to!

Of course all of these things take money, so it remains to be seen how many improvements we’ll actually be able to afford.

I’m sorry, but who are these folks to determine which wages are acceptable to others??? There are some people (like me) who don’t need to make a full-time living from these writing “gigs” (note that they’re gigs, not jobs), but would like very much to supplement their income in some way.

Personally, I have been writing content articles for four years now, and have made a great deal of money that way. I have never earned more than $5 per article. Granted, that’s not a lot of money on a per-piece basis, but it adds up. And what some people might not realize is these content places aren’t looking for great literature. You’re basically asked to simply write fluff pieces incorporating certain keywords a certain number of times. As long as the article makes sense, it’s accepted. There are no revisions or rewrites necessary, so it takes maybe 20 minutes tops to write one of these articles, especially at just 300 words each.

Even if I just do 2 per hour, that’s $7 for my time, which is more than what I would make working at McDonald’s or whatever. No, I wouldn’t be able to sustain that type of production for 8 hours a day, nor would I want to make a career out of this kind of writing. But to supplement my income? Sure, why not? As I said, I’ve done it for the past four years, and have made enough to pay tuition for completing my Bachelor’s degree and for one year of grad school (so far) without taking out a single student loan. Not bad for “slave wages”, huh?

I wish these Craigslist Crusaders would just mind their own business. They might be too proud to take these low-paying gigs for themselves, but they shouldn’t ruin it for others. The crusaders think that by removing these ads, they’re “forcing” people to pay better wages. Yeah, right. This has been going on for years and the rates have not changed one iota. Why don’t the snobs go write for the New Yorker or something and leave the other gigs for the rest of us!!!

Interestingly, James only has to file a petition if he is staying with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He will be a free agent this summer, and nobody knows where he’s going yet. If he changes teams, he can get any jersey number he wants, so apparently by filing the petition he’s covering his bases to ensure he can switch it up even if he stays in Cleveland.

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Anyway, I bring this up now because I’m planning on having an X-Files marathon this weekend. I have the complete series DVD box set, but haven’t watched too many eps out of it yet. A few days ago, however, I started in on Season 3 (one of the strongest) since the Olympics is ruining the regular TV schedule. I’m already sucked right back into their world!

One of the best things about The X-Files is how an episode could feature something seemingly mundane or completely outrageous and be totally compelling either way. For instance, one week Mulder and Scully would be tracking down a financier working some magic to embezzle funds from every health savings account he manages, and another week they’ll be tracking a tapeworm monster through the sewers of New Jersey. Just an incredible amount of diversity in the storylines!

I’m on my way out the door to get some Diet Coke, popcorn, and frozen pizza for this Friday evening with my favorite TV duo of all-time!

The basement is half-finished, so it’s not like I’d be relegating myself to a dank, dark cellar. It would be cool down there in the summer (which is a bonus since I wouldn’t need to use the air conditioner when I’m the only one home) and comfortable enough in winter if I use a space heater. I’d still have a TV down there too. The only problem is that my cell phone reception is hit or miss when I’m in the basement. I need to be able to take and make calls, so this could be a deal breaker. I wonder if a cell phone signal booster would help me take care of that problem.

Anyway, I think I would benefit from a change of scenery. Between work and grad school, I spend a lot of time at my desk here and I think I would be far more efficient in a quieter space. Then again, I don’t want to be completely removed from my family all evening, so I’d have to manage my time a lot better. I’ll have to think about this some more.