Eugene, Oregon

I go through patterns of activity and laziness. Last week was the week of activity. I went to the gym Sunday through Thursday and ate ridiculously well. On Saturday, we ate a brewery (grilled cheese on artisan bread, lots of beers, more lots of beers) and ever since then I have been in an activity slump. Some of my days this week have consisted of staying inside until 4pm and maybe going for a walk in the park, but nothing too strenuous. My eating has been average, but I have not been as careful as I was last week.

I hate when I get like this.

I start watching odd television late at night (documentaries on serial killers, for instance). During day time hours, I watch cheesy movies on Lifetime and other cable channels.

Fourth of July was fun, but it also featured a lack of activity. I ate so much to the point where I had stomach camps; whenever stomach cramps arise from eating, it truly is a low-in-life moment. We all definitely had a fun time, but when I looked at the photos from yesterday, I was disappointed. In full body view, I look heavy. My legs look like they struggle with carrying the rest of my weight. My face has always been round, but now it is even rounder, thus making my eyes look like small, crinkly orbs.

I often wonder if my days of laziness are connected to where I live. I know plenty of people who hike and do "nature things" in NJ, but those types of activities do not immediately come to my mind when I think of New Jersey. Instead, I think of shopping malls. I yearn to move out of NJ. It's expensive, it's crowded, and every time I look around it seems like more land is being plowed over and replaced with unnecessary condos and stripmalls. Today, I Googled Eugene, Oregon. Eugene's nicknames include "Emerald City" and "Emerald Valley." The city's motto is "A Great City for the Art and Outdoors."

I often wonder what I would be like if I lived somewhere that encouraged activity and community involvement. Would I be biking around town with my canvas tote bag and locally grown fruits and veggies? I know that image is so ridiculously stereotypical, but I wouldn't mind epitomizing that image.

As I have often said before, I am "okay" being in NJ for now but eventually... I need to go somewhere else. I should be cautious with my usage of "eventually." If I keep saying "eventually" and do not take any initiative, I might be stuck here. 

Crafting fucktard

I assume that I could do a search within this blog and find out the exact number, but I feel like I use the word "fucktard" pretty often. It's basically like saying "retard," but since "retard" is non-PC, "fucktard" seems acceptable. It's strange that a word which has the French --> English translation of "late" would be less acceptable than a word that features a curse word in the first syllable.

Tomorrow is July 4th and I am attending a friend's "White Trash BBQ." This is an event that I've attended two times before; attending this year will make it a true tradition. I feel like if you do something 3 consecutive years that it automatically equates to an official tradition.

I realize "white trash" is an offensive term and I don't ever really use it to refer to people. "Trashy," which is less offensive because it basically leaves race out of the phrase, is a term I use more often. Why should trashiness be limited to Caucasians?

When people hear the term "white trash," similar images probably come to mind: trailer parks in a state of disarray, trucker hats, bad hair, cleavage (inappropriate for a teen because of age, but inappropriate for an older woman because of general sag), sleeveless flannels, cut-off shorts, Southern rock, Confederate flags, teen pregnancy, and so on. If you do a Google image search for "white trash," that party theme is actually quite common.

Toni's WT4J BBQ, as it has been coined, takes place at her Mom's house in the Poconos. There's beer pong,  flip cup, barbecued meats, a hot dog cart, drunken watermelon, and... a shooting gallery. Across the street from the house is basically woods. Toni's mom takes shitty garage finds and hangs them in the trees; then, we spastically shoot at the items. One year, someone was shooting at an owl lamp and I ran across the street to save it. The owl lamp is OLD, heavy as anything, and features eyeless owls. I lugged it home, but it has been in my closet for 2 years. It's time to bring the damn thing out and actually have people shoot at it.

I generally am a crafting fucktard. In other words, I tend to have crafting ideas and get so far as buying the supplies. In fact, I go gung-ho with getting the supplies. Case in point: a few years ago, I wanted to do crafting with bottle caps. I got bottle caps from friends and from strangers on Freecycle. Currently, I have about 3,000 bottle caps--and that's probably an underestimation. Have I ever actually crafted with them? Nope.

I'm determined to craft for WT4J. I am making a fringy top. I found a tutorial from another white trash-themed party attendee:
http://bargainbecky.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-make-white-trash-shirt-with-pony.html

Right now, the shirt has been puffy painted; hello, flashback to 1988! As soon as it dries, I'll do the whole fringe/pony beads process and then.... completion of a crafting task:)