It Doesn't Just Happen To Catholics. . . .

Church Sued For $5 Million in Abuse Case
Let's not forget the church guy (a bishop in Dillon, if I remember correctly) who set up, over the internet, to have sex with a minor in Idaho.

Yeah, he got caught. If you don't believe me I can dig up a newslink.

Accidental Self-Mutilation

So Sunday afternoon I was chopping up cabbage for "Chow Mei Fun" - fried rice noodles - and promptly made a 1/3" slice into my thumb, cutting into the nail.

The image that came to mind the split second before the cut started to ooze blood was the ATM scene from "Office Space" when Ron Livingston realizes the account has more money than it should and he says, "Oh shit."

Then the bleeding started and the "Oh shit" turned to "Fuck. . . . .FucK. . . . .FUCK!" and a scurry to the bathroom to wash the wound with antibacterial soap.

Good thing I had just bought a box of Band-Aids and Neosporin on a whim a few days earlier.

Needless to say, the noodles came out great.

Men in Victoria's Secret

I have a theory (based on observances and experience) that several people have said I needed to blog, so here it is. It's definitely not organized, but I do think I make some sound general points.

Men (who are heterosexual and have no 'issues' with sex) generally like seeing their girlfriend/wife/etc. in pretty underthings. However, they will rarely venture into what I'd like to call "the estrogen bubble" on their own.

Usually, men are dragged into Victoria's Secret by their significant others, who want to shop and buy pretty underthings. While the ladies are busy trying on/looking at/etc. pretty underthings, the men are busy (uncomfortably) trying to look interested with the merchandise without appearing peverted to the rest of the world. If more than one man is in the store, they won't acknowledge ever seeing the other men. In fact, I would guess that 80% of the time men's eyes are on the hot-pink carpet, because it's the only "safe" thing to look at.

Did I also mention that they probably do this while holding their lady's purse?

After the men are allowed to leave the store, they now get to hold the pink shopping bag the size of a medium dog.

Ladies, if you can get a man to do this, it truly must be love.

If a man happens to venture alone into a Victoria's Secret (presumably to buy something lovely for his woman), he will never, ever touch the merchandise. He will wait until one of the helpful saleswomen approach him, and unless he knows his lady's sizes, will say that the size the saleswoman wears is the size his lady wears. Invariably, he'll point out what he wants and have the saleswoman fetch it off the rack for him.

This poses the extreme irony that Victoria's Secret ad campaigns are definitely targeted toward men, especially with slogans such as "Buy Me Sexy" (which I just realized is a double entendre).

Bubble Tea!!!!

So I was sitting in lab, and I got this intense craving for authentic Chinese (most of the food you see in Chinese restaurants is Americanized) food, and bubble tea.

If you've not had the pleasure of having bubble tea, it's this craze that started in Taiwan several years back that went international. Basically, you have iced milk tea (strong iced black tea with a lot of milk in it), some ice, and "boba" or "pearls", which are large black tapioca pieces. It's absolutely divine. I did find a couple online shops that sell the magical "pearls" (because I'm miles from the nearest Asian market, and Albertsons' doesn't exactly carry it either), so now I get to wait a week or two for it to come in.

I first had bubble tea in 2001 at this little tea house in Irvine, CA. I think the nearest bubble tea house I can reach when I'm visiting my parents in So. Utah is Volcano Tea in Las Vegas' Chinatown, but their milk tea gives me a headache, so I opt for the Passionfruit Jelly Juice. There's a handful of Bubble Tea Houses in the S.L.C. area, a few in Washington, one in Boise, but none in Montana.

And this is yet another reason why I should learn Mandarin. As if communicating with my Taiwanese relations isn't important enough.

For more information on Bubble Tea, I will direct you to Wikipedia's article on the subject.
If you'd like to try this creamy, caffeinated, sweet, chewy (because of the tapioca) sensation, check out BobaFind for the Tea House nearest to you.

Shop 'Til You Drop

I went to Bozeman today with my best buddy Theresa, and we had the most fantabulous time. I spent way too much money on (what else?) books and lingerie, and unfortunately didn't find any pants to my liking to replace the ones that shrunk in my parents' dryer over Christmas break. Yeah, I've been lax in replacing all the barely-too-small clothes.

I was also unsuccessful in my quest to replace my favorite striped shirt that shrunk as well. I guess that's what the internet is for!

At any rate, I had a great time and now I'm ready to hit the books for the rest of the week. Too much relaxing can be a bad thing. Or at least, unproductive.

Sexual Violence in Utah

And people say Utah isn't misogynistic.

Daily Herald Article

From the article:

"Despite low murder and robbery rates, Utah's rape rate is higher than the national average.

One out of every eight women in Utah will be raped

One out of every three Utah women will be sexually assaulted sometime during her lifetime

86 percent of these will be sexually assaulted for the first time before they turn 18

44 percent will be sexually assaulted by the time they turn 10

Only nine percent report being assaulted by a stranger

Only one out of every 11 sexual assaults will be reported to police

Only one out of every 36 sexual assaults will result in the perpetrator being convicted

Source: Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice"

What's In A Home?

I was up at Tech today, turning in miscellaneous paperwork for the Registrar's Office and the Bookstore so I can walk at Graduation and actually receive the little piece of paper that I've paid for and earned.

Anyway, the thought occurred to me that my hometown will be listed as Cedar City, UT in the "Order of Events" booklet that every commencement ceremony seems to have. If you know me to any degree, I don't feel comfortable calling any place my hometown, for various reasons.

However, it seems strange, even in this day and age, to not have a place to call "home". My sweetheart longs to return to his hometown, and many people I know are very rooted to one city or another. Maybe I'm more malleable that way.

Ontario, California: Yup, I'm a SoCal girl by birth. I've been back there as an adult, and due to the extreme shallowness of the average person there I loathe to associate myself with that place.

Cedar City, Utah: I spent half my youth here, and by all rights I should be able to call CC my hometown. However, I have no roots there (my parents are moving within the next couple of years). I also loathe to associate myself with the LDS religion (of which I was a member for 19 years) and the racially-intolerant, religiously-intolerant, closed-minded, misogynistic viewpoints that seem to flourish in any small Utah town. And since I have no reason to visit the sleepy little town on I-15 after my parents move, I see no reason to call Cedar City my home.

Butte, Montana: I've really enjoyed my years in Montana. While not culturally diverse by any means, there's a freedom here that I enjoy. However, I do believe one has to have a certain cultural background to call Butte one's hometown, and unfortunately I don't have that. Maybe when I'm old, gray, and retired I'll build a summer home in the Montana Rockies.

How To Make A Diane

How to make a Diane

Ingredients: 1 part competitiveness 1 part humour 3 parts joy

Method: Layer ingredients in a shot glass. Add fitness to taste! Do not overindulge!

Name:

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com