65 Things You Never Knew (but you probably did)

1. First thing you wash in the shower? my hair
2. What color is your favorite hoodie? I don't have a hoodie anymore. This is a devastating fact to me. My favorite one was navy blue but I had to leave it in Africa.
3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Probably. I mean let's just be honest.
4. Do you plan outfits? No. And if I do I usually change my mind at the last minute.
5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? hopeful...which is a change
6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red? a Libya mug and a nalgene. They're tied.
7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? That I was friends with Matthew Perry and we were at a Beck concert.
8. Did you meet anybody new today? Yeah! I met a bunch of new neighbors when I was delivering May Day Baskets.
9. What are you craving right now? smoked salmon
10. Do you floss? Not enough
11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? coleslaw
12. Are you emotional? I seem to be getting more emotional with age
13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? yes
14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? definitely lick it. I can't even think about biting it. Yikes
15. Do you like your hair? most of the time
16. Do you like yourself? usually I think I'm annoying
17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? I don't think I could without being mean.
18. What are you listening to right now? Kids outside chasing each other because it's May Day. It's a good sound.
19. Are your parents strict? Not anymore!!
20. Would you go sky diving? Definitely
21. Do you like cottage cheese? Eh, it's okay
22. Have you ever met a celebrity? yes.
23. Do you rent movies often? Yes, Netflix.
24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? there's some shimmer in a couple of scarves I have
25. How many countries have you visited? I think 11.
26. Have you made a prank phone call? Duh. Probably like, last week.
27. Ever been on a train? Yes! People train!
28. Brown or white eggs? It doesn't really matter. Brown ones make me think of Africa though.
29.Do you have a cell-phone? Yes.
30. Do you use chap stick? Yes. And I lose it.
31. Do you own a gun? nooooooo no. no. And I don't intend to. Ever.
32. Can you use chop sticks? yes.
33. Who are you going to be with tonight? Random girls from Ames that are crashing at my house. And Jack Bauer.
34. Are you too forgiving? too forgiving? Probably not forgiving enough.
35. Ever been in love? not with you
36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? refusing to come hang out with me
37. Ever have cream puffs? Yeah but it wasn't really pleasant
38. Last time you cried? I'm losing it all the time lately. I don't even know.
39. What was the last question you asked? "When did you move in?"
40. Favorite time of the year? October
41. Do you have any tattoos? yes
42. Are you sarcastic? yes
43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? Yes. Someone demanded that we rent it and then it sucked.
44. Ever walked into a wall? All the time. And then I fall down.
45. Favorite color? gray, but in a good way
46. Have you ever slapped someone? Probably
47. Is your hair curly? No, sadly
48. What was the last CD you bought? Some awesome African hip hop bootlegs from the street vendors
49. Do looks matter? they just do
50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? I would like to think so but I'm not really sure.
51. Is your phone bill sky high? No
52. Do you like your life right now? Not so much
53. Do you sleep with the TV on? no
54. Can you handle the truth? yes, I prefer it
55. Do you have good vision? Not naturally.
56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? dislike? yes
57. How often do you talk on the phone? a couple times a week. Lots if Skype counts.
58. The last person you held hands with? Probably my niece
59. What are you wearing? jeans and an Iowa shirt
60.What is your favorite animal? ducks
61. Where was your profile pic taken at? Crissa's bed
62. Can you hula hoop? I haven't tried in a while
63. Do you have a job? not yet.
64. What was the most recent thing you bought? yarn?
65. Have you ever crawled through a window? yes, but not Dawson's Creek style like I always wanted.

44 cent hilarity

I was at Wal-Mart during my monthly hunt for flat things to mail to people in Africa and found a 44 cent card section. 44 cents?! That's nothing! How thrilling. It was mostly ugly kid birthday cards...but then...a diamond in the rough.



I mean really, this card had me at "Garbanzo" and I probably would have bought it no matter what it said on the inside. And the little Garbanzo dude? Totally makes up for the bad font.

HAHAHAHAHAHA Still laughing. Still chuckle every time I see it on my desk. Cracks me right up. Laughed really hard in the aisle. I might go back to buy the rest of these that they had in stock. I mean seriously, who does not need a bean card? So funny.

My grandma used to have a magnet in the shape of a bean with arms and legs and a face and on the belly it said, "I'm a human bean" and I just thought it was referring to the arms and legs and face. I mean yeah, it was clearly a bean that was human, it was a bean with human parts. Human bean. Why is that funny? I was a serious child.

My brother has reservations about this card because he thinks the 9 year-old I'm going to send it to won't get it because he didn't know about garbanzo beans until 2 years ago. I laughed at the time but that might be valid. I didn't know about garbanzo beans until college when Jeff Horst (hope you don't Google your own name) kept cans of them in his dorm room and even had a mini strainer and ate them out of the can while watching TV. However, garbanzos became a bigger part of my life in Africa because they're on couscous. I just hope her family doesn't call them chickpeas or then we're really in a pickle.

nast

I tried to buy yarn today but the store was closed at 8pm. Wha?! So confusing. Me and the husband I parked next to were so confused. However, I think I was more disappointed and he was relieved that he didn't have to actually go in and walk around with his wife. I didn't want to return home without buying anything however. I mean, come on, I'm an American. So I drove through to finally try a McDonald's latte.

MISTAKE

Among the worst beverage experiences of my life. Right up there with my last encounter with this guy:


It was bad. So, so bad. I think it was definitely my worst coffee experience, except for the equipment-related coffee disaster of '07 that involved a plunger. I'm glad that I'm no longer curious about the McLatte situation and at least confirmed my suspicion that it would be disgusting. My main regret is that the sale of said latte will be marked as profitable to McDonalds and perhaps in some way encourage them to continue the McCafe charade.

However, it must be said that the teenager working the drive-thru window was really pleasant. One thing I can say about this town is that the people are nice. I walk my dog almost daily and people are always waving. I think they're also saying "Hi" but I'm rudely ignoring them because I'm listening to This American Life on my iPod. Oops. I must still be adjusting from getting stared at. I used to freak out when I thought people were staring at me when I was little. My mom would do it on purpose because I would scream at her, "DO YOU HAVE A STARING PROBLEM?!" and she'd laugh and laugh. I never learned how to say that in Arabic but eventually I did start greeting people when I caught them staring, which helped. Maybe I'm staring at the strange suburban Americans and that's why they're greeting me...interesting theory. I was definitely staring at the guy who was shoveling snow off of his lawn though...not that I haven't ever done this in a fit of dirty snow rage...anyway.

Some college guys were sitting in lawn chairs in their front yard today (it was warm and sunny, they had a great idea) and were extra friendly and I was worried that they were pointing and laughing at me but then they said "nice shirt" which calmed me down. Turns out I was wearing my gang symbol shirt that has hands spelling out "blog" (thanks alex!). I thought I should mention that...on my blog.

netflix

Okay. Netflix is great. It's really pretty entertaining. From the 80 or so movies in my queue they have discovered that the following categories make up my taste in movies:

Visually-striking Mind-bending Dramas
Critically-acclaimed Independent Movies
Romantic Comedies Featuring a Strong Female Lead
HBO Sitcoms
Cerebral Movies

Hilarious. I sound so smart and interesting. What Netflix doesn't know won't hurt them.

What are your categories?

as far as the eye can see

i don't really miss...

creepy mannequins.

i heart spain

presentation: liveblogging

(men's) underwear flying off the line. This was one of my great fears about drying laundry on my roof. I was constantly worried that my underwear was going to end up in the street. I don't think it ever did. And no, this isn't my laundry line. My house was generally free of men's underwear, I promise.

ironic? no, coincidence

Alanis Morissette totally confused my concept of irony.

Netflix sent me Milk today



on the very day that this happened.

weird.

sorting

Hey there.

I had so much stuff to blog about but all of my pictures are on my phone and I can't get them to post here. Rude! So you can find them on Facebook. I've been traveling all around lately, midwest tour style. I went to Missouri with my new friend Amy. Turns out making friends isn't as scary as I thought it would be. I mean I only have one new friend and really I just stole her from Crissa (that's how I get new friends, I steal them, ask Jess) so I'm not sure if it counts. Amy and I grew up about 5 blocks from each other but she went to private school so I never knew her.

We went to Missouri a couple weeks ago to check out a training center. I was nervous about spending that much time with a new friend but it was so fun! Definitely a great road tripping experience. A few days later I went to see my former teammates and it was amazing to see them. It felt so good and familiar but also strange because we were in America. I had 4 kids in my lap and their dinner stuck to my clothes for the rest of the day. That's love.

Now you can find my in front of my computer in a cute but kind of uncomfortable chair sorting through THOUSANDS of pictures to find a handful that will best represent the last two years of my life. Yikes. It's kind of fun though, reliving the two years in mostly chronological order. I'm also blatantly stealing pictures from tourists who passed through and gave me their pictures from their fancy cameras. That's the best plan because they're brave and take pictures that I'm too scared to take. Like, rude ones. Like, right up in people's faces or their donkey's faces:


I'm so excited to share my experience with people but it still feels quite ridiculous that people want to sit down and listen to me talk. Ha. Suckers.

The Weather Channel link on my linkbar is still set to North Africa. Rude. I almost fell for the 78 and sunny tease...more like 45 and cloudy. Dang.

let the wild rumpus start

I got a little emotional when I found out that they're making a movie of Where The Wild Things Are. (And by "they" I mean Spike Jonze!) My brother Travis used to read that book to me over and over. There is a photograph somewhere of him laying on his stomach, me sitting on his back (our usual position) with the book spread out in front of us. There's another similar picture that includes my brother Steven, who added roars and tried to scare me.

I was in my room today and heard something wonderful and familiar from downstairs. I went to the staircase and confirmed that it was "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire. I asked my mom what she was watching and she said it was a movie trailer for "some movie" and I got to Googlin'. Apparently today was the release of the trailer. I can't wait.




The real kicker is that I also found out today that the movie comes out on October 16th. The day Travis died. It's like they knew.

I can not for the

I can not for the life of me make my phone mobile blog.

love 'em

A- Age: Almost 27.

B - Bed size: huge (queen)

C - Chore you hate: I really hate dusting...so I don't do it.

D - Dad's Name: Timothy Paul Swope and Bryan Paul Benson

E - Essential start your day item: coffee...omg coffee. I'm trying to keep the requirement at one cup but I think it might be two at the moment. I hate my life in the morning before coffee and I can't really walk or open my eyes all the way.

F - Favorite actor(s): Luke Wilson

G - Gold or Silver: Silver

H - Height: 5'8

I - Instruments you play(ed): I was forced into piano, then played flute, then a bunch of random stuff, now I'm trying to play guitar.

J - Job title: Ha um...good question.

K - Kid(s): I like kids.

L - Living arrangements: my high school bedroom

M - Mom's name: Janice Faye Benson and Keely Caroline Swope

N - Nicknames: Ang(e) and I think that's it.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Um, strep throat once. Tonsils out. I had a misbehaving ovary removed a few years ago.

P - Pet Peeve: constant noise, clutter, selfishness, fluorescent lighting

Q - Quotes you like: I don't really remember quotes. This week Amy said "That's so beautiful...it's like...Botox" which made me laugh so hard.

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: Luke, Travis, Steve, Timmy

T - Time you wake up: Usually 8, sometimes 9. My emotional state no longer requires 11 hours of sleep, which is encouraging.

U- Underwear: Yes. I buy my underwear in 3-packs. I think that real grown-ups buy their underwear individually but I'm not there yet.

V - Vegetable you dislike: I really don't like celery. And cauliflower when it's cooked really grosses me out.

W - Ways you run late: I can be ready really fast but I usually really have to shower or I hate the whole day. But I can shower super fast! Usually I just underestimate the time it takes to get somewhere.

X - X-rays you've had: um, at the dentist. My hand in junior high when a kid pushed me off my scooter and busted my finger and I couldn't play softball for the rest of the year.

Y - Yummy food you make: Good use of the Y! Well played. I love making food. I really love making ethnic food or experimenting, trying to make things work. It's because I have control issues.

Z - Zodiac: Gemini

just in case you've been under a rock

Here are some video clips in case you've missed the amazing Jon Stewart kicking ass and taking names.

First, watch this:



The next week, Jon clarifies that the segment wasn't in response to Santelli not coming on the show and clarifies the problem a bit further:



Cramer responds on MSNBC. So frustrating. The anchors imply that it's out of boredom that Jon Stewart is providing accountability for the asininity of Cramer and CSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Jon Stewart responds, clarifying the fact that the Daily Show has never claimed to be anything but satire.



I love the daily show for providing balance and accountability in politics and the media. Results of polls like this prove that they're working hard and doing a good job. We're lucky to be entertained and informed.

And at last, Cramer steps up. He agrees to come on the show. Here he is on Martha talking about the whole ordeal. Skip forward to minute 1:50 if you want to skip him talking about Twitter, skip to 3:12 to hear Martha warn Jim about Jon:



And at last, the interview. Warning: Unedited and uncensored:

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



So there you have it. I think my opinion is obvious. Satire keeps us humble and honest. In a country where humility, honesty and integrity are the last three words anyone would use to describe politics and the media, the Daily Show is essential. I think people have taken the whole freedom of speech debate too far in the past and obviously there will always be things in the media that I disagree with, but that's the point. There needs to be a balance, we need to be able to call each other out. Isn't that the point of social commentary?

not pictured: black denim cutoffs

One of the many adventurous elements of living with my family has become a delightful little game called "Hide the Redneck" that my brother has initiated. This fella shows up all around the upstairs of the house, usually in places that make me scream, like the bathroom mirror in the middle of the night, or at eye level on my door frame (shown). The worst part is that when I find him (morel like when he finds me) and I yell at Luke, he spends the next several hours talking to me in a gross redneck voice and saying things like, "Well don't you look purdy."

I just got back from a delightful day in Iowa City. Expensive haircut (I don't even want to talk about how expensive...whew), noodles with Jennifer (who was in Japan while I was in NA), good organic fair trade coffee with Kate and her Welshman, dinner with Cate and Noel. Funfunfun. Couldn't have asked for more fun...but seriously don't ask me how much I spent on my haircut. Ouch.

This was the pile of stuff I took the the post office yesterday. Day before? It was pretty exciting, I mailed 8 things to 5 different countries. It's fun having friends all over the place. The down side is that I don't really have friends all over this place. But today, that will not be an issue.

I'm off to Iowa City, the happiest place on earth. First I'm getting my haircut. A blog does not allow for me to appropriately convey my excitement for this event. My hair is a full two inches below my bra strap. The length where it starts to get annoying and caught in car doors and my armpit. I got my hair cut twice while in North Africa. Neither time was very successful. Then I will socialize. I'm going to socialize my ass off!

spring

This is the sure sign of spring in my household. About twice a year my stepdad spends his day off shopping. He buys half a year's supply of all of his hygiene products, random sports equipment (not pictured: prank golf balls, golf ball marking stencils, new shoes, etc.), 12 huge bags of salt for the water softener (which he begrudgingly carries down the stairs while muttering under his breath about the injustice of it all) and his favorite foods, which he excitedly eats for lunch as soon as he gets home from the "extravaganza" as he likes to call it. The food always includes rye bread, cheez whiz, some meat paste stuff that comes ina tube, dried meat and pickled stuff. For lunch he had cheez whiz and olives on rye bread. Seriously. This was the chosen day because it's the last week before the golf courses open so all of his days off until October will be spent on a golf course.

Just a little glimpse into my day...which also included a trip to Red Lobster at 4:30 and arguing with the dang Geek Squad. Oh America...why did I ever leave you?

I love xm radio. Classic

I love xm radio. Classic snoop dogg on 90's on 9. Then DMB 'satellite' on Spectrum. What more could i ask for?

kids these days

Last week we had a little impromptu family day. It made my teeth hurt. It involved brunch, buying locally made soaps, playing with the remote control car (by playing I mean my step-dad chasing dogs and children) and then going to a movie. We saw Slumdog Millionaire (it was my second time, I'd gladly see it a third).


The girl working at the counter gave us our change and then said, "Enjoy your cinematic adventure." Darn kids.