Prompt

Do you prefer big crowds or small groups?

While rap songs encourage you to "roll deep" i.e. - show up with a lot of people, I find large groups really difficult to manage. You'll be at one bar, getting ready to go to the next, and someone will say "Just let me finish this drink..." which is REASONABLE and UNDERSTANDABLE, but then other people will think "Oh, I can get another drink..." and then 45 minutes later you'll have to forcibly stand up and say "I'M GOING TO THE NEXT BAR." or else you'll be there for another 45 minutes.

So...yes. Small groups are a little better. Also: you look less intimidating!

Rap music and me, part 1.

I was just staring high school when Vice President Dan Quayle tried to get Tupac Shakur's record, 2Pacalypse Now, taken off the shelves. According to the story, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who claimed he had been influenced by the album.

I wasn't really familiar with Tupac, nor his work, but remember thinking "Wow, that must be some really offensive music!" I didn't give it any more thought and certainly didn't bother to start listening to Tupac, as I was far too busy listening to Boyz II Men, Kris Kross, Nirvana, Sir Mix-A-Lot, En Vogue, and Color Me Badd to give any police-insulting rapper any attention.

At the end of 1993, Tupac was again in this news, this time due to accusations that he and members of his posse had sexually assaulted a woman. At the time, I was only 16, but I already had accumulated about ten years of being a feminist, so clearly this was intolerable to me. I vaguely recall thinking "What a sleezebag! He should go to jail for a long time!" and then turning up either Gin Blossoms, Janet Jackson, Inner Circle, SWV, 95 South, Digable Planets, or Cranberries. I had not yet been exposed to the brilliance that is "I Get Around" by Tupac, even though it was one of the Top 100 songs of 1993.

Ask anyone who knows me well (which is, I'm starting to realize, not a whole heck of a lot of people) and they will be familiar with my rap obsession and my passionate love for Tupac's musical library. Friends from college and I used to sing along to pretty much every rap song by Biggie (begrudgingly), Tupac, Snoop, NWA, Westside Connection, etc.  We were such white girls trying to be hood, without the realities of the "hood", like crime, poverty, drive-by shootings, poor education systems, teenage pregnancy (this did occur at my high school, but I wouldn't call it an epidemic), etc. You certainly could have called us "poseurs" and we would have nodded and said "Yeah...that's about right...but we REALLY like this music..."

It's a constant struggle for me to try to determine if it's not okay to like an artists work (songs, movies, books) if I feel like they are a person of questionable/bad/horrible character.  The most recent example of this is when Chris Brown beat up Rihanna. I loved his music. I saw him in concert once and it was a ton of fun. I obviously DO NOT condone violence against ANYONE, especially not domestic violence. I was saddened by the news, because I recalled reading a story that Chris Brown's mother was a victim of domestic violence. I remember thinking "CB obviously has anger issues...I hope he can apologize, serve his sentence, get some anger management counseling, and become a better person."  Some might call it naive but I like to think of it as optimistic.

I was getting ready for work on Tuesday morning with GMA in the background and heard them say something about their musical guest Chris Brown. I was like "Oh! This could be interesting!" When he was on stage with Robin, I sat down and listened to the interview. Um...WTF?  Chris, you BEAT UP your GIRLFRIEND. You should be prepared to expect questions about it for EVERY INTERVIEW FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.  Wow...he came off (probably is) like a total asshole with not an ounce of remorse in his body. THEN I find out later that he was so angry after his performance that he trashed his dressing room, breaking glass and everything, and then tore his shirt off and stormed out of the building.

Well.

This letter sums up my feelings better than I can.

I kind of want to slap MSN.

I see this caption:
Bristol Palin's Life as a Single Mom
She weathered scrutiny as a pregnant teen during her mother's vice-presidential campaign. Now the 19-year-old is forging her own path as an independent adult.

No, I did not read the article (I'm really supposed to be doing something else - go figure!) but the term "independent adult" made me snort with contempt.  Bit**, please.  How is she independent?!

Stay tuned.

Things have been a bit hectic here, which has resulted in me having lots of things to mentally complain about, but no energy or semblance of coherence for writing.

I will state, however, that the season finale of Gossip Girl was so horrible and ridiculous on so many levels that a new term for urbandictionary.com should be created.  I mean, the show jumped the shark about three times in five minutes, which I'm sure is a new record.

Feel free to post your suggestions in the comments.  I'm going to spend some time mulling this one over in the shower tomorrow.  I only have six unique words on urbandictionary.com and I'm shooting for ten!

Closing thoughts.

April, and my pledge to blog every day, comes to an end today, which means you probably won't hear from me for about a week or so.  I'll act as if this was totally taxing when it really isn't.  If I had blogging standards or high expectations for my blog content it might be taxing, but since I was clearly about quantity over quality I really have nothing to bitch about.

Oh wait!  I do have something to bitch about, but it's not blogging related.

I'm starting to think that if a guy is in a relationship he should have to wear some type of visible marker letting all the single women he comes in contact with know that he is, technically, not available.  Sure, girlfriends are not wives, but if you are a God-fearing woman like me, the presence of a girlfriend makes a man unavailable.  One would think relationships could be easily discarded, but when a man lives in Chicago and is over the age of 30, he's generally cohabitating.  Their relationship might be horrible and loveless and could now be a relationship of convenience/laziness, but cohabitating makes it challenging to get out of.  There are usually possessions to split and custody arrangements to draft up over pets, Wii's, or flat-screen televisions.  That shit takes a lot of effort and energy and is probably the reason why so many people are in bad relationships.  Or maybe I'm just ASSUMING many guys are in bad relationships since some of them spend a good couple hours seemingly flirting with you to only FINALLY mention the fact that they are in a relationship right before they ask you for your phone number so you can give them career advice.

Did you see Inglorious Basterds?  By the way, that movie title is awful because I have a hard time spelling things improperly on purpose, but I digress.  You know how they mark people?  I'm not thinking anything drastic like that, but you know.  Along those lines.

Getting out of dodge.

Today I had to venture to a western suburb for a retail "interview". I'm trying to put a lot of balls in the air and basically trying to line up whatever I can to make sure I don't end up homeless and desolate.  I mean, I hope I don't really ever get in danger of being homeless but WE NEVER KNOW.  I bet most homeless people thought the same thing.  True?

While trying to venture out the Windy City, I once again got horribly F*CKING ANNOYED at how difficult it is to get around.  Sometimes I feel like getting out of the city of Chicago is so challenging it's like we are on an island. Or in jail.  Alcatraz, perhaps?

Maybe it's because I am, as I mentioned, a girl who likes to drive. I like to put my foot on the gas and GOOOO, not have my foot constantly hovering over the brake while putzing around at 12 MPH on a road where the speed limit is like 55/60/whatever-I-damn-well-please.

Lately I've kinda been thinking that I'd like to live in a less populated area, where a trip to the store less than 2 miles from your house doesn't take at least 45 minutes.  But then I think "...but where?" and I get all wistful and forlorn and angsty and usually end up checking Twitter.  Some people have therapists.  I have Twitter.  Diversion is my favorite remedy.

First of the season!

Today I decided to go for it.  I would go get that Shamrock Shake that has been calling my name since their 2010 arrival at the McDonald's on the corner of Clark and Addison.

As I pulled into the drive thru, I saw a poster advertising Shamrock Shakes, and I thought "That looks fancy..." as the Sham Shake was topped with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.  I figured that was just for show, as a way to try to get non-believers to go out on a limb and order this mythical mint deliciousness.

I didn't take it as a warning that McDonald's has fucked with one of my favorite March traditions.

I should have.




What gives McDonald's?  Why would you mess with perfection?

BLAZING MAD!

I adore the Olympics. Some women watch Lifetime movies (I totally don't...honestly never have and really hope I never will), but I prefer to get my emotional overload from the trials and triumphs of elite athletes.  I love Olympic athletes because they are in it for the LOVE OF THE GAME, not necessarily for fame and fortune.  Most of the sports at the Olympics hardly have any true media presence, and are usually only given attention once or twice every four years.

Naturally, I spent Friday night at home, watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.  Some friends and I tossed around the idea of watching them at a bar, but frankly, staying at home was probably better. I may have been embarrassed when I burst into tears when the athletes/representation from Georgia got a standing ovation or when I openly drooled over a lot of the male athletes (especially from South American or Nordic countries...hubba hubba).

Most definitely, I would have gotten into a knock-em-down-drag-out fight over how REPULSIVE I think it is that the Official TEAM USA Opening Ceremony Knit Sweater is FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE FUC*ING DOLLARS and it's NOT MADE IN THE USA!  OH. MY. GAWD.  How ridiculous is that?!  Ralph Lauren knows (banks on) that America thrives on a culture of consumption, one that is all about having the "newest, coolest, biggest, best, ETC". Of course talking about our consumption culture is a post all in itself, and one that I'm not really qualified to comment on (fortunately, she can), but I just find it offensive that they'd market/promote such expensive clothes to the masses during these economic times. I understand it's a business, perhaps their sponsorship deal was done before the economic downturn of 2008, but I really doubt it.  Yes, I think they look sharp, in general, but I'm just appalled that all the Team USA clothes are "imported" (which is what it says on their website).  I called the Ralph Lauren customer service line to see where the knit sweater was made (yes, I really did...it's a 1-800 number) but the woman who answered couldn't tell me.  She told me to call back during regular customer service line business hours (of course, I find it odd that they wouldn't have actual customer service rep's working now, to take orders for Olympic gear).

Anyone else find this a little shocking and upsetting?

GD News!

Honestly, I sometimes find news reports so offensive.  Why do they have to try to make this "cute", when it actually sounds pretty awful?!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
 

Unbelievable and offensive.

Last night, while grading midterms, I had the television on for background noise and heard a promo for this week's 20/20. Here it is:



My reaction? Not favorable. I believe my exact words were "Are you fu**ing kidding me 20/20"? "The Woman Who Didn't Stand By Her Man"...that's your byline for this story? How horribly and sexist is that?! (in case you were wondering, VERY!) No offense to Tammy Wynette, of course, but that song came out in 1968. Give it a rest!

Are we still in a place where a woman who decides to leave her cheating husband is abnormal or breaking societal norms? Shouldn't the byline be "The Woman Who Took a Stand Against her Cheating Man?"

Welcome to NIMH

So, I can't really remember if I blogged about this much, but I had a little mouse invasion last November. It was gross and whatev, but my building managers seemed to TCB (take care of business) so I was, in theory, a-okay with it. In actuality, I have pretty much been extra jumpy since. The mice invasion occurred one week prior to the gunpoint mugging, so basically I have no escape from my jumpiness.

Thankfully, I've always been a jumpy person, in a way. I'm not really easily spooked but I am always hyper-aware of what's going on around me. I think it's from growing up with a brother and all male-cousins on one side of my family.

So, you can guess how I feel about having a "pet(s)" living in the wall between my bedroom and bathroom. Um...not really friendly feelings toward it/them. It/they was/were super loud and annoying for a week, I called the building manager, they offered to open up my wall and "get 'em". Umm...gross. I had visions of them cutting a hole in my wall and PANDEMONIUM breaking out, with mice (hopefully) hiding in every corner of my apartment. I hedged and said "Well...why don't we see if they leave before we take drastic measures...?"

Things have been quiet, but now we've gotten word that they trapped a RAT in the boiler room last week, and a girl in an apartment on the floor above me possibly had a rat in her apartment two nights ago (she apparently was missing part of her bathroom wall, which is crazy that she never got that taken care of before). They patched her wall, but OMG. Why why why!?

I'll tell you what I think...there is a building across the alley that has been vacant for probably about two years. They might as well post a neon sign that says "RODENT LODGING!" on it. Seriously, it's a BIG CITY. You can't let vacant building sit in a highly populated area! Our property manager said he was going to call the Alderman, but I think I'm also going to take charge on this one. There's nothing I like better than a little fight against the government. Ha!

Come now!

Yesterday I went to the Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade with my dad.  Once there we met my cousin, her husband, and their four year old son.  We met at a great place (also a great bar!) for breakfast and then walked to Woodward to set up for the parade.  While it was a little crowded, it wasn't horrible and better than we expected.  We situated the four year old at the street level and stood behind him.

As the starting time of the parade got closer, more and more people started gathering around us.  This is, of course, expected, as parades are in general well-attended events.  The weather was chilly, but not raining or snowing and not as bad as it has been in years past.

What I found completely appalling and annoying was when people would roll in during the parade and would honestly stand right in front of everyone who's been there, camped out, since who knows when.  This teenager, probably 15/16 was literally standing directly in front of my four year old cousin.  I kept asking my cousin's husband "Do you want me to talk to her?  Do you want me to move her?"  One woman who was there before we got there was fulfilling the roll of master regulator and was clearing out the riff-raff/rude people, but still...it was unfortunately too big of a job for any one person.

Since when did manners become so unfashionable?  I see it happen ALL THE TIME, but unfortunately I'm still consistently appalled.  Do you witness the same things?!

Some things never change.

I recently joined a listserve/yahoo group for a professional organization, dedicated to the field of communication.

I've had some pretty hilarious experiences with listserve's, as I started one for my sorority when I was in college, and got to watch MANY, MANY people totally abuse it and use it for personal, petty attacks.  While this was, of course, totally destructive, it was also quite hilarious at times.  Unfortunately, people didn't understand when we told them to "stop abusing the email" and we had to resort to restricting who could post.

I've been reminded all this lately because of what's going on in this new group.  One member is leaving the realm of academia to run for public office, and sent out a lengthy email about his logic behind running for office, what he stands for, what's wrong with this country, etc.  Well, some people didn't like this (apparently it must have been too difficult for them to just press "delete") and fired back with "start a new group!", "we don't want to hear this on in an academic group!", etc.  Then other people who support what this guy is doing fire back with "FIRST AMENDMENT!", "He shouldn't leave, you should leave!", etc.

Thankfully all these emails go into my junk mail folder, so I can read if I want but they aren't cluttering up my inbox.  I really can't believe how many emails I've received about this.

This rant brings me to this question...is "acting like an adult" conditional?  

"Bowgate, Part Deux"

Why do so many people find it to be a problem that President Obama bowed to the Emperor of Japan?  Is our nation that ethnocentric that we don't think we should adapt to local cultural norms when in other countries?  Have they not heard the term "When in Rome..."?

I get so frustrated with the media and general public when they focus on such minute, insignificant issues.  Some people say he shouldn't have bowed at all, some say he was right to bow, but he bowed too deeply.  I think it is wise, not to mention kind, for him to adapt to the cultural norms of whatever country he is visiting.

What do you think?

Bad ads

I wish I could remember what they are advertising, I think it's a casino, or maybe even Vegas, but there are several billboards around the city that I find extremely annoying.  They have random words on them that, when you say them out loud, make up a word like "amateur" or "hors d'oeurves".  I will make sure I pay better attention to what they are promoting next time I see one, but I just had to get it off my chest.  Bad advertising annoys me.

Are there any bad ads or commercials that get on your last nerve?

The pressure!

One of my least favorite activities in the whole wide world is picking out eyeglasses.  For some reason, it tends to exacerbate my neurotic hangups.  All of a sudden I start obsessing about my crooked ears, my close-set eyes, or my relatively petite nose (which in theory is good, but makes eyeglasses sit a bit lower on my face than I'd like).  Not to mention eyeglass stores tend to have really crisp lighting which seems to point out the new wrinkles I've acquired, my roots, and the lovely under-eye circles I'm sporting (I blame the mice nightmares I've been having...true story).

While paying for the glasses I picked out (which is kinda nonsense, as I hate paying people for things they HAVEN'T DONE YET...I'll save that for another post) I said "You know, it's so unfair that glasses are so expensive (thankfully I still have vision insurance for the rest of this month)...it's not like we WANT to have to wear them."  I mean honestly.  I'm totally unable to go about my day like a normal human being without some form of visual assistance.  All of these things (eyeglasses, contacts, seeing-eye dogs, canes) cost money.  How is that fair?  It then made me think about how aggravated I get buying tampons.  It's not that tampons and pads/sanitary napkins in of of themselves annoy me (well, okay...maybe it is) but the fact that we have to PAY for them, and that they are not cheap, really annoys me.  Why do women have so many more things they have to spend their money on than men do?  This burns me, especially since women still only make about 82 cents to the dollar that a man makes for doing the same job.

What are other things (necessities) that women have to pay for that men don't?  Is there anything that goes the other way?

The gossip girl writers need to call me.

I am a very casual watcher of television, in general, but am a rabidly avid watcher of shows worthy enough to be called a "favorite".  My most recent favorite non-news program shows include Gossip Girl and Lost.  Hey, I meant my "favorite", not critically acclaimed favorites.  Since I don't have cable, that's it.  Just those two.  That equates to two hours of recreational television a week, and honestly, I probably watch only four hours of television per week, which includes Meet the Press Sunday mornings and an episode or two of The Cosby Show (the best comedy OF ALL TIME).  Think of my television watching like your experience with a great friend or someone you are passionate about...if you're only spending two - four hours with them, you want to make it count.

Lost has yet to fail me.  Regardless of the fact that entire episodes can go by and nothing may get settled, we may just find out there's a polar bear! on an island! or that hot doctor Jack has a drug problem, but it always grabs me in some way. Maybe since the show is so wacky and unrealistic it gets put into a different category of expectations.  I don't really watch to see things get resolved, I watch for the mystery, excitement, suspense, and I'll admit it, the gorgeous scenery and fantastic eye candy (I drool over Jack, Sawyer, and Desmond, and also watch to figure out if I'll ever be able to look like Kate.)

Gossip Girl was my not-so-guilty pleasure.  Let's face it, I'll be 32 in a couple days and maybe should not be so concerned with Manhattan's elite, but I just love(d) it.  The clothes!  The drama!  The eye candy! (I will be the first to admit that I have a shallow streak).

The first episode of this season was "eh", but I allowed it that because it's the first episode of the new season.  Don't make me explain why it's important to be kind to first's, because this is a family blog.

Last night's episode, however, was horribly horrible.  Several times during the episode I found myself exclaiming "Oh really?  Nice, evil, nice...OMG is that a silk ROMPER...where is Little J...what's the point of having all those headbands if they never pull back your hair...I wonder if a wasabi facial is a good anti-ager...oh heaven's, Nate kept the boarding pass...she is not cute enough for him, but is still at least 30x's cuter than me...I need to work on my self-esteem...Dan Humphrey just referenced Judy Blume...more daddy issues and now Jesus freaks?"

In a nutshell, the episode was riding the hot mess express.  It wasn't telling a single story except tangentially, which is unnecessary for an hour long dramedy.

Gossip Girl writer's, you have until October 26th.  If you don't pull your shit together by then...oh whoops...I just swore on my family blog, I am DONE WITH YOU.  Next episode, why don't you try to:

1.  Elaborate on Serena's daddy issues.  Prior to the final episode of last season, we'd never really heard of the daddy (or I wasn't paying attention) but now you want us to believe she is seeking his acceptance/love?  But why?
2.  Scott.  We all know that Scott is Rufus and Lily's kid, but what's he doing there?  Is he just trying to meet his birth parents or is he trying to extort his birth parents?  Is he hanging out with all of them (and making out with Vanessa) because he wants to gather Intel for his extortion case?
3.  Nate.  What's the deal there?  He's going to Columbia, right?  Why isn't he at orientation? What's this girl Bree studying in grad school?  My money's on economics or public-something (like policy, affairs, etc.)
4.  Blair.  Why not develop that character a little and have her fall in l-u-v with a Professor, or at least be hugely moved toward a cause?  If a daughter of a hugely famous fashion designer lived on my floor, you'd better believe we'd be BFF's stat.

All in all, I expected better from you Gossip Girl.  Your music wasn't even all that original.

*SIGH*

Letter to my bank

You know what...maybe I am trying to be a little threatening?  And yes, I like to remind people that I was laid off in order to play the sympathy card.  YES, IT'S GETTING OLD.  But I want results!

This is what I originally wrote:
Greetings!  I have been a customer of XXXXXX for many, many years.  My first ever checking account was opened in 1995 with First Federal of Michigan, which was purchased by XXXXX, and there have been many changes to the bank in the past 14 years. 

I am concerned about my ability to withdraw money from ATM machines.  When I moved to Chicago from the Detroit area, I knew there were not a lot of XXXXX's in the city, however I wanted to stay with the bank out of loyalty.  There were three branches within a couple mile radius (about two miles in each direction) from my apartment, and a branch not far from work.

Now there is only one branch within a three mile radius of my apartment, and I no longer work downtown (I was laid off).  The other day I wanted to cash a check on Diversey, but when I got there I found the branch had been closed.

This is problematic because it's not quick and/or convenient to jet around the city just to get cash, and the fees I am getting charged for ATM withdrawals from other banks is starting to add up.  I am not in a financial position to change accounts, as I cannot commit to a minimum balance, but I wanted to see if there is anything that can be done about the ATM fees I keep incurring.

If not, I'm afraid I will likely have to change banks.  I'm not saying this to be threatening, it's just logistically XXX is difficult for me.

I would love to hear your thoughts!

But due to their "limit" (and they didn't say what that was) this is what I was finally able to submit:

I've been a customer for many years. My 1st account was opened in 1995 with First Federal of MI & there's been many changes to the bank. I am concerned about my ability to access ATM machines. When I moved to Chicago, I knew there were not a lot of XXXXX's, but I wanted to stay with the bank. There were 3 branches within a couple mile radius (about 2 miles in each direction) from my apt, and a branch not far from work. Now there is only one branch within a 3 mile radius of my apt. I no longer work downtown (I was laid off). The other day I wanted to cash a check, but when I got there I found the branch had closed. This is problematic because it's not quick to jet around the city just to get cash, and the fees I am getting charged for ATM use is starting to add up. I am not in a financial position to change accounts, as I cannot commit to a minimum balance, but I wanted to see if there is anything that can be done about the ATM fees I keep incurring. I would love to hear your thoughts!

I hate to be rude, but...

The title statement never, ever precedes something kind. Have you ever noticed that? Any sort of statement where someone is disclaiming their thoughts, such as "I hate to be rude...", "I don't mean to sound like a bitch but..." or "Sorry to be blunt but...", usually is in front of a really inappropriately rude comment.

Keeping that in mind, I want to touch upon pregnant women for a quick minute. No, I clearly do not know what it's like to be pregnant. I do not understand how tired it makes you, how uncomfortable you are, what sort of anxiety you have, what it feels like when a baby kicks, etc. I do, however, know that being pregnant was your choice (and something that many, many women, no matter how hard they try, can never accomplish). With that in mind, could you please stop talking about/complaining about your pregnancy with people who do not know what it's like? Sure, I will sympathetically nod my head and say "Oh wow, I'm so sorry your baby is kicking your ribs", but the appropriate answer is "Thanks...so, did you watch Lost last week?" We do not need to continue to talk about your pregnant belly.

Once...just once...I'd like to say "I hate to be rude, but I really don't care about how uncomfortable your pregnancy is..."

What do you think would happen? I have some ideas.

I can't not comment on this.

Watch this video from this blog:



The woman who says she was going to be one of those "childless by choice" people. Yeah, I was listening to her with an open mind until she said "And then at the age of 21, I met the love of my life, and in the span of 7 months we got engaged, got pregnant...and now we have two boys..."

I don't mean this in a mean way, I'm sure she's a very nice person, but the first thing I thought was "Bitch...please". You thought at the age of 21 you were going to be childless by choice? I really don't think at the age of 21 you are in a position to be making wide, sweeping generalizations about your future. You probably can't even pay your bills.

People who are childless by choice, and I do know some...not many, but some, are people who are actually in a POSITION to be making that decision. Like they are in a committed relationship and have sat down with their partner and had an adult discussion about whether or not they are going to bring a child/children in to the world. They have mutually agreed to not raise children.

Would a person call me childless by choice? Perhaps. I am female with reproductive organs that may or may not be able to bear children (who knows until you try?!), yet I have no child/children. But I am also a SINGLE woman who is a bit old-fashioned. I would never, ever classify myself as "childless by choice"; I am childless because I have not yet met a man to reproduce with. Do I want children? Yes, I believe I do. However I'm not going to be like the bat-shit crazy octomom and get pregnant just to fulfill my desire to have children unless I am in a position to provide them with a safe and stable lifestyle.

I'm getting a little aggravated with righteous mothers. I will admit that Facebook is to blame. On the regular, I am subjected to status updates where people are talking about their child's bowel movements/lack of bowel movements, their bedtime rituals, extracurricular activities, and how they wish they had more time in the day. I am sorry, I just have a hard time mustering up a lot of sympathy for them. Yes, I know motherhood is hard work. I am sure marriage is difficult work as well. But haven't you gotten what you wanted? Shouldn't you stop complaining now? I mean, society affirms that you've "made it". The "American Dream" is often illustrated as having a home and a family with a white picket fence and 2.1 children. Society doesn't often paint the American Dream as a 31 year old single woman, renting an apartment in Chicago who hasn't been on a good date in...gee...I don't know...almost two years? Take a minute to assess your life. No...another minute. See...that's not so bad, is it?