Next Top Model Shows: U.S.A. vs Germany

I really like America's Next Top Model because I like fashion and make-up and whatnot. I also like the fact that Tyra Banks doesn't place pressure on "her" girls to be superthin. I think that is very important because the contestants are probably already aware of the fact that the fashion industry prefers figures that are beyond skinny (at least I would be), so why would you want to place even more pressure on them.
Well, when I heard that there was going to be a Germany's Next Top Model...and that it was going to be hosted by Heidi Klum, I was really ecstatic and couldn't wait to see the contestants. Little did I know that the similarities end with the name and the fact that the hosts are both models. What differences could there be?
First of all, unlike the American version, all of the final contestants have similar measurements, and except for differences in eye and hair color, and other slight variations, I just couldn't see any personality in these girls' faces... I mean I have German friends who would be great models and who have developed great personalities over the years.
In addition to that, none of the contestants have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of at least 20. The highest I saw was 18, which pretty much means that these girls are all underweight. In case you don't know this, the normal range of BMI for women is 20-25 and for men it is 19-24. Granted, most of the contestants were 16-18, but they just didn't look good! And I would like to look at a model and go "She's hot!", and not "Mmmm...here's some food for you, honey.".
I mean, I get it that the BMI system isn't very accurate...when you're young, you tend to have a smaller BMI, a woman who has a BMI of 19 isn't necessarily underweight, a woman who has a BMI of 25 isn't necessarily skinny, people smaller heightwise tend to have higher BMIs, tall people tend to have smaller BMIs, and so on, but at least it is a decent guideline.
Oh well, I don't control the TV shows, or much of anything for that matter, but I'm just disappointed in Germany's Next Top Model...
If you have any thoughts or questions on the topic of BMI, Next Top Model, underweight versus overweight, or anything else related to this post, please feel free to post a comment.

Okay, baibai everyone.

This just in

Well, I just got done talking to my mother, and now I'm completely pissed off... I cannot believe that something like this happened in the USA, of all places! Last night we had lots and lots of rain, there were even tornado watches, and there was thunder and lightning. Here in Iowa City, everything went just fine, that is, considering what happened in Silvis (Illinois). Now my parents and siblings live in Silvis, and they pretty much had the same weather we did. Here is what pisses me off, the electricity went off last night/early this morning, and since those houses have electricity-driven pumps to keep the houses from getting flooded, and it took MidAmerican Energy 8 hours (!!!!) to turn the electricity back on, my parent's basement (which is also where they have the computers, the master bedroom, another living room, storage area, and so on) is now flooded. I just might understand that MidAmerican Energy was incapable of getting there earlier to turn the electricity back on, but now they won't even cover the cost of the damage caused by the flooding because it was a natural disaster. In addition to that, several people have already come up to my parents telling them that they should have gotten battery for a back-up pump. What. The. Hell?! MidAmerican never told them about this pump in the first place, so how should they have known that something like this could happen in the first place. And it is MidAmerican's fault because it usually never takes them 8 hours (!!!!) to get the electricity back up and running! 2 hours I understand. I even get 3 hours. However, 4 hours is already pushing it, let alone 8. And then they are unwilling to cover any costs!!!! I hate to sound typically American, but I do feel very tempted to sue MidAmerican Energy. I don't know, I'm just incredibly pissed off at the lack of responsibility being displayed here. Yep, 2006 is turning out to be a better year than 2005...(*sound of me banging my head into various objects*)

Project Runway Finale

Since I wasn't able to watch it when it actually aired, I'm glad that I eventually managed to catch it on Bravo. Well, we had the three finalists, Santino Rice, Chloe Dao, and Daniel Vosovic, show off their 13-piece collections at Olympus Fashion Week in NYC. All three of them managed to wow me, even though I would have liked to see Nick Verreos as one of the final three... And yes, his elimination still gets to me.
Back to the finale: Chloe Dao ended up winning the second season of Project Runway, so I am very very happy for her. Even if I could never wear any of her clothes (I couldn't wear the clothes from any of Project Runway's designers...figure-wise that is), I might still buy some of her clothes, hang them up or frame them, and just look at them...and work out like crazy. However, I would do the same with Nick's, Santino's, or Daniel's clothes.
Okay, enough from me for tonight...
And again, omedetoo (congratulations) Chloe Dao!

Baibai minasan!

Bitch, bitch, bitch, rant, rant, rant

Helas minasan!

This message will be about me complaining. Hence the title of this post. I am not too happy because I am searching for a steady job, and I haven't been too successful with that. One reason is that out of all of positions that need to filled, a huge portion of these are babysitter positions. I don't mind that because I know that I can look after kids. However, this is what gets me: Good 70% of the people looking for babysitters are looking for people who have certificates in CPR, have taken babysitter courses, are majoring in Elementary Education or Nursing, and the list of qualifications goes on. Essentially, these parents are looking for people who would be better parents than they are. I mean, how many of those parents have CPR certificates (valid ones)? How many have majored in Elementary Education or Nursing? I just think that if you, as a parent, do not meet your own qualifications that you are looking for in a babysitter, you shouldn't be allowed to make such high demands and be grateful to have someone who is "only" trustworthy and kind.
I don't know. It just makes me upset...
Hopefully, I'll be able to find a job soon. Well, I do have all of Spring Break to look for one...even if it will end up just being over the summer.
And, as much as it breaks my heart, I won't be going to Anime Central because I don't have a job; Anime Central is during the first or second weekend of May; even if I got a job within the next week or two, I still have to pay for bills and food; and I don't feel comfortable asking my friends and parents to help me pay for it. I won't ask my friends because my friends have other more important things to spend their money on, and this is also true with my parents, but they already pay my rent, phone bill (most of which probably consists of taxes), gas, tuition, car insurance, etc. So, I'm not going to Anime Central, which is sad because that will probably be the only opportunity to see some of my very good friends. Okay, enough from me. I also would like to thank all of my friends who have offered to help me financially, so that I could go to Anime Central, but that won't be happening. At least not this year. Maybe, hopefully, next year.

Well, baibai people!

What A Week...

And it is only Wednesday!! Oh. My. GOSH! Even though for some people the week starts with Sunday (e.g.: my boyfriend - which I absolutely don't mind, even if it sounds like it), my week always starts with Monday, so of course, I will start off with Monday in this post.
Since I have been slowly, but surely, regaining my self-discipline, I have gotten back in the habit of doing something good for my body every single day, even if it's just walking to the mailbox. I am also starting to get into the spirit of spring cleaning, which of course meant cleaning up the mold and mildew that had managed to settle itself in my poorly ventilated and insulated townhouse apartment. Luckily, I had a bottle of mildew/mold remover sitting in the apartment, ready to use. So, I started spraying the solution on the window sills, and the more visible spots. I was very happy with the results because 97% percent (maybe more) of the spots went away. However, while working on a spot that my parents had pointed out (it was hidden in the most unreachable corner of the apartment), I decided that it would be a good idea to move the couch because I know from previous experience with mold that it can spread like a bitch (sorry). And boy, did I have a "Why did I have to be right" moment! This was because the mold had managed to spread...and how!! I am sorry that I don't have any pictures, but I wanted as few people to see the mess as possible, and I know that my mother also reads my blog, so I really didn't feel like giving her a heart attack. The wall behind the couch actually looked like death had decided to take over this apartment... So, I ended up having these mixed feelings of being pissed off at management for not making these apartments at least minimally better, being pissed at myself for not taking care of this sooner, and feeling extremely sick.
The end of this story, I ended up using the whole bottle of mildew/mold remover, not being able to completely remove some spots, and still having one whole room left to spray. After seeing that huge spot, I couldn't stop spraying until the whole bottle was empty and my hands were almost numb.
As messy as my parents think I am, when I set my mind into cleaning mode, I clean everything and I clean it well. I am quite the meticulous person...sometimes.
Now on to yesterday...
I had another babysitting assignment, which I was looking forward too, but I was also extremely exhausted and dealing with the fact that as much as I had aired out the apartment, the remover smell still didn't want to leave the bathroom. The reason for this: The ventilation in that room sucks, the fan doesn't suck out as much of the moisture as it should, and it is one, if not the only, main reason why there was so much mold in the apartment. Anyway, back to babysitting. I picked up one of my charges, and of course he started heading out the door immediately, even though we still had to pick up his sister. So, I finally got the little man to turn around head back to his sister's main room, but she wasn't there! My only thought was: "Oh shit! This cannot be happening! I am such a bad person!" However, Michael (I changed his name for this) couldn't keep still, plus he had an ear infection, so I went "home" (his home) with him. The whole time I was thinking about his sister and trying to tell myself that she could make it home by herself (they only live two minutes away from the school, and she incredibly capable and independent for her age - she is 8). I then had issues finding Michael's medication, well, the one directly for the ear infection, so I could only give him children's ibuprofen. I tried to call his mother to ask her where the other medication was, and if Shannon, Michael's sister, had been picked up by her father (the parents recently got divorced). No such luck though because the long distance phone service had been shut off, the mother's cell phone was registered as a long distance number, and she never gave me her work number. Naturally, Michael thought it would be a great idea to play with the phones, so I decided to go back to the school and ask the front office where Shannon could be. Michael and I walk back to the school, go to the office, ask if anyone has seen Shannon, and pretty much everyone draws a blank. Fortunately, one of the people I asked during my first visit informed me that Shannon was in Spanish class, which was right next to her main classroom. *smack against forehead* Boy, did I feel stupid! I was quite relieved though too... Michael and I did have to wait for her though, and Michael used that time to take me on a tour through the half the school... Finally, Shannon's class was over and all three of us walked to their house. After checking almost every place in the kitchen, I did manage to locate Michael's other medication, and after having him take it, play with the phones some more, hiding them, and him throwing a temper tantrum of unusual proportions (for him, that is), I gave him a Capri-Sun and convinced him to go downstairs to watch a DVD or do something like that.
This was before I saw the furniture and electronic equipment changes. I couldn't hook up the DVD and Laser Disc player because Michael had been playing around with it previously, so the mother's boyfriend had to secure everything. Michael then used that chance to bug his sister and try to make her play with the V-Smile, but she didn't want to play because Michael is quite hyperactive and he wouldn't be watching her anyways. They started the have a fight over whether the TV and V-Smile should be on or off, and after pulling him out of the playroom several times before that, I saw that their fight was starting to get pretty physical. Now, if they were my siblings, I would have said "Fight, but shut up." because they are old enough to know better and I don't have to take the responsibility for them anymore. The only time I step in is if they get loud, they get so physical that they endanger others, and/or they start threatening each other in a very serious manner. However, with these two, the fight was just starting to get out of control, so I removed Michael from the scene again. Unfortunately, things went much different than expected... Michael decided that with me half-holding him, it would be a fantastic time to squirm and struggle against me. So, what ends up happening? I tripped on the bricks that form the fireplace area, I fall and fall and fall - all with child - and trying to save Michael, I twist my "good" (right...I'll explain later) knee, injure my right leg, bang my left cheek onto something, and with all that effort, still wasn't able to completely save Michael from getting hurt. He ended up getting a small rugburn wound right under his eye area, and since his skin is still so...young, he was bleeding a little bit (whereas I have more "severe" wounds, but I wasn't bleeding at all) and he was crying even more than he had been when I was taking him out of the room. He didn't want me to wash the wound, put Neosporin on it, or a bandaid. He ended up crying so much that he had an asthma attack, so I had to put him on his nebulizer (or Nebulizer...I'm not sure). He calmed down after that, and because of being in the hospital at 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning (his ear infection) and having cried so much, he fell asleep shortly thereafter. His father also came over (Shannon called him because we couldn't reach their mother), and he wasn't mad at me or anything (he just wanted to see how serious the wound was), and he left after about 30 minutes.
So, yeah, that was my Tuesday... And as a result, I was beyond exhausted and in pain, so I slept throughout about the half of today, which is bad, but I considered it to be necessary, so I could regain all or most of my strength. It still hurts to walk, so I have now switched to exercises that wouldn't be putting to much pressure on my legs. Hopefully, my leg will heal relatively fast...
Anyway, enough from me for today.
Take care, minasan. Ja mata (until later).

Whoo!

I am so happy! I'm not quite sure why I'm so happy about this, but I finally got around to editing my links section, so have fun people! Right now, I've been going through lists of fellow bloggers to see who else is out there. So far, it's been quite interesting...I can't complain.
Other news: I'm still trying to get this cold out of my system. Ummm, my boyfriend and I have a new roommate...he's a mutual friend of ours. I really really want to go to Anime Central in May, but I don't know if I'll be able to get the money together in time. *sad, sad*
Oh well, enough of my bitching. I'll try to write another post later.

Kisses minasan

Explaining the Quote

Well, the quote, "You have pockets like a man.", came from my lovely and brilliant mother, when she was watching me empty the pockets of my jeans this past weekend. And honestly, she's right. I do have pockets like a man, but that's only because I only needed two or three small things out of my purse (Full Metal Alchemist bag...what?! It serves the same purpose...).
I know, I know, excuses, excuses, excuses. I just thought that the quote was funny...and quite true.

Quote of the Day

You have pockets like a man.

Curious who said that? Well, I'll tell you later.

Yes, I know. I'm weird... 

Well, what can I say? Sometimes I just have to force myself to be silly. 

There is no explanation for this one... 

Waaaahhhh!!!! No, not Nick!

One of my guilty pleasures is watching Project Runway. For those of you who don't know what this show is about, it is about aspiring designers who have to go through a series of challenges and eliminations to determine who will win at the end. The finale includes the final three contestants who show off a sampling of their collection at the Olympus Fashion Week. The winner receives an article in Elle, an internship with Banana Republic, a Saturn Sky Roadster, and $100,000 to start a clothing line or something like that. Also, Heidi Klum is the host of this show. I don't know why I felt that was important...I like Heidi.
Anyway, in the episode today, the remaining five designers had to make one of their fellow contestants over. Chloe Dao won this challenge with her makeover look for fellow designer Nick Verreos, which is quite impressive considering the fact that this was her first time working on menswear. So, I'm happy for Chloe because she is really cute, nice and polite, and she definitely knows what looks good on a woman's body (and now also on a man's body).
However, I am incredibly upset that Nick got cut because he is one of my favorite designers. He should've made it into the final three...
Well, I will let my head hang for a little while...and comfort myself with some anime, Iron Chef, and Mel Brooks' movies.
That's all for now folks *sob* *sniffle* *sob*

Do NOT Panic!!!

Right now, I am in the middle of changing the look of my blog. Hopefully, it will turn out to be quite nice-looking.
So, don't panic, I will do my best to have everything the way it should be (the way I think it should be) in a relatively short time.
Well, take care everyone!
Talk to you later!

This just in

I just managed to find out something quite interesting. This year, a movie called Coin Locker Babies is in the pre-production stage. Most of you are probably wondering what's so special about this. Well, this movie is based off of Ryu Murakami's book "Coin Locker Babies", which deals with two young men, who were abandoned in coin lockers when they were infants. Unlike other infants who died before being discovered, these two were found and sent to an orphanage. They were later adopted and taken care of. Later on, both boys want to take revenge on the women who betrayed them...
That's all I can write about it, so you'll just to read the book to find out about the rest...or you can wait to see the movie, but for some reason, I'm afraid that I will be terribly disappointed by the movie. One of the reasons for this is that there are mainly Western (American) actors cast in this and only a couple of Japanese actors.
I will definitely watch it (blame my curiosity), so I hope it will not be a horrible trainwreck.
Since Adrienne would probably know more about this, maybe she can write a comment about this or write me, and I can post it.
Well, if there are any questions, you know how to contact me.

I'm back...finally

Well, after trying to hide from the world and myself, I have come to the inevitable conclusion that when it comes to me hiding, I am just simply SOL.
Anyway, good show Bettina Sophie! Good show...
So, as nice as this was, and as much as I'm itching to write more, I have to save it all for another day.
Don't worry, I'll write again soon (honestly).

Why?! Why?! Why?!

Well, I just looked out and what did I discover? Snow!!!
I know it's that time of year, but still... Let it snow when I don't have to walk up and down a hill to get to work and back to my car. Especially when it's still pitch black outside... *grumble*
Oh, what the hell...I really don't care that much.
I just wanted to put up a post again since I've been extremely lazy lately.
Blame it on stress, antidepressants, or me having fallen on my rear and having issues getting back up, but I haven't given up yet nor do I intend to, soooo...I'll do my best to post again soon.

Baibai, minasan!

Movies to look forward to

Even though there are no new dreams to report, I have found out about some new movies that are scheduled to be released in the next year or so.
Well, let's get started:
In January/February 2006 - Underworld: Evolution
During 2006 (unknown dates) - Silent Hill
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Mortal Kombat: Devastation
DOA : Dead or Alive
For those of you who know their video games, you will notice that all of the movies, with the exception of Underworld: Evolution, are the live-action versions of...well, video games.
Of course, I can't neglect comics, so here are several movies that are to be released in 2006, 2007, and...on Dec. 2nd of this year.
These would be:
December 2nd, 2006 - Aeon Flux
2006 - X-Men 3
2007 - Wolverine
Well, that's all the news for now. I am also looking forward to the new Harry Potter movie, and hopefully my mother will want to watch it with Richard and me since I hardly get to see her, and I would like to do something with the two people that are close to my heart.
With this, I will say "Good bye" and "Good night", and yes Mom, I know that I should be getting sleep...I'm working on it...
So, take care everyone! Talk to you later!

Bizarre but Possible

After many weeks of not being able to remember my dreams, I was finally able to remember one of my most recent dreams. I think this was on Sunday (or Monday), but I had a dream about my family putting together a bigger dinner. With Thanksgiving coming up, this makes sense. However, even my sister was there, who is 16 and currently not living under the same roof as the rest of my immediate family (more on that at a later time). Everything was so peaceful and happy, and at some point during this meal preparation, I noticed a baby. Hmm, well, seeing a baby in my family's household is odd because my mother can't and doesn't want to have any more children (nothing wrong with that), I can't afford to have any children at the moment (both literally and emotionally), and there weren't any other guests...period. So, who did this youngster belong too? Yep, my sister. In my dream, my sister had managed to get pregnant, hide this pregnancy from the world, and give birth to this infant.
Now, even though I thought that this was very strange, I can see it happening...
Either this dream is supposed to predict the future of my sister becoming a teenage mother or it might even signal a new beginning for...someone (babies are a symbol for change and new beginnings). If it is a symbol for a new beginning, hopefully my sister will come to her senses again and move back home to Mom (and Dad won't be such a jerk about it), and my family's household can look towards a brighter, happier, more positive and less worrysome future.
And with that, I will end this message and get ready to sleep. I have an early start (4 a.m.) and a long day tomorrow (well, today technically).
So, take care everyone, and I hope that my family and friends are doing well, and as a last note:

Get well soon, Adrienne!

Things to look forward to

I know that my last few posts have had negative overtones (and undertones), but this message is about things that I am looking forward to. Hence the title "Things to look forward to".
The main one would probably have to be that tomorrow is payday, so I am more relieved than happy about that. Then "Batman Begins" will be released on DVD tomorrow, and I really want to buy it, but I don't know if my father will buy it, and my family is against wasting money, so...I'm curious how things will end up.
The swelling on my tailbone (is that the same as a backbone? hmmm) has finally managed to go down, but I only realized that after the practically uncontrollable bleeding had gone down to a minimum. I still have a bruise though...
And after feeling horrible and sick for the past week and sleeping throughout nearly the whole weekend (I even called in sick at work on Sunday), I am feeling immensely calm and peaceful.
Well, ki o tsukete mina san (take care everyone)!
And bis zum naechsten Mal (until next time...unfortunately, I don't know how to write Umlaute on this computer)!

Baibai!

A Comment to a Comment

Okay, I know that the most recent came from you Mom, even if you comment as "Anonymous". So, this is what I think of your comment: No, my blog is not just to complain and drown in self-pity...there just happen to be more bad things happening than good right now. Would you like for me to talk about my sex life? Just kidding...
Anyway...about my backbone: I have a pretty big bruise sitting on my backbone, so no wonder I can hardly sit or walk or lay...
Well, that's enough from me today.
Take care everyone!