Fun Fact #19: There is such a thing as a "Precious Moments" casket

I've never been a fan of "Precious Moments" figurines. It's okay if others like them (each to their own after all), but I personally find them to be cloyingly sentimental. Maybe it's because I'm somewhat emotionless and don't like overly religious things, but the figurines just kind of creep me out. I tend to have a relatively cynical view of life, and "Precious Moments" products seem to embody a polar opposite view.

Even though I hate them, a lot of people are totally obsessed with them. I guess some people are obsessed to the point that they want to buried for all eternity in a casket with creepy little dolls all over it. Yes, there is a "Precious Moments" casket and it's every bit as glorious as one would imagine it to be.

This is the lovely casket. I can only kind of imagine the individual who would want to be buried in such a casket, and it's a pretty depressing image.

But if a burial isn't your thing, there's nothing to be depressed about because there's also an urn!
The urn even has a creepy figurine proudly attached to it. Imagine the questions that would be asked if you had this displayed in your house. Kids would probably assume it was a toy or something and knock the whole thing over.

The whole "Precious Moments" obsession just confuses me. There must be a market for the casket and urn, otherwise they wouldn't be made. The level that the obsession must reach in order to want to be buried in that casket just amazes me. I mean I was obsessed with Titanic during what was probably my least cynical phase, but I never wanted to be buried in a casket shaped like a replica of the boat or anything.

Fun Fact #18: I'm neither obsessed nor overly judgmental of obese individuals

I want to address my apparent "obsession" with obesity and my seemingly severe judgments of those who struggle with it. This blog is just meant to be a way to communicate with people I don't talk to that much anymore (at least relative to when I lived on the West Coast) and that I see even less. I just write about whatever is on my mind, no matter how stupid or inane it may be. And what is on my mind is often influenced by things that stand out for me...whatever they may be.


Pittsburgh is not a healthy city. People don't work out as much as they do in other places I've lived and finding healthy food can sometimes be a relatively big ordeal. They even put French fries on their grilled chicken salads, I feel as though that fact alone says a lot about the city. Therefore, as one may guess, I've seen a lot of obese people here. More than I've ever seen before and it's a sad sight. I fully realize that some people are obese due to medical problems or other issues beyond their control, but the vast majority aren't. Most people are obese due to their own personal choices, and I don't feel guilty for writing down my reaction to them here. And remember, when I say obese I mean obese, I'm not just using the word as an exaggerated substitute for heavyset or chunky.

The cities that I've lived in on the West Coast, for better or worse, are big on health issues and physical fitness seems to be more of a priority there. Sometimes it's taken to a dangerous extreme and people diet themselves into skeletons. If I were in LA right now, I'd probably be writing about all the disturbingly thin people that I see on a daily basis. Obese people inevitably stand out in a crowd, and therefore I write about them, since I write about things I notice.

I personally believe that physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle are exceptionally important, but I would have noticed the same things that I now notice in obese people even before my health kick. When people are so heavy that they need a scooter to get around or they take up two seats on an airplane, people will notice them and judge them. I see that as inevitable, and whether or not that's a good thing can be left up for debate.

Plus, I'm a judgmental person. I always have been. I'm not going to pretend that something doesn't bother me when it does. Obesity is something that I fully admit to judging harshly, but that's because I believe it is, in most cases, the result of poor personal decisions. I also admit that out society is one that makes junk food far more accessible and far cheaper for the majority of people than healthy food. Numerous people have heard my "fun fact" that a Twinkie is cheaper to produce than a carrot. And while that's definitely a large part of the obesity epidemic, I believe, that in the end, individuals still choose what they put in their mouths. Society has obviously contributed to the problem, but all the blame cannot lay squarely on its shoulders.

Fun Fact #17: I can sometimes be a sensitive individual

Yesterday I was traveling back from San Diego to Pittsburgh via Southwest. They allow you to choose your own seats, which works out fine if you board early but basically regulates you to a middle seat if you don't.

I'm paranoid about printing out my boarding pass and stuff, so I was able to board early and secure a window seat. Aisle seats may allow for more legroom, but they also provide ample opportunity for people to accidentally brush up against you and for the flight attendant to run over your leg with her cart. So basically, I'm a fan of the window seat. Plus, if worse comes to worst, you can basically smash yourself against the wall for the duration of the flight.

Anyways, I was seated in my seat near the front of the plane and the aisle seat in my row was almost immediately taken by a morbidly obese woman. This woman needed to ask the flight attendant for a seatbelt extender (which I didn't even really know existed), and I began to think about what a humiliating ordeal flying must be for her. As this was happening more and more people were boarding the plane, and the flight attendants announced numerous times that it was a full flight and that any open seat should be taken. Yet the middle seat between me and the lady remained empty. At least 50 people walked by and a flight attendant basically had to drag some guy to the our row and force him to sit there. It was apparent why no one wanted the seat (because the lady took up about one and a half seats), but someone had to take it. And, as he sat down, the heavyset lady apologized profusely that he had to sit there. She seemed totally aware of the disgust the guy felt having to sit there. I cannot imagine being that lady and knowing that countless people are walking past the open seat because of you. I just felt bad for her. I think I'm almost hyper aware of what people are doing around me and I always wonder what they're thinking. And it seemed like that lady was the same way, except she sadly seemed to know what everyone was thinking.

But now back to my usual non-sensitive self, the guy in the middle seat was forced to take up part of my seat for the entire flight. Oh, and he reeked of cologne, spoke Italian, and didn't pick up on the fact that someone wearing headphones probably doesn't want to chat. I basically ended up hugging the wall of the plane for the entire flight. It was a blast.

Fun Fact #16: The Pittsburgh Airport is full of lovely individuals

I'm in the Pittsburgh Airport right now and my flight doesn't leave for another hour. Luckily, there's free wireless here, so that should keep me occupied for a short while. But an even better way to keep busy is to people watch, and I've seen some "special" people while waiting.

My favorite couple (so far) are these two obese individuals wearing matching Mickey Mouse shirts. They were going to Disney World (which totally ties this post into my previous one about people being too heavy for the rides there) and they felt the need to tell me all about their plans. But the most awesome part of this couple was their matching hair! The woman had her hair in pigtails and the man had his beard in little pigtails too!! It was a really surreal experience in hindsight, and I'd chalk it up to an early morning hallucination (it had occurred at 4 am on the parking shuttle) except for the fact that I saw them again a few minutes ago! I think they're amusing now, but I'll die if I'm stuck between them on a flight....

So, the airport McDonald's doesn't open until 5:30 here, but there's a massive line of people looking like they're ready to tear down the flimsy metal fence in hopes of getting some sure to be healthy food. I kind of want it to happen, solely because it'd be such a crazy thing to see.

There's a guy across from me watching something on his computer. I truly think that it's anime porn. And, no matter what Laurel tried to once argue, it's some pretty messed up stuff. The Japanese have some crazy fetishes...

Fun Fact #15: I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert last night

So, as the title implies, I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert last night and came away with a few "thoughtful" observations.

1) I realized that I'm not a true fan of Springsteen. I went into the concert thinking I knew a decent amount of his stuff, but upon recognizing only 3 songs throughout the entire concert I realized I wrong. But it was a fun concert, even though he didn't play "Born in the USA" (which I'm bitter about)

2) Bruce Springsteen is getting pretty haggard looking, but I find him strangely attractive. I'm usually attracted to clean cut, kinda dull, guys, so this is an anomaly.
Slighty attractive, albeit in a grizzled way, right?


3) He can also play the harmonica amazingly well. This fact probably only interests me because my dad deludes himself into thinking he can play the harmonica, when, in fact, he usually just serenades us with a mangled version of "When the Saints Go Marching In". So it was interesting hearing someone with talent play the harmonic, not to be disparaging of my dad's truly monumental skills.

4) I've heard that Bruce Springsteen fans are a pretty "unique" bunch, and this concert certainly confirmed that for me. There was a group of women right around me who were dressed at the height of fashion...had it been the 1980s. My personal favorite was a certain lovely individual who was about 350 pounds and clothed in a neon pink shirt and overalls. She also had her hair permed and chose to go braless, it was a truly beautiful sight

5) In continuing my "analysis" of the die hard fans at this concert, I have to comment that a lot of them seemed to be really drunk. There was also a surprising lack of weed at this concert, but I guess that drug doesn't really fit in with this crowd. I'd totally bet that Meth would be the illicit drug of choice among these fans. There was this one guy who was about 5'4'' and he was the most hyperactive guy I've seen. Anytime a song he liked started playing, he would start frantically hopping up and down while playing an air guitar. I've concluded, thanks to my vast knowledge of drugs from all those SAPP classes I took, that he was on Meth.

Honestly, sometimes, especially during some boring songs that I totally didn't recognize, the crazy fans were more interesting than the concert itself. But all in all, the concert was really neat. Bruce Springsteen is a great performer considering his age, and it was amazing hearing "Dancing In the Dark" performed live.

Fun Fact #14: I was almost rocking the Sharpie eyeliner look today

So this morning I was getting ready for work and not really thinking about what I was doing. I've been here for a few months now, so things have become pretty routine. I get up, go to the gym, shower, get dressed, do my hair and make-up, and then leave. It's nothing exciting really and biggest change of pace comes from whether I decide to have music or TV (The Today Show!) on I'm getting ready. It's kind of a sad existence for someone in their early 20s to have now that I think about it.

Today I decided to mix it up a little, basically to be totally daring and risky, by using black eyeliner instead of brown. So I didn't really pay attention when I reached for the eyeliner pencil and accidentally grabbed a Sharpie (not a thin one either) instead. I had it up to my eye when I noticed that trademark Sharpie smell and stopped myself.

How tragic would it have been for me to have to walk around for days with Sharpie eyeliner? I would have looked hideous; people would assume I was either a total struggler or that I was trying to bold and daring, neither of which is a look I go for. People always tell me I need to be more daring, considering my "style" (if you can call it that) is pretty dull, but I doubt anyone would support a Sharpie eyeliner look.

But I Googled "Sharpie eyeliner" and there seems to be group of people who support this idea. I think this is a horrendous idea and I'm happy that I didn't inadvertently join the "I wear Sharpie marker, which is toxic and probably dangerous, around my eyes" Club.

Fun Fact #13: Isaac Newton and Christmas music go together!

So I'm listening to Christmas music via my cable because they have a special Christmas music channel, the discovery of which has totally made my day. It's obviously the little things that do it for me.

But anyways, it lists "fun" trivia facts while the music plays(the channel is totally made for me!) and one of them was that Sir Isaac Newton was born on Christmas day. But they felt the need to identify him as a "mathamatician and scientiest". Do the majority of American's watching this channel really not know who Newton is? I feel the fact that he originated the concepts of gravity and the three laws of motion has been drilled into my head since elementy school. Everybody knows who Newton is, right? At the very least I'd hope that people hear of Newton and think of little apple falling onto his head. But maybe that's not the case...

So basically, my joy of discovering a channel devoted entirely to Christmas music has been hampered by the channel's viewers supposed ignorance.

Fun Fact #12: Today is November 1st

November 1st may just seem like the day after Halloween to many, especially those nursing killer hangovers. But today is actually a special day because it signifies the time when I allow myself to start listening to Christmas music!

People may think it's weird that I, an individual who definitely identifies as Jewish, would get so excited over Christmas music. But I love Christmas, especially all those aspects of it which are deemed "too commercial" by some Christian groups. Jesus is NOT the "reason for the season" for me, but the overproduced music and manufactured nostalgia totally are the "reasons for the season".

I love how festive everything seems, and I'm totally excited to actually be in a city where it snows around Christmas time this year. But I'm sure I'll be changing my tune when it comes time for me to stand outside in the bitter cold and slowly chip away at the ice that coats my windshield.