What happens when you catch up to who goosed you again?

I almost cried when I watched this.

It's just that beautiful.

Sites I end up on EVERY DAY. How did we ever exist without this?

My friend Drena asked what sites we visit most often, so here ya go. Marketers, a gift to you.

I have about a thousand other sites I visit once a week or so, but these are the heavy hitters...

1. Gmail.
Does this even count as a proper site? It's email. I think we assume that everyone checks their email. Except my mom. She gets on the computer, does the daily crossword, and forgets to check her email. WTF?

2. Facebook.
Actually, I do this more than myspace now. I've found that more people that I never friended on myspace friend me on facebook - people from middle school, people from all over.

3. Myspace.
I can't help it. And yes, I've myspace stalked just about every guy I've ever dated or made out with. And every time I've dated a guy, I've myspace-stalked every girl on their page. Shut up, you do it too.

4. AJC.com
I haven't lived in Atlanta in five years, but Boston and Philly's big journalism comes in papers that are read by people all over the world (the Globe and the Inquirer, respectively), kinda like a mini-New York Times. Like New York, you can get the Cliffs Notes version that's written for absolutely retarded people (the "commuter paper") through the Herald or the Daily News. Both city papers are usually owned by the same media company, and share staff and a website, which caters to the "smarter" paper. As a result, the websites are very news-driven and have very little fun stuff. The AJC is - sorry y'all - written at a lower reading level and has more fun and interesting stories. I'm sorry, I don't mean to imply that Atlanta readers are dumb, but since the Journal and Constitution merged into one daily paper, it's just got a weird hybrid of what they pick to run. They don't care that food tends to be the lead picture on every website opening page or that whole proper grammar and punctuation thing. Henry Grady may be rolling over in his grave and may want to snatch back my degree from his journalism school since I've just insulted his paper, but I think he'd actually agree with me upon reflection. So yes, I read the AJC's website still for little news stuff.


5. Bloomberg.com
Leftover from Graduate School. Sometimes I pick a random stock I think will do well based on their news and follow it for a couple weeks. I'm usually right, but the same as you should never trust a skinny chef, never trust a broke-ass artist for financial advice.

6. CNN.com
Less often than I used to. When I dated a guy who got deployed I finally had to get my friend to password protect it and block it on the TV. You'll drive yourself nuts if you're worried about someone.

7. Craigslist.com - Missed Connections.
Check them for your city and you'll start doing it every day. You'll learn some interesting things...things like the fact that there's about 10 billion people who are in love with a redhead clerk at the Whole Foods near me, there's a pervert on UPenn's campus, and hipsters all swear they don't read CL, but they do. Come to think of it, you'll learn a lot if you peruse ALL of your city's Craig's List for 45 min or so. Be sure to hit "best of Craig's List".

8. What Would Tyler Durden Do?, The Superficial, Go Fug Yourself, Project Rungay, Perez Hilton, etc...
I'm trying to wean myself of these. But sometimes I love me some celebrity gossip.

9. Wet Canvas.
It's mostly a forum for artists, leans toward the hobbyist side of it. I'm getting tired of it, actually, I'm probably taking it off my tabs.

10. RSS reader
Pulls the new stuff from lots of different blogs I enjoy into one source. When I've read it, it deletes it unless I ask it to save it. It really helps to cut down on time spent surfing.

11. Finally, my friends' stuff.

Oprah is stupid when she says she "doesn't like surprises". They're GREAT.

I truly love a few things in this life. Crunchy Cheez-Doodles, brownies, Nicole Miller cocktail dresses, Paige jeans, Country Music and vintage leather jackets are high on the list.

What do I love MOST?

SURPRISES.

If I were an anthropologist I'd argue that the giving of presents - not the use of tools, mating for life, or feelings of love and sadness - is what really sets us as human beings apart from all other animals. Gorillas use tools, dogs can feel love, Canada geese mate for life, and chimpanzees can feel sadness. But humans? We give each other presents. I love getting, giving or even just watching people open presents. At Christmas, I drive myself crazy trying to find presents that delight their recipients upon being opened.

But it's not the element of being happy to receive something that one wants or needs that I like. It's the surprise. I drive myself crazy at Christmas because I want to find something that the person would have NEVER picked for themselves. I think it runs in the family - my uncle Rob (the only other lefty in my family), my cousin Jake and my grandmother all are known for giving crazy gifts that one stares strangely at upon opening - but those gifts turn out to be the greatest things ever. Jake gave his sister Kate got one of those milk crates that collapses and has wheels attached for Christmas one year. While she was a little confused when opening it, that girl has used that thing more often than you'd ever think. A couple of years ago, I gave my brother Parker a most unusual gift. It was a cast iron dog - but just the rear end. Meant as a garden decoration, sit it on the floor and you've got a great piece of art and a nice doorstopper. Parker loves weird stuff, but everyone else in the family was a little ticked off - because I didn't give it to THEM. My older brother got the same thing the next Christmas.

My love of surprises extends to the fact that I detest giving gift cards or cash. I love getting them, don't get me wrong, they WORK and I have bills to pay. But like a true Southerner, I consider it tacky for me to carry around a purse at my wedding, collecting wads of money. Where I come from, you get in line at that damn gift registry kiosk at Macy's like everyone else and look for the biggest item that costs the least amount of money. I have a monopoly on giving trifle bowls at this point. And by the way, I know I owe a few wedding gifts. I'm working on it.

But alas...I'm a January birthday, I'm not even dating anyone, let alone being close to engaged, and if I show up at the Babies-R-Us registry, call the Vatican, because it'll be an immaculate conception. Well, immaculate since a little while back, at least. Unless I go pull a Carrie Bradshaw and register at Manolo Blahnik for being single (which I'm tempted to do at times), I am not getting any gifts any time soon. I can buy myself presents, but that's not a surprise. Plus I really don't have the money to buy what I REALLY want and need.

What's a girl to do?

I found it.

The Something Store.

I am not kidding, and no one's paying me to write this. The concept is simple. You give them $10, and they send you something. You don't know what it is, but what they've been sending out looks to be worth more than $10. Since they want repeat business, I'm guessing they won't send you a dirty diaper or something, but something you might find useful.

So I ordered one this morning. Free shipping and everything.

I'll let you know when it comes. If I like it, I might give people somethings for Christmas.

Why didn't I think of this idea before they did?

How I spent $123 on stuff I didn't really need

Truth:

I am a grade-A NERD. I love - repeat love - the bookstore. I could spend hours and thousands of dollars in one. I prefer Barnes & Noble to Borders, Amazon to any other online bookseller, and I love going through secondhand and specialty bookstores. If, one day, I happened to be struck with the world's worst streak of permanent creative block, I would be a librarian or a bookseller. I learned to read at 3 1/2 and proceeded to read everything I could get my hands for the next 28 years. People comment about how large of a library I have when they visit my home, I am more likely to know where my library card is than my drivers license at any given moment, and I can not remember one trip to a bookstore where I haven't found at least one thing that I just couldn't live without.

Ergo, Molly goes to Barnes & Noble and spends $123 today, forgoing the possibility of picking up her long-overdue dry-cleaning for at least another month.

What'd I get?

The Encyclopedia of Immaturity
Who couldn't use a book detailing the rules of Jinx, how to make a cool costume, and generally how to be the Fun Aunt or Fun Uncle?
My friends often comment that I have good conversation starter books like this as well as The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex.
For the record, TCIGTAS is THE first book everyone picks up in my house. Everyone. Moms, prudes, virgins, gays and straights. People may swear that they identify with Carrie, Charlotte or Miranda, but there's a Samantha in all of us.





Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake Up Your Mind
The jury is still out with me on whether or not these books work, but as a complete ADHD Certified Hot Mess, I like them because they're typically less than one page directives that help stimulate creativity. I was torn between this and one other, but one idea stuck with me from the other that I might use in a fiction class I'm in -
"Seven days ago, ________ . Now, nobody will ever speak to me again."
I love little creativity stimulants like that - they give me just enough to get going, but not so much direction that it doesn't feel like my work, be it writing or art.



Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Creative Suite 3 All-In-One
I am currently enrolled in Molly University's Crash Course in Building My Own Website and Integrating Creative Software Into My Career. It's a tough class, and it's obviously Pass/Fail. I haven't used Adobe's software since some work I did in 2003. Times have changed. I'm befuddled.
Hence the $40 textbook.







Creating the Breakthrough Portfolio
I'm not entirely sold on this one, so it's going on ebay if I can't make it work for me. It's mainly geared toward Graphic Designers, but a lot of the elements really work for artists, photographers and other freelancers who depend on a portfolio to represent them in their work. It came with a DVD that I'm hoping has a bit of in-depth work on how to make your portfolio, website and other marketing efforts tie together - kind of a "creating yourself as a brand" type of thing.






Moleskine Ruled Reporter's Notebook
One of the best pieces of advice I've ever received for how to beat the creative block is to always keep a notebook handy. They're in my purse, by my bed, by the bathtub, in front of every television, in both my parents' houses...you get the drift. You may ask "...but Molly, why would anyone pay $10 for a notepad?"
You have much to learn, grasshopper. Moleskine notebooks contain, for lack of a better word, magic. I'm not kidding. Hemingway, Picasso, Woodward & Bernstein, and Van Gogh ALL used Moleskine notebooks and sketch pads. I think they put the magic in the expandable pocket on the inside back cover.


Sigh.

I'm poor as hell now, but I love the bookstore.