Friday linkorama

Yeah, it's rainy and gross, and I'm feeling a bit lazy. Here are some links that made me laugh this week.

The video for Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is really messed up. Here's a literal video version that made me laugh out loud. My favorite line: "What the effing crap/That angel just felt me up."

And on a similar note, does ANYONE know what Eddie Vedder is saying in Yellow Ledbetter? Here's one take on it.

From The Onion: Most of our days spent looking at glowing rectangles. It's funny because it's true.

Ever wonder what people do behind closed doors? The comments on this blog post are hysterical (and sometimes gross).

Finally, on a more serious note, two of my fellow mommy bloggers are having various degrees of a hard time. Julia is dealing with sick kids (I can relate -- Boo is getting over a virus with nasty high fevers), while gwendomama is trying to leave her abusive husband, who is being intimidating and crazy. Go show them some love.

Have a great weekend, and stay dry!

I finally cleaned up my blogroll

Yes, I know there were some old n' crusties on there. It's amazing to me how many people start blogs and, like the ham radio or playing guitar, abandon them. You won't get rid of me that easily. In the meantime, if you want your blog added to my blogroll,
shoot me an e.

A public service announcement

I don't know anything special about surviving the current financial crisis, but considering my number one search term has been "how to survive the depression," some of you may think I do. I do know how to survive the mental illness. Just clearing that up.

Happy fifth birthday, Overthink!

Tomorrow my humble slice of the Internet celebrates its fifth year in existence. Here's a link to my very first post. Five years ago, I had only been living in my house for a year, was a newlywed, couldn't even fathom having a child and was working somewhere totally different. I was in a different place all around. Five years later, I am proud of myself, the progress I have made and how far this blog has come. Go Overthink! And feel free to buy me a present.

Go buy Waiter Rant's book

I finished it last night. One of the finest books I've ever had the pleasure to read. It was happy, sad, funny, inspirational and educational, all at the same time. Check it out.

Heather B. Armstrong, you rock

This is one of the finest posts I have ever read from dooce. And the literally thousands of comments (including one from yours truly) back up for me how common, horrendous and yet treatable the disease of depression is. Thank you, Heather. I don't know you, but if I did I'd give you a hug.

Top 5 Overthink search terms

I have a nifty-difty app called Sitemeter that helps me keep track of blog traffic and where it's coming from. It can tell me what terms people search to find my site. Without further ado, here's the top 5 keywords people are using to find my humble slice of the Internet:

How to survive depression: I'm so glad so many people are finding this post and hopefully benefiting from it. I'm pretty proud of it.
Overthink: Self-explanatory.
Snickolett: Looking for my bloggy buddy (girl, I owe you a coffee)? Check out my blogroll for a direct link.
Bridezillas anita dion: A lot of people were apparently as disturbed as I was by this particular epi of Bridezillas, which I wrote about here. I wonder what happened to them?
Why is my pool water green: I don't know either. Try some shock. Works for us.

How to wake up early

I am NOT a morning person. When I was a kid, my mom had to go into my room in combat gear to get me up. I still tend to run late in the morning, due to my tendency to want to squeeze every last minute of precious sleep out of the morning.

Well, when I ran across this site, full of tips on how to wake up early and actually (shudder) enjoy it, I groaned. Here's another fricking morning person trying to convert me to the dark side, I thought. But the tips are actually quite good. My fave: Keep a glass of water by your bed so you wake up inside and out. I think I may try it. But not tomorrow -- Saturday mornings are still sacrosanct in my house.

Amazing video, just amazing

From one of my favorite blogs, PostSecret. Nothing else on the Internet disturbs me and moves me and inspires me as much as Frank's little slice of it.

So fucking unfair

Snickolett's husband died last night after a two-and-a-half-year, courageous battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

I am wrenched with grief for someone I didn't even know. In tears, both sad and angry, at my desk.

He was in his mid-30s. They have nine-month-old twins.

Please pray for them and leave her some comments of support. I left her this:

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit.

Amen

Things on my mind now

1) The fate of my blog friend Snickolett's husband. It sounds like he is barely hanging on. I feel so sad for someone I've never met -- I can feel Snick's pain and anguish and love for this man right through the computer in her writing. Go visit her blog and give her some love.

2) A phone call I got today about a guy I went to high school with. Last night, he died very suddenly. I barely knew him, but he was a friend of the family.

3) This effing snow coming. Seriously. Enough. What, the shitty weather was waiting until spring?

4) Dinner tonight with my in-laws. Fun.

5) My doctor's appointment yesterday. I went for allergy testing yesterday, and today my arms look like a junkie's.

What's on your mind?

Comfortably numb

Just got back from Mr. Endo to get my root canal tooth filled. Let me tell ya, my version of hell is having someone hack away at your tooth while the XM Radio dentist station plays in the background. I'm talking John Cougar Mellencamp, Cher and Celine Dion. Yow. That hurts more than the root canal. Anyway, the anesthetic is starting to wear off, so I'm in for a fun afternoon.

On a related note, someone who is probably feeling a little numb is my blog pal Snickolett. She got some really bad news yesterday about her husband, who has advanced pancreatic cancer. Please go leave her a comment of support and keep praying for her.

The power of prayer

I have a request for one of my fellow bloggers today. Snickolett is one of my favorite blogs. I've had email exchanges with Ms. S, and she's a helluva lady.

Well, her husband has advanced pancreatic cancer but has beaten the odds and lived more than two-and-a-half years after diagnosis. Today, Snick and her hubby are at the hospital getting a test that will tell them the state of his liver. If he's in liver failure, it's the beginning of the end. If he simply has a blockage, they can fix it. Please pray with me that it's the latter and she gets more time with the husband she loves so much, and that he gets more time with both her and their nine-month-old twins. I know prayer worked when M was sick, and I hope it works now.

Like Meatloaf says

You took the words right out of my mouth. Check out this Best of Craig's List post. It talks about life at work better than I ever could.

A crappy conversation

Was just in the bathroom and heard the loud, self-absorbed chatter that can only come from -- you guessed it -- someone talking on a cell. Now come on. I've been just as guilty as the next person of chattering away on my own cell, but not in the stinkhouse. Wasn't the other person asking about the noises in the background?

And if you want to read something hi-larious about bathroom etiquette, check out this post (shamelessly stolen from Dave Copeland's links). I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

Vacation poll of the blogosphere

M and I took some time off (about five days total, including the weekend) in late May. We are trying to figure out where we should take a quick, cheap vaca. Possibilities:

• Maine
• Vermont
• Pennsylvania Dutch country

Where should we go? Cast your vote in my comments.

One of the most disturbing PostSecret postcards I've seen

Check it out.

Shit happened, indeed

Cancergiggles was a blog I read often but hadn't stopped in awhile. Today I read this that Cass Brown, its terminally ill writer, has passed. Such a great blog voice lost. Cass, godspeed to you.

The results of the pool, I mean, poll

In case you couldn't tell from the title of this post, despite no one voting for it in my comments, M and I went to Namco this weekend and bought a 24' round above-ground pool. It will be installed when the ground unfreezes. I am so excited, and I can't wait to go swimming. And M is psyched not to have to cut 24' of grass.

Thanks for your input! Maybe we'll go to Italy anyway. To clarify, it's not really a once-in-a-lifetime thing -- we have an apartment over there for our use, and we've already been in the last few years. Just would be nice to go back.

The great home improvement (or not) poll

So as I've mentioned, I won a nice chunk of change on a scratch ticket. We reapplianced our kitchen, but we still have a few grand left. And we are torn on what to do with it. We're leaning toward putting the rest of it into the house. But we're stuck. That's where you come in, blogosphere.

So what should we spend the money on? Here's what we're considering:

1) A new, permanent above-ground pool to replace the Easy-Set.

2) New Corian countertops and a Corian sink in the kitchen.

3) A high-efficiency washer and dryer.

4) Tickets to Italy this year.

Vote in the comments section, and make sure you tell me why you voted the way you did. Thanks, guys!