Different sites ¹ that I happen to chance across utilize footnotes in their form of written media. Inspired by such use, I’ve decided to activate a WordPress plugin that would allow me to also use such footnotes — but my question is, are they really necessary?

I can’t deny and wholeheartedly admit that footnotes make for a unique and fun experience ², but I’m finding myself questioning their practicality. While the plugin ³ does provide anchoring links between the footnote and the original text, I have to wonder if it’s distracting, inconvenient, or just plain useless to have footnotes. The superscript designation of the footnote can be distracting for visitors, interrupting the fluid flow of reading, and what can be said with footnotes probably can be said with simple parentheses. I guess what I’m trying to get at is — what do you think about the use of footnotes in websites, blogs, and/or books?

And to make this blog entry less boring, I’ll be doing a meme snagged from Chrizta!

10 Random Facts About Me –

1. I am an all out intense brain geek. Neurotransmitters, different regions of the brain and their physiological importance, and effects of drugs on receptors are fascinating to me. I have yet to find another person in any of my classes who shares the same sentiments ⁴, which is sad to me because having someone to nerd out with would be fun….
2. I love making lists. To do lists are the funnest to make because of the feeling of accomplishment I get when completing something and then crossing it off the list.
3. My greatest talents are the ability to sleep on end ⁵ and to spend money without abandon. I’m an incredible shopaholic, but I’ve actually been toning it down a little this semester since I don’t currently have a job. Somehow, I’m still burning a hole in my bank account.
4. I’m not really a party animal. Instead of loud music and watching sweaty people grind on each other, I prefer more quiet and intimate hangouts with close friends.
5. The only time I would prefer loud music and being pressed up against sweaty people is if I was in the pit for a Muse ⁶ concert. One of my biggest dreams is to see them at a concert in Wembley!
6. My biggest fear is being alone and/or abandoned. This definitely plays out on what I’m like when I’m in a relationship, but thankfully my boyfriend doesn’t mind. (Or so he tells me.) My second biggest fears are spiders and insects, and my third biggest fear is heights.
7. My all time favorite movie is The Lion King. This fact hasn’t changed in all 21 years of my life, and I don’t think it ever will — I make it a point to rewatch the movie at least once a year, and I never get sick of it. I can also sing along to every song in the movie, and I’m not embarrassed about it!
8. The most embarrassing thing about me: I’m extremely clumsy. I can trip up the stairs, down the stairs, on the ground, in midair, and just about everywhere.  I drop things, and I bump into people all the time.
9. My favorite number is 3; my favorite book is The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho; my favorite food is any form of potatoes; and my favorite dessert is tiramisu.
10. I try to make a wish every night at 11:11. (I’m obviously a kid at heart!)

Okay, back to studying. Only the most important test of my college career ⁷ is this Saturday! (Fact #11: my biggest vice is procrastination.)

Sometimes I think that someone is out there who exists solely to spite me. Not only did my not even 2 year old Honda Accord fail to start over the weekend, but 2 attempts to jump start my car didn’t result in any hint of activity in the car — no lights, no sound, nada. Obviously the next logical step would be to call a Honda dealership to have my car towed since it’s under warranty, but that, my friends, is where the motherf-ery begins! (Long story short: I was indirectly responsible for a broken water pipe in my apartment’s garage.)

All is going great until I get a call from the towing company that the dealership uses about the clearance of the parking garage my car is situated in — is it at least 9 feet? I check the clearance for the towing company — it’s actually 7 feet — and I ask if that’s okay. The woman with whom I’m talking to gives the phone to the tow truck driver who states that he’s sure he can fit and asks if I can just meet him there. Of course, I say yes.

Fast forward to a couple minutes later: the towing company informs me that the driver is at the garage and that I’m supposed to meet him. I walk around said garage for a couple of minutes trying to find him, but to no avail — I can’t find him on any floor or anywhere outside the actual garage. In the middle of informing the towing company this, the fire alarm in the garage goes off, and there’s a frantic hurry to evacuate the building. My boyfriend is with me, so he says in a joking manner, “Maybe the truck driver set it off!”

Of course, I didn’t think anything of the comment at the time, but it was surprisingly true — during the mess in which I tried to find the driver, we chanced upon a fire truck, water running down one side of the garage, and the truck driver at the scene. Oops. We later see the truck driver driving away from the garage. Double oops.

I never did find out what happened to the truck driver and if he was liable for the damages that he caused (that I indirectly caused?). Luckily for me, the towing company sent another driver out later that evening, and I had my car successfully towed to the dealership and fixed afterwards.

I also almost ran over a HUGE curb in the middle of the street as I was turning left at a light late at night (with 4 other passengers in my car…) because I have horrible night vision. I thank whoever is out there to spite me that they decided to go easy on me then, because it probably could’ve ended worse than worked up nerves.

But happy news! It’s been a long time coming, but I haven’t made a proper entry saying that Monologuing has moved to its own domain! I hope to expand monologu.es to a full scale personal site in the future, but for now it’ll boast a blog and a WordPress theme that I managed to make myself. It was a hard fought battle, but I’m proud of the results!

I hate rain, and I hate going to class when it’s raining. I’ve been in university for almost 3 whole years, and I’ve spent all three of them trekking through rain days to class, effectively ruining some shoes and suffering through cold feet. I don’t know why it took me so long to invest in a pair, but after ruining my black suede boots today I finally decided to! (This purchase was also accompanied by the purchase of a new pair of black Steve Madden Bonanza boots at a surprisingly cheap price of $44 from Amazon. Hurry while it lasts!)

Hopefully they don’t disappoint. These rain boots had a 4.5 star rating on Amazon, and I paid $70 for them (more than the Steve Maddens, oh my), so I’m going to be mad if it turns out to be a bad investment. But judging from the reviews on Amazon, I don’t think I have to worry about that……..maybe. Hahaha. I have an Amazon Prime trial account, so the boots should be here by tomorrow — I’ll be sure to update about first impressions. They’re getting here just in time, because according to Weather.com, it’ll be raining all next week. Oh joy.

Other news:

1. While I am no longer updating my Project 365 blog at my domain (I blame it on having to resize every picture, since the simple photoblogging program doesn’t do it for me), I am still uploading pictures for said project on my Flickr account. I’ll probably end up deleting everything from the former location and its data on my MySQL database server sometime in the near future.
2. Re: Gossip Girl – is anyone else severely disappointed by the current direction the show has taken since the first season? The first 18 episodes were so good, and mostly everything else was crap. I also just currently read a huge spoiler for the upcoming episodes, and I’m even more disappointed now. SO DISAPPOINTED.