I Wear Black

Evil bitch consultant

2008-08-12T21:29:00.003-05:00

Today evil bitch consultant tried to tell me what to do again. When I said no, she got a bit upset and told be I was being insubordinate. I rolled my eyes and told her no again. She then gave me a verbal warning. Which turned into a written verbal warning. She is a fucking consultant. She does not work for the corporation. She is not a manager. She is an outside consultant. She cannot discipline me. She then tried to get me to sign the blank piece of paper she wrote some sort of warning on. I refused. Fuck her. She's gonna try again tomorrow.

Only a year and a half

2008-07-30T22:14:00.002-05:00

Instead of going to bed, I was messing about, commenting my ass off, and then had to update my account and ended up here.

I really should try to post more regularly. I even had a comment from some random person. I should check the date on that.

But since no one really knows about this blog and I can't even remember it - why should I post? I will ponder and get back when I figure out the answer.

Wow same month new update

2006-06-15T09:42:00.000-05:00

I'm choosing not to do any work this morning and instead am going to vent here.

I actually got "talked" to this morning by my boss. Granted she thought it was ridiculous that she had to talk to me, but she did it none the less. Yesterday I wore a denim shirt to work! This actually had someone take the time to go find our boss and tattle on me. Well, not exactly tattle, because my boss and I talked a few times yesterday so she saw what I was wearing, but actually pointed out the fact that I was wearing a denim shirt. And that is against the dress policy?! Really people, someone took the time to tattle about my shirt. Two days ago a supervisor in the department practically had a meltdown because one of her employees wasn't wearing stockings! I commented to her that we as a department had bigger things to worry about, she didn't really appreciate that. EVERYONE MUST BE TREATED THE SAME - NOT FAIR, NOT FAIR. Lot's of people have been batting around the it's not fair line over and over. Yeah, it's not fair, get over it. Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and do your own job. If you didn't spend so much time complaining, you would have enough time to get your own work done. My friend who got me the job here actually said this is the worst place she has ever worked in terms of the petty complaints of the co-workers.

Still waiting to hear about the other job. The VP did mention to me [in front of my boss, who doesn't know anything about my interview] that the situation we discussed still is not resolved. So, I guess I'm still in the running? I would love to get out of this madness. Really I also want the raise the job offers. I want to buy a video I-pod, but have been waiting for the promotion.

My 72 year old uncle got his ass kicked last week. I know it's not funny, he did have to go to the emergency room by ambulance, but it is a little funny. He's fine and two days after the ass kicking he went on his vacation to Germany. He will have to go to court, there are some charges pending against him and his ass kicker. It's like my family has turned into an episode of Springer. The wedding next weekend should just be the icing on the cake of white trashy-ness. I don't think that Taco will be at the reception wearing his "BIG ASS" shirt like at the last family wedding. Yes, a man called Taco showed up at a wedding reception wearing jeans and a shirt that said "BIG ASS".

I actually have some chick in my office using the fax and dancing around in front of the machine.

Tomorrow we are having a department Pot Luck. We are all supposed to bring in food from our ethnic background. When I signed up, I listed my ethnic background as Midwestern. I did hear that someone is bringing in something Jewish. I still don't understand how Jewish became an ethnicity. I know that a lot of people think this, but really I don't get it. So I think I am bringing chicken of some sort to cook all morning in my Crock Pot. We don't really have a kitchen to use - just a small bar fridge and a very old microwave. Not very helpful when planning a pot luck. That's why I'm using my handy-dandy Crock Pot, you don't get more Midwestern that that.

I ended up watching all of AFI's movie countdown last night at our regular Wednesday night pizza. I was thinking it would be a quick dinner and back home. Instead Mary over slept and was really late and Kathy was engrossed by the countdown. Now of course I am an adult and could have left at any time, but I didn't. Then at 1:18 in the morning I got another late night fax call. It's so annoying and it wasn't the first late night fax.

At least it's not 5 months

2006-06-03T21:50:00.000-05:00

What's up? Let's see:

I had my interview. Still no word on who's been hired. The job was presented to me as a done deal if I wanted it... Maybe I got that wrong. It's an assistant for 2 people. I think one wants me, but the other doesn't. Who wins? I hope it's my gal. I would really like to have more money.

If I got the raise I am hoping for if I get the job, the first thing I want is an I-pod. I don't have one.

I actually made plans for tomorrow. It's a big deal. I tend to spend the weekend on my couch, watching TV and sleeping, which is what I did today.

I did clean my kitchen shelves. Not really clean but reorganize. I tossed out some really old food and some things I was never going to eat. I moved all the chocolate from over the stove. I've ruined some from the heat in the past. I tossed the frozen eggs from the fridge.

Now I need to go to the store. I was thinking of going tonight, but it's starting to get late, I could still go. Now I'm stitting here instead of going.

I must bake banana bread, but have to go to the store first... no eggs.

I made cherry kool aid tonight. Found when cleaning. It tastes of summer.

Catching up

2006-05-18T18:05:00.000-05:00

I was reading over someone's new fancy blog and realized that I haven't written anything here in months.

Watching the new Old Navy commercial is entertaining, but it does everything but make me want to buy their clothes.

I can't believe the scuzzy hippies won Amazing Race after getting non-eliminated twice.

I wanted Joanie to win America's Next Top Model. At least the self-deluded hag Jade didn't win.

Grey's Anatomy's final made me feel skeevy. That sex scene was a bit much for me. Especially knowing the fact the Derek is totally married.

I still love Topher Grace. I think he is going to show up on the series finale of That 70's Show.

I have a ton of shows to watch. Including Season 3 of Scrubs.

I have an interview at work tomorrow for a promotion. My current boss doesn't know that her boss is trying to poach me. I really hope I get this, it would mean a 3-4 or more dollar raise.

If I get the promotion, I am running out to get a black 30 mg video ipod.

Off to the grocery.

I have a new pet

2006-01-15T14:20:00.000-06:00

My new time suckage mechanism is my Neo Pet. The only reason I found it - I read a forum about Jason Dohring [Logan on Veronica Mars] and found out that this was his dad's company.

So I have a pet and have to check on it everyday. I have to play games to get point to buy food and stuff. I know that this will occupy my time for a brief period and then just taper off, just like this blog.

New Year, Same ol blog

2006-01-02T12:26:00.000-06:00

I figured since I was sitting here watching Celebrity Fit Club, I should take a moment to update the long lost blog.

I have been at my new job for almost 2 months. Of course, it never goes smoothly. The 7 a.m. start time sucks, but since I get home early, I sometimes take a nap.

OK now off to eat lunch and continue Kingdom of Heaven.

What Disney female am I?

2005-11-29T19:28:00.000-06:00

Jasmine
You scored 57 Independence, 62 Romance, 67 Loyalty, and 62 Practicality! You are Jasmine! Although love is important to you, and you can be quite independent and brave, even more important than those things is your family. You wont obey what they say without question, as you do have a mind of your own and a very sharp one at that, but anyone wanting to win your heart would need the approval of your family first, and you aren't likely to cut off ties with them in a hurry. You wouldn't let your family make you miserable, but you love them dearly all the same. Love is only important if that person respects who you are and treats you as an individual rather than an object. You have a good strong life of your own, and won't let anyone dominate your firey spirit. You know that when people treat you as an equal, you are the best person they could possibly have on their side, but they better not lie to you or treat you as if you are stupid.

I saw Bauhaus

2005-11-10T00:28:00.000-06:00

Last night my cousin Mike took me to see Bauhaus at The Vic. And I do mean took me. He bought the tickets and the beer I drank.

It was a blast. They ended the show with Bela, also played Stigmata and Telegram Sam. No St. Vitus Dance, but I can't have everything.

The drummer was awesome. The guitarist [Daniel Ash?] was great. He did some really interesting things with a bow and with his acoustic guitar.

Peter Murphy was much better with Bauhaus than he was when Mike and I saw him to a solo show a couple of years ago.

The crowd was much older than I expected. Not many young'uns that I saw.

I did see some fashion disasters. The crowd was broken up into:

Looks like this all the time - blue/red spiky hair, leather, boots, corset
Old stand by - black t-shirt/sweater, jeans, Doc Martins [this was me]
Tried, but failed miserably - brown pleather jacket, rufflely blouse, kitten heels
Didn't even bother to try and too old to care - white t-shirt, puffy blue vest

Now usually the I don't cares don't bother me, but really, a white t-shirt and a puffy blue vest, at a Bauhaus concert. There is such a thing as dressing appropriately for the occasion. I did give Mike the thumbs up for his outfit - as he then pointed out it looked good for being a Banana Republic jacket and an Eddie Bauer sweater and some Diesel jeams with his Doc's.

1 of 2 pretty good odds

2005-11-04T11:33:00.000-06:00

I have gone to exactly 2 job interviews. Now this doesn't count the I think 5 employment agencies that signed me up and then I never heard from again.

So after 2 actual interviews - I have a job. Networking works its magic again. A friend of mine from my last company - who jumped ship after I was downsized heard that I was still not working - recommended me for an opening at her new place of work. I - after procrastinating a bit - sent in the resume and promptly went out of town. But finally was able to get it together and go in for an interview. Now the interview was at 9 a.m. which was a bit of a problem. But the day before I got up at 8:30 to move my car, damn street cleaning, to prepare for this early morning encounter. I got to the HR department in plenty of time and filled out all the forms, again! I was their last interview for the position. I decided that this was pretty much a pity interview to placate my friend, but the first interview went really well - with the actual "boss", then I met with the HR recruiter. It was fine. I was sent off with a we will be making a decision in the next few days - a week at the most. OK fine.

Oh, by the way, the position start time is 7 am, do you have a problem with that? Inner monologue: Yes, I have a problem with that, could we make it 8:30 instead? Actual response: Nope, no problem.

So I drove off to take a nap. [which I never got, stupid cat]

A few hours later I got a call from the hospital [the jobs in a hospital] We would like to offer you the position! Silently jumping up and down follows. Here is the hourly rate [ ok ]. Would you like some time to consider? No fucking way! Gimme the job!

So now I will be employed. I have a physical? and drug test on Tuesday. Then I start on the following Monday. 7 a.m. Crap! 7 fucking a.m.

For 5 months I have been staying up until sometimes 3:30 a.m. and sleeping until 11:00-11:30 and now I have to be at work at 7 frickin' am. It's gonna take some adjustment.

My mom is thrilled. I really have to give my mom a lot of credit. She really has been a trouper about me laying around on my ass. She's really left me alone in regard to her worry. My uncle found it hilarious how much I was torturing her, but she really never told me.

She immediately called her best friend to tell her the good news. Sally is super excited for me to meet a nice doctor. Me, I just happy to be able to pay all my bills, she's marrying me off to a doctor.

How pathetic am I?

2005-10-29T22:15:00.000-05:00

My mother actually paid me money this weekend.

She asked me to bake her cookies and clean her house. Then she paid me money for the work. Granted I worked really hard cleaning, but she paid me really well.

I am trying to not spend the money on crap, but on living expenses.

I really need to get a job!

Surprise

2005-10-29T22:13:00.000-05:00

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Veronica Mars is smarter than me

2005-10-13T23:02:00.000-05:00

Squee! I got my DVD's from UPS today! I've watched 4 eppies so far. I have a meeting tomorrow morning so I have turned off Disc 2 to get some sleep. I have all weekend to watch more. But I really want to watch.

Amazing Race on GSN has now shown all seasons and is starting over from the beginning. If you haven't watched - turn it on!

I know who killed Lily

2005-09-15T02:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I've actually known for quite a while, because I'm a spoiler whore!

But tonight I was able to see the final eppie for myself. I even screamed a couple of times. Now I have to wait 2 weeks for the second season finale and I have to wait a month for the DVD's.

But what's going on with Logan? Yes, I am a Logan 'shipper. He's hot. Supa hot. But I have also decided that Duncan has his fine points also. Coming into this so late, I can only go by the eppies I've seen and they were totally Logan centric.

So looking forward to Season 2. Tape Veronica - watch Lost.

second

2005-09-02T17:03:00.000-05:00

Listening to: Ben Folds Songs For Silverman

Reflecting on the guilt trip I just got from my mother for not calling her back yesterday and not going to visit this weekend. Gosh, she's a little off balance the past few days. How can I explain that there is big BB6 doings this weekend. I missed the endurance comp 'cause I was at her house I don't want the chance to bitch about hours and hours of fish!

I went out driving today. I haven't been in my car for a couple of weeks. Man it was so dirty on the windshield. I parked under a tree and had sap and doodie all over. So I was driving and realized that:

no one works - including me
most people can't drive
I miss driving
when I go out driving, I spend money

first

2005-09-01T13:40:00.000-05:00

Since I am not getting anything else done, I am trying to update this a bit more frequently.

This morning my mother woke me up when she called at 9:50 a.m. What? I'm unemployed! She quickly realized that I was asleep and I got some heavy disapproval. Followed by you're coming down for Labor Day weekend? Well, no I wasn't, but since I was not awake, I am able to figure out my excuse for not driving down. Gas price, maybe? Other plans, not so far, but I might? Laziness, the truth, but not valid excuse.

I'm looking forward to Big Brother tonight. Since I finally have working, hi-speed computer, I am able to join the chat during the show. I was always so jealous to read about the wacky hi-jinks that happened during the chat and the great friendships that formed. Now I get to be a part of it. I even get a few good lines in at times.

So to get myself motivated, I made a list of chores to do today. So far I have even crossed some off. Then I turned on the computer.

My tennis boyfriend, Andy Roddick, lost his first round US Open match on Tuesday. His birthday. I am so sad (for me and for him) [it's all about me]. He even won the pre Open tournament which meant if he made it to the finals his prize money would be doubled! Now he's out. I could hardly watch any tennis yesterday and then there was a rain delay last night, so what did USA do? Yup, replayed the Roddick loss again. I couldn't take it.

How hot was Veronica Mars last night? I can't wait for my DVD's and the new season to start. I, for some reason, thought that this show would really suck and refused to watch. Boy, was I wrong on this one.

Also looking forward to getting the Lost series. I haven't seen the last few eppies, but more looking forward to the extras.

The 30th

2005-08-30T16:03:00.000-05:00

I know I said I was going to find a job. I just haven't gotten around to it. I am such a procrastinator. If I am aware of being a procrastinator, does it make it somewhat better? Or is it better to be unaware of your shortcomings?

At least I have a new excuse - US Open is on. USA channel is providing me hours and hours of tennis action all day and most of night.

The only problem is new fall shows are starting. I haven't even finished watching last season's shows. I love to surf through my 700 channels. There is always something to watch. I even have On-Demand. So if I miss a show - chances are I can watch it at another time. My on screen channel guide changed recently. The best part about the change is that I can search for a longer period of time. So I can create plenty of excuses.

I watched Prison Break last night. I wasn't going to add this show. But there have been a ton of articles about it in the papers recently - mostly because of the fact it is being filmed in Joliet. It wasn't bad. I'm not sure I will be making it must see but if schedule allows I will watch.

There are going to be a couple of problem nights on the new TV watching. I have fallen in love with Veronica Mars this summer and have already ordered the DVDs but there are other shows on at the same time.

Well since the matches on right now are not really important - I'm going to try and watch a couple of the eppies of last seasons shows on tape before I have to stop watching Lost all together. Can't wait for that DVD.

I mean it this time

2005-08-23T00:09:00.000-05:00

I am gonna find a job! Really!

I have my interview suit. I have some shirts to go with my suit. I do need to iron one of the shirts. My shoes are clean and polished.

I have started updating my resume. I have a good start.

BB6

2005-08-19T17:06:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that the live feeds are off. Arnold sucks. Supposedly the feeds might not be back on until the show's over last night.

List update

2005-08-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

After reading over my previous list I have accomplished some things.

I read Harry Potter. I enjoyed it very much. I did cry at the end. I have tried to explain to many adults that haven't read the books how good they are but they just can't understand. It's too bad, because I love them.
I have thrown away all but one of the empty boxes from my new computer.
I have eaten food.
I have called my mother. I have also visited and returned her cat. I miss the cat very much, but not enough to get a cat of my own.
My microsoft office is installed and working.
My rebate forms are all filled out and mailed. I spent a lot of money sending them with certified mail and return receipt. The mail lady thought I was crazy to send them like that, but I can't afford not to receive the money.

There are many things I haven't done.

Finish resume. I have copied the floppy disc, not really, I e-mailed the files on the disc from my friend's computer to myself. I don't have floppy drive, she doesn't have writable disc drive.
Find job. This ties into first. I did find some appliable jobs in this weeks paper.
Watch live feeds. See below.
Sell crap, I mean valuable merchandise, on e-bay. I'm just not really in the mood. I tried to research some prices and what I found wasn't selling. I think I will wait.

New things on my list:

Buy interview suit.
Buy some shirts to go with pants I already have.
Get rid of spiders invading my house. It's so gross and creepy to find spiders everywhere you turn. I think they are worse than ever.
Get more sleep. I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately. Don't know what the problem is but it better stop soon.

My new pet

2005-08-01T15:01:00.000-05:00

adopt your own virtual pet!

BB6

2005-07-30T13:20:00.000-05:00

I don't understand myself. I have a summer of freedom. I now have a computer in my house. I have a high speed connection. I paid for the feeds.

Now I'm not at all interested in watching the hamsters. I haven't even bothered to read most of the feed recaps.

Now if I was working, I would be dying to keep up with the goings on. I would be refreshing the feed recaps all day long.

I'm not sure if its the hamsters or me?

I got it

2005-07-16T11:48:00.000-05:00

I got my Harry Potter! It just got delivered by my mailman!

Too much to choose from! I don't know what to do!

read my new book
watch the BB feeds
read the live feed recaps that I have missed
read Veronica Mars recaps on TWOP [I finally have seen a couple of eppies]
clean house of empty boxes
put up stuff for sale on e-bay
make stupid lists instead of choosing something
eat food
research places to get rid of old [I mean old] computers
install my microsoft office
call my mother
work on my resume
find a job
fill out my rebate forms

Technology

2005-07-16T11:45:00.000-05:00

I finally am now plugged in at home.

I broke down and bought a computer, monitor, printer, battery backup, modem, and broadband connection for my home. I am now broke.

I am using this as incentive to look for a job, because I have to have a job or I will be homeless.

Here's my embarrassing story about buying the computer. I went to Best Buy - actually 2 because the first didn't have the computer I wanted in stock - and picked out everything. Signed up for the internet to be connected - I got free stuff if I did it at the store - and tried to check out. My card was declined! He tried it again, still declined. I didn't bring anything else with me - no check no other credit card. It sucked. I called the bank, it turns out that I have a daily limit on my card! I didn't know about that! So finally they upped my limit so I could buy everything. While this was happening - the Geek guy had already started setting up the CPU. He had to stop! The sales guy was nice about it, but I was mortified. Now it is all set up and I realize that I don't have a floppy drive. I went for the cheapest, but what CPU doesn't have a disk drive? So I'm back to the store for writable discs and off to my friends computer to copy my resumes from floppy to discs.

So I have to be careful not to spend all my time on the new system. Watching and reading about Big Brother.

Periodic update

2005-06-09T10:41:00.000-05:00

My car is broken. Which sucks, because the garage that is fixing it, is keeping it. This wouldn't be such a big deal - except - the car broke in Joliet, where I am working, and I live in Chicago. 63 miles. Yeah, so I have to borrow a truck from the shop. Big huge pick-um-up truck. The first one - no ac and a stick. I haven't driven stick for about 10 years and never a stick truck. So that was fun. Last night I got a somewhat better truck - automatic - no ac.

I am so burnt out with this job. I should have been done last week and I think I have at least 1 to 2 more weeks. I can't wait to be unemployed again.

I'm going tomorrow to pick up my mom's cat. I think I will have it most of the summer.

Craptastic TV going on lately. Hell's Kitchen. Real Gilligan's Island. Dancing with the Stars. I am waiting for the ultimate summer pleasure Big Brother.

While not much is on TV, I've been watching all the DVD's I bought but haven't watched yet.

Scrubs is fucking brilliant. I'm in the middle of Joan of Arcadia. I fast forwarded through QAF season 4. When I'm off work I have Deadwood first on my list.

Is summer over yet?

Small things

2005-05-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

Wilco show was great. I was surrounded by talkers. Actually the whole floor was interspersed with talkers. Why go to a show if you are not interested in listening to it? Tweedy even called the audience on it. That's when I started screaming "Hell, yeah, SHUT UP!!!!" The show was also a Non-smoking show. There was filming going on for a fall DVD, but Tweedy is trying to quit. He even showed us his patch. Then during the break between the encores, this bitch behind me lit up. Now I had had quite a few beers up to this point - so I reminded her that the band requested no smoking. I think I was quite polite - maybe not? - she was pissed that I said anything - and continued to smoke. So disrespectful.

The weekend with my mom went well. I was super tired on Friday, see above. But she was prepared for that. She did suggest I take a nap on Saturday and Sunday morning when I woke up early - she told me to go back to bed, which I did, thank God. She just kept saying how cute I fixed up my apartment. I've been there 2-1/2 years, I think I should have it fixed up somewhat. I'm always disappointed in the fact that it amazes her that I am competent in my life.

Work is sucky. I am going to have to start working Saturdays. I really don't wanna! Well I do want the money!

This weekend I need to do laundry! I have new Gilmore Girls Season 3 and Joan of Arcadia Season 1 that have just come in, to watch. I also bought In Good Company - my Topher [inappropriate] crush is still going strong.

I am disappointed in the new Dave Matthews Band. New Weezer is just fine.

You must go to iTunes and get the Ben Folds cover of Bitches Ain't Shit, it's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time. Even funnier is the radio version!

Not unemployed

2005-05-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

I know I shouldn't complain - but I'm gonna anyway.

So I got laid off... At first I was really busy - well after the hangover and witnessing the shooting in front of my apartment - tons of stuff to do after getting fired: unemployment office, dentist & doctor while I still had insurance, paperwork, blah, blah. It was strange, but ok. I was making myself get up at a reasonable hour and get dressed everyday. [not something I would do normally i.e. if on vacation] Then Easter came and I went to spend the holiday with my mother, who kept thinking of reasons to stay. I was there almost a week when I finally decided to check the home answering machine. Surprise - there was a message from a friend I used to work with - he had left a couple of years ago - he heard I was laid off and I needed to call him right away, he might have a job for me. This was pretty surprising. I really hadn't even started thinking about what kind of job I was going to look for, but I already knew that I wouldn't be staying in the same industry. When I told my mom about the message, she was surprised also. [Which I took badly. Why wouldn't someone I previously worked for want to give me a job?] Then I didn't call him back. Why? I dunno. I wasn't really sure I wanted a job doing the same thing I had been doing for the past 7.5 years. I also knew that if he really offered me something, I wouldn't be able to turn it down. He's a really good guy and I couldn't say no to him. Karma - I do think it is a real thing. Turning down a job that's thrown in my lap would guarantee that I would never find another job and I would end up bankrupt and selling Streetwise on some random corner.

Then he left another message.

So I called him back. Yes, he had a job for me.

Good - temporary
Bad - low pay, huuuge commute

SO I said yes. Now I commute 1 hour in the moring and up to 2 hours at night. I used to live 6 miles from my office, now I drive 130 miles each day. I have to go to the gas station every 2 days. I am exhaused from getting up at 4:45 a.m. each morning.

But I have a job. I have no insurance, but I could pay for it, if I could find a policy. BTW - my COBRA payment was to be $685 per month - No thank you.

The really bad thing is - I was really looking forward to not working for a little while. I wanted to lay around doing nothing. I would have watched a ton of TV. Videos of shows I taped and never watched. DVD's of entire seasons of shows I have never taken the time to enjoy. Staying up late, just because. Maybe going to Vegas to visit my brother.

Now all I do is work and drive. I don't even like what I am doing. And all I hear is move closer and work here full time. I have said repeatedly NO WAY.

And now it's Spring and there are too many concerts to go to even if I had the time, but since I have no time, I can't seem to make it to any of them.

But I am going to Wilco tomorrow. That's a must.

Predictable

2005-04-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

Your Inner European is Irish!

Sprited and boisterous!

You drink everyone under the table.

Who's Your Inner European?

Stolen from Highway Girl

2005-04-14T09:34:00.000-05:00

Cindy Mary McCully's Aliases

Your movie star name: Cookie Harvey

Your fashion designer name is Cindy Dublin

Your socialite name is Lou Who Chicago

Your fly girl / guy name is C McC

Your detective name is Kitty Shawnee Mission Northwest

Your barfly name is Dark Chocolate Rasberry Vodka Lemonade

Your soap opera name is Mary Midland

Your rock star name is Reeses Millipede

Your star wars name is Cinpri McCtop

Your punk rock band name is The Sleepy Superball

The Amazing Meganame Generator

I am unemployed

2005-03-23T16:33:00.000-06:00

St. Patrick's Day - the most holiest/holyiest/holyest of days. I was fired, laid off, downsized. Whatever!

Now I am at the local library frantically trying to change all my email addresses from the work account that no longer exists to a free account that I can access from anywhere. It's a pain in my ass.

I went and filed for the first time for unemployment, that was fun.

This is only the second time I was fired. It's a really strange feeling. I am doing my best to keep busy and not fall into the pit of doing nothing all the time. I am making lists and making sure to check off things as they get done. I have also been trying to leave the house every day. This is a big deal for me, because I like to sit around and stay home in my PJ's. Dressing each day is a requirement.

So I am off to get mothered by my mother. I will then come back and start looking for a job.

This is my worst nightmare come true.

Anybody have a job? Or I would be happy to be a kept woman - Any Sugar Daddies/Mommies want a new "friend"?

By the Jesus, I love Tweedy

2005-03-07T14:55:00.000-06:00

I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Jeff Tweedy concert on Saturday. I can't believe how glad I went.

It was one of the top 5 concerts I have ever been to. It was Tweedy with a stool holding the set list, a guitar, a microphone and a spot light. Awesome. The opening act was Autumn Defense - two additional members of Wilco. So during the show Jeff was very mute, not a whole lot of chatter, just song after song. Mostly old stuff. It's amazing how talented he is. Just his voice and a guitar made really beautiful music. The crowd was totally with him the whole time. After the 3rd encore the lights came down and the roadies came out and the crowd went wild. We knew that at least some of the members of Wilco would be out. So Wilco-lite played [short one member] another 30 plus minutes. I kept looking at my watch earlier in the evening, I was thinking curfew must be 10:30 - but then with the Wilco members coming out, it turned out to be 11:00 - even a little after by my watch. This was the first time in a long time, that I was at a show that the curfew was most likely missed. Most bands are very careful not to have to pay any late fees. That that goes to show you how much Jeff Tweedy and Wilco appreciate their fans.

I also watched P.S. a little known movie with Laura Linney and Topher Grace. The movie was interesting, not great, but the acting was incredible. Laura Linney is an incredible actress.

I have a totally inappropriate crush on Topher. For a very skinny - young looking man, he, in this movie, made me totally wet. Yes, too much information, I know. But, it's true. He is completely not my usual type at all, but an amazing actor. When I rewatched the movie, I was thinking what a strange bit of casting was made with Topher, but he really made some wonderful choices and I totally was with him the whole time. I really wish I would have caught In Good Company. I also like the fact that I know nothing about him - especially his personal life. He seems like an everyman, a good guy, a boy that lives next door. I checked him out on IMBD and there was nothing upcoming for him. I hope that changes soon.

Pot pour y

2005-03-03T16:11:00.000-06:00

I am super excited. I have tickets to the just added Jeff Tweedy concert on Saturday. I am taking my cousin who is being super poopy about going. Quote - this guy better be good - End quote. This from the guy who dragged me to see Tricky, not so good, and My Life with Thrill Kill Kult, not very good either.

I saw Constantine last night. I wanted to see In Good Company, which has been running at 5:00 for weeks. When I finally am able to go, not showing at 5:00 anymore. So saw Constantine again. I have an inappropriate crush on Shia Le Beouf. Keanu is still pretty hot, very, very skinny right now. The only celebrity autograph I have is a signed publicity picture from A Walk In the Clouds signed by Mr. Reeves. It was a donation to an auction that we didn't use and my friend Ray gave it to me. I like it more because Ray wanted me to have it as much as it is Keanoo's autograph.

After the movie I had to go shop an ice cream parlor. Unfortunately I did not give them very good marks. But the ice cream was yummy.

This morning I slept through my alarm clock and have been out of sorts all day. This morning was the one time I was sort of glad the cat woke me up. The poor cat was left alone all day and night yesterday. She was so glad when I got home last night. Then she was mad I was gone so long. Still have not idea when she is going back to the Mom.

It's my brother's birthday today. Happy Birthday, james! I of course did not have my act together, and had no idea what to get anyway, so I called the Bellagio and got him a gift certificate. I hope he uses it to take his wife out to dinner when she visits. They were very nice on the phone and kept the certificate at the concerierge desk for him to pick up. Saved me $20.

NPR has a great stream of a Wilco concert from DC. Everyone should check it out. There is a excellent version of Don't Fear the Reaper in the second encore.

I had a great Sunday. I got to see my 3 suburban mommies. I miss these guys so much. We all used to work together at a Catholic school and go out after work and get completely hammered, quite often. Now they are all married and each of them have 3 children each. We try to get together for each of our birthdays, which happen to be spread out very evenly through out the year. But with so many kids and us living so far apart, it has been a challenge coordinating our schedules. We were able to get together this Sunday morning for a brunch type meal. Then all of the sudden it was 3 + hours later. Then when we finally left, I went over to IKEA since I was all the way out in the far suburbs. I bought a couple of rugs, a new lamp [I really needed one since my old lamp almost burned down my apartment], cookies, light bulbs, and box of pint glasses. All for the bargain price of $80. BUT IKEA doesn't like carts in the parking lot, so I was by myself and had to drag all the stuff to the car in one trip. My shoulder still hurts. Now I really want more rugs. I might go check the website now.

If you have read this far, leave a comment and say hi!

Monday President's Day

2005-02-21T10:52:00.000-06:00

It's almost 11 o'clock. Since it is President's Day and should be a holiday from work, I am declaring my desk a work free zone. Well, not completely. I do have to do a few things, but mostly work free.

I am now waiting until I can run to Target to buy a $77 digital camera. And Wonderfalls on DVD on sale. Two great purchases! The digital camera is an investment so I can sell more crap, I mean very valuable merchandise, on e-bay. I just will have to figure out how to be able to load the pictures onto the computer. I also don't have a working camera anymore. My camera stopped flashing at some point, I could have or still could send it into Kodak, but I don't think it would be worth it anymore.

I had a wonderful weekend. The cat and I napped and slept. I made cookies and frosting. I watched my new Donnie Darko DVD - I enjoyed the director's cut more than the original, only because I actually could understand the movie more this way, but I wish the theatrical version was included too, so I could compare. When I bought the DVD on Friday, Best Buy had original DVD for only $9.99, I should check out the price at Target today also.

So this is my new etiquette question - I frequently read blogs of a certain group of people. Most of these people are loosely tied because of a TV show. I feel as they are friends of mine since I know a lot about them from their blogs and we as a "community" have been together for a couple of years, but they really don't know me because I can't participate in the frequent "chats" or IM's that tend to happen at night when I am not on the computer.

So this is my problem - I have noticed that some relationships have changed between some of these people. Nothing has been mentioned specifically, but I can tell that something has happened. Is it ok to ask what has happened? I know I have no business asking. I am not really a "friend", but I sense that there is a problem. Would it be totally inappropriate to ask? Or would my questions be viewed as concern or just curiosity?

Work is hell

2005-02-18T16:46:00.000-06:00

I have been neglecting my blog writing. For one, I feel self conscious because I read such good writing on my "friends" sites. I get self-editing before I even start writing - so I never really get started before I give up. This has been a problem of mine since 1st grade when I had to write a story on a Snoopy worksheet and couldn't do it. I knew that everything that I was thinking of writing was crap and couldn't get anything down. It's never really gone away. I was hoping if I could get into the habit of just writing anything in this informal manner, maybe I would feel less self-conscious and be able to write more comfortably. Hasn't happened.

The other big reason is work. My company has been sold, then bought, and sold again. Now the former owner is trying to buy it back. He started telling everyone that he was buying it, we got new insurance, etc., we started ordering new stationary et. all. Then the deal fell through. Kerplunck! Whoops! Now our corporate owner isn't going anywhere. Now this is a good thing for me personally. I prefer the big corp with firm concrete rules and straightforward accounting. But, this is not a good thing for the company as a whole. See we are not really making enough money for the big corporation and its stockholders. Some people/many people are going to lose their jobs, possibly even me. I don't really want to lose my job, but some of my co-workers - I am using the term worker very, very loosely - really have been here too long and have been protected by the former owner. These people are scared shitless that they will be let go, sooner than later, and they should be. So things here at work are very tense.

I am looking forward to going home and watching Angel Season 5 and Ballykissangel Series 3 and my brand new Donnie Darko Director's Cut DVD.

The lunch topic on Tuesday, Who would you do?

2005-01-25T15:46:00.000-06:00

Playful Orlando

What Orlando Bloom are You?

I would break Orlando in half, but I would take Orlando and Dominic in a minute

U2 is coming!!!

2005-01-25T08:26:00.000-06:00

I am Pooh

2005-01-11T09:38:00.000-06:00

Indulgence is not a bad word as far as you're
concerned, your confidence in being yourself is
what matters more than all that.The most loyal of friends and always good fun to be
around, everyone needs someone like you in
their life.

Which Pooh character are you?
brought to you by

Sickness is goin' 'round

2005-01-11T09:12:00.000-06:00

I've been sick. Just sick. Not feeling good. I've been so tired, still am. I actually took off work for 2 whole days. That's pretty amazing for me. But on top of being gone on vacation a week then coming to work for 3 days and then off for 2 sick days I've got a huge mess on my desk. I'm only here because I can't bear to imagine what would happen if I were gone any longer. I would much prefer to be in bed or on the couch or the air bed on the floor of my living room. My friend Mary declared me the Queen Of Sloth relinquishing her crown to me. I don't think it actually counts if you are sick. I briefly decided I had Legionaires Disease. I cleaned out my humidifier - it was very, very dirty - and that could cause it. But it turns out that there is flu rampaging my office. I was lucky I had a mild form. Just low energy, aching joints, rumbly tummy, hungry yet nauseous.

Now I realize even more than ever before that I don't want to work anymore. I want a sugar daddy or mommy to take care of me.

I would even be willing to have children.

Anybody have Brad Pitt's number?

I'm back

2005-01-03T09:25:00.000-06:00

Happy 2005!

It's amazing to me that it is 2005. I remember being little and thinking of the future, it was inconceivable that I would be alive in the "2000's". Now it is 5 years in and I'm an adult, it just boggles my mind to think about it.

So I'm back. I took a vacation. I went to my mother's on Thursday the 23rd and came back on Saturday. When I was gone I didn't do the following:

check e-mail
check phone messages
talk to anyone from work
get on the web

It was surprising easy. I didn't worry or think about much of anything except what to eat, what to watch, what relative to see, and when to sleep [again]. My mother and I had a great time. We got along the whole time, pretty amazing for me. Medication is a wonderful thing.

We say 6 movies, I will say more about them later. We saw:

Meet the Fockers
Closer
Finding Neverland
Oceans 12
The Aviator
Beyond the Sea

I still want to see: Kinsey, Million Dollar Baby, Lemony Snicket, The Incredibles

Surprisingly my desk is not that bad after being gone for a week. Of course, not much was done when I was gone - there were a bunch of us on vacation last week.

I'm am glad to be back, not necessarily to work, but to "real" life. It was exhausting doing nothing!

Amazing Race 12/14

2004-12-15T14:42:00.000-06:00

I have been watching TAR since the very first episode. I love this show. I love how teams are eliminated based on poor performance, not because they are a threat or they are likeable or non-likeable.

But I am not pleased about the current season at all. Besides the fact that I hate that the show is on Tuesday, bad CBS! From the first episode this season I have been so disappointed in the casting. The first few episodes were so hard to watch, either the teams were so repellent I couldn't stand to watch them or they were piss poor racers I was hoping they would lose.

The reason I love this show is the racing and the dynamics of the couples as they are racing. When the teams are whining the first leg about how hard it is, I blame the casting. When there are more teams to hate rather than cheer for, I blame the casting. When I actually want to turn off the show because I find spousal abuser Jonathan so repellent, I blame the casting.

I just can't believe that this leg of the race started at a former slave port, stopped at the Berlin wall, and actually spelled out how horrible humans can be to each other - and the leg ended with Victoria sobbing hysterically and her husband actually shoving her because they came in second by seconds.

I'm just disappointed.

Economy

2004-12-09T16:37:00.000-06:00

When I was at Target on Monday, I was wondering through the Stocking Stuffers aisle and found this candy cane filled with Play-Doh and had to have it. I now have 10 tiny pots of Play-Doh on my desk. I have gotten a few eye rolls and my friend Dennis asked me how old I was but I don't care. That familiar smell of play-doh comes to me as I type on the computer. I have made a few doh people, but they all come out looking like Mr. Bill. I might try to make a Sponge Bob Square Pants next.

I also made some smart buying decisions. Buffy Season 7 came out a couple of weeks ago. As with all the other season releases I had pre-ordered from Amazon. I waited and tracked and it never came. Then over Thanksgiving weekend Target had a super 2 day sale. They were selling some DVD seasons for $17.77. UNBELIEVABLE! Of course by the time I made it to the sale everything was sold out. But smart Target was prepared and had little rain check slips for all the sets. All I had to do was activate them when I was checking out and then wait for them to come back in stock. Meanwhile, I still never received Buffy from Amazon. I reported it lost and tried to cancel the order, but they just sent a new copy. Then Target restocked and I bought 2 copies. For a few days, I was the proud owner of 3 copies. I then returned the Amazon order. Since it was their/USPS fault I should get a full refund of forty-some dollars. I then sold the extra set on e-bay for about $32. I made money on the deal! Yeah me!

This selling things on e-bay is the greatest. I can't wait to find more stuff to sell. Maybe I will make enough to buy a digital camera, then I can sell even more stuff.
a

Wednesday's entry on Thursday

2004-12-09T08:56:00.000-06:00

I didn't get to writing yesterday, so this is my entry for Wednesday.

I was reminded that there are only 2 weeks before Christmas. Not that I really need reminding, there are 3 decorated trees here at work. Keep in mind that only about 40 people actually work in the office. I'm a bit overloaded by all of the decorations. Not at my house. I forgot, okay I didn't forget I chose not to take, my tree from my mother's basement when I was there at Thanksgiving. Now I realize that was a mistake. Huge mistake. Since I didn't take the tree, I also didn't take any decorations, wrapping paper, lights, and any presents I have stockpiled for this year. Of course I can't actually remember any presents I have stockpiled.

I was thinking I was doing ok on the present gathering. But last night I started my mental list and realized NO I have a ton of gifts still to get. I was given the message that we are "cutting back" this year. I don't know what that means. I'm all for cutting back. I spend too much money on myself and don't have much leftover for others, but what does cutting back mean? Going to the dollar store and finding the thing that no one needs or wants but looks like I am spending more than a dollar?

I would rather just skip the present exchange all together and just celebrate the season. I buy myself the best presents. I would rather just buy things for myself that I love rather than get stuff I don't really want from my well meaning relatives. It's more enjoyable to just buy gifts for the children in the family and let the adults just enjoy each other's company.

I would prefer not to get anything and celebrate by sitting on my couch in my comfy new pajama pants ,I bought myself, watching the second season of Gilmore Girls, ditto, enjoying a freshly baked cookie, and think of all my family and friends and be grateful for all I have.

Tuesday

2004-12-07T16:46:00.000-06:00

I made the cutest candy cane cookies last night. I don't particularly like the taste of them (I don't like peppermint) but the red & white striped cookies were beautiful. They were a lot of work but actually worth it.

Tonight I hope to make either iced pumpkin cookies or caramel frosted banana bread.

This is something I am trying to work on:

I called my friend on Saturday to check in and see if she wanted to get together this weekend. I had tried earlier in the week but never reached her. She doesn't believe in voice mail or answering machines so I can't just leave a message and wait to hear back. So she was on her way out on Saturday and said she would call me back.

This is what I need to work on: I, for some reason, assume that she is mad at me or I have done something wrong. I don't know why I do this. I think I do it quite frequently. We really haven't had much time to see each other recently, but for some reason I think I must have done something wrong. I don't assume that she is a bad friend and has forgot to call me back. I don't think that something has happened and she is unable to call me. I put it all on myself. This must be tied into my poor self-esteem. Instead of being mad at her for not calling me back or even calling me, I wonder why she is mad at me.

I need some new friends.

Monday

2004-12-06T11:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Monday.

I have been at work since 8:00 am. It is now 11:00. Here is a rundown of what I have done in 3 hours:

Printed out recipes from the Food TV website. I was watching cookie shows this weekend and I "needed" the recipes.
Paid bills. Used my bank website to send some payments. I love the technology that doesn't require me to write out checks and then mail them.
Ate french toast. Leftovers are great.
Got the weekend updates from my co-workers.
Looked at my mail and decided to deal with later.
Worked for about 15 minutes.
Checked my favorite websites for updates since Friday. Highway girl has really weird dreams.
Now write in my blog.

If anyone knew how much work I really don't do here, I would be in so much trouble. I'm just lucky that my computer faces a wall and people have to walk up to me, so no one sees what is on my screen.

I watched The Terminal on Saturday. It was a nice, lovely little movie. Nothing spectacular, but really lovely. It should have done better box office. Tom Hanks is just amazing. It was perfect for a cold quiet Saturday afternoon just before my nap.

I baked 2 loafs of cranberry bread. The banana/cranberry was well loved. The apple/cranberry not so much.

I told my mother that I was baking bread and she actually whined to me to save her some. That was weird. She never whines. I promised her that I would make her cranberry/orange muffins, and I will. But I had to cut the loaves I made last night and put slices of the apple and banana in the freezer for her.

Guilty pleasure - I watched an entire Lifetime movie yesterday. They seem to be having a countdown of the top 100? movies of 2004. I watched a great movie with Gail Grady - a single mother of a 15 year old girl. She has an affair with Grant Show, a separated father of 3. Well it turns out that he really isn't separated and he breaks her heart. Then, dun, duna, dun she turns out to be pregnant. The teenage daughter decides to have sex to punish her mother. It goes on and on. But in the end, everyone is happy. Brilliant!

I resolve

2004-12-03T13:17:00.000-06:00

I resolve:

to try to write something, even if just a sentence, every work day in my blog.
to try to remember that my workplace has improved dramatically. This means that I should not automatically bitch about it. Remember it was much, much worse just last week.
not to just lurk at all the blogs I read. No one will ever know that I read their blog if I don't comment every once in a while.
to mop my kitchen floor. Yes I realize that it will get dirty again. That's no reason not to clean it now.

Here is another I suck post.

2004-11-15T13:09:00.000-06:00

I know it seems like I haven't been posting anything, but I have written a few very long posts and have lost them all. Two refused to post. Two I was trying to copy all [Ctrl + A] to copy to Word, proof, and re-post. Lost everything!

But here is the good news. The horrible, no good, very bad work partner is being DEMOTED!!!!!

I don't have to work with her anymore! She's not being fired, she's being moved to a no responsibility position. Someone will be telling her what to do and she will be watched like a hawk. I took Friday off and the shit hit the fan. I hear that Thursday night after everyone left her indirect boss and the COO went looking for some things in her desk and found AR checks that hadn't been passed on to the AR manager and a stack of vendor invoices that she had never processed. Even though she "had" to work last Saturday to catch up and was caught up with all her work and didn't have any outstanding invoices to process. I heard that the CFO wanted to fire her, but was overruled. And now since she is being transferred I think she will be reporting to him.

And the manager she has been f*cking was demoted too! He was the person who hired me 7 plus years ago. He used to be Manager of the entire department. Then he was demoted to just a regular old project manager and oversaw the tool room. Now he's got nothing. I still don't understand how he could stick around after they promoted someone who used to be under him to be his boss, but he did. Now they moved his girlfriend out of the department. And they think no one knows that they've got something going on.

And the Goober who I used to report to, who was promoted to "Director" and let the little power that he got go to his head... he got demoted too!

The only thing is, that I don't know that any of this is going on. Shhhh it's a big secret.

In honor of ODB - rest in peace big baby jesus

2004-11-15T13:07:00.000-06:00

your Wu-Name is:

Inebriated Assistant

Use it wisely, soldier

I am turquoise

2004-10-08T10:11:00.000-05:00

You are the color turquoise. A fairly tempermental
person, you're either upset or tranquil most of
the time. You can be as calm as your color.
You're a mysterious person, yet somehow
outgoing. You're balanced, simply put. You're
somewhat bold. You're generous and
sophisticated--but never ever snobby. You're
lively and rich in personality and attitude.
You're a beautiful person, aside from the fact
that you're a perfectionist and painfully
honest. But life is good to you!

What color are you? (Amazingly detailed & accurate--with pics!)
brought to you by Quizilla

I am sometimes snobby, but other than that - pretty accurate.

Clothing thoughts

2004-10-05T16:24:00.000-05:00

I am so glad the seasons are changing. I am so sick of my summer clothes. I can't wait until this weekend to clean out the closets and take out the winter sweaters and shirts and put away all the summer stuff. I love fall and winter. The more clothes the better.

So I realized today I am wearing a t-shirt that is 13 or 14 years old. It's a Hard Rock Cafe - New York shirt. I bought it when I was living in New York after college. It gets worn occasionally. I never really thought about it before today. There is nothing wrong with it, not so white anymore. I usually just wear it under stuff that covers it up. If I think about it, I probably could find even older clothes in my closet. In fact I have the dress I wore to my High School Graduation in my closet. I'm not sure what that says about me.

I know I am a clothes hound. I don't go for the trends I tend to be "basic", not really classic, more like not-trendy. But the clothes I have, I love. I would, if I could, just replace items with the exact same thing, only new. I still long for a sweater I wore in college and had to get rid of when it wore out. I still think back fondly of clothes that I don't have anymore, for whatever reason.

I also have a thing about "choices". I have to have many different options to choose from. It is a nightmare for me to pack for a trip. I was lucky growing up in the fact that I didn't really want for much. I don't think I was spoiled, per se, but I didn't lack for much. So my closet is packed with many different items. Besides the "choice" quirkyness I also don't like to repeat. My friends think I'm weird because I have a list of all my sweaters on my closet door. I just check off when I wear a sweater. This way I don't wear the same sweater too many times and then I know when the sweater should be washed. It seems totally logical to me, but I could see how it could be perceived as slightly obsessive. I also rotate the clothes after they are washed. This also cuts down on unnecessary repeats.

You know you have too many clothes when you can go 5 to 6 weeks without doing laundry.

My thanks go to Wendy Walburn for teaching me my horrible laundry habits.

My pirate name

2004-09-20T08:42:00.000-05:00

Your pirate name is:

Bloody Ethel Kidd

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Not you? Try doing it again.

I Suck

2004-09-14T15:25:00.000-05:00

I really suck at trying to write something consistently. I don't have anything special to share. But here are a few bullet points:

Thank God most of my sports watching is done. Just in time to start the new fall season. Now I don't really watch that much sports, but the Olympics followed by the US Open [tennis] just killed me. So the Cubs are the only thing I have to keep track of. Go Cubbies!
Go see Garden State! It was lovely. I can't wait to own the DVD.
I'm going to a sneak of Wimbeldon tomorrow. Very excited!
Last night: NEW EVERWOOD! Hot Ephram with sideburns!
Tonight: BIG BROTHER EVICTION! It looks as though Jennifer/Nikomus is out the door. Go Drew and Diane - screw the cowboy!
I really, really, really hate my job. I just had my 7 year anniversary. Does anyone want to give me a job?
Does anyone know of a very rich person that wants to be my Sugar Daddy/Mommy? I'm not picky. I just want someone that would like to have a play thing and would like to pay for the privilege.
I went to Target to buy 3 things, I ended up spending $96.

I guess that's my update for today.

Traffic

2004-09-08T16:54:00.000-05:00

Well traffic in Chicago sucks! This is just a fact. But, I don't actually have what anyone would call a commute. I only live 7 miles from my office. Depending on what route I take it is either 29 or 23 traffic lights. [FYI - I counted once because I hit 25 red lights of 29 lights total.]

So I have been driving to work just fine. Traffic has been fine not too heavy, not a lot of stoppages, it's been taking me about 20 minutes in the morning. Evening is a other story - Cubs games! But I know there are going to be delays and just roll with it.

BUT starting Tuesday the cars have seemed to clone themselves and then inserted the stupidest drivers they could find. Arrgh!

Now I know I am not the most patient driver, but these idiots are driving me crazier than usual! I have been getting honked at for not blocking intersections [which drives me crazy], I have been flipped off because I actually honked at someone so they wouldn't plow into me as they were changing lanes without looking, and then they just drove alongside of me for about a mile pissed off because they weren't one car lengths ahead of where they were.

Don't get me started on the college children that have descended. There is no parking in my neighborhood. They have taken to shopping in packs, just blocking the aisles gawking at the amazing selection of mustard.

This summer just spoiled me. I think I might have to revert back to taking the el to work so I don't have to kill someone that is the straw that breaks my back.

By the way - I just heard REO Speedwagon "Keep On Loving You" playing from my computer. Then "Love For Sale" Talking Heads. You gotta love the shuffle button.

My new summer drink

2004-09-01T13:21:00.000-05:00

Now that I can drink al-key-hawl again, I have created my new summer drink.

Raspberry Vodka Lemonade

Now normally I don't drink vodka, [there are a few nights that will never exist in my memory] but I have been wanting to try some of the new flavored vodkas. So the other night at my boss' surprise pre-wedding party, which we had to pay 40 bucks a piece, I decided that I should get my moneys worth at the open bar. That meant I could drink anything I wanted. Woo hoo! Oh wait, work party - better not. Wait, I hate my job and the people I work with, bring on the drinks! Behind the bar I see a beautiful ruby red bottle, I decide that I will claim it as my own. Thus, Absolut raspberry vodka lemonade was born. I drank them all night. They sure went down smooth.

I liked them so much I decided to buy a bottle for myself. But Absolut is just too expensive for a cheap skate like me, I found a bottle of Smirnoff on sale and lemonade was on sale too! It's a sign from God, "drink my little lamb, you need it!"

So in my apartment, by myself, I pour the ice cold vodka [from the freezer] into my big tall glass [from my first cruise] and top it off with some lemonade [a cool refreshing drink]. Yummy!

Last night it was heaven, I ate dinner while I watched Big Brother. Then I poured a drinky-poo and watched The Amazing Race. When Race was over, I turned on the US Open and watched Andy Roddick SPANK a very young american player.

I couldn't have dreamed a better night!

Spot on

2004-08-26T14:52:00.000-05:00

AUGUST:

Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and ~~egoistic~~. Takes high pride of oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but ~~not petty~~. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

My Birth Month

Pick your birth month and cross (strike) out what doesn't apply to you.

Ice Cream

2004-08-25T13:40:00.000-05:00

Yummmmy! I just finished stuffing myself with freshly made, homemade ice cream, vanilla.

I was so creamy and rich. It should be. Ingredients: Whole milk, heavy whipping cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla. The only thing it needed was to be a little bit harder/colder. Not a lot, but some. It melted very fast in the bowl.

It was a big hit here at work. It's probably all gone by now. Good thing, I would go back and get more if I knew there was some still in the freezer.

Someone was nice enough to say I should open a restaurant. I would love to be able to bake more things, but ingredients are getting so expensive [esp. butter]. And I don't want to have to eat everything I make and become even fatter. It bugs me that I'm not offered some "Thank you" offerings. Especially when I get asked when I am bringing in more chocolate chip cookies. I want to say, "If you want me to make you something, go buy the ingredients and then I'll make it!"

Or even have a side "business" of baking things by request for a small fee.

Tomorrow, Chocolate ice cream!

huh?

2004-08-24T16:33:00.000-05:00

So I guess the web wasn't hungry and rejected eating my previously disappeared posts.

Fine. Stupid web.

the web ate my post

2004-08-24T16:29:00.000-05:00

OK, I wrote a big long post and now its gone.

Here's a recap:

I did laundry at my mother's this weekend.
I haven't unpacked two-thirds of it.
Tuesday, best night of television, ever.
Bought $30 worth of milk products last night.
Going to make the first batch of ice cream in the new maker, tomorrow.
I flove the Olympics.

Of course, what I wrote before was very witty. Just take my word for it.

Too much

2004-08-24T16:14:00.000-05:00

Between Big Brother and the Olympics I can't get anything done. I love watching the Olympics. I just wish I could have seen some of the Hand Ball games.

So I went to my mother's this weekend and did my laundry (yes, I take my laundry to my mother's, but I wash it all myself, yes, I am 36, so) and now it is laying all over my apartment. I have unpacked exactly one (1) bag and one (1) basket. That leaves 3 more bags and 1 more hamper to unpack. I have found that I must put everything away on Sunday night when I get back or else it will just lay there until I can't take the open bags and spilled out clothes (because, of course, I root around in the unpacked bags looking for something specific) usually this means Friday or Saturday. But for some reason, Sunday I didn't want to get anything done. (Me, put something off, naaahhh) And with Olympic coverage and Tuesday being the best night of television ever, I don't think anything is gettin' done tonight!

Tomorrow I make ice cream in the new beautiful maker. I am going to make the mix tonight. Last night at the store I bought:

whole milk, heavy whipping cream, half and half, 2% milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla beans.

This should be enough to make 3 different kinds of ice cream. 5-6 batches. I sure hopes this works like I am imagining. Yummmy, fresh ice cream. I just need to get cones and I'll be set!

I'm not pure

2004-08-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here is the result of your ACL 100 Point Purity Test.
You answered "yes" to 54 of 100 questions, making you 46.0% sexually pure (54.0% sexually corrupt); that is, you are 46.0% pure in the sex domain.
Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 38%, based on a comparison of your test results with 879613 other submissions for this test.

My list

2004-08-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

*bold those you've read
*italicise started-but-never-finished
*quote those you own but haven't gotten to yet
*add three of your own

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. "The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett"
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. "Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray"
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. "The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco"
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. "Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde"
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Black Bird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Jester
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God's Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setter's Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic's Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic's Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. "Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace"
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion's Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Lilith's Brood), Octavia Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago)
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magic's Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime O'Neill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L'Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. "A Passage to India", E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Absalom, Absalom, William Faulkner
368. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
369. Dreamhouse, Alison Habens
370. Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
371. Prospero's Children, Jan Siegel
372. Gaudy Night, Dorothy Sayers
373. Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond
374. Enchantment, Orson Scott Card
375. Cetaganda, Lois McMaster Bujold
376. Beauty, Sheri S. Tepper
377. The Hour of the Star, Clarice Lispector
378. The Patron Saint of Liars, Ann Patchett
379. Sexing the Cherry, Jeanette Winterson.
380. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le'Guin
381. Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb
382. The Axis Trilogy, Sara Douglass
383. Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie
384. Sabriel, Garth Nix
385. Maurice, E.M. Forster
386. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer
387. The Wild Swans, by Peg Kerr
388. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
389. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
390. Welcome to the Monkey House, by Kurt Vonnegut
391. The Stranger, by Albert Camus
392. Angry Candy, by Harlan Ellison
393. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
394. Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem
395. The Brains of Rats - Michael Blumlein
396. Agent of Change – Steve Miller and Sharon Lee
397. The Diary of Anais Nin, Volume One
398. The Swiss Family Robinson – Johann Wyss
399. Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell
400. North and South, John Jakes
401. Watchers, Dean Koontz
402. Death du Jour, Kathy Reichs
403. A Is for Alibi, Sue Grafton
404. Postmortem, Patricia Cornwell
405. The Charm School, Nelson DeMille
406. Scarlet Feather, Maeve Binchy
407. How to Eat, Nigella Lawson
408. Can You Keep A Secret, Sophie Kinsella
409. Simply Devine, Wendy Holden
410. Prodigal Summer: A Novel, Barbara Kingsolver

Book list explanation

2004-08-19T14:36:00.000-05:00

I've been holding on to this for a while. This was interesting to me. I read a lot, but have found a big gap in reading the "classics". I read too many cheesy romance novels and tend not to challenge myself enough. But once I start reading, I want to finish. I have missed bus/train stops many times because of reading a book, getting too engrossed and not paying any attention to where I am. I tend to read mostly at night before going to sleep. If I don't choose something fast and short, I could be up all night.

I guess there are a lot worse things. At least I read something everyday. I feel sorry for people who choose not to read, I think it's a major character flaw.

I am now 36

2004-08-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

Friday the 13th was my birthday. I am now 36.

I remember, when I was younger, watching One Day at a Time. It was the episode where Bonnie Franklin had her 36th birthday and had a breakdown because her life was half over. I remember thinking - God, that's so old. Now that I am 36, it sure doesn't seem that old to me. My age is really no big deal to me, it's not a secret how old I am. I don't care if everyone knows. It seems really weird to be so concerned about people knowing how old you are. I have a friend at work who won't admit her age. She claims to be 27 every year. She is really paranoid about anyone discussing her real age.

So my birthday was quite good this year. I've been at my current job for almost 7 years now. This year was the first that anyone made any kind of "fuss". It was nice. Someone made a pan of lemon squares and a pan of brownies [no nuts!] and wrote, in frosting, Happy Birthday. They actually put candles on it and carried them to my desk. No singing, thank God. Then the managers in my division bought pizza for lunch for me. So for the first time people actually realized it was my birthday and said something.

Stupid-lying girl refused to acknowledge me or my special day. She also refused to share in the pizza everyone else was eating. Good. I'd rather not have to pretend. Her "boyfriend", my former boss who hates me, joined in the food. It seemed to me that he wasn't going to join us for lunch, but he did. However, he did not acknowledge that it was for me.

I then spent the weekend my favorite way. Doing nothing. I slept. I ate the food my mother made and sent up with my brother [a separate entry]. I watched Big Brother and the Olympics, Badminton is now my favorite sport to watch. I also left the air mattress in the living room inflated and laid on that when I was not laying in bed. Good times.

I did cancel driving out to the suburbs. I was just too lazy. I think it is part of my "depression", but the medications should be helping with it. I am just too much a creature of habit. I like to spend the weekends by myself. Inertia really applies to me. A body at rest tends to stay at rest, I think. I make jokes about it. I need to spend some quality time with my couch. Ha.

I took the money from my mom and bought an ice cream maker. I can't wait for it to get here. My brother gave me another cross. I'm not sure why. It seems that he and his wife have given me cross earrings and more than one cross necklace.

One of the nicest things that happened was my friend Mary called me on Friday night. She's in Mexico for the summer and never calls me from there. It was so nice to talk to her, I really miss her. She will be back tomorrow! That means summer's almost over.

Procrastination

2004-08-10T14:36:00.000-05:00

My name is Siandam and I am a procrastinator.

This is nothing new. I think I have always been one, except for reading. I did learn to read at a fairly early age and now I have to read all that I can. I never seem to put that off. Especially Hamster Time and Tuna News and all the other blogs. But anyway, so many things have caught up with me this week.

My driver's license expires on Friday. The DMV is open late on Wednesday night. Guess what, my brother is coming to town Wednesday. Do you think he and his wife will want to hang out with me in the renewal line for 3 hours?

My car must go to the emissions testing place. If I don't hurry up and get this done, my expired license will be revoked.

Bill payment. I suck at this. Really. I can buy things. I just can't pay for them. I spent an hour yesterday frantically at my bank website sending off the most overdue payments. Now I just have to pay the bills that are left.

My apartment is a pig sty. I have a list of a million things to get done, but tonight is Tuesday - the best night of television. Big Brother followed by Amazing Race. I just want to lay on the couch and watch my favorite shows.

I went to Target to buy sleeping arrangements for my brother. I splurged on a Queen sized air mattress, pump, mattress pad, and sheets. So cool. Now I have to wash the sheets. Just add it to my list. I'm gonna be up all night tonight. I am kinda excited about the mattress. I only have a single twin bed. One half of a bunk bed. I keep thinking it would be fun to bring up the other bunk. But then I would have to buy a new mattress. But on the other hand, I could have people stay in my apartment.

I must remember - the priority is a new couch. Since I got the air mattress, I don't need to buy a sofa-bed. Good news.

I just realized - I don't think I have actually done any work today. It's a good thing that there aren't any managers here. Actually, it doesn't really matter, I hardly work when they are here. I used to be a great hard-working individual. Now - I suck. Especially with hamster watching to keep up with. I unfortunately have given up. The sad thing is that no one has noticed and if anyone noticed - nothing would be done about it. Good for me - bad for business.

I've also been procrastinating about writing about work here in the blog. I have a million stories to tell about this place we call hell, I just don't know where to start. And if I start, will I ever stop?

Good intentions

2004-08-04T12:07:00.000-05:00

When I started, I thought writing in my blog would be easy. Just jotting down a few thoughts everyday. But it has turned out to be harder than I imagined.

Mostly its because of Big Brother 5. The hamsters are repellent, but I have to know what is really going on in the house. Because somewhere between things happening and what gets aired, lots of things get changed!

Or I get busy at work and don't stop to write. Or have nothing I want to share.

I also feel frustrated because I'm not sure anyone is reading. Which is fine. I am not telling any of my friends about this, in case I start to bitch about them. But it seems pretty self-indulgent to be putting things out into blog space and expect others to find me, or even care about what I am saying.

I was going to use this as a vent for all my work rage, but most of the time I just hate, hate, hate everything about it that I can't get specific because it is so overwhelming.

I do have to say, I work with Stupid-Lying-Girl and most of the time I wish I could really tell her how much I hate her. She thinks I gives her attitude now, she's so wrong. I haven't shown her a fraction of my attitude.

It's not my fault

2004-08-04T12:06:00.000-05:00

-Perfect- You're the perfect girlfriend. Which
means you're rare or that you cheated :P You're
the kind of chick that can hang out with your
boyfriend's friends and be silly. You don't
care about presents or about going to fancy
placed. Hell, just hang out. You're just happy
being around your boyfriend.

What Kind of Girlfriend Are You?

Elitist

2004-08-02T08:51:00.000-05:00

Name the era, and you can name every artist from
it. You've got an eye for design and a knack
for feng shui. Color schemes, architecture, and
objt d'art - these are all your forts.What people love: You're the perfect person to shop
with.What people hate: They have to clean their house
whenever you come over.

What Kind of Elitist Are You?

LOTR

2004-07-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

Lord of the Rings!

What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)

I am a WECF

2004-07-26T14:41:00.000-05:00

20 Questions to a Better Personality

Wackiness: 56/100
Rationality: 52/100
Constructiveness: 60/100
Leadership: 34/100

You are a WECF--Wacky Emotional Constructive Follower. This makes you a candle burning at both ends. You work until you drop, and you play until you can stand to work again. You have so much enthusiasm that you can find it hard to control on your own, and you appreciate the guidance that channels your energy and lets you be your best.In a relationship, you require lots of attention and support. You often over-contribute and end up feeling depleted and cheated. You may benefit from more time alone than you grant yourself.Your driving force is the emotional support of others--especially affection. You can run on empty for miles if you have positive energy behind you. Without it--as it occasionally must run dry--you are depressive, listless, and difficult to motivate.You need a lot of affection. Get it any way you can, but never at the cost of your self-respect or well-being.

My life is rated R

2004-07-15T13:32:00.000-05:00

My life is rated R.
What is your life rated?

This is a big surprise to me. I used to be pretty wild, but now am a nun. Not by choice, I would prefer to be a smoking, drinking, whore, but that's not happening. I don't know why I'm rated R, it must be because of my potty mouth.

Let's try something positive

2004-07-13T10:48:00.000-05:00

I am going to try to only write about positive things right now.

I went to my Great Aunt's 90th birthday party on Sunday. She is amazing. She had 10 kids. Now she has 20 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Wow, now I don't feel too bad about not having any kids. I hardly ever get to see her. The last time was probably her 80th party. So I walk into the party, late of course, all by myself, and my Aunt is sitting right by the door taking pictures and she sees me and waves me over remembering who I am. Now I know that my looks haven't really changed in the past 14 years, but I think it's amazing that she would remember me at 90 with about 70 people at the party already. So it was a very nice party. My mom drove up with my 2 aunts [one flew in from Florida for this] and my Uncle Bud. [Doesn't everyone have an Uncle Bud?] My other uncle and his wife had driven up the day before for a "mini-break". We all sat together and had a good time. My mom's cousins are all very nice and would stop by the table to say hello. I really didn't know anyone else, but it was nice to sit with my mom. She even remembered to bring the pants that I forgot at her house a few weeks ago. Then we all left. And I drove home. Which was fine until I got stuck trying to get back into the city. Traffic sucked. I still haven't figured out what the problem was. I finally made it home and even got a legal parking spot.

The ear doctor couldn't find anything wrong, again. So no more tests for now. I going to chalk the symptoms up to allergies and hope that they go away. If not, it's a MRI for me. The only disturbing thing was some of the follow up questions he asked I was answering yes. I have had headaches. I have has problems dropping things. I sometimes am clumsy. I do still get off balance. I think it all adds up to TUMOR!

Other good things:
*my house is pretty clean
*my cable is back on
*I got rid of a huge stack of newspapers last night. Only 1 more to go.
*my air conditioner is working
*my car is running fine and its ac is working
*it's supposed to get cooler tomorrow
*my plants survived re-potting
*Big Brother & Amazing Race are on tonight

OK that's enough good things for now, I don't want to get carried away!

Do you ever have one of those days?

2004-07-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

Gaaah! Nothing is going well today.

I've been feeling lonely lately, so I have been toying with the idea of joining e-harmony. I have done the personality profile. I was surprised that it turned out to be spot on and not always in a good way. My mother agreed, no surprise there. So yesterday instead of doing the piles of work on my desk, I tried to join for 3 months to see what happens. Then I couldn't get my debit card to work. Wrong address blah, blah, blahcakes, never the less, I tried a bunch of times and it never went through. I tried again today, same thing. I called my bank to make sure my paycheck was deposited and found out that I have only $41 available! Jigga what? Yup, my deposit was there, but not available? Quick call to the bank, What the hell? Well, it turns out that 9 times when I tried to pay the membership fee, $99.95 was put on hold against my account. The charge never went through, but the hold for the money is there. AND nothing can be done about it! It will go away on its own - but not until Tuesday. So I have no money.

My head is killing me. I think it is a tumor. Or maybe just allergies?

My cable is out, still. The guy is finally coming tomorrow morning, but probably not until the last possible moment. That means I will miss the Farmers Market. Not that I'm pessimistic or anything.

I have a huge zit on my face.

I'm not sleeping again. The entire reason I am on the anti-depressants is so I can sleep. I have huge black circles under my eyes. I am either maniacally happy or cranky and bitchy as hell. The extremes are making me nuts. They aren't doing much for my co-workers either.

I hate most of my job and my co-workers. But this is nothing new.

I'm so jealous of my cousin. I went to his new loft last night, it is so beautiful. Huge windows, lots of space, 2 balconies, and a beautiful kitchen with an island and tons of cabinets. He has a great job, he gets to travel around the world, his year end bonus was a lump sum that was more than I make all year. I don't begrudge him any of this, he works hard and has worked hard to get where he is, but that's what I want, but I want it given to me.

I know that there are many, many people in the world who have real problems and that I am very lucky to have a job and a house and doctor's care, but at this moment everything sucks. And since I don't have anyone I want to talk to about this, I am ranting to my blog.

Does any one know of a rich person [man or woman, it doesn't matter to me] that wants someone to cuckhold. I wouldn't require much, a nice place to live, enough money so I don't have to work, and occasional entertainment. I am willing to be madeover.

The question of the day is --- If you realize that you are going completely insane, does it make it better that you recognize the instability or does it make it worse that you are conscious of your craziness?

Summer has started!

2004-07-07T12:59:00.000-05:00

My summer has officially started. The first Big Brother aired last night and now the live feeds are up and running.

I love watching the hampsters! I do feel a little squicky, although very infrequently. They just seem to cast the most idiotic people. Either they are too self-aware or not self-aware at all and I just sit and watch. And watch, and watch and mock. I also lurk at Hampster Time and read all the wonderful live feed recaps. Here is where I have made all my imaginary internet friends, they're friends for me, but they don't know I exist.

At the first food competition, I think it was Lisa, was given the choice - $10,000 dollars in exchange for everyone going on PB&J for a week. This is a very easy choice - do not choose the money. This just makes everyone hate you! They are going to vote you out very soon for this, maybe not the first eviction, but soon! Julie said if the first hampster turned down the offer, the next hampster would be given the same choice. See, if you turn down the money and someone else takes it, you will look even better and they will have more hate than you do now. Have these idiots ever watched the show? It actually makes for more interesting live feeds when everyone is cranky from hunger. There will be more interpersonal confrontations. Good stuff.

The even better thing that happened last night - Amazing Race is back! This is my favorite reality show of all time. I have watched this show from the very first episode. The recaps Miss Alli writes on Television Without Pity make the show even better. This year has some interesting couples. I won't get too attached to anyone the first couple of weeks. I have to wait until some get weeded out before I can get a handle on the personalities. I am starting to reserve some early hate for Charla and Marla. From the initial interviews, I picked the twins as my early choice to win, but then I watched them race. They made a couple of HUGE mistakes the first leg, but were able to check in next to last. They won't last long if they don't get it together fast.

I am really trying to limit my show adding. I refuse to get sucked into any new "summer" shows. This means no Summerland or North Shore. I hear I'm not missing much.

My problem is that I have become sucked into the telenovela on Telemundo - Prisionera. It is a soap opera in Spanish, but closed captioned in English. I'm addicted. It's on Monday through Friday at 6:57 to 8:04 p.m. The main problem is that I can't just have it on in the background and just look up every once in a while. I have to sit down and read the captions. I have over 5 years of high school and college Spanish, but I can't keep up. Some times they are talking so fast, I don't even recognize the sounds they are making as even words. It should be over soon. They seem to run about 6 months and then it's over. But then a new one starts. I have been seeing the commercials for the next one starting - Gitanas. I translated a web site - google is the best - Gypsies. I will have to restrain myself from adding it to my watching list.

Weekend Baking

2004-07-06T15:14:00.000-05:00

So my mother, through various circumstances, ended up with an industrial sized can of mandarin oranges. So when I was there last weekend, I ended up dividing up the oranges. I was lucky that my mom sent me home with a little less than half of an Industrial Sized can of mandarin oranges. I haven't eaten mandarin oranges since I was a kid and I don't normally buy or use them. So I had 2 bottles of oranges in my refrigerator and no idea what to do with them.

Thank God for the internet.

So after searching around for a while, I found a few of what I hoped were decent recipies and started baking this weekend. I picked 2 cake recipies, one was really easy and included packaged cake mix and one was from scratch. I picked these mostly because I already had most of the ingredients. I ended up buying more than I originally thought. (So now I have leftover coconut I have to figure out how to use.)

They turned out fine. They both taste good, very different from each other. Now after eating both, [the first one is very light with a cool whip and pineapple "frosting" and the second is dark and sugary with a walnut and coconut "topping" ]but neither one have very much "orange" taste to them. The first because of the pineapple in the cool whip and the second just doesn't. I'm not sure if it was the recipies I picked or the crappy quality of the industrial can of mandarin oranges. It just seemed like a wasted effort to make these orange desserts and then they don't taste of orange at all.

Well, at least it was something different.

When did I become a follower?

2004-07-06T14:33:00.000-05:00

What have I gotten myself into?

I read quite a few blogs. I really enjoy reading them, it's like I have a whole bunch of friends that I don't see very often, but still keep in touch with. I worry about them when they don't post. But they don't know who I am. I am a lurker. Yup, I don't really have much to say. And I hate to write. Always have. I am too self-critical. I write nothing like I talk.

So what am I doing creating a blog? I don't know? All the cool kids have one. "Daddy, I want a blog too."

Well, I'll see how this goes. I'll probably spend most of the time either bitching about work or babbling about all the tv I watch.