5 Cats Shy

Coming Out

2011-05-04T23:43:00.005-04:00

So tonight my friend J had some news to share with me. She sat down all serious and I heard her say "I'm dating a Mormon". I was immediately worried for her. I pictured her suddenly quoting the word of Joe Smith and donning magic underwear. I could envision her bringing and passing out Books of Mormon at our next week's dinner. I saw the fabulous chick who I had grown to respect and adore turning into an absolute stranger.

So my reply was "um, what?"

And she repeated... "I'm dating a woman"

The relief was OVERWHELMING!!!!

But you know, this makes me realize the fact that just because I don't care what the sex is of the person she's dating is does not mean that I am not judgmental.

However, I have never known a gay person to try and "convert" me and yet I've never known a Mormon who did not try to. (and trust me, when I lived in Mesa, AZ I knew and worked with PLENTY of Mormon's, including the roommate I lived with who was a former Mormon who left the religion and started doing speaking about how Mormonism is actually a cult and trying to "rescue" current members of the religion)

Does that excuse my concern for my friend's new paramour? Probably not. I've always said that I don't care who you love, just that you love, but I guess I need to rethink that. If I am truly not going to be a judgmental prejudice person then I need to make that not just encompass that which I deem to be acceptable.

I guess if I judge you for being a tea party republican then that's just as bad as you being the dumbass who judges Obama for whatever the hell they're judging him for this week. And even though when I keep typing mormon without a capital letter spellecheck wants to change it to "moron" I shouldn't take it as a sign from God that it's not the religion of His choice.

I'm going to try and work on these prejudices. But I'm not going to lie, I'm really happy for J and her new girlfriend. And even happier that this chick is not LDS.

Love and light

2011-03-11T15:57:00.001-05:00

I haven't gotten to the road trip posts yet, but I still do plan on doing them.

Today I have a very heavy heart for one reason and a heart filled with light and joy for another.

My friend Lynn who has been fighting Small Cell Lung Cancer for a few months now is entering hospice. And I really thought she had it beat so this is hitting me hard. I know this is one of the more evil cancers out there. I know it's aggressive and horrifying and has about a 5% survival. Lynn was diagnosed when it was already in her liver. And in my experience with all of my cancer patients I know that once it's in the liver it's time to say goodbyes.

But then Christmas came and Lynn was still with us. And I decided that meant she was going to be on of the 5%. I just felt like if she made it that far, she could make it all the way.

A few weeks ago a mutual friend died and I asked her how she was doing. I know that there's nothing like someone else's mortality to really make you face yours. And she was doing ok. She was hopeful. I felt even more sure she'd be in the 5%.

Over the last few days she had some setbacks. Last night I begged whoever would hear me to spare Lynn. To heal her, to let her be ok. I knew so many were still raw from losing Sharon and I didn't think our group could handle another loss so I prayed and I begged.

And then this morning I woke to the post from the love of Lynn's life that she was entering hospice.

I broke down and cried. I still keep tearing up thinking of it.

But then a few hours later I talked to my friend Laura. She just got out of the hospital yesterday after being in a coma for almost two weeks and fighting Viral Meningitis. And guess what? She's ok. She beat it. We talked not just about her illness but how this changed her life. She said it truly was life changing and now she's going to let go of all toxicity and focus on the good. She said she was sending me beams of love and light for stuff I'm dealing with.

So I guess not all the good ones get taken. And I'm forwarding those beams of love and light on to Lynn and her loved ones. At least I know that whenever I hear the song "Shameless" by Garth (no, not by Billy Joel, she made that quite clear) that it means she's stopping to say hi. And no, she's not going to be one of the 5%, but I guess that means that someone else's loved one is, and that their world will be full of love and light.

Home again Home again Jiggity Jog

2011-02-25T16:57:00.003-05:00

SO I haven't been posting in a while and there's a good reason for that...my A key on my laptop broke. I use the letter A a lot, so it was quite annoying to try and type anything without said letter.

HOWEVER, I just got a new laptop so woot woot, I'm back!

And I'm back home again! FINALLY! 5 months on the left coast was way too long in my opinion. I am part yankee, part east coast girl, and I have never worn daisy dukes with bikini on top and while I am so hot I'll melt your Popsicle, I am still happy to be out of California.

The roadtrip story is one for another day, because I just think I got a wee bit of motivation to unpack a bit. Yes, my room does look like a bomb hit it, and yes, I did spend most of the time since I've been home (about 28 hours now) in or on my bed.

Oh look, puking kitteh, that's a sign it's time to get out of bed and clean.

till next time!

I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

2010-12-15T21:09:00.002-05:00

I have always found so much inspiration in songs. I realize that most of my favorite artists earn that distinction because they are phenomenal lyricists. I remember when I was in jr high and high school (in the dark ages before the internet) I would have my tape recorder and I would play songs line by line over and over to write down and learn all the lyrics. It was kinda an obsession. Now you can google lyrics so that's way easier, but recently I had the pleasure of trying to figure out the lyrics to one of Anna's new songs that I recorded at her show, and played it over and over again. Finally I gave up and went to the source herself... I asked her on facebook and she replied and gave me the lyrics. She's fawesome!

Anyway, one of the reasons I was trying to get those lyrics is I have been focused on songs that inspire me lately. I am sending a song a day to a friend who's doing something scary but brave. She's a supernova and she's only begun to shine :)

Anyway, when looking through my itunes for the next choice I came across a song I forgot about and now it seems kinda perfect so I thought I'd share :)

the reason I am feeling this song right now is the idea that people willing to make changes bounce (like bumbles) and if you don't like it or me, then F you :)

People annoy me

2010-12-05T21:24:00.003-05:00

So on facebook this week everyone is changing their profile pics to be cartoon characters to raise awareness about child abuse.

At first I thought it was relatively lame, but rather than bring everyone down with negativity, I just chose to not participate.

TONS of people have been all negative nellie about it though, talking about how stupid it was. Really people? Why can't you let those who changed it enjoy it? Get over yourselves.

Some remind me of those too cool for school hipsters with their disdain.

And then someone I know who works in child services said that they had triple the number of inquiries about volunteerism.

And then one of the too cool for school hipsters said THEY donated cash because THEY were going to do something bigger than changing their profile pic.

I had no choice but to them point out that they would have not donated that cash had it not been for this campaign, and ergo, it DID make a difference.

I am now sporting Josie and the Pussycats as my profile pic.

Seriously people, if you're going to be too cool for school, then don't make an ass out of yourself by proving the other people's point.

AND THEN now some people are saying that this movement was started by pedophiles. Really? You really think that's true? Then I pity you.

Not sure which is worse, idiots or hipsters.... perhaps idiot hipsters?

Or maybe just the Baltimore Ravens. yeah that's it.

Congrats, BloMoers!

2010-11-30T20:32:00.002-05:00

And to celebrate another month of BloMo successfully finished, I leave you with Anna singing you a lullaby :)

More of Anna

2010-11-29T08:52:00.002-05:00

And why I love her so much :)

She also writes poetry and introduced many of her songs that way.

Here's a crazy person poem and the song "Straightjacket"

And this is one of the many reasons I love her

2010-11-28T04:02:00.004-05:00

So I've mentioned before on here how some songs overwhelm me and can make me break down into tears.

This is actually one of those songs.

And look, I'm not the only one it does it to...

(It's appearing twice when I look at the post but only once when I go back to edit it... So if it's appearing twice for you too, just watch it twice...she's that amazing!)

Anna

2010-11-27T15:10:00.003-05:00

I LOVE Anna Nalick and tonight I am going to go see her perform!!

I could have seen her a few years ago and I chickened out because I had nobody to go with. It was when I working a travel gig in El Paso and I heard on the radio that she was playing a free show and a local bar and I really wanted to go, however this was when there was some seriously bad stuff happening in the area thanks to the Juarez drug cartels and basically everyone I worked with had my scared to leave my hotel. If I had someone to go with, I probably would have, but alas, I chickened out.

Tonight I have nobody to go with, but I'm there anyway! And Anna said she'd say hi.

I love how twitter and facebook has made celebrities more accessible.

I wrote on her wall on fb that I was coming to her show and she replied! I felt like the silliest fangirl, but I still was stoked.

I'll never forget how 6 (or was it 7?) years ago my sister called me. She never does that, we always communicate via text or IM. But she had just heard this new singer in the studio at her local radio station and she said she knew I would love her. So she immediately called me.

Not only was this odd that my sister called me, but it was also odd because we never talk music. I don't think she could name any of my other favorite artists other than those I loved back in the 80's. But she hit this one right on the head.

I googled Anna, found her website that had some of her music on it and I LOVED it. I then downloaded all of her songs and fell in love with her music. And then I did something I hadn't done in years and haven't even done since really... Even though I had all of her music already downloaded, I went to the store and actually bought her cd too. I figured she was so amazing that I needed to make MY voice heard to the record companies that this was someone special.

I mentioned that to her in my fb post and she said that my hard earned dollars went to buy food for her puppy. I loved that!

She is so freaking adorable too. She posts very regularly on fb and her way is just endearing. She's open and funny and I admired her before as a singer/songwriter, but now I admire her as a person too.

I cannot WAIT to see her live. The venue is kinda weird that it's a restaurant type place too. I originally got a ticket for the bar/lounge area since I was going alone, but then I decided f that, I love her, I want to be close, and I called today and switched it to a table.

Who cares if I have nobody to go with, I am going to hear one of my favorite singer songwriters share her newest music, and that is all that matters!

If I can, I'll try and get video and I'll post it tomorrow.

Shine away...

Yelp

2010-11-26T19:30:00.002-05:00

I havent left any reviews yet but I'm digging finding places to go on yelp.

Unfortunately there are two places in my neighborhood I've kinda wanted to try, but both got crappy reviews.

I would love to write more about yelp right now, but I need to find a place to suggest for dinner.

I may come back and edit this post later to be less lame

2010-11-25T13:48:00.002-05:00

But in the meantime I'll just say I'm thankful I have time for a short nap before I am headed out for Turkey.

The nice thing about going to someone else's house is you don't have to cook.

The lame thing is you can't nap after gorging on Turkey.

What next?

2010-11-24T19:24:00.002-05:00

It always has been one of my favorite things to find a new-to-me author and then gobble up all of their books. The more books they've already written, the better.

I've started doing that with TV now too. Netflix is my friend.

I watched the first 3 seasons of Dexter in a matter of weeks, and hate that I don't have Showtime to watch the new ones and have to wait till it's on DVD.

So I need a new old show (preferably one off the air) to start watching on DVD now.

I was going to do Trueblood or Madmen but both of those are still on and I'd have the same issues as with Dexter so I want something that's done but preferably more than a few seasons.

Anyone got any good suggestions?

TMI

2010-11-23T16:11:00.002-05:00

So what is it about me that makes people want to bear their souls to me? Actually not their souls as much as their bowels...

Today a patient's mother told me not only about her financial woes, but all sorts of details about her health including the fact that ranch dressing goes right through her, particularly if it's from Denny's, which is a shame because that's her favorite, but she has to go to the bathroom before even leaving the place.

Um, thanks for sharing?

Perhaps if she were my actual patient, and I was concerned about her GI tract this might be relevant. But she wasn't, and I wasn't.

I have had tons of patients tell me about their bowels over the years. In a few cases I can understand they thought it might be relevant, but usually it's just extra TMI that I really don't need to know.

Of course I still prefer hearing about people's poo to hearing about their sex life. Yes, I had an old man with prostate cancer share with me how much better life has been for him since he got his pump. Yeah, thanks for sharing.

I usually think my empathetic nature is a blessing, but times like those...it's a curse...

Can I take another pass?

2010-11-22T09:12:00.002-05:00

I have to do a morning post because I'm meeting a friend from Nuc School who's in Cali to visit her dad for dinner tonight and I'm afraid I'll be so tired when I get home that I'll forget to post.

However, I just woke up and have nothing really to say yet since I'm barely awake.

Iwoke up with a bug bite on my neck which makes me less than happy.

I know it's not lice though, so there's that...

J E T S JETS JETS JETS!

2010-11-21T15:46:00.002-05:00

I was born a Jets fan. I was also born 10 days after the last time they won a Superbowl.

I grew up watching Jets games every weekend, and I even looked at Hofstra, the college I attended my freshman year, only because that's where the Jets practiced.

I have always loved them, even when they sucked.

I don't know the stats, but I also wonder if they are the team who has been to the most wildcard playoff games with never making it to the Superbowl.

I am very used to then not being a winning team that I'm used to it.

I also became a Steelers fan back when the Mean Joe Green commercial was on air. And then that love was solidified when I went to college in Western PA.

I have had much more luck as a Steelers fan over the years, with 6 Super Bowl wins.

I am loving that both of my teams are doing well this year.

But I am ELATED that the Jets are. But if they actually make it to the Superbowl this year, and if they go as far as to win it, there is a possibility I may drop dead 10 days before it happens. I would really like to live to see it though.

It's a polar bear!

2010-11-20T18:00:00.004-05:00

Guys, where ARE we?

WERE GOING TO THE ZOO TODAY!

2010-11-19T11:26:00.001-05:00

This song was the bane of my existence many years ago when I worked at Gymboree.

My friend is visiting and we're going to the zoo today and I can't get the damn thing out my head. I am hoping listening to it again will help.

I love that you can find just about anything on youtube!

Haiku Thursday

2010-11-18T09:05:00.002-05:00

Haven't done this yet
Used to always do Haiku's
Great easy blog posts

Friend's coming to town
weather forcast is for rain.
Sunny California??

Still need to clean up
Call me "procrastination"
Need to write blog first!

afraid ill miss posting
a busy weekend ahead
dont wanna forget!

I'm taking a pass tonight

2010-11-17T21:31:00.002-05:00

Crazy long day...

Crazy is both an adjective to describe the day and a modifier for long.

Ergo, I am too fried to be coherant.

Add to that there were several accidents on the way home causing my 6 mile commute to take 50 minutes while I was already working late.

I think that means I deserve a pass on trying to write something coherent, right?

Unlucky Socks

2010-11-16T21:01:00.002-05:00

Today I wore a pair of St Patrick's Day socks. They say "LUCKY" on them and have lots of shamrocks and stuff.

Today, they didn't work.

The day appeared to start out ok... I got some possibly good news.

And then it went to hell. At least the morning did.

The first patient took meds she shouldnt have and had to be rescheduled.

We found out a special dose we needed for an important study tomorrow failed it's QC and was unavailable.

Then I dropped a $4000 piece of equipment known as "bars". It's something we use for checking the resolution on the camera. It is about 84000 pieces of lead in lines under glass. They all fell out. And lead is soft, so they all got bent and stuff.
Fortunately, I actually managed to put it back together, it only took about an hour.

We had the sibling of a patient with the most annoying parents I've met so far next. Mom is still as annoying as before.

Then the next patient pulled his IV out of his hand but still had it taped down so my coworker squirted his dose all over his fingers. Not bad for him, but not fun.

Then I had to inject a patient that was all the way on the other side of the hospital forever away. Carrying a VERY heavy box. I got there and they hadn't pre-treated him with the medication he needed. I had to carry said heavy box back far far away.

I am sure that other stuff happened but at this point I think I've blocked it all out.

I think I'm burning those socks.

Money Can Buy Happiness!

2010-11-15T09:13:00.002-05:00

Not if in the traditional way, but I know two women who would be very happy you gave them a dollar.

That's all they are asking to help their dreams come true.

And wow, do I respect them for trying to make this happen.

They are planning on selling everything they own just to attain their dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail. Unfortunately, that's not enough, they need some cash too. So they are asking anyone they can to donate a dollar. And a dollar is pretty much nothing... So if you want to make them really happy, donate a dollar so these two chicks and a dog can realize a dream. Do it for them, but do it also for yourself, to get the happiness you can have knowing that you made someone else's dreams come true and made them incredibly happy.

Check them out and donate at http://www.hikerhaven.net/

Starbucks man has a name!

2010-11-14T13:38:00.002-05:00

So my stalking of Starbucks paid off! If you can call going 2 times stalking...

But he was there again this morning and sat next to me and we chatted for a bit. His name is Jason (I've always loved that name) and he's originally from Maryland. I am not surprised he's an east coast dude!

He seemed nice, he has a great smile and we talked for about 20 minutes before he had to leave and go watch football. He did tell me about 20 times in our chat that he comes there ALL THE TIME. So I'm not sure if that's an invite to run into him again, or if it was him trying to prove that he's not a stalker.

We'll see.

I might need more chai later this week though...

Depressing thoughts this morning...

2010-11-13T10:37:00.002-05:00

Being a spinster crazy cat lady leaves me with a few fears, and one is that I will die alone in my apartment from some ridiculous accident (yes, I've seen too many episodes of Six Feet Under) and nobody will find my body till the neighbors notice the smell...

And this morning as I was trying to stay asleep at 6am on a Saturday and two kittehs thought that I should be up, I realize that when they find my body, I will also be missing a nose and be incredibly bruised on my left side.

Seamus head butts my side till I lift the blanket for him to come cuddle.

Ringo licks my nose till I give him the attention he demands.

As if a dead, bloated body isn't enough, it has to be a noseless one.

Please let me die in public!

Boo for bad news

2010-11-12T20:32:00.002-05:00

So I thought I had good car news, then not, then yes, and now not.

I finally got through the Fulton County title and registration people who said I could just get an emissions waiver and then do everything by mail. Woot!

I called to get the waiver and they only give them for renewals on cars already titled in the Atlanta area. I am SOL. He was very nice at telling me that, but that's the bottom line.

Yesterday I got the car fixed and smog checked and then headed over to the DMV. Took off work to get this done. Got to the DMV and there was TONS of parking so I was all "woot! I'll be in and out!" yeah, no...it was Veteran's Day so it was closed.

I'm going to finish this email and do a search on tag and title places.

I'll be so happy when this is over with.

Oh well, at least it's the weekend!!

Missed Connection

2010-11-11T17:59:00.002-05:00

So today I took the day off to get my car fixed. I dropped it off and then walked up the street and had breakfast at a place called Coco's (yum!) and then wandered over to the Starbucks next door to kill more time. When I got there I ended up sitting across from this guy who I thought was attractive. We were both there for over an hour reading and during this time we caught each other's eyes a few times, and smiled. Unfortunately, we never spoke.

After I finished my book and left, I was bored, so I was texting with my friend Maria and told her about my missed connection, and jokingly told her I was going to either start stalking that Starbucks, or start stalking the missed connection section of Craigslist. She was bored at work, so I asked her to see if he had posted for me yet.

She said there was a post titled "the perfect woman" so she immediately assumed that was the one for me. (and this is one of the many reasons why I love her!) Sadly, it was from a delusional man.

Even more sadly, my library book Starbucks guy did not post for me....yet.

So we joked about how I could post for him and use it as blog fodder. I wish I could do that, but sadly, I just don't have the cajones to attract crazy people, and I suspect that even if he did look up Craigslist for me, that'd would weird me out too much. I don't think I'd actually go for a guy who's actually go for a girl who did that.

But I did enjoy the time I spent laughing at the crazy people who do post there. If you're ever bored and have some time to kill online, check them out. You will laugh lots.

And guess where I'm headed tomorrow morning for a chai latte? :)

I forgot about this game

2010-11-10T09:15:00.002-05:00

This was a game Seamus was obsessed with in Raleigh for a while, but then got over. He's into it again.

So I save bags for throwing out cat litter. I put them in a bottom drawer in the kitchen.

Every night Seamus will open that drawer and pull the bags out. Every morning I put them back. I come home from work and they are out. I put them in. Rinse, Repeat.

I don't get why these bags need to be on the floor in Little Boy's mind, but hes persistent!

There once was a weekend in Nantucket...

2010-11-09T20:56:00.007-05:00

So tonight when I couldn't think of anything to write about so I texted my friend Maria asking for a topic suggestion. She suggested I write about the weekend we met, and she'll do the same on her blog. I'm going to try to remember that weekend, but I have to admit, it is kinda fuzzy :)

So a mutual friend had a family place on Nantucket and was planning a weekend gathering. I was living in Lancaster, PA at the time, and somehow thought the 8ish hour drive was doable. I had a friend from VA driving up to MD to pick up a friend there, then they continued up to me, and the three of us went together. I honestly don't really remember much from the drive except for the last stretch where there was traffic galore! We were cutting it really tight and did not know if we'd actually make the ferry. In fact, we barely did! We made a mad dash across the parking lot in torrential rains and pretty much hopped on the ferry as it was pulling out. Here we are right after getting off the Ferry, still soaked to the bone.

From there on, I don't remember many details. I know my first actual memory of Maria was her being a mixologist (Pictured!) while everyone was just hanging out getting to know the ones they didn't know and reconnecting with the ones they hadn't seen in a while. Maria was singing showtunes during this time, and I have no clue how that started. I thought before this weekend from what I knew of her that I'd like her, but that pretty much solidified my impression of her that she was destined to be a good friend. :)

It is amazing me how little details I remember of this weekend, considering I know it was an amazing time. I remember sitting up in my room with Maria taking when people were wondering what happened to us. I am pretty sure I loaned her my red sweater for our night out at the Chicken Box. I do have some memories of that outing for sure... one of the girls there that weekend was getting married in a few months so we decided to hold an impromptu bachelorette party. A scavenger hunt was on the to-do list, and I helped her get the hardest thing on the list- a guy at the bar's underwear. Yes, we go the boxers from one of the guys in the band that was playing that night. (those are his boxers and she's on stage) I remember lots of booty shaking going on that night. And I remember Maria getting her groove back. :) I'll let her tell that part of the story on her blog if she so desires...

I know that this weekend was the beginning of what I consider one of my most valued friendships. I loved that right away we connected, both with our senses of humor, and also on a deeper "just getting each other" kind of way. Maybe the reason there isn't a moment that sticks out in my mind is because it was just such an easy friendship that it didn't need a moment.

If I'm doing my math right, that was 7 years ago, and it's mind blowing to think of what we've both been through since then. And yet I know that no matter what, she had my back and I hope she knows I've always had hers. Sometimes we would go months without talking, and then we'd go through periods of talking every single day. I realize that my life in general is full of more laughs when we're in the every day mode, so I think that's the way it should usually be :)

So I am sorry that I didn't have better Nantucket stories. But I have more vivid memories of her trip to visit me in Vermont when we were being smart ass American's up in Montreal calling everything "Le ______" and referring to the Dollar Store as the 78 cent store (yes, this was a while ago when our dollar was stronger) and meeting Popeye the Spider Man on Rue Ste Catherine. Or when she came down to visit me in Raleigh and even though we did some fun stuff like the Ren Faire (with photo op with dude in a kilt) and wine tasting (pictured), my best memories of that weekend are sitting on my back porch and talking for hours.

Spaceship Crashed

2010-11-08T21:04:00.002-05:00

So today I was stopping at Target on the way home from work to get more Burdseed and some cat litter and other various sundries and I saw a panhandler at the traffic light right before Target. Not an uncommon sight... but what was uncommon was her sign...

"Spaceship Crashed. Need spare change for parts."

I had no choice but to hand her a dollar.

Why? Well there were three options:

1) She has a kick ass sense of humor even though she's going through some hard times. That deserves my support.

2) She's mentally ill, and that sucks and deserves some support.

3) She really is an alien, and it'd be nice to be on their good side to avoid anal probing if her buddies all show up.

No matter which option it is, it was totally worth the dollar.

Stinky Feet Shoes

2010-11-07T11:55:00.002-05:00

It's something sad that happens in the life of all extremely beloved, well worn shoes-- they become stinky feet shoes.

It's way more common with sandals but you know you've had sneakers or even dress shoes it's happened to as well.

It's not something we like to talk about, but I am not ashamed of my stinky feet shoes! It just means they were well loved, right?

I found this particular pair of stinky feet shoes at Ross about 4 years ago. The second I tried them on, I knew they were mine. They remain the most comfortable things I have ever had on my feet, even better than the memory foam slippers Santa brought me one year. They were not pretty, just plain black, but they were perfect to just slip on and wear all the time. I wore them to work more times than I can count, and I think that is what earned them their current state.

My heart is heavy at the thought of giving these shoes up, but unless the secret trick that sometimes kills the stinkiness works, I shall have no choice.

What is the secret trick, you ask? Freezing them. I learned this a few years ago when someone on a bulletin board I frequented was complaining about how their sandals made their feet stink, and I've tried it since and it usually works. Just throw the shoes in a freezer bag and freeze them for a few days, and whatever it is that makes them stinky will be gone. Sometimes it works, but it's always a short term fix. I just am hoping to get a few more months out of these shoes, so if I have any hope, I'm going to go for it.

So that is my exciting post for the day. Ode to my black shoes that now make my feet smell.

Aren't you wicked glad I'm blogging again? ;)

Burds

2010-11-06T11:35:00.005-04:00

So when I first moved into this temp apartment for this Cali gig we had some window issues. My balcony wall is solid, so the kittehs can't see anything out that giant window (bummer) and the bedroom window had a very tiny sill, so no sitting there.

I had to do something to help these poor bored kittehs out, so I got birdseed for the balcony. I did not, however, get a bird feeder, I had this brilliant plan instead- I poured the birdseed in a line all along the ledge and then scattered it on the balcony floor. Now we just need to wait for the birdies to find it!

And wait...

And wait...

It took 6 weeks for birds to come. I guess the were all north for the summer? But now they are here!!

And we went through an entire bag of feed this week. I need to run to the store later to stock up on more.

But Little Boy likes to stalk the floor burdies... (see him hunkered between his floor pillows)

And RSK even likes BURD TV.

It may mean I'll be cleaning bird crap off the balcony to get my deposit back, but it's worth every penny...

Although we were not free of incidents...

And since this picture was taken on Monday, there are 3 more burd faces smashed into the window. No dead burd bodies so I assume they were all fine. I am just in awe of how you can see beak and feathers and everything.

Good thing I've never seen that Hitchcock movie or this might be less amusing for me!

The Car Saga

2010-11-05T21:04:00.002-04:00

So let me tell you a little story about the nightmare that was my car on my drive out here to Cali...

The week before I left I got a brand new muffler on the Purple Saturn, as well as new wipers and an oil change. All this was about $150 bux. Worth it before a drive cross country, right? During the oil change I had him to a check of everything else to make sure there would be no problems on the drive. All clear! Let's go!

Day one we drove to New Orleans, about an 8 hour drive, and it went very smoothly. Had a lovely evening there and then set off in the morning with the goal of San Antonio. As we were driving through LA (on a VERAH hot day I might add) it didn't seem the car was cooling well. This sucks not only because it was 115 degrees out (no, not an exaggeration for once) but also because the cats were melting. And Seamus has his CHF problems so this was a big issue for him... So we thought we'd stop at the next town and see if maybe the AC just needed a recharge.

Guess what? It did not need a recharge. It was not the AC. It was the clutch thingamobby thing that runs the compressor that does something to the serpentine belt. The same belt runs the AC, the water pump, and the alternator. Fortunately for us, the AC was the first symptom. The rest would be shortly following, and the car would then be inoperable. Ok, so how bad would this be to fix, I ask? $1600 and 3 days, I was told. NOT an option I decided.

So I had two choices. Rent a car for the rest of the trip and the 3 months I'd be in Cali for a whole lot of money and still have no car at the end of this, OR I could buy a new used car on the spot. I went with choice B.

After test driving a few cars, I found a 2002 Hyundai Accent (which I had before and LOVED) with under 50k miles on it for only 4500, which we talked down to 4250. WOOT WOOT!

The car drove great, and the first time we stopped to get gas we found a minor problem (so we thought) that the gas kept clicking off as if it was full when it wasn't. After talking to some friends who knew cars, the consensus was some type of clog on the fuel filter, an easy fix. Since the problem was just annoying, it was no big deal and could wait to be fixed.

So the only real problem I had now was that I had temporary tags that expired while I was still here. Unfortunately, I figured I'd have to get the car registered in Cali. This sucked, but seemed the only option. I looked into the cost--- $621!! Plus a "smog check"! Well so be it, no choice.

Well after a few weeks here, my engine light came on. I ignored it for a few weeks, and yesterday I brought the car in for it's "smog check" and to get the engine light checked. Well guess what? You can't pass the smog check with the engine light on! (Oh and this smog check costs $50, and the check engine check costs $90 before they even do anything to fix it!)

It turns out that it's not just a clog in my filter, it's the filter itself has broken down and pieces of charcoal are floating through the fuel line. They are causing the problem with the gas filling, so the only good news I can think of is that the problem I knew about and the engine light problem are one in the same instead of two different ones. The bad news is this is $550+ but to fix, plus another $60 for a reset fee or something stupid like that due to California laws, and then the $50 for the smog check making it be almost $700 to get the car ready to register, PLUS the $621 to register it...

Ugh.

So I have been desperately trying to find another option other than registering it in Cali. I spent over an hour on hold with Georgia yesterday checking to see if there was any way I could either transfer the Saturn tags over or get some temporary thing, but I never could get through.

I tried NC even since my drivers license is still there, to see if there was anything I could do online, but no such luck.

My only hope was to BEG the state of Louisiana for an extension on my temporary tags. They had a place where I could email, so I wrote them the most pathetic mail ever.

I heard back today. They said I just had to ask my seller!

Now of course the seller has to agree to this. But I am hoping he has no problem doing this for me. I am going to first try just asking. If that doesn't inspire him, I am going to try guilting him that he sold me a car with these repair needs. If that doesn't work I'm going to offer to pay him $100 for his troubles to do this. I pray and cross my fingers that the first option works and I don't have to go with choice b or c, and secondly I pray that if the first doesnt, that b or c does and I dont have to pay all this money to California!

I still have to spend 550 for the repair and get it registered when I get back to Georgia, but it'll be a lot cheaper now, and a lot less stress.

So cross your fingers for me that the car saga will end up with good news :)

I'll keep you posted!

Tasting Little Italy

2010-11-04T13:48:00.004-04:00

So last night my friend (my one friend, that's all I have here locally) and I went to the Taste of Little Italy event. There were 22 locations involved, and for 35 bux you got to walk around and eat or drink something at each venue.

This whole event lasted for 4 hours, we got there with only 3 hours left due to work, and we were afraid we wouldn't make it to every location.

We didn't make it to every location but not because of time...but because our bellies were too full!

Just about everything we had was AMAZING! My favorite was the ravioli's with goat cheese and organic spinach I think. My least favorite was this bacon wrapped lamb thing on a bed of lentil salsa. The lentil bit was pretty good- very garlicky, but the lamb had zero flavor.

My friend Maria over at foodtoons draws yummy food and stuff. It's really quite clever and way more cool than I just made it sound. I told her to check out the menu options for this gig and draw some of it, since she's doing NaBloPoMo and might need some ideas, so check her out to see if she goes there. I hope she does, because I would love to see her interpretations!

This morning I had the biscotti that I got from one of the coffee shops for breakfast so my evening did last into the next day, as all eating extravaganzas should.

If you are ever in my town, you should definitely check out Little Italy for dinner because not only is the atmosphere there adorable, the food is INCREDIBLE!!

Surfing's the source, it'll change your life...

2010-11-03T09:02:00.003-04:00

Since I said yesterday I wont continue with the political postings, and since that's all that's on the news and on everyone's mind this morning, I'm too distracted to think of anything else to write about.

Oh but this was interesting... I just put on the 6am news and the teaser with the three top stories was this:

Governor's race results
Local Proposition results
Local Surfer dies and high surf alert again for today

At least it's not all politics here. Something that blew my mind the when I first got here was that the surf report on the radio took longer than the traffic report.

Back in the summer I turned 15 they started playing old episodes of Gidget on tv and I suddenly had a burning desire to learn to surf. It never happened. I guess I now have the option to do that since I'm out here. It was even a groupon deal a few weeks ago. But alas I'm not 15 any more, and I will have to just be satisfied watching Point Break.

VOTE! (as long as you agree with me!)

2010-11-02T09:33:00.002-04:00

I know it's wrong, but every time I see another facebook friend who's political leanings differ from mine I tense up a wee bit.

Then I have to see at least 2 who agree with me who say they voted to balance that out and make me relax some.

Unfortunately, this isn't a good test of what the polls look like since the majority of my friends pretty much have the same political views as I do.

I know it's wrong to not want the other side's voice to be heard, but I really believe in my heart that the other side has it wrong.

But I'll keep my mouth shut. (other than here-- but I didn't say which side I am on, so that kinda counts, right?)

So I'll just encourage all of you to get out and vote. (and then wish an unplanned meeting on those of you who differ from my point of view that distracts you and keeps you away from the polls...)

Every year on election day these lyrics come to mind:

You can't change the world
But you can change the facts
And when you change the facts
You change points of view
If you change points of view
You may change a vote
And when you change a vote
You may change the world

I hope that in time, enough of us can change points of view to change votes to change the world...

Happy NaBloPoMo again!

2010-11-01T22:02:00.002-04:00

Yes, it's me! I know you thought I fell off the face of the earth, but no, I just got out of blogging mode. And here we are at yet another BloMo and I feel like after so many years, I had no choice but to jump on board again!

So all day long I was writing this post in my head but now that I'm actually home, I'm so tired I don't feel like posting. Of course.

So why am I home so late? Well for one thing I'm in California. That is my temporary home. I got a travel gig and have been here for 6 weeks, and have 7 more to go.

And why else am I late? I had to go to the Minute Clinic after work. Why? To be told I have bug bites. I did know that already though.

Since I moved here I have been getting a lot of bug bites. They sent a guy from Orkin to come check for bed bugs and fortunately that was negative. They gave me a new mattress and box spring anyway, and I even traded up. Way nicer than the previous. But I'm still getting bit. My agency told me to go to the doctor. Since I knew this was ridiculous, I had no choice but to go to the Minute Clinic rather than a real doctor. And you know, this is my second time there- the first time was one in Georgia where I went to get my ppd and my flu shots. I highly recommend them, they are super nice and fast and easy.

But I was told what I know. They are bug bites. Not fleas or bedbugs. Also not lice. (which I didnt even think of and am so glad to know that was not what it was cuz GROSS!) But what is it? No clue. She said to use cortizone cream and benedryl if they itch a whole lot, and if it really bugs me (pun intended) to go see a dermatologist.

While she was super nice, this was exactly what I knew, and a waste of time. But I can tell my agency I did what I was told, so I guess that's something.

And gas is cheaper over in that part of town. So there's that.

So yes, you waited 5 months for a post from me and all you got was the knowledge that I don't have lice. Aren't you excited I'm doing BloMo again?

Tomorrow will be better :)

I had no idea it had been this long!!

2010-06-20T19:39:00.003-04:00

I knew it was a while since I had updated, but WOW I didnt realize it was since March!

PARTICULARLY since SO MUCH has changed since then. Yes, I have moved! I am now living in Georgia and so happy about it. I'm currently living with a friend north of Atlanta till I find a job, but I've known her since the 80's and love her so it's working out ok for now :) I still want that job SOON so I can get my own place because I hate having most of my stuff in storage and never having what I need when I need it. Also, all the rest of my friends live 30-45 min south of where I am so I really want to get down there.

I would share more now about what's been going on, but it is honestly making me sore to type. Why, you ask? Well I have been working out. YES! ME! IT IS A MIRACLE!!!

But at the moment every muscle in my arms is sore (and abs, and legs...) so I can barely hold my hands up to type.

SO for now I will end this with a PROMISE to update more soon.

<3

Life is good, you know?

Hit over the head with a memory

2010-03-29T20:15:00.002-04:00

So I'm rereading This Charming Man by Marian Keyes, one of my favorite authors ever who does not deserve to be lumped in with other "chick lit" authors because she is so so much more.

This book is about Domestic Violence, although you don't see that till you're at least halfway through it. It chronicles the emotions that four women go through when a guy each of them has a history with becomes engaged.

The one character, Lola, was actually dating him at the time his engagement announcement was posted in the paper. She flees to a friend's cabin to spend some time alone to try and move past him.

As I am reading this, I realize I kinda hear a song playing in the back of my head... yes, you guessed it by the youtube video- it's "I Still Do" by the Cranberries.

And this song brings up some pretty heavy memories for me too.

Many many moons ago when I was with the guy who would eventually become my fiance but never my husband I came to the realization that he was not the right guy for me and that I should end it. I loved him, but I knew it wasn't meant to be. I broke up with him and played this song on repeat, sobbing over the lyrics-

"I don't want to leave you,
Even though I have to.
I don't want to love you.
Oh, I still do. "

He tried, and succeeded to win me back. Was this a mistake? Hard to say. The relationship ended with me moving out the day he tried to hit me. Should I have gone with my gut and stayed broken up back when this song was making me cry? In hindsight, I honestly don't know. The fact that I was strong enough to get the hell out when it escalated makes me feel proud of myself. I learned a lot about myself in that time. And you know what? It was a LOT less painful to leave him that second time. Easy, in fact.

So I go with the whole "live and learn" philosophy. "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger" fits here too.

Not sure where I'm going with this thought, I just felt the need to put it out there.

*also interesting tidbit in this book- there's someone named Desmond Hume in the book. Coincidence? She also makes one other Lost reference. I guess she's a fan! :)

Olympic themed gifts I made for my mom and sis!

2010-02-16T19:07:00.003-05:00

So again we went to Bisque Art so I could create some fabulous birthday gifts for my mom and sis.

One thing you should know about them is that they are both Olympic freaks. In a big big way. As in- I wont see or hear from them for the entire run of the Olympics. In past years they have even rented a ginormous TV for it. I don't quite get it, I think the Olympics are nice and all but nothing that exciting.

But their affinity for the whole thing gave me this year's birthday inspiration. And I'm pretty happy how they came out. (except for Russia)

I really am not artistic, but I had copies of a bunch of flags printed out and figured if I made them small enough then you couldn't see the detail enough to see that it sucks. They ended up coming out way cuter than I expected! And the rings could have been a bit better but we were running out of time before the place closed so I had to do them quickly. Still think they're pretty dang cute!

Ergo, I felt the need to brag a little and show off a wee bit :)

From me and mine to you and yours

2009-12-25T12:02:00.002-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

You can't always get what you want

2009-12-12T17:50:00.002-05:00

want @ Yahoo! Video

So I won't be moving to Atlanta soon. But I will in June when my lease is up. The position down there now just didn't work out.

So I found something here that I think I will enjoy for the next 6 months, and hopefully can transfer with the company down to Atlanta next June.

In some ways it feels a bit like moving backwards, because it's back to retail which I left a long time ago, but it also feels like the right place for right now.

It's not normal retail, it's bridal, which I have loved through my volunteering with Making Memories, so I think (HOPE!) I will really enjoy this too.

The busy season is starting after Christmas, as opposed to every other retail gig. I kinda like that.

It's not what I thought I wanted, but I think it's what I need at this point...

And I don't feel bad about the other opportunity not panning out because I wasn't sure it was right for me to begin with. This job I feel is definitely right for right now. I am very sad that I won't get to be near the people I love for another half of a year, but they are still in my life, still in my heart, and will, eventually, be in my neighborhood, so that's good enough for now.

So you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need...

Happy End of BloMo!

2009-11-30T20:03:00.006-05:00

I am exausted from a whirlwind trip down to Hotlanta again. Was there less than 24 hours. Lots of driving in a short time, and the drive back sucked due to rain and dark.

Happy to be home with the kittehs.

Freaked out a wee bit when I got in and couldn't find Seamus. Fortunately he materialized after I put more food out :)

I need to get off this computer and get to cuddling now!

Already miss my BFF's

I leave you pics of us and you can see how happy I am- this is a big reason why I really want to be there!

I hope everything works out to make this happen. It actually looks like it could! Fingers and toes crossed!!

Careful, your head may asplode!!

2009-11-29T05:50:00.001-05:00

Someone posted this on fb and it was almost too much to handle this early!

"You don't look 69!"

2009-11-28T16:28:00.002-05:00

So the other day I stopped at Food Lion to pick up some wine to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. And I got carded, which always amuses me. When it's waitrons I always assume they are kissing up to get a bigger tip, when it's clerks, I figure they are not paying any attention.

This dude looks at my id and says "You don't look 69!" he goes on to say he would have guessed I was 25.

Ok so here's where I'm not sure if that's an insult or complement.

Does he think that since I was born in 1969 that I am 69 or did he just say it that way? And if so, does that mean that he thinks I'm 25 or that I was born in 25 which would make me be 84 years old?

Kids today :)

But the wine I got was fun. Since I was having dinner at my friend Cat's I got Cat themed stuff. I brought a red and and a white. The white was that Riesling that is in a bottle shaped like a cat (pictured), and the red was a brand "Herding Cats". They made me giggle. :) It's more fun to bring theme wine to a dinner anyway, right?

Change of Plans

2009-11-27T19:49:00.002-05:00

So I did not end up eating Lean Cuisine with just the kittehs yesterday. I got a quasi last minute invite from a former coworker and decided to take it.

Which is really weird for me. Because I really love alone time. And I love just hanging with the boys. And I've been alone many times on many holidays and it really doesnt bother me.

But I also really love turkey dinners :)

And I really like this coworker.

And so I went. And I'm glad I did. It was low key and tasty. AND she sent me home with leftovers!

But one of the coolest parts is that they sent home a drumstick for my boys. They said NOM NOM NOM :)

I love this song

2009-11-26T11:51:00.001-05:00

And it is the perfect sentiment for the day. Watch, listen, and enjoy!!

Where's my damn teleporter?!?!

2009-11-25T16:59:00.002-05:00

When we were kids we were pretty much promised flying cars, jetpacks, and teleporters by 2009.

If I had one of those, I could easily spend Thanksgiving with people I love.

Instead, I am staying home, although with kittehs I love.

It would really suck if I cared more.

Well I guess that didn't come out right- I do care that I am not with people I love, but I do not care that I am alone. Does that make any sense?

I belong to a message board where someone posted something about how they don't do well staying alone. I laughed out loud as I read it because I can't imagine being that dependent, and I actually prefer being alone more often than not. No matter how much I love someone and how much I love being with them, I still value my time and space. Maybe that's my issue, but if I'm happy about it, then that's all that matters, right? :)

I'd still like a teleporter.

Who Can it Be Now?

2009-11-24T17:13:00.003-05:00

I love my cell phone ringers :) I have many personalized ones, and they make me so happy.

The one I currently have for unknown numbers is "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men at Work

For people who are in my contact list, but don't have their own, are "If You Were Here" by the Thompson Twins (From Sixteen Candles) (I thought this seemed appropriate because if they were here, they wouldn't be calling)

I have past coworkers as "She Works Hard for the Money"

I have my work recruiters as "Closer to Fine" (Cuz that's what I'd be if they got me a gig)

My sister who suffers from Vertigo is- you guessed it "Vertigo" by U2

My mom is an Irish Jig

My current alarm is "Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles, but my previous one that I still use sometimes is "Brand New Day" by Sting :)

My two friends who I went to see The Police with are "Regatta de Blanc"

anyone related to the sorority I volunteer as an adviser for is "It's the End of the World as We Know It"

a guy I used to have a crush on got "Desire" by U2

Any of my doctor's offices or vet get "Doctor Doctor" by Thompson Twins

Other various friends have songs that remind me of them :)

It makes me happy. I miss that Sprint stopped giving free ringtones every month. It was so much fun.

I do think it's time though to switch my ringer to some holiday music. Last year I had "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses... I wonder if I should stick with that or do something else? Any suggestions?

So what do you do for ringtones?

eskimo

2009-11-23T17:38:00.003-05:00

Currently watching Heathers. I think this is one of the most quotable movies ever :)

There are even a few quotes in it that my friends and I still say to this day that I forgot were from this. :)

Keeping this short because I have to get back to it... enjoy the clip :)

a love hate relationship

2009-11-22T16:23:00.002-05:00

So I am still pretending that there's a chance I'm moving.

And I have a total love hate relationship with this.

First of all, I LOVE my current apartment. LOVE it. I have the best location, the greatest screened in porch, a fabulous fireplace... everything about this place is great. And if I could scoop it up and bring it with me, I totally would.

And that goes into part of the hate- I HATE PACKING! I loathe it. I should be doing something productive now actually, purging some of the crap that I've accumulated over the past 5 years at least, because even if I don't move yet, I will be when the lease is up and that would still be useful. But I'm not...

What I am doing is obsessively searching the internet for potential new apartments. I LOVE doing this. There's such a sense of "anything can happen-ness" :) I love looking at all the floorplans and mentally placing my furniture there. I love checking out which amenities they have and eliminating or adding them to the list due to that... NO W/D HOOKUPS? DELETE! FIREPLACE? ADD!

And then going to apartmentratings.com and seeing if they were worthy on there. And it's not just about a number there either, you have to really look. I know disgruntled people will more quickly leave comments than happy ones, so that's something to keep in mind. Plus, if they have bad ratings in 07 but then got new management and their new reviews are great, then that number is kinda irrelevant. And the converse is true too- are the last few suck and it's since new management- RED FLAG!

So I have created my "short list" although I don't know how short 8 complexes are. But 5 of them are open on Sunday and I hope to check them all out. Ive even spent time on googlemaps creating a plan of attack. (yes, I am a dork, I know this!) then I have 3 for Monday, but 2 of them are right next to each other so it shouldn't be too bad.

Hopefully a friend is joining me on Sunday. It always helps to have a second opinion.

So yeah, moving sucks in general, but the hope that comes with it for a perfect new home really does add some fun to it :)

And if anyone has some good suggestions for decent places on the east side of Atlanta, please feel free to leave me a comment :)

when will I learn?

2009-11-21T17:52:00.002-05:00

I need to keep things quiet till they happen.

Stuff has come up that might make Atlanta impossible.

Ugh.

But hopefully, through the grace of all that is good, and a wee bit o' luck maybe I can still make it happen.

But I hate when I put something out there, but then it doesn't happen and I have to tell people that my dreams were, in fact, smashed.

:(

Cross your fingers for me that it won't happen this time.

Making my list, checking it twice

2009-11-20T15:59:00.003-05:00

I thought there was just one thing I wanted for Christmas and that's this Lost University sweatshirt. GO POLAR BEARS!! Best Mascot Ever! I am stressed about signing up for Lost U because it looks like to get the full experience you have to have blueray, which I do not have, but I'm still excited.

But then today I saw this

And now I NEED this too. I really hope Santa brings it!!

decisions...

2009-11-19T15:29:00.002-05:00

So things are back to being the big changes probably. If I can make it work. Money sucks. If it weren't for money, the decisions would be easy.

I mentioned this earlier in the year, but I am wanting to move to Atlanta. And I might be able to make that happen sooner rather than later. But, alas, I am in a lease.

I had a wee epiphany last night that maybe the leasing company had properties in Atlanta I could transfer to. I was so excited after I looked online and found several, and they were pretty nice. SO I barely slept as my mind was going over and over how to make this all work... I even called PODS for an estimate just in information gathering...

I woke up early, went to the apartment office, and no go. This is a management company, the properties all have different owners. However, I did learn it would cost half as much to break the lease as I thought, AND I can use the deposit towards part of it AND if they rerent it quickly that knocks some off it too, so hmm... maybe I can make this work anyway?

But the PODS are about $1500. Which is about half what I paid for movers to move me in here. But then I'd still have to hire big strong guys to schlep my stuff down to the pod and back up from it. So we'd be talking at least 2k. So bleh.

THEN I thought if I was already going to hire big strong guys, why not get a UHaul? and guess what? UHaul not only rents trucks, they rent big strong guys now! And it costs about 100 bux for 2 BSG's for 2Hrs! And the truck is like 300! That even includes a trailer thingie to tow my car! So for $500 I could actually move!

SO back to making this happen! Maybe. I have to get the job first, of course.

I had a phone interview and have a face to face coming up for something that I think I want. I am just afraid that I may want it more because I want to get to Atlanta than because it's the perfect job. But we'll see. If I get it I'll share more details then :)

So that's what's been going on with me. Trying to figure out if this is the right move, and if it is, how to make it happen. And making decisions has NEVER been my strong point!!

I'm feeling pretty positive though that things will work out :) I've been online for the last few hours checking out apartments, first on forrent.com and then on apartmentratings.com and sadly some that sounded perfect scored like a 12%! One talked about a murder in the parking lot and home invasion rapes. Um...no! So I have a list of 7, but the short list is 2. I hope they are as great as they look online when I check them out :)

Change is scary, but it's also wicked exciting... if I could just make up my mind!!!

I may already be a winner :)

2009-11-18T13:30:00.002-05:00

So I mentioned last week that I actually bought a powerball ticket. I noticed driving earlier this week the billboard showing that it had reset down, meaning someone has won.

I still haven't checked my ticket.

Until I look at it, there is a chance that I am a winner. And I really like that hope.

I've come close to looking at it a few times, but for now, I'm holding onto the hope.

I do have to get new brakes on my car soon, they're starting to make that noise. So I will look before I take the car in for that. (Why get new brakes when you can get a whole new car?)

I could actually be a millionaire right now. How cool would that be?

Newton's first law

2009-11-17T15:44:00.002-05:00

a body in motion stays in motion; a body at rest stays at rest.

This is not just true in physics, it's true in my life. It seems when I start going after stuff and try to make things happen, things actually start to happen.

I recent mentioned making changes and all these sudden opportunities seem to be rolling in.

And what I think may happen is that the smallest of the changes is the one that I hope works out at this point.

Later, bigger chances will happen for sure, but for now, I think I'm going to take baby steps.

Then again, if it doesn't work how I plan, we'll see.

But either way, steps. Forward motion, staying in motion :)

ratty tat tats and rummy tum tums

2009-11-16T16:09:00.002-05:00

So usually I have 4 and 2/2 radio stations I listen to. I say two halves because the best one is out of Greensboro so I don't get it in certain neighborhoods and the worst one often plays crap so I rarely end up staying on it.

But starting today I am down to 3 2/2 for a month or so. Why? Because the one station has gone to all Christmas music. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas music. I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur of it even. But today it was 75 degrees out. Isn't it a bit wrong that I was listening to these tunes in the car?

Now I do confess, I did listen to U2's Baby Please Come Home because, well, that song rocks. And then I caught Bare Naked Ladies with Sarah McLaughlin's God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and I was forced to listen to that because, well, that song is awesome. And sadly I couldn't find the live version I have on youtube but here's the simple version for you all to enjoy :)

So what're your favorite Christmas songs? I say songs because I have my favorite traditional (Carol of the Bells) and contemporary (Gabrielle's Message by Sting), so I wanna hear both of yours. And then also tell me, when is too soon to start listening?

Halfway!

2009-11-15T18:13:00.001-05:00

So today is the halfway point for yet another BloMo.

Of the people I know doing it, so far a few have missed days. Posting every day doesnt seem like it would be that hard, but for people with lives, it can be. But I think it's even harder for people with no life! (Like me)

I think the biggest challenge is having something to write about. Since I don't really don't do much, I don't really have much to say.

Today I watched a Lifetime movie starring Fred Savage and Candice Cameron. Kevin Allen was an abusive boyfriend to DJ Tanner and ended up killing her.

This is how I spent my Sunday.

You know that saying- if you can't be a good example, at least be a bad warning? (or something like that?)

I am a warning for everyone out there if you get too comfortable with your simple life.

I have no life

2009-11-14T17:46:00.003-05:00

So it's a Saturday evening and what am I doing? Watching the top songs of the 90's on VH1.

The 90's was such a transitory time for me that this is bringing back some very eclectic memories.

I started the decade still in college in PA. Then I moved to MA, then GA, then back to MA, then AZ. The three most significant relationships of my life all happened during this decade. Almost each of these songs brings me back to a place or a person. It's been a fun ride.

Like right now- number 39 is Good Riddance by Green Day. This song was popular right after the end of my engagement and when I was planning to move cross country. How perfect was that? Although, like most people, I think I associate it more with the finale of Seinfeld. :) Oh and look, they just showed that! :)

Since I haven't done a shuffle in a while, I think I'll do a few memories for the next handful of songs, how's that sound? Although watch, something irrelevant will come up next. Of course it's now a commercial so we'll just have to wait a bit... (well I will, you won't have to watch a commercial before reading on, but feel free to if you want!)

OK moving on! Everybody Dance Now by C&C Music Factory! One summer I was a "camp counselor" for a fine arts camp for high school kids. I put it in quotes because it was a "camp"that took place at IUP and the kids stayed in the dorm, and I pretty much was an RA. I did get suck in the elevator with 11 of my "campers" and that was fun. But the reason that this song reminds me of that time was because each kid had a major and a minor and I went to watch the dance majors one day and this was the song they were doing. There were 2 guys in the class, one's name was Michael Hunt and he never let anyone call him Mike. Think about it...

Next- Wonderwall, Oasis :) Of course the first thing that popped into my head is Charlie Pace busking it in "Flashes Before Your Eyes" :) But originally the song just reminded me of a time when I lived with a woman from my alumnae chapter and her teenage daughter. The girl, Audrey, is one of the people in my life who I love more than any other human in the world. <3

Next- Third Eye Blind- Semi Charmed Kind of Life- Dan, the guy I dated through the late 90's HATED this song. I just think of him and his seething hate for it. I kinda like it, it's sorta catchy. I just learned now though through VH1 that it's a dirty dirty song about crystal meth. Never listened to anything but the chorus so that's news to me. Go figure.

SPICE GIRLS WANNABE! Sorry, I think I just got a little too excited for this :) I was a national officer for my sorority for a while in the 90's and this was popular at the time. When I went to do a chapter visit this was apparently the chapter's song du jour. You know, the one that all the girls would sing and dance in a circle :) I know that if it was popular during my college era we would have also done the same.

No Diggity- Blackstreet- I have no significant memory of this song. It's got a nice groove though :)

Creep by Radiohead- Again, no real memories with this. Perhaps this means I should be done with this little exercise. We'll see what's next...

Tearing Up My Heart by NSYNC, yeah I'm pretty sure I'm done. I only ever paid attention to one boy band and that was O-Town and that's cuz I got sucked into a marathon one Saturday.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!! Ice Ice Baby!! This was IUP era. Trying to learn all the words to this my friend and I played it over and over from Bethlehem to NJ which we thought was not that far, but we were wrong, it was ENDLESS. But we learned all the words :) Definitely a song I can never hear without smiling :)

so now I'm going to get out of here.. Word to you mother...

Best Cat Ever

2009-11-13T17:59:00.004-05:00

So today I was having a difficult morning and a few tears escaped.

Ringo walked up to me, meowed, and licked the tear off my cheek.

And this is why I am really ok with being a crazy cat lady :)

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!

2009-11-12T17:31:00.002-05:00

My cousin who I posted about the other day uploaded some old family pics today. This might be one of the best pics ever :)

Mary first commented on our hot windbreakers. But I couldn't take my eyes off my snazzy pants. But the other great part has got to be that we both have boxes of animal crackers :)

I also love the azaleas in the background. Even though this was taken where I lived, azaleas always will remind me of my grandmothers place.

There were 2 azalea bushes on either side of my gram's walk in her front yard, smack in the middle of the grassy areas. We would use them as bases, as well as the front porch steps and a tree that was at the across the sidewalk. Or as something to run around when we were playing this other game we made up, Witchypoo (don't ask) that involved chasing someone till they got back home. We played much hopscotch on that front walk, and although the azaleas were not involved in this game, they were sitting right there watching us.

So this pic brought back some seriously happy memories. Plus we look damn cute. :) This is definitely one of my all time favorite pictures now!

This absolutely disgusts me!!

2009-11-11T19:04:00.002-05:00

Today, on Veteran's Day, I got this spam email.

Hello,

Good day and compliments, I know this letter will definitely come to you
as a huge surprise, but I implore you to take the time to go through it
carefully as the decision you make will go off a long way to determine my
future and continued existence.

Please allow me to introduce myself.I am Sgt John Moore, a US Marine
Sgt.serving in the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment which Patrols the
Anbar province, Iraq.I am desperately in need of assistance and I have
summoned up courage to contact you.

I am presently in Iraq and I found your contact particulars in an address
journal. I am seeking your assistance to evacuate the sum of 25million USD
(Twenty Five Million USD) to the States or any safe country,as far as I
can be assured that it will be safe in your care until I complete my
service here.This is no stolen money and there are no dangers involved.

SOURCE OF MONEY:

Some money in various currencies was discovered and concealed in barrels
with piles of weapons and ammunition at a location near one of Saddam
Hussein's old Presidential Palaces during a rescue operation and it was
agreed by all party present that the money be shared amongst us.This might
appear as an illegal thing to do but I tell you what? No compensation can
make up for the risks we have taken with our lives in this hell hole. The
above figure was given to me as my share and to conceal this kind of money
became a problem for me, so with the help of a British contact working
with the UN here(his office enjoys some immunity)I was able to get the
package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble spot.He does not
know the real contents of the package as he believes that it belongs to an
American who died in an air raid,before giving up trusted me to hand over
the package to his close relative.

I have now found a secured way of getting the package out of Iraq for you
to pick up. I do not know for how long I will remain here as I have been
lucky to have survived 2 suicide bomb attacks by Pure Divine
intervention.I will give you 25% of the total sum.

This and other reasons put into consideration have prompted me to reach
out for help. If it might be of interest to you then Endeavor to contact
me and we would work out the necessary formalities but i pray that you are
discreet about this mutually benefiting relationship.My first demand to
you is to ask you for your strict confidentiality on this transaction and
total trust too, these two things are the most important things needed to
conclude this transaction.

Required Details
Full Name:
Full Address:
Phone Number
Get back to me with the above details so that they can make delivery of
the consignment to your Doorstep.
Respectfully,
Sgt. John Moore,
United States Marine Corps. IRAQ.

At least the grammar and spelling isn't horrendous like they normally are in these types of scams, but the fact that they used a soldier's name and whatnot on today in particular, but really any day, is an abhorrence.

Today should be about honoring and thanking, not using to scam. Some people truly truly have a special place in hell for them.

I <3 Sheetz...usually

2009-11-10T18:04:00.005-05:00

For those of you who don't live in a part of the country where Sheetz is, let me tell you about it. From the outside one would think it was simply a gas station/mini mart but OH NO, it is SO MUCH MORE!

Yes, Sheetz has gas, and other minimartesque accouterments but it also the gourmet of convenience stores. This is the type of place you actually want to go for lunch/dinner.

They also tend to have the cleanest bathrooms ever.

The town I went to college in had Sheetz stores on about every other corner, and they really were a college student's wet dream. The "Death Dogs" were 2/$1 and nothing came close to satisfying us on that walk home from the bars at 2am. (well except for their bonus nachos (aka Nachos Buenos)) Every Sheetz memory from 1989-1993 were fantastic ones. And that's before the stores got all fancy like they are now.

After I graduated I would LONG for an MTO (Made to Order Sub- we always pronounced it sounding like we were saying empty oh and nobody had a clue what we meant outside of western PA) At one point when I was living in Atlanta my friend went back to PA for a visit and brought me one back. It didn't travel as well as it could but it was still heaven! Any time I had a chance to go back to that area the first place I hit was Sheetz. When I moved back to PA in 2003 I was in HEAVEN because by then the stores had come more east. I had a part time job on Monday nights that had me driving past one on the way home and I ALWAYS stopped and got my dinner there.

Imagine my joy when Sheetz finally expanded even more, and is actually as far south as North Carolina now! Unfortunately, none of them are particularly convenient to me, but I guarantee you that whenever I am anywhere near one, I stop!

And Sheetz is also my roadtrip pitstop of choice. Like I mentioned earlier, they usually have spotless bathrooms. And cheap gas. So today I had to go to Charlotte for an appointment. Before I left Raleigh I stopped at my corner gas station to fill up, forgetting that I was passing multiple Sheetz stores on my drive. When I drove past one that had gas a FULL 20 CENTS CHEAPER than what I paid I was really kicking myself! (partially cuz Sheetz is cheaper, but moreso because Greensboro is cheaper than Raleigh) and promised myself that was where I would stop on my drive back to re-fill. By the time I drove back home, gas at that same location had gone up 3 cents! I WAS EVEN MORE MAD! But even though the Shell station across the street was 5 cents cheaper than teh Sheetz, I still chose Sheetz due to my love and loyalty.

And I had to pee.

But then, I went inside to use the facilities and the bathroom was FILTHY!! The seats were covered in urine, there was toilet paper shreds all over the floor and the trash can was overflowing.

My heart broke just a little bit today.

I think I will not hold this one horrible location against the rest of the stores I love so much though. And on a whim on my way out I bought a power ball ticket, so if that wins, I will actually LOVE the Mebane Sheetz :)

And now after writing this I am TOTALLY craving a death dog, and if it wasn't leftover hurricane-ing out there I'd be off to get one. Maybe tomorrow :)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-11-09T18:31:00.002-05:00

Still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets and
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet

I am considering making some big changing coming up. I thought I had what I wanted, but it doesn't seem to be what is meant to be...

Scared, excited, not sure which I'm feeling right now. Part of me thinks I'm on the verge of making a huge mistake, but another part of me knows that every step, whether good or bad, is a step towards something. And sitting still just isn't working right now.

And the best part about if I don't like these changes-- I can always make more.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon now you're gonna get older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time

My feet hurt :(

2009-11-08T19:46:00.002-05:00

Long day, crappy shoes. Bad idea.

But it was all in all a good day, and now I'm kicking back in my bed with the kitties about to watch Amazing Race, so I guess I can't complain that much :)

But still...my feet REALLY hurt.

Happy Reunion NPHS class of 89!

2009-11-07T19:24:00.002-05:00

Tonight is the class of 89's 20th year reunion. I know this because of facebook. And because they opened up their last 2 hours of their reunion to all classes. I won't be crashing this one though, like I did for 88. Last year I happened to be in NJ at the time, this year I'm not, so it's definitely not something I would take a trip for.

When I went to my own reunion 2 years ago it was really amazing meeting all those people again. I had NO IDEA what anyone was up to. No clue what they looked like, what they were doing for work, or where they were living. And I think that's part of what made it so cool to go. Every conversation was interesting. Even the boring people ;)

But now since most of my class is on facebook, I wonder what our 25 year will be like. I also wonder what tonight's will be like for the 89ers since I think a huge chunk of them are on too.

If you've seen each others' pictures, read the stati, know their day to day stuff... I almost wonder what's the point of a reunion? There's one going on every day online.

I wonder how fb has changed reunions anymore. Don't get me wrong, as long as I can, I plan on attending my 25th in a few years, but I really think the magic might be missing. We'll just have to wait and see!

Good news / Bad news

2009-11-06T15:31:00.002-05:00

So the good news is, my cousin is pregnant. This is the cousin who was my best friend growing up, that we pretty much lived in each others' pockets for the first 18 years of our lives. She's six months along, and everything is going well, all the tests have come back normal and healthy :)

The bad news is SHE'S SIX MONTHS PREGNANT AND I JUST FOUND OUT TODAY!

How does this happen? This is the girl who I used to take baths with, and now the most important thing that can happen to a woman is happening to her and I DIDN'T KNOW till now!

When I was young my mom was a SAHM and her mom worked, so she and her brother were often hanging with us. Also, we all were very close to my grandmother so we all spent OODLES of time there. We lived close to each other, and seriously spent ALL THE TIME together.

The extended family fell apart a bit after my grandmother died, but I never imagined that Mary and I would be so distant that something like this could happen and I wouldn't know.

Granted, I live in another state now, we really haven't been wicked tight since the 80's, but still. Wow.

She had no idea I didn't know. She assumed I would have heard through her mom. I don't know yet if her mom thought Mary should be the one to tell, or if she told my mom to tell me and she dropped the ball, but wow.

It makes me so sad how fractured our family has become over the years.

I really hope that my life lines up right that I can make it up to Jersey for the shower, which probably won't be till January she said.

I hope the kid is born on my birthday :)

I have some good friends :)

2009-11-05T19:40:00.002-05:00

So today I went to check the mail... There were some lame things, some icky things, and a card.

I've had a bad October, and for the most part I've been keeping it quiet. Very few peoples know the details of what was going on, and today there was a card from one of them.

It also included a bottle of wine. Ok not, really, it included $10 with instructions to go pick up a bottle of wine with that cash.

It made me really happy :) She did this once before when I was having a bad week, and the instructions were to get wine and cake with the cash. We're both doing weight watchers now though, so I guess that's why no cake this time :) And hey, it means I can get a slightly better bottle ;)

The best part about this card though wasn't the wine that went with it, it was the reminder that even when things seem crappy, I am reminded that I am, in fact, blessed and lucky. With good friends, how can I be anything but?

Happy Birthday Sesame Street

2009-11-04T18:10:00.002-05:00

I really was struggling for inspiration today. (what else is new?)

And then I had to google something. And there was a googledoodle today :)

It's the 40th birthday of Sesame Street!

Which made me take pause and realize, that I am 10 months older than Big Bird. Who would have thought it?

One of my happiest childhood memories involves going to a mall or something (that part of the memory is fuzzy) and meeting Bob and getting a hug from him. One word- SWOON! :)

So happy birthday to all of the people in the Sesame Street neighborhood!!

I may need to use this method more often

2009-11-03T16:53:00.002-05:00

I need to make commitments and have accountability to get off my ass and do things sometimes. It nagged at me all day that I had promised to show the pic of my counter, and so I finally forced myself to do it. And now I'm really happy :) Look at how nice and clean it looks!!

Tomorrow, expect a picture of an empty laundry basket!!

So in other news, there really is no news. I spent the afternoon IMing with a friend from my past who's into interesting geek-like activities* and she was telling me about Steam Punks. I had never heard of them before, here's an explaination...

Steampunk is a sci-fi genre based on an alternate universe in which technology advanced along mechanical lines, not digital as we have today. It generally refers to a culture with technology powered by steam, often with dark, grim and dystopian themes.

Steampunk is derived from the fashion and technology of the Victorian era, but frequently includes aspects from other eras and cultures such as the wild west cowboys and swashbuckling pirates. Steampunk fashion uses accessories and attention to detail that conveys the use of technology through mechanical means.

For pictures, here is a Steampunk Fashion Show.

I love that I have friend's with such varied interests. I wonder if I'd have the balls to dress up in one of these outfits and sell it like these people can. I'd like to think I could, but I don't know. I think I've become somewhat lame in my old age. Plus I'm more likely to rock a tiara and boa then peacock feathers ;)

So who else out there has heard of this or something similar? I wanna see more!

*do not take offense to my calling her and her activities a geek. She is actually a member of a local chapter of a Geek Society and recently went to a Geek Gala. :)

My cleaned off counter!

2009-11-03T16:43:00.001-05:00

Breakfast for lunch

2009-11-02T12:24:00.002-05:00

So I have been on a huge breakfast kick lately. Blame the sale on pre-cooked, just nuke it for a few seconds Oscar Meyer bacon at Target. I love all things breakfast! Pancakes, Waffles, French Toast, eggs... bring it on!!

Today's lunch consisted of French Toast and Bacon. Back in the day I used to pride myself on making the Best! French! Toast! Ever! (quick aside- recent line in some tv show {Flash Forward I think?} French Toast- toast of love!) But lately I have become lazy. My FT is yummy, don't get me wrong, but no longer the best. How does one make the best? Well I shall give you some of my secrets...(but not all, cuz then I'd have to kill you!)

Challah. This stuff is already yummy, so it's a good base to start with. (My first Challah experience was when I was working at the Brick Oven Bake Shop {click link for photo of the sign and the blog of the dude I met working there back in the 80's} and we had this bread slicer and I found this to be the most challenging bread to slice. Occasionally I would try to convince people it was better for them to slice it themselves at home, thicker than our slicer would do. Most people would go for it! hee)
Korinje Cinnamon. WAY better than the normal stuff. I buy mine from Pampered Chef. It rawks. (this is the same type of cinnamon they use in Cinnabon's)
A wee bit of vanilla extract

Unfortunately I cannot give away the rest of my tricks, but those three will most likely give you really really good french toast.

So when I was making mine today I was using "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter". I usually use real butter, but I prefer the whipped kind. The last time I was out of butter I was at Kmart, and not a grocery store, so I picked this up because it was all they had. And it's not horrible. But I do believe it's not butter. Although it's not like the margarine of my youth. Do y'all remember that stuff? It had it's distinct chemical taste that was NOTHING like butter and yet I LOVED IT! My mom though was a very loyal butter buyer and so I never got to have it. If I went to a sleep over at someone's house who had it I always wanted toast slathered with the stuff for breakfast. I know, I'm a freak. I sometimes wonder if these early gobs of margarine are somewhat responsible for my high cholesterol of today? It's possible. (or it could be the bacon...but I shared that with RSK, so I'm sure it's not that! :) ) ANYWAY, I recommend whipped butter for your best french toast.

So there have it. Now go forth and have breakfast for dinner. :)

Oh and in other news, I was noticing how much crap I have on my kitchen counter. In an effort to force me to clean it up, I am telling you all now that tomorrow I will post a picture of my kitchen counter. Since I wouldn't want to be embarrassed by what it looks like now, that will force me to clear it off :) YAY! (I'm sure you don't really want to see a pic of my counter, but if this is what I need to do to get things done, I'm doing it!) Till then...

Happy BloMo (take 4)!

2009-11-01T11:10:00.003-05:00

This is the fourth year I'm joining in on NationalBlogPostingMonth and this is the first year I'm a wee bit worried. Yeah, I've done a few other random months, but they don't count, THIS is the real month.

But as anyone can see, I've been really out of blogging the past few months. I have been having some ideas to blog about though the last few weeks, so that's something promising :)

Today though, I don't have too much to say unfortunately.

Why is this? Because on Thursday evening I got food poisoning. And have spent the last 4 days sick. Not a lot to report due to that.

I know it's food poisoning because I shared a wee bit of my chicken with RSK and he too has been spending a bit of quality time in the litter box. Thank GOD he only had a wee bit of the chicken and 2 visits to the box, so I don't feel like the worstest of worst mom's. Still feel pretty bad though.

So I decided to call the place I got the food from to give them a heads up. I didn't want to say that I knew it was their food because my cat and I got sick, so I said 2 of the three of us ate it and we are the two who got sick. I thought that sounded better. The place thanked me for letting them know, and said they'd look into it. I seriously doubt they will though, unless other people call them too.

Anyway, don't worry about me, I'm staying way hydrated and doing ok. I apologize for my first post of the month being about something so unappealing, but hey, try living it for 4 days :P

So good luck to everyone else this month! I'm getting excited to start reading some new blogs and trying to be more creative with mine! And for FINALLY winning a prize this year! (It can happen, right?)

a mighty hunter strikes again!

2009-10-13T13:44:00.001-04:00

I started this post over a week ago and never got back to it! Sheesh! I am such a slacker!!

Anyway, 2 Mondays ago I decided to have my first fire of the season. It was a dreary, windy night, seemed perfect. As I was arranging the logs in the fireplace I heard what I thought was wind up in the chimney, paused for a minute wondering if it was too windy for the fire, but then decided it was fine.

So I lit the fire. Seconds later, a fast, black blur came flying out of the chimney, and through into the kitchen and up into the window under the curtains.

I yelped, and kept repeating to myself "please don't be a bat, please don't be a bat".

I opened the kitchen-to-porch door hoping it would fly to the porch, and then I could open the porch-to-outside door and problem would be solved. It didn't fly out immediately so I came into the other room to a)give it some privacy so it would not be afraid to fly outside and b)hide and c)update my facebook status.

A few moments later I heard the muffled meow of a mighty hunter. You know that sound? The one that sounds like they have a mouthful of recent kill? Yeah that.

Next thing I see- Ringo Stu walking in with a mouthful of black. I continued my chant "please don't be a bat, please don't be a bat" and slowly peeked at what he proudly dropped at my feet.

THANK GOD IT WASN'T A BAT!

Sadly, though, it was a Chimney Swift, which is, in fact, an endangered species.

So I was afraid Ringo might be wanted by the feds till someone pointed out that he was just protecting us from a home invasion.

So we're safe, we've had one more fire since then with no other unwanted visitors, and all is well.

(Well, unless you're that poor Chimney Swift)

times when I should keep my mouth shut...

2009-09-28T23:15:00.000-04:00

So I kinda had a bad day. Ok, no kinda about it. Other than my dentist visit which revealed no cavities even after it's been 18 months since I had a cleaning due to no dental insurance...

But yeah, something I did, with the best intentions, ended up hurting someone I liked. Yes, he had culpability in the whole scenario, but it shouldn't have turned out how it did, plain and simple.

SO I keep telling myself it's not my fault, he made the choices he made. But I still feel like shit.

So I had a few glasses of wine. And then I shared more than I should have about a completely different topic with someone who probably wasn't ready to hear what I had to say.

So really , I would like to turn back time and add some duct tape to my mouth. Can this be arranged?

what can I say?

2009-09-21T18:42:00.003-04:00

I know I totally have neglected this for way too long. But my life has pretty much become just a bunch of stuff I don't/won't/can't put out there for the whole interwebs to read so I've just avoided writing anything.

I hate this too. So much going on, yet nothing to share. But I have to say I've been blessed with some very amazing friends who have lent their ears through it all. I don' t know what I would have done without them.

Here's hoping that soon enough the drama will be gone, and all that's left will be good and I'll be back to posting regularly :)

So let's see what else? I have a doctor's appointment for my sinus infection AGAIN. I have failed 3 different courses of antibiotics. I'm not a happy camper about failing the last one either, because that was a $50 copay! At least I have health insurance though, so I guess I can't complain THAT much! I also have been bruising wicked easily- I currently have 2 finger marks on my arm just from where I gave my arm to a patient to help the patient sit up. It's not like they squeezed super hard or anything, I just bruised. I have so many on my legs you'd think I was taking a hammer to them. So I think I need some bloodwork done for that. I'm sure it's nothing, if anything my body is just angry from having this stupid infection for so long, but I still think I want some peace of mind.

So in good news, fall tv season is starting! Tonight is House and I'm insanely excited :) There are a bunch of shows I plan on giving a try this season, I wonder how many I'll last with through October. I am getting WAY psyched for Lost, even though that's still a ways away. ABC seems to be doing some Lost school for dorks, at Lostuniversity.com which I will be enrolling in. That should keep me busy til it returns in January. I really want the LU hoodie for Christmas- I love that the school mascot is a polar bear.

Well I guess that's about it. Maybe till life gets more open again, I'll keep this blog about tv shows that I watch :) Perhaps I'll give a review of House tomorrow :) Till next time...

Sorry for being MIA

2009-07-17T13:08:00.007-04:00

And for once it's not because I've been blue. Life has actually been pretty swell since the last time I posted!

I got a new job! YAY! I actually got hired over 3 weeks ago, but am not starting till this coming Monday. I'm disappointed that it's not a travel gig, that I had to give up that dream, but I can always go back to it some day. So it's a local permanent job and everyone I've met so far is super super nice, and I'm really looking forward to getting back to work. Although I confess I am a bit nervous. I know it'll be great though, right?

And then because I had 3 weeks before starting, I headed up to Jersey to visit family and for a friend's birthday celebration.

I have a hunch I will not be driving back up there for quite some time. We had some peeing in the car issues (Ringo, not me) and I just don't have the patience for many of the little nuances of Jersey that I used to.

I still had a great time though :) My friend's birthday was down the shore, I got to spend time with people I've known forever but haven't talked to in close to forever and that was great :) Unfortuately my fabulous sunglasses were sacrificed to the party gods, but I guess it was worth it :)

The night before I left I met up with an old friend at Bowcraft Playland and Amusement Park, a small amusement park we used to go to growing up. In HS there were some friends who worked there who referred to the place as Blowcraft Slaveland and Abusement Park. :)

It was quite the time warp being there. Kinda scary how little the place has changed in 30 years though. One of the parks attractions was a little train that made it's way around and there were all these "animals" it went past. Kinda like a pseudo safari. There was a pond that had some water creatures there- an alligator, a hippo, some flamingo's a jumping dolphin... now it's a grassy area and the same animals are still there. They look a bit odd, but whatever :) I didn't get a good shot of the "deep water" area, but here is the seal and duck and seahorse.

My favorite creature though was the Polar Bear. Apparently he can't stand on his own anymore, so they have him tied to a tree, with the rope going around his neck. I believe he's actually more intimidating now than he ever was. Poor guy.

A good time was had by all though. At one point I saw a kid sneeze right onto the hand rail, and thought it was kinda funny. Now I seem to be sick, so it's less funny. Hopefully I'll be healthy by Monday though!

Anyway, there you go with a quick update of what I've been up to since going MIA! I'll try and be better and get back in the swing of regular updates :) I'm guessing I'll have some stuff to say soon about how the new job is going! Plus I might actually start to have a bit more of a life since I'll be leaving the house :) YAY!

I can't win...

2009-06-16T21:54:00.002-04:00

So lately I've been all about drinking my 8 glasses of water a day. (GO ME!)

I have a cup that fits 16 oz, so I just need to drink 4 of those. Easy right?

I kept losing track of how many I had drunk.

So I had a brilliant idea- I got rubberbands, and I would put one around the cup each time I drank one.

Now I keep forgetting if I had already put the rubberband on or not.

I think I've had 10-14 glasses of water a day because of my total airheadedness. I may have set a new world record for how many times peeing in one day. I make sure I get my 8 (that I have actually counted, but more like 10 or 12) early enough that it doesn't disrupt my sleep. But it still does.

The good news is I'm very well hydrated!

Contrary to popular belief, Kmart doesn't suck...

2009-06-14T23:03:00.002-04:00

However, Rite Aid still does.

Today I switched my prescription to the Kmart pharmacy because I never heard back from Rite Aid that they addressed my issue with them.

I go to Kmart just about every week to buy cat food (yes, it's cheaper there than anywhere else I've found, although the litter is way more expensive than the grocery store, go figure) so it's just as convenient to go there. Plus they gave me a $20 in gift cards for transferring my script, so it's win/win!

Oh and a bonus- my prescription at Kmart was 68 cents cheaper than at Rite Aid and it only took her about 4 minutes to fill it :)

So although Rite Aid Eric was great for reaching out, somewhere after him a ball got dropped. RA Eric, I'm sorry your company sucks. But at least you get paid to google :)

Not like before...

2009-06-09T00:15:00.002-04:00

So back in jr high, high school and college I was a big journaler. I realized though that I really only wrote when I was blue. In fact, if one were to read those journals, one would think that I was the most depressed person on earth.

But the fact was that I didn't need to write when things were going well. I used that writing to get through the bad times. It worked for me.

Of course once someone did happen to read one it ruined it all for me. I never felt safe again putting those deepest, darkest emotions down on paper again.

When I first started this blog I mentioned that. And I said that if I wrote knowing people would read, that maybe I would be able to do some type of journal again, although this time it would be an online one.

If you have been a long time reader though, you have seen times when I don't write for a while. And you know what's going on during those times? Unlike my previous journaling life, those are not the times I'm happiest. Those are the tough times when I just can't bring myself to write here. I can't truly share my sadness with the blogosphere, so I just stay away.

So yeah, it's been a tough couple of weeks for me. I got my hopes raised for something amazing and then they were smashed and crumbled. It's really hard to keep having hope when stuff like that happens, you know? And everyone kept saying stuff like "it wasn't meant to be" or "something better will come along". But you know what? There's only so many times I can hear those platitudes before they drive me freaking nuts. Sometimes, it just sucks. Plain and simple.

I also had some anniversaries that caused some introspection.

None of this is stuff I really wanted to put out there in specific details.

But I felt like I should check in and say that I'm alive, I'm surviving, and I hope to get some hope back soon... I'd really love to have lots of happy stuff to write about.

Another Friday Shuffle

2009-05-22T20:43:00.002-04:00

So my shuffle today is pretty random, as usual. No Dar, which is very unusual, but 2 Susan Werners to make up for her. And thing about these two is they were cowritten by Greg Simon who happens to be a friend of a friend of mine. Weird he cowrote two songs, and that they both showed up here. Both are phenomenal songs that really can make one think, I recommend doing your best to find both of them. Or if you can't find them, ask me and I'll email them to you. Susan Werner is an AMAZING artist and I recommmend that each and every one of you find her stuff and learn to love it as much as I have :) Anyway, I was going to do memories, but none of these songs trigger significant ones, so I'll go with lyrics this week.

I see no theme going on, anyone else see one?

Soldier of Love - Donny Osmond
I've got a restless spirit that nobody can own.
Every picture tells a story
won't you listen to mine ?
I'm searching for the answer but it's so hard to find.
You'll see much deeper when you read between the lines

Like Bonsai - Susan Werner
Some trees were meant to reach
Reach up for the sky
Some trees we trim to keep them pretty
Like bonsai, like bonsai

Baby Give it Up - KC and the Sunshine Band
Everybody wants you
Everybody wants your love
I'd just like to make you mine all mine
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na,
Baby give it up
Give it up, Baby give it up

Heart of Lothian/Wide Boys/Curtain Call - Marillion
It's six o'clock in the tower blocks
Stalagmites of culture shock
And the trippers of the light fantastic, bow down, hoe-down
Spray their pheromones on this perfume uniform

And anarchy smiles in the Royal Mile
And they're waiting on the slyboys, flyboys, wideboys
Rooting, tooting cowboys
Lucky little ladies at the watering holes
They'll score the Friday night goals

Raspberry Beret - Prince
Seems that I was busy doing something close to nothing
But different than the day before
That's when I saw her, ooh, I saw her
She walked in through the out door, out door

Forever Young - Alphaville
Let's dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

Surfin Safari - Beach Boys
Early in the morning we'll be startin out
Some honeys will be comin' along
We're loadin' up my woody
with the boards inside
and heading out singing our song

The Great Out There - Susan Werner
Oh when you get there, is there a there there?
Do people care there, are people aware there?
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there?

I'll Tumble 4 Ya - Culture Club
I get a crazy feeling
That chases in my head
Its nothing that you do to me
Its nothing that you said
Its love in stereo

Paper Bag - Anna Nalick
But someday we'll all be old
And I'll be so damn beautiful
Meanwhile I'll hide my head
Here in this paper bag

Cause if I can't see you then you can't see me

18 things I figured people would know....but I thought wrong

2009-05-21T17:52:00.004-04:00

So the latest facebook thing is these quizzes about oneself for friends to take. the first one I did nobody got over 50% and most got like 12%. The second one people did better, but nobody got 100% yet. SO here I will give all the answers to both and then if you haven't already taken them, you can go and impress the hell out of everyone...

I have lived in 10 states. NJ, NY, PA, MA, GA, AZ, MD, VT, NC and TX.

I went through 4 different majors- Psych, CDFR, and Education at IUP and then Nuclear Medicine at LGC.

My first kitten's name was Mittens. We had him (her? I don't remember) for a very short time. She scratched the crap out of everything in the house, including me, so my mom gave her away.

My first celeb crush was on Mr. Rogers. I loved when he sang "You Can Never Go Down the Drain"

I have only been to 2 other countries other than the US- Canada and Mexico. I still don't have a passport. I wish I had traveled more and hopefully someday I will.

I do not have a middle name.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Garnets. Not only are they my birthstone, but they are my "power stone". I wear them every day, and I carry some in my pocket when I feel like I need extra strength.

I have a purple Saturn. I fell in love with it because it was Purple.

I have a travelling Teddy Bear named Oatmeal. I also refer to him often as "The Oatster". He rawks. Not only does he travel with me anywhere I go, but I sleep with him every night.

In college we were all about the Kool Aid and Purplesaurus Rex is my favorite. It's basically grape lemonade.

I have never seen Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi, the only reason I ever saw Star Wars was because I lost a bet. I have never seen any of the Indiana Jones movies. I also never saw Top Gun. I do LOVE Wizard of Oz and essentially would consider that my favorite movie.

I saw NKOTB in concert at Great Adventure when I took my mom's friend's daughter (who now I consider my friend but back then she was way younger than I was) I saw The Police in 2007, I saw Billy Joel with my friend, her mom, and her grandmom. I always thought it was neat that his music appealed to 3 generations. I saw Bob Dylan when the Alarm opened for him. I only stayed for a few songs cuz he really doesn't do it for me. Plus it was at an outdoor arena and yet I was getting a contact buzz. I have always wanted to see REM but I have either not had the money or someone to go with when they were around, or they didn't come to where I was when I did have the money or people to go with. Perhaps someday.

I have never been to the pacific northwest. I really hope to make it there in the not too distant future. At one point towards the end of college I considered moving to Seattle- hell it was the early 90's, who didn't want to live there then? But I never got around to it. Remember, I am very fickle and have geography ADD.

First job ever was at the Brick Oven Bake Shop. First mall job was at Victoria's Secret. I still have my giant terry robe that I got that first Christmas that I worked there. Seamus has torn it up so there are tons of strings sticking off of it, but I can't bear to give it up. My mom keeps buying me new robes which I will wear, but when they get old I go back to this ancient one. Go figure. I then worked as a manager for Bath and Body Works, and when I wanted to leave there I thought I should choose a job where I wouldn't spend half my paycheck.... so I got a job at Gymboree. Right when my best friend had a baby. She was very well dressed, and I spent a nice chunk of my paycheck there after all. Never worked at the Body Shop.

I just got a brand new cell phone and it's purple. I love love love it! Not just because it's purple, but I do love that about it too. It's QWERTY (which is fun to type, try it!) and I used to hate texting but now I do it daily :)

I think the first time I ever really swooned over guyliner was David Cook. But now I love it. Love Ricarus Alpert's rocking of it, and last night I LOVED Adam Lambert's glass shard looking guyliner. hot! hot! hot!

We all know who the fabulous Lost actor is who left a comment here. YAY Jorge!!

And I actually won't talk about the last one here. I try to keep certain details of my life out of this blog, and that's one of them. Since I work with a local chapter and have mentioned some details of that on here, and wasn't necessarily the most positive about some of the people involved, I am pleading the fifth. If you want to know, go look at my flair on my fb profile.
So there you go! 18 random lame facts about myself. Now go kick booty on the quizzes!! :)

I totally get it now

2009-05-20T17:44:00.003-04:00

So about 2 months ago my friend gave me the first 3 Twilight books to read. I have resisted a bit because I usually can't get on board with something so trendy. Plus I had some resentments towards them using and thus branding the name "Twilight" because that was a name I used on the interwebs back in the early 90's. I felt like they stole it from me!

Plus I liked vampires back during the whole Lestat era and couldn't really see it getting much better than that. I mean c'mon, a rockstar vampire who the author used Sting as inspiration? Plus Anne Rice has some pretty amazing characters even if her writing is wordy as all get out.

I remember in college we read Queen of the Damned and decided it would make an awesome movie and "casted" it. Needless to say when the movie came out our choices were MUCH better than the ones they went with. In fact, I didn't even bother with the movie. I saw Interview and really couldn't get on board with Tom Cruise so it kinda killed the whole series for me.

I did recently stumble across a new book in the series, it was actually Lestat and the Mayfair Witches together. I thought it kinda sucked, but it was an abridged audio version, so perhaps the real one was better. Dunno. Anyway, I figured I was over Vampires.

And then I ran out of stuff to read. So I turned to the Twilight books I'd held on to for a few months.

And now I get it. I cant explain it, but I get it. I think that there is some kind of spell woven into these books. I have never been as invested in characters as I became in these. It was almost as if I was literally feeling the same emotions Bella was having. I was falling in love with a fictional character. Odd. Last night I stayed up till 5am to read the second one. I am completely captivated.

Oh and since I didn't see the movie or even really pay attention to ads for it I don't really see those actors as these characters. For some reason, as I was reading I realized that I started picturing Adam Lambert as Edward. I know Edward's hair is supposed to have more red in it, but can't you see Adam as a hot vampire? Even though I know he prefers to smooch boys instead of girls, he is perfect for the role of Edward in my mind. So there it is.

And even though I don't really care who wins on Idol tonight, I think they are both equally talented and deserving, a sneaking part of me that has a crush on Edward Cullen wants Adam to win because of that. I know, I'm pathetic. I do think that Kris might win though... We shall see!!

And now I'm going to read a bit before the Idol finale :)

Friday Shuffle... Multiple Personality Disorder version

2009-05-15T02:00:00.002-04:00

So I am in another cycle of insomnia. Kinda sucks. But it could be worse, I could have to get up early tomorrow...

So I decided to write a post, but wasn't really feeling a topic, so since it's technically Friday, I thought I'd go with the old fallback, Friday Shuffle.

I did the shuffling before starting to write because I wanted to see if there as some type of theme that came up that would lead me to a decent topic. The only thing this shows is that I have the most random taste in music, EVER.

One thing surprised me though, TWO (2) songs from the Lost Mix that Barb made me that I have now added to my itunes showed up. Weird, right? And of course 2 Dar Williams songs showed up too, because she likes to be on Friday Shuffles. Also, 2 Frat party dancing songs, 2 Atlanta songs and 2 songs that remind me of concerts I've been to and 2 songs that remind me of jobs I've had...weird so I guess it's the MPD/Noah's Ark version actually :)

Since the lyrics on these songs are so very very random, rather than doing lyric quotes along with each, I'll just do a memory that goes with each song :)

1. And a God Descended - Dar Williams
honestly, no particular memory with this song, just Dar in general makes me think of my friends Amanda and Blakely

2. You All Everybody - Drive Shaft
when I watched the first season of Lost I did it all in one weekend, right before the second season started. That was the best weekend... no commercials, and no waiting for the next episode! I can't believe I have to wait 8 months for it to come back!! NO FAIR!

3. I Need Love - LL Cool J
freshman year at Hofstra, I'd give more details, but I'd rather keep them to myself ;)

4. Wild Wild West - Kool Moe Dee
This song is one of the ultimate beer slop soaked fraternity basement dancing songs.

5. Leavin On Your Mind - Patsy Cline
Another Lost song :) But it actually reminds me more of (going way back here...) yesterday :) I spent most of the day listening to the Lost CD Barb made me then watched the season finale which was pretty damn good...

6. Teen Angst - Cracker
Atlanta. This song was ubiquitous on 99x, the radio station I was devoted to. Saw Cracker 2x in concert too, but not on purpose, once was when they played with the Spin Doctors and Gin Blossoms (aka the Spin, Gin, and Crack tour) and the other time was the WBCN River Rave. They are pretty decent live :)

7. I Can Love You Better - Dixie Chicks
This was a Bath and Body Works song. I was a manager there for several years and we had these tapes we had to play... some months were better than others and got played A LOT. Plus they repeated every few hours so I'd hear the same songs 2-4 times in a shift. It still amazes me that I still love many songs from BBW tapes...

8. Monkey Man - Special Beat
Special Beat opened for Sting one year...It was either the Soul Cages or Ten Sumner's Tales tour, their music makes you want to move.

9. Put Me Down - Cranberries
Atlanta again, but not 99x. I had a great job for a while...I worked for a guy who was an amazing man, but a crappy businessman. The company closed after just a few short months, due to many reasons, but while I was there I had a few CD's I was obsessed with and played constantly, this was on one of them...

10. Better Things - Dar Williams
My favorite Dar song... I cannot be in a bad mood when I hear this song, so I have used it MANY MANY times to bring me up, I can't even begin to choose just one, but many times I blasted this on the way to or from work on a bad day.

and a bonus because it made me smile:
Someday I Suppose - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
This song should remind me of an ex boyfriend because he put it on a mix tape for me, but it actually reminds me of another guy who will always hold a place in my heart for many reaswons... most of which I will not get into here, but one being that he was the stop/stayover on my St Louis leg of my cross country drive :D

Ok since I've been writing this, 2 U2 songs and a second Cracker song have played. What is up with all these pairs? Kinda cool though :) The one that's on now, Get Off This, has lyrics that fit a recent post of mine, so I will leave you with those lyrics:

Let's get off this,
And get on with it,
If you wanna change the world
Shut yer mouth and start to spin it
Get off this
Get on with it
If you wanna change the world
Shut your mouth and start this minute

I'm so cranky even I don't want to be around me

2009-05-11T15:34:00.003-04:00

No big reason, although lots of little reasons I guess.

It just sucks. No more good mood for me.

I may be being overly sensitive, but I'm feeling a bit of hurt feelings over something nonspecific. I hate feeling this way.

Also...

I have been waiting for 3 days (not counting the weekend) for a phone call. I have a hunch it won't happen today either which means tomorrow is another day of waiting. I hate waiting. I'd almost even rather it be bad news than to keep being in this state of limbo.

Ringo just jumped up, stood on my chest and burped in my face. Thank GOD I love him or I'd be even crankier, but he just gave me my first smile of the day. Cat's rock.

Celebrity blog comments and a broken meower...

2009-05-09T13:48:00.002-04:00

So as y'all can see, I dedicated my blog post yesterday to the fabulous Jorge Garcia and it worked! Googlebot alerted him and he left a comment!! I like that he took the time to actually reply. It's so nice to see a celebrity who is still down to earth. I was a fan before, but I am a HUGE fan now. It totally made my night and I love that he thanked me for thanking him. So now I am thanking him for thanking me for thanking him. This could be endless ;) I realize I didn't mention that there is an expiration on my invitation...if I do end up moving away from here next June. Since I doubt his visit will ever happen, I don't think it'll be an issue though :)

So regarding the broken meower... poor Ringo Stu Kitty has laryngitis again. So here is where I tell my REALLY BAD JOKE... ready? "When is a kitty not a kitty? When it's hoarse!" HAHAHA! Ok yeah, I warned you it was really bad.

For those of you who have been long time readers, you know that RSK has chronic pancreatitis. For the last 10 days or so he's been having a bit of a flare up. Fortunately he doesn't get REALLY sick, but he does puke a lot. He eats a lot too- he is not a normal cat, but when we first started dealing with this it was because of his ravenous appetite... I thought he might have been hyperthyroid from the volume of food he was eating and the weight loss going along with it....turns out he was puking up everything and that's why he was always hungry. So we just need to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated and is not losing weight, and we can just sorta glide through these flare ups.

Well the plentiful puking leads to him having no voice. Now any of you who have ever met him, or who have ever talked to me on the phone know that he is a TALKATIVE kitty. But after mucho pukes, he gets all raspy and squeaky, but yet he still keeps trying to talk, which is really funny and quite pathetic. I do feel bad laughing at my sick kitty....a bit. But since he seems fine overall, I know he's not really sick (if he gets lethargic we worry) so it's ok to laugh a little.

And he loves when I laugh, he comes up and gives me bonks and stuff and so I have no guilt :)

So that's my story today. I am the coolest blogger ever because Jorge Garcia left me a comment, and I am a quasi mean mom because I laugh at my kitty with the broken meower.

Life's ok :)

A blog post about Jorge Garcia

2009-05-08T16:21:00.002-04:00

I am going to mention his name more than a few times because he googles himself and I'd love to see if he actually finds this post... this post about Jorge Garcia...

So why is this blog post about Jorge Garcia? Well other than the fact that he's a fabulous actor and plays one of my favoritest characters in the history of TV, it's because I just discovered his blog.

The other day my friend Barb posted a list of songs she was burning onto a Lost themed CD... and I saw that "You All Everybody" was missing from her list. When I asked her about it she told me she couldn't locate it. So of course, being the dork that I am, I had to find it, download it, then email it to her. She was wicked excited and we started emailing back and forth about the show, as we are both HUGE fans. I had commented to her about how much I adore all scenes with Miles and Hurley because I LOVE both of their characters separately, and together they are hysterical :)

So Barb replied and asked if I had seen the pictures he had posted of the two of them on his blog. I hadn't even known Jorge Garcia HAD a blog, so I promptly had to go :)

I spent several hours last night and this morning reading the entire thing, and now I appreciate him more than I even would have expected! Even if you aren't a Lost fan, you should go check it out!

Interestingly enough, last night I was discussing the Topsy Turvey tomato thingies with a friend and Jorge Garcia actually reviews them on his blog. I had always been tempted to get them, because I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some fresh garden tomatoes and being that I live in a second floor penthouse I don't have a yard. I thought that would work nicely on my porch. Sadly though, Jorge Garcia gives them a thumbs down. I am glad though that I never spent my money on them. I'll just have to head up to Jersey this summer and get some tomatoes there. Interestingly enough, my mom's friend has the best tomatoes in the world in her garden. No joke! I assume she has magic dirt or something? Anyway, everyone agrees who's ever tasted one that Wanda has the best. And she always hooks me up whenever I go up to visit my mom.

Ok, enough with the tomato tangent...

Jorge, I hope you found your way here through your googlebot. (I think I wrote your name enough times!) I just wanted to thank you for bringing so much laughter and so many smiles into my life first through Hurley, and now through your blog. You totally rock! And if you're ever in the Triangle Area of NC, drop me a line and I'd love to take you out for some Carolina Barbecue (different from everywhere else in the world!) and a drink at the Best Wine Bar anywhere (ok I'm biased cuz my friend owns it) (but Colin Firth was there last week so it can't suck...(ok he was only there cuz they are filming in the area, and I would have rathered if it had been Andrew McCarthy who had gone, since I've loved him since St Elmo's, but don't tell Colin that he totally doesn't do it for me, but anyway...) and they held the Mammoth Records 21st birthday party at their other location the week before...) Anyway, thanks again for the smiles. Oh and tell your girlfriend I read her blog too and loved her post about driving far far far for a turkey sammich :)

And for everyone else who's interested, here is Barb's fabu Lost CD mix. She's sending me a copy since I hooked her up with Drive Shaft and I can't wait to get it!!

1. Joe Purdy - Wash Away
2. Driveshaft - You All Everybody
3. Damien Rice - Delicate
4. Patsy Cline - Leavin' On Your Mind
5. Bob Marley - Redemption Song
6. Mama Cass - Make Your Own Kind of Music
7. The Drifters - Up On The Roof
8. Dave Matthews Band - Stay (Wasting Time)
9. Staind - Outside
10. Petula Clark - Downtown
11. Sarah McLachlan - Building A Mystery
12. Ryan Adams - Wonderwall (couldn't find the Charlie Pace cover!)
13. The Hollies - Carrie-Anne
14. Nirvana - Scentless Apprentice
15. Buddy Holly - Everyday
16. Pixies - Gouge Away
17. Geronimo Jackson - Dharma Lady
18. Blues Image - Ride Captain Ride
19. Albert Hammond - It Never Rains in Southern California
20. Captain & Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together
21. The Fray - You Found Me (Season 5 Promo video: http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=index&clipId=156898)

Here's a pet peeve...

2009-05-05T12:33:00.002-04:00

People who bitch and bitch and bitch about things but do nothing to try and fix them.

If you're miserable, fix it.

If you don't like the way the world around you is... do something proactive.

But bitching is not going to get you anywhere but alienated from your friends who are sick of listening to you bitch.

That's all, thanks for letting me vent :)

disappointment

2009-04-29T08:14:00.003-04:00

That's today for me.

And when I was asked "you're mad, aren't you?" and my answer was that I was not mad, but disappointed, I realize I'd rather be mad.

With anger you can feel it, and then let it go. Disappointment is a bit of anger but with a whole lot of sadness. And unfortunately, it lingers.

With anger you can totally put the blame on someone else. But with disappointment there is no real blame.

Anyway, it totally blows.

So perhaps just THAT Rite Aid sucks...

2009-04-24T13:38:00.003-04:00

Someone from Rite Aid who did read my blog post has reached out to me for more information. I hope that he is not just blowing smoke up my butt and pretending to care.

I think I maybe be making this my mission to get that list changed.

That pharmacist never should have told me to "just worry about myself" (sic)

That is what made me realize just how important it is to make sure that nobody else has to deal with a situation similar to mine. (I feel like John Locke on Lost-- "DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T DO!")

So thanks to Rite Aid Eric for reaching out to me, and I look forward to hearing how this was resolved.

And I wonder, is your whole job to google your company and follow up on what people say about them? That's actually pretty cool. Technology may be deleting some jobs, but look how it's brought new ones into existence! So what's your title? Chief Googler for Customer Service?

and yet...another reason why Rite Aid sucks...

2009-04-22T19:20:00.002-04:00

So Rite Aid has been googling themselves and found their way here.

They now know that I was given the wrong drug just because it was "on the list" and that I got appallingly scolded by the pharmacist for trying to make her understand that it was still wrong even if it was on the list.

And yet, they did not care enough to leave a comment to try and contact me to find which location this was.

Way to be on top of things guys!!

Rite Aid sucks

2009-04-21T16:11:00.002-04:00

So I got my correct prescription today, along with a scolding from the Rite Aid pharmacist. She showed me her list which she thought proved she was right. I explained that I believed her that the list said so, but it is NOT the same thing but she told me that the list said it was.

Aren't pharmacists supposed to be educated? Shouldn't she have grasped the concept?

So here's the whole story...

From the years 1998 - 2004 I had 5 surgeries and lost one ovary due to endometriosis. This is a condition that is often treated with hormone manipulation because estrogen is the enemy. One way they manipulate the hormones is with the use of birth control pills. When I was going through all of this at first, we tried several different pills to find one that worked for me. Some birth control pills are monophasic and some are triphasic-- in other words, some give a continuous dose of the hormone the entire 21 days, and some change the dosage each week.

Hormones are a pretty delicate thing, and you can really screw someone up with them. I tried triphasic ones and I was a basket case on them, plus it made my endo worse. Finally, we found one that worked, one that is monphasic. It is really is crucial for me to keep my levels even to keep the endo at bay.

So I was on a monophasic for many many years. In 2007 I lost my health insurance and wasn't in a relationship and I was completely pain free from the endo so I decided to go off the hormones.

After the last few months I decided that in order to keep the endo at bay, it was time to go back on. I got the doctor to call in the exact monophasic pill I had been on for many many many years.

I picked up my pills yesterday and it was a triphasic one. I explained this to the pharmacist and she insisted that because it was on the list, it was the same thing.

I called the hospital pharmacy because I thought maybe I was nuts. That I might have somehow forgotten the name of a pill I took forever and knew was a monophasic. She looked it up, I was right, it was a monophasic, and the substitution that Rite Aid gave me was definitely a triphasic, and definitely not the same medication in generic form.

And yet, this pharmacist at Rite Aid swears that because it was on the list, that it was. She was not open or caring enough about the health and well being of her customers to accept the fact that the list might be mistaken. I explained to her the difference between monophasic and triphasic pills (shouldn't the pharmacist be explaining this to me??) and that the list is not accurate and I said that I had concerns that other patients might be given the wrong pill too. She told me to worry about myself and not others.

So someone else might end up having their hormones completely thrown out of wack, causing who knows what problems because of something a list says.

If she were a proactive, thoughtful pharmacist, she would have investigated, realized the discrepancy, and contacted the authors of said list to get it straightened out.

I am pretty sure that I will be switching pharmacies.

SICK!

2009-04-20T23:18:00.002-04:00

I have been on hiatus due to my health. I went to see my friend Steve in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang a few weeks ago and there were lots of snotty kids in the audience. A few days later both myself and my friend, Ali, who went with me got VERY VERY SICK. Stoopit snotty kids! We both ended up with ear infections (I had 2, go me!) and sinus crap, and then lungs... Not at all pretty.

I am pleased to say though that it is not TB! Ok not that I thought it was... but I had my annual appointment for my ppd test for work during this time and that was negative. It was handy that it coincided with my illness so I got some drugs for that. My doc said my one ear was "Majorly bulging" which kinda freaked me out. I was never the kind of kid who got ear infections, but I know many who were, who had their ear drums perf regularly. I am terrified of this happening and I'm guessing it was close to happening if I was "majorly bulging". Although it no longer hurts, I really can't hear very well out of my left ear so I almost wonder if it did perf? I dont know, does that hurt like hell or does it stop hurting because the pressure is relieved? (kinda how once your appendix bursts the pain stops)

Whatever, at least I'm feeling well now. Other than the fact that the allergies are kinda kicking in...

So remember last July when I said I loaded all sorts of crap in my kitchen while they cleaned my carpets? Well I finally got everything out of the kitchen and just today I brought in the kitchen chairs that had been out on the porch this whole time. (I think I have only eaten about 4 meals at my kitchen table in the 4 years I have lived here!) I had to wash them down because they were YELLOW with pollen. I mean COVERED! and then of course I was sneezing like a fool. Thank GOD for Claritin :)

In other news I went to the new Rite Aid to get a prescription filled and they gave me the wrong thing! I called and they claimed that what they gave me was an approved generic substitute. Except it was NOT THE SAME THING. I thought I was crazy so I called the hospital I used to work at's outpatient pharmacy where I used to get scripts filled (and this, which I used to take back then) and she confirmed that what I got was what I thought and NOT what tried to give me. The smart pharmacist told me what IS the approved generic alternative and so I called Rite Aid back and told them to get me that instead. It scares me that this pharmacist kept saying that what she gave me was on the list so it was ok. The list is wrong. I explained to her how it was wrong, how it was different... blah blah, but since her list said it, it must be...whatever...

So now I've lost my train of thought thanks to several IM's so I'm just going to end this here :)

Something I just realized...

2009-04-05T13:46:00.002-04:00

I laugh easier than I ever did before.

It used to be that I would RARELY laugh at something I read or saw. LOL was just a computer shorthand for "that's amusing" to me rather than actually meaning I laughed out loud. Oh sure I would smile, or chuckle, but no full on laughs!

But in the past 6 weeks or so (ever since the beginning of my unexplained happiness) I realize that I LOL out loud all the time! And you know what? It's awesome. I suspect that it's not just the mood prompting the laughter, but also the laughter prompting the mood.

I also smile more. Oh sure I smiled often before now, but now I catch myself smiling for no reason. This morning I had no good breakfast foods in the house so I decided to enjoy this GORGEOUS day and take a walk to the bagel place that's about a mile away. On said walk I saw Dogwood trees in full bloom- I hadn't noticed any others down here to my recollection. That made me smile. We lived in a house when I was small that had a Dogwood in the front yard and since I was pretty small at the time I have very few memories of that place, but many of them involve that yard and that tree. So as then I happened upon some pansies, which are a flower that remind me of my grandmother. Normally these make me smile, but I realized I was still smiling from the Dogwood. Then I passed some girl also taking a walk and she smiled at me and I realized it was because I STILL had the smile on my face.

And as I sit here typing this guess what I'm doing? Smiling :)

My hope for you is that as you read this that it makes you smile too :)

Livin in a box...living in a cardboard box

2009-04-04T12:03:00.002-04:00

So recently I mentioned that I reconnected with my old roommate, JT. That day we chatted she gave me what I consider to be once of the best compliments I have ever received, and that has turned into a new concept for me...

She said that she and I could be doing nothing more than sitting in a cardboard box and we would still have a blast together.

So this brought up the idea of "cardboard box friends". How many people do you have in your life that you would classify under this title? I am fortunate enough to have more than a few :)

These are people that I just can laugh my ass off even during the most lame of circumstances. Good, bad, or indifferent, these people make my life fun.

For example... once in college Biff and I were both going through a bit of a seasonal/situational funk and so we decided to run away. For this adventure we chose to rent a car (we'll call him Dave) and on the way back we accidentally locked the keys in Dave at the Blue Mountain rest stop. Oh yeah there was also a picture of Fred Savage on the dashboard. We were trapped at this rest stop for several hours while we waited for a locksmith. And we didn't have any money, bu they took pity on us at the fast food place at the rest stop and gave us their left over breakfast. And we knew the car would be returned late and there would be an even bigger charge. And yet the memory I hold from this experience is of a) being taunted by Kevin Arnold and b) laughing....LOTS of laughing.

That is a true cardboard box friend. (in fact, at this point I think we would have preferred to be in a box than in the situation we were in!)

I am very blessed by a large number of CBB friends and I realize that I am too far away from many of them. I have made a decision that unless something significant changes in my life in the next year that I will be moving to Atlanta in May of 2010. I have multiple cardboard box friends there and my soul already feels lighter and happier about my trapped Raleigh situation having made this decision.

So yay for CBBF! and YAY for plans!

If I were an artist...

2009-04-02T17:11:00.004-04:00

Or a musician, or even a writer of more than just a lame blog...

Just now I looked out the window and saw a brilliant red winter cardinal, sitting on a tree that has the buds of spring, with leaves on the ground underneath like fall, with rain falling like summer...

I feel like this is a song/poem/picture just waiting to be told and shared...

I wish I had it in me to convey the emotion that I just got looking at it...

I wish March had only 30 days

2009-03-31T20:17:00.002-04:00

I have put off posting all day today because I am blue and I just didn't want to come here in that mood.

But I had no choice since it's the LAST day of BloMo.

So here I am, doing a half assed lameo post about nothing good, just so that I can fulfill my blomo obligations.

My neighbor who I love of whom I have spoken in the past moved out today. I am going to miss her very much. My lease renewal paperwork just came and I have come to realize that I don't want to live in Raleigh anymore but I cannot afford to move so I am essentially trapped.

I don't do trapped well.

Things I am hoping for don't seem to be coming to fruition either.

That "something's coming" feeling that I'd been having has been kinda replaced by a feeling of stuck in limbo. And that sucks. And not in a good way.

So I hate to leave this super positive month on this horribly down note, but I just can't help it. Sorry.

Maybe it's an early April fool's joke and tomorrow life will not suck again :)

A peek into my crazy

2009-03-30T19:04:00.003-04:00

Ok don't get all excited, I'm not going to let you peek into my crazy today.

It's MY crazy and I don't really choose to share it often. There are a few people who have a bit of a clue about all some of my secret crazies that I can mask well to the rest of the world, but I don't think that there is anyone who knows them all...

In the last few days I have let 2 different people peek at some of my crazy and it's kinda weird. The first peek I gave was actually to the friend I had dinner with in Danville, which is really a shocker since we never were that close. I didn't give him any of the good stuff though, and I'm not sure how we even got on topic, but it just sorta flowed into something that I have never actually talked about with anyone ever. It wasn't really deep intense stuff, so I don' t even know if he realizes he peeked, but it was still thoughts that I keep tucked inside and I am still surprised that they slipped out.

Then yesterday I was having a conversation with another friend and I opened the door on another one of my crazies. Today I expanded on that mess that is my mind in an email. But along with the conversation that is my crazy, we also had been talking about trust (in fact, the other stuff just sorta flowed from the trust conversation) and I realize that I might be having some trust breakthroughs...

I have never had any problems trusting men I am in relationships with, which seems odd, considering I have HUGE issues with trusting friends...

About 5 years ago I was fuct over LARGE by someone I considered a good friend, and she managed to tear apart a group of mutual friends with her lies and manipulations which made me lose trust in those friends too... Since then, I have been really careful about who I give my confidence to...

Realizing that I just opened up even just a wee bit twice in the past few days makes me wonder if I might have actually healed from that broken heart from 5 years ago and I may have come out even better on the other end.

Go figure.

Bliss

2009-03-29T19:16:00.002-04:00

That's me right now.

Complete happiness.

Not over anything in particular, although it was a gorgeous day and I had a lovely afternoon, but I just feel really happy right now.

Nothing in my life is exceedingly fabulous, and some could argue that parts of it are sub-par....

And yet, right now, as I sit here typing this, I am feeling quite blissful.

And I'm just going to go with it :) And my wish for each and every one of you, dear readers, (even those of you who are in lurkful hiding) is that you can feel the same way I do right now :) <3

Super Quick Post

2009-03-28T15:16:00.002-04:00

Not sure what time I'll be home later so I figure I better get this in just to be safe.

Today I am headed to the town of Danville to meet up with an old HS friend. He said he's taking me to a redneck karaoke bar. Should be interesting!

I have no idea if we shall have a nice dinner and I'll be home by 9pm or if we'll have a blast and I won't be back till after midnight...

He's a really fun guy, so I suspect it might be choice B, but he is in town for work, so it might end up being choice A. Either way, I'm just happy to have plans on a Saturday night :)

I am NOT happy though that I still cannot find my ipod and will be forced to listen to radio for this 90+ minute journey to where he is... I have an old cd player that I am going to attempt to plug into the wire that normally plugs into my ipod to see if that works, but I remember from when diskmen were all the rage that they eat batteries like I eat tootsie rolls. I am bringing two spare sets of rechargable batteries to hopefully make it last... if not, it's crap radio for me!

Well I think I should probably go get a shower now since I think I have to leave in like 40 minutes...

I'll let yinz know how it goes tomorrow!

a rainy day Friday Shuffle

2009-03-27T15:47:00.002-04:00

kinda a dreary day out there today... my sinuses are not a fan of the low pressure either. I took some benedryl last night and am feeling pretty groggified still. I'm curious to see if my itunes picks up on the dreariness and groggification... Shall we see?

How Beautiful You Are - The Cure
You want to know why I hate you?
Well I'll try and explain...

I Shall Be Released - Sting, U2, Peter Gabriel
Now yonder stands a man in this lonely crowd
A man who swears he's not to blame
All day long I hear him shouting so loud
Just crying out that he was framed

Hey You - The Cure
Hey you!!!
Yes you
Yes you the one that looks delirious

The Wheel - Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians
All your thoughts are in another head,
your dreams are sleeping in a different bed.
The force that moves you is a circular breath,
of life and death going round and round and round.

Falling - Susanna Hoffs
Piece by piece I come undone
Lose my equilibrium
I crash but I don't care
Nothing to hold on to

What About Love - Heart
Ive been lonely
Ive been waiting for you
I'm pretending and that's all I can do
The love I'm sending
Ain't making it through to your heart

We Work the Black Seam - Sting
And should the children weep
The turning world will sing their souls to sleep
When you have sunk without a trace
The universe will suck me into place

I'm Alive - David Cook (Neil Diamond night on Idol)
Take a walk, you can hardly breathe the air
Look around, it's a hard life everywhere
People talk, but they never really care
On the street, there's a feeling of despair

I've Seen Better Days - Citizen King
I'm faded, flat busted;
I've been jaded I've been dusted.
I know that I've seen better days.

Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
Didn't take too long 'fore I found out
What people mean by down and out.

Ok so I kinda made it work with the depressive gloom with the lyrics. I think I'm Alive is one of the most happy, upbeat, inspirational songs ever, but I had to make it work :)

Not that I'm depressed or anything, but it does kinda seem like the world around me is a bit right now...

As for me-
I'm alive
And I don't care much for words of doom
If it's love you need, well I got the room
It's a simple thing that came to me
And I thank God I'm alive
I can take all that life has got to give
If I got someone to share it with
I got love and love is all you really need
I'm alive

Come out, come out, whoever you are!

2009-03-26T19:07:00.002-04:00

Seriously, you don't need a blogger account to leave comments anymore, you can do an open id one.

I know there are some of you out there reading who have never left a comment, and I only have a slight idea who y'all might be.

Please take the time to leave me a comment today so I can stop wondering :)

I had a tough day, I deserve it...

What kind of tough day you ask? Well I was exaggerating. But I did just dump a whole lot of spaghetti sauce all down my front and it landed in a puddle in my lap. I stripped down and put it right into the washer and found that the sauce had stained my left breast orange. It's attractive....

Well as soon as the washer is done I'll be off for the shower!

SO leave a comment, share with me the latest food you've dropped on your lap :)