Hiya! I've made a few changes. Now there is a section to the right entitled What I'm Reading. Use it to keep up with... what I'm reading. Simple enough, right? I also added links to two blogs that I read - Bringing Up Shelby and Roy the Pug. They are both about, you guessed it, PUGS!
Speaking of pugs, I had to take Pickles to the vet today. She's been scratching at her ears and they were pretty gunky even though I just cleaned them two days ago. She's got another yeast infection in her ears! The vet said some dogs get them during allergy season, mostly spring and fall, and there's really nothing we can do to prevent them. Some dogs have chronic ear troubles so I guess one or two infections in a year isn't that bad. Poor Pickles had to have her ears flushed at the vet's and she didn't like that one bit. But then she met a large yellow lab (!) and nearly wiggled out of her harness in an attempt to go say HI. The vet tried to get me interested in a litter of pug puppies that were advertised on their bulletin board but Pickles just LOVES big dogs. She likes other pugs just fine but she is scared of smaller dogs. But the bigger the dog, the more interested in them she is. Silly puppy.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
We hadn't seen Smokey in about 3 weeks and suspected he might have gotten hit by a car or eaten by a dog. Then he showed back up today. He looks pretty scrawny and there is some kind of film or gunk in both of his eyes. Not sure if you can really see in this picture. Poor Smokey. He was very skittish of us even when we gave him food and water.
Stripey Kitty comes by our house sometimes to get a drink of water. She is another stray in the neighborhood. She's had two litters of kittens in the last year, but we never see them. We suspect she either has them in someone else's yard and those people find homes for them, or she just forgets about them and they end up dying. We tried following her one day to see where she might have left them but she saw us and laid down in the road and wouldn't move until we went back inside.
Friday, April 29, 2005
It's Friday! It's Friday! La la la
Everyone be sure to appreciate the Apple Blossoms this weekend. In honor of the Apple Blossom festival, I bought Pickles a collar with apple blossoms on it. (Actually, they’re cherry blossoms, but I don’t think anyone will notice. They’re little flowers – it’s all the same.)
I finally read The Da Vinci Code. I’ve been avoiding it because EVERYONE has read it, and it’s been SUCH a CONTROVERSY and now they’re making a movie with TOM HANKS. But what made me go ahead and read it was the Illustrated Edition was on sale 50% off at Books A Million. So I got it. I figured, even if the story stinks, at least I’ll have a nice book with lots of pretty pictures in it. I have to say that Dan Brown’s writing has either drastically improved since Angels & Demons, or they just got him a better editor. Because although I thought the story in that last book was good, and of course all the symbology in the art all around Rome was fascinating, Dan Brown’s writing was awful. I almost stopped reading it because he kept using adverbs – like every sentence had an adverb and it was distracting. Vittoria walked down the hallway slowly. Robert sighed heavily. The killer glared menacingly. This book sold 10 million copies unbelievably. But I digress. The Da Vinci Code was pretty good – I thought the ending was a little contrived, but whatever. I don’t think I’ll go see the movie though. No offense to Tom Hanks.
It’s Friday! That means Five Questions (or is it Three Questions?) Answered by Jen
1. Do you eat sushi/sashimi? Why yes I do! I love it. Some of you may be surprised, since I’ve always been a VERY picky eater. (Don’t get me started on the evils of Mayonnaise…bleh!) And even more of you might be surprised to learn that my appreciation for sushi did NOT begin in Japan. Of course I ate some sushi while in Japan, but only the cooked ones (mainly shrimp) and vegetable ones. It wasn’t until I returned to the US and went out to Japanese restaurants with my buddies that I truly began to enjoy the more exotic sushi varieties. Hint: alcohol helps get the weirder ones down.
2. What would it take for you to cancel your cable subscription? The only thing that kept this from happening when Buffy finished was that I still had Angel. Now that they’re both off the air, I feel I’ve moved on. Now I’ve got my new friends Joan and Dr. Derek to keep me company. I think it would take something drastic for me to turn off the cable – like NO good shows on AT ALL. Let’s just see what the networks come up with for next season…
3. What was the last live performance you attended? Don’t get the wrong idea about me, but it was STYX. And the opening act was NELSON! I won tickets and backstage passes and VIP parking. That’s why we went.
4. What sort of summer reading do you have lined up? I bought a box of 100 trashy romance novels on ebay for $10. Plus the new Harry Potter book will be released soon, so I’ll probably re-read the last 5 to refresh my memory.
5. Do you enjoy camping? No no no. There is NO TV and it’s COLD and there are BUGS and you have to sleep on the GROUND. Not to mention the Blair Witch.
I finally read The Da Vinci Code. I’ve been avoiding it because EVERYONE has read it, and it’s been SUCH a CONTROVERSY and now they’re making a movie with TOM HANKS. But what made me go ahead and read it was the Illustrated Edition was on sale 50% off at Books A Million. So I got it. I figured, even if the story stinks, at least I’ll have a nice book with lots of pretty pictures in it. I have to say that Dan Brown’s writing has either drastically improved since Angels & Demons, or they just got him a better editor. Because although I thought the story in that last book was good, and of course all the symbology in the art all around Rome was fascinating, Dan Brown’s writing was awful. I almost stopped reading it because he kept using adverbs – like every sentence had an adverb and it was distracting. Vittoria walked down the hallway slowly. Robert sighed heavily. The killer glared menacingly. This book sold 10 million copies unbelievably. But I digress. The Da Vinci Code was pretty good – I thought the ending was a little contrived, but whatever. I don’t think I’ll go see the movie though. No offense to Tom Hanks.
It’s Friday! That means Five Questions (or is it Three Questions?) Answered by Jen
1. Do you eat sushi/sashimi? Why yes I do! I love it. Some of you may be surprised, since I’ve always been a VERY picky eater. (Don’t get me started on the evils of Mayonnaise…bleh!) And even more of you might be surprised to learn that my appreciation for sushi did NOT begin in Japan. Of course I ate some sushi while in Japan, but only the cooked ones (mainly shrimp) and vegetable ones. It wasn’t until I returned to the US and went out to Japanese restaurants with my buddies that I truly began to enjoy the more exotic sushi varieties. Hint: alcohol helps get the weirder ones down.
2. What would it take for you to cancel your cable subscription? The only thing that kept this from happening when Buffy finished was that I still had Angel. Now that they’re both off the air, I feel I’ve moved on. Now I’ve got my new friends Joan and Dr. Derek to keep me company. I think it would take something drastic for me to turn off the cable – like NO good shows on AT ALL. Let’s just see what the networks come up with for next season…
3. What was the last live performance you attended? Don’t get the wrong idea about me, but it was STYX. And the opening act was NELSON! I won tickets and backstage passes and VIP parking. That’s why we went.
4. What sort of summer reading do you have lined up? I bought a box of 100 trashy romance novels on ebay for $10. Plus the new Harry Potter book will be released soon, so I’ll probably re-read the last 5 to refresh my memory.
5. Do you enjoy camping? No no no. There is NO TV and it’s COLD and there are BUGS and you have to sleep on the GROUND. Not to mention the Blair Witch.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Save Toby!
This website is either
a) the funniest thing I've ever seen
b) deeply disturbing
c) a brilliant marketing scheme
d) there are no words
Check out savetoby.com and decide for yourselves.
a) the funniest thing I've ever seen
b) deeply disturbing
c) a brilliant marketing scheme
d) there are no words
Check out savetoby.com and decide for yourselves.
Dr. Shows - My Unsolicited Opinion
Last night, due to the miracle of Tivo, Timmy and I watched a marathon of Dr. Shows – three in a row.
First – ER
They’ve pretty much covered all the weird medical cases they can so now they are just going for shock value in an effort to get viewers. This episode was fairly dull, except for that part when Abby had to use a paper clip to pop a guy’s eye back into his head. Why do I even watch this show? Mostly out of habit. And on the off chance that Dr. Kovac will take his shirt off. Dr. Kovac was barely in this episode - same for Neela - and they are really the only people I want to see. I don’t care about anyone else, especially Carter. I just wish he would leave already because he is boring. Abby is okay but she should be dating that weird surgeon guy that gave her a book about rats for Christmas instead of that lame intern.
Second – Grey’s Anatomy
I think everyone knows how much I adore Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek. But you may not know that I also LOVE Sandra Oh. In fact, she’s the reason I wanted to watch the show in the first place. I couldn’t believe she was going to do a tv show. Mostly I’ve seen her in independent films. Her character is hysterical. I like all the characters except Dr. Burke. So who do they pick to be Sandra’s love interest? Dr. Burke. Ewwwww. Out of nowhere, he walks up to her and hands her a cup of coffee. I immediately started yelling at the tv, “Oh No! We’ll have none of THAT thank you!” Timmy said to me, “you’re funny.” I just get so annoyed when these tv shows ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS pick the two only non-white characters to be a couple. WHY?!!!!! Sandra and Burke were totally making out by the end of the episode, and I was totally covering my eyes and screaming, “Nooooooooo!” Here’s why I don’t like Dr. Burke – the first two episodes he was cocky and arrogant and a bit of an ass, the next episode he was nice and compassionate, now he’s trying to be all noble and sexy. Dear writers of Grey’s Anatomy, please PICK A DOMINANT PERSONALITY TRAIT AND STICK WITH IT. Thank you. Love, Jen. P.S. Give Patrick Dempsey more scenes with his shirt off.
Third – Scrubs
While last night’s episode was not their best, it was still pretty darn funny. Ted and Doug made appearances, and they are always good for a dose of absurdity. JD and Turk, however, were not nearly as absurd as usual. Eliot was still neurotic (#1 on her speed dial is the Constipation Hotline. Ha!) But I have a question, what is so sexy about a woman who can swallow her whole fist? I don’t get it.
This week’s winner – Grey’s Anatomy.
First – ER
They’ve pretty much covered all the weird medical cases they can so now they are just going for shock value in an effort to get viewers. This episode was fairly dull, except for that part when Abby had to use a paper clip to pop a guy’s eye back into his head. Why do I even watch this show? Mostly out of habit. And on the off chance that Dr. Kovac will take his shirt off. Dr. Kovac was barely in this episode - same for Neela - and they are really the only people I want to see. I don’t care about anyone else, especially Carter. I just wish he would leave already because he is boring. Abby is okay but she should be dating that weird surgeon guy that gave her a book about rats for Christmas instead of that lame intern.
Second – Grey’s Anatomy
I think everyone knows how much I adore Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek. But you may not know that I also LOVE Sandra Oh. In fact, she’s the reason I wanted to watch the show in the first place. I couldn’t believe she was going to do a tv show. Mostly I’ve seen her in independent films. Her character is hysterical. I like all the characters except Dr. Burke. So who do they pick to be Sandra’s love interest? Dr. Burke. Ewwwww. Out of nowhere, he walks up to her and hands her a cup of coffee. I immediately started yelling at the tv, “Oh No! We’ll have none of THAT thank you!” Timmy said to me, “you’re funny.” I just get so annoyed when these tv shows ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS pick the two only non-white characters to be a couple. WHY?!!!!! Sandra and Burke were totally making out by the end of the episode, and I was totally covering my eyes and screaming, “Nooooooooo!” Here’s why I don’t like Dr. Burke – the first two episodes he was cocky and arrogant and a bit of an ass, the next episode he was nice and compassionate, now he’s trying to be all noble and sexy. Dear writers of Grey’s Anatomy, please PICK A DOMINANT PERSONALITY TRAIT AND STICK WITH IT. Thank you. Love, Jen. P.S. Give Patrick Dempsey more scenes with his shirt off.
Third – Scrubs
While last night’s episode was not their best, it was still pretty darn funny. Ted and Doug made appearances, and they are always good for a dose of absurdity. JD and Turk, however, were not nearly as absurd as usual. Eliot was still neurotic (#1 on her speed dial is the Constipation Hotline. Ha!) But I have a question, what is so sexy about a woman who can swallow her whole fist? I don’t get it.
This week’s winner – Grey’s Anatomy.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
My Failed Writing Career
I had a great idea about a month ago for a book I should write. I thought it could even be made into a movie. My idea was for a woman who drives a lot for work (moi) and has a cb in her car that she uses to talk to truckers (also moi without the talking to truckers part) and starts getting stalked by a crazy truck driver who wants to kill her (so not moi). It could be really scary I thought. For whatever reason, I put that idea on hold and started working on another idea for my book (which I’m not telling you about yet.) So imagine my surprise/horror when I’m flipping through the channels this weekend and I run across the movie Joy Ride. Here’s the synopsis: "Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer." It’s practically the same idea! And the movie was BAD! I mean, REAL BAD. So now I’ve got all these conflicting emotions:
Relief that I didn’t waste time writing a book that’s already been written,
Anguish that my BRILLIANT ORIGINAL IDEA wasn’t that brilliant or original,
Disgust at how bad the movie actually turned out, because I still think it’s a frightening concept,
Pride that an idea I had (while neither brilliant nor original) COULD be optioned for a screenplay.
So, I’ve decided to continue with my OTHER project and see how it turns out. I don’t THINK it’s already been a book or movie. Even if it is, there’s room in the world for more than one of them I think. Look at all those asteroid crashing into the planet movies that came out at the same time. Everybody made money on those because there were many subtle differences.
Relief that I didn’t waste time writing a book that’s already been written,
Anguish that my BRILLIANT ORIGINAL IDEA wasn’t that brilliant or original,
Disgust at how bad the movie actually turned out, because I still think it’s a frightening concept,
Pride that an idea I had (while neither brilliant nor original) COULD be optioned for a screenplay.
So, I’ve decided to continue with my OTHER project and see how it turns out. I don’t THINK it’s already been a book or movie. Even if it is, there’s room in the world for more than one of them I think. Look at all those asteroid crashing into the planet movies that came out at the same time. Everybody made money on those because there were many subtle differences.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Random Questions Answered
I thought it might be fun once to do this. Let me know what questions YOU want me to answer.
1. What song would you sing at karaoke?
“David Duchovny” by Bree Sharp OR “Danke Schoen” by Wayne Newton
2. Do you have a friend who makes you laugh?
Yes, my friend Sally is the funniest person I know. She always makes me laugh.
3. How many times in your life have you moved?
Erm…13, I think.
4. What is your favorite type of pizza?
Well, pepperoni is the old standby, but I also really like vegetable pizza for a change. But my FAVORITE is ham and pineapple.
5. What computer games do you play?
The Sims and Sims 2, plus Zoo Tycoon.
6. What is your favorite charity?
I have only ever donated to two charities – the American Cancer Society and the Humane Society
7. What is the most difficult math you can do right now?
Math and me are like unmixy things. If I really concentrate and write the calculations down, I can USUALLY figure out how much tip to leave in a restaurant.
8. What is your favorite zoo animal?
Giraffe. Always has been.
9. What is the most plausible reason for you becoming famous?
Either by my novel being on the best-seller list OR winning the lottery OR having UFO’s land in my front yard.
10. What is the scariest movie you ever saw?
That one is easy. The Ring. Scared the bejeezus out of me. I was stupid enough to start watching it one night when Timmy was away. About halfway through it I had to turn it off. Even then I was up most of the night. I finished watching it a few days later…in the middle of the day… and it still scared the crap out of me. Even now I can’t think about it without shuddering. Yehhhhhhh!
1. What song would you sing at karaoke?
“David Duchovny” by Bree Sharp OR “Danke Schoen” by Wayne Newton
2. Do you have a friend who makes you laugh?
Yes, my friend Sally is the funniest person I know. She always makes me laugh.
3. How many times in your life have you moved?
Erm…13, I think.
4. What is your favorite type of pizza?
Well, pepperoni is the old standby, but I also really like vegetable pizza for a change. But my FAVORITE is ham and pineapple.
5. What computer games do you play?
The Sims and Sims 2, plus Zoo Tycoon.
6. What is your favorite charity?
I have only ever donated to two charities – the American Cancer Society and the Humane Society
7. What is the most difficult math you can do right now?
Math and me are like unmixy things. If I really concentrate and write the calculations down, I can USUALLY figure out how much tip to leave in a restaurant.
8. What is your favorite zoo animal?
Giraffe. Always has been.
9. What is the most plausible reason for you becoming famous?
Either by my novel being on the best-seller list OR winning the lottery OR having UFO’s land in my front yard.
10. What is the scariest movie you ever saw?
That one is easy. The Ring. Scared the bejeezus out of me. I was stupid enough to start watching it one night when Timmy was away. About halfway through it I had to turn it off. Even then I was up most of the night. I finished watching it a few days later…in the middle of the day… and it still scared the crap out of me. Even now I can’t think about it without shuddering. Yehhhhhhh!
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
A Day In My Life
AM
7:00 Wake up call. Convince myself that my pants do NOT need to be ironed therefore I can lay in bed another 15 minutes.
7:22 Finally get up and stagger to the bathroom for a shower. Throat and eyeballs seriously dry due to keeping air conditioner fan on all night to drown out sounds of strange hotel.
7:45 Check email. Still covering for vacant office job, as temp I spent two days last week training decided not to come back this week. Run reports and forward ever-increasingly desperate pleas for help from other people in department to new temp, who has not been trained at all to my knowledge.
8:30 Get in car to drive to first appointment, supposedly 15 minutes away.
8:55 Drive up and down street three times before finding appointment's address. Not my fault, none of the buildings have numbers and the company I am seeing just moved in and hasn't purchased a sign yet.
9:10 First appointment over! He had no complaints with my company, which left us with little to talk about. Review directions printed from Internet to second appointment. Looks to be about 40 minute drive.
9:30 Must find someplace to get off highway and go in opposite direction, thanks to stupid directions printed from Internet which told me to go East on a road that runs North and South.
9:40 All turned around and going correct direction this time.
10:30 Directions from Internet do not mislead me again, and I arrive at appointment's address. Unfortunately there is nowhere to park. Circle block twice (much to the amusement of some nearby construction guys) before deciding to park along street in nearby residential neighborhood and walking back the two blocks. Hope I don't get towed or a ticket.
11:45 Second appointment over. Did not get towed or a ticket. Meeting was with guy who's been dealing with my company for about 8 years, so spent most of time gossiping. Also he showed me his new office, which is in an old house that still has all the original kitchen appliances. They have a pink refrigerator! Awesome. Second appointment guy knows third appointment guy, so got real-life directions that I hope will be better than Internet directions.
PM
12:15 Stopped at Burger King for bathroom break and to look at map. Stupid real-life directions from guy didn't tell me which way to turn when I reached highway and as usual I chose the wrong way. Decided to go ahead and eat lunch since I was there (spicy chicken tendercrisp sandwich - YUM! I've loved this sandwich ever since Burger King had the commercial with the guys in the office, and one of them ordered this sandwich and then kept saying in a really high voice "I'm SPICY!" So now every time I get this sandwich I say to myself "I'm SPICY!")
12:40 Called next appointment for THEIR interpretation of directions to their company. Directions include the sentence, "Turn right at the light just after the EXOTIC DANCERS' CLUB." Excellent.
1:30 Found appointment with no problems, thanks to their excellent instructions. Company appears to be a junkyard. Am extremely glad to be wearing old shoes. Find a clear space in the debris to park my car and quickly check phone messages. None. Loves it.
1:45 Tour of facility that turns out to be a recycling center/paper mill. The process of recycling paper is disgusting. It was easily 110 degrees in there, and steamy, and I can't even describe the smell other than "gross." Inspect some plastic material that I'd like to purchase and they say they'll sell it to me. Am introduced to office pet - large frog who occasionally escapes and has to be caught by slamming a bucket on top of him (upside down of course - the bucket, not the frog) because he's too slippery to catch by hand.
2:15 Merge onto Pennsylvania Turnpike and am pleasantly surprised at how little traffic there is. Normally I am nearly killed when driving on this road (every time) but today it is almost empty.
2:25 Receive phone call from supplier who didn't get some piece of paper faxed to her. Assure her I will take care of it, though I don't know how since no one is working in the office any more except temps who haven't been trained. Final appointment for the day is cancelled due to that guy never returning my call to confirm appointment. Decide to head for hotel.
2:30 Am nearly killed by crazy woman at toll plaza. I guess she didn't appreciate me merging into her lane, with my blinker clearly on and plenty of room if she had been going anywhere near the posted speed limit of 35. She actually leaned out of her window and shouted at me. Crazy Pennsylvania drivers.
3:30 One mile away from my exit and all lanes of traffic are at a dead stop because people don't know how to merge.
4:00 Check into hotel. Receive phone call from panicked co-worker regarding inability of temp to do anything he's asked of her. Assure him that he's not the only one, and I'll try to get to the office on Friday to take care of anything that hasn't gotten done.
4:15 Call bestest friend/co-worker to bitch about stupid office temps who don't know how to do anything, and clueless boss who doesn't realize what a problem this is. Bitch some more about other people from work.
4:30 Take shower to get rid of paper mill/junkyard smell in hair.
4:45 Receive call from bestest friend/co-worker asking me what entrée I'd like for dinner at recycling conference next month. Decide on the prime rib.
5:00 Check email. Forward more panic-stricken messages to the new temp, but all messages are returned as undeliverable. Hope this temp hasn't quit, too. Discover address change I asked LAST temp to do a week ago was never done, so my supplier's check was sent to the wrong address. Forward this message to the only remaining person in the office, although he's asked us repeatedly not to email him things of this nature, as it is NOT his job. He needs to get over himself and think of the TEAM until the current job-crisis is over.
6:00 Ask guy at hotel front desk for menu from local Chinese restaurant. Order general tso's chicken and watch Charmed on TNT. Episode where Phoebe and Cole are supposed to get married, but Cole is the Source of All Evil so he has to trick her into getting married in The Dark Way so they can conceive an evil child that will rule the Underworld. Not one of their best episodes.
6:30 Dinner arrives.
6:35 Burn tongue on innocent looking red pepper. Finish entire bottle of Pepsi and all of fried rice in effort to put out flames.
7:00 Log onto internet to check local SPCA for adoptable yellow labs. Instead stumble across What Kind of American English Do You Speak? Answer: 60% General American English, 25% Dixie (Yay!), 10% Upper Midwestern (where did THAT come from), 5% Yankee, and 0% Midwestern. This leads me to Who's Your Inner European (Your Inner European is Italian), What Personality Disorder Are You (You Are Possibly Borderline Schizophrenic) and How Normal Are You (You Are 75% Normal, Really Normal.)
8:15 Start to watch tv, but have gotten so used to Tivo that watching normal tv without being able pause, rewind and fast forward is unbearable. Decide to wait until I get home to watch new episode of Scrubs.
9:00 Call boyfriend. Discuss dog's daily bowel movements and eating habits. Listen to him bitch about work. Bitch about MY work.
10:05 Say goodbye to boyfriend and run to bathroom for near Bathroom Emergency. Some people I know can pee while talking on the phone, but I am not one of them.
10:15 After 15 minutes of channel surfing decide nothing is on so take trashy romance novel out of purse and settle down to read a few chapters.
10:30 Hey, this is getting pretty good.
11:45 Oh man, I can't believe it's so late but I just had to find out if Lucinda married the arrogant billionaire who ruined her family's fortunes just so he could get her to work for him as an indentured servant to keep her father out of the poorhouse, all because he (the billionaire) had fallen in love with her 15 years ago when she was just a teenager who didn't know any better than to not realize the gardener (now a billionaire) was madly in love with her. Call front desk to request wake up call at 7. Go to sleep.
7:00 Wake up call. Convince myself that my pants do NOT need to be ironed therefore I can lay in bed another 15 minutes.
7:22 Finally get up and stagger to the bathroom for a shower. Throat and eyeballs seriously dry due to keeping air conditioner fan on all night to drown out sounds of strange hotel.
7:45 Check email. Still covering for vacant office job, as temp I spent two days last week training decided not to come back this week. Run reports and forward ever-increasingly desperate pleas for help from other people in department to new temp, who has not been trained at all to my knowledge.
8:30 Get in car to drive to first appointment, supposedly 15 minutes away.
8:55 Drive up and down street three times before finding appointment's address. Not my fault, none of the buildings have numbers and the company I am seeing just moved in and hasn't purchased a sign yet.
9:10 First appointment over! He had no complaints with my company, which left us with little to talk about. Review directions printed from Internet to second appointment. Looks to be about 40 minute drive.
9:30 Must find someplace to get off highway and go in opposite direction, thanks to stupid directions printed from Internet which told me to go East on a road that runs North and South.
9:40 All turned around and going correct direction this time.
10:30 Directions from Internet do not mislead me again, and I arrive at appointment's address. Unfortunately there is nowhere to park. Circle block twice (much to the amusement of some nearby construction guys) before deciding to park along street in nearby residential neighborhood and walking back the two blocks. Hope I don't get towed or a ticket.
11:45 Second appointment over. Did not get towed or a ticket. Meeting was with guy who's been dealing with my company for about 8 years, so spent most of time gossiping. Also he showed me his new office, which is in an old house that still has all the original kitchen appliances. They have a pink refrigerator! Awesome. Second appointment guy knows third appointment guy, so got real-life directions that I hope will be better than Internet directions.
PM
12:15 Stopped at Burger King for bathroom break and to look at map. Stupid real-life directions from guy didn't tell me which way to turn when I reached highway and as usual I chose the wrong way. Decided to go ahead and eat lunch since I was there (spicy chicken tendercrisp sandwich - YUM! I've loved this sandwich ever since Burger King had the commercial with the guys in the office, and one of them ordered this sandwich and then kept saying in a really high voice "I'm SPICY!" So now every time I get this sandwich I say to myself "I'm SPICY!")
12:40 Called next appointment for THEIR interpretation of directions to their company. Directions include the sentence, "Turn right at the light just after the EXOTIC DANCERS' CLUB." Excellent.
1:30 Found appointment with no problems, thanks to their excellent instructions. Company appears to be a junkyard. Am extremely glad to be wearing old shoes. Find a clear space in the debris to park my car and quickly check phone messages. None. Loves it.
1:45 Tour of facility that turns out to be a recycling center/paper mill. The process of recycling paper is disgusting. It was easily 110 degrees in there, and steamy, and I can't even describe the smell other than "gross." Inspect some plastic material that I'd like to purchase and they say they'll sell it to me. Am introduced to office pet - large frog who occasionally escapes and has to be caught by slamming a bucket on top of him (upside down of course - the bucket, not the frog) because he's too slippery to catch by hand.
2:15 Merge onto Pennsylvania Turnpike and am pleasantly surprised at how little traffic there is. Normally I am nearly killed when driving on this road (every time) but today it is almost empty.
2:25 Receive phone call from supplier who didn't get some piece of paper faxed to her. Assure her I will take care of it, though I don't know how since no one is working in the office any more except temps who haven't been trained. Final appointment for the day is cancelled due to that guy never returning my call to confirm appointment. Decide to head for hotel.
2:30 Am nearly killed by crazy woman at toll plaza. I guess she didn't appreciate me merging into her lane, with my blinker clearly on and plenty of room if she had been going anywhere near the posted speed limit of 35. She actually leaned out of her window and shouted at me. Crazy Pennsylvania drivers.
3:30 One mile away from my exit and all lanes of traffic are at a dead stop because people don't know how to merge.
4:00 Check into hotel. Receive phone call from panicked co-worker regarding inability of temp to do anything he's asked of her. Assure him that he's not the only one, and I'll try to get to the office on Friday to take care of anything that hasn't gotten done.
4:15 Call bestest friend/co-worker to bitch about stupid office temps who don't know how to do anything, and clueless boss who doesn't realize what a problem this is. Bitch some more about other people from work.
4:30 Take shower to get rid of paper mill/junkyard smell in hair.
4:45 Receive call from bestest friend/co-worker asking me what entrée I'd like for dinner at recycling conference next month. Decide on the prime rib.
5:00 Check email. Forward more panic-stricken messages to the new temp, but all messages are returned as undeliverable. Hope this temp hasn't quit, too. Discover address change I asked LAST temp to do a week ago was never done, so my supplier's check was sent to the wrong address. Forward this message to the only remaining person in the office, although he's asked us repeatedly not to email him things of this nature, as it is NOT his job. He needs to get over himself and think of the TEAM until the current job-crisis is over.
6:00 Ask guy at hotel front desk for menu from local Chinese restaurant. Order general tso's chicken and watch Charmed on TNT. Episode where Phoebe and Cole are supposed to get married, but Cole is the Source of All Evil so he has to trick her into getting married in The Dark Way so they can conceive an evil child that will rule the Underworld. Not one of their best episodes.
6:30 Dinner arrives.
6:35 Burn tongue on innocent looking red pepper. Finish entire bottle of Pepsi and all of fried rice in effort to put out flames.
7:00 Log onto internet to check local SPCA for adoptable yellow labs. Instead stumble across What Kind of American English Do You Speak? Answer: 60% General American English, 25% Dixie (Yay!), 10% Upper Midwestern (where did THAT come from), 5% Yankee, and 0% Midwestern. This leads me to Who's Your Inner European (Your Inner European is Italian), What Personality Disorder Are You (You Are Possibly Borderline Schizophrenic) and How Normal Are You (You Are 75% Normal, Really Normal.)
8:15 Start to watch tv, but have gotten so used to Tivo that watching normal tv without being able pause, rewind and fast forward is unbearable. Decide to wait until I get home to watch new episode of Scrubs.
9:00 Call boyfriend. Discuss dog's daily bowel movements and eating habits. Listen to him bitch about work. Bitch about MY work.
10:05 Say goodbye to boyfriend and run to bathroom for near Bathroom Emergency. Some people I know can pee while talking on the phone, but I am not one of them.
10:15 After 15 minutes of channel surfing decide nothing is on so take trashy romance novel out of purse and settle down to read a few chapters.
10:30 Hey, this is getting pretty good.
11:45 Oh man, I can't believe it's so late but I just had to find out if Lucinda married the arrogant billionaire who ruined her family's fortunes just so he could get her to work for him as an indentured servant to keep her father out of the poorhouse, all because he (the billionaire) had fallen in love with her 15 years ago when she was just a teenager who didn't know any better than to not realize the gardener (now a billionaire) was madly in love with her. Call front desk to request wake up call at 7. Go to sleep.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
A Dog of His Own
Poor Timmy. He thinks Pickles Puglet loves me best. He says when I'm not home she just sits around all depressed and won't even sit by him on the couch. She'd rather sleep on the kitchen floor by herself in the dark. Okay. So she's MY puppy. I bought her and most of her supplies and pretty much just told Timmy I was getting her and there was nothing he could do about it. I'm paying for doggy obedience classes. I buy all of her stylish outfits. So?
I think Timmy needs his own dog. He wants a yellow lab. Although he said he'd take a mix, if it was a good dog. If we're getting another dog, I'd like to get one from the animal shelter this time. Maybe one that's a little older and already housetrained. Or a rescue dog. There's a labrador retriever rescue group nearby. But the process for adopting a dog from them is almost as complicated as adopting a child might be. We almost got one last month (another dog, not a child.) One of Tim's frat brothers had a yellow lab that they had to give up. But the dog had been living outside mostly and was "rambunctious." So that didn't work out. I'd kind of like Pickles to have a dog friend to play with while we're at work. She and Krusty get along okay, but it's just not the same. Poor Shmoopy. She's finally getting used to one dog. I'm not sure if she'd ever forgive me if I brought another one into the house.
Even if we found a great dog, it'll probably be at least a month before we would be able to bring it home. We've got all these house projects coming up, plus I've got a lot of business travel in the next few weeks. I'd like to take a few days off to make sure the dogs were okay and not going to kill each other before I leave them at home by themselves all day. And we've got those damn kittens we're going to have to catch and find homes for eventually. Yep, looks like it will be autumn before we can start this new dog project. Timmy will just have to suffer along with Pickles for the rest of the summer. Sorry.
I think Timmy needs his own dog. He wants a yellow lab. Although he said he'd take a mix, if it was a good dog. If we're getting another dog, I'd like to get one from the animal shelter this time. Maybe one that's a little older and already housetrained. Or a rescue dog. There's a labrador retriever rescue group nearby. But the process for adopting a dog from them is almost as complicated as adopting a child might be. We almost got one last month (another dog, not a child.) One of Tim's frat brothers had a yellow lab that they had to give up. But the dog had been living outside mostly and was "rambunctious." So that didn't work out. I'd kind of like Pickles to have a dog friend to play with while we're at work. She and Krusty get along okay, but it's just not the same. Poor Shmoopy. She's finally getting used to one dog. I'm not sure if she'd ever forgive me if I brought another one into the house.
Even if we found a great dog, it'll probably be at least a month before we would be able to bring it home. We've got all these house projects coming up, plus I've got a lot of business travel in the next few weeks. I'd like to take a few days off to make sure the dogs were okay and not going to kill each other before I leave them at home by themselves all day. And we've got those damn kittens we're going to have to catch and find homes for eventually. Yep, looks like it will be autumn before we can start this new dog project. Timmy will just have to suffer along with Pickles for the rest of the summer. Sorry.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Mmmm, Swedish Meatballs
Timmy and I took the truck to Ikea this weekend. They were having a Don't Pay Any Sales Tax Sale so we decided to go ahead and buy all the flooring we needed for the basement. We got 22 boxes of click laminate flooring, that Timmy will attempt to install later this week. I think it will look very very nice - certainly a huge improvement over the 30 year old indoor/outdoor moldy carpet that is down there now. Of course, we had to eat lunch at Ikea, even though the potatoes and lingenberries didn't exactly fit in with our diet. (I've lost 10 pounds!) Overall, we saved 5% on all our purchases for the day. Hooray!
Next big planned purchases - gas grill, pressure washer, brad nailer, new couch for living room, new carpet for living room.
Next big planned home improvements - paint all trim in house white; install crown molding in living room, dining room and bedrooms; paint bathrooms, hallway, kitchen and spare bedroom.
Still thinking about - building a patio, installing a privacy fence in backyard.
In other news, Mama Kitty had her kittens. She hid them under our shed AGAIN even though we nailed boards all around the bottom. She dug under the boards and made a tunnel. So, it looks like I'll have to find homes for more kittens in about 6 weeks. I hope these are as easy to catch as the last litter. A woman at work last week told me I could buy a cat trap at Tractor Supply Co. for about $30. I'm about to just spend the money and do it. I have GOT to get this cat fixed, she is driving me crazy with all these kittens. I guess I could donate the trap to the SPCA here in town when I'm done with it, since they don't seem to have enough to go around already. Anyone that wants kittens, let me know in the next few weeks. Her last litter were beautiful little gray and white kitties. She normally has 3 at a time. I'm willing to deliver them!
Next big planned purchases - gas grill, pressure washer, brad nailer, new couch for living room, new carpet for living room.
Next big planned home improvements - paint all trim in house white; install crown molding in living room, dining room and bedrooms; paint bathrooms, hallway, kitchen and spare bedroom.
Still thinking about - building a patio, installing a privacy fence in backyard.
In other news, Mama Kitty had her kittens. She hid them under our shed AGAIN even though we nailed boards all around the bottom. She dug under the boards and made a tunnel. So, it looks like I'll have to find homes for more kittens in about 6 weeks. I hope these are as easy to catch as the last litter. A woman at work last week told me I could buy a cat trap at Tractor Supply Co. for about $30. I'm about to just spend the money and do it. I have GOT to get this cat fixed, she is driving me crazy with all these kittens. I guess I could donate the trap to the SPCA here in town when I'm done with it, since they don't seem to have enough to go around already. Anyone that wants kittens, let me know in the next few weeks. Her last litter were beautiful little gray and white kitties. She normally has 3 at a time. I'm willing to deliver them!
Friday, April 15, 2005
No Calls Before 8 AM Please
Okay, I work from home. Everyone knows this. Then WHY do my clients keep calling me SO EARLY? Every day this week I've gotten a phone call before 8. Two of them didn't even leave messages! I can understand if they were at work early and needed to call me, so they went ahead and called and left a message. But WHY would they call and then hang up? I know who they are - I have caller ID. Are they just calling on the off-chance I might be already up and at my desk? I've got news for them, even when I'm up and at my desk, it takes at least 45 minutes for that first cup of coffee to sink in so that I can be anything close to coherent. They really shouldn't call until after 9 if they want me to be of any real help.
Speaking of help, I spent half of yesterday IN THE OFFICE trying to train the newest temp. It was hard because I only had until lunch before I had to leave to go to a meeting. And my cell phone kept ringing and the office phone kept ringing. And people kept calling me into their offices to discuss stuff and the temp kept going to the bathroom. (I swear, every time I turned around she was in the bathroom.) Later I started thinking, since I was promoted two years ago there have probably been about 10 different people in the position I left. One permanent person who stayed about 9 months, two temps that stayed about 6 months each, and a whole bunch of other temps that changed about every week or so. And I've been asked to train nearly every one of them. It's frustrating because all of the field employees rely on this person to do the things we can't from the road, and just when someone gets the hang of it - they're gone! And it takes the company an unreal amount of time to replace people when they leave. I bet 30% OR MORE of the office staff right now is temps. Ugh. I have to go back this afternoon and make sure what I showed yesterday's temp really stuck with her. She'll probably leave in a week and I'll be right back over there. I've got my own work that needs to get done, too. I mentioned that to my boss yesterday because he wanted some report by this afternoon. I was like, I don't know if I'll have the time since I have to keep coming over here. He said he wasn't worried about me, I should get it to him when I could, he appreciates me helping out, blah blah blah. It's kind of funny that I seem to be the ONLY PERSON IN THE COMPANY that knows how to do ANYTHING and they NEED me even though before I left two years ago I wrote an extremely detailed instruction manual which is still sitting there on that desk and has EVERYTHING in it that a person in that job would need. Actually, when I train the new temps I just go through it with them page by page to make sure they can follow it. Still, it's nice to feel needed.
Speaking of help, I spent half of yesterday IN THE OFFICE trying to train the newest temp. It was hard because I only had until lunch before I had to leave to go to a meeting. And my cell phone kept ringing and the office phone kept ringing. And people kept calling me into their offices to discuss stuff and the temp kept going to the bathroom. (I swear, every time I turned around she was in the bathroom.) Later I started thinking, since I was promoted two years ago there have probably been about 10 different people in the position I left. One permanent person who stayed about 9 months, two temps that stayed about 6 months each, and a whole bunch of other temps that changed about every week or so. And I've been asked to train nearly every one of them. It's frustrating because all of the field employees rely on this person to do the things we can't from the road, and just when someone gets the hang of it - they're gone! And it takes the company an unreal amount of time to replace people when they leave. I bet 30% OR MORE of the office staff right now is temps. Ugh. I have to go back this afternoon and make sure what I showed yesterday's temp really stuck with her. She'll probably leave in a week and I'll be right back over there. I've got my own work that needs to get done, too. I mentioned that to my boss yesterday because he wanted some report by this afternoon. I was like, I don't know if I'll have the time since I have to keep coming over here. He said he wasn't worried about me, I should get it to him when I could, he appreciates me helping out, blah blah blah. It's kind of funny that I seem to be the ONLY PERSON IN THE COMPANY that knows how to do ANYTHING and they NEED me even though before I left two years ago I wrote an extremely detailed instruction manual which is still sitting there on that desk and has EVERYTHING in it that a person in that job would need. Actually, when I train the new temps I just go through it with them page by page to make sure they can follow it. Still, it's nice to feel needed.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Tivo - The Wave of the Future
Get with it, Nielsen Media Research! On Saturday a lady from Nielsen came by the house and asked us to be a Nielsen household. They were looking for a family on our street with no kids under the age of 18. I said “That’s us!” For me, this was like hitting the lottery. I love tv and I always have. And to be involved in the process of picking which tv shows stay on the air is one of the coolest things I can imagine. I was so excited – until the woman came in, took one look at our entertainment center, and said, “Oh no, you’ve got Tivo. You won’t be able to participate.” HUH? Nielsen doesn’t survey households with Tivo? What the krunk?! She could tell I was majorly disappointed so she wrote down my phone number and said she’d check with “headquarters.” She said something like their research department is starting a program to evaluate Tivo users in the near future and she’d see if we could be involved. As soon as she left I looked up the number for Nielsen so I could call them and make sure she wasn’t a burglar scout just here to see how big our tv was so her accomplices could come back later and rip us off. Turns out she actually was telling the truth. And then yesterday she called to let me know that we were definitely NOT going to be a Nielsen family. Bummer. At least if she HAD been a burglar then I could have been involved in a police investigation... perhaps a sting operation... and that would have been interesting. Now all I have is the death of a dream. But I hold no ill will towards my Tivo. I ADORE my Tivo. It’s probably the greatest invention EVER, except for maybe antiseptics…and that’s a tough call actually.
Since we’re NOT going to be a Nielsen family (sob), I’m going to go ahead and tell the universe what tv shows our family watches. Maybe it will get back to the networks somehow.
Jen watches:
Animal Cops Houston, Charmed, Changing Rooms, Designers’ Challenge, Duckman, Entourage, Friends, Futurama, Medium, Sliders, The Twilight Zone, Weekend Warriors, any teen movie from the 1980’s and 1990's, and yes, even though I have every Buffy episode on DVD I will still watch the reruns if I happen to see one is on.
Tim watches:
American Chopper, Biker Build Off, Monster Garage, Myth Busters, NASCAR, Pro and college football, golf, Sportscenter, movies where stuff gets blown up.
Both of us watch:
American Dad, The Daily Show, ER, Everybody Loves Raymond, Good Eats, Ground Force, Grey’s Anatomy, Joan of Arcadia, Lost, Monster House, Malcolm in the Middle, MTV Cribs, The Office (US version), Scrubs, The Simple Life: Interns, Still Standing, Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men, Whose Line Is It Anyway.
There you go, Nielsen. Take that!
Since we’re NOT going to be a Nielsen family (sob), I’m going to go ahead and tell the universe what tv shows our family watches. Maybe it will get back to the networks somehow.
Jen watches:
Animal Cops Houston, Charmed, Changing Rooms, Designers’ Challenge, Duckman, Entourage, Friends, Futurama, Medium, Sliders, The Twilight Zone, Weekend Warriors, any teen movie from the 1980’s and 1990's, and yes, even though I have every Buffy episode on DVD I will still watch the reruns if I happen to see one is on.
Tim watches:
American Chopper, Biker Build Off, Monster Garage, Myth Busters, NASCAR, Pro and college football, golf, Sportscenter, movies where stuff gets blown up.
Both of us watch:
American Dad, The Daily Show, ER, Everybody Loves Raymond, Good Eats, Ground Force, Grey’s Anatomy, Joan of Arcadia, Lost, Monster House, Malcolm in the Middle, MTV Cribs, The Office (US version), Scrubs, The Simple Life: Interns, Still Standing, Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men, Whose Line Is It Anyway.
There you go, Nielsen. Take that!
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Hottest TV Doctor
It used to be Dr. Kovac, no contest. But now there's a new guy in town. Let's see how they compare...
Goran Visnjic as Dr. Luka Kovac. Talk, dark and handsome, Dr. Kovac also has that sexy accent going for him. Very intense eyes. Yummy.
Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd. Also tall, dark and handsome, Dr. McDreamy is an incredibly clever, smarmy flirt who refuses to back down. Plus, he has all that residual Ronald Miller-cuteness that still carries over from Can't Buy Me Love.
Hmmm, this is a close one to call... I think Dr. Kovac had better take his shirt off in an upcoming episode or two of ER, just to tip the balance back his way.
Goran Visnjic as Dr. Luka Kovac. Talk, dark and handsome, Dr. Kovac also has that sexy accent going for him. Very intense eyes. Yummy.
Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd. Also tall, dark and handsome, Dr. McDreamy is an incredibly clever, smarmy flirt who refuses to back down. Plus, he has all that residual Ronald Miller-cuteness that still carries over from Can't Buy Me Love.
Hmmm, this is a close one to call... I think Dr. Kovac had better take his shirt off in an upcoming episode or two of ER, just to tip the balance back his way.
Monday, April 11, 2005
Quite a Weekend
Saturday morning we all drove to Manassas to attend the Northern Virginia Pug Owners April Meetup. Actually, it was an offshoot of the Northern Virginia group, made up of people who don't want to drive all the way into Arlington just for a pug party. There were 6 humans and 4 pugs in attendance. We met at the Petsmart and just sat down on the floor and let the pugs sniff each other for about an hour while we discussed grooming rituals, sleeping arrangements, and costume ideas. Pickles LOVED her new friends Otis (12 year old fawn male who is graying and going blind), Sairhe (2 year old fawn female who is a little shy), and Beaker (6 month old black male with a lot of energy.) I think she and Beaker got along the best since they were the closest in age and temperament. All us owners decided to have next month's meeting at one of the dog parks in Northern Virginia. There's one that has separate areas for big dogs and dogs under 25 pounds. Sairhe's owner said that she's been to the Arlington meetup and there are normally over 40 pugs there! In one backyard! Can you imagine? I might have to make the trip next month just to see that!
Sunday afternoon we drove to Charlottesville to a barbecue at Tim's friends Mr. and Ms. Gappy's house. (We left Pickles at home this time.) It was alright when just the four of us were there, even when Mr. Gappy (who I will from now on be referring to as "Bobblehead" because of his oversized head)'s mother showed up. But then all his "friends" from the wine store where he works part time started arriving and he went through a total personality change. Not ALL of them were bad, there were a few nice people there, but MOST of them were completely pretentious. They kept trying to one-up everyone else with their knowledge of obscure wines, coffee, beers, cheeses, films, and music. I admit to being an indie music snob. I quit listening to The Donnas when they went mainstream. I know who Stephen Malkmus is. But I did NOT get involved in the conversation because you just can't win. I don't need to PROVE to total strangers that I know more obscure bands than they do. But that's what they were doing with each other and it was sad. I did agree with the one down-to-earth guy there when he said he thought the greatest film ever made was The Big Lebowski (I am the walrus.) Then one of the indie wine snobs started waxing poetic about some documentary he saw about pet cemeteries. See what I'm talking about?
What kind of barbecue serves 10 different kinds of imported beers, 5 different types of wine, 8 different cheeses but no cheddar for the hamburgers, and no sodas?
Bobblehead did that thing again where he kept using big words without really understanding the meaning. He even said "bloody recipe" but it sounded so awkward that it was totally obvious that he had to think about inserting it into the conversation to impress his indie wine snob friends.
Final Scores: Pug Party - 8.5, Pretentious Wine Snob Barbecue - 3.
Sunday afternoon we drove to Charlottesville to a barbecue at Tim's friends Mr. and Ms. Gappy's house. (We left Pickles at home this time.) It was alright when just the four of us were there, even when Mr. Gappy (who I will from now on be referring to as "Bobblehead" because of his oversized head)'s mother showed up. But then all his "friends" from the wine store where he works part time started arriving and he went through a total personality change. Not ALL of them were bad, there were a few nice people there, but MOST of them were completely pretentious. They kept trying to one-up everyone else with their knowledge of obscure wines, coffee, beers, cheeses, films, and music. I admit to being an indie music snob. I quit listening to The Donnas when they went mainstream. I know who Stephen Malkmus is. But I did NOT get involved in the conversation because you just can't win. I don't need to PROVE to total strangers that I know more obscure bands than they do. But that's what they were doing with each other and it was sad. I did agree with the one down-to-earth guy there when he said he thought the greatest film ever made was The Big Lebowski (I am the walrus.) Then one of the indie wine snobs started waxing poetic about some documentary he saw about pet cemeteries. See what I'm talking about?
What kind of barbecue serves 10 different kinds of imported beers, 5 different types of wine, 8 different cheeses but no cheddar for the hamburgers, and no sodas?
Bobblehead did that thing again where he kept using big words without really understanding the meaning. He even said "bloody recipe" but it sounded so awkward that it was totally obvious that he had to think about inserting it into the conversation to impress his indie wine snob friends.
Final Scores: Pug Party - 8.5, Pretentious Wine Snob Barbecue - 3.
50 Questions Answered by Yours Truly (Me)
1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? That’s classified.
2. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? Jeans
3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO? Sweet sounds of pugdog and frisky cat wrestling in the living room
4. WHAT ARE THE LAST 4 DIGITS OF YOUR PHONE NUMBER? As if
5. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Chocolate Chip Tastykake
6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Burnt umber
8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Nielsen Media Research
9. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? Are they Dr. Kovac from ER? Cause he’s hot.
10. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? Yes
11. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Tired
12. FAVORITE DRINK? Coke
13. FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? Tie between screwdriver and Sea Breeze
14. FAVORITE SPORTS? Ice hockey
15. HAIR COLOR? brown
16. EYE COLOR? blue
17. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Can’t be bothered. I even got the disposable kind that you don’t have to clean but it is too much trouble anyway.
18. SIBLINGS AND THEIR AGES: Little Sister, Age – 26
19. FAVORITE MONTH? October
20. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza
21. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Scooby Doo 2 – Monsters Unleashed
22. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Whichever day I don’t have to work
23. FAVORITE RELAXATION SPOT? The couch.
24. ARE YOU TO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? Not anymore.
25. FIRST TEENAGE (OR PRETEEN) MOVIE STAR CRUSH? I never really went for actors. I always had a thing for musicians.
26. SUMMER OR WINTER? Autumn
27. HUGS OR KISSES? Chocolate kisses
28. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS? relationships
29. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? chocolate
30. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE BACK? Doesn’t matter
31. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Who knows
32. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Anyone
33. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? Shacked up with boyfriend, our two cats, and one pugdog
34. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Princess Diaries Volume 5: Princess in Pink
35. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Finding Nemo
36. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Trivial Pursuit The Lord of the Rings DVD edition
37. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Went to a barbecue with a bunch of pretentious wine/indie snobs
38 . FAVORITE SMELLS? Drakkar cologne, vanilla, chocolate chip cookies
39. CAN YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE TO YOUR TOUNGE? No and that’s gross
40. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? The guy down the street with the Elvis van sitting in his yard.
41. BUTTERED, PLAIN OR SALTED POPCORN? Salty and buttery
42. FAVORITE CAR? Any car that is free and runs
43. FAVORITE FLOWER? Don’t care
44. HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? Probably about 8
45. CAN YOU JUGGLE? No
46. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Saturday
47. RED OR WHITE WINE? Red
48. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY? I attended an Effective Salesmanship class with some people from work.
50. LIFETIME GOALS? Publish my first novel by age 35, win the lottery, retire, hopefully don’t get stranded on a tropical island with 40 other people with complicated backstories who are plagued by bizarre hallucinations, dysfunctional interpersonal relationships and ephemeral jungle monsters (sorry, been watching Lost again…)
2. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? Jeans
3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO? Sweet sounds of pugdog and frisky cat wrestling in the living room
4. WHAT ARE THE LAST 4 DIGITS OF YOUR PHONE NUMBER? As if
5. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Chocolate Chip Tastykake
6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Burnt umber
8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Nielsen Media Research
9. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? Are they Dr. Kovac from ER? Cause he’s hot.
10. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? Yes
11. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Tired
12. FAVORITE DRINK? Coke
13. FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? Tie between screwdriver and Sea Breeze
14. FAVORITE SPORTS? Ice hockey
15. HAIR COLOR? brown
16. EYE COLOR? blue
17. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Can’t be bothered. I even got the disposable kind that you don’t have to clean but it is too much trouble anyway.
18. SIBLINGS AND THEIR AGES: Little Sister, Age – 26
19. FAVORITE MONTH? October
20. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza
21. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Scooby Doo 2 – Monsters Unleashed
22. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Whichever day I don’t have to work
23. FAVORITE RELAXATION SPOT? The couch.
24. ARE YOU TO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? Not anymore.
25. FIRST TEENAGE (OR PRETEEN) MOVIE STAR CRUSH? I never really went for actors. I always had a thing for musicians.
26. SUMMER OR WINTER? Autumn
27. HUGS OR KISSES? Chocolate kisses
28. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS? relationships
29. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? chocolate
30. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE BACK? Doesn’t matter
31. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Who knows
32. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Anyone
33. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? Shacked up with boyfriend, our two cats, and one pugdog
34. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Princess Diaries Volume 5: Princess in Pink
35. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Finding Nemo
36. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Trivial Pursuit The Lord of the Rings DVD edition
37. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Went to a barbecue with a bunch of pretentious wine/indie snobs
38 . FAVORITE SMELLS? Drakkar cologne, vanilla, chocolate chip cookies
39. CAN YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE TO YOUR TOUNGE? No and that’s gross
40. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? The guy down the street with the Elvis van sitting in his yard.
41. BUTTERED, PLAIN OR SALTED POPCORN? Salty and buttery
42. FAVORITE CAR? Any car that is free and runs
43. FAVORITE FLOWER? Don’t care
44. HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? Probably about 8
45. CAN YOU JUGGLE? No
46. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Saturday
47. RED OR WHITE WINE? Red
48. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY? I attended an Effective Salesmanship class with some people from work.
50. LIFETIME GOALS? Publish my first novel by age 35, win the lottery, retire, hopefully don’t get stranded on a tropical island with 40 other people with complicated backstories who are plagued by bizarre hallucinations, dysfunctional interpersonal relationships and ephemeral jungle monsters (sorry, been watching Lost again…)
Friday, April 08, 2005
Ian Somerhalder...Lost Forever...Or Is He?
I so totally knew that Boone was going to die on "Lost" this week. He was far too pretty. He was much prettier than most of the women on the show and that just cannot be allowed. He'll be back. With this show's propensity for flashbacks and visits from beyond the grave, Boone is sure to keep popping up. If they are going to kill the prettiest people off first, then I think Claire better watch her back. Then Jack, Kate, and the Korean chick. Sawyer might think he’s pretty, but really he’s not. Locke is ugly enough and annoying enough to be on the show for 19 years.
Hurley is my favorite. He is not pretty, but he is cuddly and sweet. I love Hurley. I will keep watching just for him. Even though every week I get more and more frustrated with this show. They keep giving us more mysteries, but not solving any of the old ones. NOTHING IS EVER RESOLVED! Is Claire's baby an alien or what? Why can Walt make polar bears appear in the jungle? How is Locke able to walk around when he's paralyzed? Why did Kate kill someone for a plastic airplane? What's Jack's tattoo mean anyway? Ahhhhhh!
I hope this post goes through. Blogger hasn't been working for me the last few days and it's really gotten on my nerves. I've got all these opinions that I need to spew into the void, but they have had no outlet. Poor me.
Hurley is my favorite. He is not pretty, but he is cuddly and sweet. I love Hurley. I will keep watching just for him. Even though every week I get more and more frustrated with this show. They keep giving us more mysteries, but not solving any of the old ones. NOTHING IS EVER RESOLVED! Is Claire's baby an alien or what? Why can Walt make polar bears appear in the jungle? How is Locke able to walk around when he's paralyzed? Why did Kate kill someone for a plastic airplane? What's Jack's tattoo mean anyway? Ahhhhhh!
I hope this post goes through. Blogger hasn't been working for me the last few days and it's really gotten on my nerves. I've got all these opinions that I need to spew into the void, but they have had no outlet. Poor me.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Pile of Scrap
Hey. I've been busy this weekend with my scrapbook project. I'm doing a scrapbook of our first year in the house. I've been collecting photos and other "crap" all year and am finally ready for assembly. So the first thing I did was backup all my photos onto disks (it took 3 whole disks!) Then I moved the photos into different folders, one for each page of the book. All the photos of Halloween went into the Halloween folder, and so on. Then I started going through ALL of the photos to pick out which ones I actually wanted to use. That's where I'm at now. I'm mid-way through the choosing of photos. Next I have to print the pictures out and put the pages together. I have this great software program that I use to help me plan my layouts. It's called Scrapbook Factory and it was only $10. It has clip art and backgrounds and picture frames and all sorts of neat stuff. I can even edit my photos. I used it to make a picture of Easter Island with my head on one of the statues (I'll post that later.)
Anyway, the theme of my scrapbook is the ABC's of Our First House. So each page is a different letter of the alphabet. A is for All of Us, B is for Baseball Game (we went to a baseball game last summer with Timmy's office), etc... The only thing is...I can't think of something to go with G. G is for Garbage? Going Shopping? Gangrene? Goofing Off? Groceries? None of these are quite right. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've got all the other letters covered. I'm probably going to build the book AROUND G, and come back and do it last...when I finally get an idea.
It's very windy today.
Anyway, the theme of my scrapbook is the ABC's of Our First House. So each page is a different letter of the alphabet. A is for All of Us, B is for Baseball Game (we went to a baseball game last summer with Timmy's office), etc... The only thing is...I can't think of something to go with G. G is for Garbage? Going Shopping? Gangrene? Goofing Off? Groceries? None of these are quite right. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've got all the other letters covered. I'm probably going to build the book AROUND G, and come back and do it last...when I finally get an idea.
It's very windy today.
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