Nothing's On

Doesn't it figure that when you most want to watch television, there is absolutely nothing worth watching? Earlier this afternoon I just wanted to surrender to the idiot box, but I couldn't find anything interesting to watch. I ended up watching the last 20 minutes of Mary Reilly, and let me tell you - that movie BLOWS. I have no idea what Julia Roberts was thinking with that one. She probably doesn't either. The only reason it was even remotely watchable was because I was mocking it, and I was hopped up on allergy medicine.

In seven minutes I'm going to watch Who Killed Jesus? on the Discovery Channel.

An hour ago I had another massive allergy attack, so I can no longer breathe through my Rosebud Salve-covered nose.

My Iron Lung

Ugh. I think my lungs are about to embark on their annual rebellion. I had a bad time with my allergies all day yesterday, and by the time I got home from my mom's house I was in desperate need of my bronchial inhaler. Which I used several times before going to bed. The really bad thing is that I woke up several times during the night needing to use it.

*wheeze*

I'm still in my pajamas. I've just put Smith's Rosebud Salve all over my nose, because it's chapped from rubbing and sneezing and I know that tomorrow the skin is going to start peeling and flaking off in unattractive little bits.

I'm currently watching The Bobby Bowden Show (yay Seminoles, beating the hated Gators once again) and searching for jobs online. I periodically search for jobs just to see what's out there. Everyone does, and nothing should be read into it.

*stares at coworkers who read this site on the sly*

I found the coolest job, too:

Writer/Editor in the Public Affairs Office for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State

Now how cool would that be? It would be all spook-y and stuff. Maybe the job is just a front for the CIA? It does say that a "TOP SECRET Critical/Sensitive Security clearance will be required." My dad held one of those when he worked for Honeywell. I think I'll put that on the application.

Actually, what I really want to do is work in cancer patient education/advocacy/support. Every time I see a job posting for something like that I get excited. And then I curse under my breath when I read that the jobs require either a.) a Master's degree in Social Work, or b.) a degree in Nursing. Neither of which I, uh, have. Or plan to get anytime soon.

I'm still at the point where I refuse to believe that those degrees are absolutely necessary to do what I want to do. I just think that all the qualities I already have - I'm smart, an excellent writer, a research expert, and I've, y'know, had cancer and stuff - should be more than enough.

Let's see, what other little things can I talk about? I have lots of little bits of news to relate:

• After bitching about being stalled on Weight Watchers, I somehow lost about 5 pounds over the last 8 days, despite stuffing myself during Thanksgiving. Okay then!
  
  
• I've slapped my Amazon associates-linked logo down at the bottom of the main page. If you click on this link to get to Amazon.com, and place an order, I'll get an enormous kickback - i.e. several pennies. I will use those pennies to pay myself a meager salary for spending hours of my time obsessing over the best layout for this site, and the proper colors.
  
  
• I forgot all the other little things I was going to say. Soooo ... I'll post them later, if I remember.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Alrighty, I've made a few modifications to this site.

First, the calendar days that have entries now have a light grey background behind the day.

Second, in the Recent Comments section, the entry that the comment is related to is now listed by name.

Third, I tweaked the link colors a little bit:

Links for pages you have not visited are this color.
Links for pages you have visited are this color.

Also, I will occasionally need to use highlighted text. When I do, it will look like this:

O, Tannenbaum

Me tree!

Today I've done a whole lot of nothing. I went to Illuminations to sniff out a few of their scents (I liked pomegranate, honeydew, coffee & cream, fresh air, monet's garden, maple sugar, and pineapple cilantro) before coming home and ordering a bunch online for Christmas gifts.

Then I put up my fake tree. Right now I'm waiting for it to stop raining so I can go to Target. Rappy and I are discussing what dessert we're going to make when she comes down for a visit for New Year's Eve.

Stuffed

Oh good GOD - I overate. Which is a tradition on Thanksgiving, I suppose. But DAYAM. My dad and I were going to go to Outback Steakhouse, but they were closed (how dare they!) so we ended up at Ale House. I ordered their Thanksgiving special - roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce (more on that in a sec). It was very good. Then my dad and I shared a brownie hot fudge sundae, which was ENORMOUS (combined we only ate half), but I now want to go lie down for a very, very long time.

Before dinner we saw the movie Timeline. It was okay - I give it a B. I think I might get the book (written by Michael Crichton).

So anyway ... HAPPY THANKSGIVING for those of you celebrating today. I've got a lot of things to be thankful for, but I think I can cover just about everything when I say I'm thankful for family, friends, health and wealth (although my definition of "wealth" probably differs from most people's).

Look, Teem! - Google loves the Log, too!

50 Quick Bucks

... is what I spent at Books-a-Million during lunch. We won't talk about the fact that I bought two magazines (Premiere and Newsweek) simply because they had actors from The Return of the King on the cover. No, we will not talk about that.

Instead, we will talk about the fact that I FOUND NEMO! The Finding Nemo ornament I've been trying to find for six weeks? There it was, wedged between two other ornaments. I got the very last one.

I also bought:

Winter Fun with Snoopy miniature
Mischievous Kittens (fifth in series)
Ice Block Buddies 2003 dated ornament

Wow

Just ... wow. I predict many hours spent looking at every little detail of this in my immediate future.

Who's That Girl?

I'm not sure this will work, but: How Well Do You Know Me?

Blame Roo

Thong-th-th-th-thong.

Roots 66

My mommy sent me some links to Ancestry.com that contain part of me family tree! *waves small tree branch*

Alice James is my maternal grandmother. I don't think I appear anywhere on this site, but I haven't really tried to search it yet. My mom is the first listed "Living ROWLEY" and my maternal grandfather is Kenneth R. Rowley.

Oh! Here's my paternal grandfather, Robert Edwin Goodrich. I'm in here somewhere as "Living GOODRICH."

MOO!

Well Joe Millionaire II is absolutely horrid, but we're having fun in chat. To wit:

To Be Discontinued

I can't let Teem get all the attention!

If I could do anything today, it would be to bitchslap the fool at L'Oreal Paris USA that decided that reformulating the Quick Stick foundation was a good idea. Because it's not! The new version - Ideal Balance something or other - is horrible! I tried it on my hand and it made me itch!

So NOW, I have to travel around to the other two CVS drugstores in the area and see if I can find the old, now discontinued formula in Natural Beige. I have to find it at CVS for two reasons. One, I need to return this GREATLY INFERIOR VERSION that I just bought this afternoon. Two, CVS is having a sale right now where you get a free L'Oreal blush with purchase of a foundation. And since I need to stock up, I might as well get free stuff while I'm at it.

But I'm still angry! *RAGE*

You know what this reminds me of? When Freeman discontinued my beloved Raspberry Almond facial scrub and reformulated it in a totally disgusting manner. Bastards.

What things that you love have been discontinued?

Monday Monday

Happy Monday! It's a short week, people. Let's all hold hands and sing "We Are the World."

Another Thanksgiving-related recipe - Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup and Chiptoles.

Here's a quick public service announcement - today's episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show is the one where Oprah announces her Favorite Things (i.e. to give as gifts) for this holiday season. Yes, I am taping this show. I never tape Oprah because I don't really care about Oprah, but we're talking GIFTS, dammit, and those are always worth my time. I just hope my VCR timer doesn't gork on me again.

Oh, another quick thing - if you've got the time and inclination today, please send some good thoughts this way for Mike June. June is the head football coach at Palm Harbor University High School. I've known June for a few years; I met him in my work as a sportswriter for the St. Petersburg Times. Coach June is one of those coaches who would go out of his way to make the time to talk to me after a game. It didn't matter if his team had won or lost, or by how much - he was always available for a quote.

His attitude filtered down to his players, too. Every PHU football player I've ever wanted to talk to has been both respectful and willing to give me five minutes of his time. Which is more than I can say for a lot of other athletes.

Anyway, June needs a bone marrow transplant, and he's still looking for a donor match. I'm crossing my fingers that he finds one soon.

I was thinking about him on the drive to work, how I'd like to contact him and show my appreciation for how well he always treated me (as a reporter) whenever I covered his team. I feel a special connection to him now, of course, since we've both had cancer. And I'd mention that to him, but I think it would sound weird. I don't know exactly what he's going through (needing a transplant), and although I've been in remission for seven years I don't really have any advice on how to do that.

"Seven years in remission - Ask me how!"

I don't even know what I'd say if someone did ask me how. I could tell you how I've dealt with it on an emotional level, but as far as the physical part of it - hell if I know. Lots of luck and good fortune and doing exactly what Dr. Drapkin told me to do, even when he was pumping me full of massive amounts of rocket fuel and mustard gas.

The Weekend - I got my hair cut (wonderful) and my highlights redone (FABULOUS). I went to a new place called Sommers & Co., and Kim worked on me. She's amazingly talented, and I am completely thrilled with her work. I especially like the color - she did foil highlights, but then colored all of the hair not being highlighted, to give it depth. It's very pretty, and I've already received several compliments on it.

Lunch plans - Must go to CVS and take advantage of their "free blush with purchase of L'Oreal foundation" offer. I need more Quick Stick!

Handbags at Dawn

I am still battling the nausea. I don't think it's the flu, because I think I'd feel worse if that were the case. I don't have acute nausea anymore, but just a constant, nagging feeling that if I look at a food item the wrong way, I'm going to heave.

So I probably shouldn't have had a turkey pepperoni with lite Jarlesberg cheese and Caesar dressing sammich for breakfast.

Yesterday I worked from home in the afternoon, and while there I happened to catch Romeo and Juliet on Flix. Not the version with that crappy Leonardo Di Whatever guy, but the film done by Franco Zefferelli in 1968 that starred Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting.

I loved this movie when I was in middle school. Mainly because I had a huge, swoon-worthy crush on Leonard Whiting (he looks a little like Tom Welling, in the face). And as I was watching the movie last night, I thought - "Yep. That guy is still totally adorable."

I also thought, at 12, that it was SO COOL that you got to see Romeo's naked butt in the film.

In other news, it's Friday! TFC! And tomorrow, I get a haircut and highlights. Huzzah!

You Be Illin'

I feel like I might boot at any moment.

Is it the flu? I don't know. But I feel nauseated and dizzy and light-headed and icky. I'm going to work from home this afternoon and finish up my stories for the newsletter. I think I'll stop by Walgreens and pick up some ginger ale on the way home, too.

Last night I had weird dreams. First I had a vivid, detailed dream about ordering body butter on the Internet from MMU Cosmetics. Um ... okaaaay.

Then I had a dream where I gave birth to a baby - and it was delivered by jird, who coincidentally is pregnant in real life - but later the baby turned into a tortoishelle (I can never spell that word right) cat. And then someone wanted to see the "baby" so I brought the "baby" to her in the bathroom (?) and then she held the "baby" and stepped into the shower (!). Then I got mad because I thought the kitty-baby was going to drown or that the water would hurt its eyes, but it just stood there in the bottom of the tub under the shower stream getting wet. It didn't even try to move on its own.

Then I woke up, and the waves of nausea started hitting.

Oh, NJ, thank you for the nice email. You made me smile this morning. And I had totally forgotten about Lindsey getting an evil arm sewn on. Now if only Angel would bring back Lilah (and kill Eve).

Wait Watch Her

Okay John dammit! I'm sick of sticking to this dumb Weight Watchers plan and either not losing anything or gaining a pound.

SICK.
OF.
IT.

The last two weeks have been like this. Yes, I'm lifting weights a lot more. But I was lifting weights all along and still had good weekly losses.

But NO MORE! *kicks WW in the head*

I can, however, stick both of my arms down the front of my pants. I guess that's a plus.

Oh, and here is what is in my makeup bag. Everyone comment with the contents of your own makeup bag! Why? Because I like lists.

Origins Gloomaway roller ball perfume pen thingie
MAC Blot powder
L'Oreal Quick Stick foundation
Bonne Bell Pink Lemonade Lip Smacker
Little GWP bottle of Clinique Happy
Stila Lip Polish in Lacquer
Tiny bottle of Purell Hand Sanitizer
Bobbi Brown mini Tea Tint
Bobbi Brown mini clear lipgloss
Lancome GWP eyeshadow quad in brown shades
Matchstick book of teeny emery boards
Clean & Clear Blotting Sheets
Mini vials of eyedrops

Anywhere But Here

Thanksgiving is in a week! Well, almost. And in recognition of that, I'm going to be posting Thanksgiving-appropriate recipes and stuff on me little website here. First up, from NYTimes.com - Sausage Stuffing with Caramelized Onions.

And in other news - scary things afoot in downtown Palm Harbor, where I work.

When I left the office last night at 6, I noticed two sheriff's department cars outside of the Blue Coyote Coffee Company building across the street. Dave, the owner of the BCCC, was talking with a deputy. Obviously something was up, but it was 6, I was tired, and it was time to get the hell out of Dodge (if you know what I mean).

So this morning Suzanne went over to Dave's (no one really calls the place by its real name) to get some tea, and she got the scoop:

All day yesterday a scraggly-looking man had been hanging out in and around Dave's. He had long, ragged blonde hair and scruffy facial hair. He was also, apparently, obviously mentally ill. He was talking about strange things and pinballing from topic to topic with no sense of order. Crazy talk, if you will.

Dave only works in his store in the mornings/early afternoons. In the late afternoon, he has high school kids that take over. Apparently this strange man made them nervous, so they called Dave to come back to the store. He did, and he got the man to go outside onto the sun deck with him, where he calmly explained that the man was intimidating his employees and that he needed to leave. And if he didn't leave, Dave would call the police.

Now, let me tell you this - Dave is a very soft-spoken, kind-hearted man. I'm sure he talked to the man as nicely as would be possible, under the circumstances.

The man did not leave, so Dave did call the police. They came and it was obvious that the man was mentally ill, so they handcuffed him and put him in the back of a cruiser. They were going to Baker Act him (basically an involuntary commitment to a mental illness treatment program in jail; a person can be Baker Acted for three days if the police believe the person is a danger to themselves or others).

Once the man was in the cruiser, Dave went inside his store to get the man's backpack. He brought it out to the sheriff, and the sheriff opened it and looked inside. He found a loaded Glock handgun.

I am stunned. I am so thankful that the situation didn't escalate into something absolutely horrible, which it so easily could have. If Dave had been a different sort of man, with a more angry and confrontational temperment, I think the situation might have played out in an entirely different way.

And now I'm left here thinking, Are we ever truly safe? I don't think we are. Because this little area, downtown Palm Harbor, with its 4 blocks of little shops and antique stores, is the last place where you'd ever expect to be shot.

Let's All Zshuhz!

New Queer Eye for the Straight Guy tonight! And not only that, I bought the Two Towers DVD box set today!

Good times ahead, my friends. Good times.

Another Hit Off the Pipe

Oh, look! Roo gave me crack, too!

Cold Case

Note: I'm writing this with Coldplay's "Green Eyes" playing in the background, and may I just send out a big SCREW YOU to Chris Martin for refusing to perform this song anymore (because Gwyneth Paltrow has blue eyes, not green). Chris, I hope you and Gwyneth break up soon, and you can go back to performing one of the best songs you've ever written.

Anyway...

I'm now taping the Simpsons on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. Why is this noteworthy? Well, for two reasons. One, I've been watching the Simpsons since it premiered, so for me to not watch a new episode at the exact moment it is first shown is unheard of.

Second, it's noteworthy because I've found a show that I think is better.

Well, I'm not sure it's better. It's a completely different genre, but for whatever reason, it speaks to me on a level that the Simpsons no longer does.

So. Does anyone else watch Cold Case? Yeah I know - it's on CBS. Which, generally speaking, isn't worth anything as a network except for reality shows (and okay, maybe CSI). But don't let the fact that it's on CBS keep you away – Cold Case is an excellent show, and you should be watching it.

It's a mystery, but it doesn't have Big! Momentous! Twists! the way that Law & Order does. Incidentally, I used to love L&O, but now? Not so much (although Jerry Orbach can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned).

But I digress. Cold Case is a show with heart. That's really the best way I can describe it. There is a palpable sense that the detectives working to solve the case, and bring closure to the crime, are emotionally invested in seeking justice for the victim. It's wonderfully acted, the stories are creative, and the messages within the show are subtle enough that I don't feel like I'm being beaten over the head by someone else's morality.

But it's the ending of the show that always gets me, and typically brings me to tears. Not big, heaving sobs, but those lone, solitary tears that people get when they're empathizing with others. At the end of each show, with the case finally closed, a song plays in the background. It's always a song from the era when the cold case originated - the last episode used the Byrds' "Turn" - and it's accompanied by slow-motion shots of the detectives, and the family/friends of the victim, and of the killer being led away.

Interspersed in these shots are shots of the victim, from the era when they were still alive. Usually they're looking at their friends or family and smiling, as if to say "I'm okay now. You don't have to hurt for me anymore." And at some point the victim and the lead detective, Lilly Rush, make eye contact, and the victim gives a little smile, or a little nod, in a gesture of thanks.

It makes me cry every single time.

Last week's episode involved a gay college baseball player being beaten to death outside a gay bar in the '60s. It was absolutely phenomenal, and the end was so poignant. The player appeared in the alley where he was killed, watching his mom and the detectives light a candle at the little memorial his mom had set up. He was dressed in a suit, and he and his mom kept looking at each other and smiling. And then his college boyfriend - who was a law student when they were together and had grown up to be a judge - smiled at him. Then we see a shot of the boyfriend - and in this scene he is no longer the judge, but shown as he appeared in college - walking up to the victim. They look at each other for a moment, and then embrace ... something they could never do publically when the victim was still alive.

I have a lump in my throat just remembering it.

Afternoon Malaise

I wanna book that'll make me drunk ...

I'm getting back into the Tragically Hip again, courtesy of my Launch station. I'm listening to "An Inch An Hour" and really remembering what an amazing lyricist Gordon Downie is.

No struggletown no bemused Trudeau no solitary walks through vacant lots in moonglow ...

And now my station has moved on to the Human League's "(Keep Feeling) Fascination."

So it's my obligatory 15-minute afternoon break at work - I didn't take a 15-minute break this morning, so if I run a little long on this, that is why. It's all above board.

Weekend recap: Saturday I did everything I said I was ambivalent about doing. That is, shopping. And I can't list all of my purchases because some of the recipients of those purchases read this site ("Hi Mom!"). But I did restock on the Harry and David Skinny Moose Munch, so I am a happy camper.

The clerk girl at Harry and David just could not shut up about my hair, too. I handed her my debit card, which masquerades as a Visa card in its spare time, and she said, "You changed your hair." Because a photo of me is on the card, and it was taken about 18 months ago. And yes, I have changed my hair since then.

So I said: "Highlights."

And she said, "WOW, REALLY? Your hair looks so good with those highlights it's very pretty and everyone I talk to says that they have highlights and they're so much better than overall color"

Then I said: "They are."

And then she said, "WOW, you know, did you get your highlights done recently because I've heard that you don't have to get them done very much if you don't want to and they still look okay because yours look GREAT."

And then I said: "It's been about seven months, yeah."

Then SHE said, "I want to grow mine out because my natural color isn't very different than my other color and then I want to get my hair cut and then get highlights."

So I said: "Cool!"

And then I left.

I went into L'Occitane and was decidedly unimpressed by everything and thought just about everything smelled like rotting flesh. So ... didn't buy anything there.

I did buy painted naked people playing cards at MAC. They're super cool. I might have to take photos of them and post them here. Then I'll be a purveyor of porn!

Edit: Duh. I forgot to recap Sunday.

So on Sunday I had an allergy attack and felt bluh and did laundry and ate lots of stuff and then my computer gorked out and I watched television until hitting the sack at 9.

Color Me Bad

Hey Ka Ching, I found an even better color picker (that automatically displays a palette of nine complementary colors). Hours of fun!

Dandelion Break

Last night I went into my bedroom at 9:30 p.m., laid down to pet Caygeon, and woke up this morning at 7 a.m.

The Beautiful Lull

Guh. It's Friday. I should be happy, right? So why is it that all I can think about is going home and either a.) immediately taking a nap, or b.) going to bed at 9?

This afternoon is dragging. So I will spend my 15-minute afternoon break writing to you, the person I love most in the world.

By the way - Teem says "hi!" Well, actually, she didn't. I told her that I was going to go write an entry for my journal and this is what she replied:

Did you know that I gave Teem her name? And I gave Rappy her name, too. And Proo as well. I'm sorry, though, because right now I don't have the energy to link their names to their journals. But you can find them over there *points to the right* under "Friends."

Anyway, so I can never think of a good nickname for Overg, despite the fact that I talk to him on the phone a lot. And don't think he doesn't complain and whine about it, because he does. So I always say to him, "But Overg, a good nickname can't be rushed. And it has no meaning if it's forced. So patience, my little friend. All things in good time."

Oh, and I call Tsylyst "Sweetpea." But he's never around anymore, so screw him.

Okay, so, tomorrow? I had planned on going to the MAC store at Old Hyde Park to return the empty blush palette I bought by mistake. But I can only get store credit (no receipt) and I don't really want anything MAC right now. *sigh* I must be coming down with something.

I also intended on going to International Plaza. Because I wanted to go to L'Occitane, The Body Shop, Bath & Body Works, Nordstrom, and Harry and David (for, hopefully, a restock of the Skinny Moose Munch that I bought when Jen and I went down to Ellenton Outlets and ran across the Harry and David outlet).

But now I just feel apathetic and bleh and I don't really care about going to the mall because I am for the most part done with holiday shopping and so I don't *need* to buy anything (except this Elsa Peretti J initial pendant at Tiffany's, but I'm not going to buy that until I hit my weight goal)(or Valentine's Day).

So maybe I'll just stay home tomorrow and clean my apartment.

It's WINTER!

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!

Tomorrow's high temp is 71!!!!!!!!

SEVENTY ONE!!!!!!!!!!!

I can actually wear long sleeves! And sleep with the windows open!!!

*runs around office screaming*

So here's something interesting and bizarre I learned today. I'm having to do some research into the types of visas foreigners have to obtain in order to work in the U.S. There are two main visas to accomplish this - the H-1B and the L-1. I'm not going to explain the differences, so ...

The H-1B visa is for three specific classes of workers. It is for (and this quote is from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service):

Okay - fashion modeling needs to be singled out? And not only that, it has to be fashion modeling of "distinguished merit and ability." So does that mean that only really really good models get let in to the country? If you're a crappy model, we keep you out?

Here's more:

It just stuns me that someone in the federal government gave this any thought at all. It's depressing, really.

There's also separate visa classes for movie stars (O1) and rock stars (P1).

The Cutest Kid In the World

That would be my nephew, Alex. Who will turn 8 years old in a month. *sigh*

Here are some photos of Alex taken on Halloween:

Alex (with missing front teeth) playing with Maggie

Ninja Alex and Pumpkin Maggie ready to trick-or-treat

Full-length Ninja Alex

He'll shank your ass as soon as look at ya!

Americana

Two interesting sites I ran across today. The first is a site which has collected digital copies of famous American speeches, called American Rhetoric Online. I had no idea some of these speeches were available free, online.

The other site is for the photogeeks in the audience. When he died, amateur photographer Charles W. Cushman bequeathed all of his 14,500 color slides to his alma mater, Indiana University. The slides documented American life from 1938 to 1969. IU has created a site to display them. Don't miss the slide show in the Highlights section.

UPDATE – 3:50 p.m.
I just had this conversation with Teem:

Burned

As I was going to sleep last night I started thinking about what a cool verb "burned" is. It's etymologically wicked. Consider the following:

Pretty cool, huh?

My Launch.com station has been ROCKING this morning. Here's a glimpse of what I've been listening to:

Pat Benatar, "Heartbreaker" – You're the right kind of sinner to release my inner fantasies

Gordon Lightfoot, "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" – Bring in the workers and bring up the rails

Scritti Politti, "Perfect Way" – A part of me belongs apart from all the hurt above

Depeche Mode, "Stripped" – Let me see you STRIPPED down to the BONE

Wilco, "Candyfloss" – I know I should be more careful, I know I should watch where I've been

Matthew Good Band, "Failing the Rorschach Test" – This ain't real, baby ... got a better excuse for myself

Babanarama, "Venus" – As black as the dark night, she was ... had what no one else had (yeow!)

Juliana Hatfield Three, "My Sister" – I hate my sister, she's such a bitch

10,000 Maniacs, "These Are Days" – You know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky

Queen, "Killer Queen (Live)" – Caviar and cigarettes, well versed in etiquette, extrordinarily nice

Human League, "Don't You Want Me?" – Don't forget it's me who put you where you are now, and I can put you back down too

Tones on Tail, "OK This Is the Pops" – Know the truth but tell only lies

Pixies, "Debaser" – I am un chien andalusia

New Order, "True Faith" – I used to think that the day would never come, I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun

Alice In Chains, "Man In the Box" – He who tries (will be wasted)

Bauhaus, "Sanity Assassin" – He drops a capsule in your drink and spikes your dreams with madness

The Outfield, "Your Love" – JOSIE'S ON A VA-CA-TION FAR A-WAY!

John Mayer, "Why Georgia" – Everybody is just a stranger, but that's the danger in going my own way

Stevie Nicks (with Tom Petty), "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" – This doesn't have to be the big Get Even, this doesn't have to be anything at all

Fountains of Wayne, "Bright Future In Sales" – I'm gonna get my shit together, 'cause I can't live like this forever

The Monkees, "Daydream Believer" – Cheer up, Sleepy Jean! Oh what can it mean, to a daydream believer (or a homecoming queen)

Guster, "What You Wish For" – And I will get what I deserve

Pearl Jam, "Daughter" – She holds the hand that holds her down ... she will rise above

Jimmy Eat World, "Sweetness" – Stumble 'til you crack, sinking into sweet uncertainty

Rosegarden Funeral

I've been tired ... so tired ... today, and I don't know why. I'm going to go to bed immediately after 24. I hope Kim dies tonight. *crosses fingers*

My quadriceps hurt like ... well, I don't know like what. But they hurt really badly today. More than yesterday, and especially when I walk down stairs.

In other painful news, my stepdad broke three ribs last Friday. So he gets to be off for a week. Woo hoo! But he also gets to be in a lot of pain. Bluh.

I messed around with my digital camera tonight. I love Photoshop.

All About Meeeeeeeee

Hey, look! Rappy gave me some crack!

So I've decided that the month of November is going to be the month where my life is All About Me. I'm spreading myself too thin with all of the activities for other people that I get involved in at the expense of doing the things for myself that I want to do. And it's making me tired/angsty/irked. So ...

No more! It's all about ME this month. ME! ME! ME! (heh, I feel like Teem)

What else? Well, last night I weight trained my lower body and today, my quadriceps are screaming in pain whenever I walk up or down the stairs. My legs no likey the 10-pound hand weights to be used while doing lunges and squats. But to that I say "Fie! Fie on you, weaklings!"

Oh, if you're in the market for a good CD, I recommend Travis' 12 Memories.

It's still way too warm here. I don't consider low 80s to be acceptable in November. Other things I find unacceptable are fish served whole (like with their heads still on and stuff), platform shoes, and nose hair.

I wonder if I would feel more aerodynamically sound if I shaved off all of my body hair?

Changes Afoot

Alrighty, this site now has two new areas of content along the right sidebar:

A Thousand Words – An area where I will be posting my photos. Sometimes I will post other people's photos that I like (you'll know they aren't mine because the copyright will be replaced). Once the photo has been archived, I'll include a description of its composition. This will be a semi-daily feature.

Random Reading – An area that includes links to what I feel are interesting stories. This will (hopefully) be a daily feature, archived once per week.

Demotivators

I have had no desire to do much of anything today. I'm so laaaaaazy. I got up around 10 a.m., puttered around for a bit, checked my email, then watched my new DVD of Finding Nemo ($15 at Walmart!). It's such a great movie, and all of the voice performances are amazing, especially Alison Janney as Peach the Starfish.

So then I talked to Overg for about an hour on the phone. Lucky me! I get to talk to the guy that all the girls think is sooooo dreeeeeeeamy. Then I puttered around some more. Around 2 p.m. I finally braved the outside world and drove to the Hallmark store to buy two birthday cards. I also bought Yankee Candle tarts in Carrot Cake and Cranberry Chutney (burning the carrot cake one now, smells good).

This Hallmark was also sold out of the Finding Nemo ornament I want. I want that ornament very badly, but according the the Hallmark Lady, it's sold out all over the city.

Damn.

Then I came home, puttered, baked a sweet potato for lunch, tweaked this journal's settings a little bit, talked to Rappy, and packaged up two birthday presents and cards. I was going to go out to the Post Office and mail them, but then the siren call of my bed distracted me into taking a nap.

I woke up at 7. Decided to give myself a full-body exfoliation before jumping in the shower. I whole-heartedly recommend full-body exfoliation to you. How do you accomplish full-body exfoliation, you say? Well you take any body scrub - cheap, expensive, doesn't matter - and you massage a generous amount into your skin BEFORE YOU GET IN THE SHOWER. Your skin must be dry when you start; this is what results in the best exfoliation.

Then you get in the shower and rinse off. Your skin will be as smooth as glass, guaranteed. I use the cheapest scrubs I can find at Big Lots to do this - the Totally Juicy Hot Apple and Grapefruit scrubs work very well (and are about $2 a tube).

And now? I've fed the cats, and I'm contemplating what to make for dinner. I think it will be chicken salad with pineapple, and a side of lowfat cottage cheese. I was going to steam some brocco-locco-loccoli, but now I don't feel like it.

Oh, and Otis has a pinpoint hole in his top fin, for some reason.

Vote Now If You Want Mo' Overg

Citizens unite! We must convince Overg to start a journal of his own. Post comments on this entry explaining why Overg should start a journal.

Work Photos

Just a short one before dinner and Survivor - my desk at work, and the photo of Dawsey I have at work.

Crapz

So Jen and I are in Super Wal-Mart at lunch, buying stuff for the family from the battered women's shelter that we've adopted this holiday season. We did this last year, too - Pam P. organizes everything, then people donate money or items on the wish lists of the mom and her kids.

So we're in Wal-Mart and one of the things on the 9-year-old girl's wish list is something called "Bratz" and specifically this girl wants "Bratz - Hispanic." Well okay then! Jen and I hit the doll aisle and we find the Bratz section.

Ever seen these dolls? Apparently they're wildly popular with the 'tween set, and wouldn't you know it, they're all dressed like hoochie mamas! Hot pants and hair extentions and fuck-me boots, oh my!

And they've all got names like Yasmin and Jade and Cloe (yes, weirdly spelled), and the boy Bratz have names like Koby and Dylan and Cameron. Of course they do.

So anyway, right now Jen and I are deciding which Bratz we want to be for the holiday party, courtesy of Amazon.com's selection of dolls. I'm going to be Formal Funk Dana.

And then I notice that ... THEIR FEET COME OFF.

You don't change their shoes, like we always did with Barbie - you change their ENTIRE FOOT.

Don't believe me? Click the second photo on the page that I've linked up there. TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF FEET.

I just find this incredibly disturbing for some reason. Besides, every girl knows that one of the best parts of dressing up Barbie was the high heels and boots that she wore.

More Orly

And not only is he hot, but he's also an artiste in several different media.

MMM, Orlando

You know, I really don't care anymore that he's prettier than me - Orlando Bloom is just entirely too attractive.

Dirty Old Men

Oh mah god, turkey pepperoni is just the best food on earth, ever.

I meant to write about this last night. So I went to the grocery store last night (and dammit, I just found out that I picked up the wrong kind of cottage cheese. Dammit!) and while I was in the checkout line the man in front of me started making smalltalk. He was about 60, rail thin, orangey-tan, with white hair and wearing skin tight blue jeans (ergh). Our conversation went something like this:

Dirty Old Man: That looks like it would be good. *points to spaghetti squash*
Innocent Young Me: Well I don't really know, this is the first time I've bought one.
DOM: I wonder how you cook them?
IYM: You split them in half, bake them cut sides down for an hour, then scoop out the seeds and shred it with a fork, like spaghetti.
DOM: That's a lot of work!
IYM: I guess so!
DOM: That's too complicated for me. If I wanted to eat food like that I would have stayed married ... the two times I was ... *big smile*
IYM: *blank stare*
IYM: *narrows eyes into glare*
IYM: Okaaaay.

I've got two sweet potatoes baking in the oven. I yam addicted.

HAHAHAHA. Get it?? I *YAM* addicted?!!?

Oh, go away...

Snappy

I need to do this 26 Things challenge this month. I wonder how many of the 26 things I can depict using Caygeon?

Listmania!

I will be stopping by the grocery store on my way home from work tonight and I intend upon purchasing the following foodstuffs:

Lowfat cottage cheese
Lite Jarlsberg cheese
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese (hmm, I sense a theme)
1/2 gallon skim milk
Egg Beaters egg whites in a carton
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Sweet potatoes
Spaghetti squash (a leap of faith in Ka Ching)
Scallions
Spray butter
Tarragon and/or dill
Healthy Choice Jumpin' Java ice cream
Hillshire Farms deli turkey (NOT SMOKED)
100% whole wheat bread
Fat-free bologna
Fat-free hot dogs
Hormel Chili with NO BEANS
Hot italian ... turkey sausage
Ziploc bags (snack size)
Diet Sunkist soda

Life Goes On

Holy moly, it's already November. *sigh*

Gonna go watch my tape of Tru Calling now, so I can send it to cable-less Roo. Here's to hoping it doesn't blow.

UPDATE - 9:45 p.m.

Well, it didn't blow. It wasn't great, either. I'll probably keep taping it for a few weeks before I decide whether or not it's worth my time.

Today I did a whole lot of nothing. I rearranged the train case that holds all of my PRODUCT and watched an extra-long Director's Cut version of Jaws. Heh, I typed "Jawa" there first. Anyway, this is approximately the 213th time I've watched Jaws, and I still love it. "We're going to need a bigger boat." Rock on, Roy Scheider! ROCK ON!

Tomorrow I'm meeting me dad to go see Scary Movie 3. My expectations are very low, which is probably good.