Life & Other Nonsense

And now for your latest update

2009-01-20T21:05:00.002-06:00

We're back! Mexico was awesome, SUCH a great time with lots of sun, fun, booze & food. We managed to miss some of the worst weather of the winter, & hopefully that will be the worst of it for the rest of the season. I managed to NOT fry myself like a Colonel Sanders special (yay!), but still got some much-needed color. It all seemed to fly by though. But all good things do, don't they?

I watched the inauguration on tape-delay, as I had to go back to the salt mine today. It was wonderful, & inspiring. I am humbled by the power of the people.

I'm giving serious thought to changing jobs. I feel like I'm at a crossroads - I'm standing at the fork, looking down both paths... and I've no idea which way to go. I suppose it's the new year, & thinking about my rapidly approaching birthday. How is it that I'm going to be 30-fucking-seven!? I don't feel that old! I barely feel 25! sigh Ugh. Enough of that line of thought.

Other than that, nothing too much going on. Trying to get back into the regular routine. Hope everyone is well.

That is all. We now return you to your regularly scheduled life.

Ohhhhh... the weather outside is:

2008-12-14T17:42:00.003-06:00

FUCKING RIDICULOUS! Welcome back to the horrors of Minnesota winter! I guess it could be worse - we could be in Moorehead or Fergus Falls, where not only is it snot-freezing cold, but they have a honest-to-god blizzard going on right now. I personally have not ventured outside the comfort of my jammies & house today, but The Hubby informs me that it SUCKS outside. He went to the gym at like 1:30 & it was 37 degrees - by the time he came home the wind had picked up, & things were flash-freezing. Did I mention I was glad I didn't go out today? :) So now I'm starting to dread the drive in tomorrow - here's to hoping MnDOT gets off their lazy asses & throws some salt on the roads.

On the upside, the Vikes are WINNING!!! WHOOT WHOOT! And it's d- 26 days until Sun & FUN in Mexico!!!

How odd.

2008-12-08T19:03:00.003-06:00

So on my way home this evening, I stopped at Davanni's to get a pizza. While waiting for said pizza, I passed the time scanning the Strib & came across this article. The thing that caught my attention was that in the paper copy, the subheadline said "...his common law wife said." Now, why on earth was it necessary to point that out? Perhaps some of my more literary friends who read this can unboggle my feeble, Indiana-edjamakated mind.

** Note that the online article called her "his girlfriend".

Ah well. Other than this random observation, not a whole lot going on. Turkey Day was good, the day after fun, the Hubby's mother is insane, but all in all it was a pretty good start to the "holiday season". Onward toward Christmas!

I am witness to History.

2008-11-04T22:55:00.004-06:00

At approximately 10:00pm, CST on this day, the 4th day of November, in the year 2008, I bore witness to a moment in history. Today, the United States of America, which only 138 years ago gave African Americans the right to vote, elected an African American President. I honestly never thought I would see this day - or at least not this soon.

I have never been more proud of my country than I am today.

YES WE DID!!!!

This is why I was so worked up...

2008-10-26T17:02:00.003-05:00

... in my last post. I would gladly take animals 99% of the time over most humans.

See here.

Terriers rock. I outta know...

God I fucking hate people.

2008-09-27T01:23:00.002-05:00

This sorry-ass excuse for a man should be run through a wood-chipper. Feet first.

Fucking dickless bastard.

I'm Tired...

2008-09-24T19:25:00.006-05:00

So Mr. Negative had this to say about the election. It's highly amusing, & so true. And I'm not just saying that because this is one of my all-time favorite movies! ;)

Therefore, I bring to you, the lovely Lilly Von Schtupp. Enjoy!

LOL

One crazy week.

2008-09-02T19:02:00.002-05:00

I pretty much had the Week From Hell last week. I started a very long, boring post rehashing the gory details, but couldn't quite finish it. Mostly I attribute that to not wanting to relive the events again, after having told it, oh, 5 or 6 times between Thursday evening & Sunday. Let me just give you some quick bullet points to catch those of you up who don't know already:

* Got a meeting request Monday evening from my boss's boss. Wasn't sure what meeting was about but had a bad feeling.
* Meeting wasn't until Thursday. Had almost 2 days to stew about it.
* Feelings turned out to be right - got reamed once again for having an "attitude" with someone, even though I was completely innocent (and this time I truly believe it.)
* Really, REALLY wanted to tell my bosses to shove their sorry-ass job up their ass sideways, but refrained.

So that was everything up until Thursday, in a nutshell. There are a lot of details in between - for those of you that care, shoot me an email & I'll tell ya the rest. I was feeling pretty low on Thursday afternoon & evening - about as low as I've felt in a very long time. Unfortunately Hubby was out of town, but very fortunately I have some awesome friends who threw me a lifeline. To those of you that tried to boost my spirits, I love you guys - each one of you. I hope you know how much you mean to me. /End sappiness.

I decided to take Friday off from work (fuck the fucking fuckers), & what a good decision that was. It was such a beautiful day - sunny, perfect temps, & I got to go hang out with more friends for most of the day. Then it was prep time for the big Munch-N-Jam for the band. Talk about a whirlwind of events! It seemed to come & go so fast. But what a FUCKING BLAST Saturday was! :) I, along with a few others who shall remain nameless, got wasted after the shindig, but a good time was had by all. The best part was that I got to forget the previous week's events, even for a little while. Sunday started out a lazy day, then had a BBQ to send off a friend back to Texas. Hopefully he made it back before any of the heavy rains hit from Gustav. Yesterday, I slept. A LOT. But that's ok, because I guess I needed it.

Today - it was back to the Idiot Factory. But I was ok, surprisingly. I was dreading going in, but I decided, well... FUCK THE FUCKING FUCKERS. I'm going to do my job, & screw 'em. I'm gonna work on my resume over the next few days, & get it out there. But first I need to figure out what I want to do, because I'm not going to get stuck in another Idiot Factory again.

It's the End of the World As We Know It...

2008-08-24T21:26:00.002-05:00

Awhile back, the Drifter posted this disturbing article about a girl who was ridiculously abused. After reading it I was horrified that such a thing could happen, & that I thought I'd read it all. Until today that is, when I was reading the Star Trib & came across this.

sigh

We're goin' on the express train to Hell, folks. Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

And off to another week of fun...

2008-07-28T08:54:00.003-05:00

Ahhhh, Monday. How do I loathe thee, let me count the ways. Yes, ladies & gentlefrogs, it's the start of another fun week. Now, you might be saying to yourself in looking at the time of this post, "Nik, why aren't you at work yet?" Well friends, let me tell you why. I'm playing Ms. Responsible again. You see, as I type this, the folks from the landscaping place are ripping up (part) of what's left of our side yard & leveling it. Then they're gonna put down black dirt & sod to make our lawn look respectable again after our remodel. Yay! I was SO tired of the weeds that were starting to grow, & also the rocks & sand. I had no idea the soil was so bad! Yuk. So I'm hanging out waiting for the sod guy to get here so that I can confirm just what they're doing in the front yard (tearing the whole thing up vs. correcting the giant ruts that were caused by the backhoe when they drove it onto the yard). After that, THEN I will head to the SaltMine. Mr. Yuk says "BLECH!"

Ohhhweeohh... yoooooo! (LOL, yes, I watched Wizard of Oz last night.)

Crazy Motherfrakkers

2008-07-25T17:38:00.003-05:00

*Sigh*

So I don't know if you saw this news item from yesterday, but it indirectly impacted my day. You see, my mom works at the nursing home that this complete waste of air decided to kill his wife at. The victim worked at the nursing home, on the 3rd floor as a nurse's aide. My mom knew her - they weren't friends, but they said a passing 'Hello' in the hallway. The scary part was a) my mom was due to leave around the time of the shooting (3pm), & b) the woman was killed 3 cars down from my mom's car. My mom had to wait until 7pm to leave, as there were bullet casings under her car & thus was part of the crime scene. Luckily, my mom was fine (albeit quite shaken up), & so was her car (her co-worker's car, which was on the other side of her, had a bullet hole in it). Sadly, this poor woman left 2 small children, who basically lost both their parents in one stupid, crazy act. And caused one helluva mess.

As Jason so correctly pointed out, humanity sucks ass. Nobody screws with my mom; no one gets to make her cry, or be scared, or get upset. Stupid fucker should get the chair or the needle for what he did to his poor wife & kids, but OH NO we don't have that in Minnesota. Bah.

People suck.

Ahhhhhh... Admirial!

2008-07-23T18:02:00.002-05:00

Baaaah

2008-07-17T00:03:00.004-05:00

Yes, I'm a sheep & do what I'm told. Per my little friend, here's a new post. He actually had a good post with a link to a really cool site. These webisodes (that's what they're called) are hy-sterical. And so very true.

In other news, I'm back to work, it sucks, but I'm dealing. I'm seriously considering making a change tho. The 2 hrs on the road each day (not to mention the gas it takes) is driving me nuts. I'm kinda toying with the idea of going back to school full-time. Not sure for what tho. All I know is I'm getting real tired of working in a cube farm. It sucks big donkey dick.

Other than that, not much going on. Oh, I have a bachelorette party on Saturday night. Yay big fun!

The Most Wonderful Week of the Year...

2008-07-04T20:36:00.003-05:00

is about to commence! Every year beginning the Saturday after the 4th of July, the Dayton clan (& various relatives & friends, in different quantities & years) all head to Gull Lake in lovely Brainerd, MN for a week of sun, fun, boating, boozing &, most importantly, RELAXATION! It is one of the things I look forward to in the summer - strike that, it's THE thing I look forward to every summer. It's such a good time. Now, as many of you know, I don't swim, but I do go out in the boat & fish. And I definitely indulge in adult beverages! It's a wonderful time to recharge the ol' batteries.

We're definitely gonna have a full house this year - it'll be terrific! Hopefully you all have a safe & Happy 4th of July weekend. Much love!

Hah, dorks.

2008-06-23T19:34:00.001-05:00

Ahhhhhh.... silence

2008-06-21T10:22:00.003-05:00

We are finally house-guest free. Over the past week some of my family has been here visiting - my uncle, aunt, cousin & her daughter came up from Chicago. It's been a whirl-wind week. They arrived on Monday evening, & they left earlier this morning. They went to the Waterpark of America on Tuesday (which I was able to get out of, thank goodness), then we all went to the Zoo on Wednesday. That was a lot of fun. We got to see the new Grizzly Coast exhibit, which the Zoo did a very nice job with. The weather was gorgeous, & I managed to fry myself pretty good (which, if you know me, isn't that hard). I'm not Casper any more! =)

Thursday was the big Wall of Maleria day. My cousin's little girl (who's now all of 13 & quite the teenager - whiny & self absorbed & all) was looking forward to that day for months. We walked around 3 of the 4 floors & were there probably 5 or 6 hours. Yes, I am completely insane.

Yesterday we took the light rail downtown to Nicollet Mall. My aunt wanted to see the Mary Tyler Moore statue, & the Basilica of St. Mary. So we did that. And walked. And walked. And walked. I swear I've walked 50 miles in the last 3 days.

All in all it was a good time though. This particular branch of my family is my favorite, so that helped. The only issue came Monday night when my mom decided to wig out on everyone. She was the most stressful of anyone. I swear, that woman could try the patience of Mother Teresa.

Oh, & I drove a minivan. I HATE minivans. They suck.

It's like thunder...lightning...

2008-05-21T20:01:00.003-05:00

Check these out... I think I just had a Weathergasm. Whee!

So what do you think?

2008-05-20T20:13:00.003-05:00

I monkeyed around with the format. Let me know what you think. Unless you hate it... then STFU.

Whoot!

My Boys

2008-05-16T21:15:00.002-05:00

I had a GREAT Friday today. It was sunny, warm & I had the freakin' day off from work. It was so nice & relaxing. I needed it - between the shit going on at work & fighting my typhoid affliction for the last couple weeks, I've been a bit frazzled. But today was very nice.

Tomorrow should be fun too - I get to hang out with the guys at band practice. I don't really do anything, I just sit & listen & try to help where I can. But that's ok, because it's a good time. And I've offered to cook tomorrow too - hopefully they all have cast-iron stomachs. ;-) Teehee, just kidding!

Sniffly, sneezy, coughy, achy...

2008-05-11T16:24:00.003-05:00

Yeah, this is me today. Altho I'm not entirely sure, as I'm doped up on Benedryl. & it makes me kinda loopy. But I do pretty much feel like this:

Ok, back to bed.

Just for Jim...

2008-05-08T21:58:00.001-05:00

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Friendly Beekeeper.

Where You Lived: Scotland.

How You Died: Typhoid fever.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Honestly... I'm speechless.

2008-05-04T23:14:00.002-05:00

I... got nothin'. Make your own conclusions. Just look closely...

So check out Mooshu!

2008-04-26T23:16:00.002-05:00

He's my new little friend, thanks to Jason. Thanks Jas! =)

I was inspired...

2008-04-22T22:27:00.005-05:00

LOVE Stewie!!

Weekend Update

2008-04-20T15:52:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted anything for a while (I'm sure you've all missed that!), so I decided to just throw up a quick Hey! to everyone. Not too much going on, same ol' same ol': work sucks, people suck (well, work people at the moment only), & the weather has FINALLY turned for the better *fingers crossed*. I even *GASP* broke out the shorts today. I'm hoping that it will get the weather to stay nice. Because maybe the Sun will take pity on my poor, ghostly-white ass. =)

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Here's some fun stuff:

This was MY pizza:

What Your Pizza Reveals

Your appetite is pretty average. You don't go overboard - but you don't deprive yourself either.

You are a very picky pizza eater. Not any pizza will do. You fit in best in the Northeast part of the US.

You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods.

You are generous, outgoing, and considerate with your choices.

You are cultured and intellectual. You should consider traveling to Vienna.

The stereotype that best fits you is geek. You're the type most likely to order pizza to avoid leaving your computer.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

And here's the Hubby's (LOL!):

What Your Pizza Reveals

Your appetite is pretty average. You don't go overboard - but you don't deprive yourself either.

You consider pizza to be bread... very good bread. You fit in best in the Midwest part of the US.

You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods.

You are dependable, loyal, and conservative with your choices.

You are unadventurous and boring. You should consider staying home when taking a vacation.

The stereotype that best fits you is geek. You're the type most likely to order pizza to avoid leaving your computer.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

And some other random silliness:

You Are A Blue Girl

Relationships and feelings are the most important things to you.

You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict.

If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well.

You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.

What Color Girl Are You?

You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself.

For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself.

You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you.

People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

What Color Green Are You?

Sweeeet!

2008-04-04T18:03:00.001-05:00

Your Superpower Should Be Manipulating Fire

You are intense, internally driven, and passionate.

Your emotions are unpredictable - and they often get the better of you.

Both radiant and terrifying, people are drawn to you.

At your most powerful, you feel like the world belongs to you.

Why you would be a good superhero: You are obsessive enough to give it your all

Your biggest problem as a superhero: Your moodiness would make it difficult to control your powers

What Should Your Superpower Be?

LOL This is awesome!

2008-04-04T18:00:00.001-05:00

This is ironic... my mom's maiden name is Farkas, which in Hungarian translates to "Wolf". Kick ass!

Your Goth Name is:

Malady Wolfe

What's Your Goth Name?

Party Pics!

2008-04-02T23:54:00.001-05:00

So here are some pictures from the b-day party last weekend. Enjoy!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Random thoughts on a Sunday

2008-03-30T16:37:00.002-05:00

Last night my darling hubby threw me a birthday party. Now, it wasn't a surprise party, but it was SO freakin' much fun, I can't even begin to tell you. I wish you all could have been there (if you weren't!) You know a party is rockin' if the cops show up to tell you to turn it down. =) As you might have noticed from a couple of my recent posts, I've been kinda reflective & sorta down on this birthday. After last night, I can tell you that I have some of the best group of friends a girl formerly from Indiana could ever hope for. Honestly, I have a serious case of the warm-fuzzies today. It's pretty cool. So for those of you who read the blog who were there, Thank You. You made this birthday for me.

Ok, I'm done being squishy for now. I'm gonna go have a nap. =)

Another year passes - time for some cliff-jumping

2008-03-26T22:49:00.002-05:00

As I turn the page on another year on this mortal coil, I'm sitting here thinking: Wow, where the hell did that year go!? It never ceases to amaze me that the older I get, the faster the time rolls on. Why is that?? Why, as a child, did it seem like forEVER until summer vacation/Christmas/birthdays/High School/College arrived, & now, no matter what I do, the time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'...? sigh So I've decided to get serious about some changes. REAL changes this time. Because, frankly, I kinda like this life. I love my family & friends, & I wanna be around to enjoy them.

So, yeah... here I go.

You may refer to me as The Warrior Princess...

2008-03-20T19:51:00.001-05:00

SMIRK

Your Celebrity Boob Twin:

Lucy Lawless

Who's Your Celebrity Boob Twin?

Hrmmmmm.....

2008-03-20T19:49:00.001-05:00

Does this mean I'm related to Rob Zombie? Or that I should have been in White Zombie?

Your Rockstar Name Is...

Vanilla Zombie

What's Your Rockstar Name?

Inspirations

2008-03-18T20:44:00.002-05:00

I was poking around online this evening & decided to check out the Star Trib to see if there was any interesting news. Sure enough, there was a story on there that caught my eye. It was the story of Scott Cutshall, the "Large Fella on a Bike", who in the span of just under 3 years has gone from 501 pounds to 232 pounds. How'd he do it? By riding a custom-built bike from Minneapolis, & a new daily menu of 1250 calories. You can read the whole story here.

Every journey begins with one step. Sometimes it's all about getting up the courage to jump off the ledge.

Work is highly overrated.

2008-03-12T22:00:00.002-05:00

I'm going through a period of disenchantment with my work. I like what I do (for the most part), & there's a lot of variety. However, since the first of the year I've been working with a new group, the dreaded "Beltsville" location, & they have become nothing but a complete thorn in my side. I have no idea how this company stayed afloat. Even though we have the exact same systems, they did everything manually, billing their customers from Excel spreadsheets. Now, this in & of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, except for the fact that the data they put into Excel was the EXACT SAME INFORMATION that comes from the system, just arranged differently. I am BEYOND frustrated.

Yesterday I feel was my breaking point however. I wasn't feeling well, I was getting a very bad cold with a massive headache, & I had to get into an argument with a customer on the phone. Well, "had to" probably isn't correct, but I'm so tired of kissing these peoples' asses for no good reason. I'm fed up. So I've mentioned (via email today) to my supervisor that I wanted to talk to him tomorrow about this. He then responded that he "wanted to talk to me too". *sigh* So now I'm fully expecting to get yelled at tomorrow. But right now, I really don't give a flying fuck. At this point I'm more than ready to go work at Starbucks, or Caribou, or Barnes & Noble. I'm tired of being in a cube farm, & I'm tired of stressing out about work even though I know I do a very good job & work very hard yet still get shit on.

Would you like whipped cream on that?

Nothing important, really.

2008-03-11T22:48:00.002-05:00

I don't really have any earth-shaking to impart upon you tonight, nothing new really to report, other than the fact that I think my luck has finally run out, & I'm getting this "sludge" that every one else has. As I type this, I'm running a low-grade fever (100), & basically feel like complete ass. I want to go to bed, but I'm in the middle of Jericho, which as you that know me understand is one of my favorite shows. So I will wait, & then I will go pass out on Nyquil (or at least the Tylenol equivalent).

Hope everyone is having a good week!

As my guitar gently weeps...

2008-03-05T19:28:00.005-06:00

Hi kids. Hope you're surviving this latest bout of Minnesota weather hell. I just keep telling myself that it's going to be spring soon. Blue skies, warm air, & no more fucking snow!

So after I came home this evening, I started to surf the web. As I was looking around, I found some very sad news. Jeff Healey, front man for the Jeff Healey band of "Angel Eyes" fame, passed away last Sunday from cancer. He was 41. He had basically battled cancer his whole life, since he was 1. He had a rare form of cancer, called Retinoblastoma. This kind of cancer attacks the retinas in the eyes, which is how he lost his sight. I always loved his voice. Granted, Angel Eyes was a bit over-played, but it was such a good song (at least in my opinion). I also remember him from his small role in the Patrick Swayze movie, Road House. His unique guitar-playing style was also fascinating. He was completely self-taught. And he got to play with the likes of George Harrison, B.B. King & Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was set to release a new CD also, titled "Mess of Blues", on April 22nd - his first new release in 8 years. I will definitely have to check that out.

Rest in peace, Guitar Man.

Good Grief, it's March!

2008-03-02T16:23:00.003-06:00

What? It's March again? How can this be? It was just January like yesterday. sigh Oh well, moving on.

I'm glad to be through with February. It was a very tough month at times, mostly due to work stuff. It really sucks when you put a lot of time & effort into your work, only to get told it wasn't enough. I take great pride in the fact that I work very hard (as I'm sure most of my friends that read this do as well), & to have your PtB (Powers that Be) tell you "Wow, is that all you've got?" is a pretty cold slap in the face. Things did get a bit better last week, mostly because I did something I really haven't done in other jobs - I took a stand. I knew I was doing all I could, working my butt off, so there was no way I was going to take their crap lying down. So I spoke up, & I said my peace. I was professional, & I didn't let my emotions get in the way (which is a problem sometimes - shocking, I know). I was actually kinda proud of myself. And it paid off. Things got a little better. So I'm going to keep using that going into this new month, where I have to start my billing process (& therefore my set of headaches) all over again.

Stay tuned for updates... I'm sure it'll all go to hell here soon.

Screw You, & the Horse You Rode In On...

2008-02-21T19:09:00.004-06:00

Yeah, I edited the post. I think this title fits better.

I'm out. After the day I've had today, all I want to do is curl up into a ball & rock myself to sleep for, oh, about a week. I am just done with being stressed out about a job that in the grand scheme of things doesn't mean jack shit. If I don't do it, they'll just put an ad in the paper or on Monster & get some other schmuck to do it. Maybe they'll even do it better, who knows. All I know is that I'm done. I'm sick & tired of dealing with stupid people who I have to kiss their ass so I don't upset them because they're so fucking delicate. I just want to go there & scream in their faces "FUCK YOU!" Gah. People suck. Hard.

The only bright side that I have is that tomorrow is Friday. Then I don't have to deal with the fuckers for 2 days.

FUCK YOU BELTSVILLE!

Say whaaaa?!?!?

2008-02-12T00:16:00.001-06:00

So the Hubby & I were sitting watching the talking heads on CNN deconstruct the Democratic primary race, when a rather odd commercial came on. I guess the commercial in & of itself wasn't particularly odd (it was for Shell gas stations), but the ending definitely was. They were extolling the virtues of their car wash or something, when all of a sudden the happy announcer states "and now you can get one of 3 collectable interior microfiber cleaning cloths!" WHAAAA???? Since when do we collect cleaning cloths?!? I couldn't believe it. What's next, collecting Kleenex? Wait... nevermind.

A Way Cool Weather pic

2008-02-07T18:56:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I'm a huge nut for unusual cloud formations & storms, so the picture below just had me giddy:

It was posted on my work's internal company website. How cool!

We now return you to your normal, non-weather geek blogging. :)

Nothing.

2008-02-02T21:51:00.000-06:00

Nothing you do is right.
Nothing you say is the right thing.
Nothing going the way you thought.
Nothing to really do about it.

Just... nothing.

Heath Ledger - a reality check

2008-01-24T09:44:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I'm going to go on a bit of a rant here... brace yourselves.

While I agree that Heath Ledger's sudden death is somewhat tragic (so much promise as an actor, a young father, etc), it's NOT THE END OF THE FREAKIN' WORLD PEOPLE! My god, it was the "Breaking News" banner on MSN on Tuesday... like the President or other world leader had perished. This was an actor. Granted, a talented, young actor, but again, NOT earth-shattering news, except to those close to him. I feel bad for his daughter, who most likely will never remember him, except to see him in films. The real tragedy here is that there are young people dying every day, some even younger than Heath, over in Iraq. Do they get the banner headline on MSN? No. Just a sidebar of "15 American servicemen & women died in Iraq today". It's become "old news". But if you happen to be a viewer of This Week on ABC on Sunday mornings, they give a listing of all the young men & women who gave their lives for their country the previous week. It's sad & depressing... & should be given more attention than an accidental overdose on prescription drugs by a wealthy actor.

Ok, done now.

/end rant

Check out my new widget...

2008-01-21T17:46:00.000-06:00

I've added a new widget to one of my favorite shows, Jericho. It's over on the right there. If you haven't watched this show, YOU SHOULD. It's wonderfully written, & it's more than just your typical "end of the world" show. Check out the site, & watch the eps online. The new season (only 7 eps unfortunately) begins Feb. 12th. Check it out!

And I'm Free... Free Fallin'...

2008-01-14T22:25:00.000-06:00

There are times lately where I've found myself wandering, both mentally & emotionally, not exactly sure where I'm heading. I'm not sure if this is a continuation of my "funk" from New Year's or what exactly. Maybe it's the weather, I dunno. All I know is I need a break - a place to recharge the batteries, restore the soul.

sigh Perhaps someday, soon.

Parents are weird.

2008-01-08T23:58:00.000-06:00

So I'm off on one of my many fun trips to Chez Target yesterday during lunch, & I saw one of the more odd sights I've witnessed in a while. As I'm standing in the line to complete my purchase, I hear a mother cooing "Who's a pretty baby?!? YES YOU ARE! YES YOU ARE!" Now, this in & of itself isn't the weird part (tho it does kinda make my skin crawl when I hear people talk to babies that way). What was weird was that as I turned around, she's got the kid in a car seat in the cart, snapping away with a very nice, very expensive camera. Just right smack in the middle of the aisle in front of the checkout lanes! She had 2 other kids with her too, toddler-aged, & they had these looks like "Jeez, mom, c'mon!" It was funny & sad at the same time.

I swear, breeders are strange creatures...

Wow!

2008-01-06T11:41:00.000-06:00

As promised, here's my follow-up on the Pompeii exhibit - WOW! We started off in the Omnitheater, where we saw a film on Greece. That was truly amazing. The view was stunning, especially the segments on Santorini. I REALLY would love to visit there. The only downside was the seats - we got there right as the film was starting, & we were stuck in the front row. That wouldn't have been bad, except for the fact our knees were crammed into the railing! Luckily the film was only an hour so we could get the feeling back in our legs!

Then it was off to the Pompeii exhibit. There were TONS of people there. I heard on the news that night that over 300,000 people visited the exhibit in the 6 months it was in Minneapolis, & that this was only the 4th US city to host the exhibit. They had all kinds of artifacts, from bronze & glass jewelry to copper scales & marble statues. They also had some frescoes that the archaeologists had pieced back together, as they were shattered in the pyroclastic flows from the volcano. The last piece of the exhibit was the most fascinating though - the plaster casts of the victims of Pompeii. When the archaeologists began excavating the city, they would find these mysterious voids. So the lead archaeologist began filling them with plaster & making molds. What he found was that these voids were actually where the bodies had been frozen in the ash. Some of these molds were on display - they had a man who was crouched against a wall, his mouth covered with a cloth. There was a man & woman found together, who they assumed were husband & wife. They even had a pig & a dog, testament that it wasn't just people caught in the disaster. It was very haunting, yet fascinating at the same time.

All in all, it was a very good time at the Science Museum, & I was very glad I got to go!

Yay! I'm off to see Pompeii!

2008-01-05T11:58:00.000-06:00

Or, at least the exhibit on Pompeii at the Science Museum of MN. I've been wanting to see this for months, & now I'm going to. There's also an Omnitheater movie on Greece before, which should be great too. I've always been fascinated by Greek mythology. The stories are terrific, & I've even read the Odyssey & the Iliad (the translations of course). (See, I do read something without "heaving bosoms" occasionally). =)

I'll probably do a follow-up post later to tell you how it was. bounce I'm quite excited!

Happy New Year... & stuff

2008-01-02T23:19:00.000-06:00

Well, we're a couple days into 2008 now, & hopefully it's off to a good start for all of you. I'm not sure how this year is going to go. I'm kinda... well, a little "blah" about the whole thing. How does that song go? It's just another New Year's Eve, another night like all the rest... Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. I'm not sure how I got to this place, to be honest. Maybe it's the weather, I dunno.

Maybe I can get a do over? No? Oh well.

Wow... color me stunned.

2007-12-30T20:25:00.000-06:00

smirk
Tho it did come down to a tie-breaker question with Jean Gray & Emma Frost.

Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Storm

Storm is the secondary team leader of the X-Men. She has a peaceful personality but must be careful since her emotions control her powers. She loves gardening and is afaid of tight spaces. Powers: Control of the Weather

Storm

65%

Emma Frost

65%

Jean Grey

65%

Wolverine

60%

Colossus

55%

Rogue

55%

Beast

50%

Iceman

45%

Cyclops

45%

Gambit

35%

Nightcrawler

25%

Wow, interesting

2007-12-19T21:45:00.000-06:00

I actually think I did better than I did in school. Now granted, I have had a couple beers... grin

Looking for payday loans?

I'm just glad I got at least a B, especially being a product of the Indiana Publick Skool Sistem.

Ok, COMPLETELY unacceptable...

2007-12-19T21:39:00.001-06:00

Find lpn programs near you

I gotta FUCKING work on that...

smirk

First New Delhi, next the world?

2007-12-17T22:10:00.000-06:00

See... told you they were coming. It's only a matter of time.

DELHI CRACKS DOWN AS MONKEYS RUN AMUCK

To quote the article: Do not provoke an angry monkey.

'Tis the season

2007-12-14T21:42:00.000-06:00

With all the chaos involving the remodel, the joy of the holidays has kind of been lost on me. Which is sad, because this is my favorite holiday. So now tomorrow (Saturday), I am off to do a good chunk of my Christmas shopping. I really loathe going to the mall, especially on the weekend during the holiday shopping season, but unfortunately I don't have a real choice.

So if you have a moment tomorrow, think of me with kindness, & hope that I don't end up killing anyone.

One of those days...

2007-12-12T21:51:00.000-06:00

Yeah. Today sucks.

- Worked 10 hrs, no lunch break.
- Dealt with *1* problem for about 8 of those hours, trying to get higher-ups to calm the fuck down, quit blaming me for not doing my job (which was completely NOT true), & point out what a complete fucking idiot the person setting up contracts is.
- Try to keep everything on track with the house stuff, reconcile the bank account to dodge a major problem & arrange to go get my puppy from "grandma's", all while dealing with said stupidity today.
- Successfully make it home, oh, around 8:30pm (about 12.5 hrs after I'd left this morning), only to get bitched at by my lovely spouse for not remembering to set out some stupid fucking light switches for the electrician. (Same spouse who was gone for 4 fucking days on a business trip.)

sigh Fuck it. I'm going to bed.

A Return to Normal?!?

2007-12-05T21:15:00.000-06:00

Well kiddies, we have our basement back. The ServiceMaster folks came out yesterday & cleaned the basement. I have to admit, I was very skeptical that it was going to work. But wow... it's seriously cleaner in our basement rec room that it was when we moved in. Color me impressed! They did miss a couple things, & I have to take a couple items to either the cleaners or the laundromat to clean, but all things considered, it could have ended much worse.

Oh... a teaser update for those that care: the hardwood floors are done, they start staining & sealing tomorrow. The paint is almost done, & the floor in the new basement got poured today. T- 2 weeks until D-Day (12/21/2007) - the day we can reclaim our house!

insert Happy Snoopy Dance here

Now I just have to deal with starting my Christmas shopping... EEK!

You better watch out...

2007-12-04T22:10:00.001-06:00

ROFLMAO... seriously, this had me laughing out loud for 5 minutes.

Your Elf Name Is...

Trixie Fluffernutter

What's Your Elf Name?

Hrm... interesting.

2007-12-04T22:00:00.000-06:00

So thanks to my fellow WeatherJunkie, I took this little test:

You Should Be an Artist

You are incredibly creative, spontaneous, and unique.

No one can guess what you're going to do next, but it's usually something amazing.

You can't deal with routine, rules, or structure. You're easily bored.

As long as you are able to innovate and break the rules, you are extremely successful.

You do best when you:

- Can work by yourself

- Can express your personality in your work

You would also be a good journalist or actor.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

Huh... who knew? Too bad I can't paint, sing, sculpt, draw, etc.

Jeezus H Christ....

2007-11-30T12:43:00.000-06:00

Yeah... so I said I would (probably) not be posting any updates on the house, but I had to share the experience of the last 24-odd hours (or rant about it, take your pick).

I get a call from our contractor around 5:30pm CST last evening. He has a very odd tone to his voice, one that I would describe as definitely "tail-between-his-legs" or "hat-in-hand". Apparently the subcontractor that was cutting the hole in our basement wall to make a door to the new basement wasn't informed of the fact that he was to a) seal off the basement area, which was where we have been living for the last month or so, & b) cut the wall out from the outside to try to minimize dust. The result of these two items is that we have a fairly significant film of powder-fine cement dust covering everything in the basement - furniture, carpet, walls, EVERYTHING. Needless to say, I'm a wee bit pissed right now.

So here I am, taking a day off work (that I really don't have), to take care of the situation. On the upside, we have our new appliances. They're sitting in our garage. And the old freezer is gone. So one good thing's happened today.

sigh I SO want this over now....

The Remodel - Final Update!

2007-11-20T18:49:00.000-06:00

Hi kids...
Ok, so here's the long-awaited update (with photos!) - but this will (probably) be the last one now until the project is complete. I want to be able to surprise everyone with the final result!

Hope you enjoy!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Delicious Christmas Recipes.

Weekend Update

2007-11-18T09:03:00.000-06:00

Thought I would get in a quick post for an update... my laptop bit the dust about a week ago, & I've had limited access to a 'puter, hence the lack of updates. =)

The upside is that my back is much better than in my last post. I didn't end up needing a cortisone shot (yay!), & the pain is pretty manageable, even non-existent most days. I still get "twinges" here & there, & if I sit/stand/lie down for any long stretch it tends to act up, but all in all it's much better. It just means I have to get up from the bar stool @ the Boneyard more often. ;-) *whoot!*

I do have new pics of the updates to the house also, which I will post separately. Our contractor, Chad, is taking pics also, & he was kind enough to burn a disc for me.

I am SO ready for a short work week this week - as I know much of you are. Altho from recent reads of other's posts, I appear to be the LEAST stressed, for a change. Ya kno, I've heard a good dose of tryptophan works WONDERS! =)

Gobble Gobble!

Rant

2007-11-01T23:00:00.000-05:00

Please indulge me for a few minutes, if you don't mind.

A couple weeks ago I hurt my back. Nothing spectacular, didn't really do anything that was out of the ordinary, but apparently it was enough that it blew out my back. I went to the doc about a week & a half ago, & he sent me for an MRI. Had that a week ago yesterday - results came back Monday. I have 2 herniated discs. Like I said, I don't think I did anything outrageous. But here I am. Today (well, last night really), was a particularly bad day. The pain was worse, & the tingling was going down into both legs. I ended up staying home from work today.

sigh I'm soo frustrated & pissed off. I'm tired of being on pills & shots & going to doctors. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of feeling this way, & not being able to talk to anyone about it. I just want one day where I wake up & feel normal. But I guess there's no use crying about it. Nothing ever changes.

/end rant

There's a hole in my yard, dear Liza dear Liza...

2007-11-01T21:26:00.000-05:00

More progress on the remodel - the addition officially kicked off today with the digging of the foundation. It was a bit weird to have this giant hole in the ground, but I know in a week there'll actually be a new piece of house.

On to the pics:
BubbleShare: Share photos - halloween photos

Oh joy, another week.

2007-10-21T22:52:00.000-05:00

Ah, here it is, 10:52pm on a Sunday night, the beginning of another work week looming. It's not that I particularly hate my job. In fact, I like my job. I think I'm pretty good at what I do. It's just that I think I need a vacation. And not a "working vacation", dealing with the house or painting or anything like that. I mean packing up & heading off to someplace warm & relaxing, where I don't have to care what I do in the next 10 minutes or hours. It's been 7 months since Vegas, which I consider the last "vacation". It would just be nice to relax for a few days.

Somewhere like here...

Or maybe here...

sigh
Soon... very soon.

Life beyond the remodel

2007-10-19T20:45:00.000-05:00

While the remodel is a vast majority of what's going on right now, it's not the only thing. It's been interesting so far, living like "Mole People" down in the basement. I would have never guessed that I missed cooking. Not that I ever did much of it, but it's at least nice to have the option of a "home cooked meal" versus take out all the time. (A girl can only deal with so much Carbone's.)

Tomorrow's the big day - we finally get the paperwork with how much this all is going to cost. shudder I don't know if I WANT to know. But at this point I think it's going to be cheaper in the long run than trying to sell this house & move & get a new house. Plus I like this house. I like the location. Do I wish there were things that were different? Of course. But we're working on those. We'll get the house the way we want it. It'll just take time.

To quote Axl: All we need is just a little patience...

New Remodel update!

2007-10-16T00:23:00.000-05:00

So we've had some progress on the house... check out the pics below:

BubbleShare: Share photos - Share your baby pictures

Then I came home tonight. WOW!!!!

BubbleShare: Share photos - halloween photos

Hope you enjoy the update! More to come soon.

The Remodel - Demo Days!

2007-10-10T19:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, the first post on the remodel was of the "Before" - the pics were taken on Tuesday evening 10/2. Demo began on the 3rd, & by the 4th, this is what the house looked like:

BubbleShare: Share photos - Halloween contest

Things have pretty much stayed this way, with the exception that the plumbing & electrical have all been pulled, & the heating vents. Tomorrow Chad is going to be taking out the rest of the walls of the former kitchen, so I'll be snapping more photos! Stay tuned!

The Kitchen Rehab - Before

2007-10-09T21:32:00.000-05:00

So we've begun the massive task of remodeling the kitchen of the house. Well, it's more like the enire 1st floor at this point. I'll be blogging about the progress for a while, & post pictures when there are updates. For those of you who haven't been to our house before, here are some "Before" pics to compare:

BubbleShare: Share photos - Halloween contest

More to come soon!

LOL This is amusing....

2007-10-06T14:26:00.000-05:00

Your results:
You are Jack O'Neill

Jack O'Neill		71%
Daniel Jackson		64%
Thor		52%
Samantha Carter		44%
Dr. Frasier		35%
General Hammond		25%
A Goa'uld		20%
Teal'c		9%

You are a born leader.
You are often cynical.
You are loyal to the end
but you are no brainiac.

Click here to take the StarGate SG-1 Personality Test

People Suck.

2007-10-02T19:05:00.000-05:00

You ever have one of those days when, no matter what you do, nothing is right? Yeah... today's one of those days.

Basically I can give you a visual, if you've ever seen Terminator 2. Remember that scene when Sarah Connor is breaking out of the mental hospital with John (her son), & they're running down the hall & it's kinda in slow motion & she spins around & there's Arnie (The Terminator) right in front of her & she screams, skidding to a halt & falls on her butt, then tries to skitter backwards away from him, still screaming? Yeah, that's how I feel right now.

sigh

Just another day in Paradise....

Serenity NOW!!!

2007-10-01T18:25:00.000-05:00

Your results:
You are Wash (Ship Pilot)
You are a pilot with a good
if not silly sense of humor.
You take pride in your collection of toys.
You love your significant other.

Wash (Ship Pilot)		75%
Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)		60%
Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command)		55%
Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)		55%
Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)		50%
Jayne Cobb (Mercenary)		40%
Derrial Book (Shepherd)		35%
Alliance		35%
Inara Serra (Companion)		30%
River (Stowaway)		25%
A Reaver (Cannibal)		20%

Click here to take the Serenity Personality Quiz

Home again Home again jiggity jig

2007-09-27T13:14:00.000-05:00

It appears that the little monster inside my head is acting up again. He apparently takes great joy in using power tools to destroy the inner workings of what few brain pockets I have left. I think this morning he was using his jackhammer & some TNT. So I am at home today, trying to figure out how to function with said holes in my brain.

I forget what crap is on during the day - except for soaps. Now, I know a lot of people have issues with them, that they're "stupid" & "rot your brain" leers at Denny, but quite a few "major" actors have started out in soaps. Like Meg Ryan, Ryan Phillipe, Vanessa Marcel to name a few. But they're harmless fun. And I would GLADLY watch them over stupid reality crap any day.

Ok, I'm going to go back to try & stop the little monster from reeking any more havoc. Perhaps I should try & drown him in beer.....

Yup... they're taking over!

2007-09-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

I don't think I stopped laughing for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

My new profession.... NOT

2007-09-23T12:23:00.000-05:00

Hello again friends. Come on in & sit a spell while I relay the events of last evening.

So I get the weekly Onion newsletter, the local version for the Twin Cities, & in it there's a weekly "contest". You can become the "Non-Celebrity Bartender of the Week" at a local bar called "The Moose on Monroe". Now I've seen this every week, & finally I thought "Hey, this might be fun." So I submitted my name. Lo & behold, last week I got an email saying I'd been picked! Here's the blurb from this past week's newsletter:

Last night was the big night. Now, I'm not sure if you've been to The Moose, but well... ok, I won't mince words: It's pretty much a dive. But the staff was nice, & it was actually a good time. I didn't have too many people come, but the 4 of us (Den, Jennifer, Justin & Kory) managed to put a nice dent in our $100 bar tab. It helped that Den & Justin were drinking Fat Tire, which only comes in 22 oz bottles @ $8 each. My in-laws showed up too, which was nice. It was actually kinda fun.

The one thing that I took from this is a much greater appreciation of the folks that work behind the bar, & as servers. Jer, I gotta tell you that I have a completely new respect that you did that so long. And I only had to wait on my people, not ALL of the idiots in the bar! So my hat's off to you, my dear friend. Thank you for putting up with us dumbasses for way too long.

Work Sucks.

2007-09-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

Why is it always Murphy's Law that you work hard, do the best you can, & you STILL manage to get shit on no matter what you do? I mean really... what's the point of even trying?

It's been a pretty crappy week so far. I step up, take on a lot more responsibility, & can't seem to catch a break. I work my butt off with the priorities I've been given, but it seems like I'm getting pulled in 6 different directions at once. Then when I do manage to keep all the plates spinning, someone comes by & knocks over the table. ::sigh::

I'm just glad I have Friday off, even if I do have to get up at 7:45am to go to the freakin' dentist to fix a filling that they can't seem to get right. At least I won't be going to work.

'Cause THAT would be torture.

It's Official...

2007-09-19T20:06:00.000-05:00

The 9 years of Catholic edjumication has gone for naught...

You know the Bible 74%!

Wow! You are truly a student of the Bible! Some of the questions were difficult, but they didn't slow you down! You know the books, the characters, the events . . . Very impressive!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

I still did better than I thought I would though.

I'll take a croissant & small coffee please....

2007-09-12T23:03:00.000-05:00

This rocks...

What Classic Bombshell Are You?

Audrey Hepburn
A Classical Beauty, thats what you are!

How do you compare?
Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

Muddled

2007-09-10T22:26:00.000-05:00

I think that's the word for the day. I never really found footing today, couldn't quite seem to get into the flow of things. I guess I didn't sleep too well, & I sort of slept through my alarm. Then I had to go to the doc for my finger (don't even ask). So I didn't get to work until like 11:30. There goes the day. The upside was that I got some of my work done, but found out I have a crapload to do in the next 2 days, before I have to go to training at Fort Snelling (yeah, THE Fort Snelling. On Base. Through the guard gate. Ahhh, the benefits of working for a defense contractor!)

Is it wrong that I want to go on vacation again? Not that I care where... just someplace to relax & have people wait on me. Ok, maybe someplace warm. =)

Ahhh.... to dream a little dream.

A gift that keeps on giving

2007-09-06T23:44:00.000-05:00

So I went out to happy hour with the co-workers tonight. Now we went to a bowling alley/bar, & we were going to bowl a couple games. Turns out I had to go pick up the Hubby from his own happy hour, so I had to cut the evening short. But my friend picked up some socks for me & another friend, who wore sandals but no socks today. And GUESS what was on said socks?!?

That's right...

M O N K E Y S!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They're coming.... mark my words. Aliens. I seen 'em.

Yeah, I'm a follower.... sue me

2007-09-03T18:13:00.000-05:00

So I got 2 completely different results for my 2 pictures. Very funny:

http://www.myheritage.com

Personally, I like the Reese Witherspoon & Helen Hunt comparisons... but that's just me being vain.

Cutting off your nose to spite your face

2007-09-03T17:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Labor Day.... the "unofficial" end of Summer. Wow, where did summer go? Sadly, soon we'll be headed for snow & cold. I can't believe it. The older I get, the faster time seems to slip by. Yeah, I'm in kind of a "blah" mood - I guess that's what happens when your head fills with snot.

And now I'm watching a segment on ABC News about some crazy Canadian "artist" who plans on launching a giant banana into space. Great, now the Giant Alien Monkeys from planet X will be invading soon.

Yup... the medicine is wearing off. I need more.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled nonsense.

More Pirate Madness....

2007-08-31T22:30:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I had the Old Man do the quiz too.... this is too funny!

My pirate name is:

Iron Davy Vane

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. You tend to blend into the background occaisionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Yo Ho Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me!

2007-08-29T20:11:00.000-05:00

ROFL!

My pirate name is:

Mad Bess Vane

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You tend to blend into the background occaisionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

This Looked Like Fun....

2007-08-22T19:40:00.000-05:00

So The Deep Thinker had this for a post today. It looked amusing, so I tried it myself. Here are the results:

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

So those of you that know me, what do you think? Accurate?

Well I love a rainy night...

2007-08-14T19:07:00.000-05:00

So we had quite the storms the last few days. Within 3 days, we've managed to almost make up for the deficit of the summer. Granted, it would have been much nicer in spurts, but I'm not going to complain too much. We were very fortunate that we didn't suffer any damage, just some small branches down.

I love storms tho. Didn't used to when I was small - was terrified of them in fact. Not so much the storms but when it would get so dark, & the sky would turn green. Then the sirens would go off. That's what would get to me. For years I couldn't even watch the tornado scene in the Wizard of Oz, it would completely freak me out. (True story - sad huh?) But as I got older, I decided that I would study weather-stuff, hopefully to understand what was going on. Then I started taking photos of clouds. Not the fluffy, happy blue sky clouds - those were boring. I'm talking about the big, black menacing kind - exactly the kind that I feared as a child. I guess you could call it a primitive form of therapy. It worked tho. Oh sure, I get nervous when things really get rockin' & rollin' - kinda like last night when the Weather Geeks were talking 5" hail (that's grapefruit sized folks) & winds over 100 mph. But I also wish for daylight - 'cause those would have been some kick-ass clouds to shoot. Oh well - next time.

Rainy Saturdays

2007-08-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

I don't know whether it's the gray & drippy weather outside, the events of the last week or what, but I'm in one sour-assed mood today. The only upside was that I was able to sleep in this morning, something that I desperately needed. It was a very long week, lots of work & mild stress trying to get projects done. Then we had the whole bridge thing, which thankfully didn't directly impact me but was one of those "taking stock" moments. I don't know how many people I talked to said "Jeez, I've been over that bridge (insert number of times here) & it could've been me." This includes myself. I'm just thankful that the number of fatalities has been so low so far. It could have been sooo much worse. Unfortunately this was one of those events that gets you thinking, & getting me reflective hasn't been all that productive lately. It just gets me in one of these moods, & then the day tends to go into the crapper.

Right now, I'm giving serious thought to going back to bed. Yeah.... perhaps.

Ahhhh.... vacation

2007-07-14T19:45:00.000-05:00

You know, is there any better feeling that coming back from a good time on vacation relaxed & refreshed?? I mean seriously, I don't think anything can bother me right now. Ok, so I did check work email & found out my complete IDIOT co-worker managed to screw up some of my projects. But that only bothered me for a few minutes. Now, let's see how I'm doing next weekend at the same time.

I hope you, dear reader, get to experience this vacation-induced bliss at least once this year. If not, I do feel sorry for ya, 'cause it rocks.

Life & Death

2007-06-18T20:39:00.000-05:00

So here I am, innocently surfing Myspace (yeah, I know, I'm a little too old for it, move on), when I decide to stop over to my high school alumni page. I'm wandering around, looking for anyone I know, when I stumble over someone's page. I think I recognize him, so I pop on his page for a second. That's when it hits me - his "headline": "In honor and memory of Corporal Nick Polizzotto, South Bend PD, shot in the line of duty 4-24-07". I had to sit for a minute just rereading it. I knew Nick. I was at his wedding, & I was at Michele (his widow's) bachelorette party. His mom was one of my English teachers in High School. This isn't right. So I head over to the South Bend Tribune website & search for something on this. Sure enough, I find his obit. I can't believe it. It was just a couple months ago that I found out another classmate, who I didn't know quite as well, also a SB Police officer, was killed in the line of duty a year ago. This is incredible. It's always so sad when someone so young dies, & we know it's coming for all of us, but it doesn't lessen the shock. Both these guys were funny, really cool guys in HS. Scott was the jock, but he never pretended he was better than anyone else. He was just a regular guy. And Nick, even tho his mom was a teacher, was a total clown. He always tried to make you laugh. He & Michele just "fit".

So to these two brave, funny, honorable guys - we will remember you. May you rest in peace.

Corporal Nick Polizzotto

Corporal Scott Severns

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

2007-05-28T21:50:00.000-05:00

So this was a truly interesting weekend. As you can see from my last post, I was pretty down, mostly because of the whole "friend" situation. But this weekend I feel like I turned a corner. Things have been kinda stressful lately - lots of "grown up" things to think about, big decisions being discussed. Saturday started out pretty bad... we were supposed to go over to some friends' house for a BBQ, but I just couldn't deal with it. I know it's probably horrible for me to say, but it was because of their 2 kids. They're good kids, but the last time we went over to their house for a BBQ about a month ago, I kinda felt like I got stuck entertaining the munchkins. Don't get me wrong, I like them... but they aren't my kids. I'm a guest, & I kinda felt like the parents didn't really try to reign them in. So given my state of mind, the things in it, & the fact that I was just completely wiped out, I just so wasn't up for another round of that. I ended up calling in the afternoon & telling them that I wasn't feeling good & that we'd have to take a raincheck. (Now this wasn't totally a lie, because I really didn't feel all that great.) We were just kinda hanging & then ended up going out with Jer & Heather. I probably wasn't the best company... in fact I know I wasn't. But I did have some fun.

By Sunday I just wanted to veg out & watch my Indy 500 & relax, & try to get out of my head for a while. Of course, this wasn't going to happen. D's parents decided they wanted to do something, so he invited them over. Now, they were supposed to come over a little after 3, which should have been plenty of time for me to watch the race, but there was a long rain delay, so it didn't end up getting finished until 5:30. The 'rents didn't end up getting to our house until 4, & D's mom was just being a gigantic pain in the arse. I'm probably over reacting, but it felt like it at the time, which completely put me in a cranky mood. I mean really, when you tell someone that they don't need to bring over anything, you'd think they wouldn't, right? Oh no. She had to bring over this potato casserole thingie, which we didn't even want. *sigh* But we ate, they hung out for a while, & by the time they left I was just ready to punch someone or something. I'd just been stewing & just needed to get out of the house for a while. I needed some "estrogen therapy", so I sent Jer a text to have Heather give me a call. We ended up meeting up @ the Bone for drinks. This was kind of a big thing for me, because since my "incident" with the former friend, I haven't really felt like I had a female friend that I could go to with stuff. It was kinda hard at first, I guess 'cause I was still kinda gun-shy about opening up to someone again. (For the record, I'm still not that comfortable with it, but we'll get to that in a minute.) But we started talking, or I started venting really, & I started to feel a little better. I don't think I really solved anything, but it just felt good to say it & get it out of my head. This is where things started to turn around. We were having a good conversation, & then some more friends showed up. Lauree joined us for a bit, & we started having some good quality girl-time. It felt so nice, just having that bonding. It'd been a while since I'd had that. Suddenly it turned from me going up to the Bone to drown my sorrows to a good time. Then it turned into a good old-fashioned party, as several people came back to our house for booze & fun. LOL we ended up greeting the sun this morning around 6am. I don't even know the last time I did that.

I guess the moral of my long & winding story here is that I was wrong to want to close myself off from my friends, to not want that "best friend" again. I realized that I do have a lot of friends, & I love them all.

Trapped in my Head

2007-03-11T12:34:00.001-05:00

So do you ever wake up on a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning & kinda just lay in bed & start thinking random things? That was me this morning. Woke up still stiff & sore from yesterday's paint marathon, but refreshed after having about 10 hours sleep - & I started thinking. Just random thoughts - finishing up the bedroom, chores I needed to do today, etc - & then it snuck up & bit me: I started thinking about her. By "her" I mean my former best friend - we'll just call her "Mary". Now, I won't go into the whole story in this post (vented my spleen about that on myspace), but suffice it to say that she stopped talking to me about the end of October. The worst part is, I know in my heart & my head that I did absolutely nothing to provoke her to end our friendship. But it still hurts, & makes me angry.

After the initial shock & anger & crying jags about it (before the holidays), I didn't really think about it a whole lot. She'd made her decision (for whatever reason), & I was fine with that. This wasn't the first incident of her pulling something like this - so I took it as a sign that she really wasn't that invested in our friendship. But lately it's been coming back on me at random moments, & it's just festering in my brain - kinda like when you get a splinter & you don't get it out right away. I think part of the problem is that I've got some stuff going on, stuff you'd normally sit with your best friend & discuss & disect over coffee or maybe a pint of Ben & Jerry's, but I don't have that option. I mean, I've got friends - a lot of acquaintences, & a couple of people who I'd classify as "friends" - but I don't really have that one person any more that I know I can go to with anything & they'll listen, & not be judgemental & just let me vent until I'm done. That's what I think hurts more than anything about this whole situation.

So the casual observer might ask "Well what about the Hubby? Isn't he supposed to be your best friend?" And that person would be right - he is my best friend, but it's different. I'm talking about your girlfriend, the one who you can go shoe shopping with, or tell "girlie" stuff to, or talk about the Hubby when he's being an idiot. That's what I don't have. It'd be one thing if I had done something so horrible or we'd gotten into a huge fight, where it was a mutual decision. But it was taken away from me - & that's where the anger comes in. Part of it is that, again, I know I did nothing wrong. The other is that I'm mad at myself - obviously I was more invested in the friendship than "Mary". So I'm to blame for not having any other "best friends".

*sigh* So here I am, trapped in my head on a bright, sunny Sunday, & yet all I feel like is that kid in the Charlie Brown cartoons - the one with the dark cloud over their head.

Good Grief.

Bring out your dead! The Dark Man's Comin'!

2007-02-23T17:55:00.000-06:00

So here it is, Friday (yippee!!), & it being February in the great state of Minnesota, we have a Winter Storm Warning beginning in, oh, 5 minutes as I write this (6pm CST). Supposedly, depending on which source you listen to, we could get anywhere from 10-18" of snow, with "significant" blowing & drifting possible. Now, seeing as we have only had 12.1" total for the winter thus far, people are freaking out. Apparently there were lines at Super Targets & other grocery stores. People were stopping for gas. Dogs & cats, living together... it's anarchy!

People, it's a snowstorm. I'm not a bred Minnesotan (Indiana gets to lay claim to that), but for cryin' in the night, have you people LOST YOUR FREAKING MINDS!?!? I'm told by Hubby that a storm with 10-18" of snow wouldn't have gotten people to blink an eye, let alone rush to the store for "staples". Wow... another effect of global warming. People go nuts. Fear not, dear readers... I have faith that these people will come to their senses, prepare responsibly & even (dare I say it?) ENJOY this return to winter? I, myself, will have my happy little fanny parked in front of the couch, watching some movies (The Departed & Little Miss Sunshine among them), & watching the snow fall outside.

Welcome back, Ol' Man Winter... we've missed you.

Can I get a do-over?

2007-02-20T21:10:00.000-06:00

Do you ever have a day, which starts off relatively low-key & uneventful, only to have it turn into a complete cluster fuck? Yeah, that's the kinda day I had today.

Got to work early-ish, feelin' pretty decent. Finally got a respectable amount of sleep, only woke up once but was able to knock right back out. So it was starting out pretty good. Well, of course, it all went downhill from there. And the catalyst? Slinky, of course. Now, Slinky is the "loving" term (ha ha) I use for my completely obnoxious British co-worker. This guy is a total, king-sized Pain in the Ass. We work in a cube farm, & we sit next to each other. Our cubes happen to face out onto the main aisle of our side of the building. Slinky absolutely cannot let ANYONE pass by his cube without a proper "Hallo!" to them. I swear, he stops what he's in the middle of & turns around to say Hi to whoever is unfortunate enough to be passing by him. And he'll do it if you're talking to him also. He can be in the middle of a sentence of a conversation about (*GASP*) an actual work subject & if he sees someone pass by, it's "blah blah contracts blah blah OH HALLO (insert name of poor schmuck here)!" It is, by far, one of THE most annoying things I've ever witnessed. But I digress. Slinky was in rare form today. I hadn't even taken off my coat & he's yapping. Not just to me, but to his other "cube neighbor", & the poor new girl on the other side of his wall. He was (trying) to carry on 3 conversations at once! It was actually kinda bizarre. It was like someone wound him up like a top. And then he pops off with "Oh, I only took my meds a while ago, they should kick in here in about a 1/2 hour." WHAAAA??? Jeezus H... how about you keep your issues to yourself, huh?

*sigh* So like I said, things just kept going downhill. I couldn't seem to focus all day, mostly because I don't really have a whole lot to do right now. It's the "slow week" in my monthly schedule, which I guess is good considering I've cleaned up a lot of crap in my job from when I started. But sometimes it leaves me with too much time to think & not enough to do. So I got to obsessing over things going badly, & how much Slinky annoys me, & the fact that sometimes life just don't work out like the way you planned. I dunno, maybe it's because my birthday's coming up in a month, or maybe it's the fabulous PMS kicking in, but today reeeeeeeaaaaallly sucked.

But right now, as I look at the clock, it's almost over. Thank god.

Hi, I'm Nik, & I'm a TV Addict...

2007-02-19T22:17:00.000-06:00

Well folks, it's Monday, day 1 of a new work week &, more importantly, one of the 2 best nights on TV. I am, of course, talking about my absolutely favorite show, 24, & my favorite new show, Heroes. Unfortunately, the TV Gods have pitted these 2 quality programs opposite each other. The good news for me is that I have a media center PC, a fancy-pants TiVo, so I can record both of them & watch them commercial free. Yay for me!

Tonight we had two great episodes. Some minor reveals, but good stuff. 24 has now made me go "OH MY GOD!" twice this season now. And I have a feeling it's not over yet. Heroes was good too.... the end (which I won't give away for those of you a- that watch it too & b- haven't seen it yet) was GREAT as far as I'm concerned. I was quite pleased. =)

Is it wrong that I obsess over TV like this? Probably. I should be worried about real stuff like global warming, the "war" in Iraq, or the fact that kids are cooking puppies alive in Georgia. Don't get me wrong - I do worry about these things, & much more. But on Monday nights (& Thursdays, the other "Great Night of TV" this season), I get to ignore all that for a little while & get to hang out with Jack Bauer & save the world in a day, or save the cheerleader, & save the world. Either way, I win.

What the?!?!

2007-02-18T13:20:00.000-06:00

So apparently I have been "tagged"... why? I'm not sure. I'm a good person, or at least I try to be, & WHAMMO. So thus now I have to post 5 Odd Things About Myself. Ok, Jer, you asked for it...

1) I cannot swim. I also cannot ride a 2 wheeled bike, roller skate, or ice skate. Yes, I'm a freak. I didn't get out much as a child, mostly because of a completely insane, overprotective mother. Someday I might try to accomplish the last 3, but the first one tho (swimming) probably won't happen any time soon. I have this thing about getting my head under water - I hate it. So that rules swimming out.

2) I have a partially photographic memory. Like I can remember details from books, pictures, places, but it's kinda like the details aren't in focus. For example, I can remember where information is on a page in a book, I can see the layout of the page, the position of pictures, but the text is most often blurry. So this is only a partially useful talent. =)

3) I believe I have mild OCD. I'm a checker. I literally cannot leave the house without making sure that all the doors are locked, nothing is left on, etc. Several times. I think it has something to do with my short term memory. Or that I'm insane, one or the other. It also could be the same insane mother mentioned in #1 - she does it too.

4) I can flex the top knuckles of my fingers independently of the other knuckles. It creeps people out when I do it. That's fun. =) But if I have them bent for too long they tend to lock up & then they're sore. But it's still fun to watch people freak.

5) I LOVE sports. Probably more so than Hubby. Almost all kinds too. Soccer & pro basketball are exceptions. They kinda suck, especially soccer. Watching soccer is like watching paint dry for me. I know a lot of people like it, good for them. But I won't watch it. Football (the "American" kind) & baseball are my two favorites. I even play Fantasy Football. Did pretty well this year too, made it to the first round of the playoffs with crap for running backs, but got bounced in the first round. Maybe next year.

So there you are - 5 Oddities about Nik. Unfortunately I have no one to "tag" now, however. So if you happen to read this & feel the urge to purge about yourself, consider yourself tagged.

And now for the news...

2007-02-18T13:02:00.000-06:00

So I haven't posted in a while, not because I don't have anything to say really, but just have kinda forgotten to sit down & write something. The Holidays came & went in their usual flurry of fun, parties, & travel. Managed to make it through this year without getting sick (YAY), & even managed to make it down to Iowa to the hubby's Grandma's house. This is good, because I a) haven't been able to get down there for a couple years because I've been sick @ the time, & b) I feel really bad if the hubby misses it too. Grandma D is in her late 80's, but other than poor eyesight & the occasional complaint, she's in pretty good health for her age. But you never know what can happen, so I'm glad we got down there to see her. I even managed to get the coveted Roll & Frosting recipes from her this year! =)

New Year's was kind of mellow - hung out with friends at their house. Very nice. I'm not into big parties or bar hopping @ New Years. A) I HATE dressing up... too much stress, & B) just seems like a recipe for disaster. Too many stupid people out & about for my taste. Altho I would like to do New Years in Times Square, just once to say I did.

January & February have been pretty uneventful, except for those 2 weeks around the beginning of February when I finally got that bad cold I normally get around the Holidays. (Thanks Hubby!) Altho for once I think the flu shot I got actually did some good, as I got through the worst of things about 1/2 as fast as the Hubby did. He had it 2 weeks, I only had it about 6 days. We both still have a nagging cough, but it sounds like that might hang around a while (yippee).

So that brings you up to date on everything that's been going on. Nothing terribly exciting, hence the lack of postings. I'll try to get better about it tho. I'm sure you're waiting with bated breath.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas....

2006-12-16T09:30:00.000-06:00

So there it is, December 16th, in Minnesota, & there's NO FREAKIN' SNOW?!??!? As if anyone needed any proof of global warming, may I present Exhibit A ladies & gentlemen. Not that I'm a huge fan of snow mind you - it's not like I ski or snowboard (of course I'm sure those of you who actually know me are laughing hysterically right now - "What!?!? HER, ski? Bwahahahahahaha!"). But it's very nice to have the Currier & Ives picture for the holidays. I mean, when I was growing up, I can only remember maybe one or two Christmases that were "brown" or no snow. It was still cold, just no snow. But the last few years it seems has been a struggle to get that powder for the holidays. It's kinda sad really. I'm sure it's completely different for those of you, dear readers, who grew up in the South or in California or something. I dunno how I'd feel about that. I guess if I never had snow at Christmas growing up, then I wouldn't miss it. But I did, & I do miss it.
So today's agenda includes finishing ALL my Christmas shopping - & to quote Scarlet O'Hara "As God as my witness..." I will finish my shopping today! It kills me that I have to go to the mall, Target & possibly Best Buy on the weekend before Christmas, but it's a necessary evil. I guess I wasn't born with the "female shopping gene". I've never really been the girl to hang at the mall. There are times when I like to go wandering through the mall, but definitely NOT during the holidays. People are either rude, oblivious to their surroundings, or just plain DUMB. So I will perform my ritual of "Commando Shopping" - get in, GET OUT, as fast as humanly possible.
Hopefully you are done with your shopping, & can enjoy this last weekend of sanity before the Holiday Craziness begins.

Wake up call

2006-12-14T23:07:00.000-06:00

So have you ever had an event, or a time in your life that made you sit back, take stock? A crossroads, if you will? Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's born out of a bad thing, but a change needs to be made. Well, my friends & readers, I happened upon such a crossroads over the last couple of days. Suffice it to say, the times, they are a changin'. It's going to be hard, & it's going to suck, & I'll probably vent alot here, but I have to do it. I realize that now. I'm just really sorry that it took so long to get here.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled nonsense...

The First... Be Gentle

2006-12-12T15:06:00.000-06:00

Welcome, and thanks for coming!

So I'm thinking that "blogging" is kinda funny. I mean, who thought of this? Just writing down your random thoughts, & then someone actually going & reading it, & even taking time to comment on it? Wow. That just fascinates me. But here I am, jumping in like the lemming that I am.

Now, I'm sitting here thinking "Wow, it's only 13 days until Christmas, I have NOT finished the tree, & have NOT finished shopping." And yet I'm kinda not in the mood yet? It comes in spurts. At the beginning when I did my first Christmas shopping day, then I felt it. But I think it has to do with the fact that it's so BLAH out... I mean, c'mon. It's December 12th people, we should have some freakin' SNOW already! But no, it's 40 degrees out, it might hit 50 on Friday. You absolutely CANNOT tell me there's no such thing as global warming. Here's the proof. I swear, I don't know how Californians do it. Maybe if I'd grown up there, & didn't know what it was like to see the snow & everything on Christmas, then I wouldn't mind. But I want the Currier & Ives postcard, ya know?

Speaking of Christmas - best song version I've heard in a while is Josh Groban's O Holy Night. I swear, that guy has a voice like an angel. THAT is what music should sound like. Check it out if you haven't heard it.

I'm off to find Christmas now... wish me luck!