glass baby

My boss just randomly called me told me about an opportunity that she wants me to take. They need people to cross train to take glass claims and be the adjuster for states that you don't need to be licensed in. The training is all next week (Monday thru Friday) from 8 to 5 and then I would take glass calls if needed for the next 6 weeks. They have so many people taking glass claims from hurricane victims that there are not enough people to take regular glass calls. So I am gonna do it. So now I am off this Sunday! Sweet. 3 day weekend. Alone. Damn. Now, it's no more money, but its a big deal to be asked and it'll look good on the resume. Way random and out of the blue. But cool.

I'm better than my sister, for once!

fun stuff

So at the time I would normally call my mom, I figured I should blog.

Well, lets just hope this morning is not an indication of things to come.
I was on a call at work and my cell phone kept ringing, well vibrating, and it was Chris. I pulled a major no-no, but he kept calling so I knew it was something important. I put my caller on hold and answered my cell. The genius locked himself out of the house. Yup. I had to finish up my call and go home. It wasn't that huge of a deal, but I had to use my lunch time to do it. My lunch time at 7:20am. It was excitement, that's for sure.

So, my parents made it to Toronto, but just barely. I looked at their flights and knew that their lay over in Atlanta was greatly reduced to about 30 minutes. I hoped that they had made it, but wasn't sure. My mom did call me a couple hours ago and told me they made it, but had to run. A picture very few people can imagine, but to those who do, you will enjoy the image. So, I did talk to my mom for like 2 minutes. She said their hotel is right on the lake and it is cold. She said it was like 55 degrees and windy. That is freaking wool coat weather for us heat freaks. At least I know they made it so I can relax about them for awhile.

the strangest thing

Yesterday Chris's boss told the office that he had a strange request. Does any one want to drive an RV to Biloxi, Mississippi? Chris's response was "Sure." He likes a good road trip. Well. It will be confirmed today, but it looks like he's really going to be doing it. His firm has people there helping with a rebuilding project and they need more places for them to stay. And apparently the only available RV's (meaning ones that are not already being used as shelters) are way out here. So, since their employees need it, they are going to deliver the RV to them and then fly home. Chris and another guy from the office are going to do it. They tried to see if I could go to, but the plane tickets were so expensive that they vetoed that idea. I am concerned about him doing this and driving across the country in an RV that he's never driven before and going into a part of the country that is in turmoil and chaos. As crazy as the whole thing sounds, it seems to be the only solution that his company can come up with. And it's a little late now for him to back out. They will have to drive straight thru without stopping so they can get this done over the weekend. They are pretty sure they are leaving tomorrow. Like I said, it should all get confirmed today.
And being the selfish female that I am... what does all this mean for me? I will be alone for 3 days. Not just without my husband, but my parents left this morning for their cruise. They will be gone for like 16 days. Now, I have gone 16 days without seeing my mother, but I haven't gone 16 days without talking to her on the phone in like forever. This will be very difficult for me. She's not just my mom, she's my friend. I will be lonely and needing my sister (*hint*hint* - CALL ME, Beck!).

update: fall TV

I have some serious Tuesday night TV issues! Why is everything good on Tuesday night? That's nuts. Something has to move or I will be very upset.
So, from 7:00 to 8:00 I have Gilmore Girls (I forgot to put that one on the list!) AND America's Next Top Model.
And starting at 8:00, I have My Name is Earl, Commander In Chief and Amazing Race.
I have the ability to record 2 shows at once, however you cannot watch a third unless I change the imput on the TV (which Chris told me after I missed the beginning of Amazing Race). This is just too much flipping and recording for me. Something has got to change. Now, I did watch Commander In Chief and it was really good. All except for Geena Davis's lips. She wore this horrible red lipstick in every scene and you (well at least I couldn't) can't look at anything else on the screen. She needs to tone that down. And about Amazing Race... I was not all that upset that I missed the beginning. All I can say to those at Amazing Race is "If it ain't broke..." This new season has families. It's really dumb. The tasks are much simpler because there are kids to consider. I like seeing couples fight, but watching all those families fight on TV is not nearly as fun. I'll probably keep watching it, but it will move to the bottom of the priority list.

fall TV

new shows on TV that I like so far...
Everybody Hates Chris - the best part is Chris Rock's narration
My Name is Earl - seriously, this is the best comedy on TV. It doesn't feel like a TV show. It feels like a part of a movie and I just want to see more. Jason Lee is to die for!
Prison Break - Why is that guy so good looking? If he wasn't, it would be worth my time.

and looking forward to...
Commander in Chief
new season of Amazing Race

old favs that I am soooo glad to have back...
Nip/Tuck
CSI
America's Next Top Model
Medium
The OC

fruit flavored tootsie rolls

I am obsessed with them. I love when Halloween candy comes out. They sell candy that they do not sell year around. I especially love the vanilla and cherry flavored ones. I need to stop eating them and get some self control!

blisters

Last night I decided I needed to sweep the front driveway and the carport. It was really bothering me. So I just went out and did it. Without even thinking of the consequences. Let's just say that the next time I sweep, I will be wearing my gardening gloves. I have blisters on both hands. And one little one on my foot. Ouchy.

How is it...

that the Bengals are 3 and 0? They won again today. That's crazy.

Now the Cardinals on the other hand, are looking to be the opposite of that today.
Neat.

for the sake of science

I have been keeping track of some of the "normal" things that happen when people call to file claims. I thought it would be interesting for people to see what I have to deal with on a daily basis and how frustrating this job can be. Plus, it's my attempt to prevent you from doing this when you call ANYWHERE. Because, trust me, this stuff does not just happen to insurance companies.

A little Insurance lingo lesson first:
An "insured" is a person my company insures
A "claimant" is a person involved in the accident that my company does not insure
And when it says "people" it means a combo of both claimants & insureds

Alright. Here we go.

Over the course of 2 days, when filing a claim...
28% of people did not have a pen or paper with them
6% of insureds did not have info on the claimant vehicle
10% of insureds did not have their policy # with them
10% of people did not know where the accident happened (either road name or city)
4% of people do not know their work address
10% of people had accents that I could not understand
1% of claimants do not know their own insurance company
1% of people do not know their own date of birth
1% of people do not know their own address

You might not believe some of this, but it's true. Funny, huh? All I can say is please have at least your own information with you when you call a company. And the not having pen and paper drives me nuts! What did you think you were doing when you called? Did you not call to file a CLAIM? Meaning that I would, at some point in the conversation, give you a CLAIM NUMBER that you probably should write down? Come on people.

Let me clarify

I had many comments from my sibling unit about my open letter post yesterday. I will clarify what I mean when I said that "I hit them" does not explain what happened. It might explain what happened if that was included along with the description like, "I made a left turn and I hit them." But when someone asks you what happened in a car accident and you tell them "I hit them." That does not explain what happened. Get it?
And "They pulled out and hit me" does not explain what happened either. People are so vague sometimes and it's really annoying. They don't realize that I can't read their minds. Because in their minds, it makes perfect sense. But a comment like "They pulled out and hit me" could mean a million and one things happened. Pulled out means what? They turned? They went straight? They changed lanes? See. It doesn't explain what happened at all.
So my point is, when you explain to your insurance company what happened, they really want to know.

new movie added to the list

This review really makes me want to see Thumbsucker.

an open letter to anyone reporting an accident to their insurance company:

"I hit them" does not explain what happened!!!!!!!!!!!

work frustrations

I think I have pin pointed my frustration over the last few days.
The people that I work with. Now that we are all sitting in different seats, I have a different view and see different people. I used to sit facing the rest of MY team. But now they are all sitting behind me. I now face another team and they are driving me crazy. They get here on time, for the most part, but they sit around and don't sign on the phone until the very last minute that they have to avoid getting a tardy. Technically, we start at 7, so you are supposed to be logged in the phone at 7. But as long as you log in by 7:07, you are considered on time and not tardy. You are not supposed to do this, but they ALL DO! So I sit here and watch them not working while I am taking calls. This morning I was the first one logged in and there were 8 people here. I had also taken 2 calls before anyone else even logged in!!!!!!!! Then, they get up and walk around when we have calls on hold. You are not supposed to do that. And I think the worse part is that their manager doesn't care. If she cares, she lets them get away with it. Their availability must suck. It's really hard to sit here and want to do the right thing when all you see is other people slacking. This was a frustration that I had at Discover. I don't want to let this eat away at me. I think I need to change desks so I don't have to look at them. I need to discuss this with my boss. She will understand, thank goodness. So I get all worked up and mad at my coworkers and then I have no patience for the callers. This is a vicious cycle that I need to break.

have you ever...

gotten a bruise on the top of your hand?
I have one now and it's very strange.

a few random things...

finale of Big Brother tonight - If Ivette wins, I don't know what I will do. I strongly dislike them both.

premiere of Nip/Tuck tonight - It's about damn time. It's been since January for christ sake! And so begins the weeks of Wednesdays that I will be very tired having stayed up late on Tuesday nights to watch. At least until daylight savings. This is my favorite show on television.

new John Mayer Trio video - Not much to look at, but a great song. Check it out here.

the cancellation of The Comeback - Not a big surprise. At least I don't have to watch it any more. I watched it because I thought it would get better, but guess not. Read about the cancellation here.

Sorry I haven't been writing much. Just haven't been in the mood.
So to remind myself, here's a list of things I need to blog about:
- Emmy's
- Jeremy Piven's Emmy defeat boo hiss
- work frustrations
- fruit flavored tootsie rolls
- new shows on TV that I like so far (ie. Prison Break)
- and new shows I am looking forward to

VACATION

So I had mentioned before that our friends from Indianapolis are coming to visit in November. Well, its all starting to come together. They got their plane tickets and are going to be here from November 4th(which is the day after my birthday, in case you didn't know!) to the 12th. How cool? They wanted to do touristy stuff while they are here, because neither of them have ever been to AZ. So, we are planning a trip within their trip. We are going up north. We are leaving on the 8th and going to the Grand Canyon. That night, we are going to stay in this cabin (we just booked it today!). The next day (the 9th), we are going to drive to Sedona and site see. We might even go to this winery. That would be cool. The night of the 9th, we are going to stay in Cottonwood. Then on the 10th, we are going to go to Jerome and shop. We will then drive home the long way thru Mingus Mountain and Prescott. We will probably do dinner in Prescott and then drive home that night. We are gonna rent an SUV and go crazy. It's gonna be so fun. Chris and I did a trip like this a few years ago. But this time we are going to the Canyon and staying in the cool cabin. I am so excited. This will make a birthday week celebration for me!

To Bright Star:

Yesterday I was watchin Wild N Out in MTV (do you watch this? it's hilarious!) and who was performing but our new favorite rapper, T.I.
I about died laughing.

Edited to add: OHMYGOD. Guess who just got punked!!!!!!!!!

Go

Ok, this will be my last post for awhile. But since I declared that my obsession was back - or at least back on the blog...
Have you heard, Go by Common? Well, who do you think it is that sings that "Go" part? Bet you can guess...

thunder wake up call

This morning I was woken up at around 6:45am by this insanely loud clap of thunder. I just shot right up. It made car alarms go off all over the neighborhood. Then it started to pour for like 2 minutes. The rain continued for about 25 minutes or so. These storms are what they call microbursts and they happen here at this time of year. Now it will humid all day and probably won't rain again. Great. Just enough to get my car windows all messed up. But at least I don't have to water the yard and trees today. Free water. Sweet.
So my plans for today are not much. I am still in my pajamas. I was up late watching I don't even know what on TV last night. And I did not intend to even by awake right now. Normally I sleep til at least now or 10am on Fridays. But I after the thunder, I could not go back to sleep. I laid on the couch for awhile after eating my cereal, but I have been on the computer most of the morning. I wanted to listen to the shows that downloaded... I mean, somehow obtained...overnight. So I am rambling on my blog and checking out the news. I need to go to the post office, but no one is ever in a hurry to do that, right? I also need to go to Target to pick myself up some more plastic bins. I am trying to work on clearing out the kids room of boxes. I have found that most of that stuff just needs to go into storage and I do not want to just put boxes in the shed. It's not a well built shed and I think anything in a cardboard box would get damaged. So, I need to get some more bins and just organize the stuff and get it outside. That room is still full of stuff that we are going to donate and sell in a garage sale. It's just too hot to be having a garage sale right now. So that stuff can stay in that room, because I know it will be leaving soon enough. So that's my plan for today.
There is one hurricane benefit concert, Shelter from the Storm, tonight and then tomorrow is the one on MTV that I mentioned a few days ago, ReAct Now: Music & Relief Concert. So I will be watching those this weekend. I also have two movies to watch from Netflix. Oh yeah, we signed back up for it. I was tired of being out of the loop on movies. Plus we have this huge TV to watch them on.
And speaking of TV, our cable is working again. We had to get a new cable box. But we are pissed because we lost everything that we had recorded and saved. There were things on there that I hadn't even had a chance to watch. The tech guy that they sent us was a trainee. And not a trainee working with someone else to learn. But a trainee by himself. He didn't even know how to plug the cable box in. Chris had to show him. So, even if it was possible to save the hard drive on our DVR cable box, that dude wouldn't have known how to do it. He had to call tech support about 4 or 5 times while he was here. It's every frustrating. He apologized for not being able to save our box and the last thing he said when he walked out the door was, "Don't switch to satellite." I am not kidding. Was he reading our minds? We are thinking about it, but I am hesitant because I know that weather effects satellite and it gets so windy here. I would be more pissed to have the TV go out when its windy than I am now that I lost my shit on the cable box. We are between a rock and a hard place. But anyway, its back working. So I can finally see again what is on TV. I hated not having the guide or the info button. You get so dependent on that and don't even realize it. I was so dependent on it that they other night I called my mother and had her hit her info button on her TV to tell me when something was on. Yeah, I know.

I am still listening to the show from the 7th and he just said, "Come on move. Bitches, move." It made me laugh because I read that article I posted below and it said the first few rows were full of girls. He called them bitches. They were not getting into the song and he called them bitches. That's so funny. He is finally speaking his mind. I am really happy that the girls who are there just for him and not the music, are getting called out. Now mind you, he is amazing to look at, but I love the music just as much.
Yup. The blog all about my obsession with John Mayer is BACK!

I Got A Woman

Have you heard Kanye West's new single with Jamie Foxx, Gold Digger? Well, it samples a Ray Charles song called I Got a Woman. Fun song. The reason I bring this up is because as I mentioned below, the JM3 started their tour 2 nights ago and I was (somehow *wink*) able to obtain a copy of the show from the 6th and 7th in San Francisco. They performed I Got A Woman and MY GOD it is amazing. I am loving listening to this. It's such great music. He is so amazing. He is my escape from the crazy things I have to deal with. What's wrong with that? Nothing. Plus, hearing him sing makes me happy and makes me smile. And groove in my chair. And puts Jamie Foxx to shame.

John Mayer Trio starts touring...

'I'm a bluesman,' says Mayer, but the little girls may not understand

I get it baby. And I ain't no little girl.

God Bless me?

I know you all want to know what the people who are filing claims about the hurricane say when they call. I just can't always talk about it. It gets to be too much. I have to become immune to it, just like I have for people telling me about their car accidents. Not that I don't care. I am just the kind of person who wants to help people and carry the burdens of others. And I can't carry it all. I have developed this thick skin were I try to not let what I hear get to me. I have to. I try to not even remember what they say. And today and yesterday were so terrible for me that I just couldn't even comprehend the things I heard. But I will tell you that I will never forget the lady that called today. After completing the claim she said to me, "God Bless You." God Bless me? This was after she told me that she got out of New Orleans with the clothes on her back and a bag with about a weeks worth of clothes and that is all. God Bless me? I am not the kind of person who says that to people so I didn't say it back, but I said it in my heart. No. Not God Bless me. God Bless YOU. I still can't process it. After all she's been thru, she says God Bless me. I am bringing myself to tears right now and that is why I couldn't talk about it earlier. I needed more time to even say out loud that this happened. And the things I heard yesterday will never leave me. I am so profoundly changed by these people. And they will never know that. I wish there was a way I could let them know, but I need to do my job and take care of their claim.

hooray for someone I know

Ernster, Duke Find Homes on 53-Man Roster

this was posted on my company website...

Here are some strategies to help you deal with the callers and your own feelings:

- Take a news break. Watching endless replays of footage from the disaster can make your stress even greater. Although you'll want to keep informed - especially if you have loved ones affected by the disaster - take a break from watching the news.

- Be kind to yourself. Some feelings when witnessing a disaster may be difficult for you to accept. You may feel relief that the disaster did not touch you, or you may feel guilt that you were left untouched when so many were affected. Both feelings are common.

- Keep things in perspective. Although a disaster often is horrifying, you should focus as well on the things that are good in your life.

- Find a productive way to help if you can. Many organizations are set up to provide financial or other aid to victims of natural disasters. Contributing can be a way to gain some “control” over the event.

- Control what you can. There are routines in your life that you can continue and sometimes you need to do those and take a break from even thinking about the disaster.

- Look for opportunities for self-discovery and recognize your strengths. People often learn something about themselves and may find that they have grown in some respect as a result of persevering through hardship. Many people who have experienced tragedy and adversity have reported better relationships, greater sense of personal strength even while feeling vulnerable, increased sense of self-worth, deeper spirituality, and heightened appreciation for life.

if that wasn't enough

Did I mention that our cable is out? Well, not totally out. But our cable box is dead. We can still get all cable channels, except for digital and HD channels. We discovered this on Sunday and they said the soonest someone could come out to fix it would be Thursday. We could always take the cable box ourselves to the store, but we have things saved on our DVR that we do not want to loose. We are hoping that having someone come out that maybe they can save the hard drive in our box. But my gut tells me they will just switch out the box and everything will be lost.

What else is gonna break? Doesn't it happen in threes?

edited to add: I missed the season finale of Entourage!! Thank God HBO reruns. Don't tell me about it.

i hate cars even more now

I was late getting up for work. I hurried to get ready and rushed out to find that my car will not start. I get nothing. No clicking sounds. Nothing. The lights on the dash come on and the radio does too. But that's it. Joy of joys. I had to wake Chris up and have him bring me to work. I had no choice but to come in today. If I didn't come in today, I would not get paid for yesterday. Since yesterday was a holiday, if you call off the day before or the day after, you don't get paid for the holiday. Great day to have a dead car. I called my dad and he thinks that it's just the battery. Lets pray to God that is all it is. Chris is gonna pick me up today and we are gonna try to jump start my car and take it Checker to get a new battery and pray that works. Please God let it be just the battery. I HATE CARS!

John Mayer performed on Larry King Live last night to help raise money for the Hurricane relief. In case you missed it, watch it here.

that's what I'm talking about...

ReAct Now: Music & Relief on MTV, VH1 & CMT
I am liking what I see happening now. People are slowing stepping up and doing what they can.
Last night, my dad and I went to an Arizona Cardinals pre-season football game and at the entrance, they had buckets and were asking for donations. Near the end of the game, they said that at that game alone, they raised over $47,000. That was very impressive. (More on the game later.)
I didn't watch that Hurricane Relief concert on NBC last night because we were at the game, but apparently it was successful. And everyday there are more and more celebrities coming out and donating and volunteering to be on shows to raise money. I am really glad to see it finally happening.

sending my love to my family

YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME.

what can you do?

Dave Matthews Band to Do Benefit Concert
I would expect nothing less. They are an amazing group of guys who care about people and want to help. I hope more bands and celebrities step up and do more. I know there are some, but not nearly the amount yet that came out for the tsunami relief. This is our own country people. Come on.
And I look at the pictures and wonder what I can do? The first thing is Never complain about the heat. It's gonna be 104 today, but I have my house, my car, food, water. Another thing we need to do is put our problems in perspective. I think I forget to do that as much as I should. I can't complain really about anything. I have so much in my life and we need to be thankful for what we have and know that it can be taken way that quickly. Tell your family you love them all the time. And donate money to the Red Cross. I know it doesn't sound like much. The kind hearted people of this country want to do so much more than give money. We can pray. Pray for those who are dying and the families left with nothing. Pray that God will save the ones he can and those he cannot save, he will take with him and they will be safe.

what can you say?

Yes, I work for an insurance company. An auto insurance company.We insure more than 450,000 autos in the area effected by the hurricane.
I know that before I joked about it, but my criticism was more of the media coverage not the actual event. My company is scrambling to try to do the right thing for our customers. But we have no idea when these claims will ever be handled.
I know that most people watch the coverage on the news and it is devastating. But let me tell you, talking to the victims is 100 times worse. These people call to file the claim even though they have not seen their vehicles. They say things like, my home was destroyed and my car was in the garage so I know it is damaged even without seeing it. What do you say? We are all at a loss here. All I can say is you and your family take care. One lady said that she was staying at her aunt's house but does not know if she will be there tomorrow. She was so upset. All I could do was tell her to call us back if she goes somewhere else so that we know how to reach her. This is so bad. These poor people. They are calling them refugees on the news. At first I thought it was another over exaggeration from the media, but the more I think about it, that is what they are. I try to not dwell because if I do, I will cry. All I can do is be as nice to these people as possible and tell them we will help them as soon as we can.

new RENT trailer

Check it out here.

84 days and counting...

in passing

What's the most random thing you've heard when you walked by someone talking on their cell phone?

This is what I heard just now: "You can't help it if two crackheads end up in the same place."

For a minute I thought that I must not have heard correctly, but I can't figure out what else it could have been. Way random and odd.

to my sibling unit

Have a good first day of school tomorrow, Beck. You picked the best outfit. :)
I also wanted to thank you for the conversation we had yesterday. I know I laid a lot on you, but it felt really good to get that off my chest and I am glad that you were there to listen. So thanks. Things will be ok.

Hurricane Katrina

oh the drama.
That's all I have to say about it.
My job is directly affected by weather events all over the country. Meaning, we are busy. That's all. It effects my company financially. Anyhoo.
I just think it's funny that one the news last night, the graphic said "Killer Katrina" and I was thinking they were a little premature on that. It killed a couple of people in Florida when it hit last week, but they died from other things like dehydration and shit. They didn't drown or nothing. They were just talking about the worst case scenario and getting everybody all roused up. Not that it isn't a big deal, but Killer before it hit land? Whatever. I hope the loss of life is minimal and that people are able to recover from it. But people, come on? You live below sea level.

one word for today

MIGRAINE

super size me?

Check out this article. I enjoyed the documentary, but I also appreciate those who attempt to show other sides of the issue. But who the hell am I to talk? I eat chicken nuggets once a week!

boo hiss

Chris just told me that the Phoenix office of his firm was "un-invited" to the Christmas party in Beverly Hills. I am so upset about this I can't even stand it. I found the dress and everything. What a freaking bummer. Apparently they area saying that the office is now large enough to have their own party, which roughly translates to it's too expensive to fly everyone out to LA. At least I wasn't having a good day to begin with. I am all crampy and pissed off already. So what's one more. Anybody else got any bad news? Share it today please.

Sunday Meme (but did it on Monday...)

[ ] I've run away from home.
[ ] I listen to political music.
[ ] I collect comic books.
[X] I shut others out when I'm sad.
[ ] I open up to others easily.
[X] I am keeping a secret from the world.
[X] I watch the news.
[ ] I own over 5 rap CDs.
[ ] I own an I-Pod.
[X] I own something from Hot Topic.
[X] I love Disney movies.
[X] I am a sucker for hair/eyes.
[x] I don't kill bugs.
[X] I curse regularly.
[X] I paid for that cell phone ringtone.
[ ] I have "x"s in my screen name.
[ ] I've slipped out a "lol" in a real conversation.
[ ] I love Spam.
[ ] I bake well.
[x] I would wear pajamas to school.
[ ] I own something from Abercrombie
[X] I have a job.
[ ] I love Martha Stewart.
[X] I am in love with someone.
[X] I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
[X] I am self conscious.
[X] I like to laugh.
[ ] I smoke a pack a day.
[ ] I loved Go Ask Alice.
[ ] I have cough drops when I'm not sick.
[ ] I can't swallow pills.
[X] I have many scars.
[ ] I've been out of this country.
[ ] I believe in ghosts.
[ ] I can't sleep if there is a spider in the room.
[X] I am really ticklish.
[X] I see/have seen a therapist.
[ ] I love chocolate.
[ ] I bite my nails.
[X] I am comfortable with being me.
[X] I play computer games/video games when i'm bored.
[ ] Gotten lost in your city.
[X] Saw a shooting star.
[ ] Gone out in public in your pajamas.
[ ] I have kissed a stranger.
[ ] Hugged a stranger.
[X] Been in a fight with the same sex.
[ ] Been arrested.
[ ] Laughed and had milk/soda come out of your nose.
[X] Pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
[ ] Made out in an elevator.
[X] Swore at your parents.
[ ] Kicked a guy where it hurts.
[ ] Been skydiving.
[ ] Been bungee jumping.
[X] Broken a bone.
[ ] Played spin the bottle.
[X] Gotten stitches.
[ ] Drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour.
[X] Bitten someone.
[X] Been to Niagara Falls.
[X] Gotten the chicken pox.
[ ] Crashed into a friend's car.
[ ] Been to Japan.
[X] Ridden in a taxi.
[X] Shoplifted.
[X] Been fired.
[X] Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.
[X] Stole something from your job.
[ ] Gone on a blind date.
[X] Lied to a friend.
[ ] Had a crush on a teacher/coach.
[ ] Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
[ ] Been to Europe.
[ ] Slept with a co-worker.
[X] Been married.
[ ] Gotten divorced.
[ ] Saw someone dying.
[X] Driven over 400 miles in one day.
[X] Been to Canada.
[X] Been on a plane.
[X] Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
[ ] Thrown up in a bar.
[X] Eaten Sushi.
[ ] Been snowboarding.
[ ] Been skiing.
[ ] Been ice skating.
[X] Met someone in person from the internet.
[ ] Been to a motorcross show.
[X] Gone/Going to college.
[ ] Done hard drugs
[X] Taken painkillers.
[ ] Cheated on someone else
[X] Were so bored you took this survey.
[X] Have a tattoo

personality test

ISFJ - "Conservator". Desires to be of service and to minister to individual needs - very loyal. 13.8% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

how oddly accurate...

it's back!

The old template is back. That other one, I worked really, really hard on, but it was starting to annoy me. You can admit it. It was bothering you too. Good thing I saved the old one! Smart thinking on my part.

Chris's watch

Chris got a watch from his parents for his college graduation. Late last year the clasp started to not stay shut and it would fall off his wrist. He contact Fossil, the company that made the watch and they told him to send $25 and the watch to replace it. We finally mailed it off a few weeks ago. The reason I am even mentioning this is because we heard back from the company that handles to repairs for Fossil. They sent us a letter that said they no longer make that watch and so they are not able to replace the band. The letter continues... they said that since they are not able to replace the band, they are going to replace THE WATCH. I am not kidding about this. They gave him a dollar amount and said to go to the website and pick out 3 choices within that price range and they will send him the one that they have in stock based on the ranking of his choices. And they didn't give him a low range. They gave him the dollar amount range that the watch is worth. And the best part is that all we have to pay is the $25. They are doing this because the watch has an 11 year warranty. Here is his first choice and hopefully he'll get this one. It's real similar to the old one. I am just so shocked that they are doing this. They could have just sent the watch back and said, "sorry we can't repair it. too bad." and I wouldn't have been the wiser. It would have been upsetting, but we would have not known there was any other option. But this is just so amazing to me.

Elizabethtown

Check out the trailer for the new Cameron Crow film. Is Orlando Bloom not the hottest thing?

the hair is getting pretty now

The longer it gets, the nicer it looks.
Much better than a few months ago

How odd

Have you ever just randomly listened to a song and thought, "That is exactly how I am feeling right now?" That just happened to me and I wanted to post the lyrics, because sometimes other people can say it much better than we can.

Precious Illusions
by: Alanis Morissette

You'll rescue me right?
In the exact same way they never did..
I'll be happy right?
When your healing powers kick in

You'll complete me right?
Then my life can finally begin
I'll be worthy right?
Only when you realize the gem I am?

But this won't work now the way it once did
And I won't keep it up even though I would love to
Once I know who I'm not then I'll know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim

These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was defenseless
And parting with them is like parting with invisible best friends

This ring will help me yet as will you knight in shining armor
This pill will help me yet as will these boys gone through like water

This won't work as well as the way it once did
Cause I want to decide between survival and bliss
And though I know who I'm not I still don't know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim

These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was a kid
And parting with them is like parting with a childhood best friend

I've spent so long firmly looking outside me
I've spent so much time living in survival mode

This won't work now the way it once did
Cause I want to deside between survival and bliss
Though I know who I'm not
I don't I still don't know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim

These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was defenseless
And parting with them is like parting with invisible best friends

These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I was a kid
And parting with them is like parting with a childhood best friend

Wordplay

Check out the new Jason Mraz video here or see it live here

8 is enough

So yeah, there have been 8 mice as of this morning. We had none for like 2 or 3 days and then the last 3 mornings, there have been one. I don't really know what we are gonna do. Whatever.

Other stuff:
Are you watching Real World Austin? Oh my god. This is the saddest season yet and one of the best, I think. Melinda and Danny are developing a real relationship and you can tell. They really like each other and every time they go out, they want to be home with the other. That's cute. But poor Danny. In the first episode he got in a fight and broke his face. He had to have surgery for it. And now, on last weeks episode, he finds out that his mother dies. Holy crap. I cried so bad for him. It's so sad. He goes home and does not know if he wants to come back. I hope that he does.

Friday with Mom was fun, but exhausting. After the morning and the car mess, me and mom went shopping and my sister is right, the mall is a stress inducer. We were carrying around heavy bags and only managed to make it half way thru the mall. I know that it was mostly my fault. I was just not there emotionally and physically I was wore out and tired. We did eat at a great place called Joe's Crab Shack. It was way good! I am not a big seafood fan, but I wanted to try it. I had a crab cake sandwich. It was the first crab cake that I've ever had. It was way good. I really want to go back and eat there more. Yummy stuff.

Big Brother 6

If you don't want a spoiler for tomorrow's episode, stop reading now.
I have not been blogging about BB lately. But I wanted to post what is happening with it now. James and Sarah are on the block. But over the weekend, James won the power of veto. And today, for the 3rd week in a row, he takes himself off the block. The Head of Household, Howie, then nominates Ivette. It's about freaking time. I think it's dumb that they are voting off people who they consider strong players. I think the stronger players are the ones who don't make it so obvious. They are the ones, like Jennifer and Beau, who are just laying low and letting the chaos happen around them. They are the better players because the are not drawing attention to themselves. I also want to say that I have been voting like a fool to get Kayser back in the house. If Eric comes back, I will be so pissed off. Now, I think that CBS might not tally the votes and just bring Eric back. The reason I think this is because I was reading the message boards and discovered that on cbs.com they have options for you to vote on different things like who will be evicted next, etc. All the houseguests were are listed for you to choose from, except for 3 of the 4 people that were evicted. It gave you to option to vote for Eric to be the next person evicted. That was a few hours ago and then I went back just now and it was changed and you can no longer vote for Eric on that poll. Strange. I keep voting and voting for Kayser to come back into the house and I will as long as I can.

I hate cars

This morning, the KIA wouldn't start. Chris managed to move it to the street and jump started it with my car. Thank God for that. It was the battery that died. That battery is just over a year old. So something must be wrong and draining the battery. I followed Chris to the dealership in my car and we dropped it off. They are going to replace the battery and work on the rest of it, since it's already there. The air conditioner is not working well in it and it's over due for the 45000 mile check up. We are leaving it there all weekend and hopefully we can get it back on Monday. Fun. Fun. I called my dad and thanked him. He needed to be thanked, because if I didn't have my car, this would have really been a major issue. And I am so thankful that it wasn't major. We have KIA roadside assistance, so we could have gotten the car to the dealer. But without my car we would have had to get a rental and figured all that out. Anyway.
I am gonna go on with my day. My mom is coming and we are going to Arizona Mills to shop. That should help the stress level for both of us. My aunt had surgery for her broken hip yesterday and is doing well.
Other stuff...
I am so glad I taped the Today show yesterday and got to see the RENT cast perform. I love it so much. I just can't get enough of it. I have been playing the soundtrack for the last few days. And let me just say that Adam Pascal (below on the right) is still so yummy hot! (And Taye Diggs ain't too freakin shabby his self. And his cute wife in the middle! She's in RENT too.)


Edited to add: Video of the performance is now on the RENT blog, if you wanna watch it.
And I found this and had a good laugh. That's a bad picture, but cute that they crashed a wedding! Let me explain why he was hanging out with Ryan Seacrest. They know each other from way back when John lived in Atlanta and Ryan was a local radio DJ there.
I gotta go get ready to shop...

5's are lucky

That's the number of mice so far. And this morning there were none! They are getting fewer and fewer. I am taking this as a good sign.

I am so tired. I just want to not get out of bed every day. I try to go to bed early, but that never happens.
Yesterday I stayed up late to hang out with Chris after he got home from Vegas. He went for like 5 minutes (ok, more like 4 hours) for a meeting. They had a little free time after their meeting, but before they left, so they went to the Palms. He doesn't ever gamble when he goes, but he just wanders around looking at the buildings. That's the architect for you. He does there everywhere we go. So, I was up late talking with him.
Last night, I watched about 2/3 of First Daughter. Seriously. Why do I watch this crap on TV? It was alright. But in the last scene of the movie, she wears this gorgeous purple dress. I'm looking for a picture now...
I am out of it. I am really glad that I only have about one more hour of work.

what is with the Sharkey women...

and breaking their hips? Aunt. Mary. Now Carolyn. Seriously Mother, be careful.
Yesterday afternoon, my aunt fell at work and broke her hip. She is going to need surgery. It's very stressful, but we've been thru this before and she will be ok.
I guess a little family drama keeps things interesting.

if only I had talent

Mayer Needs Fans to Help Finish His Song
"You can tell people we wrote a song together." How cute is he?

The RENT movie cast...

will be on the Today show on August 4th. They will be performing. Check it out!

disclaimer

If you view this blog on a browser other than Internet Explorer, it might look messed up. I was messing with it and I am in the process of fixing it. Sorry.

in case you missed em...

Here are some performances from LIVE 8:
Dave Matthews Band: Don't Drink the Water, Dream Girl, American Baby, Too Much
BNL: Brian Wilson, If I Had A Million Dollars
Maroon 5: This Love, She Will Be Loved, Rockin' In The Free World
Pink Floyd: Breathe, Money, Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb
Kanye West: All Falls Down, Jesus Walks
Madonna: Like A Prayer
Coldplay: In My Place, Fix You
Sarah McLaughlin: Fallen (I'd include Angel, but Josh Groben is yucky.)
Dido: White Flag, Thank You
Scissor Sisters: Laura
Keane: Somewhere Only We Know
Rob Thomas: 3am, Lonely No More

I did this to not only share, but keep a record of my favorite performances of that great day! Enjoy.

new trailers! (aka more movies I want to see)

Rumor Has It - mmm, Mark Ruffalo
Just Like Heaven - more Mark Ruffalo (and Reese Witherspoon and Jon Heder!)
Walk The Line - more Reese Witherspoon
Junebug

I call them rats

We have mice. I think I posted about this before, but a few weeks ago, Chris saw a mouse in the laundry room. Then I heard what sounded like vermin in the walls. We haven't seen or heard them in a little while and so we sort of forgot. But then I saw some rat poo in the laundry room and freaked out. This weekend Chris went to the Depot and bought mouse traps. Since yesterday afternoon, we have caught two. TWO! Not just one little one like we thought. TWO!
This is the conversation that Chris and I have had today via email, about the mice:
Me: I am freaking about all the mice!
Chris: Two is hardly a lot of mice. But at least they seem dumb enough to fall for the same trap over and over.
Me: Two in less than 24 hours. It can only catch 1 at a time. You don't know how many there are. I bet if there were 2 traps, we would have caught 4 by now. This is freaking me out.
Chris: awww... c'mon...they're cute little mice. Just think of them as little mickeys and minnies. And we're systematically trying to annihilate their whole family. see? cute! If we had a hello kitty, it would get those mice. Prolly bring em to you as a gift, too. too cute!

Mice, huh? I call them rats!
At least they are not hamsters...

why do I watch this crap?

On Friday, I watched You Got Served. Have you seen this film? Don't even waste your time. I have no idea why I even watched it all. It was like a car crash. Just couldn't turn away.
And right now, I am watching E! True Hollywood Story - Jennifer Lopez. What is freaking wrong with me?
Anyway, we did go see Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Friday night. It was cute. I laughed so hard at the beginning during the counseling session. I was the loudest laugher in the audience. I guess not many people were married. I liked the movie. But it was the first time were Brad Pitt looked old. Still really hot, but just kinda old.

windshield

ooh, Chris is mad. And I am too.
The windshield on his car cracked like a week and half ago. I called in the claim last week and scheduled for the repairs today. They were gonna come to our house and fix it there. We swapped cars and everything so that we could do this. They just called him and said they are over booked and want to reschedule. He hates when stuff like that happens. I do too. I was not planning anything for the afternoon today because they were coming, but I guess not. It's really annoying. Chris is taking it out on my company. (the company I work for also happens to be the company our car insurance is thru.) I tried to explain to him that my company had nothing to do with it, but I will give negative feedback. After the claim, they send out a survey and I will make sure I include that and get some people in trouble. WOO HOO!
I'm outta here!

did I find the dress already?

I found this tonight and I really like it. It's silk. The thing with formal dresses are that they are either too bridesmaid or too old lady. It's hard to find something young enough and not too expensive. I am seriously considering buying this now that I've found something I like and still keep looking. I would seriously regret not getting it if I cannot find something else and it's not available again.

2005 Holiday Party

Chris got the following email yesterday:

The Gensler Holiday party is only 5 months away!

On December 3rd, the entire Southwest Region will gather at the Beverly
Hilton in Beverly Hills to celebrate our accomplishments and bid
farewell to 2005.

Please mark your calendars now so we can be sure to enjoy your company
in December!

Oh, and in case you really plan ahead, the attire will be formal.

Holy crap! That's freaking awesome. Beverly Hills (the Weezer song is gonna be in my head all day!). That's impressive. I wonder if they will put us up in that hotel? That would kick ass. Formal attire though. That's a lot of pressure. Like prom? There are varying degrees of formal. But I do think it's funny that it said "in case you really plan ahead..." Do they know about me? I am a major plan ahead-er. I already got the time off work! And started looking at dresses this morning. Party on!

what's the deal?

My sister gets a hamster and my mother calls it her grandhamster. I had a hamster when I was in junior high and NO ONE REMEMBERS IT! A few weeks ago when sister mentioned that she was going to get a hamster, I reminded my family that I used to have one. Sister said that she did not remember I had one and I reminded her that she was in high school at the time and very caught up in herself. My mother slowly remembered my hamster after reminding her of different things (like the purple hamster ball that I had - just like sister's). I was offended by my family not remembering my hamster, so that is why I am not being too welcoming to sister's new little dude. They all can bite me, including Fluffernutter.

about Canada

I love what Alanis said recently...
"Canadians have an inferiority complex. It's like living next door to the football hero and not being a cheerleader but being in the philosophy class instead."

We seriously need to move there. If I did not want my children to be born in the US, we would totally be there by now.

movies I want to see

The Island
Last Days
Happy Endings
Rory O'Shea Was Here
In Her Shoes
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Brothers Grimm
Broken Flowers

Edited to add:
Shopgirl
Corpse Bride

is this the first time ever...

that it has been hotter in Chicago in the summer than in Arizona?




That's nuts!

dishes, smishes

I hate doing dishes. I hate it with a passion.
Anyone who reads this blog must think that I am totally lazy and live in a pig sty. But that's not completely true. I bitch, but I end up doing it.
So, anyway. I hate doing dishes. I let them build up in the sink so high that you cannot even get water from the faucet. I also have what has been called, dishes diarrhea. Sister, stop laughing! This has been in existence ever since I was a child. What it means is that whenever it is time to do the dishes, you always have to go to the bathroom first. This was how my sister and I used to try to get out of the doing the dishes after dinner. Our family always (well, most of the time) sat down together for family dinner. That was nice. I like that we did that. But after dinner, we had to do the dishes and never wanted to. We started saying that we have dishes diarrhea in a sing-song voice and then went to the bathroom before finally coming back to do the dishes. It never worked. But it was one of the many on-going jokes that my crazy ass family has. I still use it today. It doesn't work now either, seeing as I am the only one who will ever do the dishes. But I still say it. I don't think I will ever like doing the dishes.

Jeremy Piven

I love him. I have for a long time. I have seen almost every movie that he is in. My favorite is Very Bad Things. I also really like Serendipity. So, what I'm saying is that I was on the Jeremy Piven bandwagon long before Entourage. I am so incredibly happy that he was nominated for an Emmy. He is one of the greatest actors of this generation and I am so happy that he is finally getting recognized. And sister - he was mine first, just like Vince was. copycat!

weekends suck

I have been so lazy the last few weekends. I have needed to clean my bathtub for the longest and just haven't gotten around to it. I start the weekends with great intentions and then I end up doing what I did yesterday. Fell asleep on the couch while Chris was playing Grand Theft Auto (and no, not the dirty version). Then I woke up and moved to another couch and slept some more. I did two loads of laundry, one of which is still in the dryer. And other than complaining a lot about my cramps and making Chris go to the store to buy me food, that was pretty much all I did yesterday. Now on Friday, I spent all day doing nothing either, until the evening. I figured I should do something and so I started going through some boxes in the guest room. I wanted to organize the hall closet and knew that a lot of the stuff in that room needed to go in that closet. So I guess I did get something done. We ended up moving a bunch of stuff into the shed. Some of the it had been in the guest room and other junk was on the back patio. We started to move it out and then it started to rain. We decided not to make any more trips outside that night. It gets really freaking windy at my house. Living so close to the mountain, the wind really whips up and fast. We like the monsoon and I like to open the blinds and watch the storm. It was been stormy the last two nights. Last night, I went outside to see what was going on and it started to rain and it was actually chilly. I had to go inside because the wind was blowing and the rain was almost sideways. I was getting really wet and cold. I just love that I was outside and cold for the first time in months. It didn't last long though. It's been real humid, for here, though. I can deal because I know it's only temporary! :) And here I sit at work. Joyful. Maybe it's not the weekends that suck. Maybe it's me.

paging Dr. Bryan

check out the picture with this article... I know that guy! He was a really good friend of mine in high school and just got married to another really good friend of mine. How funny. He looks all grown up. Doctor. Gee, everybody's got that title now.

i've been busy

Check out the time...
I got this idea to change my template and I have been working on it since around 8:30pm. I will probably tweak it some more, but I like it!
I gotta go to bed.
Oh, I wanted to show the original template and then look back at mine and see all the edits that I did! I have been busy.

Big Brother 6

What a shocker that Michael was voted off tonight! I wonder who the one person was that voted again Janelle? I don't know yet how I feel about Kaysar winning head of household. We will just have to wait and see what happens this week. And I also found this on smoking gun. Janelle is a criminal. NEAT!
I don't know if I am gonna comment after each episode of BB6, but I just might.

new mouse

Here is a picture of my new mouse:


My mom and I went to Best Buy last Friday and I bought this. I was in desperate need of a new one, because my old on decided that it would only work on the right side of my monitor. Chris tried to clean the ball and everything, but it still didn't really work. So, I just wanted to share. In case you don't understand the significance of the ladybug... it's my nickname. Well, it's one of them. I love my new mouse. It said that it was made for same hands, meaning kids. But hey, I have small hands. So it all works out.

Big Brother 6

I feel that my commentary is necessary on the current season of Big Brother 6. I am loosing my mind watching this season. They are completely insane and getting worse by the minute. My two favorite players right now are the two nominated, Michael and Janelle. Who know that I would side with a frat boy and a blonde model? But my lord, it's out of control. I cannot believe what Eric has done to the house. He has accused Michael of sexual harassment when the girls who he supposedly did this two never said anything about it until he mentioned it. It's only sexual harassment if you are offended. Ok, that might not be true. But the girls didn't seem to have a problem with the attention. Then Eric, or Cappy as he's known, goes and makes these accusations. He keeps saying that in the real world, Michael could be charged with sexual harassment and to that I say, in the real world Eric could be charged with slander for throwing these accusations around. Eric is the biggest jerk in Big Brother history as far as I am concerned. I just cannot get over what he has done. The worst part, if that's possible, is that the rest of the house is going along with him. Or at least they are acting like they are. That's what I'm hoping is going on. You have to kiss up to the head of household to avoid nomination. I just hope that they really don't agree with him as much as they are saying. These people need to wise up or Eric will take over more than he already has. Michael called the rest of the house "sheep" and I totally agree. And poor Janelle. I really like her. I am very surprised that I do. She's the first "dumb blonde" that really isn't. That's her character, the dumb blonde. But she is neat. I liked that she plays hard and is really determined to stay, but is not joining with the rest of the house in order to do so. She knows they are all crazy. And on last nights episode, there were almost two fights. That was out of control. I wanted Eric to hit Michael so that Eric would get kicked out. I really wanted that to happen. After a talking to by Big Brother, Eric went around and apologized to everyone. What Michael said about it was completely true. It's just his way of showing people what a great guy he thinks he is. Um, great? He almost attacked Michael. What great guy does that? If I was there, I would do anything in my power to get Eric the hell out and have Ivette on his heels. Who do I hope wins? If not Janelle (because we all know Michael is getting voted out), then either Sarah or James. They are cute. She was so funny when she said that she has the hottest boyfriend.

show review

I've been in a funk for the last few days. I am been thinking about blogging, but just haven't wanted to. Since Slurpees tend to make my sister happy, I stopped and got one on the way home today. Is it working? Not sure yet. But it is $1.50 worth of yumminess.
So why have I been in a funk? I fear going there. So I will not.
I am disappointed in myself for not blogging all about the concert. We went on Saturday night. Chris did not complain because he was asleep most of the time. No, I'm not kidding. He decided to get drunk (actually I suggested he do that so that he would be not so bitter) and it was kinda warm in the theater and so he kept falling asleep. I elbowed him all night. He was not all that drunk. He just had a few beers, but he was out of it.
Here's the set list:
Your House
You Learn
Not The Doctor
Perfect
Head Over Feet
A Man
Hand In My Pocket
Forgiven
So Pure
Mary Jane
Hands Clean
All I Really Want
Sister Blister
Right Through You
Wake Up
Encore One:
You Oughta Know
Everything
Encore Two:
Ironic

My review is as follows:
Location - Dodge Theater, Phoenix, AZ As you read above, it was warm inside. Every once and awhile a nice cool breeze would come by, but otherwise it was too warm inside for being so hot outside. The seats were a little narrow. I am not the largest (nor the smallest) person in the world, but the seats were a little too small. I am usually not nearly as uncomfortable as I was. After about 3 hours, it was digging so bad into my hip and I had to keep shifting. That brings me to my review of...
The crowd Why didn't they stand? What is wrong with you people? When we first sat down and were uncomfortable, I was comforted knowing that we would only be sitting for a little while. When Jason Mraz came out, no one stood. That's not unusual. Most people don't stand for opening acts. But when Alanis came out, no one stood up. Ok, not no one. There were a few randoms who would stand up every once and awhile. The reason they are called randoms is because no one else was standing. And since I am not a rude person, I only stand when the others around me do. During the last song of the first encore (Everything) people did stand and they all started to crowd the stage. It was really cool. Definitely the best part of the show. I cried a little. Then for the second encore (Ironic), most people stood up and then sat down again. At that point I just said - forget it, I am staying standing no matter what. Fools.
Jason Mraz He was way cute. He wore shorts and said that it was the first show that he's done wearing them. He also said that he hurt his arm a few days ago and so he had the other guitar player play alone for a few songs. I love You and I Both even more now after hearing it live. He dedicated it to Alanis and sung about how she should get rid of her bling (her engagement ring) and said that one day, he'll be an actor too (referring to the actor, Ryan Reynolds, who is Alanis's fiancee). It was way cute. I did not know many songs, because I am not a major fan. But I really enjoyed it. I very much liked that last song, I'm Yours. I will have to pick up the new album out July 26th.
I'm a ghetto blaster...
Alanis I have so much of my life wrapped up in her. That sounds weird. But many important times in my life have an Alanis reference. One that I will mention is that Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (her 2nd album) came out on my 21st birthday. I don't know how much more I want to reveal because it's very emotional for me. But there was a reason that I fought so hard to go. And there are reasons that I had goose bumps and cried a couple of times. Lets just say that I have a strong emotional attachment to her and her music. Anyhoo. The show was unbelievable. Her voice is much more mature and so many of the songs seem to have a completely different meaning just because the way she sings them. The songs that were not from Jagged Little Pill were a nice selection. I am not a big fan of A Man but her explanation of the reason for writing it (what a man who has heard her songs might say back to her) gave me a whole new understanding. I love So Pure and I was groovin in my seat. I am glad we went and it really was worth it.
I found a review and it's funny that the reviewer said that her highlight of the show was the same as mine!
And here are two pics:

A walk down memory lane (meme)

10 years ago..... was the summer before my senior year of high school. God, that means my 10 year reunion will be next year! crap. Anyway. I had been dating my now husband for 1 year. I was working at a dry cleaner (that my sister worked at in high school too).

5 years ago.... I had been married for a year and a half. We were living in Cincinnati in our 3rd (and best) apartment. My husband was in college and I was working at Sears still. I know that I was miserable because we did not have air conditioning in that apartment and it was so damn humid. Plus, I was still at Sears and I loved that job as much as I hated it. Defiantly a subject for another day.

1 year ago... I was in my 3rd day of my current job. I was still in training (the training class was a month). We were living in Scottsdale. Chris had just started his new job too.

5 days ago... I was at work and really pissed off that I could not put in a request to leave early.

Yesterday... I was in a training class all day and had a crazy ass phone call with my family.

Today... I got to sleep in a little because I went to work late in order to go the rest of the training class. Got chicken nuggets for lunch. Got my furniture and made web pages like a fool.

Tomorrow... I get to sleep in as late as I want. My mom is coming over and we are going to lunch, CostCo and whatever other shopping we feel like doing.

I'll do the rest...

5 snacks I enjoy... Famous Amos chocolate & pecan cookies, Kettle Korn, Lime Tostidos, Cherry Laffy Taffy, Luigi's Real Italian Ice

5 songs I know all the words to... Only 5? I know the words to so many songs that I could not possibly begin to list them. Turn on the radio and the odds are I will know the words to the song. Unless it's new. I don't listen to the radio much anymore.

5 things I would do with $100,000,000... Does that really say 100 million? Oh my. Well, I would pay off all my bills and the bills of my family, buy a new house (or houses) and cars and invest a lot of it.

5 locations I would love to run away to... Paris, Paris, Paris, Paris, Delaware.

5 things I like doing... blogging, watching television, shopping, painting, reading

5 things I would never wear... a thong, a bikini, a tub top, hot pants, no bra

5 recently seen movies I like... seriously. I don't go to the movies, even though I'd like to. I see movies on HBO. Empire Records, Anchorman...

5 famous people I'd like to meet... dead or alive? Ah, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Alanis Morissette, Marilyn Monroe, Vince Vaughn

5 biggest joys of the moment... all my Hello Kitty stuff, being able to stay up late, knowing I get to sleep in tomorrow, our new furniture, Nerds candy

5 favorite toys... yikes. It's late and I have a dirty mind... so I'll leave this one alone.

taking pictures...

In our conversation last night, I randomly told my sister that I have a lot of Hello Kitty stuff. She told me to take pictures of it and so I did. I went all over my house, my car and at work. I put this website together tonight. I wouldn't say I am obsessive, until I see it all together!

the furniture is here!

about last night

Last night was interesting to say the least. It included and evening of showering in salt water, taking pictures like crazy and a mega 3-way call with my whole family.
Lemme explain -
the salt water... we have a water softener that you always have to add salt to. Chris went to add more salt last night and discovered that the softener was not functioning like he thought it should. I trust what he says, since he's my husband and all, but I am not sure if he really knows. He then started messing with it and trying to "fix" it. He was taking forever and then I finally told him that I had to take a shower because it was getting late. I got in the shower and the water tasted like salt. "Why are you tasting it?" is what Chris asked me after I got out and told him. Well, the water just tends to go in your mouth. It's not like I was drinking it. He told me that he could bypass the softener, but I was almost done so I just finished talking my salt water shower. It felt like I just got out of the ocean and my hair is nasty. He is supposed to call the repairman that worked on it a few months ago and see what's up.

taking pictures... I'll post that when I get home

3-way call... my sister called me, then called my mom and then my dad got on the phone. Total family chaos. Highly entertaining and enlightening. We are such crazy freaks. If anyone else had been listening, they would have run and hid. And exactly how do you spell nonya (edited to correct)?

did you forget? I didn't.

I am going to see Alanis on Saturday!!!!!!!
Chris is still not happy about it and it has been the cause of many fights including an evening of not speaking to each other. But we are going. Dammit.

I am in a training class all day today. I had to be on the phone a little this morning (because I work a 9 hour day and the training is for 8 hours), but the rest of the day is chill. I am on lunch now. One of the perks of training is that they give you long lunches. I normally only have 30 minutes (by my choosing), but today I get a whole hour. How exciting. But my stomach is bothering me so I am a little uncomfortable. There is junk food in the training class and it's getting to me.

Last night Chris watered all our trees and I moved some plants around that are getting killed. It is so hot and because we have an east/west exposure, we get the full sun in the morning on our front yard. We try to water everyday, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Plus, they are so thirsty that it seems like no matter how much we water it always wants more. We are not used to having trees and are not real sure if they are ok or not. We are doing the best we can with them though. Last night we watered them real good and hopefully that will help.

This morning I was so tired that I leaned against the wall in the bathroom and fell back asleep for a little bit. If you had seen me, you would have laughed. I am not used to this getting up earlier. I get up only an hour earlier than I used to and for some reason I just can't deal. I am trying to go to bed earlier, but that's not working either.

Thank God tomorrow is Thursday - and I am in training for my whole shift tomorrow too! And the furniture is coming! And I can take a nap! aaaahhh, just thinking about that makes me...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

furniture update

I know it was a million years ago that I posted about us getting new furniture. I am bringing it up again, because it is finally being delivered on Thursday! I cannot wait!

allstar game

Tonight is the MLB Allstar Game. I am going to watch it, even though there is only one member of the Diamondbacks playing. I am going to watch it because it's gonna be in HD. Good reason, I thought.
Last night was the Homerun Derby. Allstar players try to hit as many home runs as they can. It was long, but neat. This one dude hit a total of 41 home runs in the three rounds. He won. They said that his home runs totaled over 17,000 feet. That's cool.
So my ass will be on the couch watching the game tonight.

my poor, neglected blog

My sister tells me that I need to post more random things that happen in my pathetic life (she didn't say the pathetic part. that's my contribution.) and that this blog has turned into a John Mayer blog. And to that I say, what better subject? No, seriously. I guess I can post about what's up. I am also making, what they call at my work, a parking lot. It's list of subjects that I need to remember to blog about. It's also a nice little tease for the reader.
Anyhoo. Yesterday was my one year anniversary at my job. But we are celebrating the anniversary today, which - of course - makes perfect sense. We were supposed to have a big party and get off the phones to have a barbecue. But since the stupid hurricane struck, they are paranoid that we are going to get a lot of calls. Needless to say, that has not happened yet. Those poor people haven't even been able to get back to their homes to see the damage. We will be busier at the end of the week and next week. We are still getting the food, but not until later and we aren't getting any time off the phone. We did get gifts though. We got a company logo polo shirt and a blanket. Oooh, every one loves company schwag. The shirt, of course is too small. They are giving everyone the same size. Neat. Who wants a shirt? So, it's my lunch time now and I am posting because I gotta wait another million hours to eat the free food. Chris did make me a lunch, but why should I say no to free food? I'll leave the lunch for tomorrow.
Oooh. That reminds me. Chris should find out today how much his raise is. He was randomly told last week that he was getting a raise for his one year anniversary. (Last year we both quit our crappy ass jobs and got good new ones!) He was not expecting it, because his company only issues raises once a year, like mine. But since he had not been there a year when the normal raise period came around, he didn't get one. So they are giving him a raise now and then he should get another one at the normal raise time (aka January). Totally freaking awesome! I need to email him to see how much it is! And then go shop and spend it all!!!!
And this is random... My shelf is finally up! I have a shelf that we had up in our apartment in Cincinnati that I wanted to put on the wall in the office. I have wanted Chris to put it up forever and a day. There was a big mess with the wall over the weekend and it needed to be patched and repainted. But I am happy to report the shelf was completed yesterday! And I put all the neat boxes from IKEA on it and it looks neato. I also hung up my (hear comes my favorite subject again...) John Mayer albums that I finally got framed. They look neat. I have a few more posters to hang on the wall and we need to get a file cabinet and futon cover and that room will be mostly done. I love progress!

BTW: you would think that blogger's spellchecker would recognize the word blog, but you would be wrong.

Soundstage

If you get your PBS station in HD (or even if you don't), look for a program that will be airing most of the weekend called Soundstage. I promise you will not regret it. It was a show recorded on June 29, 2004 and it was recorded for the purpose of this program. I just can't believe I got HD just in time! It aired last night for the first time (even though I already have a copy of it and had watched it.) and I was flipping out about it being in HD. Anyway, I just wanted to say that you have an hour to listen to some great music, then check out my boy on PBS.

You tell em, honey!

isn't it neat when...

you wake up 15 minutes before you have to walk out the door?
That happened to me this morning. We were up late watching fireworks. At around 9:30 last night, I went outside to see if I could see any from our house. I was able to see the fireworks downtown. They were really small, but I could see them by standing in the middle of the street. Chris came out and joined me watching for a minute and then we went inside and watched a show of fireworks on TV that we had recorded. So we were up late. Earlier in the day, we had gone to Chris's co-workers house for a BBQ. It was an ok time. Nothing too exciting, but fun.
We really just wanted to be at home watching television. That sounds really odd until you know the whole story. Since getting the new TV a few weeks ago, we have been happy with the largeness, but not real happy with the picture quality. We have HD capability on our TV, but did not have the correct cable box to get the few channels available in HD. We wanted to see what our TV could really do, so on Saturday Chris went and got the new cable box and holy cow!!!!!!! It is absolutely amazing. If you have never seen anything broadcast in HD on a 52 inch television, you are missing out. You have not yet lived. I was watching a Yankees baseball game, even though I stongly dislike the Yankees, just so that I could watch the TV in HD. It was freaking amazing.

naked juice

I am drinking this right now and loving it.

Live 8

I will be watching this concert all day. It is a historic day in music and hopefully will lead to a historic agreement at the G8 summit this week.
Add your name to the list.

Happy Canada Day!