An actual good thing to balance the bad from earlier...

Something more awesome than my injury...my pants are falling off! Shannon threatened to pants me when I saw her earlier (and I think it would be a possibility, were I not wearing a belt). It's true, all my pants (and some of my shirts) are way too loose now! Yay. I guess I need to dig around and find some of my smaller pants and shirts. While I hate searching through my crap, this is a good reason, so it's cool.

I have been having blepharospasm issues with my right eye all week. I was trying to figure out what that was about, when I remembered that when I hit my nose last week, I also hit my right eye and brow bone. It was terrific (my contact even fell out). But the nose thing hurt more than my eye, so I forgot. I guess that could explain this issue. I hope it stops soon.

When the weather is nice like this(and it is beautiful today!), I like to drive around with my windows down, but I keep forgetting that means people can hear me and my music. I have been listening to a cd Rachel made for me a long time ago and today I got totally embarrassed by it. It's an awesome cd, it's just not something strangers should see/hear me listening to. Thanks, Racho!

Good moves I made recently. Not.

This is mildly gross, so unless you're like Rachel and enjoy poking at gross stuff, you may not want to read it. I don't know if you've ever hit your nose very hard, but I have. I mean, I broke my nose once, but that was about 11 years ago. Dave and Rachel were there. Anyway, that's not the point now. The point is that last week I hit my nose on something (we will not discuss how I managed to do this, because we all know what a picture of gracefulness I am...not) and it hurt a lot. I was waiting for it to turn into a bruise, but it didn't really. I have what appear to be blackheads where I hit it, but they are not blackheads. They are filled with...blood! Dun dun DUN! Or, just eww. Also, Shannon is all sickly this week and now my throat hurts and my nose is stopped up. Of course, I'm a genious and I took her to UrgentCare the other night and sat in the Sick waiting room with her. Good job, self. Oh well, I'll manage.

I feel so old...

Last night I was watching part of Ugly Betty and one character kept talking about Gabrielle Union's character and Stoneybrook. As soon as they said Stoneybrook, I was like, ohhh, is her secret that she's actually from Connecticut and was a member of the Baby-sitters Club? Cause that would be awesome. Turn sout they were spelling Stoneybrook as Stony Brook. So that's not as fun. But now I can't stop thinking about the Baby-sitters Club books.

Some things that entertained me today, and a random thought

I have been trying to drink more water, cause it's good for you or something. In doing so, I now realize just how little I was actually drinking on a daily basis before. No wonder my skin was ridiculously dry and my cuticles were always pulled back and I sometimes even got my symptom that happens when I get really dehydrated (it's not anything gross, or females only, it would just take too long to explain). I was drinking about 30 oz. a day. Oops. Now, even if I've had more than 30 oz. by say, lunchtime, I will get very very thirsty within about an hour of lunch. Crazyness. So, drinking more is good, but also a pain in the butt. And now for more entertaining topics.



This LA Times article about Oxygen network and it's new makeover is absurd. The "pink pastel ghetto?" Telling us what the GM had for breakfast? Read down until you get to Zalaznick's first quote (reading other funny tidbits along the way). Here's what I have to say about her and her thoughts. H2 O no you di'int! (I swear to you, Tyra Banks actually said that on an episode of Top Model this cycle. That show may be the guiltiest of my guilty pleasure shows.) Zalaznick and co. are the ones who took a website I loved (TWoP) and turned it into something almost completely unrecognisable literally days after its founders left. At least I still have Glarkware. Anyway, my ranting is over, I think. I seriously doubt that I would ever say the words, "That's so Oxygen." Unless maybe I were mocking the network or one of it's crappy shows. Or I used it to describe something crappy. And I totally have taken to saying H2 O no you di'int. Shannon can't get the whole phrase out with a straight face, but I can. You know you're jealous.



Something that really entertained me is this cat box. It is extremely expensive and I don't know that I would want to sit on a cat box anyway, but it's an interesting thought. These are just fun to look at and much cheaper than the bench one. But I'm not in the market for an expensive cat box. And I don't need to hide mine, because it's already hidden away in the laundry room. If I were going to spend $65 on a cat box, I would probably go with the pink house one. ;)



This seems like a conversation my brother might have. If they cared about PacMan or ever noticed when their conversations were completely ridiculous. But still.

This was too long to leave as a comment on Rachel's blog.

I know Rachel was talking a little about American Idol on her blog and I wanted to share this with you. I'm not watching Idol this season because it's on like 15 days each week and I just didn't feel like making that kind of a time commitment this year. I am still reading some of the recaps because they're funny and you don't have to actually watch it to get it. But seriously this recap cracked me up. Just read like the first couple pages and if you hate it, then fine, it's just not your type of humor. I won't press the issue anymore. Kind of like how The Office isn't for everyone because some people really don't care for the awkward, uncomfortable humor. Although I don't necessarily agree with the recapper's opinions(in the unlikely event that Mark actually reads the link, I don't want him to get all umbraged with me about it), I think the recaps are funny.

Also, I wanted to mention that there is a Walgreen's seriously on every other corner in Chicago. I only saw one CVS, but approximately 500 Walgreen's. It just seemed strange to me.

And apparently I can't stop pressing the issue right now. This part of the above recap that I bet you did not click on and read any of was really funny to me. He is talking about David Cook's performance. "Will: "This blows. He could have rocked this out and at least made it interesting. By keeping it the same as you would see in the show he pales in comparison to the real voices that can sing it. Two last notes does not a song make. Drop the Chandelier on him. ALW will now write Idol: The Musical. The most expensive set piece will be Ryan's hair." [If I'd ever heard the song before I have no doubt I would agree more forcefully. As it is, meh. I am not ALW and I did not ask to make out with you, and yet you made that choice for me.]"

So each step she's taking is a step of faith towards who she'll be

I really enjoyed Chicago. When I think about taking a trip, I really want to go to D.C. again and maybe New York and several other places, but I never would have thought about going to Chicago. And I'm not sure why, because there's nothing wrong with it. My hotel was downtown near a lot of stuff because I got a hotel as close as possible to the federal building I had to deliver the proposal to. So I walked about for about 5 hours straight yesterday. I did some shopping (bought some skirts) and went to the Chicago Cultural Center and a museum (can't remember what it was called). I went to the Sears Tower, which was within walking distance of my hotel.
When I got there Monday night, after I checked in to the hotel I went to the Hancock Building and the security/doormen told me to go to the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor instead of paying $12 to go to the observation deck on the 94th floor. They also said, more than once, that the ladies restroom at the Signature Lounge was the place to be. So I went to there, because I take direction well. And they were right. All the walls in the restaurant (and one wall in the bathroom) were windows. It was really pretty. The nighttime view from the Hancock Building was cooler than the daytime view from the Sears Tower. Of course, after I got up there and looked down, I remembered that I have a mild fear of heights. Smooth, Andrea. I walked so much yesterday that when I finally sat down for a few minutes to eat a late lunch, my legs were shaking. It was kind of disturbing because they were shaking violently and I couldn't make them stop. And my feet are still sore today. But it was fun and I didn't even get lost or do anything stupid in the airport. It would have been more fun if I could have found someone to go with me, but it was really short notice. And I managed on my own!

It was a pretty fun weekend with our AL Benzes. We laughed a lot, as is usually the case with Dave and Rachel around. And Rachel helped me figure out something to make my hair better
(products are fun). I started showering at night a couple weeks ago and just leaving my hair alone. Apparently most people didn't realize my hair is wavy because I always pulled it straight while I dried it. Then yesterday was a pretty productive day. I got a lot done and Shannon borrowed someone's real mower and mowed the yard. It got way too tall and thick for the little one to handle. Actually, it got so thick that the real mower kept getting jammed and turning itself off. So now we know, don't wait so long ever again. It looks so much better.

I'm flying to Chicago today and I'm kind of nervous. I've never gone on a trip by myself. I think this will be good for me though. I keep thinking I've forgotten something. Also, I haven't flown in a long time. I know it's a much bigger hassle now. But I think this will be the shortest flight I've ever been on. But the flying part itself isn't what makes me nervous. Anyway, gotta go get some work done before I have to leave.

Young Adult Readings

I noticed earlier that The Face on the Milk Carton was on SoapNet and I couldn't resist watching some of it. I loved that book when I was a kid. I read the first three, and just found out there is a fourth. But I remember liking the first two a lot and thinking the third was so-so. I also distinctly recall being mad about the TV movie because they changed things (other than the fact that the movie combines the first two novels). Like they changed the Springs to the Sands and the Johnsons to the Jessmons for no real reason. How is that a big deal in the movie world? It does make some sense that they took out the twins who were her real little brothers, but I didn't see that when I was a child. And I was mad because her boyfriend Reeve was so much cuter in my head than the dude they cast (he was also Kyle on My So-Called Life). I also recall thinking it was weird that the only people with Southern accents were Sharon Stone and her new sister and even cringing some at the sister's bad acting
(cringing hold up on rewatching). Oops.

My very favorite books when I was a kid were the Anne of Green Gables series. I loved those books so much. I remember that my grandparents gave the set to my cousin for her birthday and I read the back of all of them and really wanted to read them. So when my ninth birthday came a few months later, I also got a set of the books! I was so thrilled. And I read all eight books at least eight times. I learned new words. I was such a nerd. I never looked them up in the dictionary or anything, it was all context clues, so sometimes when I would use these new words I would be a little off. Which, whatever, I was a kid. I do remember that I went through a phase in fourth grade where I said things were queer (I learned it from a book) and I couldn't figure out why my mom would yell at me for saying it. Anyway, I also remember being irritated by the movies based on the first couple of those books. They just didn't fit my mental images.

I still kind of get that way about movies based on books that I've read. Recently I saw Into the Wild and thought, while it did have beautiful scenery, it just wasn't the same as the book. It dragged more than the book, and you can tell that Sean Penn was a little too in love with his subject, where Krakauer obviously saw the folly in McCandless' actions, as well as his reasoning behind them. Penn also saw fit to add an abuse plot for his parents. Which, no, dude. He was a middle-class white kid whose parents made some mistakes(but whose parents didn't?), but there was no abuse. But apparently the real story wasn't exciting enough for Penn. In case you couldn't tell, I don't really care for Sean Penn, as a director or an actor. But that's neither here nor there. On the plus side, Alaska is very pretty.

Migraines ad infinitum

Have you ever run for an hour with a migraine? I now have. And let me tell you, I do not recommend it. By the time I was finished I really wished I would just throw up so I could feel better, but I never did. I'm glad I went even though I felt crappy. And I was nauseated all day Sunday, but I think that was just because I went to my grandma's house on Saturday and so ate like crap because my aunt was there, cooking. But it was good. It's so boring to complain about the same thing all the time, so I've been trying not to whine when my head is pounding. And apparently I am an excellent actress because my parents didn't even know I'd been having chronic migraines again until I told them I'd been back to the neurologist. So, yay for me not being super whiny.
I was making good progress on the book I've been reading, but on Saturday when I went to the gym I decided to take Harry Potter instead because it had been a long week (during which I only missed one day of running) and I deserved some frivolous reading. And then I wound up taking book 2 yesterday. Oops. Shannon's sister lent the books to her, so I'm rereading them since I read them a long time ago. And I'm a giant nerd. Yeah, despite what I said about not reading real books at the gym, I have been taking The Executioner's Song with me. It's a little slower than, say, Harry Potter, but having an hour each day when about all I can do is read is good. Well, I guess I could bring headphones and watch tv, but that would be a hassle.
Also, I have mostly been using bits of lyrics to whatever song is in my head that day as my post titles and the other day after I posted I noticed that my title said "what I am's not good..." and then I started my post by saying I was still better than Dave. I meant better at posting regularly than Dave, but I didn't realize it made a sentence when put together with the post title. It struck me as funny, especially since Dave is one of the best people I know. So I altered it a little so it wasn't as insulting. I love you, Dave-you're awesome and definitely the best big brother ever.

Wish I had an umlaut...

Did all those ads for Google's new custom time mail freak anyone else out? I find it disturbing that they are offering to help people lie to friends, family or employers, even going to so far as to not just predate e-mails, but make it appear that the receiver already read it and forgot. It seems very wrong. Almost related story: there's something wonky about our timestamping here at work and last week my supervisor was out and she e-mailed us a couple times and it kept showing our replies as being received before her e-mails. It was mildly entertaining.

I'm groggy today. I got sleepy about 15 minutes after I took my medicine last night. The bad part is, it was only half a pill and I'm going to be working my way up to two pills. I feel like I have a Benadryl or Flexeril hangover. So I had some coffee earlier. Also, I used to be a super light sleeper, but having two cats has helped break me of waking up with every little noise. They go to bed when I do so we can cuddle for a while, but then they get up and wander around after I go to sleep. Last night, I woke up at 4:27 because I heard this jingling noise. It took me a minute to figure it out because of the grogginess from the medicine, but Kazoo had walked through my room into the laundry room and started eating the cat food. Little turd! We keep the cat food in the laundry room and don't allow him in my room so that won't happen. He's uber allergic to everything and turns bright pink on his stomach when he's been eating stuff he shouldn't like cat food, garbage or people food. Anyway, I sat up just as he was coming back into my room from the laundry room and Kazoo just froze. Like, if I don't move, she won't be able to see me. Not quite, dude. He's such a ridiculous, adorable dog. I adore him, but sometimes I'm just like, really Kazoo? You needed to eat Nerds and then strew them about Shannon's bedroom? I recently discovered he likes baby carrots, apples (but no skin! see? ridiculous), bananas, and oranges. I don't generally feed him because I like to discourage the begging(and his crazy allergies), but he sits and stares at you while you eat. So I threw bits of all of those things at him (on separate days)because I wanted him to leave me alone and I didn't think he would really eat them. But he did. So now when I eat any of those things I give him little bits because he likes them and will twirl around all crazy like for them. I should know better by now...

To fall is not to fail...You fail when you don't try

Yesterday I went to the neurologist for the first time in about 2 years. This migraine has just been kicking my butt for a month now and I broke. It was kind of funnny because he didn't even realize that I had stopped taking all my dailies like a year and a half ago. Oops. But I was almost ok for a long time! Now I'm going back on something. I get to take Elavil, which he said is really good for chronic migraines (and the girl at the pharmacy told me the same thing, without me even asking). So hopefully it will start helping soon. But I didn't make it to the pharmacy to pick it up yesterday, so I will start tonight. People keep telling me it is an old school kind of drug and will make me really sleepy. Like I need to be sleepier. So, let's hope it doesn't knock me out too badly.

Also, I would just like to share that I ate a banana at lunch today. It wasn't bad, just the texture of bananas is so strange that I don't eat bananas, only banana-flavored stuff. I once sat outside for five hours because my mom said I couldn't go inside until I finished my banana. I did not finish it. Do you know how gross a banana gets after being exposed to the air for five hours? Just, no. Anyway, maybe it's kind of like how I wouldn't eat salad until I was 18. I'm just very slowly outgrowing my quirks about food.