The playground is where I spent most of my days

So, I was looking at purses online this morning and accidentally came across this. Is that not the most ridiculous, early 90s thing you have ever seen? Except for the fact that it is compatible with ipods. Or something. Anyway, it made me laugh.

Things I recently discovered

Kazoo loves it when people sing.
Skinny Tail gets all hyped up when people speak French. I think she may be a Canadian cat.
Skinny Tail and Fuzzy Tail are scared of storms, but rather than hiding under the bed like normal animals, they huddle separately on top of it.
Some of our windows still have the storm windows in instead of screens. (Are we expected to change them or can we call our landlord to do it?)
The ceiling in our bathroom is slowly falling down. It is mildly disturbing. If only one of us could remember to call the landlord...
Some of the flowers Shannon planted in our yard last year are starting to come up!
Apparently I hum rather frequently without realizing it. Oops.
My car has an oil leak. Whatever, car dude. I totally know how to check the oil and refill it. Not a problem to me!
I need more socks.
I am almost always dehydrated. I'm working on it!
I am super picky about my purses. (I am searching for one now. If you have any places or brands you love, share the knowledge. All the ones I love on Zappos are way expensive.)

I find this mesmerizing

How awesome is this? I think it may be the coolest thing ever to scare the crap out of me. I think it looks really rad, but I would not want to go up or down that.

Anyway, have I mentioned that I love books? I do, and I don't think I've been reading enough, so I've added a thing on the side of books I've read in '08. Hopefully that will motivate me to read more and to read more real books instead of generic crap. Although that doesn't mean I won't be recording the crap that I read just so I would appear smarter or cooler. No, I would not do that, because you fools already know I'm not sophisticated. Also, because that would go against my new policy of honesty. I'm starting a new book today and I'm rather excited.

All alone I built these walls and now I'm gonna let them fall

You know the rules. I am not tagging anyone. Everyone I know has already been tagged, except Christina, so feel free to do it if you so choose, Christina. I also may not follow the rules.

1. I only recently started reading more than one book at a time. And it's really just because real 'literature' books are not suitable for reading while at the gym , so I read regular crap at the gym. I never understood why people would want to start a new book when they weren't finished with the last one.

2. I have always wanted red hair, but I am wary of dying it. So I make do with my brown hair. Even though my mom keeps telling me it's getting darker.

3. I can't fathom why people would want to chew their fingernails. I tried it and, eh. But I do sometimes chew on the skin around my nails. I know, gross.

4. I think my cats think they are dogs. They are such attention whores and never leave people alone.

5. When I was younger, I would get really upset when my mom would tell me that people thought I was snobby because I was really just painfully shy.

6. Even though my brothers have both had lots of problems with their toenails, somehow I have managed not to have any ingrown nails. Which is good because I think feet are disgusting. All feet, not just the Benz feet.

7. I can't stand it when people use big words incorrectly in a failed bid to seem intelligent. Just give it up.

8. Unlike my devious brothers, I pretty much only got in trouble for mouthing off to my mother when I was a teenager. We are finally getting along almost all the time. She even calls me sometimes, which is weird because she never used to call me, since I still live in town and see her at times. Also, she's giving me all the old cups she doesn't want, including the jelly jar Muppet glasses! I love those.

9. I had my tonsils removed when I was 22. It was ridiculously painful. Especially since the doctor hit my uvula with the laser and it was not numbed. It was still totally worth it.

10. I realized the other day that I have been mispronouncing mischievous as mischievious sometimes. Mischievious is not a word. And now I am mortified, but it's not a word I really say much and I doubt anyone around here would notice [I wasn't spelling it wrong, I just apparently wasn't paying attention to the difference in the way I spelled it and the way I (and many other people) say it.]. Still, oops.

Still You listen to every word I say

I've been meaning to post all week and now I can't remember what about. Except for this gem. We went bowling to celebrate my birthday last Saturday and as we were leaving, we paused in the front by the doors to put on our coats and a skeazy dude walked by and started talking to a security guard. The conversation went a little something like this:
Security guard: "Where you been hiding?"
Skeazy dude: "I been in jail, man."
Security guard: "That's a good place to hide."
I never really thought about it, but, wow. We were so at the bowling alley, as Shannon kept saying. My birthday was ok, not great. Although I did decide not to go to work on my birthday. Instead I just got up really early on Monday morning and went in at 6:30. It was a long day.

I got my hair cut tonight and I think I like it. I guess I will know more tomorrow after I wash and dry it. But what I do know I want to say right now is that in my small group on Thursday the lesson we were on was about fears and what you do when faced with yours. Now, I didn't really say anything of substance, which is not unusual because I am afraid of everything. I am so afraid that if I open my mouth and tell people what I think, rather than things I've learned from books, then they will think I am stupid. I almost always handle my fears by ignoring them or running away. I think I should start having the courage to be myself. I am terrified that people will look at me and listen, and see me for what I really am and despise me. I don't share my opinions on much with many people because I am so afraid of displeasing someone. Shannon started harrassing me the other day because she realized that we've been friends for 12 years and she doesn't even know what my favorite restaurant is. I recently noticed that I alter my speech patterns and even my vocabulary to match those of the people I'm talking to. It must be time to do something different. But maybe I should start small. Like asking for help when I need it, instead of being too ashamed of needing it in the first place to even ask. Or just speaking up once next week in small group... We'll see. I know this might seem inconsequential or ridiculous, but I was listening to this song earlier and the lyrics were something like 'I feel guilty sometimes when I pray, Stealing time from needs that are great.' And I almost always feel that way, but I'm going to try not to. Apparently being old has made me uber introspective. But it has also made me tired after a long week and I have to work all day tomorrow and I think it's going to seem much longer than my real job.

Wow.

So it's kind of crazy in the BG this morning. It got all icy on the roads within 30 minutes of the time the freezing rain started. Even thought at 6 this morning they were still saying the freezing rain wouldn't start until after 9. They were so wrong. Unfortunately, I was already on my way to work and now I'm stuck here because there are so many accidents that all the roads are blocked. Three of the 10 people in our office made it in to work. Anyway, I got an e-mail this morning about the death of a family member of someone who works for us and it made me giggle a little because it says the intermittent is to follow the funeral. Yes, intermittent. And now I can't get the "Friends, Romans, countrymen..." speech from Julius Caesar that we had to memorize in the tenth grade out of my head. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones; so let it be with Caesar. I won't continue with all the honourables and ambitiousness that follows. But for real, I so can't get it out of my mind.

Beaucoup de livres!

Even though I'm ridiculously swamped at work for the next few days, like to the point I should not even take five minutes to write this and I am probably not going to go to lunch, I am doing it anyway because I'm very excited. I ordered some books last week and I got them just now! One of them is an actual book that I think is going to be quite an undertaking. And I got books from Dave and Rachel for my birthday. So now I have two real books to read and several frivolous ones. Thanks guys! I had fun this weekend. Your dog is really sweet and has the silkiest fur ever. You and your kids crack me up.

Lagniappe!

This is the funniest movie review I have ever read. Awesome. And it's not like I'm harboring some secret hatred of Madonna, either. It' s just amusing. Also, this is very entertaining. I love how the reporter got on board with all the chicken puns. Fowl!

I can feel my latent patriotism disappearing...

I got an e-mail about this last night. I had not heard anything about it until I Googled it. And when I did so, as Shannon can attest, I gasped out loud I was so horrified. Now, let me be clear. I am not excited about abortion or anything. It's something I would never do, but I know that it's something that happens. (Sidenote: It drives me crazy when people say they don't believe in something, like divorce or abortion. Obviously divorce and abortion both exist. What you mean is that you don't approve of them! Urgh.) I just don't think that making someone who has already made up their mind to have an abortion look at their ultrasound would really be kind or helpful in any way. Well, here. This girl mostly says what I mean. As we all know, I can't write for shit. Anyway, what I mean is, I don't think that this is something that the government should be legislating.

Yay!

The writer's strike is over! For real. And we even know what's coming back. And it's even snowing here right now, even though Chris Allen said there was nothing on the radar. I like snow enough that I don't really care that it took me a few minutes to get my car door open this morning because it was icy. Awesome day.

Three posts in one day?!

I would like to preface this by saying I think this was written by an adolescent. But there is nothing on TV tonight.

1. Has anyone seen you in your underwear lately? No.

2. Is it awkward when you run into your exes? I don't run into them, so whatever

3. Have you kissed someone this past week? No

4. When did you last talk to your brother or sister? I actually spoke with Dave, then Rachel, then Mark yesterday. Hat trick!

5. What did you do the last time you were home alone? Dumped stuff from the DVR to DVD and took Kazoo for a walk. I'm not home alone very often.

6. Do you ever wanna know who you are going to marry? What kind of weird question is this? This survey seems to be exceptionally strange, Christina.

7. Have you ever watched the Real World? Not lately.

8. How much cash do you have on you? I actually have like $35 dollars. Bonus!

9. Who are the 3rd and 7th texts in your phone? They are from Jennie and Mark, but this question is worded all wrong.

10. Are you tanned? Never

11. Are you upset with anyone? Just myself...

12. who are you not talking to? Uhh, no one that I can think of.

13. Have you ever seen your best friend cry? Yes.

14. Did you get any compliments today? Yes.

15. Have you ever gone to court? I've been to the courthouse.

16. Are you friends with your neighbors? No...but they were the jerks who moved and abandoned their puppy, so I don't feel bad about it.

17. Have you ever punched a guy? Not really.

18. Do you get jealous easily? Don't think so.

19. Have you ever played Spin the Bottle? No

20. Bricked someones house? No

21. Have you ever had a crush on your brother or sisters friends? I'm embarrassed to admit that once upon a time, I did. But it's not like I was ever good at hiding anything, so I think you peeps already knew that.

22. Have you ever gone to the beach? Yes, several times.

23. What are you listening to? LA Ink. I'm afraid to get a tattoo, but I'm fascinated by the tattoos of others.

25. How good is your eyesight? Not good at all. About 20/400. I love my dad, but the only genetic gift he gave me is bad eyesight!

26. Would you ever want to swim with the sharks? No, that sounds like a bad idea.

27. Have you ever been out of your country? Yes.

28. Would your parents be mad if you got arrested for fighting? Let's think about who my parents are for a minute...aaaand the answer is yes! Although it is highly unlikely that I would get in a physical fight.

29. Do you have a Honda, Toyota or Nissan? Yes, a Nissan.

30. What time did you wake up this morning? 6:50 am.

31. What are you doing Saturday? Hanging out with some awesome Benzes!

32. What is in your back pocket? I'm wearing pajama pants-no back pocket. Although that reminds me I need to get the two dollars out of the pants I wore to work.

33. What were you doing at 3am this morning? Sleeping.

34. What do you usually do first in the morning? Brush my hair and then shower.

35. Ever went in a car with people you just met? Not that I recall.

36. Made out for more than 3 minutes? Probably.

37. Slept in a different bed? Yes.

38. Made out in a cinema? No. If I actually go see a movie, then it's a movie I really want to see and also I want to get my money's worth.

39. drove in a car with people you just met? I think this is a repeat

40. Thought your cousin was hot? No. So inappropriate.

Sports are dangerous...

This is insane. I can't believe that guy is ok. This is why I have always maintained that hockey is way more hardcore than other sports. Dudes are flying around the ice and getting into fights with what amount to weapons strapped to their feet. And I was reading about this and learned about this business, which is even crazier. It almost made me cry. Because I'm just like that. And then I remembered that dude who was skateboarding and lost his board and fell really far and hit so hard that his shoes flew off. Sports are crazy.

Take back your free advice - I don't accept.

I went to the eye doctor this morning. Getting old stinks. My right eye moved three steps and my left eye moved two. I didn't even realize how much I wasn't seeing until I put the contacts in the new prescription in. I mean, I knew my eyes had changed because the words on the screen at church have been fuzzy for a while. But that wasn't a huge deal because I know all the songs. And the last couple times we've actually had new songs, they have been ones I had just learned at Dave and Rachel's church (where the screens are easier to read). But that's neither here nor there. The point is, my eyes are screwed by genetics and the fact that I do a lot of computer work. At least Dr. Love gave me some more stuff to keep my eyes from peeling. Yay for eyelids that aren't falling off! Also, she was very impressed by my eyelashes. So I told her it was just that I have good mascara. She didn't think that $25 was too much for mascara. And I guess since it is the best mascara I've ever used, it's not too bad. Thanks, Rachel!

You're crazy for thinking I'm above this

I've been having a lot of problems with my head lately. So today I got to just sit around and do nothing and it was awesome. My head actually feels better and I hope that maybe it will stay that way for a few days, at least. I saw The Namesake, which I liked. And A Mighty Heart, which was very good. Both of them made me cry, but I totally knew it was coming with the latter, seeing as how we all know how that one ends.

I think I am ready to cut part of my hair. I don't want to lose the length, but it's time to do something. I can't do anything with it and it takes forever to dry. So...a real haircut is coming up soon! As you know, I haven't had a real hairstyle in many, many years. In fact, it's been so long, it's making me feel old. I guess it's because my birthday is coming up and I am about to be in my upper middle twenties that everything is making me feel old lately.

cool blue reason wraps around my throat

So last night, Shannon and I realized that while we thought our neighbors had moved out this weekend, we both saw their dog yesterday. We went to investigate further and it would appear that they did move out and the jerks left their puppy on the screened-in-porch. The dog is, we believe, under six months old and he is a pit mix. He's really sweet and really skinny. So we gave him some food and water and talked to him and Shannon was going to feed him again this morning. We are trying to find someone who wants him, rather than taking him to the Humane Society. We both got all riled up about the situation, and then more so when we realized how skinny he is. We saw the dog outside a lot before, but he wouldn't ever come near us because he was scared of Kazoo.

One more thing. We were watching the returns last night and CNN kept "projecting" that so and so won such and such state. Which, like, fine. But they were projecting when only one percent of the returns were in! Really, CNN? One percent? That is ridiculous. Shut up, Wolf Blitzer. Get back to me when you have more than one percent. Also, how surprising were the GOP results? Insanity. Anyway, I have work to do.

Happy Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday!

It's Super Tuesday! I am also very excited by this, Christina. On a note unrelated to things I am excited by, I actually watched the Superbowl this year. We found it pretty dull until like the last two minutes. Shannon got so bored she forgot to cheer when something finally did happen. We got internet at the house this weekend, so that was cool. I saw The Descent this weekend, which if you're into horror movies, is worth it. I know it came out like a year and a half ago here, but I am slow. I jumped a couple times and, as Shannon said, we are never going cave diving! Not that that was something I planned to do before, but still. It's a little slow at the beginning, but once things start happening, they don't stop until the bitter end. Which I read was different here in the U.S. because we weren't satisfied by the unambiguous U.K. ending. Whatever. Not all movies have to end happily. And even with the altered ending, I came to the conclusion that the U.K. ending made readily apparent. Anyway, I liked it. I also watched A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, which was one of the free movies on the On Demand thing. It was worth it, since it was free. It was strange and I am not prepared to say it was bad, but I'm also not going to tell you it was good. Also, did any of you guys watch Eli Stone last week? I watched because I love Greg Berlanti shows, but I have mixed feelings about it. The pilot didn't grab me.

You're crazy for thinking I'm below you

So I've been really busy at work for the past couple weeks, which you may have deduced from the dearth of posts. But I'm not swamped today, so yay! It's been all cold again, so I'm glad that my mom bought Shannon and I blankets. I actually had to put extras on my bed. As Shannon pointed out, I could just bring in the other space heater my dad bought us, but that would be a hassle. I would be afraid that the cats would knock it over and start a fire or something.

Last night Kazoo told me he likes Bush and that he wants to vote for Hillary. I was quizzing him about politics and I could tell because he got all excited and tried to lick my face when I mentioned those two names (not in the same sentence or anything, because...no). Anyway, I was reading an item today about how the lady on A Daily Show last night mispronounced Obama's first name. Which I noticed while watching it, but what they failed to note was that the lady he had on Wednesday night also mispronounced Obama's first name. It seems very strange that two people who are going on a show to talk about politics would not know how to pronounce a candidate's name.

From Rachel

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00 AM

2. Diamonds or pearls? Yes

3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? Atonement. I am conflicted about it...

4. What is your favorite TV show? I'm not sure.

5. What do you eat for breakfast? Water

6. What is your middle name? Rachel

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Jack's Mannequin-Everything in Transit

9. What kind of car do you drive? Sentra

10. Favorite sandwich? I guess peanut butter and jelly

12. Favorite item of clothing? Pajama pants!

13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? Europe

14. What color is your bathroom? White

15. Favorite brand of clothing? Rachel got me hooked on Gap

16. Where would you retire? I don't know...that is a really long way off

17. Most memorable birthday? Eighth. I got to have a party at the CLC and when we had my family party at our house, my grandfather had to take my dad to the hospital because he had a kidney stone.

18. Favorite sport to watch? Basketball

19. Furthest place you are sending this? The World Wide Web

Deleted by blog author... haha

22. Favorite saying? No se.

23. When is your birthday? February

24. Are you a morning person or a night person? Depends on what I'm going to be doing at those times.

25. What is your shoe size? 7 1/2

26. Favorite food for dinner? Spaghetti

27. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher

28. What are you doing today? Working...

29. What is your favorite candy? I love Skittles, but I can only a few before my jaw starts to hurt.

30. What is your favorite flower? The kind that blooms

31. What day are you looking forward to most on your calendar? Whatever day I get my tax return

32. What church do you attend? Living Hope

33. What are you listening to right now? People talking down the hall

34. What was the last thing you ate? Potato soup

35. Do you wish on stars? No.

36. Do you believe in angels? Yes

37. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green?

38. What is your pet peeve? When people mispronounce words that are clearly spelled the way they should be said. E.g. nuclear, realtor, supposedly, library, ask, across. You know...

39. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My dad

40. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Not even a little...

41. Favorite soft drink? Dr. Pepper, right now

42. Favorite restaurant? Kyoto, right now

43. Favorite movie? I don't know

44. Siblings? Yes

45. Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving Day

46. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

47. Spring or fall? Fall

48. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

49. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate

Deleted because it has nothing to do with my blog

51. What is under your bed? Nothing

52. Who is the friend you've had longest? Christina

53. What did you do last night? Made dinner and watched House

54. Favorite smell? Clean laundry

55. What are you afraid of? Bugs, especially ones that fly

56. How many keys on your key ring? I am going to guess 7

57. How many years at your current job? In two months it'll be three years

58. Favorite city to visit? Washington D.C.

59. How many towns have you lived in? Two

60. Do you make friends easily? No. I don't make good first impressions, or second. But I, too, tend to keep the friends I do manage to make for a long time.

Some people suck...

This is despicable. Those people are so disgusting. I would link to their actual site, but just reading about them on Wikipedia made me cry. So, no. I didn't visit their site, even though it is on that press release. That much vitriol directed at everyone and everything makes me sad. It's "Christians" who behave like that that give the rest of us a bad name. This is the same group who picketed Matthew Shepard's funeral and the funerals of soldiers who died in Iraq. Picketing a funeral...nauseating.

TV Talk, mostly

I know Rachel mentioned coming in fourth when we went bowling, but guess who came in third...that's right, me! I beat my previous personal best by about 30 points when I bowled a 110. I was shocked. And so was everyone else. Including the guy bowling next to us. Anyway, I finished My So-Called Life and lent it to Rachel. It was just as awesome as I remembered. I really like that the kids wear the same clothes repeatedly. I'm not sure if they did that for the realism or simply because they had a small budget, but either way, I like it. And it inspired discussions of when everyone wore flannel and clothes that were way too large, rather than way too fitted.
Yesterday I had a nice relaxing day off and finally got to watch the last two episodes of Heroes that had been sitting on my DVR since 11/26 and 12/03, respectively. I know a lot of viewers were less than thrilled with the first volume of the second season, but I didn't hate it. I must admit, I am glad they killed off at least part of the annoying twins and possibly Niki, too. I found her character kind of silly all along. I am also so thrilled that they didn't kill Kristen Bell. I was worried for her character when I saw the promos about two heroes giving their lives. So, yay. But none of you clowns even watch Heroes, so I don't know why I'm detailing it for you. I should be working.