2002 Recap

Well I guess a recap is kind of in order ... last year on this night I was out of a job ... living in a windowless basement with David paying a fortune in rent in NY ... now we have jobs and a new condo we should be moving into soon and some money in the bank ... I would say that is a bit of progress ...


I have found some fabulous blogs to read ... in fact I probably skew their stats cause I am always checking for something new to read ...


I live close to my family again and I think that makes everyone happy ... we are all getting along [i am the peace maker in my family] and we all do stuff together ...


David got his passport this year which means we can jet off to Europe sometime ... hahahahahahahaa ... yea we would need money and vacation time ... but if the opportunity arises we could go ...


Kramer still loves David more than me ... but I am alright with that ... they look adorable spooning with each other ...


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Now weird as it may sound I have been looking forward to 2003 for ages ... I have known it is going to be my best year yet ... so I am entering the year with that frame of mind ... I am not making any New Year's resolutions ... I tend to forget those as soon as I make them ... but I am going to make some changes ...


on January 2, 2003 David and I are going to quit smoking ... I am happy we are doing it but at the same time I can't believe we are ... I told him ... "this is the last time we are quitting ... it is too hard ... and I can't keep doing this" ... we got $150 in Target gift cards and spent $127 of it on Target brand patches [half the price of name brand] ... which is enough for the two of us to quit smoking ...


I am going to see if I can start using the treadmill in the morning before work ... I am not making any promisees to myself ... but I need to prepare for The Urban Challenge ... and it would be good for me ... and I have always said I would like to get pregnant after a year without smoking so it would be good to be in better shape for that ...


wow so much coming up in the new year ... woohoo it is almost 2003 ... I'm so excited ... :)


HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you out there ... :)

Urban Challenge

oh my goodness ... I am in desperate need of a "home team" for Urban Challenge ... Jason and Jenny were supposed to be our home team ... Jenny knows everything about DC and my brother can find anything online ... well I had thought it was on August 31st ... but when I signed up today it said August 30th ... my brother just called and said that was Jenny's birthday and they didn't know if they could be our home team ... we can't place in the top 10 without a home team ... hummmmm ...

URBAN CHALLENGE RELEASE AND WAIVER

By checking the box below, you agree, warrant and covenant as follows:

URBAN CHALLENGE RELEASE AND WAIVER


The undersigned certifies as follows:

* I wish to enter and participate in Urban Challenge.

* I understand that Urban Challenge is an arduous athletic event.

* I am physically fit. I understand my physical limitations and am sufficiently self-aware to stop physical activity before I become ill or injured.

* I am aware that there is no set race course.

* I am aware that all streets adjoining the race course are open to regular vehicular traffic during the race.

* I am aware no water stations exist on the course.

* I am eighteen years of age or teamed with my parent or legal guardian.

* I commit to carry at least one liter of water with me at all times during Urban Challenge.

* I am aware that no aid stations exist on the course.

* I will carry a telecommunications device to alert emergency personnel if I become hurt or incapacitated.

* I possess a validly issued driver's license issued in my name.

* I will return the digital camera to Urban Challenge at the conclusion of the event. I agree to pay Urban Challenge $200.00 if I fail to return the camera.

* I will obey all traffic laws and regulations.

* I understand that by signing below, I am waiving my right to assert any claim or cause of action against Urban Challenge in exchange for my participation in this event.


WOOOOOHOOOOO ... I just paid our entrance fee for the Urban Challenge Washington DC ... I can hardly wait till August 30th ... I need to come up with a team name for David and I ... my brother and his wife are going to be heading our command center at home ... with maps ... internet and books galore ... I am just so excited ...

not digging my blog

I am not digging my blog ... and I think David has gotten me sick ... but I wanted to work on it tonight so that I could post the new blog by tomorrow ... it may have to be something I work on new year's day and post sometime on the first ... if I can come up with something I really like ... we'll have to see ...

trading spaces

take the which one of the trading spaces cast are you? quiz!

most admired women?

I got to work super early today because I drove instead of taking the train ... David is terribly sick so I had the car and figured why not ... I sign onto AOL [my only way to connect to the internet at work] ... and the first thing I see says "Something in Common ... American's say Hillary, J. Lo most admired women"


How can Hillary Clinton and J. Lo be the most admired women of 2002 ... please don't let me offend anyone but those are probably the two women I like the least in the world ... Hillary ... a woman who takes no stand against a cheating looser husband because of his position and what it gets her ... how is that a shining example ... it is despicable ... what kind of example is this to woman out there ... stay with the bastard ... that is bullshit ... no woman should put up with that ... no person should put up with someone cheating on them ... it is the lowest form of human behavior ... and what is it she has done that is so admirable ... I know she was on the committee to impeach Nixon and made some big quote about how the president shouldn't lie to the people ... then "stands by her man" as he lies to the people ... she gives herself diva status when she is really a servant to the people ... ack!!!!


and J. Lo ... I mean come on ... why is she so respected ... I believe there are celebrities that deserve the diva treatment ... but fucking J. Lo ... come on ... what has she done that deserves diva treatment ... and another woman with relationship problems ... not able to work through problems so moves on ... I couldn't be more sick of hearing about someone's life ... soon they will report when she takes a shit ...

The Lemon Twist

Anyone remember this toy ... The Lemon Twist ... man did I love it ... so I found one on ebay and I am buying it ... not sure why but I want to have it ... :)

frustrated

at present I am a bit frustrated ... I have been working on my new site most of the day and I am not digging how it looks ... and it had such potential ... hummmm what to do???

present to myself for 2003

believe it or not I am redoing my blog ... yet again ... I just don't like this one and I thought ... hummmm ... a present to myself for 2003 ... yes a new blogger ... and I would say ... with the work I have done so far ... if it turns out half as cool as it appears it will ... I will be one happy girl ...


but for now I have worked on graphics for about 5 hours so I am finished for the night ... dream time because tomorrow I have another day of working at the condo ... :)

Spam

On Christmas day I was tired of going through spam mail ... so the account that gets the most ... I just turned off ... today I decided to check it to see what was happening ... in 5 days ... on that one account ... I got 229 pieces of spam ... that means about 46 a day ... a day ... isn't that insane ... well I am not renewing that domain ... it was one I used ages ago ... and now it is just a spam collector ...

Jewelry

David has been telling me for over a year now I should sell my necklaces ... but when there are Guatemalan children that make them in seconds and sell them for a few dollars ... I can't see people paying even the cost of what mine are ... but now that I posted pictures of them ... I have been getting emails and comments that I should sell them ... or are they for sale ...


so now I must decide ... do I sell my necklaces ... should I post pictures of the earnings I have made too??? hummmm ...

Christmas was great

Christmas was great ... insanely relaxing ... we didn't do a thing ... we even had left-overs for dinner and they were nothing special ... I think both David and I enjoy having no plans for holidays ... and tonight ... I used my best gift ... David got me a paraffin wax thingy ... so tonight I heated up the wax and did my hand, feet and elbows and boy are they smooth ... David even conceded to have his hands done ... and my hands smell so wonderful ...


I got some groovy gifts ... a beautiful picture frame ... Saturday Night Fever on DVD ... a new set of flannel sheets for our new house ... Season 1 of Sex and the City on DVD ... but I must say I was surprised I didn't get I Love Lucy on DVD ... I was so excited when I saw it was out ... I would turn it on every night as I am going to bed ... so I guess it will have to be the gift I buy myself ... :)

Merry Christmas!!!

de-icing

woohoo I just de-iced down the driveway and had a blast ... I used my dad's fertilizer push-cart thingy ... filled it with deicing salt [not really salt but has the same effect] and pushed that thing up and down the driveway and walkway to the house ... lets hope it works cause our driveway was a mess the last snow ...


so the snow is coming down hard ... and it is starting to accumulate ... good thing we have no where to go for the next 2 days ... well Thursday since I have the day off I may want to hit some after Christmas sales and buy some holiday stuff for next year ... we'll see ...


so I think it is time to pop in "It's a Wonderful Life" ... hang out and enjoy the evening ... :)

other blogs

I updated my blogs page ... grabbed a bit of an image from each of the pages ... I am digging how it came out ...

Lingerie Barbie

Lingerie Barbie ... this is the best!!!

woohoo my email is fixed ... it wasn't working and I had no idea till Kimberly emailed me ... but I finally got it working again ... so thank you Kimberly and if anyone has emailed and it came back ... it is working again ... :)

I have a very bad habit ... a chronic problem if you will ... I grind my teeth ... and it isn't some simple little thing ... I have had people in the hotel room next door come over and tell me to stop cause they can't sleep ...


well I fell fast asleep on the train yesterday ... and I believe I may have been grinding away ... because when I awoke ... I was the only one on my side of the train ... and the other half of the train was packed ... and several people were looking at me ... it was the weirdest feeling ...

I am becoming obsessed with planning for Urban Challenge ... I bought a couple of trivia books ... at our sales meeting on Wednesday Victoria read me questions during down time and it was amazing how many I had gotten right ... I am actually learning this stuff ...


next I need to start studying the bus maps and metro maps ... I mean I have the system close to memorized but I need to know what the cross streets are at each stop ...


I told David my goal is to finish in the top 20 this year ... my dream is to finish in the top 10 so we can go to the finals to compete for $50,000 ... Jason and Jenny go away each year at the anniversary of their wedding but I told Jason last night that they needed to plan their trip after August 31st because I really need them as our home base team ... they would be great ... Jenny knows everything about DC and Jason can find anything on the net ...


it is kind of exciting planning for something that isn't for 8 months ... I just need to start some sort of walking routine so I am in better shape by then ... I mean I need to do that anyway but I don't want to loose cause I am tired of running around the city ...


well I am going to go look for a trivia site online so I can mess around with it while I am at work ... :)

David and I used to work for a company that was quite bad to their employees ... along with being commanded to lie to customers [which I wouldn't do ... I told them the truth always and that is why they liked me] anyway that is off the subject ... we just worked for horrible people ... they stole from the company ... we were required to work overtime without extra pay ... they ripped people off ... it just sucked ... it was great cause I learned a lot and I met David there ... but in reality with 20/20 vision it sucked ...


a little over a year ago David filed a claim with the NY Department of Labor ... stating how they wouldn't pay for overtime ... they shredded time sheets ... all sorts of stuff ... he was persistent ... I was quite impressed with his gumption ... even when everyone told him he would never get a dime he kept fighting ... the D of L sent letters to all the employees asking about work and over time and whatnot ... and he kept on ...


last week they called and left a message ... the D of L lawyers and settled an agreement with our ex-company's lawyers ... they would be sending us checks by the end of the year for our back pay ... I couldn't believe it ... we were dancing around the house ... I told David the first thing I was going to do was do something nice for someone else with my newly-gotten-gains ...


do you know how slow time travels when you are waiting for a check ... I call home every day to see if it has gotten here ...


today David had a terrible day ... I was really hoping the checks would be here instead he found this link when he logged onto his computer ... it is all about how Interliant is going to buy Hostcentric for 25.8 Million dollars ... Hostcentric is the company we worked for ... the company that laid off more than 80% of their staff because they weren't making any money, they were loosing customers ... and they all spent a fortune redoing their office when they thought we would be a big company ... and now some jackass is paying them 25.8 million dollars ...


David is worried that we won't get paid now ... that they said they would settle because they knew this deal was going through ... and the new company will say it isn't their responsibility ...


to show you how important this money is ... and what we are talking about ... in the 2 years I worked there I kept every single pay check stub I ever got ... I also kept a very specific calendar of all the hours I worked ... in 2 years I worked a full year of overtime ... and I was paid on an hourly wage ... the D of L told me the amount of my check and it is about 1/3 of what I would have made in a year but that is fine ... I was willing to settle for that ...


I am still going to call home every day till the end of the year to see if my check has arrived ... and I can almost guarantee David will be calling his friend at the D of L to see if this will have an effect ...


cause I have that money earmarked to do something nice ... and damn it I wanna do it ... :)

yesterday morning David and I had a wicked fight ... actually it wasn't even a fight it was him flying off the handle yelling at me in the car on the way to the train ... I have no idea where his irrational tirade came from ... I hit snooze once yesterday ... we got up at 4:20 instead of 4 ... not really a big deal ... we actually wound up catching an earlier train ... I was early to my bus ... but he started telling me he isn't going to do this anymore ... getting up so late ... I told him he could set his own fucking alarm then ... and wake himself up ... I didn't want all the responsibility ... and then he went off on he isn't going to be woken up by me sneezing ... me sneezing ... yes it is something that happens often in the morning ... but it isn't on purpose ... I mean duhhhh ...


that pissed me off so much I was cursing up a storm and yelling ... I told him he was an asshole and to fuck off he can wake himself up from now on and if he got up on time my sneezing wouldn't wake him up ...


he dropped me off at the train station while he went to park ... but we didn't ride on the train together ... nor did we say anything when I was getting off ... no calling or IMing during the day ... and when we met at the car ... nothing ... not a word ... the whole way home ...


once we got home we were out back smoking and he said ... "sorry I got so mad this morning" ... but to be honest that wasn't what I wanted to hear ... he didn't have a reason to get mad at me ... sneezing ... hitting snooze ... those aren't reasons to be mad ... he should have apologized for yelling at me like a lunatic ...


I was just so hurt and tired I went to bed at 6:50 last night ... this morning his alarm went off and he hit snooze over and over again ... it is now 5:26 in the morning ... he should be on the train right now ... instead he just wandered out of bed ... I wasn't going to but I went in twice and told him he should get up ... but he didn't ...


now that I have vented everything I feel much better ... it was just a lousy day yesterday ... today should be better ... I have to sit in a sales meeting all day but that is alright ... :)

I stumbled upon the Urban Challange site this morning ... and now I can't wait till David gets up to see what he thinks ... I think it sounds just awesome ... and I hope he is into doing it ... they have one in DC at the end of August ... check it out ... there may be one near you ... :)

Phish

groovy ... Phish is on SNL ... i will never forget my first Phish show ... i was blown away ... :)

groovy ... Phish is on SNL ... i will never forget my first Phish show ... i was blown away ... :)

my friend Jason called me last night ... it has been ages since we have spoken ... and it was like no time was lost ... I think we spoke for almost 2 hours ... he is living in Kansas again ... boy do I miss that place ... I would love to take a little vacation and visit Heather and Joe and Jason and Jill and Regina ... it would be so fun ...


I am off to the post office ... the art store and coffee ... I need to maximize my weekend time ... and since David is off this weekend we actually get to spend some time together ... :)

sometimes it is hard to keep the blogs I am reading from effecting my writing ... days when I write hardly anything are usually because I am reading so much of others ... tonight is one of those nights ... but I still feel the impulse to write ...


at the bus stop today I danced in the rain ... all week I have been out of it ... feverish ... moody ... nauseous ... but I trudged on ... I don't get sick days ... or any vacation until late next year ... and it is a blessing to have a job and make money after having nothing coming in for way too long ... besides it is one of the busiest weeks at work all year ... so by 3 PM when I am catching my bus it was pouring ... and cold ... but I suddenly felt more alive than I had all week ... I was soaked but the tunes on my radio seemed to be better than ever ... and I boogied ... and I was smiling ... it was a good feeling ...


I am 32 years old ... since I can remember 3 has been my favorite number ... many monumental things have happened to me on the 3 day of the month ... I was born in the 3 month of the year ... I have hit the number 3 playing Roulette in Vegas more times than I can count ... I have always looked forward to my 33rd birthday ... I mean double threes how could I go wrong ... but for some time now I worried that maybe I was kidding myself ... that maybe my life wasn't moving forward ... that I would never feel as if I were growing up ...


but shit looks like it might be coming together ... and that I can make 33 my most amazing year ...


there is more in me but I am not sure how to put it into words yet ...

"dog years"

Today is our 14th anniversary ... 14 years ... wow ...


actually that is a bit misleading ... see David and I worked together and lived together ... then we were laid off together and spent 24/7 together for 6 months in a 500 square foot apartment underground ... then another 10 months living with my parents ... that is more time together than most couples spend in a lifetime ... and we are still together ... so it is really our 2 year anniversary but with that much togetherness we celebrate the "dog years" we have spent together ... making it our 14th year anniversary ... :)


he is still my hero ... I break into a smile whenever I think about him ... and I never thought I would say this about anyone but I sleep better when he is all curled up with me ... this weekend we will partake in watching It's A Wonderful Life together ... and boy it sure is ... :)

I am hoping for this guy ... and soon ... if it is raining ice/freezing rain [however one says it] then I will be able to work from home tomorrow which is what I want to do ... so I saw this guy on weather.com and thought ... hummmm I am going to sleep tonight dreaming of him ... :)

SNL

I am watching Saturday Night Live from last night ... and I can't believe Robert De Niro could do this opening scene without laughing his ass off ...

I am watching Saturday Night Live from last night ... and I can't believe Robert De Niro could do this opening scene without laughing his ass off ...

Concerned

my friend Mike emailed me today [this is going to be hard to write I am already tearing up] ... his brother went to the doctor because he had been dehydrated for about a week ... he learned he has Acute Myelofibrosis Leukemia ... Mike and I have been friends since we were 9 years old ... I have know Chris [his brother] since he was 5 ... he is only 29 years old ...


as soon as I got the email I wrote Mike back and told him I was ready to go for a bone marrow scan at a moments notice ... it would be the very least I could do ...


when I was in 2nd grade I lost one of my best friends to Leukemia ... it was so hard to watch someone go through the pain and suffering ... I think about her all the time ... how hard it must have been at such a young age to endure all she did ...


I am thinking as many good thoughts as I possibly can for Chris and his family ... and I am here for anything they could possibly need ...

My friend Tracy sent me this Michael Jackson baby dropping game ... it is quite funny ... have a try ...

woohoo ... snow day x2 ... David and I are home again today ... he didn't know if he could get onto the base ... many of them are closed today so why spend the 1 hour plus getting up there only to be told no entry ... and my boss sent me an email telling me she couldn't even pull into the lot at work cause it was all ice so stay home and work ... so woohoo ... plus I have been authorized to do all the overtime I want this weekend and David is working Saturday and Sunday so I am going to push for 18 hours overtime ... that way we get a big check a week before Christmas ...


now I am so happy I don't have to go out in this horrible weather ... but ... it would have been nice to sleep past 4:15 this morning ... I guess maybe a nap is in order for later today ... :)

Woohoo ... SNOW DAY!!!!! ... working from home ... we are up to 8 inches and it hasn't let up ... I took these pictures early this morning ... I think I might go take some more because it looks even better now ... boy I love snow ... I love having snow days ... growing up in Cali there was nothing that got us out of school ... now I get out of work ... and still get paid ... could life be any better??? I think not ... :)

Two years ago David and I went to Disneyland with Kris and Chevy for my birthday ... we had a blast ... it was utterly fantastic ... until our last 10 minutes in the park ... the boys got ancy and were ready to go ... so they went to get our jackets out of the locker while Kris and I did one last run through The Emporium ... less than 15 minutes later Kris and I exited the park and found Chevy ... for the next hour and a half we looked for David ... walked all over the entrance to the park ... even went back in to see if he was shopping ... he was no where to be found ... we wondered if maybe he was at the car but really ... who takes the tram out to a car that they don't have keys for at an amusement park ... alone ...


but we were cold and tired and after walking so much my ankle was as big as a baseball so Kris and Chevy decided to go to the car and I would stay at the front in case he came out ... as they started to walk to the tram they saw him get off ... I couldn't believe it ... he went to the car and was standing there for an hour ... I tried not to be mad ... it has turned into a pretty funny story ... and it makes the 4 of us laugh whenever we talk about it ...


this morning while on the train we realize I don't have my car keys and David doesn't have his cell phone ... I'm always the first back to the station and I go to the car and sit with the heat on ... but since I didn't have keys and him without a phone I said "lets meet in front of the station and go to the car together ... it should be a bit warmer up here [it is an outside station] besides we will have no idea if one of us is at the car already since we can't call each other" ... he said "OK" so I thought he heard me ...


it was at this point in telling Kris the story that she said "Did he pull a Disneyland?" ...


he did ... he pulled a Disneyland ... and not just that ... he moved the car closer to the station ... but I patiently and frigidly waited in front of the station like we had planned for 2 hours ... in 27 degree weather ... 2 hours ... 2 ... it was unreal ... I was crying at one point I was so cold ... I lost feeling in my fingers even though I wore gloves ... a part of me was worried about David ... he is never that late ... I just didn't know what to do ...


when I was actually at my wits end ... where I was so cold my body was just shaking and I could feel pin pricks in my legs I hear a honk ... see a car that looks like ours ... and someone waving to "come here" ... it was David ...


I immediately filled with rage ... but it was so painful to walk to the car that it all subsided ...


he had been in the car the whole time ... with the heat pumping ... he got in before me ... and thought the plan was to meet at the car ... after we had both calmed down [he was filled with worry that something had happened to me] ... and he apologized profusely for not paying attention when I was talking this morning ... I said ...


its alright ... it is just Disneyland all over again ...

from across the sky this morning I saw the most amazing shooting star ever ... it was like nothing I have ever seen ... it was so close to us and the sky was so dark at 5 am that we could see red and yellow and blue and purple streaking from the star ... I was awestruck ... never before have I seen such an awesome display in nature ... there are hardly words to describe the image but at that moment I felt so privileged to be alive and awake to witness such beauty ... what an amazing way to start a Monday ... :)

hummmm it has been movie night tonight ... I just finished watching The Negotiator ... and now I can't decide ... while I do my holiday cards should I watch Mommie Dearest or Bye, Bye Love ... both are great movies ... but I think I will go with the one that makes me laugh ...

Quotes from my "Wild Words from Wild Women" calendar:


"I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both."

- Patricia Schroeder, Colorado congresswoman


"It's not how old you are but how you are old."

- Marie Dressler, who obtained her Oscar at age fifty-eight


"My attitude toward men who mess around is simple: If you find 'em, kill 'em."

- Loretta Lynn, country and western singer


"I want no fences around me, unless I erect them myself."

- Faye Dunaway, free-thinking film actress


"All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else."

- Mae West, doyenne of the sexy double-entendre


"Great food is like great sex - the more you have the more you want."

- Gael Greene, renowned restaurant critic


"The glass ceiling gets more pliable when you turn up the heat."

- Pauline R. Kezer, Connecticut secretary of state


"Oh, I'm so inadequate - and I love myself!"

- Meg Ryan, movie actress


"You can't shake hands with a clenched fist."

- Indira Gandhi, former prime minister of India


"I think that business practices would improve immeasurably if they were guided by 'feminine' principles - qualities like love and care and intuition."

- Anita Roddick, founder of the fabulously successful Body Shop store


"Show me someone who never gossips, and I'll show you someone who isn't interested in people."

- Barbara Walters, mother of the misty-eyed interview


"The only women who don't believe that sexual harassment is a real problem in this country are the women who have never been in the workplace."

- Cynthia Heimel, humorist, tackling a touchy topic


"Being a sex symbol has to do with an attitude, not looks. Most men think it's looks, most women know otherwise."

- Kathleen Turner, who dared to appear bare at the age of forty-six


"Sex appeal is fifty percent what you've got and fifty percent what people think you've got."

- Sophia Loren, still sexy and nearing seventy


"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who implement them are priceless."

- Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics


"A lot of guys think the larger a woman's breasts are, the less intelligent she is. I don't think it works like that. I think it's the opposite. I think the larger a woman's breasts are, the less intelligent men become."

- Anita Wise, satirist

I think I might be one of the only people to have lost weight after Thanksgiving ... it is a miracle ... and I didn't deny myself ... of course I was the only one last night that wasn't wallowing around in pain ... I tried everything and felt more than satisfied ... even had pecan pie for the first time in my life ... but this morning the scale was 2 pounds lighter ... I couldn't believe it ... that means with 112 days left on my 128 days to healthy I am down 16 pounds ... makes me so happy ... I haven't done anything in ages that improves how I feel on the inside ... I am so glad I started this ... no one can see a difference in my body yet ... but in my attitude it is noticeable ... :)

I would like to share a site that has the coolest baby pillows ... they are called baby guling pillows and it is a body pillow for a baby ... they take to it naturally and are quite popular in Indonesia ... they are made by Heather Mac and can be seen here ... check them out they are quite beautiful ...

Happy Thanksgiving ... yea it is Turkey Day ... and we have big plans ...


my brother is having 10 people for dinner ... David is really excited about the turkey ... his eyes light up like a kid when he talks about it ... and got beautiful cobalt blue bottles and put flowers in them and made name tags for each persons place card ...


I of course am thankful for so many things ... family ... friends ... health ... but I think this year I am most thankful for David ... he is the kindest person I have ever been with ... never has a boyfriend cared for me so much ... worried about my safety ... been there to help and support me ... and I feel so lucky he is such a big part of my life ...


now go out there and gobble gobble till ya gotta unbutton the pants ... :)

I tried ... I really really tried ... but it didn't work ... due to my mishaps this morning I was the last one in the office ... since we have a long weekend everyone came in early ... so at 3:30 when I should have already been on the bus to catch the train I watched everyone leave ... while I sat here waiting for the UPS man ... now he is sweet ... and told me I was awesome for waiting around ... and I did earn 2 extra hours of work towards the 16 I am not getting paid for this week ... but it still sucks staying late ...


there is one other thing happening that I would rather not talk about ... but suffice it to say being without a bathroom on the way home could pose problems ...


I am not sure what I did to get my karma out of wack but maybe it is past me now ... my blogs are getting bitter and I don't like that ... I am normally such a happy person ... of course I did spend 14 months without a job living life joyously ... so maybe 3.5 weeks isn't long enough for me to get back into the swing of things ... :) ... but I am working on it ...


I have some fun pictures to post once I get home ... photos always cheer up my mood ...


so as Martha would say ... that will be a "Good Thing" ... :)

So lets recap Wednesday from 4:30 AM to noon ...


~ woke up and threw up due to severe cramps

~ ran late this morning, just couldn't get it together

~ spilt my coffee while trying to put it in my thermos

~ got to the train to have the doors close in my face

~ ran up the stairs at my destination in time to see the bus pass me by and no one tell the driver I was waving frantically

~ sat in the 31 degree weather for an hour waiting for the next bus

~ one bus passed by this guy and I without stopping ... waited for the next one

~ missed a call from my sister-in-law so I lost out on getting a really cute pink hat

~ don't have enough milk here to make both Slim Fast drinks today and I ran out of popcorn for the air popper


so that is my Wednesday to this point in the day ... each time something shitty happened I thought "can't get any worse" ... but now I know better ... so to cheer myself up I am going to write a list of things that make me happy ... in no particular order


1 - getting off work early

2 - curling up with David

3 - laughing

4 - getting a good seat to myself on the train

5 - magazine subscriptions arriving in my mailbox

6 - Starbucks Mocha Frappachinos

7 - coming home to a house David cleaned

8 - sleeping in without the phone or sun waking me up

9 - Kramer curling up on my lap

10 - the numbers on the scale going down

11 - cross country road trips

12 - Amtrak trips

13 - my holiday card this year

14 - decorating my house

15 - peppermint ice cream

16 - wrapping holiday gifts

17 - watching Alice in Wonderland

18 - reading a book I just can't put down

19 - the moment all the laundry is finished and put away

20 - doing something for someone else that makes them happy

I just went to a link I saw on smackTHEweasel and laughed my ass off ... shit this is some funny stuff ... check it out ... Be prepared to laugh hard

when a coworker feels they are above answering the phone I have a problem with that ... unless you are the boss I see no reason why anyone should be above pitching to to answer the phone ... every office job I have had there is someone like that ...


what makes me crazy is when 75% of the incoming calls are for that one person ... and 70% of those calls are personal ...


if I were to ever get an overabundance of personal calls at work I would try and pick up the phone as much as possible ... because I wouldn't want people to think I spent my whole day talking to my boyfriend/husband/child/sister/mother/best friend ... whatever the case may be ...


it isn't so bad here because we don't get too many phone calls ... not like the other jobs I have had ... but the woman here who feels she is above answering the phone gets so many personal calls it is CRAZY ... all day long ... she is chatting with someone ... without shame ... you can hear her all over the office ... it is something I just wouldn't do ...

weekends aren't long enough ... it takes me at least a day to decompress from a week of waking up at 4 AM ... now sleeping in is 6 AM ... pathetic ... it is already Monday again and I am back at work ...


of course this is a 3 day work week [can't beat that] but I don't get paid for Thursday and Friday ... which hurts so close to Christmas ...


I was selected to enter the blogger redesign contest ... and with such an insane sleeping schedule I just never had the time to sit down after work last week and work on it ... they extended the deadline from Friday the 22nd to Sunday the 24th at noon ... and I still had nothing to submit ... I guess if it takes me weeks to redo my own blog and come up with something I like ... how could I come up with someone in a week when I get home from work at 6 and I am in bed 2 hours later ... so even though I really wanted to do it ... I just didn't get around to it ...


I did finish everything I could on a huge site David and I are working on ... and now I am waiting for them to give me the rest of the content ... so since I have done everything I can on my end ... and a site that should have taken no more than a month has now been in process for 4 months ... and it is close to the end of the year ... I went ahead and billed them ... so if they send the money that will be a great thing ... then David and I could move into our condo ... woohoo ...


ok I think I have done enough rambling ...


oh we did go out to dinner for my dad's birthday on Saturday ... we went to a Hibachi restaurant that was so amazingly good ... yowza ... too bad it was so expensive or I would be there again ... soon!!!

employee handbook

So please tell me if I have just had cushy jobs in the past but I was reading our employee handbook tonight and it turns out ...


~ we have no vacation days or personal days

~ since I started work after October 1, 2002 I don't earn any vacation days until January 2004 ... then I earn 1/2 a day each month till June and then a day each month for the rest of the year

~ there are no paid holidays for the first 60 days of employment so I won't get paid for the 2 days off for Thanksgiving, 2 days at Christmas and New Year's Day

~ Maternity leave is without pay

~ vacation days can not be carried over ... so in November 2004 I will have earned 7.5 days that have to be taken by December 31st

~ 10 missed days of work in a 12 month period and you are automatically fired [this includes being sick with a doctors note]


I can't even type any more ... it is too upsetting ... I mean when I broke my leg I would have easily missed 10 days of work ... when I had pneumonia I was bed ridden for 3 weeks ... I just don't understand these restrictions on people ...


2004 ... I won't have vacation days for 2 years ... my first paid day off will be Memorial Day 2003 ...


ya know I made a commitment to work for 2 years ... by the time I am allowed to leave I will be earning my first vacation day ... hahahahaaaa ...

I have only been employed 3 weeks ... David only a week ... and I officially have no life ... up at 4 AM doesn't leave much time to do stuff at night ... I should be in bed right now [7:42 PM] but I just got out of the shower and would rather not go to sleep with wet hair so as to avoid waking up and looking like Cyndi Lauper circa 1985 ... [not that I didn't love her] ...


and I have to admit something ... my job is so beyond boring ... I took a job at the same company my dad works for ... just in a different office ... and I made a promise I would keep it for 2 years ... I can't even imagine doing it for 2 months ... today my day consisted of setting up this mailing for these trips they give away each year ... to about 600 dealers ... to do this I had to ...


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you get the idea ... it was all I could do to keep my eyes open ... I think I dozed off a couple of times ... which wouldn't look good if anyone noticed ... thank goodness no one did ... and I can't complain about the job because I am lucky to have one ... but ya know I am a Sesame Street kinda kid ... quick 2 minute ideas that keep me interested and then move on to the next ... I like to stay challenged ... keep busy ... and not be bored ...


I mean I guess the job is easy ... but is that how I want to go through life ... with an easy job ... I spend a lot of time at work ... it should be a rewarding experience ...


ahhh I am just bitchy tonight ... I am sure I will feel better Saturday morning ... when I can sleep in ... which could be 6 AM at this point ... hahahahaaaa

I don't think my body was meant to be up for 30 minutes already ... ya know I was in bed by 8:15 last night ... I don't even get to watch TV anymore and I love TV ... I mean West Wing is on tonight and I can't imagine staying up till 10 ... wow life sure has changed ... and until I get my first paycheck I liked being unemployed better ... :) I would be going to bed now instead of getting up ...

I was molested on the train today ...


the stop right before mine is the first above ground stop since being in the city ... and right as we pulled into the sunlight I felt someone tickling my hip ... like they were reaching their hand around the seat ... it scared the hell out of me ... I whipped around to catch the guy behind me ... and he looked at me as though I were crazy ... and then I felt it again ... my music was on so loud I was just out of my head trying to figure out what was happening ...


for the first time in my life I put my cell phone in my pants pocket on vibrate ...


I was molesting myself ...

almost everyone is out of my office this week ... actually till the 2nd of December ... and being on the early schedule with David I am here at the crack of dawn ... so I have a good 2 hours here before anyone else comes in ... it is too bad i don't have a better computer or i could work on some of my own stuff in the morning ... but then maybe that is why i have a shitty 'puter ... :)

so the rest of the day ended up alright ... well almost alright ... I walked all the way to the bus this afternoon to realize I forgot my phone and cigs ... and without the phone getting home would be tough ... so I went all the way back ... running ... got my stuff and ran back to the bus just in time ... so that part turned out good ...


David got a job ... it is doing computer work on a somewhat temp basis ... they have a 7 year project going on so it could last that long or it could last a week ... either way he is working and quite happy about it ... the bummer is ... the crazy wake up schedule I had today ... that is now my new schedule everyday ... we will be taking the train together for most of the way ... then we switch trains and he goes 4 more stops ... and I go 9 more ...


life will be better when we move to the condo cause I will be able to walk home ... until then I'll hang out in the car and read for about an hour waiting for David ...


ok I am so exhausted ... I must shower and head to bed ... :)

ok the waking up insanely early was bad ... the bone chilling weather didn't help much either ... but I resolved to have a good day ... I spent a lot of time last night ripping songs and setting up my MP3 player with new music ...


the train was pretty good since it was so early I didn't have to share my seat ... the music I chose was just OK ... I didn't know if it was cause I was so tired or what but there were a few good songs I played numerous times ...


the bus was there when I got off the train ... and was ready to leave so I didn't have to wait in the cold ... I didn't get to smoke a cig but that was alright ...


everyone on the bus were the people I normally ride home with ... see I spend only 8 hours at work cause I don't take lunch and my boss is fine with that ... so everyone looked familiar ... a couple people smiled or said hello as I got on ... I went and sat down ... and to my surprise I sat in a seat that appeared to be next to an open window during the rain last night ... it was a huge ... I mean huge puddle and my entire ass got wet ... through to my skin ...


that was it ... that officially made it a sucky day ... walking around like I wet my damn pants ... in the freezing temperatures ... way too early in the morning with little sleep ...


stuff is better now that I am here ... and I will get to leave an hour earlier than I usually do which is always nice ...


so it will be off to bed early for me ...

Monday is known as a down day ... "I don't like Mondays" ... "Does someone have a case of the Monday's?" ... I never really felt that way until this morning ... and I am so fuming mad at David I am making myself sick ...


he called last night from work and said he wanted to work this morning ... was that alright because he needed to be there at 6 which meant he would have to drop me off at the train around 10 after 5 which is 2 hours early and 30 minutes before the first train ... but of course I was fine with that because he is working ...


he called last night at 12:15 on his way home from work ... while on the phone I let him know that the alarm was set for 4:15 so we could leave the house at 4:55 ... that there were clean clothes out for him for work monday morning ... and he said thank you ...


at 3:30 David put his arm over me and it startled me ... when I looked at the clock I said "we will be getting up soon so start preparing yourself" ... at 4:15 my alarm went off and although I had had less than 4 hours sleep ... I got up and did everything I needed to do in the bathroom ... that way David could sleep an extra bit ... once I was finished I went in to wake him up ...


he said ... "I am just dropping you off at the train ... I didn't sign the sheet last night so the shipyard won't let me and I would drive out there for nothing" ... I was pissed ... what the fuck ... I said "what the fuck is your problem ... why wouldn't you tell me this last night when you called or when you got home and I woke up and reminded you how early we have to get up" ... he couldn't even see the problem in any of this ... so now I am up and showered with my contacts in ... I can't go back to sleep for an hour when I am this tired ...


I hate to complain but writing this post is the only thing keeping me awake ... and I am going to have a hell of a time at work today ... it is just so inconsiderate ... I would never have done this to him ... I keep crying I am so tired and so upset ... it is just such a lack of feeling for me ...


I already have trouble staying awake at work ... I don't know how I will ever do it today ...

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO excited ... like over a year ago I saw this picture hanging in an apartment on the TV show Three Sisters ... I had no idea who the artist was or anything about it ... except that it said "call again call again" and it had a girl that looked like she was from the 20's ... I looked for it for ages ... I wrote to different magazines as well as NBC to find out who the artist was or where I could get it ... no one knew ... every once in a while I would try searching for it again to no avail ... well tonight I put "call again" as a search argument on ebay and got a cigar sign ... it wasn't the picture I was looking for but the type looked familiar ... so I moved my search to Google and I FOUND IT ...

isn't she just so cute ... at least I know how to get it when I one day have some money ... :) ... I found it at this pretty groovy site ...

By the way ... the caricature of me was done by my friend Bob Dix and you can check out his stuff at http://www.bobdix.org ... he is great ... check out the "bobtoons" section for personalized work ...

I don't know if there is a better scene in a movie than when Aretha Franklin is singing "Think" in The Blues Brothers ... I just LOVE it ... it makes me want to get up and dance and sing ... if I could sing ... :) ... she ROCKS ROCKS ROCKS!!!!!! and Matt 'Guitar' Murphy well he is one hot number ... when I was in college he played at the bar across the street from my house ... I was friends with everyone that worked there and after his show I got to hang out and have a beer with him and he is one of the nicest men ... it was such a groovy night ...

well David is off to work ... I am so happy for him ... he has been in such a great mood since yesterday ... it is too bad it isn't a permanent job but who knows what it will lead to ... I am just so happy he is doing something with computers and doesn't have to cook ...


kinda sucks that my days off he is working but I do get some alone time ... which I just love ... and I don't get too much of that ... I have a site I need to design ... and I have wooden letters I want to paint and hang above the bed in our new bedroom ... so there is plenty to do ... besides I need to shower and I am going to give myself a facial ... I also need to do some searching for Christmas gifts ... Hanukah gifts ... whatever the recipient celebrates ...

I have been checking out barkins.com and got this great short film link ... Farm Sluts ... if you aren't on a dial up it is soooo worth checking out ... I love the film!!!

down 3 pounds in 2 days ... and I couldn't be happier ... this is the part I like ... in the beginning when I am dropping weight ... I just hope it keeps up


ohhh and I got to sleep in today ... it makes it such a great experience when you are getting up early all week to go to work ... I get up every morning at 5:25 ... today I woke up at 5ish ... closed my eyes again ... then at 7ish ... then at 9ish ... then at 11 I got up ... it just felt wonderful!!!!!

I added a new link to the site ... an "extras" as a place to put whatever I want ... I also am looking forward to updating the "about" page ... that will be tomorrow's project while David is working ...


so I have gotten through 2 of my 128 days to healthier ... so when I wake up tomorrow I will be on day 126 ... I am looking forward to stepping on the scale ...


and sleeping in ... !!!!!

i am so happy right now i could bust ... David just called me ... he got a job ... it is only for Saturday and Sunday but it is computer work ... and the guy that hired him really liked him and said he would see what else he could find ...


so we are going to dinner when he picks me up to celebrate ... i haven't heard him sound this happy in a long time ... :)

I had the news on for a bit this morning and they were talking about the increased terrorist threats ... how it would be something "spectacular" [i feel that is the wrong word to use ... it has a positive connotation] ... anyway ... while on the train today i noticed some things that were unusual ... they had someone at each station standing by the turnstiles ... where you use your pass to get on and off ... looking at each person ... not stopping anyone but at least checking them out ...


then while riding the train at several of the stops they made an announcment that if you see anyone suspicious, doing anything out of the ordinary, bags or boxes left anyway to immediately report it to a Metro official ...


it just gave me an eerie feeling ... it was weird ...

I just adore taking the train ... so many interesting things happen and when I am not dozing I catch a few of them ... tonight there was a group of 6th graders on the train walking around taking a survey ... they claimed it was for extra credit ... but I have a feeling that in part they were proving to each other how smart they were and how dumb everyone else is ... little do they realize that unless they join the scientific or medical field there is little use for the 4 stages of mitosis ... none the less it was fun ... they were asking people their favorite radio station ... if they were pro abortion ... favorite ice cream ... 4 stages of mitosis ... what is 10[squared] ... the capital of Zimbabwe ... but it got people talking ... and laughing ... and it was a fun diversion on the ride home ...


it is too bad they didn't ask me the questions ... I know the 4 phases of mitosis are prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase ... don't ask me how I know that ... in college I only went to biology class on test day ... I mean the class was at 8 o'clock in the morning ... on the total opposite side of campus ... during the winter ... in Kansas ... where it can be 30 below on a good day ... and I pulled a C ... just enough to get by ... my schooling trademark ...


I did great on my first day of 128 days to healthier ... although by the time David picked me up at the station I was nursing a killer headache and felt a little loopy from the lack of solid food ... so we went to dinner ...


and now that I am actually mixing with people in the real world I am coming in contact with germs again ... not that I am a germ-o-phobe ... but come on ... the guy next to me tonight was talking about how he had Tori Amos tickets but couldn't go cause he was too sick ... if you are too sick for a great concert don't get on the fucking train ... before I left work I was feeling funky but I thought it was the lack of food ... now that I am home I feel even funkier ... achy ... tired ... I need to take care of myself ... a year off work and I wasn't sick ... cause I didn't come in contact with others too much ... but now ... now I need to work on getting more rest ... and being good to myself ... cause if I am not at work I don't get paid ... it isn't like my old job where I could work at home if need be ... I gotta be there to get the moula ... :)

On November 14th I am starting 128 days to healthy ... or at least healthier ... it isn't some book or anything ... it is my own plan ... things in my life must change ... I need to become happier with myself ... in 128 days I will be 33 ... I have looked forward to this birthday for a long time ... 3 is my favorite number so I always envisioned turning 33 in 2003 would make it a great year ... and in order for that to happen I have to make a change ...


I want to have gastric intestinal bypass surgery ... my parents are freaking on the idea ... and are saying no ... but do they really have a say when I am old enough to make that decision ... so these next 128 days will decide ... if I can loose weight on my own and get my fat ass out of my computer chair and do some exercise then maybe I can loose it all on my own ... but if it doesn't happen I am going for the surgery ... and they will have to deal with their own fears ...


I feel if I give it a valiant effort for 1/3 of a year ... that will be a good test ... but at this time even though I am totally happy on the outside ... inside I have grown to loath myself ... I have become uncomfortable in my own skin ... and a person shouldn't live that way ...


so tomorrow starts my 128 days to change ... :)

well I finished it ... the new site is up ... I know I know I made all these logos and asked people to vote on them ... and then I didn't use a single one ... David was bummed I didn't use the star logo that got the most votes but I found it really hard to have a square logo ... I just couldn't make a page ... and the site I made came to me in a dream while sleeping on the train ... I am digging it ... I am sure I will need to do a few tweeks here and there but I love it ... and I feel like I can write again ... I was holding off cause all I have been doing when I got home was working on the design ...


ya know having a job doesn't leave much time in the day for other things ... I had forgotten what life was like ...

I am going crazy ... i have tried so many designs and just can't come up with anything that i like ... and yes logo #5 got the most votes ... but i didn't realize how much a square logo sucks ... that a long straight one makes for an easier set up ...


but i am going to keep trying ... and figure something out ... thanks for voting everyone ... :)

I need some help ... I want to redesign my site and I just can't pick a logo ... so I made a whole bunch and I want help choosing ... so please check out ... the logo page and leave a comment as to what you think is best ... :) thanks!!!!

since becoming a commuter I have learned while listening to my MP3 player I mouth the words to songs ... constantly ... not sure why but it never bothers me if someone is watching or what ... probably looks a little freaky which comes to the second thing I have noticed ... there are times when the seat next to me is the only one empty on the train car ... the isles are full ... and I am sitting alone ... probably not a bad lot in life ... :)

wow ... life is so different with a job ... first of all I can't believe I haven't written anything ... but I am just so tired when I get home ... and I feel like I have so much to do before going to sleep that I haven't really thought about it ... and there isn't big time internet access in the office ... and I don't want anyone knowing about the site so I would rather not write there ...


so I took the train on monday and asked a really nice woman about the bus and made it to work just fine ... even caught the bus home and it went smoothly ... everyone seems impressed cause several of them have worked there for years and can't believe I can take public transportation ... but boy howdy do I love using the public stuff ... makes my life so much easier ... especially since it has been raining ... I would be a wreck if I had to drive ...


work is pretty good ... very easy stuff ... and most of the time it is 4 women in the office so we all chit-chat while getting our stuff done ... nothing like working in internet sales ... that was just too stressful to be a healthy person ... and I don't foresee doing too much work once I get home ... all in all pretty good ...


David on the other hand is breaking my heart ... well he isn't but his situation is ... he wants a job so badly it makes me cry and it just isn't happening ... every night I think good thoughts for him as I go to sleep that tomorrow will be the day he finds something he loves ... but it hasn't worked yet ...


but I am off to bed right now so I will think double good thoughts for him ... :)

tomorrow is my first day at my new job ... normally I am nervous about work ... this time I am more nervous about taking the bus ...


since David and I have one car and the office where I will be working is off the beltway [which is usually laden with traffic] I am taking the train to work ... I love taking the train ... I don't care if it takes me twice as long at least I don't have to sit in traffic ... instead I can read or sleep or whatever ... but in order to get from the train station to work I have to take the Ride-On bus which I have never done ... sounds silly to be worried about taking the bus but I am ... I am sure it will be better after tomorrow but until then I am nervous ...


the work thing I am fine with ... unfortunately I took a job they have been begging me to take since I lived in Las Vegas ... the unfortunate part is it is with the same company my dad works for ... different office but same company ... I just don't like that ... he is a big-wig and everyone knows him ... and with our last name there is no mistaking I am his daughter ... the woman I will be working for has been wanting me to come work there for ages ... so she is quite excited ... and at least I know everyone there ...


I am worried about getting up on time ... it has been almost 14 months since I had a job ... since I was 14 I haven't gone this long without working ... so it will be weird at first ... and I need to catch a 7:01 AM train so we have to leave the house by at least 6:25 so I can get and drink my coffee before getting on the train [in DC you aren't allowed to eat or drink on the train or it is a $50 fine ... imagine telling New Yorkers they can't do that ... all hell would break loose] ...


so I guess I should get all my stuff together ... I want to be ready to go right when I get up ... to save time I showered and did my hair before Sopranos ... so I should be good to go right away ...


ahhhh wish me luck!!

Favorite Halloween costumes of my past ... [in no particular order]

- Pink Panther [freshman year of HS through sophomore year of college - had the costume made]

- Tweedle Dum [this was in college - Kris was Tweedle Dee]

- Gypsy [around age 5 or 6 - I used a hamster ball as my crystal ball]

- Cheerleader [around age 7 my grandmother made my costume]

- Flapper [age 13 - great boa - my mom made the dress and headband - got my first tongue kiss that Halloween]

Amazing this guy could get a patent ...

I can't take the spam mail anymore ... today I got 82 ... 82 just today ... that is beyond crazy ... I have rules set up in my outlook ... doesn't help ... I add new senders to the rules ... makes no difference ... I got 9 emails that I wanted and 82 that I didn't ... and there just seems to be no way to stop it ...

I almost missed posting that last post ... but I happened to copy the whole thing before publishing because I thought I would never write all this again ... and guess what ... I hit the "blogger pro" button instead of "post & publish" ... thank god I had copied it ... :)

all my dreams were screwy last night ... and in each one of them it was things that pissed me off ...


for some reason I was going to Lawrence, Kansas to live for a while and I packed a suitcase that was just a little bigger than a lunchbox ... and I didn't have the common sense to realize that wouldn't be big enough ... and I rode a motorcycle out there and I pulled into some weird gas station on accident and to get into the place it was like a vertical drop you had to go down ... so the attendant wouldn't let you leave unless you filled up your car ... which pissed me off so I left the motorcycle there and got on a bus ... I was trying to get to my friend Heather's house ... it wasn't till I got there that I realized I didn't pack anything I needed ...


then I was back here at the house ... and some guys were working on stuff ... it was like when I first moved in and there were always people here fixing and finishing stuff ... for some reason they screwed up my phone and I had been waiting for a call from Kansas ... and my mom was all pissed off and wanted to yell at the guys ... I said wait and picked up my cell phone and called my own number and it turned out my brother had had my phone forwarded to his cell ... he started to explain why and I got all pissed and hung up and I was yelling that if I ever did that to his phone all hell would break loose ... but my mom and dad were fine with the fact that he did that and just said he would put it back when he was finished ...


then my phone actually rang ... and when I picked it up the fucking phone wouldn't work ... this part was for real ... but since I picked up the machine stopped recording ... but the person couldn't hear me ...


it was like major PMS in my sleep ... what the hell that should be the time I don't have to deal with the evil monster.

Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold

Her early leaf's a flower

But only so an hour

So leaf subsides to leaf

So Eden sank to grief

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay ...

-- Robert Frost


I have been saying this poem in my head for the last couple of days ... it is one of my all-time favorites ... I memorized it when I was a kid ... and recited it often ... I was overjoyed when I read the S.E. Hinton book "The Outsiders" and Ponyboy recites the poem to Johnny ... I have been thinking about the poem because all the leaves are changing colors here ... and as we drive from the house to the condo each day it is all wooded and golden and beautiful ...

I figured out what is more annoying than having your neighbor come downstairs and ask you to stop smoking on your own balcony ... it is her staying upstairs and spending about an hour opening and closing her sliding glass door ... as if to say ... "if you didn't live below me and smoke I could keep this door open and enjoy the overcast, cloudy, rainy cold day with my door open" ...


the sliding glass doors are huge ... and make a lot of noise ... which isn't a big deal if you open it ... hang out with it open ... close it ... but open/close wait about 2 minutes ... open/close wait 2 minutes ... open/close ... for about an hour it went on ... it was crazy ...

These are the dishes we are looking at getting ... the diner we go to uses them and both David and I love them ... aren't they cute?

so the search word part of my stats are working ... when I first opened it the stats were reading for only today ... the search words that lead someone to my site:

- camera in my pussy


nice huh??

it is finally getting cool enough here that I need to put something on at night to go out and smoke a cig ... so I pulled out my pashmina [sp?] ... and I just love it ... I love ALL my winter clothes ... hats and scarves are my favorite accessory ...


I saw the cutest hat in Real Simple with instructions on how to knit it ... I have always wanted to learn to knit and I am thinking I may try it with this hat ... the instructions always look funky but I am hoping that once I have needles in hand and some yarn they will make more sense ... besides if it is fun and I can actually do it ... that is something I will be able to do on my train ride to work ...

Thinking great thoughts for the Angels tonight ... so for inspiration here is a photo of Kris and I at an Angels game my last night as a California resident ... :)

I am so excited about the work David and I did today that I had to post a couple of pictures here for people that don't go to Our House Rules

if you like these pictures and want to see all of them from today then just go to Our House Rules and check them out ...


we sponge painted the entry and living room today ... took us about 9 hours but it was worth it ... it came out magnificent ...

Kramer weighs 18 pounds ... that is pretty damn big for a cat ... so last time we went to the store to get cat food we got him IAMS diet food ... well this last week I have noticed that Kramer seems to eat the food twice as fast as he used to ... he is never going to loose weight that way ...

David and I hung all our new lighting fixtures today ... and they look so awesome ... Check them out ... then when we got home our new cell phones were in the mailbox ... so he and I have been playing with the phones all night ... we actually get service in the basement now ... and they are just so cool ... voice dialing ... I even downloaded a new ring tone tonight ... Charlie's Angels ... fucking cool I tell you ...

Another great entry from Smack The Weasel

yesterday David and I started out a bit lazy ... it is time for us to do the faux finish in the living room ... but it was so overcast yesterday and we don't have that much light in the place that we didn't go over there ... we did however go to IKEA late yesterday and wound up getting a new light for the dining room and 3 for the 3 fixtures in the hall ... it is still pretty overcast today so I am thinking that instead of doing the faux finish today we can go hang our new lights and maybe paint the hall and do some touch up work in the dining room ... it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow so that might be a good time for the faux finish ... :)

On the news they aren't kidding when they say the DC area is breathing a collective sigh of relief ... that was just how I felt yesterday ... and here is a great link about The Snipper that I got from Smack The Weasel

OK so when I am in blogger typing away and I click on "view web page" it goes to the address: http://pro2.blogger.com/hacx0redbyme which is not my blog ... but when I try and report anything on the blogger site it seems all their "help" pages are having problems ...


so has anyone seen anything like this and know how to fix it?

it would appear someone hacked into something

the sniper stuff is so overwhelming ... it is on all the time ... my mom is beyond freaked out ... tomorrow morning David and I need to go to Home Depot and she just doesn't want us to go ... I hate to see her worry so much but we have to go on with life ... I know people are ready to stay inside all the time but it isn't feasible ...


so we did a bunch of work on our house today ... and I posted some new pictures ... Our House Rules ... it is looking so beautiful ... I can't wait till we are finished ... :)

another one ... another shot fired ... another person dead ... another incident in my direct area ...

The Mini Cooper Just the cutest car ever ... one day when David and I have enough money for 2 cars ... this is going to be it ... or course it will be David's ... but maybe I will get to drive it ... :)

Sales down 50%

our upstairs neighbor in the condo stomps around a lot and slams her patio door ... I am sure it is to tell us how displeased she is with the smoking but we have made several concessions ... first of all David and I don't smoke out there together anymore ... that way there isn't so much smoke at one time ... it is a bummer cause we have some of our best talks while sitting and having a cig ... but ya know whatever ... we talk all the fucking time ... secondly we put a fan out on the patio ... it TOTALLY blows the smoke away and down from the patio ... I haven't seen any of it rise up in the air since putting the fan out there ... on high mind you ...


I have become quite uncomfortable being there ... and I just have to stop that feeling ... it is my house .. we own it ... and David and I are planning on living there for some time ... we have put a HELL of a lot of work into the place ... and although everyone around me ... including my family ... keep saying "screw her" ... it is hard for me to feel that way ... I am a compassionate person ... I hate to know I am willfully making someone unhappy ... but at the same time I have to say I am putting forth an effort to make everyone happy ... I just need to learn to move on and stop letting things effect me so much ...


in NY I asked our upstairs neighbor to stop taking our mail in their house [it was all put into one box] and that didn't happen ... I also mentioned I would rather them not listen in on our conversations or at least if they did to not bring them up with me ... that didn't stop happening ... I dropped the hint in passing that they had so much garbage piled up in the back yard that raccoons and squirrels were feasting the night away and that if it wasn't taken to the curb rats would be next ... but they just piled more on top of the old ... but then I would hate to think I were like them because I hated having them as neighbors ...


I gotta stop stressing myself out ... David and I are working too hard on this place to hate it because of one person ... shit I saw what she bought her place for 3 years ago ... if she hates us that much she can sell it and double her money ... :)

So I have had stats on my blog for ever ... but I hardly look at them ... I noticed the other day though when I did check them out that the "keyword" section on "referrers by" wasn't set up ... so David tweaked everything and this is the first time I am looking at them ... in order of popularity this is how people found this site ...


- sex

- NYC

- moving things to do

- jpg

- www.theworldaccordingtoliz.com [old old old domain name for my journal ... too long to type]

- black

- woman

- 020

- comuting [spelled this way]


weird and wild stuff ... kinda groovy to see this stuff ... I am surprised how many people are getting to the site from old domain names ... the name of the site has changed several times in the last 4 years ... oh well ... just thought I would share ...


although come to think of it ... sex as the #1 on the list ... so strange ...

I hate to say this ... but it has become true ... every time I get out of my car to go inside somewhere ... and every time I leave somewhere and get into my car ... I am thankful I made it ...


today I went to pick up lunch for David and I while we were working on the condo ... and I went to a place on Rockville Pike ... and I felt my heart race a bit as I exited my car and headed for the restaurant's front door ... I felt the same heart murmur as I emerged from the restaurant and walked toward my car ... which was all the way across the parking lot ... right on the street ... it is unnerving ... it is unfair ... people should not have to live this way ... anywhere in the world ...


I am very good about telling people I love them when I leave them or hang up with them ... I always have been ... and I try hard not to stay mad at people I love ... because you never know when it will be the last time you get to say it ... and no one wants their last words to be "piss off" that you said while you were mad ... but now it is like everyone in this area has more of a chance of their last words happening ...


and what the fuck is up with someone lying about what they saw at a crime scene ... he should go to jail ... or be fined or something ... why would someone do that ... he wasn't on TV ... they weren't interviewing him on Barbara Wawa ... why would you do that ... unless he is friends with the sniper he has just a chance of being shot as anyone else ... shit the sniper is a crazy fucker even being his friend you could have a chance of being shot ... why would anyone mislead the police in their investigation ...


monday was the last shooting ... and tomorrow is Friday ... it makes me even more nervous ... there have been two weekends since this started ... neither of which anyone was shot ... it makes me worried that weekends will now become target times ... when even more people are out and with their families ... or that tomorrow will be a rampage like the first day ... get a bunch in before the weekend ...


the whole thing just makes me sick ... I really hadn't wanted to talk about it much in my blog ... but I just can't help it ... it is right here ... everywhere I go I see places where it has happened ... every radio station [music or talk] says stuff about it during every break ... the TV has stuff all day long ... even my local internet pages come up with sniper this and sniper that ...


it resembles living in New York when the WTC tragedy occurred ... yes I lived there ... and yes I worked blocks from ground zero ... but I was home that day ... for all I knew I wasn't in danger ... and nothing more was going to happen ... sure I thought maybe something could ... but my house was like a bomb shelter and I left only to get cigs and coffee ... I doubt the Starbucks in Farmingdale was being targeted by anyone ...


but this isn't over ... not that anyone knows ... but for right now he isn't dead or caught so it isn't over ... and I can't hole up in my house I have to live my life ... I will say this though ... I need to go to Michaels ... there are several items I need ... and although I don't believe the sniper shootings are related to Michaels [come on look how many stores there are ... you could say a McDonalds was near each crime scene too] ... I still don't want to go ... it is on Rockville Pike ... busy area ... easy to get away ... it fits the MO ...


so I will just keep my fear locked inside for a while ... tell my parents and David I love them every chance I get ... kiss my kitty before leaving the house ... and hold David's hand while we are driving around town ... and hope something good happens ...

now I know what gets comments on my site ... ways to annoy telemarketers and those that send junk mail ... so yndy and Gregg will be happy to know that today I used 2 pre-paid envelopes to send back credit card apps that I never asked for ... I had a huge smile on my face as I dropped them in the mail box ... I put everything they sent in the envelope including the envelope the junk mail came in ...

This is an email from my dad and I think it is a GREAT idea ...


This is great!!!I suppose the world of business would grind to a halt if telephone solicitors weren't able to call people at home during dinner hour. But that doesn't make it any more pleasant. Now Steve Rubenstein, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, has proposed "Three Little Words" based on his brief experience in a telemarketing operation that would stop the nuisance for all time. The three little words are "Hold On, Please." Saying this while putting down your phone and walking off instead of hanging up immediately would make each telemarketing call so time-consuming that boiler rooms would grind to a halt. When you eventually hear the phone company's beep-beep-beep tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task. This might be one of those articles you'll want to e-mail to your friends. Three little words that eliminate telephone soliciting. GOOD IDEAS: When you get ads in your phone or utility bill, include them with the payment let the companies throw them away. When you get those pre-approved letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and junk like that, most of them come with postage paid return envelopes, right? Now this is GREAT!! I didn't think of this!!! Well, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little envelopes! Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send the pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day then just send them their application back! If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them. You can send it back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! Eventually, the banks and credit card companies will begin getting their junk back in the mail. Let's let them know what it's like to get junk mail, and the best of it is that they're paying for it! Twice! Let's help keep our postal service busy since they say e-mail is cutting into their business, and that's why they need to increase postage again! Send this to a friend or two or three...or fifty....

I spent the entire day working on Heather's website ... and it came out pretty good ... and pretty close to finished ...


David comes home tomorrow and I am so happy ... I really missed him ... I know it was good for the two of us to be apart a bit ... but I am happy he will be home ... and when we spoke today he sounded happy to be coming home ... Kramer will be quite happy as well ... he seems so sad since David left ... like it is nice of me to be around but I don't quite cut it ...


this sniper business has gotten crazy here ... I don't know how they are ever going to catch this person ... tonight my mom and I really wanted Boston Market for dinner and she just didn't want me to go to Rockville Pike [the area of the first day of shooting] ... and knowing her it was because she obsessively worries about stuff and god forbid anything happens she wouldn't be able to live with herself ...


last night around 9 PM I was thinking ... "well no one was shot today ... maybe he is taking a break ... or feels lucky to have gotten away with it and isn't going to do it anymore" ... and then across the top of the screen of the show I was watching it says ... "woman shot and killed in the Home Depot parking lot of Seven Corners" ... and that nervous feeling came back to my stomach ...


it is just sick ... my mom said the other day "if they catch this guy how could anyone oppose the death penalty" and I agree with her ... this guy has used the public like beer cans along the fence for target practice ...


I am ranting now ... and it is time for bed ... so it is off to dream land for Lizzie

i miss davie ...

This is a piece of my friend Heather's artwork ... it is metal with images with resin ... and I just love it ... I was just setting it up to put on a website for her and I just wanted to share ... :)

"My father warned me about men and booze, but he never mentioned a word about women and cocaine."

- Tallulah Bankhead

yea baby ... another win for my beloved Anaheim Angels ... and tonights game was so great once it got to the 7th inning ... ahhhhh I can't wait for tomorrow's game ...


sad thing though ... and it is sad on so many levels ... David and I have been together almost 2 years ... in that time we have only been apart for 3 nights which was just a couple of weeks after we started dating ... tomorrow he is leaving for NY to visit a friend for 3 nights ... see why I say it is sad on so many levels ... I am sad cause I will miss him ... but it is so sad that in 2 years that is the most time we have spent apart ... and we hardly knew each other back then ... and shit we are both still unemployed ... which means we spend way too much time together ... I am amazed we are still dating ...


although I will get the bed to myself which is a big treat ... I love when I take naps all alone ...


but I will miss him ... a lot

Oh yea!!!! A big huge WOOHOO to the Angles ... won 2 games so far and after 2 more it is off to the World Series ... makes me sad I am not living in Cali anymore

I grew up in Southern California and have been going to Angles games since I was 5 years old ... in fact my last night living in Cali was spent at an Angles game

so yesterday while we were cutting the counter ... I wasn't holding on to it too well and as David got the saw through one end it dropped ... my grip was terrible and it tore off part of the laminate ... so today we had to go buy a new piece ... it is too bad it was the biggest piece and most expensive ... but today we cut the new one and it came out perfect ... Kitchen Photos so check them out if you are in the mood ... the kitchen is almost finished ...


unfortunately I have felt uncomfortable in my home for the last 2 days ... I am pissed that the first person we meet in our new building is someone complaining ... I called the condo association and there is no rule stating people can't smoke on their balcony ... and I noticed today as we were leaving that the woman upstairs has all her windows and door open ... just doesn't seem right to me ...


I did put a fan out on the patio on high ... so that when we are smoking the smoke tends now to go away and down from our patio ... but I still feel uncomfortable ... even though everyone but one person said she was totally in the wrong ... even my brother and sister-in-law who bitterly hate smoking said she was wrong ... that she should close her door if it is bothering her ... that it could be worse we could be smoking in the house and she would smell it all the time ...


since the kitchen has come out so nice ... and David is beyond pissed about the woman upstairs ... we are thinking of having an agent come by and see if we can sell the place for more than we paid for it ... and just buy a new place ... I would hate to remodel the kitchen again ... but we would be a pros at it now ... and it could be possible that we could get a 3 bedroom instead of a 2 ... which means we wouldn't need to move for quite some time ... as it stands right now when we have a baby [not that I am pregnant but at some time I hope to be] ... as I was saying when we have a baby we will either have to get rid of our office or move ... and that could be 2 years from now ... besides I have lived lots of places ... when someone complains right when you move in [or worse before you have moved in] then they are always complainers ... and if that turns out to be the case ... I wouldn't really want to be there ...


at least David and I won't be going to the place till next Thursday ... we are taking a break tomorrow and he leaves Sunday for New York ... so maybe things will be better when we go back to work on the house ... and maybe I won't feel so bad being there ... :)