Cellar Door

The Vanilla Bean

2008-04-25T15:25:00.001-04:00

I have my car back! =)

I Can Haz Car Nao?

2008-04-24T08:06:00.001-04:00

Ugh. Still no car. Close to three months now.

Yesterday, I called the garage at one o'clock and they told me that all they had to do was an alignment and that I should be able to pick it up that afternoon. Well, I gave them four hours to do a half hour job and still no car. So today, I am going to call them and tell them to have it ready at noon because that's when I'm coming down. I'm sick of this. I want my vanilla bean back. Heaven help them if it's not in perfect condition. I'll just roll them into my lawsuit.

Boo.

I Am a Monster

2008-04-09T09:06:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to find out when Bring Your Kids to Work day is so I can take it off. It's not that I don't like kids, I do. I like my friends' kids just fine. I just hate having kids at work. It's distracting and annoying and I can never get anything done. It's the straw on the camel's back. It's not fair that I have to listen to your whining and then your kids too. Sigh. I suck.

Eek!

2008-04-07T15:50:00.001-04:00

I signed up for the Baltimore Marathon (relay style) today!

Nine weeks until the Survivor Seven race!

Three weeks until the Hopewell Cancer Support 5K!

It's race season, folks. =)

Home Free

2008-03-13T09:50:00.002-04:00

I'm back from Europe. It was awesome. Entries and pics will follow when the jet lag ceases and I can fully function. Plus, I need to download the pictures. That'd help I'm sure.

On a completely random tangent, I've joined a fanfiction challenge on LJ. I posted my first story and got a lot of reviews. I'm stoked. I haven't written in a while. Feels good. =)

I'm in Bad Hands

2008-02-21T09:14:00.005-05:00

This car stuff is really upsetting me. The Allstate people are shit heads and the collision center keeps pressuring me to come in and sign papers so they can start work.

What I really want is for them to total the car. They won't do that unless the damage is 80% of the car's value. The damage is only about 60% of the car's value now. They said that they took the length of the rental into account but they couldn't tell me how long it would take to fix. Because they're fuckers. I hate you Allstate.

I need to call a lawyer about my rights but everyone seems to think I don't really have any. This makes me very unhappy. I don't handle stress very well and this coupled with international travel, getting everything settled at work, and dating make me want to curl up and cry somewhere. And OMG, the hormones. Being a woman sucks sometimes.

Santa's...very sad. =(

ZOMG

2008-02-14T08:09:00.002-05:00

Seriously. OMG. Wow. Insert girlish squealing here.

So I wrote a few days ago (two weeks??) about going on a date with the guy from the Superbowl. It's been going swimmingly. We've gone on four dates in two weeks and tonight we're going to the Rusty Scupper in the Inner Harbor. He made reservations. That is a hard place to get into and on Valentine's Day...? I think he's serious. I am excited. I like him a lot.

I don't have anything to wear. =)

Why Am I Surprised?

2008-02-07T17:45:00.000-05:00

Why am I surprised that the Allstate people have been shitty to me? All I want is thousands of dollars of their money.

No More

2008-02-07T16:42:00.001-05:00

I have a date tonight. I am soo tired and cranky. Must relax. Take Advil.

I've known this guy for sometime though. I think I can relax with him. It'll be fun.

Might Tear Out My Hair

2008-02-07T15:50:00.001-05:00

So....

I heard from my insurance's claim adjuster. He was all like, yeah. At least $10,000 worth of damage and they have to cut your car apart to fix it. So you're going to be in a rental for 2-3 months. He actually gave me some sage advice though. He told me to file personally through Allstate and threaten to sue, sue, sue for diminished value of the car until they total it. He also said that since the car had such low mileage and I only had it for two months, I would probably get back invoice price. That would be nice.

Still, I have this niggling feeling that I'm going to get screwed big time. =(

Don't Drink and Drive or I Will Sue You

2008-02-05T11:19:00.001-05:00

I am crushed. I am tired and sad.

Friday night, I lovingly park my new car half a block from my house on Eastern Avenue. It's like 7:00pm and I go inside, make dinner, putz around then go to bed early. I was leaving for NYC at 7:00am on Saturday to see a show and do some shopping with my friends. Fairly normal Friday night.

I get up the next morning and head out the door around 6:30. I need to meet everyone at the bus station in 15 minutes. Walking to the car, walking to the car, stopping dead in my tracks because my car is wrecked. The back end and rear wheel are crushed, the front bumper is sprayed across Eastern Avenue.

Sometime in the night, some drunk driver hit my car so hard that it crunched the three cars in front of it. I have no idea what happened save the police report on my windshield that said "vehicle accident." No, shit Sherlock.

So the Baltimore City cops won't tell me what happened or who hit my car unless I pay them ten dollars for the police report. Fuck you, City of Baltimore.

But to preserve my current car insurance rates, I pony up the cash for the report. The driver who hit my car was 22 years old and arrested for DWI. I hope you had a good time in prison, you scumbag. He does have insurance so that's good for me. Let Geico deal with it.

I haven't heard anything from the adjuster. I don't think they will total a new car (only made one payment!) but the frame might be bent. I don't know. I am very tired. =(

Nerds, Seriously

2008-01-30T10:43:00.000-05:00

At work, we release a quarterly tech bulletin to our office to let them know what kind of patches, problems, fixes, etc to expect. The guy who writes always solicits thoughts and ideas from the support teams. Jokingly, I told him that he should put in subliminal messages saying that requests for support that come with beer and/or cookies will be addressed promptly.

Well, the bulletin came out yesterday and he told me very seriously that all of my suggestions made it into the bulletin. Turns out that in the the border of the page, written in binary, was my request to be bribed with cookies and beer. LOL!

I Got Jacked

2008-01-28T13:58:00.001-05:00

Dude. All my bills cleared at once. Darn you bills. I'm not broke or anything but my checking account had been at an all time high last week for some reason. Sadly, my car payment came in the mail again. Stop bills, stop.

Ah Man

2008-01-22T17:05:00.000-05:00

Heath Ledger died. It's sad and all because he was young but dude. He was going to be the Joker in the new Batman movie. Did they finish filming??

I am heartless.

Ha-Ha Kidding

2008-01-22T14:38:00.001-05:00

I feel much better now. Turns out I was hungry. Oops. Food is good. Kinder bueno is better. =)

Cranky

2008-01-22T09:29:00.000-05:00

I just totally hate my job. I really do. I hear that there are people who have jobs they love but I think that they only exist in fairy tales and must hang out with Bigfoot and Nessy. I want to hang out with them too.

The only thing I like about my job is the money. I like getting paid.

What I don't like about my job:

The repetition
The stupid people
The tenacious technical problems that are never quite solved
IBM
Being treated rudely or completely dismissed as someone who does nothing because I do support
Never accomplishing anything. It's the same problems everyday.

At this point I don't know what I want to do but this whole place is bringing me down. I feel apathetic and cranky way too often. I never do things I want to do because by the time I get home, I'm worn out and at the end of my tether.

I'm wondering though, how much of this is stress from too many things on my plate right now and if I'm being affected by all the crazy hormones. The BC is supposed to level that out but I've only been on it for 1.5 months so maybe it's just not working yet.

What I really need, I think, is a project. Something I can do on my spare time that I actually want to do. If only I had some time to think. =(

Zombie Fighting Weather

2008-01-18T15:21:00.001-05:00

It snowed yesterday so today people are ornery? I'm trying to do the mental math as to why people would think it's OK to be rude to me. It's never OK to be rude to me. You will go to the bottom of my list and you will stay there. Kiss my ass guy.

Whatever. I want to fight zombies now.

D00d

2008-01-17T09:56:00.001-05:00

I need to take a deep breath. Work is pissing me off today. Lots of stupid questions, bugs in the systems, and inadequate hardware. Maybe I will go home on time today.

Must remember that I'm going out for dinner tonight....

Whew!

2008-01-16T15:55:00.000-05:00

What a day. So much work. It's weird; today's not Friday.

I can go home in five minutes but I'm trying desperately to convince myself not to do it. I want to put in another hour today but I'm so sleepy and if I go home, I can avoid people who need my help. I should be in an office based sitcom and be the evil tech support chic who laughs at you and pours coffee in your lap whenever you ask her for things. Gosh, that would be fun.

Yes, I'm trying not to think about my roommate. Indeed, I shan't be bringing up my cheesed-ness with her because there's no point. She doesn't listen to me and will just get defensive. I'll have to channel my inner Zen or something. Hmm.

I started perusing the real estate listings again. I want my own place so badly. There are a lot of good deals in the city right now with descriptions that say things like "Highly motivated seller!! Will pay closing costs!! Any offer considered!!" I think I'm going to do really well.

I've already started planning it out for myself. I might need to get a roommate for a little bit. I'd like to avoid that because what I want most of all is an office. I want to set up my computer in a quite, peaceful place with no distractions so I can get some writing done. Yesterday, I received an e-mail asking for testimonials for the Commit to be Fit program that I participated in last year. I wrote a quick spoof for my fitness buddy that had her rolling. She told me that I should write a book. It's been so long since someone encouraged my writing that all my ambition came flooding right back. My problem is that my inner creative child has ADD. I can't write if there's anything to distract me. That's why I need an office. Heck, I want an entire house.

Freedom!

Trying Desperately Not to Be Mad

2008-01-15T16:14:00.000-05:00

So I haven't seen the roommate in a couple of days. Not unusual. But I haven't seen her at work either. That kind of worries me so I ask around to see if anyone else knows where she might be. I'm kinda sorta worried her boyfriend might have killed her. I'm ashamed to say that gave me a little thrill. I am such a bastard.

Anyway, turns out she's spending the week in Texas somewhere. Didn't let me know. No note or quick e-mail saying she'd be gone. It's not like she crucial to my happiness or whatever but shouldn't I have known? What if something happened to the house? She never answers her phone. I wouldn't be able to get to her. I wouldn't know what to tell the police. Who else knows where she is?

I'm sure whether I should be mad but I'm trying really hard not to be. Am I wrong here?

I Live on Endor

2008-01-14T12:48:00.000-05:00

I am sleepy. At 2:20 this morning, some alley cats were trying to kill each other outside my bedroom window. For some reason, my sleep addled mind thought it was Ewoks going at each other and I'm fairly certain that I shouted at the Ewoks to shut up. Thank goodness my roommate didn't come home to Endor. Lol.

What also didn't help is all the beer. I hate how beer just makes my brain wake up when my body so doesn't want to do anything of the sort. It's been awhile since I've drank that much. Ever since I've sort of broken up with my heavy drinking friends, I've been really good. I'll have one or two but not anymore than that. It was just so exciting to be psychic yesterday. All of my football picks came true. It's like the universe wants me to watch the Patriots-Packers Superbowl this year. Sweet.

I drunk dialed my BIL because I was so excited to be psychic. Sorry for not making sense and making you buy me a T-shirt? I don't know where that really came from except that this area is so anti-Patriots that I can't find a shirt to wear to show my affection for a certain undefeated team. So, yeah. Thanks! Lol. And I do totally wear a woman's small. =P

I should go to Pilates today but am probably not going to because I am very sleepy. I need to put an extra hour in today, which means I can leave at 4:15. I bet I can make it longer if I can find something to do. I really need to build up leave so I can go to: Frankfurt, Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, Milan, Venice, Paris, and Brussels. The less annual leave I use, the better. I want to work comp time so my leave balance will be good at the end of the year. I need leave for various long weekends and potentially my cousin's wedding. I sooo hope I get invited. I'd totally go. Steer roast in Vermont with all my hippy relatives? Hell yeah! I hope there's a keg. Plus, if it's in the summer and the time works out OK, my sister and I can go to Six Flags. Really, there's no downside except for the cost of flying to Albany. Super.

Stupid Lizard

2008-01-11T07:56:00.000-05:00

This morning I got an e-mail from Geico saying they were going to cancel my policy because I didn't make a payment. What The Fuck?

I am very conscientious about paying my bills because I don't do electronic payments. I supposed that'll change once I have Internet at home (2009?) . I do, however, track my bank account online and I promptly investigated. All my checks to Geico had cleared and I sent my payment for January in on Monday. Due date was yesterday so that was plenty of time for it get to the payment center.

So I call Geico and verify that my payment made it on time. It did. Well, WTF again? I transfer to customer service and go into a whole song and dance about it. The girl verifies that the payment came through and that I'm clear.

My question is, what was the first notice supposed to be? Did they send it a day before the payment was due? Sons of bitches. I hate dealing with money things in the morning.

Dream the Impossible Dream

2008-01-08T10:48:00.000-05:00

I have a team to run the relay for the Baltimore marathon this year. Yay! I wanted to do it last year but didn't have anyone to do it with. Now all I have to do is get in shape. It's seven miles at most or six at the shortest leg.

Of course, getting in shape would require me to no longer be sick. Unfortunately, my flu turned into bronchitis with cough-til-you-barf symptoms. I have antibiotics and the doctor prescribed me Robitussin with codeine but my insurance wouldn't cover it. Bastards. I just want to sleep through the night. Is that so wrong?

I Give Up

2008-01-03T08:01:00.000-05:00

I've been sick for three weeks and I feel worse today. I give up. You win, World. I'll call the doctor.

I R A Ninja

2008-01-02T14:54:00.000-05:00

I booked my flight for Germany today! I'm going 2/25-3/10. The airfare was crazy cheap. Too bad Li only has the cold months available; I'm going to have to invest in some long johns. =)

So Guilty

2007-12-31T15:16:00.000-05:00

I said I was going to go over a friend's house for a New Year's Eve party. However, my Dad is spending it alone doing paperwork. Should I blow off friends party, which I'd really like to go to, and spend it with my Dad? I feel really guilty but at the same time, I spent New Year's Eve without family last year.

Argh! So Catholic!!

Bored

2007-12-28T09:49:00.000-05:00

I want to blog but nothing's going on. Went to my mom's for Christmas and came home. Seeing my family was fun despite being sick as a dog but I'm happy to be home. Just trying and failing not to do work today. Fridays are too busy.

Good news is that I waited long enough so I can have beer now. The Tylenol should be out of my system so I can drink. No acute liver failure. Woo-hoo! Granted, I'm still coughing up lots of phlegm and my left throat gland thingy is still all swollen and ouchy but seeing a doctor is for wusses, right?

Maybe it's the cold meds but WTF?

2007-12-20T09:54:00.000-05:00

What does this even mean? It's my horoscope for today.

December 20, 2007
You have positive influences coming at you from all over the Zodiac right now. Positive thinking is the key to using this energy. If there is something in your life that needs changing - change it! If there is something you need to say - say it! Somehow you must be a living "sketch" right now of who you want to be. Living consciously is the best way to realize your dreams. Denial can postpone your life into the next life. Purifying herbs such as Borage, Vervain and Sage are highly recommended.

Dear Internet,

2007-12-20T09:47:00.000-05:00

I died. Please make sure my older sister gets my comics and my little sister gets my clothes. They can duke it Celebrity Death Match style for my cash.

Sincerely,
Me

Death!

2007-12-18T14:01:00.000-05:00

Ugh. I am catching a cold. I woke up four times last night drowning in my own mucus. I was having my Dad over for dinner and was planning on fixing a fancy meal but fuck it. He gets spinach tortellini soup instead. Anything that simply involves me throwing food in a pot until it boils is A-OK with me today. Plus, there's so much spinach. It is my favorite super food.

There a lot of beer too but I've never cooked spinach in beer. Probably not tasty?

A Model of Integrity

2007-12-17T15:14:00.000-05:00

New Paul came over and asked me if the rest of the office won the Lotto, would I accept a share of the profits even if I didn't play?

No freakin' way.

I think I astonished him.

Blah

2007-12-17T14:37:00.000-05:00

Totally bored. Wish I could fight ninjas or something to pass the time. I'm off work at 3:30 and have to be at PT at 4:30. I think I'll go work out for 40 minutes or so. Trying to keep a low profile so no one realizes I was the one who spilled coffee all over the time sheet. =P

Brilliant Idea?

2007-12-17T13:34:00.000-05:00

One of my close friends comes from a family of six kids. Since they've grown up, they've handled Christmas gift giving ingeniously. Instead of buying each and every family member a gift, they do a Christmas raffle where everyone picks a name out of a hat and just buys for that person. I think this concept would work very well in my family.

It's not that I can't afford to give something to everyone each year. I can even though I end up slightly broke in the new year (I laugh at the concept of budgeting). It's not that I don't want to give something to everyone either. Shopping for gifts can be fun but my thought is this:

One sister just bought a house and has educational debt. One sister is an international hobo. My Dad is retiring which reduces the income that both my parents draw on. Next year I'll have car payments and a mortgage. Frankly, we will all be kinda poor in 2008. It'd be the perfect time to focus more on the family portion than the money part. Plus, you'd have to spend more time getting to know the person who you got, which could only bring the family closer together, right?

Wasted the Money

2007-12-17T08:11:00.000-05:00

I went on Saturday to have a Swedish massage at the salon/spa where I get my haircut. I had a coupon and thought I might give it a try. I've never had a massage before except the kind I get at physical therapy. That feels pretty awesome so I thought a full body massage might be that much better.

Wrong.

It's not that I didn't like it. It's more that I didn't find it relaxing at all. Maybe it's because I don't get touched a lot (a sad commentary on my love life) but having someone go to town with elbows and fingers all over my body was more creepy than anything else. When she started rubbing my feet, I almost lost it.

You see, my feet and hands are always cold. Rubbing them must have been like rubbing a corpse. I couldn't stop picturing myself rubbing the feet of some dead guy for a living and almost lost it. Gross, gross, gross.

My neck and shoulders feel better now but I feel sad that I wasted my money like that. I would have been better off doing a spot treatment on my mid-back where it hurts.

*sigh*

Happy Birthday Indeed

2007-12-14T15:23:00.000-05:00

So, I complained and whined about my birthday. I hate it, I feel unloved, etc. I was scheduled to meet at my father's place for dinner that night. I very nearly bailed because I felt shitty after my first physical therapy appointment. My shoulder hurt, my head hurt, I was sleepy. But filial duty gets me every time so I went.

Desperately having to pee, I ran up to the condo, pausing only to give Little Bob a hug and to say hi to my Dad and M. I didn't know why M was there. I had thought that I invited her over to dinner than forgot. It's an entirely plausible scenario as my brain is full of holes and facts at the moment.

As I came out of the bathroom, I went back to the kitchen to see what was going on when more people showed up! There was a surprise birthday party for me! Three of my closest girlfriends came over with gifts and chili and cake to celebrate with me. Awesome! =)

Ravens-Pats Game

2007-12-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

I scored two tickets to the Ravens-Patriots game two weeks ago completely on accident. I had originally wanted to go to that game with my BIL but schedules and the outrageous price of tickets prevented it. When it became clear that the Ravens suck this year, will never make the play-offs, and needed to look up the definition of football, the prices of tickets dropped. I had an opportunity to buy a pair but since I didn't have anyone for sure to come with me, I passed.

That Monday, I was sitting at my desk innocently working when a friend of New Paul came over to visit him. New Paul sits across from me and is a good guy. We chat about the games on Monday morning and he shares my love of the Tominator and the NE Patriots, albeit in a less sexy way. Anyway, New Paul's friend had been given a pair of tickets to the game by some guy he worked with. He couldn't go because he had guests and came to offer the tickets to New Paul. He declines because it's just too cold out. It had been snowing intermittently all day and the forecast called for wind and freezing temperatures.

At this point, I am staring at New Paul and his friend, using my psychic powers to convince them to give me the tickets. When they do, I gracefully accept the promptly place a squealing phone call to my friend Reed. She gets her husband on the phone lickety-split and we are going to the game!

Going home, I prepared for this lucky turn of events by piling on as many layers as are humanly possible to wear. I felt like the kid from "A Christmas Story." It didn't help. The wind was so brutal that by the time Reed and I made it down to where some more of our friends were tailgating, I had given up hope for my toes. Luckily, I was given not only beer and sausages, but mittens, a hood, and another sweatshirt. Still so frickin' cold. I have thin Southern blood now.

It didn't stop us from enjoying the best game I've seen all season. It was so close, so unexpectedly good. I don't think I sat down the entire time. The next day, my voice was completely gone. I had to give a presentation to my office and did so leaning into the microphone. It was totally worth it. I was very proud of the Ravens even though they lost. They came the closest to beating an undefeated team than anyone else in the NFL. Baltimore finally saw their team's potential. Naturally, the Ravens wussed out against the Colts the next week and shamed themselves. Still, I can't wait to see them play like that again!

Take That Blue Cross!

2007-12-14T14:29:00.000-05:00

My family is conflicted when it comes to seeking medical attention. My mother won't do it and curses the existence of all doctors. My father has like eight doctors that he sees regularly. I kinda want to fall into the middle somewhere.

That being said, I did all the check-ups you're supposed to do. Physical, dental, lady parts doctor, etc. I decided it was about time that I did something about the shoulder that I hurt working at Applebee's four years ago. I re-injured it at Thanksgiving either hauling boxes or raking. All I know is that when I went home, it felt like someone plunged a knife in my back and just kept twisting. Sharp, constant pain. Not cool.

My GP referred me to a physical therapist and I went for the first time on Monday. It's awesome. Everyone should have physical therapy. Because I hurt my rhomboid, the muscle that connects my shoulder blade to my back, I get to have a 20 minute deep tissue massage three times a week for the next four weeks. I can't believe my health insurance is paying for this. They won't even pay for me to have my teeth cleaned but they'll pony up the cash for Ermann to dig his thumbs into my shoulder. Heavenly.

He did this thing on Wednesday where I laid on my right side. Bracing his foot against the table, he dug his fingers underneath my shoulder blade and pulled it away from my back. The only thing I can liken it to is pulling the wing off of a roasted chicken. The idea of it is really gross but it feels so good. I can totally forgive Ermann's eye liner abuse and poor bedside manner because after two sessions the knife-like sensation is gone. My shoulder still hurts but I can see the end of the tunnel.

Here's to being pain-free in '08!

The Heather-Mobile

2007-12-14T14:09:00.000-05:00

I might have mentioned car shopping. I am as surprised as anyone else that I actually succeeded and purchased a new automobile. It was always one of those things I thought I'd do later. I have chronic procrastinitis.

Really, it was the MVA who spurred me into action. My vehicle emission test came up again and there was no way I was going to pass it. So I thought to myself, "Self, do you really want to pay $800 to fix the exhaust system when you know that the shocks are shot, the wheel bearing thingies are broken, and you won't have anyone to drive you around when the Subaru goes into the shop for days at a time?" My inner voice was like, "Hell no!" so I started car shopping.

I test drove a bunch of cars: a Toyota Matrix, a Corolla, a Honda Fit, a Civic Coupe, and a Nissan Versa. Test driving is actually a lot of fun. I should have driven some hot rods too. But the Versa stood out among the rest. I did like the Civic but the sales people were very lazy. For the amount of money I was going to be spending, I wanted someone to kiss my ass which the guys at Nissan were very happy to do.

It was easier than I thought it would be. At first, I didn't get a very good deal but when I went with my friend Tim to the dealership across the street, the sales people took notice, sexists bastards. It was pretty funny. Tim is a good negotiator. The sales guy would offer a price and Tim would be like "Why should she pay for floor mats? You can buy them at Wal-Mart for $15." Then the guy would take them off the bill and we'd start all over again.

In the end, I bought it from the first guy I went to after forcing him to match the price of the people across the street. I'd rather not have my car serviced in the ghetto, thank you very much. Someone got shot in the Sunoco by that dealership (caddy-corner from my office!) just the week before. So, I'll go to the place in Ellicott City where it's safe.

Because my sister called the Versa a vanilla bean commuter car (and it is. so what?), I got it in white with a beige interior. It's funny to me. I love my vanilla bean commuter car. I love the way it drives, the way it smells, and especially the way the engine doesn't feel like its going to explode when I'm idling at a light. It's so weird to not worry about my car breaking down. I don't know what to do with myself now except enjoy the six-disc CD player and smooth ride.

So happy.

Shame on Me-The Update

2007-12-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

I am ashamed. Things get a little hectic and I stop posting. Autumn and Nikki have babies and they keep posting. I have bad time management skills I think.

Rather than one big post, I'll try to do a bunch of little catch-up posts because frankly, if the entry becomes too long, I get bored and won't finish it. Sad but true. I have ADD now. =/

Happy Birthday Blah Blah

2007-12-10T14:26:00.001-05:00

It's my birthday. I'm 25 this year, the first year of my middle twenties and I honestly could not give two cents. Excuse me for the crankiness but I hate birthday. Really, really hate birthday. It has nothing to do with getting older. I don't know why. I feel sad and unloved on my birthday. It's a mystery. =/

Anyway, I am less interested in getting older and more interested in Autumn having her baby! Holy moley! How big is he? Was it hard? Where are the pictures? Congratulations! Is he as cute as Nikki's baby because I squeed so hard when I saw the pictures, I hurt myself. =P

TV Lies

2007-12-07T14:47:00.000-05:00

I got the HPV vaccine today, Gardasil, to prevent cervical cancer because being cancer free sounds good to me.

In the commercial for this vaccine the announcer says something like "some people might experience pain at the inject site or itching blah blah." What they meant was "OMG, it's the most painful shot ever. You just paid someone to shoot you full of STDs." My arm hurts like a mother and itches. It's like Mike Tyson went to town on my right arm with boxing gloves covered in bees.

I have to do it two more times to be fully protected. I'm considering just telling every guy I meet to keep away from me with his grody penis. =(

Squee!

2007-12-03T16:18:00.001-05:00

I got two free tickets for the Ravens/Patriots game tonight!!!

Broken in Pieces

2007-11-30T11:17:00.001-05:00

I hate that stressed out feeling when all you want to do is barf. It's so annoying.

I got most everything done yesterday. However, both doctors I saw referred me to other places because I am an old beat up lady. The dentist wants me to have oral surgery on a wisdom tooth and to see a TMJ specialist because I can dislocate my jaw at will. I'll do the wisdom tooth thing but not the jaw thing. That's my cool party trick.

My GP sent me to a physical therapist for my back/shoulder. I apparently have a hurt rhomboid. While its neat to have it finally diagnosed, I'm also a little wary. I hurt it like four years ago working at Applebee's so it might be too late for me to fix it. I scheduled an appointment for the tenth. Birthday physical therapy. I sure know how to show myself a good time.

I'm just feeling really overwhelmed and stressed out right now. I want to hide under my desk and cry. There's too much going on and I can't believe I let myself schedule all of this at once. I suck. Plus, mean friend has sent me a note pouring out her guts, the contents of which are I can't be a friend to you right now. I want to call shenanigans on it;however, I know it will only be the straw that breaks the camels back and I'll melt down scream/cry/punch more things.

I also have a headache. =(

Clones Would be Good

2007-11-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

Let's see, I bought the car yesterday. Today I need to:

Go to the dentist
Go have a physical
Go to my storage unit
Clean out the Subaru
Go to the grocery store
Do work at work
Call CarMax to schedule an appointment for Saturday
Call Geico and add the car
Make time for my head to explode

Sleepy, Sick, Nervous

2007-11-28T10:22:00.000-05:00

Buying the car today. I haggled like a ninja and talked guy #1 down many hundred of dollars. I felt victorious yesterday but sleepy today. I also feel like shit. I am sick. Stress has made me ill.

Hagglin' Heather

2007-11-26T11:21:00.000-05:00

Going to another car dealership at lunch today. I thought the first offer was good then I thought it was bad but now I think it's good again. I need to hear a different offer to tell. This is so confusing! Have pity on me; I was an English major.

'Tis the Season...

2007-11-26T07:58:00.000-05:00

What's the best, most polite way to tell someone to eat shit and die? Say this person keeps hurting you and pissing you off over and over again but you need to remain fairly friendly because there's money involved. You could eat it and not say anything but at some point you get full and stuff is going to spew out. What's the most tactful way of saying you are a selfish bitch and I hope your intestines rot out?

Tight(s)

2007-11-19T11:21:00.000-05:00

I am girlishly excited today. First, because I am wearing tights without needing them to keep me warm. No siree, they are under a skirt and not under jeans. It doesn’t get cold like that in MD, thank heaven. I generally hate pantyhose, will not wear the pantyhose, but tights I’m OK with. I foresee myself being able to wear my skirts deep into the winter months.

So, yes, wearing tights is fun but I’m also excited about my birthday. Normally, I hate birthdays. We never really had birthday parties as kids and for some reason they make me sad and depressed. Plus, they don’t always go well. Last year, my mother threw a hissy fit, called me a heathen and refused to eat with us. Nice. Thanks mom.

This morning, I go over to my friend’s desk to get her for coffee (what would a work day be if I didn’t make a trip to the cafeteria for poisoned java?) and she had in her inbox a message that has a subject line that says Heather’s Birthday. I’m excited now. What are they planning? Is anything being planned or is it a random subject line? My friend closed down her Outlook pretty quickly and pushed me out the door so I’m thinking something fishy is up. Fishy but exciting.

I generally think other people’s birthdays are more fun than my own. For instance, my older sister’s is coming up and I was thinking about what I could do for her. I’m hoping I can at least get a growler of peach beer so we can drink a little when I see her on Wednesday. Peach beer is bad ass but I don’t know if it’s been bottled yet. I hope so.

Soo…yeah!

Oh, and I’m buying a new car but that’s more a pain than fun. Test driving was fun. Negotiating is less fun. =/

If Only I Had Read This Last Week

2007-11-16T15:33:00.001-05:00

Look at the Silly Monkey!

2007-11-14T15:38:00.001-05:00

Why would gay men love boobs? It does not make sense. Look at the silly monkey. *head explodes*

Pretty Pathetic Part Deux

2007-11-08T15:42:00.000-05:00

First game

Score: 91

Second Game

Score: 75

Pretty Pathetic

2007-11-08T09:41:00.001-05:00

I'm bowling for charity today at lunch. We're doing a dime a pin. Those poor, poor orphans. Lol.

Meme's

2007-11-07T15:21:00.000-05:00

Because I'm bored!

How nerdy are you? Put an X next to each item on the list that describes you and then tally them up. Got 15 or more X’s? Welcome to the Nerd Core.

Have you ever:
[X] Solved a Rubix cube?
[X] Coded HTML?
[X] Been to a Renaissance Fair?
[X] Been to a ComicCon?[X] Bought a comic book and charged it to your credit card?
[X] Used webspeak IRL (in real life?)
[X] Edited a Wikipedia?
[ ] Participated in a role-playing game?
[ ] Tried to memorize Pi past 3.14 (three sig figs) in your free time?
[X] Used an ergonomic desk chair or keyboard?
[X] Quoted Monty Python back and forth with a friend?
[ ] Discussed Nintendo’s name change of the Revolution to the Wii?
[X] Participated in a trivia night or trivia contest?
[ ] Won a debate tournament?
[ ] Played chess at lunch in school?
[X] Watched your friends play video games for more than an hour?
[ ] Been to a Harry Potter midnight party?
[X] Recognized yourself in J.D. from the TV show Scrubs?
[X] Seen an episode of Beauty and the Geek and thought the guys were cute?
[X] Programmed extras into your graphing calculator?
[ ] Been to a MENSA meetup? How about Phi Beta Kappa?
[X] Done a happy dance after bowling a strike?
[X] Referred to Lord of the Rings out loud as LotR?
[X] Developed a shelving system for your books?
[X] Hated the people on principle who said high school was the best time of their life?
Total = 17 Geek!

Boy/Girl Meme...Give yourself 1 point for each answer.

Your Boy Side
[ ] You love hoodies
[ ] You love jeans.
[X] Dogs are better than cats.
[ X] It's hilarious when people get hurt.
[X] You've played with/against boys on a team.
[X] Shopping is torture.
[X] Sad movies suck.
[ ] You own an X-Box.
[X] Played with Hot Wheels cars as a kid.
[X] At some point in time you wanted to be a firefighter.
[ ] You own a DS, PS2 or Sega.
[X] You used to be obsessed with Power Rangers.
[X] You watch sports on TV.
[ ] Gory movies are cool.
[X] You go to your dad for advice.
[ ] You own like a trillion baseball caps.
[X] You like going to football games.
[ ] You used to/do collect baseball cards.
[ ] Baggy pants are cool to wear.
[X] It's kinda weird to have sleepovers with a bunch of people.
[X] Green, black, red, blue, or silver are one of your favorite colors.
[X] You love to go crazy and not care what people think.
[X] Sports are fun.
[ ] Talk with food in your mouth.
[ ] Wear boxers.

Total = 15

Your Girl Side

[X] You wear lip gloss.
[ ] You love to shop.
[X] You wear eyeliner.
[X] You have some of the same shirts in different colors.
[X] You wear the color pink.
[ ] Go to your mom for advice.
[ ] You consider cheerleading a sport.
[ ] You hate wearing the color black.
[ ] You like hanging out at the mall.
[ ] You like getting manicures and/or pedicures.
[X] You like wearing jewelry.
[X] Skirts are a big part of your wardrobe.
[ ] Shopping is one of your favorite hobbies.
[ ] You don't like the movie Star Wars.
[ ] You are/were in cheerleading, gymnastics or dance.
[X] It takes you around 1 hour to shower, get dressed, and put on make-up and accessories.
[ ] You smile a lot more than you should.
[X] You have more than 10 pairs of shoes.
[X] You care about what you look like.
[X] You like wearing dresses when you can.
[X] You like wearing body spray/perfume/cologne.
[X] You wear girl underwear.
[X] Used to play with dolls as little kid.
[ ] Like putting make-up on someone else for the joy of it.
[ ] Like taking pictures of yourself with your cell phone/camera when you're bored.

Total = 13

It's a Counundrum

2007-11-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

I'm perusing the Safeway ads online this morning, trying to make up a grocery list. There's a store by my house but since I want to pick up bottled water and a few cases of Diet Coke, I don't want to walk. I thought instead I might go to the Safeway by the office, ghetto though it is.

So I'm looking through the ads for both stores and the one in the city has things like pie and cookies and soda on sale. There are no veggies on sale at all. I look in the ghetto Safeway's ad and I see that all of the organic vegetable stuff is on sale as well as a lot of fruit.

Now here's where I'm confused. Why would the ghetto have better prices on the healthy stuff than the city store that's located in yuppieville? Just doesn't seem right.

Yes. Random. Sorry.

Darn you DST

2007-11-05T08:54:00.000-05:00

DST is playing havoc on my system. 4:30 this morning, my eyes snapped open and that was it. I was up. It felt like 5:30 and I couldn't convince my body that more sleep was necessary. Especially, you know, with all the drinking I did last night. I got all excited watching the Colts-Patriot game and chugged one too many beers. The celebratory vodka shot at the end didn't help either.

So now, I'm sleepy and hung-over. I feel a little guilty too. Some peeps came down to watch the game with me but I was still cheesed about the Saturday night Third-Wheel thing and was rude/disinterested. I paid the tab though. I apologized too.

My NaNoWriMo novel is going pretty well. I've fallen into a pretty decent groove. Four pages at night and then editing/fleshing stuff out during my lunch break. That keeps me a little ahead of schedule but has a demoralizing side as well. My writing sucks. It's been a while since I really took up the pen, so to speak, with any seriousness and it shows. Same with my running. I hurt myself, took off two weeks, and now it's brutal to even put in the miles that were once so easy.

Lesson of the day: Don't ever let your skills get rusty.

Vaguely Annoyed

2007-11-02T10:20:00.000-04:00

Last night I get a text from the new guy I'm kinda seeing. Maybe I should call him Murse, since my BIL is telling everyone that's what he is and he is in the medical field. Plus, it's funny.

Anyway, I called Murse on Sunday to see if he wanted to go watch the Patriots game together somewhere. He said he would text me and let me know when it got closer to game time. I agreed and then never heard from him. Annoying.

Flash forward to last night. I get another text from him asking me what was up and if we were ever going to chill together again. I told him sure, and what did he have in mind? I fell asleep before getting his response but it was on my phone this morning. He said he was thinking about the beer garden girl dress (my Halloween costume).

I had a little flash of irritation. I barely know this guy. He's not seeing me in that little outfit. I feel like he was arranging a booty call which would turn into a booty kicking if I'm right. I'm not meat; I'm a person. Boys. So not in the mood right now. Blah.

A Donut Selling Machine

2007-11-02T10:12:00.000-04:00

Today I got up when the alarm went off for a change so I could get to work early. Why? Because it's CFC season and we're doing a donut sale. I had to pop over to Dunkin Donuts on the way in to buy two dozens breakfast delights to sell for my divisions charity event. Now I'm both sleepy and queasy because I got up early and because of the Boston Creme donut. So delicious but so bad for me. It's pudding and chocolate deep fried to please me. *sigh*

I'm also an excellent saleswoman and sold three before I even got to my desk. I then pimped the donuts for about an hour, selling their sweet, sweet bodies for money. Those pastry whores. =P

So now I'm tired, crashing off my sugar buzz, and fat. Still, I'm pretty happy. I got 2,056 words written yesterday in my quest to win NaNoWriMo this year. Of course, it's utter crap but editing it in the New Year is the fun part. Mmm...editing.

Less Blah, More Coffee

2007-10-25T09:53:00.000-04:00

I was cranky this morning because my milk was chunky so I had to toss my coffee. I stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way in and picked up some precious java for me and my crew (that's how we roll!) , drinking it before my performance review. Result: I didn't threaten to quit, stayed awake through the whole thing, and didn't misspell my name on the 800 forms I had to sign. I got top marks and my boss said she has a plan for the office that I'm a key player in. Yay.

I'm ready to go home now though. Said ~~selfish jackass~~ person from the meme didn't talk to me last night so I'm fuming and hurt. Tonight I have a real friend coming over, one who cares about my thoughts and feeling, to partake of my crab soup experiment. I bought Spider-Man mac n' cheese for her kids to eat. I can't understand what the pasta is shaped as but I'm assured that the boys know what they're eating and get a kick out of it. After dinner, I'm going to plop them down to watch Superfriends while us grown-ups shoot the shit. Good times. =)

Blah

2007-10-25T07:30:00.001-04:00

I have my performance review at 8:00. My boss is going to ask me, "where do you see yourself in five years? Tech? Management?" I'm going to tell her "I have a hard time picturing myself still working here in five years. Once my Dad is gone, I'll be free to do whatever I like."

Beach bum, here I come. =P

Ten Things Meme

2007-10-24T15:07:00.000-04:00

I stole this meme from someone's blog that was a friend of someone else...something something. Lol. Anyway, the meme is to name ten things you are happy about. Here it goes.

It's fall! I can wear all of my closed toe shoes, eat pumpkin pie, watch the leaves change color, and drink hot apple cider. Yum yum yum.
I get to go straight home today. Granted, people will be over but it's M's little cousins and they're cute.
It's almost November. NaNoWriMo will start soon and the feeling of my brain exploding will cease. I'm trying to keep all the creative juices in, you see.
Another friend of mine is comng over for dinner tomorrow and bringing her two little boys. They are so cute and think Miss Heather is the shit because she knows all their superheroes and has lots of Justice League cartoons. Lol.
ActiveX content is getting through the firewall today so I've been watching web cartoons.
I had a hot dog for lunch. Mmm...fake meat bi-products. =)
It's raining. Finally! I'm going to snuggle up with my giant fluffy socks and read the latest issue of CBG.
Green Arrow survived. Sorry for the spoiler but the covers are out for December so it can't be that big of a surprise.
All of my underwear is clean.
I'm going to voice my concerns to someone tonight and have been given excellent advice on how to do it effectively. Turns out telling someone they're being a selfish jackass is not the best way to get a point across. Ah. Now I learn. =P

What Makes a Friend?

2007-10-24T12:10:00.001-04:00

I've been giving this a lot of thought the past few weeks. What do you expect from a friend? What makes a friend a friend rather than an acquaintance or just some guy you know?

No one is born a good friend. In our youth, we are selfish out of necessity. A baby doesn't care that his mother is tired; if he's hungry he'll cry. A toddler doesn't automatically know how to share his toys with someone else; he has to be taught to do that. Animals are selfish like that as well because that's what enables them to survive. Humans, however, form societies where it's more beneficial to themselves and everyone else to share and take care of one another.

Mutual benefit is not enough to cause friendship. Free will is essential. Since active caring requires that you sacrifice something to make another person happy, friendship is not necessarily instinctive. It's something you have to want to do. For instance, I may like to blast my music at full volume but if it irritates my friend I'll turn it down so that they are happy.

My definition of friendship is this. A friend is someone who is loyal, honest, sympathetic and empathetic, and honestly wants the best for you. All of these traits must be learned and honed through practice. You can choose to tell your friend the truth even if its uncomfortable or painful to you. You can try to put yourself in a friend's shoes and understand what they are feeling. Ultimately, I believe that everyone has the capacity to become a good friend with practice.

For most of my teenage years, I wasn't a good friend. At the time I was caught up in my own angst and teenage chaos to stop and think about how my friends were feeling and how my actions or inactions would affect them. I just wasn't emotionally ready to be a good friend then. Sorry guys. =)

Now I'm a grown-up (or whatever) and I can't think of a better thing to be than a good friend. Being an astronaut or a ninja or a neuro-surgeon would be bad ass but I think that at the end of the day, I'd be happier knowing I was there for my friends and was someone they could count on. I'm not a perfect friend; perfect is impossible. But I think I'm a good one and my friends tell me the same. When I'm an old lady, sitting on a stool at my local bar, that will be the one accomplishment that I will be the most proud of.

Thus concludes the sappy post of the week. =)

Sleepy but Excited

2007-10-19T14:52:00.000-04:00

I regret to the bottom of my toes having had that five alarm chili dog for dinner last night. Any dinner that wakes me up at 1 a.m. to run to the bathroom is not a dinner for me. Ow. I would have never indulged if my Dad hadn't been cooking. I texted with the guy I'm going out with tonight to tell him about my dinner and he was like "I had rice and brussels sprouts for dinner." I felt like a major pig until he added, a little guilty, "and about a dozen cookies." Lol. That's what I want to hear.

I've been getting too hyped about this new guy, I know but I can't help myself. This is the first guy I've dated where there is no "but" involved. Usually, it's "he's nice BUT he's stingy" or "he's nice BUT it looks like a homeless person has been living in his car." This guy is but-free which excites and scares me at the same time. I need to chill.

Vanity

2007-10-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

I went for the haircut on Tuesday at that salon. The girl was great! She took off about two inches and layered the crap out of it because my hair is both curly and fine. My only beef is with myself. I pretty much did the same cut I've always done but much, much nicer. That's not change. I'm going to have to research better something different. When I go back in a few weeks, I'm going to dye it and maybe cut some long bangs in. Different!

On an unrelated note, I have just been completely wiped out this past week. Utterly exhausted all day every day. I think it's from the three weeks of insomnia prior to this. My body is like "WTF woman? Sleep!". I need a day of lazy where I don't do anything but lay around. Maybe Saturday? Except....

Things are working out with this guy I met. I cancelled all my online dating subscriptions and literally the next day I meet a great guy. I believe we are going to go see 30 Days of Night tomorrow and have dinner. I think he works Saturdays so maybe my sleeping day will work out after all. Hmm...

I Hate Fridays

2007-10-12T10:16:00.000-04:00

Why is it always so busy on Fridays? Everyone needs something on Fridays. It's irritating. Anyone else have this problem?

And yes--I am actually working right now. I'm downloading the newest fix packs for my software as I write. Heather= ninja.

Must...Fight...It...

2007-10-11T11:07:00.001-04:00

I'm listening to a Journey compilation CD right now. Urge to karaoke...so...strong... Lol.

A Shoddy Sort of Roommate

2007-10-11T10:31:00.000-04:00

Life is funny. This is the e-mail I sent around this morning:

*****

Last night I was washing the dishes and I knocked over one of M's coffee cups and broke the handle off of it. I panicked a little (flashback to being screamed at for breaking anything growing up) and tried to glue it back together. The only glue I had was super-glue from when I was going to try and fix my Aquaman statue. However, it was really old and I couldn't make it come out. I pushed really hard (dumb) and glue went everywhere! All over my fingers and the counter top. I tried to wipe it up with a paper towel and fixed the cup. However, the glue left a white residue on the counter and I don't know how to get it off. M wasn't home last night and she hasn't seen anything. I'm going to tell her when I see her this morning but I think she'll be pissed. I'm already looking for a replacement cup but I don't know what I should do about the counter. After you stop laughing, could you give me some advice??

******

Turns out she wasn't pissed. Whew. She laughed (everyone but me laughed in fact) which makes me feel better except that she hasn't seen the damage yet. Still, it's cool that she was cool. I am lame.

Huh

2007-10-10T15:47:00.000-04:00

Everyone is telling me that they like the big hair today. Oookay.

Not a Southern Girl Redux

2007-10-10T10:41:00.000-04:00

I just wrote a post entitled "Not a Southern Girl" and then realized I was wrong. See, it's been a long while since I had a haircut. It's long and shaggy right now and my appointment with that stylist isn't until the 16th. So this morning I took the only route a shaggy haired, Highlandtown Hon could take, which was to do my hair up big, Big, BIG! and curly. Lol. I have big Southern hair today. At least I don't have an inch of black roots showing. =P

I guess I have to tone it down a little this weekend since I'm going home to pick up the puppies from the kennel. It's going to be cold finally. It rained like hell here last night but it's still 80 degrees. The Weather Channel tells me that there's a high of 60 or so this weekend for NY. I can wear socks for the first time in months. Oh! I need to look for a jacket. Note to self: pack a jacket. I'm excited to go home and experience a season.

And see my sis. I made MD crab soup and it has legs and claws floating in it from the crabs I had earlier this week. I want to serve her soup that has the legs and arms of a little sea critter floating in it. Lol. It's good though. I'm having it for dinner tonight.

Not a Southern Girl

2007-10-10T09:03:00.000-04:00

I went to Raleigh this past weekend with M and it was...nice. Actually, it falls into the "not a city I want to live in" category much like Fort Lauderdale did.

Raleigh had a lot of positives about it. It's scrupulously clean. It's almost hobo free. The roads are well paved and there is A LOT of free public parking. Hot dog stands are everywhere. It had a lot of lovely old architecture and history to it. On the surface, there was nothing wrong with it. However, underneath....

I felt like I was in a zombie survival movie almost the whole time. We arrived in the city around 6 p.m. and the first thing I noticed was the lack of traffic. There weren't very many cars zooming around considering that it was rush hour in the downtown. I know when I drive home at that time, I'm playing bumper tag with a million other vehicles through downtown B'more. I was willing to chalk it up to Raleigh being a smaller city than my home base. So we checked in, freshened up, and went to hit the town. This is where it got disturbing.

We were walking down one of the main bar roads--there was a three block string of bars but not one single person. There was no one out on the street. Please don't think I'm exaggerating. The whole trip we saw maybe a dozen people walking around and most of them were the bums on the soup line.

The city was empty. Eerily empty like a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Granted, it was a really clean one but the feeling persisted. Even the bars and restaurants we went into were sparsely populated. Where was everyone? This is a college town with UNC right there. I know its the Bible Belt but on a Saturday night, I except the clubs to be jumping. They were barely hopping. Very strange.

Maybe all the churches put a damper on peoples natural urge to do wrong. There certainly were enough of them around. You couldn't spit without hitting one. The only time we actually saw people was when we were leaving on Sunday morning. Church folk everywhere.

I'm glad I went but this certainly killed my idle fancy of picking up and moving to the satellite office that's in NC. For the best, I suppose.

Makes Me Fear the Future

2007-10-01T09:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I had to listen to a whole spiel from my mother about what horrible things two of her three daughters were doing with their lives. Only my older sister was spared (it's the Apocalypse). I was irresponsible with my money because I was toying with the idea of getting my hair dyed at the salon. My little sister has a boyfriend (go her) and OMG! What is she doing with a boy in Germany?! Blah blah blah.

All I could think during this conversation was that I was going to dye my hair purple and that I hope that my sis was having freaky sex just to spite my mother. If you are, Li, just wrap it up. And don't tell Mimis because I do not want to hear about it. =P

I Heart the 90's

2007-09-28T14:43:00.000-04:00

ZOMG!! So full of caffeine today!! Blarg!! It kind of makes up for not sleeping well this week.

But really, my inner nerd is super excited (possibly overly so) by my ability to go home and play Crystal Caves. Actually, I found a bunch of the old DOS games I used to play on this site. If my body refuses to let me sleep, then I'm going to spend all night playing such classics as Duke2, Duke3, Wolf 3D, and Heretic. Take that biology.

Excuse me as I go to the bathroom now to throw up the three cups of coffee and Pepsi Max.

Sincerely,

Me

The Oatmeal Kid

2007-09-24T13:40:00.000-04:00

I am full on exhausted today. It’s like moving through oatmeal—mentally and physically. Hmm. Maybe it’s not me but the universe. The universe is filled with tasty oatmeal goodness. That would be awesome.

Saturday was the last bit of moving I plan to do until January when my dad leaves for good. I had decided to take the furniture Little Bob offered me and made all the arrangements. I rented a storage unit, made a reservation for a U-Haul, and created a schedule of where we would go and when. My Dad was floored. I must come off as unorganized or something because everyone was deeply impressed by my ability to handle things. I can use Excel as well as anybody! =P

At 8:00 a.m., I picked up the U-Haul and grabbed the two end tables from the condo that Dad said I could have. Then we went to Little Bob’s apartment and put all the stuff he wanted to move for himself into the back followed by my newly acquired free furniture, finished off by stuff that was going to the dump. All right. Dump run. Super fun.

Anyway, we went to the dump, to the storage unit and then back to my Dad’s condo where we moved Little Bob in. We were done by noon. Cranky, sweaty but done. My Dad had a minor meltdown because he’s having an Open House next Sunday for his place and so I left before his tantrum ignited my own.

There was some napping Saturday afternoon before I went to dinner with my roommate's parents who were here for a visit. I slept like a rock Saturday and didn’t wake up until 10:30 on Sunday. The bruises are spectacular.

I think today my roommate is avoiding me. There was some sort of whirlwind fight she had with her boyfriend at the bar yesterday…or something. All I know is that I went to the bathroom and came back to find no one there. WTF? I know she was home in her room so I let her be and read my book. This morning though, she didn’t come out of her room until I after left despite the fact that I knocked over the garbage can and slammed the backdoor as I ran out to give the trash collectors our bag before they left. She’s not responding to any e-mails today either. I’m too egocentric and probably none of this has anything to do with me so I’ll leave it alone for a little longer before going over there and making sure everything’s OK. I’m a peacemaker after all. Shame no one ever asks me if I’m OK or anything. You know. Whatever. Blah.

Update

2007-09-21T15:46:00.001-04:00

It's been forever since I posted. I suck.

But since yesterday was my company picnic and I am too tired for real posting, let me give youse guys the lowdown via bullet points.

Living in the city is still fun and awesome. I don't even mind playing the "where's my car" game. Last night I parked in the nearest available spot and it took me ten minutes to walk home. Lol. Leaving for work this morning required me to budget for those extra minutes.
I won second place in the annual charity 5K around the complex on Wednesday. Make fun if you will about the number of participants. I think there were three in my age group. Still, I won a medal and shaved five whole minutes off my time from last year. I find that more satisfying than winning.
Had a fight with M and made up. It was entirely roommate non-related so I can say pretty positively that we aren't having much trouble adjusting to each other.
Football season started. Yay Ravens! I want an Ed Reed jersey. I'm standing behind the Pats though. They are just the first team to be caught cheating.
Super tired today. I had the drunk sweats all night. Somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, I decided I should wash all my bedding. When I woke up for real, I was sleeping on the bare mattress with all my pillows on the floor. Lol. Sheets were in the dryer so I'm happy to have gotten that far.
I caught a touchdown playing football at the picnic yesterday and talked a lot of smack. Also, I probably had 15 Jell-O shooters. The two are not related.

Da Move

2007-09-07T13:51:00.000-04:00

The move went unexpectedly well. I only cried a little and there were no major injuries. Can you ask for better?

I was able to move a large chunk of stuff on Friday afternoon. I took the afternoon off, and with the help of a friend, hauled many boxes and about half the furniture. Friday was also the day the new bed came and OMG. Sweet, sweet bed. Bed Nirvana every night except the one where I was too hung-over to sleep.

Funny thing about my new bed is that it’s super high. It’s a pillow top so it’s naturally pretty high. Couple that with the boxspring and a double set of bed risers and I have to take a flying leap to get into it every night. Seriously. If I ever were to fall out, a trip to the hospital would follow.

I needed it to be high because I fit everything in creation underneath that bad boy. All my comic boxes, my files, doodads and knickknacks, and a couple pair of shoes. Wow. It’s like a vortex of storage.

I’m actually completely unpacked now. Everything is in its place because I am anal. It makes me feel better to have everything in order. I am still working on getting into a routine which I find a little hard. Every night I have to park somewhere else because it’s street parking so in the morning I have to remember where my car is. Last night, I parked three blocks from the house and spent the whole night muttering “Foster and Kenwood. Foster and Kenwood.” This morning I was like, “where’s my car?” I was remembering my parking spot from two nights ago which was right in front of the house. Lol. I need a white board or something to keep track of the car’s location.

It’s a little early to know for sure but...I LOVE city life. People are everywhere, there’s always something to do, and I can walk to anywhere. I walk to the grocery, the bar, my car, the shops, anything you can imagine. And it’s so much easier to get exercise in this way because I’m always walking and I now have blocks I can run around.

In fact, tonight I have a date in the city that I can walk to pretty easily. Super sweet.

Why So Hit or Miss?

2007-09-06T08:53:00.000-04:00

I don't know why this is so hit or miss funny with the people I send it to. When I first saw it, I almost peed myself, I laughed so hard. I still find it hysterically funny. You're pooing on a bomb!! Classic. Thanks, Jenn. =)

But really, I am going to write about the move although it would be a better story if my camera worked. The bruises...fierce.

Just wanted to share a laugh with the world today.

It Makes Me Throw Up

2007-08-28T16:01:00.000-04:00

Moving day is coming, looming on the horizon like a dark cloud. I'm excited but mostly stressed, worried, anxious, etc. I started channeling my inner worry wart about two days ago and now I can't stop. Bummer.

The positives are thus:

I'm moving on a long weekend. I have three uninterrupted days to do it.
There's no particular hurry. It's not like my Dad will throw out my stuff.
Living in the city! Woo!
Potentially more privacy as M probably won't bust in on me and start talking when I want to be alone.
I'll be all settled by the time my Dad goes and don't have to move in the winter.
I can start hauling stuff on Friday. Hooray!

The negatives are thus:

I have to buy a bed and have no idea how it's done. How much should it cost? What should I ask for? Can I get them to deliver it Friday/Saturday? How much is delivery?
No personal parking space. I'm becoming a decent parallel parker but now I'll have to fight for spots.
I don't really have three days to move. I have about four hours on Saturday. See, Saturday afternoon I'm going to a party. Sunday, I have another party. Monday is the opening of the Thirsty Dog in Columbia and a party. I know you are all thinking "But Heather, why don't you not go to one of those parties and just move?" Well, I told people I was coming and by golly, it's my weekend too! I don't want to spend it hauling stuff. Really, 95% of my stress is because I established unreasonable demands on myself but what can I do? My brain won't cooperate.

Inner Nerd Intrigued

2007-08-24T09:38:00.001-04:00

Now, I know most of my reads (all of my readers) are not in my geographic area but this is just too awesome not ~~gloat~~ share.

The Book Thing of Baltimore is basically a freecycle bookstore. You can drop off your old books then peruse through the store and take free books away with you. For free. No paying. Did I mention free? And here I've been paying for my literature like a chump.

My next free weekend, many months from now, will involve me going up there. It's only 4 miles from my future house. All I have to do is drive through the ghetto. No problem. =)

OMG Pain

2007-08-23T17:46:00.000-04:00

My head hurts so fucking bad right now. Caffeine didn't help. I'm going out to dinner in about 15 minutes. There's going to be about 45 minutes of drinking/socializing before we even order. I don't want a drink; I want a nap and food. Did I even eat today? Breakfast and then a cookie at my long meeting. Maybe I need food. Why can't I just leap like Sam did an hour into the future where my less cranky self is enjoying her slightly too salty eggplant parmigiana?

Self-Esteem and Storage

2007-08-23T16:22:00.000-04:00

It's funny but the stress suddenly hit me all at once today. Not ha-ha funny but more like "I'm going to barf" funny. You know, the kind that makes other people laugh.

The good news, which actually kick started the stress, is that Bob is going to be home Labor Day weekend. He said he would give me a dresser but 1)I haven't seen it yet and 2) I had no idea how I was going to get it to Canton. Winged monkeys? My friend J, the guy with the truck who's moving the rest of my furniture, made sounds about not wanting to make two trips. As far as I knew, I was SOL regarding the dresser. Now that Bob is going to be home, we can swing by and pick it up on Saturday morning when we do the rest of the move. Hooray!

The stress part of this is that Bob offered me his furniture. Now, I'm not moving into my own house so I don't have anywhere to put it. His stuff is pretty nice and I am getting my own place in about a year so passing up on the offer really doesn't make much sense. If I take his stuff, I'm saving money by not having to buy furniture in the future. However, I'll have to pay for a storage unit until I get my own place so I'm losing money there. I need to make it somehow work that what I take is worth more than the cost of storage. And I have to do it relatively soon since he's moving out by the end of September. Gah!

Also, I got a rather irritating e-mail from the date dude yesterday. It went basically along the lines of "I had a really good time. If I had my way, I'd speak to you again but you don't always get what you want blah blah." He has some crazy self-esteem issues apparently. I got that gist when e-mailing with him but I didn't realize it was so bad.

This grates on me for purely selfish reasons. I myself had pretty bad self-esteem issues in high school. I got picked on a lot by bullies and then by my friends so I was hatin' myself pretty bad for some time. And don't get me started on my mother! I can't cry in front of people to this day, just tear up and wave my hands real fast as I beg them not to look at me. When I went away to college, I decided I had enough of that bullshit. I basically told myself I was great and awesome until I believed it. So when I listen to the self-deprecation and general poor self-esteem from people, it's like a flashback to when I felt miserable. I don't care for it, not one bit. Plus, it sends the message that he doesn't think he's worth dating. If he doesn't believe it, why should I?

Am I a bad person?

Bullet Points Are Fun

2007-08-22T15:25:00.000-04:00

No gym for me today. I'm finally, finally going to spend an evening in my house doing all the domestic things I should do. Lame of me but I am excited. Laundry! And vacuuming! I might swoon. =P

So in the great tradition of making lists that I'll never actually use to accomplish things, here is what I want to do today.

Do laundry. I had to do an emergency load late last night so I had underwear to wear to work today. Not cool.
Skim the turkey stock and make bean soup out of it.
Vacuum.
Finish going thorugh all my clothes and bag it up for one last Goodwill run.
Clean out the trunk of my car.
Do the dishes.
Pack the one crate I have. I think it's empty. Maybe?
Make veggie fajitas for dinner since I'm out of chicken. I hope I'm not out of vegetables. Hmm...
Watch Ghost Hunters and fall asleep half way through.

I'm a simple gal with simple habits. =)

The Date

2007-08-22T14:37:00.001-04:00

So after I spaz out on my blog and leave Autumn some barely legible comments on hers, I head out to the Thirsty Dog where I was going to meet him. I leave 45 minutes early because I couldn’t sit still another minute. That gave me time to find parking and get money from the ATM before this whole shindig went down.

I underestimate traffic or perhaps my lead foot got away from me because I hit the city in 20 minutes. Getting money from the ATM, I’m sitting at the bar with 15 minutes to spare. That’s when the uncertainty hits. Have a beer before he comes to calm me down or don’t? Look like some kind of alcoholic or run my mouth a mile a minute? This never would have been a problem if I had remembered my gym shoes yesterday.

Anyway, I do have that beer and he shows up right on time. I don’t know if this is mean or not—it possibly is—but seeing him, I knew right off that this is a guy that hasn’t had a woman in his life in a while. I don’t know if it what the white athletic socks hiked up to his knees coupled with the ratty gym shoes or the khaki pleated short shorts but he kind of screamed “I need a woman to take care of me.” This isn’t a deterrent to me because I’m a big time Type B nurturer; I like taking care of people. Plus, clothing is just wrapping. It doesn’t mean a lot. It was just pretty funny to me since I spent an hour getting ready and thinking about my outfit yesterday. I guess I can relax with him!

Desire to dress him aside, I had a very good time. There were no awkward pauses in the conversation or stuttery moments. We ended up splitting a pizza and parted ways around 8:45. There was no good night kiss but if we get together again, I’m going for it. No more whispery bullshit about chemistry. Is there any? Isn’t there? Homey don’t play those games no more.

Gah!

2007-08-21T17:10:00.000-04:00

I forgot my sneakers. Dammit! I can't go to the gym today. This is not good. How else will I burn off the incredible amount of nervous energy I have right now? I am pre-date with a dude I already like very much. Fuck. Maybe I should go poop, freshen up my make-up then head downtown and start drinking early. But...that's one of my bad habits. Pre-drinking is one of those things I'm going to make a New Year's Resolution about in a few months. However, it relaxes me and shouldn't this guy know my habits straight out? But first impressions...shit shit fuck.

Gotta Pack

2007-08-21T15:02:00.001-04:00

I’m pretty lazy. I’ve barely started packing. Autumn has shamed me into action. If she can start packing and change her address all within a few days of knowing she was moving then I can throw a few books in a crate. Or something. The first step would be getting said crates from M so I can pack. I’m doing this whole moving thing ass-backwards. I’ve picked a date and have peoples lined up to help me. Eight o’clock next Saturday morning I’ve got three friends arriving with their biggest cars to help haul my stuff away. Might be good if I were to put my things in boxes and bags to facilitate their hard work. Maybe.

What is more interesting to me is the date I’m going on tonight. Dude. I am nervous. And sleepy but that’s more the rain and office speaking than the date. Fingers crossed. =)

Cut Me Some Slack

2007-08-15T13:35:00.001-04:00

I just want to punch a shark. Or drink 14 shots of espresso in four hours. Whichever is less (more?) stupid.

Cracktackular is Vernacular Now

2007-08-15T10:18:00.000-04:00

My sister said I’m cracktackular. Two other people echoed the sentiment mostly likely because I am jazzed up today!! Exclamation points!! Woo!

I’m hyped for two reasons.

1. Moving is soon! I can’t wait to live in the city. I can run to the Barnes and Nobles for coffee on the weekends or walk to the bars. I will perfect my parallel parking skills. I have an orange bedspread. I’ve mapped out 3 mile, 4 mile, and 5 mile running routes so I can get in better shape. I’ve purged a lot of useless belongings like old software, too big clothing, and have organized my files into some sort of system where I can actually find stuff. Best of all, every single one of my comic boxes will fit under the bed with room to spare. *mind is blown* I don’t think it ever occurred to me to store them under the bed. It’s like a place to sleep with endless storage possibilities. I bow to your superior talents, bed.

2. There’s a guy. Dude. Seriously. OK, OK. I gotta stop getting excited. I was excited last time and that guy told me “he wasn’t feeling it.” This new potential is a math/science teacher at a local private high school. We sent a bunch of e-mails and talked on the phone last night for an hour. I hope there’s something there this time. Fingers crossed. I’m making a date to meet probably next week. *spazz*

That’s it, really. Oh, I’m coming to like Dr. Who very much. I like catching episodes on the Sci-fi channel. I’m way behind on the episodes but that’s what Blockbuster is for, right? With Gilmore Girls off the air, no more Star Trek, and the schedule for Scrubs hopelessly confusing, I need a new show to watch. I think this it’ll be it. Thank goodness I talked M into cable. =)

Sometimes The Good Days Just Come

2007-08-10T14:26:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to hold on to the good mood that characterized my morning. It's hard though as people suddenly decided that they need things! Right now! Why not now, Heather!? Someone asked you for something before me?! But I need it right now!

LOL. That is just way too much energy to be outputting on a Friday afternoon. Chill, peoples, chill. I'll get to you. It'll probably be Monday-Tuesday before it's done but that's what you get for waiting until the last minute. I can only work as fast as my machine can and with the government firewalls and virus scanners taking down my hard drive every other day, it's just not that fast anymore. Sorry.

I am pretty chipper today because I got up early. By 6:30 a.m. I did a load of dishes, folded and put away some laundry, made breakfast and lunch, straightened up the living room, and gave my hair a hot oil treatment. I love when my morning comes together like that. I'll probably crash hard when I get home (whenever that will be) but at least it'll be in a clean house!

Satisfying.

And Then I Go Kayaking...

2007-08-08T13:35:00.001-04:00

About two weeks prior to my weekend in Boston, I had signed up with my friend M to go kayaking at Gunpowder Falls near White Marsh. At the time I didn’t suspect I would still be dealing with the effects of a full body hang-over but hey. I paid $30 for the experience and I planned on going even if I felt like I had been beaten head to toe.

Poor M drove and I felt bad because I was cranky as shit the whole ride up to the camp grounds. She would try to make conversation with me but I was monosyllabic at best. Even the trip to the biggest liquor store ever only briefly lifted my spirits. They had cases of Natty Boh in bottles! Bottles! Road trip with my car is required.

Anyway, I am revived a little by my own screaming when I see a brown garter snake slithering past us. Yes, I am a girl. Snakes freak me out.

Blood pumping, I sign in. More waiting is required as the rest of the women going on this expedition trickle in. I wiggle into a life vest that is deucedly hard to zip over my boobs. Later, it’ll come undone entirely and I freak out about falling off the darned boat and sliding out of my life vest, drowning like the non-buoyant fool I am.

Once everyone is assembled, we get a quick lesson on how this kayaking thing actually works. Forward stroke makes you go forward. Back stroke goes back. Turning is just a stroke on whatever side you want to turn. Seems easy and very much like canoeing which I do have experience doing.

So we venture out on to the water and I immediately don’t care for it. There are waves, it’s choppy and have I mentioned how much I can’t swim anymore? I used to be able to do it. They made us take lessons in grade school but I was remedial at best then and disuse has made me useless in the water now. Why I sign up for water activities, I don’t know.

But I paddle along until we get to a little river inlet that’s nice and calm. I begin to relax and enjoy it at this point. I see a Great Blue Heron and a little turtle. It’s very shallow and I barely have to paddle to move along. This part is great. I could do this all day. However, it gets really narrow and we all have to turn around and head back to shore.

Turning around was interesting. I crashed into three people, M included. I’m surprised she didn’t tip me over as I fully acknowledge what a pain in the ass I can be when I’m tired.

The water was scary choppy on the way back and I feel like I expended way too much energy for the speed I attained. It felt like I was pulling as hard as I could just to stay in one spot.

I did finally make it back to shore. It wasn’t a bad experience. I would probably do it one more time but not faithfully. I’m just not cut out for the aquatic life I guess.

The Boston Saga Part II: I Am A Hobo

2007-08-06T14:49:00.001-04:00

I think I had way too much fun on Saturday and my karmic balance got all out of whack. That’s the only reason I can think of for the string of bad luck and rottenness that was Sunday (and part of Monday!).

On Sunday, my plane was supposed to leave at 12:30 and arrive in Baltimore around 2:00. I scheduled this for the express purpose of getting to a surprise birthday party with time to actually party. My car was in long term parking at the airport with a change of clothes and my bathing suit in the trunk. All I had to do was land and drive down to Middle River. Easy.

Or not. For starters, the plane was an hour late. No one told us anything or gave us an ETA for the flight. I thought this unusual considering the normally fine service AirTran provides. So we board at 1:30 and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Four hours pass, four hours cramped into my airline seat with no word about what was going on and breakfast seeming a long, long time ago. Finally the pilot announces that we are heading back to the airport so people taking connecting flights can still make their flights. A little late, I think, but I’m happy because I assume that I’ll be heading home once they get off the plane.

Wrong. At the gate, they tell us that the flight has become an express flight to Atlanta and we all had to get off. We have to head downstairs to the main terminal and get rebooked on different flights. That was a little like a fuck you from AirTran and I was mad but not steaming yet.

I get to the main terminal and it’s packed. All flights to BWI and Dulles have been grounded or canceled except one which of course is booked solid. AirTran tells us that everything is grounded in the DC area due to storms except one flight was going out and the 2:30 flight went hours ago. How lovely for them.

I’m super pissed at this point, which AirTran compounds by making us wait to be served for another two hours. It’s 7:30 by the time they actually start dealing with us. The five people before me got refunds but I wanted to go home. During all this time, I had been chatting with a kid who was heading to Baltimore to meet his girlfriend. He was going to fly to Philadelphia and his girlfriend was going to pick him up there. Did I want a ride?

At this point I was tired, in pain, hungry, and a little smelly. I said yes. So we book our flight to Philly which was going to leave at 8:20. We hoof it to the main terminal and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Three hours and 50 frantic phone calls to various people later, they cancel my flight to Philadelphia. Apparently it’s raining there too.

So it’s 10:30 at night. I’m crying at Logan International airport. There’s another two hour line to get rebooked with the earliest flight to Baltimore being late Monday night. I’m hungry yet nauseous from the stress. I can’t get any of my peeps in Baltimore on the phone. This little old lady, Eva, I had met waiting for the Philly flight is also in distress. She has a 10:00 a.m. meeting in that city tomorrow morning and can’t wait for the flight. She has her car here and is going to drive. Do I want a ride?

Yes, I do. At this point I have no idea how I’m going to get home from Philadelphia and I’m not sure that she isn’t a murderer but I just want to get out of fucking Boston. Thankfully Ben, the kid who offered me the original ride out of Philadelphia, decides to come along as does a young mother named Holly. We all pile into Eva’s car and take off.

In my defense, I did ask if any of them planned on killing me before I got into the car. They said no so I felt it would be prudent to take the ride. We drive for six frightening hours as Eva is an older lady with poor night vision. I get no sleep.

We roll into Philly around 5:00 a.m. and I get into another car with another stranger. This girl was great though and dropped me off in Canton, right at M’s doorstep. I ate a bowl of Krusty-O’s which was my first meal in 24 hours. They were disgusting and delicious. I also had a badly needed shower right before being swept off to BWI to pick up my car.

By 9:00 a.m. I was home safe, sound, and utterly exhausted. I called out of work, laid on the couch and slept until 6:00 p.m. when I woke up to eat some more then slept again from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. the next morning.

I will never forget this trip as long as I live. This was my true experience as hitch-hiking hobo. However, I did live and maybe will one day get to offer desperate strangers some aid circle of life style.

My body is still trying to recover.

The Boston Saga Part I: The Concert

2007-08-06T13:41:00.002-04:00

The tale of my trip to Boston is so dichotomic that it has to be broken up into two parts. Otherwise, I’m looking at a very long post that I’ll 98% finish, get bored, and never post like so many of my longer ones. The drafts section of Blogger is a testament to my short attention span. I blame TV.

Anyway, I was very excited to be going to Boston. It’s probably my favorite city on the East Coast. My flight left at 8:30 in the morning and as usual, I flew AirTran. I like AirTran very much as they fly out of BWI and are usually the cheapest flight by quite a bit. This particular flight was especially good as I was upgraded to a first class window seat for free. There was so much leg room I didn’t know what to do with myself. They served me a cup of coffee before take off and then another one once we were in the air. Considering that I got up at 6:00 to make the flight, I was blissfully happy.

Upon landing in Boston, I found that it was hot and humid. That made me slightly grumpy as I was wearing jeans and thought that I was leaving the crappy weather behind me. Still, I was happy to be there and was even able to traverse the Boston subway system with no hitches. Granted, it took me almost an hour to get to the hotel but I did get a little lost leaving the last subway stop. Two natives tried to give me some very bad directions but I thwarted them and made it to the hotel after playing the “name the common landmarks” with my sister who had made it to the hotel earlier than I.

After navigating through the maze of halls, I dropped off my bag and we headed off to the Sam Adams Brewery for a tour. I’m not sure but I think this was my first visit to a brewery. It was hot, like so much else of the city, but fun. I was concentrating on not vomiting from the heat during the beginning of the tour so setting up my own brewing equipment will be an adventure one day.

At the end of the tour, we were escorted into a tasting room to taste test some beer (duh). They gave us three to sample: the Summer Ale, Old Fezziwig, and the Mayflower Ale. I’ve already tried and love the Summer Ale so that one was a nice warm up. Old Fezziwig was new to me. I know that they put it in the winter assortment but I had never tried it before. It tasted like spice cookies. Fantastic. The Mayflower Ale was really good. They only made one batch of it for some anniversary of the Mayflower’s Landing so I’m sad to say I can’t find it at stores. It was a light ale that had a pear/flower taste to it. It was light and refreshing. I want to find it somewhere. It's my new mission.

When the brewery tour ended, we headed to Quincy Market to have some “chowda” for lunch. I scalded about half my taste buds off but it was totally worth it. My sister and I made it back to the hotel around 3:00, walking in the pouring rain. Unfortunately, I only brought the one pair of pants with me so I made handy use of the hairdryer as well as turning on the heat lamps in the bathroom. It took me the longest time to figure out exactly what they were for. There was a dial on the wall where you could set time and that made the lamps glow red and heat the bathroom up. It didn’t occur to me that making the bathroom warm was the only purpose of the lights. I guess you need that in a North Eastern city in the winter. In the summer, it was just a puzzling curiosity that I got to play with.

After showering (my sister in the dark as the power went out), we headed out. I have no willpower when I’m on vacation so we ate sausage sandwiches from the venders inside of Fenway and $8.00 beers. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get better than first class, beer, sausage, and more beer, the concert started.

It was awesome.

I’m tempted to leave it at that just to see if my sister’s head will explode. =P But really, it was very, very good. They had good energy, opening with “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” which is possibly my favorite song of theirs. Maybe the songs weren’t as fast and frenetic as they were twenty years ago but they’re pretty old now. I thought Sting dragged out some of the songs with unnecessary fluff but he was shaking his fine butt so no complaints.

Well, no complaints save one. I know that Jenn was mad that some very drunk dude tried to pick her up (hilariously) at the end of the concert but I was cheesed at the guy next to me smoking pot. Yes, I am an old fogey but I hate the smell of pot. It smells like piss to me and I’d rather lick a urinal than smoke it. He offered me a toke and I just barely restrained my urge to take it and throw it in the puddle I had been dancing in for the last two hours. Don’t interrupt me when I’m focused like that. This is why I’ll never pick up a guy during football season. I’ll go to the bar to watch the game and some fine looking dude will try to talk to me but I am not available.

We moseyed back to the hotel after the concert to eat Chinese at the restaurant attached to it. There was some kind of language barrier involved with ordering our food because when I asked the waitress for chop sticks she took my sister’s plate and chopped up the food.

We went to bed, happy as clams with me too sleepy to worry about the state of the linens. All in all a great day from start to finish. If only Sunday had been that good…

Heading to Bean Town....

2007-07-27T16:18:00.000-04:00

I think I’m all set for this weekend except for getting some money from the bank. Yup, I’m heading to the great city of Boston to see The Police play at Fenway with my sister. I’m excited. I’m so excited, I’m vibrating. There is no part of this trip that’s bad. I’m even happy to take the subway.

We’re planning to take the Sam Adams brewery tour, where with a suggested donation of $2, I’m going to get drunk. Hopefully we’ll follow that up with lunch then bumming around until the concert starts.

Going to be a good time!

Harry Potter and the Raging Hormones

2007-07-23T09:50:00.000-04:00

I finished the last Harry Potter book on Saturday. Let me preface my critique by saying I'm only mildly interested in the Harry Potter phenomenon. I see the movies and read the books but I have no burning nerd love for it. I think it's because it's based on magic. Magic does not interest me at all. Wizards, witches, sorcerers, etc are not my cup of tea. I prefer science and robots and that kind of thing. Transformers, Batman = good. Harry Potter = meh.

So I wasn't really emotionally involved with the characters which probably made the ending less dramatic for me. The only really good part of the book was Snape's memories. Other than that, it was a mediocre way to spend my Saturday afternoon.

On an unrelated note, I am very angry today although I think it's because of hormones. Or maybe I'm justified. Can't say. I definitely hate getting mad when I'm already moody like this. Makes the mad last longer. Heather smash!

A Networking Ninja

2007-07-18T17:57:00.000-04:00

I wish I could talk more freely about work on this thing but I don’t want to get dooced. Although maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing. This place does kind of suck sometimes. Like for instance this week when I was told to become an expert in something completely out of my expertise level then had the time to do it halved.

Thank goodness I’m a ninja.

Thank goodness I know how to network.

See, I always thought networking was really mercenary. “Hi, nice to meet you. How can you help me in the future?” Where’s the love? Can’t I just meet people at work to meet them and not consider my p’s and q’s?

That was the philosophy I took from the outset but in reality by the simple fact that I actually do work I was also networking. When my deadline was slashed, I went crying to my friends and what should happen? Not only had one of them heard of the system, she was deploying her project to it. I spent the afternoon at her desk getting a crash course in web server architecture and deployment. All because of networking.

Feeling Superstitious and Cowardly

2007-07-13T14:36:00.000-04:00

It's Friday the 13th. Woo. Lol.

I'm not normally a superstitious person but I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen to me tonight. The uncanny sensation of a future injury is haunting my body. I'm afraid I'm going to break a toe.

Is it because I'm wearing heels and have been wobbling all over the place? Is it because today is an unlucky day and my toenails are painted red? I can't say. Just a feeling.

Another feeling I can't shake is joy and it's because of Transformers. That movie was AWESOME. I was so happy I teared up a little. I had gone in with medium to low expectations because it is, after all, a Michael Bay movie. But Shia LaBeuf put on a really good performance and come on. It's Optimus Prime. Do robots get cooler? I don't think so.

Oh and a P.S.

2007-07-11T12:54:00.000-04:00

M started moving all her stuff in last week and began setting up the house. I looked at my room and yeah. No idea where I'm going to put everything and I don't even own a lot. I need higher bed risers so I can fit my comics under the bed and hopefully some crates of linens as well. Still excited though.

Everything's Better with Plastic Man

2007-07-11T12:51:00.000-04:00

I gotta say it. I’m with Batman. I don’t forgive you Hal Jordan. I still remember all the crazy shit you did as Parallax and I’m not ready to put it behind me. You can reform all you want and join the JLA. Heck, you can even be all chummy with Arsenal but I’ve got my eye on you. Seriously.

Lol. So yeah. I’ve almost caught up on my comics now. I read through all the issues of JLA and I’m liking it. Not too crazy about the line up though. Vixen? Really? Just because she was a successful character on the cartoon doesn’t mean she’s JLA material. I miss the Joe Kelly line up. Everything’s better with Plastic Man.

I want to go home and catch up with the rest of my books but I took off yesterday because I didn’t feel well and I’ve got people coming over tonight for dinner and a movie. I’m finally going to see Transformers. I can’t wait.

Bed Nirvana Denied

2007-07-02T16:19:00.001-04:00

My bed has betrayed me.

I have never loved my mattress. It's a hand me down thing from my sister. It has to be well over ten years old. When I first moved to MD, I considered buying a new one but as I was just starting out and scared of spending money, (unlike now as I am sort of established and scared of spending money) I did not. Now that I'm moving, I can't figure if now is the best time. I'd like a bigger bed but don't know if it'll fit in my new room. Also, I'm trying to save money.

But...

My entire body hurts like hell today. I got the worse night sleep EVER. No human has ever tossed and turned as much as I did. I can barely turn my head because my pillows gave up the ghost last night too. My shoulders hurt. My back hurts. I have a headache.

I'm trying to make it better. I bought a new memory foam pillow at lunch. I have that comforter and if it ever gets cold at night again, I might even use it. There's the memory foam mattress pad on the bed and I'm going to rotate it when I get home. But is it too little too late?

My next project is going to be crafting the perfect sleeping place. New mattress, new sheets, new blankets, and new pillows. I want to achieve bed Nirvana every night. I can't go another night without sleep.

Want to Die

2007-06-30T10:27:00.000-04:00

So much booze. So many unexplained bruises. Dying.

And Me Without My Pepto

2007-06-29T13:41:00.000-04:00

Excited! I am going booty shaking tonight. It's been awhile since I got down with my bad self. I wore my best and most comfortable pair of sandals today. Sandals are ideal for dancing because it's summer and heels are good so I don't step in the spilled beer/icky stuff. I'm a planner. =)

I'm so happy we planned it for tonight. Earlier this week, I couldn't move my upper body and lower body at the same time due to pain of a girly variety. Now they freely move together. If only it would stop raining, it would be perfect. Oh, not having to work tomorrow would be great too.

Shake it!

P.S., Yes I did go shopping yesterday and bought shorts. Now its cold out so indulging in my shopping desire was pointless. =/

I Probably Won't Do Either

2007-06-27T15:33:00.001-04:00

I need to go shopping. I've been sorting through my "big girl" clothes and donating everything that's too large. It's satisfying but unsettling because I am now naked. I have one pair of shorts and it's a billion degrees out. That's bad.

It's rare that I actually want to go shopping. Usually, I'm anti-shopping because I am indecisive and miserly. I feel like the less money I spend, the better off I'll be. But really, I've lived by that philosophy for a while and now have lots o'cash invested in mutual funds and stuff. There's no reason why I couldn't go buy some shorts.

But it's so boring.

But it's so frickin' hot.

I want to run today.

Really, really hot out. Shorts weather hot.

I'm torn. Go shopping or go to the gym? I need a haircut too. Blah. I think I need to drive my Dad around this afternoon too. There are too many options.

Aptly Named as I am Comforted

2007-06-27T13:51:00.000-04:00

At lunch today, I ventured out into the blazing heat to indulge in a little retail therapy with a friend who's been having a tough time buying/selling her house.

We went to Macy's at Security Mall, a rather nasty place that has a reputation for gang violence. But since we work in the ghetto and are hardened government workers, we were (mostly) unafraid to go. I had tried to buy a lightweight down comforter earlier this morning through Macy's website but I couldn't get the promo coupon to work and as I am vehemently against paying $20 for shipping, I scrapped that plan.

Given that we were going out anyway, I decided to try my luck at finding it in the store. I didn't find the one I was looking for but I did find something better. I paid less than 25% of the retail price for a very nice lightweight down comforter. Because I am a ninja.

You may say, "Big damn deal, Heather. Who cares?" Yeah. There's no reason to care at all. I'm just happy that I'm a shopping ninja today and that I'm one step closer to getting an orange blanket on my bed. See, I can make my own duvet cover with no problem. In fact, I think I am getting a second hand sewing machine from someone so I can be all Martha Stewarty and not pay $80 for a cover for my cover.

Would be great if I could be doing all this for my own house. Just sayin'. It'd be awesome.