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But I'm starting to feel a bit better. Except for the coughing thing. I have watched an extraordinary amount of Star Trek: The Next Generation - They play three hours of it back to back on some channel - and lots of other day timey television.
anyhoo... I'll be back later. After the nighttime cough medicine wears off. yum!
my family needs help from abc tv's Supernanny. Sure, I live alone with a cat, but I don't like my attitude, I have behavioral problems. Someone is going to spend some time in the Naughty Corner, if she's not careful.
After a stunning loss at the Robert Crais signing, Louise came back from behind with a outstanding victory at Saturday night's Christopher Moore signing. If you recall, at the previous signing, Mr. Moore fell sway to her Darling Accent. This time, not only did he fall sway, but he remembered her, on sight, from the last time.
In line, Louise was very anxious because the post-it note lady had skipped us. We had no post-it notes in the front of our books, indicating the correct spelling of the our names. Since she was having a book signed for her brother Greame, or Graeme... I don't know how it's spelled, some crazy Scottish way, she was worried. She kept saying, over and over, in her Milton voice that she had no post-it. Sure enough, I believe it was spelled wrong at first, but you can't blame him. He was caught in the golden aura that is her Scottish Spell. I'm being a little hard on him. He dissed the Mac during the reading/Q&A part. You can't get away with that, unscathed. But I finished the book on Sunday and enjoyed very much.
My name he had no trouble with. It's so sad to be the plain country mouse. Standing next to the fancy Scottish squirrel. Oh well, Robert Crais liked me better.
Every day I have a couple of web comics I read to get my day started. Some are also in the newspaper, like Get Fuzzy. But most are web only comics, like Medium Large. [on drinkatwork.com, which has lots of funny stuff every day, and is in my RSS feed 4 shur.]
One of my favorites is Lulu Eightball, by Emily Flake. It comes out every Wednesday, on the Baltimore City Paper online. Lulu is a character I can identify with. She's got flaws. Yeah. Ummm... it's Monday morning and I'm not really with it yet. I should be able to say more than "I like comic. Comic is funny." But that seems to be all I have. So I'll just show you last Wednesday's comic and maybe you'll understand.
click to enlarge.
I try to save the shirts that mention hookers and/or boobies for the weekend.
Does this ever happen to you? Do you ever become, suddenly, hyper aware of the way you walk? And once that happens, you unable to notice? Then, since you are way too aware of your walk, your legs quit working properly, your joints don't move smoothly and you walk a bit like the tin man in the Wizard of Oz. Also, it feels as tho you are walking on the surface of something very sticky, and it's hard to lift your foot off the floor... you are surprised your shoes don't make little popping noises as they pull free of the stick.
Does that ever happen to you? Or is it just me.
Belly dancing is coming along well. In the sense that I am still enjoying it. Not in the sense I am getting any good at it. But it's still great fun. So much so, in fact, that KK and I have decided to add a second class to our week. This class is actually more of a belly dance work out class, and it's called Power Belly. Isn't that precious? I think the only reason I am taking a work out class is a: it's still belly dance which I like and b: i find the name Power Belly to be charming. Louise has decided to join us, and if we get in when we register today, our first class will be Tuesday after work.
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to use the term "power belly" in your 50 word fiction.
“How can you eat all that junk, doesn’t it make you sick?”
Fred popped the last fry in his mouth and stood.
“Nope… I’ve been upgraded.”
He lifted his shirt to show the steel that had replaced flesh.
“I’ve got a Power Belly… I could digest nails if I wanted.”
I'm thinking of switching to Vonage, I want to rid my life, completely, of all things Verizon. I'm curious if anyone has experience with this technology, and what you think about it.
Remember on "Laverne and Shirley" when Laverne would always drink milk and pepsi? Has anyone ever tried that, in real life, to see if it's any good?
Madrigalia - you are probably correct, I should go on a tour in Canada. Oh the smarties I shall eat.
To all of you who doubted my ability to clean my cube yesterday... FINE! You are correct. But that's only because I got a last minute project that had to be done by the end of the day. I did too!
I'm in training all day. I think it's going to be too technical and above my head. What's more, I have to use a PC. And INTERNET EXPLORER! Barf!!
Canada, you know I love you. You are so much larger than the UK, and yet I am receiving more hits from the UK, than I am from you. How is that possible?
Come on, Canada... baby... hit me one more time! [they are actually only 1 hit ahead]
There is just so much useful information on my webstats page.
Me: I'm going to clean my cube today.
Amelia: I've heard that one before.
Me: Shut up.
Amelia: About twice a month, since you put me up.
Me: Well... I'm easily distracted!
Amelia: By shiny objects... dull objects... dust motes.... sun beams... oxygen molecules. When aren't you distracted?
Me: uuhhhhh.....
So... who do you think will win this contest? Me? or Amelia?
In an unrelated note, I had my blond updated. I'm now blonder but with temporarily straight hair. She always straightens it for me, and I make it last as long as I can. It feels so much longer like this. I keep flicking it back behind my shoulder. Either with my hand, or with a head flick. I feel like Cher. When it's curly, I'm more apt to compulsively shove it behind my ears. Also, when it's been straightened, I pet my own head a lot. It's just so smooth and soft!!
This week's Then and Now is brought to you by a Belly Dancing show I went to a week or so ago, with KK. I would just like to say how much I love this song. If I had a son, I'd name him Screamin'. But his middle name would not be Jay, it would be ... Henry or Frank. Screamin' Frank... my boy.
I've Put a Spell On You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
At the belly dance show KK and I went to, someone did a hip-hip infusion belly dance to this song, and it was pretty amazing. There were several women on stage, and they were dancing in a mostly belly vein. And then there was a male dancer with them, who was dancing in a mostly hip-hip vein. The song captured my attention, and I knew I'd use it for a Then and Now as soon as I could find it.
"Hi, again, wicked, gorgeous, unimaginable vastness of the universe."
Ok, I admit, I was sitting here with zero ideas for a 50 word fiction. I even thought I'd write the fiction first, and let the theme come out of that, but nothing happened. Blank screen. Then I read Mark Morford's latest article, about the Kiwa hirsuta, the blond, blind new mysterious crustacean that has been discovered. I wasn't inspired by it, per se, but more by a sentence in the article. "Hi, again, wicked, gorgeous, unimaginable vastness of the universe." Oh the amazing things we do not yet know, and have yet to discover. Take out of that what you will, if you chose to play this week.
Just to be Sociable I'll Take Your Word*
He craned his neck and watch the object soaring above him.
"Is this it?" He asked. "Have I seen everything now, now that I've seen an elephant fly?"
They ducked as the pachyderm dove into a deep swoop and then up again. She took his hand.
"I doubt it."
*From "When I see an Elephant Fly" from the movie Dumbo.
I am doing a riddle contest online... again. This is bad, because I'll get stuck on a riddle and it will occupy my mind, nonstop, until I solve it. It drives me nuts. I finally had to quit, the last time I did this, because the obsession was overwhelming. And the riddles were getting too hard. Nonetheless, I find myself shamed to be stuck already, on the 5th riddle of round 1.
Click to see riddle... any suggestions?
I've been a popcorn addict lately. But it has to be made the old fashioned way. In a popcorn maker, not a microwave. It makes a world of difference. So, I think I need this:
A portable sauce pan and popcorn maker. It runs off of your car's cigarette lighter! That's so cool!
Only problem is, the cig lighter in my car is busted.
Link via popgadget.
Evildeb and Lloyd just returned from Reno Nevada, where Lloyd fenced in a tournament. This is her report.
Well, I took my camera but when I tried to take a picture I discovered that I’d removed the disk.
So, I took the attached pictures with my phone. The view from our window was very pretty, especially because it snowed at night and made everything look nice. I wish the pics were better. You can Photoshop them with your minds to get a better idea.
Summary of our trip: I won $100 by sitting down at a slot machine at which some (most likely inebriated) person had left 400+ credits.
A man (either crazy or on serious drugs) said I was hot, then that I was a Goddess, then (when we saw him later on an escalator) told Lloyd to hold onto me because I was cute. Then we saw him again outside so he said I was hot again.
Another “man” in his teens/early twenties, snorted at me (as in, like a pig) because I “looked” at him. But, since it was 3 to 1 in favor of my being hot, I decided the guy that snorted had a chip on his shoulder and that the odds were in favor of my being “hot”.
I won a bunch of doodads on the midway at Circus Circus. Because on the midway, everyone is a winner.
We saw an acrobatic Jack Russel Terrier doing back flips at Circus Circus.
Lloyd fenced.
I had a massage at the spa.
We played Roulette.
We did not win a million dollars which was a big disappointment.
We did get 4 hats and 5 pocket magnifiers and 1 orgami pen.
The End.
She gave me one of the hats.
How did I come across this episodes covers? I can't remember. But the original song is pretty fabulous. It's the impeccable Nina Simone. This song was featured on the second "Six Feet Under" soundtrack, which is a disc I enjoy a lot. It also features Imogen Heap singing "I'm a lonely little petunia." Can't beat that.
Feeling Good - Nina SimoneYou know, I picked this song to use, and this particular cover, because it gave me the perfect excuse to buy another Eels album. No, not just the one song, I needed to buy the entire album. I just did, ok? It's probably been a couple of weeks since I mentioned how much I love the Eels, so let me do so now. I love love love them.
Feeling Good - EelsYou get a bonus 3rd track simply because I love a crooner. Also, I love Michael Bublé's last name. His last name is pretty much "bubble." Hey... do you think that kids at school called him "BoobaGAY"? They probably did. Kids can be so cruel.
Feeling Good - Michael BubléI need to go on vacation, kids. It's not just a time off from work thing, although who doesn't love that. I need to go away somewhere I've never been. Walk streets in a city I do not know. Or maybe I need to go to a cabin by a lake, somewhere quiet, with just my laptop and a stack of books... surrounded by trees. Or, possibly, somewhere a bit more tropical, where I can enjoy the water more directly, and walk on the beach under the stars. I wanted to go to Vegas before Ave. Q closed in May, but going to Vegas - again - would be a cop out. No matter how much I love it. I need to go somewhere new.
That being the case, the theme this week is "getaways." Even tho I didn't stick strictly to the vacation sense of the theme, myself. For those new to the game, feel free to contribute a story of your own. The only rule is it has to be exactly 50 words. [Unless you are William.] And if you want the extra cheesy, deep fried bonus points, you need to follow the them. I try to write one every Friday for no other reason than "why not?"
Getaway
The sun bore down hot on her skin. But not in a good way. She pushed her sunglasses back up on her nose, she was going incognito. But not in a fun way. She was stuck waiting outside the bank, ready to drive away. But not in a slow way.
Evildeb is reading technical support cases in German. She's translating them in babelfish. We thought the above was from the error message, and wondered why we couldn't have the same words in the English error message. But it's not part of the error message. None the less, it's a good blog title. My day, however, is going just fine. I have some new shoes on, and they feel great! Danskos, which I got for half price from Danskooutlet.com. Dansko..... not a cheap shoe. But good for walking. My feets deserve some new shoes. [I got the "Fran" btw, in green]
A few weeks ago, I went up to Vancouver BC for the day. And like a dumb, vain girl, I wore impractical tall boots. Now, they aren't much of a heel, mostly platform, and I wear them all the time. So, in my defense, I didn't know they would be so problematic, or I wouldn't have worn them. But they make me taller, which I like. We ended up walking around the neighborhood a great deal, because it's a walking type neighborhood. And I could tell pretty quickly that the boots were going to bother me. The socks I was wearing where on the thin side, and there is no cushion inside the boot, my feet were kinda sliding. Sliding leads to friction, and you know what friction leads to, don't you? Blisters. I knew my shoes hurt me, but once we got back from the walking, I was basically sitting and they were ok. When I put my shoes back on to go to my car, it was not comfortable. Ok, it hurt. But I got to driving and didn't stop for soda until I crossed the border. I had to use the little girls room too. When I got out of the car, when I stood up, I collapsed back on the car seat. My feet hurt like hell at that point. Because the blisters had arrived. On the bottom of my feet!
The thing is, when you walk, you use the bottom of your feet, you can't avoid it. I hobbled into the am/pm only to find out the bathroom was closed for repairs. This meant I would have to stop again, and walk again. I made it as far as Everett, about 35 minutes from home. I seriously considered just peeing myself. it seemed like a really good idea. But I stopped. When I got home, it was late and I pretty much hobbled to bed.
When I woke up in the morning, I had the full blown big blisters and I couldn't walk. I barely made it to the bathroom. Everyone's advice was to drain them. Do you know how gross that is? Poking a hole in a giant blister and then squeezing the puss out? So gross. But kinda cool, in a sick way. So I did it, but it wasn't until about 2:30 or 3:00 that I was able to put on my thickest socks and gently insert my feet into my comfy Merrells, and prissy step out to the car to go to the nearest drive-thru for Dr. Pepper. Now you KNOW it's pain if I waited that long for caffeine. My feet were tender for days.
Now, maybe that's not enough pain to warrant a pair of Danskos, even if I got them for half off. But the other day I was taking a shower, Pru was sitting en garde on the toilet seat, as per usual, and I knocked the razor off the side of the tub. I ignored it. And then I stepped on it. And sliced a big gash on the bottom of my left foot. Blood everywhere, Pru was no help in a crisis - she went running. But that could have been because I could not resist making Psycho-esque "reet reet" stabbing noises, as blood rain down the drain. I grabbed the nearest implement of first aid I could find, a washcloth [an unfortunate white one] and tied it around my foot. After I got all the shampoo out of my hair, I went out to find some second aid.
I know I have a first aid kit somewhere, probably still in a box in the garage, where a lot of my stuff has sat for the past year an a half. I went to the hall closet to see if my stepdad had left one behind, because that's where my mom kept it when she lived in the house. Nada. So, I improvised. I wrapped a ultra thin sanitary napkin around my foot and secured in place with a hair scrunchy. Take that, fashion fascist scrunchy haters! That scrunchy probably saved my life!
So you can see, I needed new shoes. My feet are traumatized. I can't believe I have spent so much time talking about feet, even if they are mine. I hate feet. I don't have to justify my shoe purchases to you people! What's wrong with you guys? Making me feel guilty for buying more shoes. Give a girl a break.
and who is always in my thoughts.
An adorable girl scout just came by my desk to deliver unto me the most holy and sacred of snacks - The Girl Scout Cookie! I had placed an order a month or so ago, when her mom, an employee here, had put the order form out in our lounge. But never did I expect the boxes to be hand delivered! By a red headed moppet who is missing her front teeth, no less.
Which reminds me... I want to be 8 years old again. Yesterday was the birthday of another coworkers daughter, her 8th. This happens to be one of my favorite of coworker kids, I've known her since she was a little toddler thing. Her mom, one of my many ex-bosses here at my P.O.E., had an office full of toys I was looking through yesterday. And I have to say, I wanted to take home each and every one. The Easy Bake Oven, the Hot wheels Starter Kit, the art supplies... all of it. The new bike her grandma got her, which was not in the office. Why can't I be 8 years old again? Actually, can I just be my age, but have the toys? it would be SoooOOOOoooo Fun!
I took a different belly dancing class with a different teacher this week. And I different Kirsten, for that matter, I went with coworker KK. You can never have too many belly dancing Kirstens in your life. This class was longer, the teacher was better, the results were sweatier. We worked harder and I ended up with more sore more muscles. I am going to stick with this class, as I like the teacher better. My cousin Kirsten is going to join us next week. I'll be surrounded by Kirstens!
I'm a bit slow on the 50 word fiction this morning, I've been posting at Satan's Bookclub. Yes! I have! Just a couple of newsy bits, but I've been missing the place lately, and wanted to give it some of my attentions. Which is this mornings theme... are there things or people in your life who need your attention?
Kitten Communication
She woke with a snort, unable to breath, feeling of panic in her chest. Sitting up quickly, she dislodged the cat from her face.
"Well, you wanted my attention, you have it now."
Sitting at the foot of the bed, everything in the cat's serene posture said "breakfast time!"
I just watched the Dukes of Hazard movie on the DVD player and now I am worried that I am going to slip into an Oklahoma accent right here. Hopefully, that goes away over night.
In the mean time, I am in the mood for some S.C.O.T.S and thought I'd share it with ya'll.
I've given the old Winter theme the heave-ho. It's March now. And while technically, not Spring, I was ready for some color. There was some concern, amongst the test subjects, that the flowers were too happy to adequately represent my spirit de blog. It was Paco who had the idea of giving one flower a bad attitude to rectify that issue.
A new design to prove to everyone that I have not truly joined the myspace world. Even tho, I do enjoy getting the new friend pictures. I have seven friends! And only two are related to me! I just know I'll get a date to the prom soon!
EDIT: I always go live without testing on IE for Windows. Because a: it's IE and b: it's Windows. However, I have been informed there is a "width" issue in IE. Thanks!
PS: Hey... IE users... go get Firefox, will ya?
