Blowin' in the Wind

"I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle. But, if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." - Marilyn Monroe

I promise after this entry I will stray away from all this girly emotional relationship nonsense! That shouldn't be too hard a promise to keep, as things on the house are moving along nicely...

I'm fed up. Not with him, exactly, just with this situation. I knew what I was getting into, and I was okay with it. For the most part, I am still okay with it. Because it is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. The frustrating part to me is that other opportunities, theoretically better opportunities, present themselves and I do not feel any desire to seize them. I think it's a matter of just how comfortable I am with him - it's so easy when it's easy. And when it's not, I get aggravated for an hour or so and then just ignore it, thus making the hard part easy too.

I love this situation with the exception of 1 thing. I want reliability. This is not to say I demand to hang out with you every day, or even every other day. Just that I can count on the fact that I will see you fairly regularly, and that when you say we'll do something we will. I don't expect you to take me out, I don't expect you to buy me things, but I should be able to expect you to answer the phone when I call and I should be able to expect you to consistently be nice to me.

Stop being so selfish. Just because you've been burned once doesn't mean everybody's out to get you.

All of a sudden, I'm not into the whole single life the way I have always always always been. I think this is only because Rasta is being so....well, I don't have a word. Inconsistent, perhaps? Maybe it's my fault - I get the impression lately I can't do anything right! Well, I guess if it were boring & easy with him I wouldn't like it at all. I think part of the reason I keep on perservering is because of the difficulty of it. But it's dumb of me to use this much effort for something that in the long run is going to be fruitless. But really, who cares about the long run? I'm workin' for the here & now.

It was a great Christmas and a great weekend. For Christmas I got Band of Horses - Cease to Begin on vinyl, and if you know me you know how happy that makes me. Also Wii Guitar Hero World Tour, Outdoor Adventure Games (I think that's the name - it has a mat much like the old NES trackpad - super sweet.) on Wii, awesome patchwork pants, several cool shirts, a sweater dress, an alarm clock, pajamas, Apples to Apples, an mp3 player, a 750 GB external HD....I pretty much cleaned up. AND even better I think everyone I got gifts for was genuinely happy with them.

This weekend I took the Amtrak to St. Louis for Shellie's wedding. Ended up being an hour & 20 minutes behind schedule, but then Daniel & I met up with Jeremy and his gf Bethany and went out to Novak's. Tom met us there & we got all liquored up. It was grand. Saturday was the day of the wedding, which was really fun. We got breakfast with Steve first, then all of a sudden I was very hungover so I just curled up in a ball until I had to go buy boots & a card. Then I snapped out of it and all wes well. The wedding was short, which is always good, and I liked their vows a lot. Then a group of us went to Blarneystone for pitchers & appetizers, then the reception. I drank a lot of red wine & got silly. Then after that was over we went to some weird gross townie bar for $10 all-you-can-drink. Tom made a friend who bounced on his lap all night long. Sunday was Jack in the Box taco day! Hooray!! Also we went to Katie's grad party, but not for very long. :( Then back home. Good times, good times. I wish I could find my battery charger, I need pictures!

Skinned - Blind Melon

MC & I were talking yesterday, as we often do. I told him I didn't think I really wanted a relationship. He told me I should see a therapist. ...Is this true?

Movement on the house. Shhh....don't wanna jinx it! More to come.

It was a busy weekend, full of things that were completely unproductive and glorious!

Here's the rundown:

Friday - Mom's birthday! MC & I took her to a nice lunch at Le Monde(YUM chicken curry soup!!), but her work Christmas party was that evening, so her & Dad went to that. MC & his mom came over for Dinner & A Movie. Officially, we watched no movie. Rather, we played Scattergories, which is always fun. We let the Mom have some answers we wouldn't have given each other, which is how it always goes when Parents Play Board Games... It was a blast, though, and my tacos were delicious. I took no pictures, which bums me out, but it happens.

Saturday - Celebrated Mom's birthday. 1500, went to The Melting Pot, which is always fun, and very expensive. But fun. We were there until a little after 1800, so I'd guess part of the reason they're so expensive is the fact that a full meal takes over 3 hours - that's a long time to have a table tied up for one party. After that we headed over to Music Hall & watched the KC Ballet performance of The Nutcracker. It was pretty awesome - I liked it more than I expected to, and I actually went in with pretty high expectations. The music was wonderful, the dancing was flawless. I didn't get a chance to read the story behind it until afterward, so there were a few points where the plot was pretty much entirely lost on me. I'd decided that it was about one little girl's acid dream, after the tax man drugged her - not quite! :p Once that was over, we went to River Market Brewery for drinks. There was one ridiculously large man there, and his ridiculously drunk friend. They were annoying and we were tired, so we didn't stay but for a couple. They were having a special on their winter bock beer - $1 pints, and it was pretty tasty.







Sunday - Woke up LATE, to Mother Unit telling me it was 8:30. I was supposed to have been at Mike's house before 8 so we could be on our way to Arrowhead by 8:30. SH!T! I got ready in like 5 minutes and headed to his house - stopped for some McD's burritos & we were on our way. When we left his house it was really nice outside, by the time we got to the stadium (about a half hour later) there was freezing rain coming down and the temperature had dropped about 30 degrees!!! I heard on the radio that at KCI it went from 58 to 15 in FIVE minutes. We put our steaks on the grill & huddled in the car drinking the Heine mini-keg. Our seats, in the red zone, kicked total ass save the fact that the wind was blowing directly at us. I didn't mind, in my 4 shirts, 2 coats, scarf/hat/gloves, but Mike was wearing a t-shirt & a peacoat. He ended up buying $120 or so worth of Chiefs warmth, and we ended up moving over by Tina where the wind was less bad but the seats were just about as good. The boys ended up wimping out & Tina and I stayed until just about the end, when it was almost certain we'd win. We left, and by the time we got to the car, it was 2 minute warning. After that the Chargers scored 2 TDs, we missed a FG, and we lost. REALLY disappointing, but it was a good game. And that was about what I expected. After that, went to Tiff's dance recital, and then came home. It was cool to go to it, because I haven't seen her do ballet in a while, and I'm not sure I've ever seen her do en pointe. Tonight I'll go see her do jazz. She is a senior, so this will be the end of the recitals, which makes me sad. Partly because I didn't get to go to enough of them. Good intentions, but you know how that goes!


Considering I took this on my phone, you can tell we were up close & personal! :D


Tiff

christmas songs - Feliz Navidad - José Feliciano

C'mon...in the land of Christmas music, nobody does it better than Jose & his mariachi horns!!

My shiny new job title: process engineer. Sound about right. Good job RBar.

I am now officially full-time & permanent, and this means I have a job come January as well as insurance. Hooray insurance! I've been sick lately & wearing my glasses which has been terrifying. I desperately need new ones, so as soon as my card comes in the mail, I'm making that appointment! Yay new glasses!

As of yesterday, I am finished Christmas shopping! WITH 2 WEEKS TO SPARE! That's such a huge accomplishment for me! I'm really happy about this - AND I feel great about every single gift I'm giving. I am making a few still but have bought all the supplies to do so. Go me! I need to get these CDs made, finish my cards, and send out everything.

Last night I spent probably 3 hours making holiday dog treats. Audrey said they were disgusting, but Yoshimi was a big fan! I saved a whole batch for him & am giving the rest to all of my hippie (and not so much) friends with dogs. I wish I would have taken pictures of the process...I'm going to try to start doing that. Have a multimedia blog. :)

I am listening to KMNR right this second, and it makes me very happy. :D

So, being poor, and having my friends scattered all over God's country (or whosever country it may in fact be), I am trying to think of suitable Christmas gifts that are also cheap to mail, and I believe I've decided on some mix CDs. It's been a minute since I've made someone one. Largely because I get obsessed, and it becomes a beast much larger than it should be.

As Rob (John Cusack) in High Fidelity says: "The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules."

God I love that movie. God I love John Cusack. Marry me?

So now I've ruined the surprise. But heightened the anticipation, yeah?

What a week.

I finally got Rasta's awesome birthday cupcakes to him Friday. He ate pretty much all of them in a day. So they were well-received. He & I got into it Monday and everything has all pretty much come to a screeching halt. We'll still be friends I'm sure but that's going to be the extent of it. It's probably better this way, MC & Rock advised me against it in the first place but I was stupid.

Also, my house fell through. I found out the day before closing that there was a lien against it. Then the day of closing, found out there was a second lien against it. So no wonderful loft bedroom or bamboo floors for Angie. Not to mention I'm out AT LEAST $400, probably more, which totally pisses me off.

I am pretty down, but I'm trying to pull myself out of it. I spent a lot of money I shouldn't have on Wii-related things last week, and so I've been playing a lot of Wii.

I'm hella excited about Halloween. My costume is totally absurd & wonderful.

There's a lot I could say, but I'm not in the mood.

Today is Rasta's birthday. He took the day off work. Happy birthday Rasta!

Hopefully I will see him later. That remains to be seen, since he is either still asleep (!) or not answering my messages. I hope he's still asleep. He needed a break, and while one in the middle of the week is less than ideal, it's still a break.

I haven't been able to motivate myself yet this morning. I kicked ass Monday & Tuesday, I should have known. PLUS since I'm off Friday this is like my Thursday, and we all know what Thursdays do to me!

I have had literally no free time lately it seems. And add to that that I've been sick & not keeping food down, and I've been quite stressed. Then add to that Rasta being weird, and I just give up.

House things are falling into place, which is good, but I am frazzled. First off is the fact that once I move in I have no idea how I'll be getting to work for a month or so until I get a license. Which will be just in time for the icy treacherousness that is 210 Hwy in the winter. Then there is the fact that I won't be able to get painted/recarpeted before I move in like I had hoped.

Highlight of my weekend - David Byrne in KC:

Probably the coolest show I've ever been to. He is so amazing. I love him.

Besides that we also went to Em Chamas, Knuckleheads, & Ameristar, all of which are always good. Saw a lot of Krista & Dane & Zeke which was a nice change. Lost my money at the boat. I much prefer Argosy.

I've been super busy at work. Rasta has basically stopped contacting me at all. Generally he will answer my text messages but that's about the extent of it. I don't know if I did something, or if he's bored with this, or if he's just also stressed. I know everybody I'm close to seems like they're having a bad time of it lately. It sucks. His birthday is tomorrow and I am making him something for it. Also giving him an inappropriate gift. Except who knows if that will even happen, any of it... It's getting frustrating. I am thinking I will stop sending him messages and just wait and see if he tries to get a hold of me at all. I have a lot on my plate to be the only person making an effort. Granted, everybody wins in the end when we do get together...I still think though that with this whole 'friends with benefits' thing, even if we aren't having the benefits we should both make an effort to maintain the friends part...Bah. I dunno.

I can't wait for Halloween. I ordered the rest of my costume yesterday. :D I think we're going to be the most badass Spice Girls ever. Even more than the real Spice Girls.

So at first I was not sure I liked this song, but I totally love it now. (Unfortunately it's not on imeem yet...)
Ben Folds & Regina Spektor - You Don't Know Me

A day late and a dollar short on posting this, but... Presidential Debate Drinking Game. Hehe...

So the debate was, in my opinion, quite a breash of freth air. Watching McCain squirm made me a little bit happy. It's sad, because I really don't hate the guy, but I hate Palin SO much that it just kind of carries over. Obama rocked it out. There were a few times where McCain might have had the upper hand but as a general statement, McCain I'd say...


My house got appraised yesterday, and it was the FHA appraisal so in theory it should be low-end. And it was $13,000 more than I'm paying, so that makes the Angie mucho happy. Now I'm shopping for insurance and getting a couple of other things squared away, and next Friday it shall be MINE. And Derek's, of course.

Today is a busy day at work but it's Thursday, which means my attention span is completely shot. Had lunch with Rock at Yellow/Planet Sub. I always get this sandwich that sounds really good, but isn't that good. The Pesto Bello. I love portobello mushrooms & pesto! What is the deal!? I think I decided today it's the bread.

Basically everyone at work is wearing blue today. Weird!

One more reason to love Roland Martin! :)

Today, I killed my Wing. And then resurrected it from the dead. Now I love it more than ever. Yesterday I tried to overclock it. It worked well for those 12 or so hours...And chances are I will attempt this again. Because that's how I roll.

Got plane tickets today for my Halloween trip to Chi-town. I meant to do this at the end of last week, when they were still super cheap, but I spaced it off with all of the house hubbub. So today I get on to look for them and they are $219 at the least. Not much, but $80 more than last week! Finally, I got them for $180 on StudentUniverse. They are so hit or miss, but it seems like they always come through for me when I'm very desperate, and isn't that when it really matters?!

My costume is coming together nicely, too. I've got some pleather leopard print pants now. Ohhh yeah.

I have to write a letter declining a termite inspection, and I don't really know how to go about that. I guess I'm making it into a bigger deal than it actually is, and I can probably just write like 2 sentences and sign it. I'm such a noob at all of this!

Tonight I really need to catch up on homework. I've fallen so far behind with all the other stuff going on! ...But I'd rather see Rasta! :)

I've been in a Genesis mood today. So guess what!!

Apparently I am a predator now. What's bad is I think I'm okay with it. ;)

Hung out with Rasta again last night. It was my new favorite hanging out. It's a good thing, I think, if I enjoy each time more than the one before. Played some Soul Calibur. I am determined to get good at that game. I need to win. I love winning.

I love fall. I have been drinking seasonal beer & seasonal coffee drinks, and these things make me quite happy.

Is how I've felt lately. I was doing well with losing weight when I first got back from school. I'm not sure what happened there... I would say it's largely because I've been SO busy that the times I have to eat are brief and so I have to eat quick food, which is almost always beige and rarely of any nutritional value.

New closing date for the house: October 24th. I am pretty darn excited. I took Gronlicia there to see it and they liked it...Or said they did. I keep finding out more work I am going to have to do, but that's alright!

So I hung out with Rasta last night. It was my favorite of all the hanging out so far, I think. Instead of watching a movie or anything like that, we just chatted about random things (such as Hitler?). It was nice; I enjoy his company quite a lot. And other things too. :D ...But still not the Angry White Boy music!

Yesterday I was a bitch to basically an entire department here. It was deserved, though. Today they are all being crazy nice to me. It makes me laugh. They are changing a bunch of procedures around (right before peak? Is that wise?) and so I am observing to see how the numbers are affected by these changes and I didn't realize I would have to be over there again today. Oh well, it's all good. :)

So after e-mailing A23 about this, she said to just laugh about it and not be too proud to admit that I was being crazy. Which I did already. Also, she said he should be flattered. And I think I agree! So I'm not going to stress about it. But I would really like it if he would acknowledge me at all. I tried to find him earlier with no luck. So I shall try again later. Bah!

I saw the grossest thing on the way to work - there was a scruffy dog eating a deer carcass in the middle of the road. It didn't even budge when cars were going by. It was really... apocalyptic, if you will...Ew.

If anybody knows where to find cheap cheetah/leopard print shorts and a cape, let me know. :)

I was going to give you a bonus second song for today, but couldn't find it on the site. Check out Feist - The Limit of Your Love. Good stuff.

Update: Rasta is fine. I really was just being a girl. Good news and bad I guess!

I have a new home officially! A new townhome that is! I get the key tonight; closing on the 10th of October. Huzzah!!



I am beyond excited! There is, of course, work to be done. A minimal amount though, and that's good enough for me! Yay homeowner! Sad is the fact that I am really mostly curious to see how Yoshimi adjusts. It's a good thing I don't ever plan to have children I think; I would end up ignoring them for my baby! But look at how pretty she is!

Did I ever tell you the story about my boss's dog? If so, I apologize for repeating myself! Shortly after I started working here, when I got my 2nd boss (on number 3 now since June), I was in his office and saw that he had 2 framed pictures of dogs. One of them looked like Yoshimi. We've never been sure what breed she is, but from books and the such the closest we can tell is she is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. Here is a Rhodesian Ridgeback:
...So I ask my boss what type of dog it is, and he says he doesn't know. She was a rescue dog and they THINK she is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. I just thought that was really strange - since Shimi was also a rescue dog, etc. That's all.

Tonight E Dat is coming into town! Very shortly actually! YAY! And we are going to go eat Japanese Steakhouse (Yum!) and go look at my house (!!!!) and then probably watch a movie with Rasta (:D). Tomorrow we will go to Knuckleheads, and I am making MC come with because he needs to start socializing. It's something I've decided.

Yesterday my horoscope said I might be wasting time on my latest crush, and that I should ask them. So I did. He said I wasn't. :)

I got my T-Mobile Wing Monday night. It is both wonderful and intimidating. I've had only a few problems so far and I have quickly figured out how to overcome them. Luckily I am somewhat technically inclined so I am tackling this beast. There are a few modifications I want to make to it - install TouchFlo, fix the page pool, etc... But even before that I would say I am pretty satisfied. I just bought the red casing for it, because this one is beat up. So right now it looks like this:
Engadget.com


Soon it will look like this:
...Well actually I can't find a picture to show you. I will take one when it happens. Anyway, it will be tasty. :)

So this week has been pretty good. Monday was a completely insignificant day. There is not one single thing worth mentioning that happened on Monday. So I'll spare you.

Yesterday I was Miss Hyperproductive and got quite a bit accomplished at work. I have now started time studies on the Ship-alone low velocity pickers. Which means I will be following Raisin. I know how you all love him. An aside, I followed him on Monday and he randomly stops and turns around and asks if I want anything. I have no idea what this means, so I mostly just stare blankly. "What do you mean?" He replies, "Do you want a pop? A candy bar? I'll buy it for you." Me: "No thanks, I'm okay." Him: "You're not supposed to turn down offers!" He's really very nice, but SO random. I don't get it at all. I also have a hunch that his supervisor either has a strange crush on me or desperately wants to be my friend.

The plot continues to thicken with Rasta. I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but I've a feeling I'm already too far gone to go back now. I'll let it play out and see what happens! I am enjoying it though, and am pretty sure he is also, so there's no harm done.

Last night I helped MC move. It was actually kind of fun! Mostly because I feel like we're more friends than coworkers now, and prior I would have still called him a friend, but more a coworker. I didn't get home till midnight, but the actual moving part we did pretty fast. It was the long drive from new to old to new apartments, and the hunting down of somewhere to eat after 10 that took a long time. Anyway, I enjoyed it. Now I must get him to start being social so he can see that a) KC is not a bad place, and b) There is life after P.

A while ago I wrote an entry about "King Corn" & high-fructose corn syrup. It was not very detailed, and chances are this won't be either. BUT I am wondering how many of you have seen the recent ads that are pro-HFCS. They drive me INSANE. There is also a website as part of this campaign, which includes the ads if you haven't seen them. It is completely frustrating.

If you're going to drink pop, drink Jones or Goose Island (they make good beer also, and it's in Chicago so it's relatively nearby). They are sweetened with pure cane sugar, and why shouldn't they be?! Americans value cheap more than healthy, and that's just weird to me. Although there might not be enough evidence to make the FDA change their mind about HFCS, there is still a staggering amount of evidence against it. I am going to recommend King Corn yet again...Watch it. Even if you don't believe the hype about it making people fatter, there is no way to deny that it is harmful to the environment.

On a related note, I caught a documentary ("Sweet Misery") last night on 'excitotoxins' such as MSG and aspartame. They caused holes in the brains of lab mice, and these studies were hidden from the FDA when aspartame was in the process of approval. Excitotoxicity is the damaging and/or of nerve cells from said toxins. While the documentary wasn't presenting in the most interesting way possible, the facts presented were interesting and you should definitely consider them.

I am starting to love my job again, which is nice, now that we have a new IE. We'll call him Ralph, since that's how I introduced him to everyone. At first I was not a fan - he is one of those overly happy people, and he always uses 2 greetings when I see him (e.g. "Hi! Good morning!"). While I am all for people being happy and polite and friendly, this was just too much. Now that he's been here for a couple weeks surrounded by a normal level of happiness, his has started to turn into something far more tolerable. Now I just need to get him to walk a tad slower, and life is good.

This weekend was a pretty good one. We went to the wedding on Saturday, where my mother proceeded to get extremely drunk. It was amusing at first, and then a tad stressful, but I got enough pictures and videos to make it worth it. :) To be fair, it was the most amazing open bar I had ever seen. We were drinking liquor that isn't even out on the market yet (Captain Morgan 100 proof = wonderful), there was Los Cazadores tequila, a Jagerator and a bunch of Monster (I hate Jager bombs), and a bunch of premixed shots & drinks (margaritas - lime & strawberry, Rum Runner, Cosmos, the list goes on). The wedding was very nice, and the reception was a lot of fun. I suppose it was everything a wedding should be.

Sunday we spent the day working on the grandparents' house. What I refer to as 'Estate Sale Vol. 1' is this weekend. It amazes me the amount of stuff we are selling; I'm not entirely sure how it all fit in the house. Perhaps my grandparents were magicians. They were pretty damn amazing, I wouldn't put it past them. My uncle decided he wants to sell hot dogs & the such so that he is out of our way but still helping - good call. :) I am in charge of making signs - so many signs - 'Keep children attended at all times', 'Not responsible for personal loss or injury', 'All prices negotiable', 'Mobility equipment available - inquire if interested', 'Please buy everything', 'Hot dogs & blow jobs available in back'. Sigh.

While in theory this is all a great idea, I am afraid to see how we will react when people start carrying our beloved family's belongings out with them after giving us a measly dollar. I imagine it will go something like this: "You take care of that ashtray. My grandfather spent YEARS getting emphysema with it. You don't know what a good deal you're getting for 10 cents - It's already been broken in for you and everything!" and then crying. I guess we'll see. If that doesn't happen, I'd say the odds of my crazy aunt showing up and causing a scene are pretty high.

My cell phone's internal speaker inexplicably stopped working this weekend. My options were to have all of my conversations on speakerphone, or use a ghetto backup phone I happened to have. I opted for the latter, although I am starting to wish I hadn't. Sometimes when I open the phone the screen is blue, so I have to keep closing it and opening it, or bend the top back to see anything. Anyway I ordered a new phone Monday night and it should be to me hopefully by this weekend, early next week at the latest. It should be the bomb, but I'll let you know when I get it.

In other news, I have poison ivy. Many of you might already know that this happens to me fairly often, like every time I am downwind of it. The strange thing is that when it first started showing up, it was just all over my ass and inside my bellybutton. Not sure about that!

Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin told Gibson, "They're our next-door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."

(from this article)

Call me a skeptic, but I have serious doubts about that...

Sarah Palin, I hate you.

This site makes me pretty happy - The Sarah Palin Digest

Sorry, MC...

It hurts. Oh my.

How can the entire bottle be gone and why was I woke up at 4:30 in the morning? Furthermore, why was I asleep in the bathtub?! My fingers were still pruny on the way to work this morning. McDonald's breakfast has never tasted so good. Totally worth being 10 minutes late.




I've been wasting a lot of time playing this game today.

Update - 3 pm, and the urge to vomit is overwhelming. I finally decide to succumb to it, right as all the associates go on break. I go in the bathroom, and there is a woman on the phone in there who will not go away. I hate her.

Update - McDonald's breakfast not so tasty on the way out. Is it time to go home yet?!

I'm allowed to say that, because I am one.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN097920080909?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Just because someone bears social or physical resemblance to you does not make them qualified to run the country. This applies also to blacks who are voting for Obama for no other reason. The difference being Obama is not Palin. She is insane. Why anybody supports her is beyond me!

Why Sarah Palin should not be the VP:

1. She is a female. Take that! I said this when Hillary was running, and I'll say it again - women are too unstable to run the country. I am for womens' rights and all that jazz but seriously, estrogen is a less than ideal hormone to possess for someone with that much responsibility and/or pull. Hillary, though, did impress me. Sarah Palin, however...

2. She was recently photographed for Vogue. What better way to show you're serious about politics?! Granted, Obama has been on a lot of magazine covers, Men's Vogue included, but I am not okay with that either. To me it would have been better for her to say she had been offered and turned it down. One-up Obama, in a sense.

3. She loves to talk about domestic oil independence...which is great. But when you consider the fact that her husband is an oil-field production operator, do you think she is a proponent of this for the "right" reasons??

4. Palin has requested (much) more money per capita be earmarked for the state of Alaska than any other state this year. Hmmm... Then she talks about how opposed she is to earmarking dollars.

5. The Iraq war a task from God?!?!

6. Her obsession with unnecessary bridges bothers me.

Also, Meghan McCain is stupid.

It's hard to know what to believe and what not to believe in written form, but when there's video...Dumbass.

Sass: I wish I was an elf
Sass's new status message - i wish i was an elf 9:16 AM
me: i am just as confused by that one...
Sent at 9:16 AM on Friday
Sass: haha keeping you on your toes
me: lol why do you wish you were an elf?
Sass: elfs have senses much greater than that of humans
they are also much better swordsmen
me: that is true.
Sass: even the adolescents could battle with the strongest humans
They all can also use magic
me: although i am a formidable opponent when it comes to the art of swordfighting
Sass: or at least the ancient language
me: you're weird. and i love it.
Sass: And they live for much longer than humans
me: that part i'm not sure i would dig although if i lived in an elven land it would be alright i suppose
Sass: Yeah, you would have lots of elf friends to live long time with you and the humans wouldn't understand you and if they did they would just be in awe of you becuase elves > Humans
However in between that is a dwarf
dwarfs are like rocks
me: It would suck to be a dwarf I think
Sass: they are short and stocky and live around the same amount of time as elves
me: they don't have any magical powers, though.
and are they even good swordsmen?
i think they got nothin' basically
Sass: They have the power in numbers and just toughness
They are bad asses that no one wants to fuck withand plus some dwarfs can have dragons and dragons bring in a whole new element
me: how can a dwarf have a dragon? that doesn't make any sense!
Sass: the same way an elf can or a human
me: but dragons are huge how could a dwarf utilize that?!
Sass: Yeah, the dwarf would walk/run up it's tail to ride it and kick ass from the sky
me: I don't like it.
Sass: haha
me: I am opposed to dwarves. And not just because they are portly.
Sass: Well they are just as much a part of my "kingdom" as elves and humans
The dragon chooses it's rider from inside it's egg so it could choose an elf or a dwarf or a human but elves > all imo so
I wish I was an elf
me: Well that's dumb. They suck. I mean, having a dog that can kick someone's ass is way less cool than being able to kick someone's ass yourself
me: that's fair.
i think you maybe ought to wish you were a dragon when it comes down to it
Sass: Well if dragons are smart and can act on there own
me: can't they? they obviously have the ability to rationalize if they pick their own rider
Sass: I think I would still prefer an elf
Yeah, this is true....they are pretty inteligent creatures
and I've always wanted to be an eagle
me: an eagle? what kind?
Sass: in real life
a bald eagle
like when i was little
me: aren't they endangered? that seems risky
Sass: i imagined being a bald eagle
Yeah, but I was like 8
me: and how did it go? did you just fly around? do they do much else?
Sass: I would fly around and sit on branches looking very stoic
then I would swoop down and catch a fish out of a lake
me: Hmmm.... that does sound fun.
Sass: just to prove that I could
me: much more leisurely than being an elf
Sass: I would fly around and get my picture taken by tourist and maybe even catch a rabbit
Yeah, but not as intellegent
which is why my dream of becoming an eagle died and in its place an elf was born

Disclaimer: I don't understand Republicans. I in no way mean for this to be offensive. If you are a Republican, explain to me how you all make any sense. Also, I don't consider myself a Democrat so it's not necessarily all based on bias.

So I was watching TV last night, and during commericals I decide to flip over to the Republican National Convention, if for no other reason than to be informed. In the end, "informed" would not be a word I could even possibly apply to what I got from watching this. The first thing I see when I turn it on is a bunch of cowboys waving their hats while the entire crowd sings along to the Sara Evans song "Born to Fly"... Seriously!? Is this what Republicans do?! I can't help but think back to every stereotype I have ever heard about Republicans and note that each and every one is basically being fulfilled in this one camera shot.

Then, here comes Rudy Giuliani. Not to discredit him entirely, but... When you get down to it, all he ever really did was his job. He was basically to New York City what Bush should have been to the United States - a good leader in a time of crisis. Now does that warrant him honorary knighthood or Time magazine's Person of the Year status? Not necessarily, in my opinion, but I don't make these decisions. I will say, however, that he gave a hell of speech for the most part. His relentless bashing of Barack Obama was welcomed by the thousands of people in the crowd who already hated Obama. His lisp was more noticeable than ever, but perhaps that is only because he was getting on my nerves already. As a person, I do not like Giuliani. He deferred his draft over and over, he is on his third wife, almost certainly had some extramarital affairs in there...Just traits that seem odd to me in a Republican figurehead such as he. Anyway, good speech as long as all you were looking for was a good old fashioned Dem ribbing.

Now Palin, she genuinely impressed me. She was pretty harsh at times, but for the most part even then she was spot-on. A few things (e.g. Iraq War commentary) I did not agree with at all, but that is to be expected when Angie watches the RNC. Anyway, she basically knocked it out of the park, and I would say her speech probably did more for the GOP than anything has thus far. I still don't like her. I guess we'll have to see what happens tonight...

As a sidenote, I will say on this public forum that the hype about Bristol Palin is ignorant. 17 year old girl gets knocked up, plans to wed high school boyfriend - this happens all the time. BFD. It's unfortunate that kids are having kids but that doesn't mean it is going to stop. Y'know, though, if people would just jump on the pro-choice wagon, this problem could be next to eliminated. It doesn't make sense to condemn babies with babies and also condemn abortions. Not to me, at least. Also, I find it strange that Palin's husband works as an oil field operator and their children have such hippie names - Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow, & Piper. I know this is wrong of me, but does anyone else see the irony in Trig's name?

Okay, that's all I got for now. The moral of this post is - I watched the RNC and the speeches were more than I expected, but the Sara Evans and waving of cowboy hats completely negated any amount of respect I might have gained for the GOP otherwise by watching it.

Our work picnic is this Saturday, and it will be happening before/during/at a Royals game. In theory, what a great idea. Baseball, America's pastime. The thing about Kansas City sports is...They suck. I am a diehard Chiefs fan, as many of you already know, but...they suck. And will especially so this year, I'm afraid. I believe that the people who support Kansas City sports are the same people who support Kansas City's liquor economy.

Let's see...We have the Chiefs - We played Super Bowl I & Super Bowl IV, and won Super Bowl IV...since then, nothing. That was 1970.
Then there's the Royals, proud winners of the 1985 World Series...since then, nothing.
The T-Bones, our minor league baseball team for 5 years now - best thing they have done is lose in the semi-finals. Although to be fair to them, their drinks are reasonably priced thus making their games worth attending. Plus they had a pretty hilarious promotion when Michael Vick was sent to Leavenworth.
We used to have the Blades - winners of the Turner Cup finals in...When was it? '92, I think...Then in 2001, they ceased to exist.
The Wizards! Hey, they won the MLS Cup in 2000! And the US Open Cup in '04!
So we have exactly one team who has done anything in this decade, and it's soccer. Nobody even watches soccer.

Be that as it may, I expect this game to be relatively fun. Food & giveaways from 4-6, gametime at 6:10. RocMan is bringing "3 hot chicks", and together the 4 of them are going to paint their faces like KISS. I am not sure if it is just a face thing, or full-on KISS garb, but I look forward to finding out. I think. My going, however, is completely dependent on Rasta Man going and that is, at best, up in the air. Cross your fingers! This could be a potentially big night for me! ;)

On an unrelated note, last week I was time studying someone in the ship alone mod, and as I walked by one of his peers, he turned to me and said "You smell like raisins", only he said in this tone of voice like he was paying me the greatest compliment... I respond with "Uhh...ok. I don't even like raisins...", and he says "I think dey smell gooooood." What the hell?!

That's right - Hues Corporation.

Mucho has happened since I last updated. My favorite IT guy was fired, for allegedly tampering with his timeclock records. Huge bummer. I now have no neighbor to throw food over the partition at me, or chat with about nerdy things. I am saddened by this. I hope he finds another job soon!

I have a second part time job online, but I will explain that in more detail some other day...

Last Thursday, Debbie & I got silly drunk with a group of Mexicans who were Bob's students. They were pretty fun, but I don't know that they much cared for me. Since I will never see them again, I don't particularly care. It was a good drunken time either way. Maple vodka is quite possibly the best invention ever. Although to be sure you will hear me refer to many 'best inventions ever'.

Friday I hung out with Mike & Jeremy, which was quite pleasant. Played some Madden XX for the first time, and it is possible that I now need an XBox 360. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen. I bought the first season of In Living Color, and also Requiem for a Dream and Pi. That should keep me busy long enough to find a good new book to read. Anybody read a good book lately?

The fam & I went to Indy for Labor Day weekend, to spend the weekend on Heritage Lake with my aunt (Err..2nd cousin, or whatever she really is) and her fam. It was...interesting. Saturday I stayed back at the house with my...I guess 3rd cousin (this all gets confusing), and his wife. It was fun - we drank some beers, drunk dialed some people, "bonded", and all was good. Adrady ended up hanging out with us because the cousin that was her age was being a bit of a jackass. Which unfortunately continued throughout the weekend. Sunday & Monday during the day we just tooled around on the boat, resulting in me actually having a TANline! Holy crap! Sunday night we went to a bonfire. That was pretty much it. I got the impression we were cramping their style, which I find odd since a) they invited us, and b) we're pretty much awesome. What can you do, though, but live and learn?!


OMG, We're sooo excited!


Missouri River from the plane


Adrady & Capt. Bob


Cousin M & wifey J


A VERY drunk 1st grade teacher



...So as it turns out, not many people outside of Rolla seem to be familiar with the 'half your age plus seven' rule. I find this distressing since my current crush is 32, and people unaware of said rule seem to be uncomfortable by this age difference. It is completely legitimate for the time being, people! Hmmmph...

And I will leave you with this - a Freakshow we have been obsessed with for probably 6 or so months now, but has recently resurfaced in my life... Unfortunately I can not get it to embed correctly...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9-CS2v8wcc

It has been one of THOSE weeks. Perhaps because roughly half of the office folk have been gone every single day. The managers are on a retreat all week, which severely diminishes the number of people I have to talk to, especially when MC is also gone to Oregon. Also, I have finished most of the current time studies on the A shift. I started a new one, but there were only 2 people in that department so it didn't take long to wear out my welcome over there. This means that I have wasted much of the week fiddling around on the Interweb, mostly trying to find something supersweet to do for my dad's 50th birthday in October. Suggestions are welcome.

The weekend was great. Friday I was in (in MC's words) a "dreadful little mood", and after work we met up with Bob & Debbie at Tomfooleries, which ended up being a great time and so I was removed from my funk. Derek came out and we all watched a mediocre cover band all night and had our own band at the table, which consisted of silverware, glasses, the table, and loud singing. It was glorious. The actual band was made up of 4 aging white dudes in Hawaiian shirts - always a good sign. Xina and 'her boys' met up with us, which proved to make the night interesting. After Derek and I agreed to stay with them once the fam left, we ordered ourselves some beers and were less than halfway through them when these guys decided it was time to leave. We downed the rest of our beer and got in the car to swing through Burger King.
We are ordering when 'J' decides he has to pee, and steps out of the car and heads toward the retaining wall east of the drive-thru lanes. I can only presume that he thought there was something on the other side of the wall. The next thing I know, the car is moved and the Burger King man is yelling at me through the speaker. Derek walks up to try to get the food but he won't give it to him, as they don't accept walk-throughs. He's now yelling over the speaker to 'get out of the bushes before he calls the cops'. Now this is especially confusing as there are no bushes anywhere near me. Then I look over to my left to see Xina and 'D' carrying 'J'. I know for a fact he was not that drunk, so why they are carrying him is beyond me. I go over to tell them the cops are on the way, and see that 'J' is bleeding. A lot. And his ankle bone is exposed. Oh my. As it would happen, he walked over the wall and dropped approximately 15 feet to a grassy area next to I-29. Lovely. So we ended up cabbing it from the hospital to Derek's mum's house. And Saturday when I left town he was in surgery getting 2 plates & 3 pins installed...

Saturday - Tulsa. I had forgotten quite how much I miss Erica & Mickey. Erica and I got pretty lubricated, and I had a great time. The Effects put on a good show, and I got a new lady crush during the band that played before them. She was like Gwen Stefani when she was cool before she got really big. After the bar closed, we tried to get sushi, but the place inexplicably closed an hour early, so we tried another place that was also closed. Then E & I detoured to a random club which turned out to be awesome. We danced to a few songs, some drunk chick joined us, then the bar closed and we proceeded to get lost somewhere in Tulsa's railyard area. Ah, good times.

Here are a couple weekend pictures:





Others are less appropriate and thus not on my work computer. Now I must just bide my time until the next weekend comes, and brings with it the Mecca of neighborhood garage sales and Miss E Dat.

That is my life right now. I am spending all of my time pushing on a door that is clearly marked 'Pull'. It looks like it would be a push door, so I throw all of my weight against it only to find out that I am going about it completely wrong. I see an obstacle and pour all of my energy into it. The effort is futile because I'm simply going about it wrong.

Everybody is getting ready to head back to Rolla. Not me, I'm potentially getting ready to be jobless. Maybe I could get my online classes finished that way, I guess. And my house continues to be a source of stress. After all of this, I'd better get it! I'm going to come out of this with hypertension AND a house, not just hypertension! :)

I haven't been sleeping well, and it has made me quite a jaded little girl. I am hoping this weekend will be glorious - I am taking a trip to Tulsa to see Rocco's friends' band play, and will be hanging out with Erica & Mickey while there. I could not be more excited for these last minute plans - I miss those kids.

Last night was good - We went to Emily's apartment and played some SingStar. Also, I learned something about cucumbers. Inquire directly if you wish to hear more. :)

I'm listening to my old radio shows, and 2 things come to mind: 1. I miss Rolla, and 2. Damn, I have good taste.

Peace out.

I'm not entirely sure where that phrase came from, but I assume it has something to do with the fact that working approximately 50% of your waking life eventually results in there being almost nothing left of 'you'. You have been turned into a corporate drone - you go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed, and on the weekends take a trip to Home Depot and probably Wal-Mart.

I don't want that. At all. As much as I love my job and the people I work with, I am afraid it will eventually do this to me. I am afraid all jobs will. I would really like to just tie dye a bunch of shirts and travel around to music festivals in a VW van, selling aforementioned t-shirts for $8 (cheaper than the $10 the van next to me is charging), and call that a living. Because to me, that IS living. Spending the majority of your life at a desk is NOT! The problem is, it's nearly impossible to actually live a personally fulfilling life and be able to pay any bills you might have to pay. Even if you live out of your VW van, you gotta put gas in it! This is so unfair. I imagine in Canada it's different. Or in any other country, probably. This promised land, the Land of Opportunity... What's the opportunity? You are presented with the chance to waste your life away doing something you're not passionate about, the chance to be mediocre. And really it's more of a necessity than an option. Oh boy!

This is made even more true by the fact that you can basically only get decent healthcare here if you have insurance. You can't have insurance unless you have a job, and often not even then. Then, if you ever want to retire, you better have a good 401k plan. Otherwise, prepare to start working right after you graduate, and do so until you die.

I don't know what made me so bitter all of a sudden about this, but I just don't understand the workings of society. People who don't have jobs are labeled as 'slackers', but perhaps they really just want to remain individuals and not turn into corporate zombies. Perhaps these jobless people should be what we aspire to be instead of people we think of as lesser, inferior beings.

As I suspected, this blog has went long forgotten. Well, I shouldn't say forgotten - I've had good intentions, but no time.

I got a job, and I love it. It was strange, because I graduated with no job, and started my job before most of my friends who have had them lined up for months. I'm just THAT cool. Or cursed, depending on your take. Anyway, it's great. Half of it is doing time studies, which isn't really very great, but I am also the co-owner of our company's green initiative. My guess is they took one look at me and thought "Yeah, that girl recycles..." :)

Anyway, it's insane the amount of things to consider. I am pushing for us to get LEED certified, which I don't think is out of the realm of possibility. Our building is pretty new, so it has a lot of energy-efficient junk installed already. But I am also wanting to get LEED AP certified and that is HARD! Actually, one of my friends who was diligent enough to remain an Architectural Engineer when I was punking out and becoming an EMan, just failed the LEED AP exam a few weeks ago. And apparently they're making it harder come 2009!! Damn yous, Man.

Unfortunately, in the hubbub that has been my life lately (and perhaps also due to the lack of one certain Ashley), I have fallen behind on my documentaries and current events to the point that I don't have much to rant about. I guess what they say is true - ignorance is bliss.

I believe my song for today will be Right Said Fred - "I'm Too Sexy". Yeah, that's right.

Everyone should see I'm Not There. I really enjoyed it.



Song of the Day: Jim Noir - Ships & Clouds

My grandpa passed away last week from emphysema that he had been battling for over 20 years. In light of this, I have been reading a lot on the Internet and found out that in 2000 Medicare and Medicaid stopped covering pulmonary and cardiac rehab and it makes me mad, as so many things do. There is a bill going through Congress right now that can change this...I just emailed my Senators/Representatives, and I was hoping you all would also do this. I even included a little form letter for you, so it will take like one minute. Please do this!!

1. Go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
2. Enter your Zip Code and click on "GO".
3. Click on "Federal" in the top box.
4. Click once to remove the checkmark in front of "George W. Bush, President".
5. As your subject, paste in: S. 329/H.R. 552 "Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2007"
6. As your Issue area, select "Medicare/medicaid" in the dropdown menu
7. As your message, type in your own, or paste in the following:
-------------------------------------------------------------------

I am asking that you cosponsor S. 329/ H.R. 552 "Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2007".

I have seen the millions of US citizens suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and believe the government should do what they can to help with this. COPD is comprised of emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis - diseases for which there are currently no cures. However, there is a treatment program (commonly called pulmonary rehabilitation) that can slow their progression, restore functionality and quality of life, and minimize the number, length, and cost of hospitalizations and emergency room visits that inevitably occur without that program.

Many major medical associations vigorously endorse it; most private medical insurers provide coverage for it. And, for many years prior to August 2000 Medicare also covered this program. In fact, in defining current best practice for the NETT study (the combined Medicare/NIH study of lung volume reduction surgery), Medicare mandated it as an essential part of the treatment for all patients in the study, whether or not they received the surgery.

However, in August 2000 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) discontinued full coverage except for the NETT study. Although they did not question the medical value of the program at that time, they concluded that it could not be covered by Medicare because they believed it lacked clear statutory authorization - that is, unlike certain other preventive medical services, coverage for this (partially) preventive service is not specifically authorized in the Medicare enabling statute (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act). Since that time, they have covered only selected parts of the program, with even those parts varying across the country according to the many local Medical Review Policies.

Your support will help to promptly restore full and uniform access to pulmonary rehabilitation for all medically qualified Medicare beneficiaries. Amending Title XVIII of the Social Security Act will make it clear that it is Congress’ intent to cover this program.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. Fill in the blanks with the information about yourself.
9. Enter the "Capwiz Authentication" numbers as requested.
10. Click on the "Send Message" button.


If you do choose to help, please just leave a comment and let me know that you've done it, as the online support group my grandfather started (www.emphysema.net) is keeping track of how many people do this who are referred through them. I would appreciate it so much!!




My grandpa, PawPaw, in the picture with my aunt & Loni Anderson, was easily the most amazing person I have ever met or known. He was diagnosed with emphysema I believe in 1986. He was not one to feel sorry for himself, so he dealt with his problem for a long time, and when the Internet became the huge phenomenon it now is he joined message boards online to connect with other COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) sufferers.

After a while, he decided to start his own, EFFORTS (Emphysema Foundation for Our Right to Survive). It is an online support group for people with COPD, as well as their families, caregivers, doctors, or anybody else who just wants to learn. The website has a ton of information, but the main part of it is an e-mail list where everyone shares their stories and experiences to help other people who are going through the same thing. This group is now the largest of its kind, with nearly 2700 members from 20 countries around the world, and thanks to my PawPaw & a core group of people's efforts, they have hosted rallies at Washington D.C., created 'breathing rooms' at many hospitals in the U.S., and many other wonderful things.

Besides that, he was just a wonderful person. He started his own company, Aid to Shippers, over 20 years ago. He was ambitious and always wanted to do right. He was a Marine during the Korean War. He had a wonderful, if bizarre, sense of humor - one that I was lucky enough to inherit, as well as his poor eyesight. Thanks, PawPaw! Seriously though, I don't have a single negative memory of him and I have SO many positive ones. I hope that someday I can do as much with my life as he did with his. It was a life well lived, and ended peacefully at home just like he wanted it to. He far outlived everyone's expectations, and for that I am thankful. Nonetheless, I will miss him terribly. I do look forward, however, to watching his legacy continue. Rest in peace, Paw Paw. Breathe well and tell Grandma hello for me!

I watched this documentary, King Corn, with my buddy Ashley last night. She's always introducing me to new evils of the world and whatnot, which I love. This was one of the more frustrating documentaries I've seen in a while, which I think is saying something. This movie is all about how corn, which can be delicious and wonderful, is primarily used for all of these horrible things (high fructose corn syrup, cattle feed to fatten cattle before they're slaughtered, etc.). It also talks about how the money farmers make from farming corn mostly comes from the government because it is far from a cash crop, and how the priority is getting the MOST corn and there is no focus on quality. All of this is very disheartening, but it's a really good movie that you should check out. Here's a trailer from YouTube:


It also led to some good discussion about what we can do to change the world, which is always one of my favorite topics. We decided that we are 'idealistic realists', which seems to contradict itself, but we define it as people who see the world as both what it is and what it could be. I like it.

I've decided to stop consuming high fructose corn syrup, which will be interesting since it seems to be in virtually everything! I already don't drink pop (soda, if you prefer), though, so that will help some... Once I have more money and have graduated, there are many other things I am going to get VERY picky about, food-wise. It's a shame that you have to be rich to eat food that actually has nutritional value anymore.