A little game...

What's wrong with this email I received?

The Letter Carriers' Food Drive is tomorrow, Saturday May 8th! Thank you for volunteering for this year's. Food Lifeline appreciates your willingness to be part of our mission.

The postal station you are matched with is Seattle Main. Please sign-in with Food Lifeline's Volunteer Team Leader at 12:00 pm. Your team leader will be wearing a blue NALC Food Drive shirt and will conduct an orientation and training at the beginning of your shift.

You should receive a volunteer in the mail by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Please review the packet and fill out the enclosed Safety and Conduct Agreement form. Turn in the completed form to your Team Leader. Please contact Food Lifeline if you have not received your packet.

Volunteers are integral to this event and much appreciated at Food LifelineYour interest in volunteering shows your concern for those in need.

Nostalgia

This spring has made me rather nostalgic for college. I'm not actually sure why. I'm sure spending all my days on a college campus are part of it, but since I temped here 2 years ago, I don't recall feeling this much nostalgia then... Today as I was walking through the student center after picking up some breakfast (sad isn't it that I've started eating this much institutional food again), I saw a sign for Mariners tickets for the students to all go to a game. It totally reminded me of Hockey and how we'd all climb into the UAF busses and then go enjoy a game. The tricky part was always the ride home. Since they took multiple trips to the game, I'm sure they made multiple trips home but who wants to wait around for that 2nd or 3rd shuttle? So as many of us would fill this bus as possible and we would be smashed into it like sardines. Then the driver would leave with the bus windows fogging over and the roads icy. I swear I'm amazed we were never in a tragic bus accident. Those were good times!

It's always something...

So I have 2 bits of news today... 1st the good then the bad or 1st the bad then the good? Hmmm...

We'll start with bad. I have to take Baxter to the vet on Saturday. I suspect that she has adrenal disease (and by suspect I mean I'm about 100% certain). This condition will require 1 of 3 things. 1 - Surgery. 2 - Medicine (shots). 3 - Death (as in put down). The 3rd one is not really an option at this point. If she were suffering and weak and on her last legs, it would be, but she isn't suffering (yet) and not on her last legs (yet). Which brings us back to option 1 & 2. Which then forces us to look at cost... Not that I know how much either option will cost and I know I've always said that I would never shell out thousands of dollars for a 100 dollar pet (well and in truth if we were looking at THOUSANDS of dollars I really wouldn't shell out that much) but how about when it is only a couple hundred dollars? Does one do it? Where is the line drawn? It isn't like Baxter is the world's greatest pet. Anyone who has seen the scars I carry from her biting would know otherwise... but there's something about her, or maybe it is that I can't bear another loss right now. So soon after Minka and my fish (Ok the fish not so traumatized over... Bettas live like what 1 year?) but you get my drift. Because then I really am alone... and apparently swirling down into a pit of self pity... thank you PMS... Moving on...

Second thing: My mother has won a computer from alienware. I want it. How do I convince her I need it? Well I've already broached the subject. Apparently my nephew also wants one. HELLO!! I talk to her sometimes etc. She hasn't heard from him in months AND he has a wicked stepfather who makes a bazillion dollars a year or something. Must continue working on this... I WANT IT! :D Any tips on the convincing process would be greatly appreciated. :)

Final thought... I so wish people would stop asking me if I've gotten my computer back yet. Believe me when it finally gets back I will be so overwhelmed with joy I'll be shouting it from rooftops!

Not much of an update update

So there isn't really much to say lately. I was lazy at the gym this morning (translate this to I didn't go to the gym this morning) and I've been slacking off my water consumption. I sit here and it just starts to taste bad. (really how bad can water taste it is mostly tasteless but still). I'm just hitting a blah spot lately. And I shouldn't be... it is BEAUTIFUL outside right now! The sun is shining the birds are singing it is spring! I don't want to cook either. I don't want to think about cooking. I don't want to think about what to eat. I just want it to magically appear in front of me and be exactly what I didn't know that I wanted for dinner. Or an IV. So I don't have to eat. I've been having a lot of vivid dreams lately about people from the past. I don't know what they're trying to tell me. Maybe they aren't telling me anything and that dreams just are stories. I don't know.

Encampment

Now I know why no one else will volunteer for this job... because the people that you need never answer your fucking emails! Our quantity cook will be unavailable the campout weekend... how to find another one? I don't know and the person who would know doesn't answer me. I have checks to deposit... how to do this? I don't know and the treasurer also doesn't email me back... AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

A Couple of things

First and formost... I WON!!!

For those attempting to keep up with my daily computer saga, I WON I WON NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH... I shouldn't necessarily have won... but I did. I still maintain that I cannot fathom how a dc adaptor (ooh I'm all impressed with myself because I now know what that is) can get broken... of course they can't either which is why they were battling me. Excessive force? How is it excessive force, all I can do is plug it in and unplug it. It is a tight hole, it isn't like I can do a lot of wiggling or shoving... Seriously people... I WON NYAH NYAH NYAH!

Ok moving on...

I went to a happy hour on Friday night with a coworker and a few of her friends. I'm finding it harder and harder to associate with hmm... word here... normal(?) maybe nice... I don't know... people. They were really nice people and I wouldn't mind hanging out with them again, although since she went to college with them all they have a whole history I'll never understand so we'll see what happens. It would be nice to have female friends again. (and again with the normal I know that normal is relative but the bulk of the people I know are gay boys... that's a whole other world).

I went and saw Ella Enchanted today. It was cute but something about the opening sequence made me nauseus. I don't know why. I want to go back and reread the book so that I can see how the two compare. It has been years since I read the book. The audience was full of kids (of course it is a kids movie) who laughed and were all cute... There were a few 'adult' jokes thrown in which all the adults laughed at but the kids were like huh?

Damn I had a thought of one more thing but it fled my head... Oh well... must've been unimportant. :)

Final thought... I WON! :D

Starvation Gulch

So I checked UAF's website... It had nothing to do with alcohol... just celebration of the new year. It has been done since 1923 and the fires are about 'passing the torch of knowledge...'

Meltdown & Drinking...

Ok not necessarily what you're thinking. This morning I was walking across campus and I passed a sign for I think Capture the Flag (or some equally odd college game) being played today. It made me think of Meltdown when we were in Alaska. Then I got all nostalgic... Like we got the day off of classes. I think we spent the morning cleaning up around the campus because of all the debris that suddenly becomes obvious once the snow melts. Then we played mud volleyball and I think we did bonfires (although the bonfire thing may have been in the fall)*. I remember, though, there was always a bbq at the commons and it was just a fun day. That got me to thinking, why don't we have days like this in real jobs? Not just random days off (although those are good too!), but days when the whole company just gets to play... Maybe in real places of employment that's the company picnic (but not at Homestore... :) Maybe it is because by the time we are adults, we don't really want to spend more hours with these people who share cubicle walls... I dunno. I just miss those days today.

*I just realized the bonfire thing WAS in the fall. Starvation Gulch. Another random day off of classes where we spent the day building bonfires and the night burning them... there were contests about the best bonfires and biggest etc. It was to commemorate when the campus tried to go dry some time in the past but then that was repealed. (Although I could be making that up too...)

Drinking: Last night, against my better judgement, I went out drinking. Why was this against my better judgement you ask, because well, I really am a TV geek and I wanted to watch Friends. I figured I'd be home in time. At 8:15 when it dawned on me to check the time, it was obviously too late, so I just continued drinking. V and I played darts (REALLY BADLY!) and trivia (strangely also fairly badly). Then our friend Matt showed up and we played darts alltogether. Then some trannies (transvestites) showed up and V & Matt played darts with them and I got to chat with a lovely queen from Manhatten. He was in town for a wedding and apparently had a panty fetish. He kept trying to buy them from these guys for like 50 bucks. None of them took him up on it... that's the part I found odd. Hell, you want my undies for 50 bucks! I NEED the money... I'll toss em to ya... (you know unless it is that laundry day when I'm wearing the worst ones I own with the holes and other problems... then I might be too embarrassed). The coolest part of the evening was when I ran into my friend Shannon. I haven't seen him since some time last year. He looked very geeky, but also somewhat hot. He had put on weight and it looked good on him (to me at least since you know how i am about big boys...). He is not doing that fabu though... living at home, working at pottery barn blah blah blah. Poor guy. It was good to see him and chat though, and as all gay boys are prone to do... I love me some flattering and he gives it to me so that's always nice. :) Finally crashed at midnight... 5:30 came EARLY this morning... but I did go to the gym. :D

Spam

1 - I received the following email today in my hotmail junk email box. (I check the junk email because I have the screener set to highest so anyone who isn't in my address book is dumped in there and I've periodically missed friend emails who hadn't yet been added to the address book).
To _Vverification of your [Email] adress click on_the_link :

http://go.msn.com/HML/6/1.asp?target=H%54%74P:%2f%2fdfj33ytah%2Ed%41.R%55/?m6s9jbTpN0rnJcMrwLeUlOEHed1e9hjt2

and submit on the_ little window_ _your Citi--bank _ATM_ Card number and CARD
PIN
that you use on_the local _Atm-Machine_.

mOmA2X7O8P 1p6g0wt2gwz 1d9j2h408p0a 955q4q yd9 1z7a6n273ib 1NAdFxk

Seriously, who do they think this is going to fool? And I guess the sad part is that there actually will be people who won't disregard the weird spacing and the spelling on verification and the fact that the address isn't from Citibank. Sigh.

Exercise update

So, you know how when you start exercising regularly and nothing really seems to change? Like you step on the scale and it still says 112* lbs even though you're totally working your butt off and can't figure out why the numbers aren't going down. So that is totally me, but I was noticing yesterday that I think my legs are getting a little more definition. And I think I can feel my butt muscles tighter too. My boss claims she can see that my clothes are fitting looser too... That one I have noticed but not on everything (and secret sad fact, I put on a pair of pants I haven't worn in a long time and they seemed tight but I can't remember how long ago I wore them last summer maybe and they may have been tight then too)... In any event, it is a fairly happy discovery nonetheless.

*(like I'd really tell Y'all what I REALLY weigh)

I WAS RIGHT!

And my mother is crazy. The certified letter is exactly what I told her it would be... the 200.00 gift cards she was supposed to receive from some contest she won. Ahh... the satisfaction.

Dream Analysis

Last night I had 2 dreams that I can remember. One was very minor I just remember dreaming that I had lost the two earrings in one of my ears. So while there is plenty of interpretation about earrings in dreammoods, there is nothing about dreaming about lost earrings... only broken or pretty or whatever... so no interpretation there. Although it was a very real dream and I woke up reaching for my ear to see if they were there or not.

My other dream centered around me volunteering at an old person's home. I was working with one specific old woman and she wanted to go to the movies. For some reason I remember she didn't have enough money to go so the other people I worked with kept trying to convince me to distract her until she got tired so she wouldn't be mad about not having enough money to go. So looking up the pieces that seemed to be important...

Volunteering: To dream that you volunteer for something or are a volunteer, represents the value of helping others in need. It also implies charity and your willingness to offer your assistance. (Big freaking surprise)

Woman: To see a woman in your dream, represents nurturance, passivity, caring nature, and love. It refers to your own female aspects or may also represent your mother. Alternatively, it may indicate temptation and guilt. If you know the woman, then it may symbolize the concerns and feelings you have about her. (OR)

Old Woman: To see an old woman in your dream, indicates aging and growing old.

Money: (hmmm... except that it wasn't me in the dream with no money) To dream that you have no money, denotes that you have a fear of losing your place in the world or that you feel that you lack the abilities needed to achieve some desired goal. You may be overlooked or neglected by others.

In another recent dream, I was camping and we were eating beef... let's see:

Camping: To dream that you are camping, suggests your need for relaxation and a long-deserved break. You may be looking to be more in touch with nature and for a simpler life. Alternatively, it refers to your social circle and support group. You need to have a sense of belonging, but at the same time be self-sufficient and independent.

Meat: To dream that you are eating meat, signifies that you are getting to the heart of the matter.

Meetings Galore!

For like the first time ever, I have a ton of meetings today... Okay only 2 but they are sucking up 3.5 hrs of my day. I had another one scheduled, but it was cancelled. This morning's went okay but mostly because the guy talked fast and I really really appreciated that. My new least favorite buzz phrase... reinvent the wheel. Something about it just grates.

Matt has posted his views on our field trip to the tulip festival on his blog. (see right).

Eeeek!

When The Breakfast Club is considered an American Movie Classic and played on AMC is this a sign or what?! AND I was surprised to find that although the movie was still edited for language, all the 'questionable' stuff that usually is edited out was back in. ie the part where bender goes to the geek to get his pot out of the geek's pants... "yo ahab you got my doobage?" The geek gets the pot out and hands it to bender.. then he stands up and pants are still undone. It has been SO long since I've seen an unedited version of this movie I didn't even remember that part of the scene. I went to bed before I saw if they did the thing in the media room where it was all full of smoke...

Yup... Great Space Coaster! Your prize will be in the mail you know sooner or later. :)

Gary Gnu

Great Space Coaster? The Electric Company?

Porn...

I read a recent blog in which a guy ranted because they were using condoms in porn now. Not being a regular porn viewer, I didn't really know it mattered. (Not being a guy I guess the same thing is true) It bothered this guy. Weird... I guess this new condom porn is caused by a porn star with an std and now several other porn stars are having to be tested and it is a big drama scare... I guess if I were a porn star (yeah whatever like that would happen) I would want them using condoms. Besides the scads of other pornstars, it is hard to tell where that cock has been... Weird...

My water tastes funny today. I don't know why.

G-no g-news is good g-news with gary g-nu

Know where this is from? Email me and maybe in 10 - 12 months you may win a prize... :) (nothing fancy... maybe a keyring made by a brownie or something silly like that).

Computer update 1.4
The boss of the developmentally disabled Alonzo actually called me back! I was stunned. I seriously figured I would have to fight this battle to the CEO or something. Well, they're not giving in on the excessive force even though I kept saying that I had no idea how this could break inside blah blah blah... He is going to go to his boss and show the bigger boss and they will have a discussion. Then I said that I have been having problems since I first got it and that they've fixed it a number of times for me in the past. He looks and says he only sees this repair. I said OH no... this is part of my issue with Alonzo, I worked with him before and we had trouble. So he looks me up by last name and finds that I have 2 records... Why do I have 2 records?? 1 linked to the old address 1 to the Seattle address... Now let's not even go into the discussion about how last year's repair was when I lived here and they are just stupid... So he asks for a brief recap of previous repairs and I tell him. I think that may have strengthened my case about defective computer to begin with... I hope I don't lose any info that is on there...

Comments on Michelle's comments :)

1 - I know it was surprising. The food was good, just some spice that he uses upsets my stomach.
2 - Thank you. :) I'm trying.
3 - Bi. That's the short answer. Love the one you're with... Fall for the person not the gender... blah blah blah.
4 - I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW!! I should know better than anyone, but when you spend the whole day in long sleeves and jeans because it is chilly, the face tends to be forgotten. Damn face.

A few comments on your weekend

1- Steve finally had that barbecue at his house? Incredible.
2- Well done on following your plan to get out and explore things.
3- Is Matt actually gay? I mean he had that girlfriend for ages after he came out and he is still open to relationships with women. It is so confusing to me.
4- Sunscreen!

Part 3, the long journey home...

So we're on the bus and waiting for the others. Since Matt and I aren't THAT enthused about the tulips, we are like the 3rd ones on the bus. And we wait as others slowly get on the bus until we are one passenger short. You guessed it, delinquinttourist has not joined us yet. We wait. We wait. The old folks on the bus get restless and start voicing that we should leave her. The driver and randomhatguy go looking for her. Again, like these two would know her from any of the other throngs of tourists?? They come back and the old folks continue voicing that we should leave her and to Matt's and my surprise, we do leave her! Wer both are a little startled at this. It is the middle of nowhere, 53 miles from Seattle. We just left this lady?! That was a little crazy to me. On the trip back, we get the full attention of tourguidelinda. Oh lucky us. There was the horrifying story about how she dislocated her hip in the shower while shaving her legs. It took 5 firefighters to take apart the shower door and get her out. All the old people cheered her on and were laughing and being 'suggestive.' There was the little chuckle about the video she had to show and we could fall asleep during the video... way to advertise your own company there tourguidelinda. Especially since we could buy the videos... We also got little jokes about Chris (the driver) sleeping... it was so bad. Never before was I glad to get to Seattle. Matt actually gave her a 1 on her evaluation! I was stunned. 3 was as low as I could go... of course that was before the hip story.

Hmm... where to go next? :)

Tuliptour continued...

So Matt and I go into Tulip Town. It is pretty. There are fields of tulips. Life is good. We wander around then sit down for an ice cream. At the appropriate time, we get back on the bus and wait. And wait. And wait... one person has not come back. She (being Linda) gets off and wanders around Tulip Town looking for her. This is a ridiculous endeavor for 2 reasons... 1 - I don't think tourguidelinda would recognize delinquint tourist if she had to pick her up out of a line up. 2 - It would be like wandering the mall parking lot looking for your husband who parked the car somewhere but you don't know where... So... tourguidelinda decides to leave without delinquint. We are pulling out of the parking lot when delinquint tourist shows up. (Remember this story).

We're now off to Rozengaarde fields (there is no link, sorry). We pull in and are given an hour to wander the grounds. As before, rows and rows of tulip fields. Best irony thus far, the people standing in the rows getting their picture taken right next to the "Do not enter rows" sign. Now at this point Matt (who is from this area) and I are discussing the tulip fields and the purpose since they are mostly open and on their way to being done. I was under the mistaken impression that these fields are for cut flowers. They are not. They are for bulbs and he explained how the bulbs multiply blah blah blah I won't give you a whole lot here because although it is interesting when you're standing there, it isn't THAT interesting. This fascinates me, though because on the boat down there is a whole discussion about not picking the blooms because that's stealing. When I thought these were for cut flowers, I could totally see that. In the video we are shown on the bus on the way back, they show the farm guys just picking the heads and dumping them into big trashbags... I guess I could see that if people in the first weeks picked all the ones they wanted there would be nothing for the rest of us to see, but you know... Anyway, we're wandering around the gardens. They have a fairly nice display of all their different varieties. We have decided that we like the Queen of the Night variety the best. They are a really dark purple, almost black. So I suggest we have someone take our picture in front of some tulips. Matt gets all snarky about how they already think we're a couple don't encourage them... So I was like fine, and we went into the gift shop, and then he says, well, just because I said I didn't want to doesn't mean I won't do it. Boys... even gay boys. So we go over to this one area. Did I happen to pick the part of the gardens with NO tourists?? Apparently. I accost a nice little old lady who takes our picture. As we're getting back on the bus, tourguidelinda remarks to me that I have gotten some sun. I just smile in that, really? tell me something I don't know way, and Matt comments, that I really only have 2 colors red and white (which is one of my favorite phrases to describe myself). I turned and looked at him and said, yeah, that kind of thing would be why they think we're a couple.

Sunburn, Tulips and a tourguide named Linda

Where to start?

Sunday Morning 7ish: Matt and I are racing down Pike to get down to Pier 69 so that we can catch the Victoria Clipper to go to the Tulip festival. Now 7ish on a Sunday morning is EARLY, but I was told by the reservations lady at Grey Line that we needed to get there between 7:15 and 7:30 so the boat can leave at 8:00. First of many "tales" we were told. :) We got there about 7:55, but managed to get on board. According to our tickets the boat wasn't supposed to leave until 8:15. Thank goodness we didn't get there at 7:15 or we both woulda been quite pissy. As predicted, except for the families with children, we are the youngest people on the boat by many many years! There is this one group of old women sitting nearby. They giggled over everything! Including 6 of them sharing 1 can of diet coke with 6 straws. Hysterical I'm telling you. Other notable people... we had Danny Zuko (from Grease) on our boat... Black high top Chuck Gordons, Black shorts, Black leather jacket. The first time I walked by I thought he was the older brother of the kids that were with him (maybe 11ish and 8ish), then realized nope, he's their dad. Eeep. Several mad scientist types wandering aboard with the giant white Albert Einstein hair.

Sunday 10ish: We get off the boat at La Connor. La Connor is a cute little town. With a main street. And. That's. It. We had like 3 hours to kill there. We wandered up the block and down the block and ducked into a little woodshop. They had beautiful pieces. An older gentleman was arguing with the shopkeeper about debit cards etc. I wasn't really following it but basically he came off as paranoid about new technology. I wonder where that stereotype comes from. ;) Hit a lunch spot where we could sit on the deck. It wasn't that fabulous. Wandered around town and finally killed enough time to join the throng of old people in line to get on the busses. For the first time ever in my life, being at the end of the line got me something good. (although this was 100% illogical the way they loaded these busses). There was one of the really nice busses in the front of the line and one of the olde rless nice busses in the back. Logic would've dictated that they would've loaded the front bus with the people in the front of the line and the back bus with the people in the back of the line. This is not what they did. They moved all the people from the front of the line to the back bus and loaded them first (presumably since they were in the front of the line?) Then we moved up and got on the fancy bus. Where we met Linda our tourguide. Just a note, prior to getting on the bus we were all almost killed by back bus driver as he turned on the road and we kept inching out of the way but were not really able to get far enough out of the way. During this potential death line, everyone got out of order, but in what I found a simply fascinating thing, all the old people remembered where they belonged in line and got right back into their proper spots. WTF? Nobody does that! Matty P and I (being the snarky pair that we are) go immediately to the way back of the bus. We get going and head for our first stop "Tulip Town". On the way tourguidelinda is telling us stories about the area. She must've said really about 100 times in the 10 minute drive. Everything is really gorgeous, or really beautiful, or really interesting. She also had that annoying tourguide habit of talking to the people up close to her and then answering into the speaker so we had to invent the other half of her conversation. She pointed out fascinating facts like in the fall you can go up and go to roadside stands where the farmers of the area sell their wares. And how we can smell the broccoli and cauliflower in the fall. (I think that's a nice way of saying it stinks in the area in the fall).

To be continued later...

Ugh Tummy

My poor tummy. So shortly after Michelle encouraged me to keep a headache journal of all the things I ate on days when I got a headache, they stopped. Hmm... Interesting. Now, the next phase should be keep track of all the foods that upset my stomach. There seem to be a lot of them. I went to a barbecue at Steve's today. Something I ate did NOT agree with me at all. There are the things that I already know bother me, spaghetti & pizza sauce for example. Sigh. If I eliminated everything that upsets my stomach, I would eat practically nothing. On the happy side of the house, I baked cookies today. They turned out really well. Instead of using butter, I used applesauce and instead of the regular flour, rice flour. They are chewy and tasted pretty good. There was definitely a much sweeter taste to them. Probably because the applesauce is sweeter than regular butter would be. If I do this in the future, I'll have to cut back on the sugar, or do 1/2 applesauce 1/2 butter. I am taking some with me tomorrow when Matty P and I go to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. I am pretty excited to go, I wanted to go last year.

In other news, I hate hate hate the people who live in the building next to mine. I think I have finally figured it out. I think they come home from the bar and then feel some compulsive need to sit on their balcony and talk. I think they're smoking since I think at least once I caught a whiff of smoke smell. I hate them because they are so fucking loud! It is 2 - 3 in the morning and they're out there laughing and carrying on. I may kill them. Actually, I should just throw open my window and yell "shut the fuck up" at them.

Asshole computer repair place did not call on Friday. I'll call again on Monday and then go to yet a higher boss. Yuck.

I had a really vivid dream last night. I wish I could remember the details to look them up. I remember remembering it this morning when I was lying in bed, but now for the life of me I have no idea what it was about. I need to put a notebook by my bed so that I can write this shit down.

Disheartening

Nothing is more disheartening than discovering that the teeny tiny bank balance one has is NOT because all of your bills cleared... Oh no, it is much worse than that... NONE of the bills have cleared. I guess I should be thankful my mom is a freak... I have a couple bucks I can deposit. sigh.

Joanne's Dream, Second Opinion

I think that when you consider all of the factors in your dream that a decent interpretation is that you are glad that you are over the yeti and seeing him made you realize that.

Dream Analysis

That isn't too bad at all. How come you get all the good dreams?

Last night I dreamt about my purple parka from when I lived in Alaska. (It was a reversable coat and I never wore the purple side out). The sleeves were frayed like they are now and it was being worn by, yes the yeti. I think he has made a sudden reappearance beacuse I saw him Wed. He was all gone from my dreams until then... Dreammoods.com doesn't really have much to say on THIS ex-boyfriend dream since all he was doing was wearing my purple parka and being really cold (I think the cold part is because I was FREEZING in my bedroom last night), but talks about coats etc:

Coats: To see or wear a coat in your dream, symbolizes your protectiveness and defensive persona. You may be isolating yourself. Consider also the color, appearance, and type of coat for additional significance.

To dream that a coat is old, worn, or shabby, then it suggests that you are feeling down on yourself. (I'm not 100% sure that I agree with this one only because in my dream the coat was as shabby as it is presently so it was actually a good representation of my coat.)

Cold: To dream that you are cold, indicates that you are experiencing a breakthrough in some area in your life. Alternatively, you may be feeling isolated. You sense of coldness could reflect your feelings about that person. The dream may also occur as a result of your immediate environment in which you are really feeling cold. (My bedroom... freezing since the window is way open and I was under like 3 blankets last night)

Purple: Purple is indicative of devotion, healing abilities, loving, kindness, and compassion. It is also the color of royalty, high rank, and dignity.

Interesting, yet hmm... I don't know that I agree about any of these. :D

Michelle's Dream Analysis

In my dream last night, there was this weird part where I was taking a shower and in the back wall of the shower there was this furnace thing that was eye-level. There was a fire in there. It totally freaked me out, but I just looked it up on Dream Moods and it doesn't seem all that bad.

Fire
...in particular, if the fire is under control or contained in one area, it is a metaphor of your own internal fire and inner transformation. It also represents your drive and motivation.

Shower
To dream that you are taking a shower in clear, fresh water, denotes spiritual or physical renewal or the need to wash a burden out of your life. It is also symbolic of forgiveness.

Small good news

Since I broke beloved mp3 player, I'm upstairs in vladdy's apt downloading whatever is on it onto his computer. The good news is that my personal journal is on here so I've now uploaded it to yahoo so that I can access it at work. whee!

Oh damn the bad news... the last time i downloaded my journal to the mp3 player was september. there are like a million journal entries since then. I have to get computer back. :(

Life unscripted

Well, finally I called the computer repair place today. I left a message with the boss. I was very nice and that's good. :)

Last night, I went to a wine & cheese thing for bookfest. Of course, the yeti was there. He made his way across the room (at least it seemed that way to me, I didn't go anywhere and he was at the opposite side of the store and slowly he was next to me). We chatted for a few minutes that whole how's everything going. He looked good. I got my first compliment from him, ever I think. He said he liked my hair. I told him that Minka died and the worst Valentine's day ever is waking up with a dead ferret in your bed. And later that day I got hit by a car. He didn't know what to say to that. Really, there is nothing to say to that. :) He told me about his world. Things didn't sound like they were going so well. He coulda had one good thing in his life, but I refrained from pointing THAT out. All in all it was pleasant and I got across the point that I'm doing well. but damn i miss him. i know i'm dumb... :S

Oh the rage

I can't even put it into words. I will be calling Alonzo's boss tomorrow and maybe that will help me. The hatred I have for this one man is indescribable.

However, on a funny but slightly alarming story note, I was doing a search yesterday for my boss for information on Ostomy bags and Crohn's Disease to put together little hand outs for this month's benefits lunch topic. (A woman who has an Ostomy bag and Crohn's disease is coming for a talk). Anyway... I did a google search for Ostomy bag FAQ. I was most alarmed to find this:
Alt.sex.enemas FAQ... FAQ Part 6 -- The Snake and I; FAQ Part 7 -- Mineral Oil ... The "high-volume bag" usually holds 2500 CC (over 2 ... Medical and ostomy stores carry many of these items ...
www.sexuality.org/l/fetish/enemafaq.html - 61k - Cached - Similar pages

EEEK! So did not open this site to find out what it had in store for me. And sorry, sweetie, I am not opening my mind on this one at all!

Weekend Update with Jimmy and Tina and Joanne

Or Just Joanne. :)

Friday: Ahh the bliss of working for a Jesuit University. I had this day off! Yippee for me. So first things first I call satan's computer repair and of course the ever useless Alonzo does not answer. I leave VM. This would continue two more times throughout Friday. And, I didn't want to leave the house until after 5:00 EST because they work until that time and I was hoping maybe I'd get a call. Of course I didn't. So then V and I went drinking. At like 4 in the afternoon. (here's where I have to make a shameful confession, I couldn't remember what nights I went drinking with V until I thought about who was bartending the two nights that he and I went out recently... is that a BAD sign or what?) We played trivia. I like playing trivia and now have registered with their system. Am I a geek or what. V kept getting madder and madder because he was doing badly at trivia. :D Of course the cough suppressent with Codeine that he drank before he went for real drinks could've had an influence there. Hmm... What else... I watched a lot of TRASH tv. Gotta love that Judge Mills and Maurey Povich. A little Days of Our Lives rounded out the trashfest. It was good.

Saturday: Hmm... Saturday is a bit of a haze because I think all I did was lay around in my jammies most of the day. Until like 3:00 when I got a bug up my ass that the next day was Easter so the grocery store will be closed and if I was going to get fruits and veggies, I would need to do that before Sunday. So I went down to the Pike Market and then up to QFC and bought groceries. Went out with vladdie later in the evening and played trivia.

Sunday: Same bug that forced me to the grocery store on Sat, caused me to want a nice ham for Easter dinner. Of course I haven't actually had an Easter dinner since the last time I lived with my parents but whatever. (Strange that same bug caused me to go out shopping on Thursday night because I wanted to bake a cake feeling the need to be very domestic it appears). Again lounged around in my jammies much of the day. Finally got dressed and eventually went up to Vladdie's to watch Spirited Away. It was a very good movie, a little weird and each time you thought, this can't get any weirder it did, but still a very good movie. I highly recommend it.

I also watched Mona Lisa Smile, Dickie Roberts Former Child Star and Pieces of April this weekend. All good movies.

Today I signed letter of smackdown from my boss. Luckily it didn't go with lecture of smackdown part 2. Whatever. I'm tired. I really think I should be a librarian. :)

Computer Repair

Seriously I hate them (them being the computer repair place in case you aren't up on my thoughts while I have them) worse than anything I have ever hated in my life (okay maybe close second behind heinous ex brother in law, but seriously it is only nanometers behind). Called them today to get a status. What's my customer number. I don't have a freakin customer number you asshats, BUT YOU have had my computer since March 19th, so you better have a customer number for me. She looks my serial number up in the computer and then asks a bunch of questions about my name and crap. Fine fine... Then she says an estimate has been done for 375. WTF??!! Since computer is covered under warranty how is there an estimate?? AND FUCK IT TOOK THEM TWENTY DAYS TO COME UP WITH THIS?!?!?! So she looks at estimate. To fix the keyboard, there is sand and grit in it, so it isn't covered. Fine... It is only the 6 key and the - key that don't work I can survive... BUT The DC adapter is also not covered since it is broken due to excessive force. WTF??!! NO! OH NO! So I ask her about the estimate but she can't answer my question since she is not a computer tech, she is just a ditz who answers the calls. She'll transfer me. Now I foolishly assume she transferred me to the computer tech in charge of my estimate. No, random computer tech who can't answer my line item quesitons about estimate. I have to call back tomorrow when alonzo... Oh yes THAT ALONZO (Scroll down.. there's plenty of hatred for stupid computer repair place spewing forth) will be back. Damn... I wonder if I could sell a kidney or something and have enough to buy a new computer...

Librarian

Ok so while I was watching Firestarter Rekindled last night I got this great urge to change careers and become a librarian. Stop laughing your asses off... c'mon couldn't you see me as a librarian. Shushing people and all that. Seriously though, I like books, I like to research stuff, what else do librarians do? I could handle story hour (although I have a weirdly difficult time reading aloud so I'm not so sure about that one). I may have to seriously look into this. Someday I dream of a job that challenges me... someday...

Firestarter Rekindled, Joanne's Conundrum et al.

Ok -

Firestarter Rekindled
I watched this movie last night. I got sucked into it on the Sci Fi Channel. I was only going to watch for a few minutes until the 7:30 Friends came on, but I got sucked in. I liked it and didn't like it. :) I kinda liked knowing what happened to Charlie so many years later (what Drew Barrymore too popular now to replay this part... prolly I guess maybe too old?) But the continuity between the original Firestarter and this one was wrong and that bugged. For example, Charlie's dad dies in a completely different way in Rekindled than he did in the original. Just little stuff. I also didn't understand how the rainbird character killed those people with his stick thing that he would stick into their heads... It didn't look pointy like an ice pick and would break off. I know that he stuck it in places that had soft tissue... (by the jaw I think) but it takes a lot of force to stick something and break the skin, so how did he do it? Especially with the boyfriend, Vincent... He wasn't even holding on to Vincent, just was standing next to him with the thing against his head.. Ok so it wasn't that great, but still... I like movies where things blow up. :D

Joanne's Conundrum
So now that I've been given official letter of handslap because of my IM usage and failure to work to her specifications, I am conundrumed. Part of me really wants to just give up. I am no longer happy here. I don't make enough money to put up with this bs. And, yeah, I'll cop to screwing up, but give me a freaking break. It is only because I'm SOOO bored that I do little to no work. And there is little to do. Shouldn't my job be at least interesting or challenging or something? The more logical part of me says... dumbass it took you forever to find this job. Just stick it out. You'll never have it this cush again... (37 hr work weeks, holidays etc...) of course if I have no money, what good is it for me to have all these holidays? :) So the smarter part is saying stick it out 2 months. Then she goes on mat leave. Then she'll come back 1/2 time and given that she wants to be a stay at home mom, I doubt that will even last that long. Then see what happens... That's the most smartest answer. :D

Ha!

So I found a link to this site from another weblog and it is cracking my doodie up... Especially THIS one...

Courtesy of Michelle...

1) Using band names, spell your name
J Jet
O Outkast (I had to search Launch.com for one I couldn't think of any bands starting with O)
A Abba
N Nine Inch Nails
N Nickleback
E Evanesence

2) Appearance
Height: 5'7"
Hair color: Reddish Brown
Skin color: The whitest white that ever did white
Eye color: Green
Piercings: 2 in both ears

3) Misc
Color Pants: Khaki Slacks (Ugh, did I just use the word slacks??!!)
Song listening to: According to Launch - What difference does it make by the Smiths
Taste in mouth: Garlic
What's the weather like? Gorgeous! Sun and a few puffy clouds... a tad bit chilly
How are you? Feeling pretty optimistic today.

4) Do you...
Get motion sickness? in cars
Have bad habits? laziness
Get along w/ parents? eh.
Like to drive? Depends on where I'm going
Have you broken the law? eh, not really
Ran away from home? Once - little sister foilied the plans (she will read this and go what? I don't remember that)
Snuck out of the house? Coupla times, never needed to.
Ever gone skinny dipping? Not in this lifetime
Made prank phone calls? Doesn't every kid?
Tipped over a porta-potty? Why would I do this?
Used parents' credit card? Nope
Skipped school? off and on
Fell asleep in tub or shower? Yup, once, taking a bath... you know all relaxing and soothing and shit. Only for like 15 min.
Been in a school play? Nope - painfully shy in school
Have children? Ha! No
Have a crush? Unfortunately
Been in love? If I have to think about it prolly not.
Had a hard time getting over anyone? Yup
Been hurt? Hasn't everyone?
Your greatest regret? Don't really have them but if pressed, prolly never pursuing anything with the sasquatch from summer camp he was HOT and according to others around us interested... (Michelle knows who I'm talking about). (How is it I only seem to yearn for men named after mythological abominable snowmen? ooh wait now I get it... MYTHOLOGICAL)

5) Random
Do you have a job? Yes
CD in your player right now? At home - in the living room Pearl Jam 10, in the bedroom, this CD Michelle gave me for Christmas, Live from the Star Lounge 2003.
If you were a crayon, what would you be? Forest green (I'm embarrassed to admit when I first typed this i misspelled both forest and green)
What makes you happy? Sleeping, New episodes of favorite shows, etc.
Happiest? Reading a great book, when my computer is working, etc.
What's the next CD you will buy? Dunno. It has been a long time since I bought one.
What do you like to do? A little of this a little of that...

Dream Interpretation 2.0

So last night I had another stellar dream... I dreamt I was in a car crash. At first I was riding in the car and then I crashed it into a tree or telephone pole maybe and then I was above me looking at my unconscious self against the steering wheel...

According to my favorite site... dreammoods.com, this is what the crash means:

To dream that you are in a car crash, indicates that your beliefs, lifestyle, or goals are clashing with another's. It may also represent a shocking situation or painful experience. Alternatively, car crashes may forewarn of your dangerous or careless driving habits.

Hmm... given my driving skill... I'd lean toward the careless driving habits. Especially given that there is no shocking situation going on right now and I don't think my beliefs, lifestyle or goals are clashing with another's. If my beliefs, lifestyle or goals are clashing with yours right now, email me and that way I'll know THAT'S what's causing this dream.

two answers

Broccoli:
Some people like raw broccoli. It is ok to eat it raw. I just don't like it that way. Raw broccoli is best steamed until tender but not limp. You can do it the traditional way with the basket and the water or you can cheat a little and just put about a half inch of water in the bottom of the pan and throw the broccoli in the pan. You can always put a little bit of water in a covered dish and microwave it, but that way is riskier. You might overcook it.

Baby showers:
I'd say $10-$15 if you can find a really cute gift. Get something off a clearance rack that is really cute or something from the registry that is not too expensive but is highly useful. Two things that new mothers rarely register for but are important are a sleep positioner and a sleep sack.

Baby Shower

Hmm... what is the appropriate sum of money to spend on your boss' baby shower gift when you don't have a lot of money to begin with?

Broccoli hmm...

So is broccoli supposed to be eaten cooked? (damn am I displaying my vegetable ignorance). I always see it on veggie platters so I assumed that it would be pretty good raw... I mean I know that it can be cooked beyond a shadow of its former self and then covered in melted cheese so that you actually can't taste anything but slime and more slime - oh no wait that's the way my mom cooks... And I've seen it in beef and broccoli but I figured that since it is on veggie trays it was fine raw. Hrm. Now I either have to figure out how to cook it (I think I might actually have the little wire shelf for my rice cooker to steam it) or try it out raw. Damn this veggie business is hard!

Raw broccoli? Even I wouldn't go that far and broccoli is my favorite. I like my broccoli cooked.

And, good job on the correct clothes size buying.

2 Things

Michelle would be proud of me for...

1 - When I bought the new clothes, I actually bought sizes that FIT me! Not ginormous like I usually do (although the new blue button down shirt I'm wearing right now could possibly be one size smaller but this is technically my size and not the size I buy...)

2 - I bought broccoli. I haven't eaten it yet, it is just in my fridge. I will cut it up and eat it raw but... it is going to take a bit of inspiration.

What a great day!

This has been a totally great day thus far! Given all the crap that has happened thus far this year (both good and bad but face it mostly bad) it was a nice change of pace. I got up at the buttcrack of dawn again... :( BUT I went shopping! YIPPEE!! Shopping! I am so pleased. Because of the big store sale and the coupon I have that they allowed me to combine I spent only 5 dollars getting a ton and a half of clothes. (oh yeah... gift certificates too. :) ) 3 new button down shirts, 1 new pair of regular pants, 1 new pair of crops, 2 new bras and 2 new tshirts. It is a very good day for me. I also bought a new book - Dancing Barefoot. It was good. I read it already. I went to the library and got some lunch. Got home just after 1 and watched a little tv. Took a little nap. A totally all about me day! I like those days. Maybe being busy and volunteering helps me appreciate more the 'me' days. :) I'm heading out to hang with v. should be a nice afternoon. Have a great day whatever you do today! :)

This morning

Has taken FOREVER! There was no orientation for me to do (good to suck up at least 1 hr maybe more). :( I did actually do work though, so... there's hope for me yet.

Shopping

Yippee!! I found my gift certificate remainder (finally) and am going shopping on Saturday for some spring clothes! If my calculations are correct, I can probably get 2 pairs of pants, 2 new shirts and 2 bras. That'll be good!

On Volunteering

Yesterday I was asked why I volunteer so much. My tongue in cheek answer was that I needed to do something to perk up my meaningless, depressing life. Stranely enough, that is a part of the answer. Although I've lived in Seattle almost 2 years, I still don't have a lot of friends - especially friends outside the gayboy world. If left to my own devices, I would sit in my apartment on my fat ass watching TV and getting fatter. Volunteering forces me out of the house. On a recent Sunday, it was the first weekend day in a month where I didn't have anything scheduled. What'd I do? Watched TV. Lets face it, I know myself pretty well and I'm lazy. :)
Despite my belly-aching about everything, my life is pretty good. Yeah, it would be nice to meet Mr. Right (or even Mr. Right-Now), or to earn more money (who would turn down more money, really??). In the grand scheme of things, though, I can't complain. I can put food on my table (most of the time), have a roof over my head, etc. To that end, I feel like I should do good things for my community. I can't afford to donate money to charities anymore, so I donate time. Because of my job, I have PLENTY of free time. I like to use it for causes I support.
Finally, I get to meet a lot of different people when I volunteer who have at least some of the same interests I do. Maybe sometime I'll meet Mr. Right at one of these things. Or a Mr. Right Now... or just a couple cool people to hang out with. So things didn't work out with the last Mr. Right Now I met volunteering, this doesn't mean it won't in the future and now, thanks to him, I know that I can walk up to a guy (ok cowardly email a guy) and ask him out and I won't die. (ok I might now that I'm old... )

So there you have it... a long and probably boring treatise on why I volunteer. Any questions? :)