Monday, January 31, 2005

Home early

Matty P & I ended up coming home early because the bar has been recently painted and the smoke combined with the fumes made it really crappy inside to breathe. We were later than usual going out too because Matty P had to call a couple of clients. While waiting for him, I dozed off on my sofa. When did I turn into my grandmother?? The phone totally scared me. While we were playing up on the 3rd floor, this group of 3 guys asks if we mind if they play next to us. We're nice(ish) folks so say sure. Suddenly there are like 6 of them and they are smoking and mostly standing in the way. That was not so pleasant. Reminder to self: Matty P said we could play the icky bowling dart game in 2006. :)

I was home in time to watch the train wreck that is 7th Heaven. Luckily I had a drink before at the bar so that makes the show more tolerable.

While digging through my arts & crap box looking for scrapbooking stuff for work I found the most fun thing ever! Shrinky Dink paper. We can design our own. I'm tempted to share with the brownies because that would be the nice thing to do, but I am also feeling a little greedy and don't want to share. Plus I only have 5 sheets and there are 8 girls so I would have to cut each in half and find small designs for them to trace. Hmm... what to do what to do? They would love it, LOVE IT. and it has been in the arts & crap box for like 2+ years. I'll have to think on it further. (Who am I kidding, I'm totally going to do this with the brownies, I just have to figure out what to do with it)

Exploration continued

One thing I forgot to mention... While I was walking through a somewhat wooded area of the park, I've got Tori Amos's version of '97 Bonnie & Clyde by Eminem blaring through mp3 player. That wasn't at all creepy or anything... Or maybe it was.

And yes, unfortunately, I'm sure the all the little spaces and hidey holes I delighted in under trees are used for far more rated R or X activities than the G rated activities I would like to dream about. I'm not 100% niave... only 96.5%. :)

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Music Stuff...

Did you know that Nelly & Tim McGraw did a song together. And weirder... It wasn't terrible. I kind of liked it. Is this a sure sign of the apocalypse?

I found this quiz to be kind of funny...




1985 by Bowling for Soup





"Where's the mini-skirt made of snakeskin?
And who's the other guy that's singing in Van Halen?
When did reality become T.V.?
What ever happened to sitcoms, game shows?"

You took the bitter with the sweet in 2004 - and kept laughing.



Exploration

Another chapter in the continuing saga of Joanne field tripping around town found me wandering over to Volunteer Park. I've never been there and took the bus. I felt kind of dumb when I walked home realizing it wasn't as far as I thought. I did 9482 steps to Vounteer Park & home which is 2.38 miles. In addition to my 2800 this morning to & from QFC that's 12282 steps today. I'll explain the step counting thing in some other post. On to the pics...



In the park were all these cool under tree areas surrounded by bushes. If I were 8 years old again I would love to play in these areas so much. They would be amazing forts, or where fairies would hide. I know Peeved Michelle, my wedding coordinator, would disapprove, but I could envision a very cool tiny wedding under these trees. (Ok I know I'm not even dating someone but a gal can dream right?)



I was fascinated by this building. Apparently it is a water tower. I wanted to go up inside of it and there is a stairway to do so, but it was closed.



The stairway to go up in the water tower to the observation deck. I stuck my hand in this gated doorway to take this. Doesn't it look spooky cool?



These trees looked like they were just waiting for asses to sit on them. Don't they look comfy? I actually sat on one and it made me feel 9 years old again.



Look! A squirrel. The blue graffitti saddens me though.



A house on Capitol Hill. Peeved Michelle wanted me to go to Queen Anne to take pics of houses. There are tons of cute houses on Capitol Hill. If only I were independently wealthy.



These salmon are etched in the sidewalk in front of an apartment building on the hill. There's a whole run of them doing various leaps like that.



This is my favorite tree. I walk past it frequently on my way to & from the grocery store and the bar. It is in front of this old folks home. I just really like its shape.

He shoots! He Scores!

I went to another hockey game tonight. Coworker, her friend and I all met up on the monorail and then went over to the game. It was a very exciting game. Everett kept pulling their goalie so they could have six men on the ice. Ultimately the T-Birds won 3 - 2. There wasn't as much fighting as there usually is, though so that was a bit of a downer. However, I'm sitting next to these 2 boys who are totally my type* and the one is chatting me up. He is very cute and we were having a grand ol' time. At one point he even touched my knee to have me move out of the way of the people coming back into our row. The problem... You know there'll be one... And for a change it isn't because he is gay. It is worse. Gold band, left hand. Dammit! His buddy was cute too, and no ring that I saw... I kept hoping they'd change seats but they didn't. I wonder if they are season ticket holders...Better bust out my night vision goggles. :)

*My type tends to run to bigger beefier guys. I'm not a little person so I don't want to feel all Jack Sprat & his wifey. Although somehow I tend to date skinny little geeks. How does that happen??

For KTP - I did a google search and try here for a place that will ship to IL.

Saturday, January 29, 2005

Success!

I am currently in possession of a bottle of Cabana Boy Wild Cherry Rum. I found it at Beverages & More. I went to the store, but it looks like you can buy it online, too. I agree with Stephen. I think lime flavored rum would be fantastic. It would go nicely with my diet Pepsi.

I feel pretty...

Oh so pretty... There's something about doing girlie beauty treatments that just brightens the day. In the shower this morning, I used some salt scrub and when I got out this incredibly girlie lotion from my sister. Sweet pea scent. I am going to paint my nails a nice girlie normal color (not like the blues or greens or purples I usually like, although since I have had this job I haven't painted them those colors).

Lunch date

Matty P & I were having lunch together in little boss's office when the payroll manager walked by on her way to her office. Then she walked by again and was looking at us. It took me a minute to realize she was asking me a question... Is that your boyfriend? Hee. I shook my head no. Matty P & I laughed about it after she walked away. Especially because Matty just thought she was staring at us randomly. She came by my office later and asked about him and I told her no, we're just friends from college. And the most important part... he's gay. :D

Friday, January 28, 2005

All may be redeemed

Biggest boss came up and had a little chat with me about the job and the status of the job and all of that and how I was feeling because he knew I was upset. I was and I cried (again Dammit!) and I told him that if he had no intention of hiring me for the job, he shouldn't have encouraged me and that I felt played. He asked where that idea came from, and I told him that once the other 3 candidates turned out to not pan out, and now he was bringing in more and the job was reposted what was I supposed to think. He said that wasn't his intention and that he had been thinking of changing the position a bit to include employee relations. If that change happens, I wouldn't want it anyway. So we talked it all out and I feel better about both my boss & my job. He told me the concerns he had with me and the position. One was appearance and presentation, which he has noticed an improvement in. Michelle pointed out if this was an issue it should've been brought up before, but I think it is more that it is an issue if I were the boss and not the little admin that I am. Dress for the job I WANT not the job I have. The other was a concern little boss had about accountability blah blah blah. He apologized for making me feel that he was insincere and that I had been played. That (and this happens a lot actually because our benefit's office is separate from the general HR office) he had thought I knew about the change he's thinking of for the position. So once we talked it all out, I am feeling a lot better about my boss and my current job and my potential for the new job. He said that he genuinely liked me and appreciated me and it troubled him that he had upset me the way he had. And I believe him, my first impression of him was that he is a good guy and a good boss - usually I'm not THAT far off. We talked about some of the duties of the new job and now I have more to think about. He didn't offer me the job, but we did talk about what the next step if these other 2 don't work out. One option he said would be to bring in the 2nd candidate for the 3 days a week and she would really train me up. On the one hand this aspect does appeal to me because if it worked out the way it should, I would really learn the things I don't know and need to know. And it would be nice to actually LEARN it from somone who knows and not have to figure it out for myself. If it actually worked out that way. One of the things little boss had told me was that I would be able to learn from her, but since I knew more than she did on many things and she never invited me to the meetings I would need to attend to learn the other stuff, it didn't really happen. Stay tuned for news at 11 about how it really turns out. But at this point I'm not in an all fired hurry to leave - although I did send my resume to my friend. :)

Bad January

It seems like many people I know are having less than stellar Januaries: V, myself, Timmy!. This got me to thinking, if you have a bad, say October, most people just write it off as a bad month, no big deal. January, though, sets the tone for the entire year. If you have a bad January, you figure that the rest of the year is going to be crap too. January is this big month of rebirth and renewal and fabulous new things. Yet, we are still going to the same jobs, breathing the same air and essentially are the same person as we were December 31st. We have all these big hopes and ideals for 'the new year.' That's a lot of pressure for one little month to withstand. One of my coworkers mentioned some study done where January 24th was the most depressing day of the year - statistically people were most depressed on that day. I can see it, for the most part, that's the day where you realize your New Year's resolution is crap and that your life is basically exactly the same as it was on December 30th. You realize that 05 is not going to be THE year and you know what, 06 isn't looking like it will be either. I think I have to focus on the hope that February will be better - baby steps instead of one giant leap at a time.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

For you non believers

I bring you Cabana Boy Flavored Rum. Available at your local gay bar and/or the liquor store nearest your local gay bar. Gotta love the gays for one thing apparently! Prevalence of fruity liquors. Besides wild cherry, there is raspberry, vanilla, strawberry kiwi, citrus, strawberry banana, orange, pineapple coconut. Check out dress the cabana boy for a little fun. :D

Joanne's niavete

Job drama has come to a head, and not in a good way for me. We left off with candidate 2 not necessarily going to work out because of the hours she wanted and candidates 1 & 3 being unacceptable. Now since I was to be held up with those, one would think that I would be the next logical candidate. One would be completely and 100% wrong. Tuesday, I found out from coworker 1 (I went to the basketball game with her, she's the one who works at Barnes & Noble), that biggest boss had been having a chat with an MBA candidate (not an interview, just a chat) and biggest boss encouraged her to apply. For the job. That was supposed to be closed.

Yesterday, I spent the day trying to get into biggest boss's office to find out the scoop, what was going on now that candidate 2 was out. Didn't happen. This morning, I snare biggest boss between meetings to find out what the scoop was and what this means in terms of me and the position. (Keep in mind he has known since Monday C2 wouldn't work out). Well, he says, C2 isn't going to work out because we just can't get the schedule to work. But, happenstance he was talking to a gal who he thought would be a good match so he is going to bring her in for an interview and someone else has submitted a late application so he is going to check that person out too. What does this mean for me? Well, I would've been compared with those 3 but the other 2 candidates were unacceptable so he is bringing in some other candidates. So then he says he wants someone with more general HR experience. He asks me how I am feeling about that, and as I walk out on the verge of tears, I'm fine I say.

How am I feeling? Hurt, Disappointed, like this has been a shady deal? He's known my experience this entire time, and NOW he has decided I'm not right. At any time (including in the beginning) he could've said 'You know we want someone with more experience.' I wouldn't have been thrilled, but I wouldn't feel like I've had one put over on me. I've wasted all this hope and time fretting about something I wasn't ever going to get. He told me I could apply. He told me I'd be in the top 2. NOW apparently I'm not good enough? PLUS yeah, late application my ass. The job has been reposted and is now out in the newspaper again. If he never had any intention of hiring me he should've been up front. I shouldn't have had to ask. I shouldn't feel like he was jerking me around.

The part that's making me cry the worst, I really valued him as a boss. I thought he was a good person, and I believed in him. And now I can't. When my coworkers & I have interviewed people, they always say he's the best boss and now I don't believe he is. For me, I try to look for the good in people and I'm loyal to the people I know and like. Since it is so hard for me to trust someone to begin with, when they break it it hurts me that much more. And I believed this boss when he said he would give me a fair shot and now I know that's not true. I feel like the whole thing was just so shadily done and I can't stay there anymore. He barely would look me in the eye while we were having this little chat. So to that end, I'm applying to the job in Mountlake Terrace. Hell, I could always move to suburbia and for the same rent I pay, get an apartment with a dishwasher, washer/dryer and deck. I would love to container garden on a deck.

Is 05 over yet? I'm getting kind of tired of sadness and tears.

Things I hate about me...

That I cry when I'm angry. It makes me angrier and then I cry harder and it is a vicious cycle that makes me crazy. I'll post why I'm angry later, when I'm not crying. :)

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Decadent

Is sitting on my sofa in jammies, curled up with a polar fleece blanket, eating cake with chocolate frosting and drinking a glass of cherry rum-lemonade just a little too decadent for a Wednesday night?

What things cost

I am not one of those who obsess about the cost of food. When I lived in Alaska they (being whomever does these sort of things) would put out the cost of living comparison for things like milk, bread, peanut butter and that sort of thing. I never really paid attention. When I owned a car and gas prices were outrageous (they may be now but I don't care) my parents would always try to have inane discussions about the cost of gas. I never knew. It was a necessity and I paid it. I feel I should clarify here, actually. I notice the price of things if it is a special treat that I don't usually buy and I'm buying it because it is on sale. Hagen Daaz at 2 for $5.00. Ok I noticed. Peanut Butter, I have no clue what peanut butter costs. Today, though, I became surprisingly aware of a price. I was picking up a package of angel hair pasta for V, not a purchase I usually make. I was all excited and about to grab a bunch of packages because they were on sale for 1.00. ONE DOLLAR! That's so Cheap! Then I looked at the regular price. $1.49. Oh. Who knew? My stupid gluten free pasta runs $2.79 a box.

I have found my peeps!

Michelle sent me this link this morning about people who are fairly content being alone. I went to the site, and lo and behold, I have found my people. The type of people who, while it would be nice to be in a relationship, don't really feel it is necessary. The type of people who would much rather be alone than as part of a couple if the relationship wasn't good. I think that's a bad sentence but what I mean is that, as we all know, there are people who would do anything to stay in a relationship, including staying with someone long after they should've broken up, or waiting to break up until they've got a new person on the horizon. Now, while I'll freely admit that I've hung on longer than I should've, I eventually did wise up. ;) Both of my sisters are the jump from boyfriend to boyfriend type. (Although the little one who sometimes reads this may dispute that.) Anyway, back to my peeps, I'm slightly fascinated by the website, and (probably wrongly) seriously considering attending quirkyalone camp. It'll be up in BC and I LOVE summer camp (never having gone as a child). I also took their quiz... I scored 111. I wish I knew what that was out of. :) Or maybe it is better I don't.

In other random news, I went to lunch today with my coworker and her friends from another job. We ate lunch and that part was nice, but then (and how I wish I was kidding) they bust out the Saved By The Bell (I don't know which season) DVD's and a portable DVD player and they watched Saved By the Bell. There was something odd yet hysterical about that.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Just accept it

This is the message I received from my family my entire life. I was the middle child. Younger sister always got her way? Just accept it. Older sister frequently disappointed me by making promises she couldn't or wouldn't keep? Just accept it. There's a running joke in our family about how when I was little and my sister would cry for a toy I had, my mother would say "Just give it to her, she'll only cry if you don't." This shouldn't have been okay. I was taught in almost everything to just accept whatever happened. Now, as a 30something adult, I don't know how to stand up for myself when it counts. I am incapable of saying 'this isn't right.' I don't send back food when it is wrong in restaurants. I have a terrible time taking back purchases to stores. I've had friends and boyfriends who treated me poorly. My whole current situation with my job is this exact thing. So while I may not get the promotion I want and/or deserve I'll accept the fact. Why? Path of least resistence maybe. I went from a couple of really crappy ass jobs to this one. I know how much worse it really could be. Thus far this job hasn't made me cry. :) Both of my last 2 jobs did. In fact the casino almost turned me into an alcoholic. I do know that I would not be happy working in some ginormous company where I am a teeny tiny piece of the massive machine.

I guess the only answer is to stop obsessing and fretting and just wait and see what happens. I am not good at waiting to see what happens. I read the last page(s) of my books. I check TWOP to find out who won certain shows before I actually see the end (The Apprentice & Real World/Road Rules Challenge).

In answer to Matty P's question about talking too much to the poor cheese guy... I chatted about how I couldn't find the Draino. I knew where the cheese was but they moved the Draino and they really shouldn't move the Draino because then people can't find the Draino. (I think I said Draino like 15 times). But I did tell him where to find the cheese. Poor guy looked a little alarmed. Probably totally regretted asking the drunk girl anything. :)

My office

Sometimes it is good that I sit in my office alone. Just now my stomach growled so loud and for so long that I was kind of embarrassed and I'm the only one in here. Yesterday I was listening to Joss Stone and the feeling just moved me so I did a little dancing. Unfortunately, 2 of my 4 walls are windowed and don't look outside, just to other parts of the building. I totally could've been seen, but strangely enough unlike my usual luck no one (like workcrush) was walking by at the time.

A new hope?

Hope may be restored. The person they want (for my boss's job keep up!) wants to work only 3 10 hour days. We cannot accommodate that since my company's official hours are 8 - 4:30. We are supposed to 'regroup.' I don't know what that means. But I have a sliver of hope in my heart again.

Should I do this?

When I told my dad I didn't get my boss's job, his answer was to start trying to find a new one. I told him I didn't want to for blah blah blah reasons and his answer was "It's your life." Is this something I should now be doing? I don't want to leave a job I mostly enjoy, an environment I enjoy, people I enjoy just because of a knee-jerk reaction to a disappointment. But is it stupid of me to stick around? Matty P seems to think it is. So does my father. Am I completely off base with wanting to stay?

Monday, January 24, 2005

What not to ask a drunk girl

When you see her in QFC. Where is the cheese located. She actually knows, but she may share far more than you need to know in her explanation of where the cheese is.

Also, I totally kicked Matty P's ass at darts. He'll claim otherwise, but who is writing this story? :)

My gay pothead bartending fiance and I are adding to the plans for our 'wedding.' We will be married in a church, or maybe a church parking lot.

I do not like 'hipsters.' As I was walking home some guy was nattering to his woman something about waiting for his Lichtenstein and something else that was supposed to be in today. Made my head hurt.

And YAY! The Real World/Road Rules Challenge is finishing tonight! (And now that I've read the forum on TWOP I know the boys win. Big fat hairy surprise!) How is a black tank top and a jump rope formal wear?

Final thought, for the first time in almost a month I'm actually cold. Of course I have the window completely open and I'm wearing shorts & a t-shirt.

Handwriting

I have the most atrocious handwriting. I'm trying to write out this application for Barnes & Noble* and I had to print it out twice because the first time I wrote the info it was too unintelligible. If they were super rich and hired a graphologist they'd probably think I am a pathological, homicidal maniac. It is almost painful it is so bad. I feel like I should go back to kindergarten and do those sheets again where they teach you to write correctly. I blame it on the left handedness. Although my 4th grade teacher was left handed and she had good handwriting and as a result, the only D I ever got in elementary school was from her for handwriting. Who gives regular letter grades for handwriting?

*Because since I'm obviously unqualified to be my boss and I need more money I will take what I can get, unless it means a 1 hr 45 min bus commute to Mountlake Terrace every day.

Other job

My friend from here originally but who now has a new job emailed me the description of the job she is trying to poach me for. It is almost exactly what I do right now, for more money but with the addition of more working with leaves of absence and no retirement plan work. So add the one thing I hate the most in my job and take away a piece I actually like. And add a 1hr 40 min commute via bus or who knows how long via car since I come from downtown and I would be fighting northbound Microsoft traffic. It would be more money. Potential for growth is there because it is a big company and so there is more movability than when it is 2 people in the office. But I don't want to leave here just because I'm bitter over not getting my boss's job. AND if I left here, I'd lose my brownie meeting place. Hmmm... what to do what to do?

Thank you dear readers for kind words (and in Stephen's case the e-card). I really appreciate it and will be back to my normal easily distracted self fairly shortly.

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Joanne's Walk

I decided after all that I was restless and needed to get out of the house for a bit. So at 3, wearing my trusty pedometer and MP3 player I set out. Little did I realize when I started that I would just keep walking and walking and walking. Two and a half hours later, I arrived home after having walked 3 miles and taken 11,964 steps. I went down through freeway park, down Pike, through the market and up Alaska Boulevard. I just keep walking and walking into Myrtle Edwards park. As the sun was setting, I finally decided to turn around. Damn am I tired. A few photos of the sights I saw...



Down on Pier 62/63 there is a section of fence covered with this red writing telling the tale of how there is some great assissination attempt on his life by GW Bush and SS and Hitler. I couldn't get all of it, but it seems he thought he was Adam Sandler.



The words painted into the fence are invisible if you look straight at the fence but from the side it had all these questions painted in very clear block style.



One of the Ponies on Parade. It is some charity thing and the ponies are all over the city. This one is in front of the Odyssey Maritime Museum. I temped there when I was still unemployed and the president of UAF (my alma mater) came in and we had a little chat about UAF. Probably he thought how pathetic it is that one of the graduates is a cashier at a museum.



Continuing down my field trip is a bunch of apartments and the Space Needle in the background.



In Myrtle Edwards park are 3 structures. Adjacent, Against and I think Above, but I'm not positive. The one shown is Against. Notice, if you can, the section underneath where apparently a homeless person camps.



Those rocks are all balanced on one another. It is so freakin cool. I wonder who did them and why.




Walking down Alaska again, the sun was setting. Little digital camera doesn't love the sunset, but somehow I think this one just looks cool.

The Lost Boys

I love this movie. I remember when I was about 12 - 13 is when it came out and I would scrape together 3.50 and ride my bike to the movie theater. And watch it over and over and over again. I think I must've seen it like 15 times in the theater. When it came out on video, I eventually bought it. Somewhere around this teeny tiny apartment I have the soundtrack on audio cassette, and quite possibly on CD, although if I do, I can't remember where it came from. My love for Keifer Sutherland was born because of this movie (he is way hot in it when not in vampire mode). I say all this because today while I was watching, I JUST realized the significance of the Frog brothers' names of Edgar and Allen. Duh, what a ditz I am. Although I guess we knew that based on my crayola color being yellow-orange (or orange-yellow).

Hungover?

I have a vague headache this morning and I can't decide if it is hangover or not. I don't really think it is because I only had 2 drinks last night, and neither seemed very strong. It could be just dehydration in general since I am not a huge water drinker. V & I went to the bar around 7:00 and played darts for a little while. I had 2 Black Forests which are a chocolate/cherry drink. Exceedingly yummy. I was home by 10 since V was meeting someone at Manray and I hate Manray.

Today is baking day. I have muffins in the oven and am thinking of making a cake later today. I want to do something fun this afternoon, but I don't know what. Maybe I'll just take a walk downtown.

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Hmmm...

Should I be concerned that the milk I just bought at QFC has an expiration date of 3/11? That's over a month and a half away! The expiration date is why I picked it since I don't drink milk very often, but it is kind of disconcerting to say the least.

When is Superbowl Sunday? Has it already happened and I'm just unaware?

Stupid Spoiled Whore

Is February the month of no talent hacks? On the cover of my Cosmo Magazine was Asslee Simpson. And worse, on the cover of my Jane, Paris Hilton. Asslee isn't really a stupid spoiled whore, if her show is any indication. It is quite clear that there is only one Simpson daughter in the family. The way her dad treats her, Asslee is clearly the stepchild or milk man's baby. Paris on the other hand, is the epitome of stupid spoiled whore (tm SouthPark). She is no better than Trashelle from the Real World. Her sole reason for fame is how skanky she is and her crappy TV show. At least Asslee has a crappy record too. Go away... Go far far away! Ha. The reason for Paris being on the cover of my magazine, her new found purity. Please.

Since February is the month of Valentine's day, be prepared for all sorts of crankyness. I hate Valentine's Day. Even when I had a Valentine I hated it. It is just to much pressure and commercialism. I'm fairly certain nothing could top the complete crappyness* of last year's Valentine's day, but I don't know that I want to throw that out there for fate.

*For those not loyal readers then, my favorite ferret died overnight, in my bed! And I got driven into by an idiot driver down by my local QFC. He didn't hit me hit me, but just didn't seem willing to stop as I jumped sideways to get out of his way and slammed my hand down on the hood of his car to alert him to my presence. And HE had the audacity to yell at me even though I had the right of way.

Friday, January 21, 2005

I've done it.

I've broken my pay-per view cherry. And not even pay per view porn, although now that I know that this isn't that big a deal, I may have to investigate those avenues. When I was growing up we were strictly forbidden to order pay per view. I think we were stealing cable. Or maybe not, I don't know, but it was completely not allowed. Anyway, tonight there's nothing on and although I love 50 First Dates, I can't watch it again tonight. So I have pay per viewed Spiderman 2. I'm about 1/2 way through, and rather on the fence about it. Not the greatest movie ever, but a nice distraction for a Friday night.

I got a phone call this afternoon towards the end of the work day from my former coworker who now works for a fairly large corporation in a community north of Seattle. They have a job opening and would I be interested? Ahhh the, well not irony exactly, Murphy's law of it. I don't know what the job is so there is quite the possibility it will not be anything that I am looking for. I don't know that I am looking. I'm seriously disappointed about my boss's job, and maybe a little bit cranky, but I do love where I work. I do love that I can walk to and from work. This would be more money but an hour and a half bus commute both ways. Goodness knows I don't want to join the commuting world. It would be 15 commuter miles, but who knows how long that translates to in actual drivetime. And I don't know that the additional pay amount would be enough to rejoin the car owning world. In fact, doing the math, rejoining the car owning world would suck up more than the amount that the increase would be. I would be a small fish in a ginormous pond. I dunno. It would have to be THE opportunity I think for me to leave.

A mindless little quiz for the afternoon

You scored as Orange-yellow. You happy-go-lucky kid, you. You brighten everyone's day, even though you may be a little daffy and ditzy at times.

Orange-yellow

69%

Black

63%

Cerulean

56%

Sea Green

56%

Scarlet

50%

Which crayon color are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Fruits of labor

So once upon a time I was working on a transcription project. See this post and this post if you are really that interested in my thoughts of the time. Anyway the basic project was that it was a documentary on marriage.* I was transcribing the audio cassette recordings of the interviews. It was fairly interesting, and I really liked working on the project, even though it was kind of difficult. People on TV talk nothing like people in real life. You would not believe how often people use um, uh, hmm, and how often they will change words mid-word or thought. Anyway, the point being (and this is what I wanted to write about a couple of days ago when I forgot what I wanted to write about) the movie now has a website for you dear reader to check out. Eventually when it finally gets screened here, I'll get a chance to see it. Yay! And I believe anyone who volunteered will be listed in the credits. Like anyone waits THAT long towards the end, but I totally will. Here is their site Inlaws & Outlaws. In one final random small town Seattle thing, one of the guys who got me started volunteering at bookfest was the coder on the website for Inlaws & Outlaws.

*Sponsored in part by the LBGT Community center, I didn't know that until today. I can't escape the gays no matter how hard I try. :)

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Calmer heads

Now that I've had a few hours to mellow out and watch the Apprentice, I'm much more calm. Oh, I still have no hope, so I haven't gone all crazy here. I do have to say I have a high respect for my biggest boss. Of course I came from a company where the CFO and Sr VP of finance were banging (each other and not their spouses) and then said company got into a whole bunch of bad shit for some illegal transactions, so there's not a huge comparison there. :) Then at my next regular employer, I had the queen of micromanagers - seriously I had to write a to do list every day and write in this desk calendar and she would check it every day. That's how I know all about micromanagers=alcoholism. :) This boss is genuine and he really cares about us and listens and on and on. (And I'm not actually writing this out of fear I'll be found out). Yeah, my heart is broken and yeah I'm not pleased, but there are aspects of my job that I don't have the necessary knowledge about. One thing about what I do is that it is heavily regulated by both the federal and state governments. We don't follow the laws, we're in trouble. So I'll do what I can and see where this goes.

One of my coworkers works a 2nd job at a local bookstore. She said she they need people so I think I'll apply there for some part time work. I need to work on debt reduction and random extra income would help with that. The downside is that this would leave me less time to compulsively volunteer.

On the volunteering front, I've signed up for the Firefighter stairclimb and the Northwest Folklife Festival again. Mmm... firefighters.

All apologies

So I apologize in advance for the fact that this is going to be a complete self-pitying rant about how much my life sucks so read at your own risk.

Why the fuck can't I ever win? Was I fucking Hitler or Pol Pot in a previous life? Seriously? Is there some cosmic balance I'm unaware of? I get one little happy thing but then one big crappyass thing? Obviously (or not so much) this would be in refernce to the fact that I didn't get my boss's job. They hired candidate #2. I could be happy they hired her. She'll be part time too apparently. She expects to be fully retired within 5 years. I'll be "groomed" for the job. Blah blah blah. It could've been worse. I could've gotten stuck with the micromanager. The upside to that would have been that I could then move to my new career choice, alcohol counselor. (micromanager = alcoholism. alcoholism= job loss & rehab. rehab = alcohol counselor) I just had my hopes up and I'm kind of sick of having my hopes crashed down. I can't maintain (or even FIND) a relationship (the first person to mention straight bar gets punched even if I have to max out my overly burdened credit cards to fly there and do it in person). I can't move forward in my job. I can't purchase property since I don't have more money because I can't move forward in my job. Bring on the cats and the shuffling defeated corporate drone look for my eyes, because I am done hoping.

We will return to our regularly scheduled entertainment tomorrow. (or later this evening)

Oh one more thing... panhandlers should totally be able to recognize if a person is either crying or on the brink of crying because panhandling to that person could result in a punching. I'm just saying.

I may be sunk

It is hard to know... My biggest boss called me in and asked me my opinion. Not one to sugar coat things, I told him. Candidate #3 struck me as a micromanager and I gave my reasons. I said candidate 2 is not smart. I liked him well enough, but when it would come time to make complex decisions, he wouldn't be able to do it and as a result, candidate 2 was my favorite of the 3. But I did have concerns about her wanting to be part time and this is not a part time job. He appreciated my candor. :) If it were between me & #1, it would be me no doubt. He thought #3 didn't have enough recent experience and that she would probably be unhappy here as we are more laid back. He said his thoughts on candidate#2 were that she is nearing the end of her career and she would be brought in to maybe groom me to be the benefits manager. Not the best answer because that means I'm stuck where I am for a while longer. I don't know that's definitely the route he is going to take, but we shall see. One of my other coworkers came in and we discussed the candidates and he had definite issues with all 3. He asked me if maybe they need to cast out the net again, and I said, these were the top 3 in a month of searching, would it get any better? So, I'm more on edge than before and now fearing the worst.

3rd Candidate

We had our interview for the 3rd candidate for my (boss's) job. I liked her the best of the 3 until the question came up about different working styles. As she talked, I got a definite impression... micromanager. She said she works very fast and people who are more laid back (ie ME) she tends to want to... I'll use the word encourage because I can't remember what she said specifically but basically when translated = micromanager. She said that's until she can learn to trust that the job will get done and all that. In my mind I'm thinking, micromanagers NEVER learn to trust. Ever. Later today, one of my coworkers and I are supposed to discuss my feelings on the 3 candidates. My feelings, all useless and I totally deserve the job, but I probably have to come up with something else. :)

It's so easy yeah yeah yeah!

It's so easy to file your taxes... it's so easy.* I did it on the IRS website. Thanks to www.irs.gov and the free file page I managed to use TurboTax FOR FREE** to file my taxes via the internet. It was so awesome. The only really stressful part was that I had to find last year's tax return (who knew I actually printed AND stored it somewhere I could find it) to use the numbers I believe as a control to make sure it really is me. It was so awesome. I was finished in like 15 minutes. And I can go back in later and print it (when I'm at work where there is a printer). AND I'm getting a refund. AND I should have it in about 10 days. AND life is good. (Ok it could be a little better but in the grand scheme of things, life is good.)

* This should be sung to the tune of It's so easy to fall in love
** You have to go through the IRS website to get the freebie deal.

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Is it friday yet?

Because since I'm already done with the year 2005 and ready for 2006, I'm also ready for Friday. The nice thing about tonight... I'm in jammies eating teriyaki, watching apparently my favorite movie 50 First Dates (I can't tell you how many times I've watched it because it would probably make you think less of me) and just chilling. I only had 4 out of 8 Brownies at my meeting tonight and we did Mobius strips which they thought were pretty dang cool. We experimented and made really long ones and made big knots out of paper. It was fun.

We had candidate # 2 interview today (for my boss's job although really I'm going to get the job). She was nice enough. When she first started interviewing, I liked her but as the interview wore on I kind of became meh about her. She was definitely smarter than candidate #1. That's not saying much since in his "thanks for interviewing me" letter he made a few errors. The interesting part is that she was hoping this could be a part time gig. The whole reason my boss is leaving is that she thinks this is more a full time job than a part time one. So I still have hope.

My back still aches a bit, but instead of feeling like a giant kitchen knife is in my back, it is more like a little paring knife. It gets worse when I sit for too long.

I got no work done today. We had an interview for an hour, new hire orientation for an hour and a half and I had another orientation in the afternoon. Somehow this translated to little to no work.

I had something else I wanted to post about but have no idea what it was. This is what happens when you are ALMOST 31! ACK! No longer just 30, but IN MY 30s! Kill me now!

Sonics

So for my 1st Sonics game, they lost. Our seats were in the nosebleed section - 2 rows from the back. But it was fun, full of kids and staff and faculty from the college. I saw several folks that I recognized. I had fun with my coworker and her friends. It was an exciting game, and went into overtime so that was cool too.

My back is actually feeling better. Sitting in those seats didn't kill me as much as I feared it would. I have taken 2 more Aleve for the evening and I have prepared an early morning Aleve, banana and water in case I wake up in agony again. The more I move around, the better my back feels, when I sit still for a long time or lie down, it stiffens up and that's what kills me.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

The Apprentice Dream

In honor of Joanne's unholy love for The Apprentice, I am posting my dream about The Apprentice last night.

I was at The Donald's place of business. Every morning, the heads of his major divisions gave him a status report. They were all seated at a long table and The Donald went down the row and got an update from each one of them. For some reason, I was the only contestant chosen to witness this. I was very excited.

The division heads all left and the other contestants, 24 of them including me, were shown into the room and seated at the table. Everyone except for me and The Donald was sitting on one side of the table. He and a producer were explaining our first task and told us to group up. A couple girls next to me asked if I wanted to be in their group, so I said sure. (I don't know how they got there since I had just been sitting on that side of the table alone a moment before.) I turned to a girl across from me and realized I knew her from high school. I didn't remember her name, but I did remember she was a bitch. I asked her if she wanted to join us anyway. She said yes. Seated next to her was a girl I had gone to school with since the first grade. I said, "How about you, Virginia?" She politely declined. Bitch.

I don't know why we had to group up because the first task was actually a game of dodgeball. We didn't know what the winners would get. We all formed a large circle. Seated in chairs behind us in a larger circle were all of our friends and families. The game started. It was brutal and chaotic and progressed quickly. Somehow I ended up as one of the final three, along with two girls I knew from high school, Gina and Judy. I had the ball. As I was about to throw it with all my might at Judy, The Donald blew a whistle and told us that the game was over and the three of us were the winners.

We each would be the team leads for a team of eight. Gina was to lead the team of high school graduates. Judy was to lead the team of those with Associates degrees. I was was to lead the team of those with Bachelors degrees or higher. As team leads, we were in charge of our groups and were responsible for choosing the project manager each week, but we could be fired like anybody else.

We all went back to the house and settled into our rooms. I was about to get my team together for a meeting when I woke up.

Is 2005 over yet?

Because so far this year has sucked ass big time. I'm ready for it to be done and will be in bed with the covers over my head until then. Because I'm in pain. Ever so much pain. The twinge of yesterday has turned into full blown back tightened pain. It took me 15 minutes this morning to inch off the bed onto the floor to my knees so I could try to get up and go to the bathroom. That was fine until I tried to sit on the toilet. The resulting flash of pain sent me back into my bed for another 15 - 20 minutes where again it took me forever to get off the bed. Then I took some Alleve. I love Alleve. Unfortunately I took it on an empty stomach, so I'm now sick to my stomach. I got back into bed to let the meds work a little before trying anything else. Managed to get back up and shower and head to work. It took me 40 minutes to walk to work this morning and I'm not wearing any socks.

Did I mention I'm still HOT!?

Monday, January 17, 2005

Oh my aching back!

I think I did something to it when I bent down to pick up a dart tonight. There is some vague pain in the lower part of my back. Matty P & I went out for our usual Monday darts and boozefest. It was relatively good fun, until this loud group sat near us. They were arguing over some of the dumbest things. I kicked his ass on several games. And he barely eaked out a win on a couple of others. (I'm writing the story so I can pick the details) :)

When I was coming back in cujo was barking at me, which is normal. In the most gayest boy voice ever apartment manager's partner (it must've been him since apt manager has a southern accent) shouts at cujo "Boo (gayest dog name ever folks), stop that now! Your barking is too loud and it is giving me a headache. Stop that barking now, you are giving me a headache." Ok his shouting is giving ME a headache. I've come across partner once and got kind of an unfriendly vibe from him.

We are starting the fitness challenge at work this week. It is 4 or 6 weeks (I can't remember) of good healthy behavior, like flossing very day, drinking tons of water, limiting the drinking to only 1 (or 2?) a day at most, stuff like that. I participated last year and enjoyed it.

On TV

They make it seem so much easier to get out of being tied up than it is in real life. You know, because I'm watching TV right now. Not, you know, trying anything weird while I'm at home alone. Watching TV. You know, because that would be weird or something.

No marching & other tidbits

Fuck, I'm so stupid. I had a whole huge post, that Blogger ate. I was even smart and copied it, but I figured I'd repost it right away so I didn't paste it onto like a word document. And while I was waiting to republish to see if Blogger didn't actually eat it, (which was why there were 3 posts this morning about Hauntings & MLK Jr day) I copied a weblink and eradicated the whole post that I had so thoughtfully copied. Sigh. To attempt to recreate:

I called all the Brownie moms this morning to find out if they still wanted to march given the rain. It isn't pounding but it is steady and wet Brownies aren't that fun. One girl is sick, one mom is too sick. Two girls didn't want to do it, and on and on. Hence, the Brownies aren't marching today. One mom said that if the rest of the group was going to she would make her daughter, but I just didn't want to do that. It isn't too terribly far, the march. From Garfield High School, up the 23rd to Yesler and then down Yesler and hooking around to the Courthouse on 4th (for those in the Seattle area for whom this would make sense). I think one of the moms told me last year that it is about 2 miles. It is a slow walk, though because you are part of this ginormous group. It is really cool, though. Last year we came to the top of a hill on Yesler and looked down and all we could see was this river of people in the lane. We'll probably do it next year.

While I was looking at the Brownie registration forms for phone numbers, I discovered the most alarming thing. (Ok those of you with kids, are probably thinking, Joanne you are a fruit loop, but this was alarming to me). One of my Brownies was born in 1998. NINETEEN NINETY EIGHT! How is this even possible? I remember 1998. That was only last year, right? RIGHT? Gah! In 1998, I was 2 years out of college. I was living in rural Indiana with Satan and my niece and nephew. In 1998 I fled rural Indiana and moved back to Arizona. In 1998 I taught school That wasn't that long ago right? RIGHT? I had a similar reaction when I received a pic of my niece from my mom. My niece is 14 and a half. When did this happen? Where was I? In 1998, she was only 7. Shouldn't she still be only 7??

Final thought, lately I have been too hot! HOT!! My apartment feels like a furnace. I have a window partly open. Mostly because I can't sleep with it shut. I need the fresh air. I have turned down my radiator in the living room, but I don't think that it does anything to the other hot pipes in the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Those are still pouring out heat. I am actually not 100% sure the radiator in the living room does anything anyway. It never felt like there was heat coming out of it, of course the hugeass pile of recycling in the way of it could be part of the problem. :)

Hauntings and MLK jr. Day

I think the elevator in my building is possessed or haunted. This is the 2nd year it has broken down on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I remember it did last year because I had come back from the march with the brownies and I was so ridiculously exhausted and then to come home and have to climb 4 flights of stairs... It was drama for poor Joanne.

Today is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march. The brownies and I walked this last year and the moms want to do it again this year. This year, however, it is pouring. I wonder if the moms will want to do it in the rain. The lazy part of me hopes not, but the good brownie leader in me wants to do it because it really is meaningful for the girls.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Horrible TV Cliched situations

So, while I should be embarrassed to admit that I watch 7th Heaven, I do. Only semi regularly, like I wouldn't go through the effort to tape it if I were going to be out on a Monday night drinking with Matty, although now that he is abandoning our Mondays to try to force me to Thursdays I'll be home to watch it, yay me! :) Anyway, not to be sidetracked easily, back to Horrible TV cliched situations... Babies are apparently never born in hospitals. All season long, horrible Lucy Camden has been pregnant. Apparently the 1st epi in Jan, she will give birth. In an elevator. Are all babies born in elevators or taxicabs? Seriously. It is kind of ridiculous.

Other ridiculous horrible TV cliches
1 - The nerdy girl is secretly a hot chick when she takes off her glasses and her hair out of the librarian bun
2 - All men who are jerks secretly have a heart of gold underneath (damn, it is no wonder women are screwed up).
3 - Fat chicks are jolly, happy sidekicks.
4 - Gay men are wild flamers who prance. (um, actually that may be true. ;) Hee, just kidding gay boy readers)

There are a bazillion of them, but those are the ones that annoy me right at this moment.

Recommendations for a Sunday Afternoon

Recommendation #1

Yesterday I field tripped to the library. None of my favorite authors has anything new out that I haven't read so I just wandered up and down the aisles pulling books that had interesting titles. Yes, I obviously do judge a book by its cover. :) Today I started reading a book called Dear Stranger Dearest Friend. I started it probably at about 6ish this morning and am almost done. It is so gripping. It is the tale of 2 friends as told through emails back and forth to each other. It is chick-lit but very grownuppy chick lit (they're married with kids as opposed to 'oh woe is me I'm single and will die alone or until the hot handyman* moves in next door'). I've cried several times while reading it (I know, I've made it abundently clear I'm a ridiculous sap). Rather than go into book report mode, I'll just say I highly recommend it.

* Completely unrelated, when I typed in hot handyman it made me crack myself up. When I was in college we had an RA who apparently would role play with her boyfriend and he was 'the handyman.' We heard all about this from her suitemate one day who was rather disgusted by the whole thing. After that, I really couldn't look at either the RA or her boyfriend the same way again. I think I was like 18 or 19 at the time (and still a virgin at the time, serious TMI I know).

Recommendation #2

This afternoon I went with my coworker to see In Good Company. It is a very very good movie. I liked that it was more about Topher & Dennis's relationship than about Topher and Scarlett Johansen's. It also made me a bit weepy in a couple of scenes and I really liked that the ending wasn't completely pat. Not everything works out in a perfect little package tied with a neat ribbon. As I watched I was trying to decide if I thought Scarlett was pretty or not. I still don't know. Her features individually are slightly weird.

It apparently has been a hundred years since I bought a popcorn and coke at the movies. We, my friend and I, got a 'combo deal.' It didn't look like too much. In the picture, the cups were larger than the popcorn bucket and a normal amount. In real life, the popcorn bucket was ginormous, as were the cokes. All this for $12.00. TWELVE DOLLARS! It was actually rather alarming to us both. In the future, we know to go smaller in size since we ate less than a quarter of the bucket, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Joanne's Music

Today, I bought the new Green Day CD and the Pearl Jam greatest hits CD. I then listened to Green Day while I converted Pearl Jam into MP3s for my player. Then I changed the CD and listened to Linkin Park's first, Hybrid Theory. I enjoyed listening to my music while washing dishes. Baxter did not. Baxter hates my music. She also hates the fact that my CD player is right next to her favorite sleeping spot, her tent. While I was in my kitchen, she kept coming in to see me. She'd stand between my feet and look up at me. I'd pick her up and she would sit on my shoulder for about 30 seconds, then get bored and wiggle to get back down. She'd come back into the living room, crawl back into her tent. Fifteen to twenty min later, she'd be back in the kitchen looking at me. Poor Bax. How she suffers for me. For the record, she also doesn't like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Disney sound tracks or really anything else I like. She's such a brat. :)

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Katie's kids

I just got off the phone with my oldest (not in age, longest known) friend. I knew Katie before I knew V or Michelle or Matty P, we met in orientation in college. (Ok I admit it, I keep in contact with NOBODY from high school or earlier, but I was a fairly different person then, and unfortunately most of them are the same as they were then.) I hadn't heard from her in a while and had sent her 2 emails around Christmas that I hadn't heard from her on so I figured I'd call and get the scoop. Katie has 2 kids. One, a daughter, is 2 and the other, a son, is almost 4. They fascinate me. Katie & Dave don't have regular TV. Actually, I don't think she has ever had cable TV. Now I am incapable of having no TV, so this in itself fascinates me. But she was telling me about Christmas with the kids. Her MIL offered to get the kids something special so Katie asked them if there was anything special they really wanted. Their answer, "Whatever Santa brings is good." Because they have no TV, they don't have that whole overly consumer driven mindset. There was no demand for a Tickle-Me-Elmo. No need for a new DVD player and all the latest DVDs. No demand for a Play Station 2. They didn't want a cell phone. They were fairly happy with what they got: a sand table, a book each, a wooden train and a few other things. But nothing too terribly over the top. This impresses me greatly. I don't know that I could raise my kids without TV. Of course I don't think I could be a stay-at-home mom either. Probably I should concentrate on finding a way out of spinsterhood first. :)

It was good to talk to her, though. I should call her more often. When I get my boss's job, I may make a plan to go visit her in Vermont.

A dream is a wish your heart makes...

God I hope not given last night's dream. Last night's dream is sponsored by the words Chinese food and raspberry sorbet and the number13.

In my latest dream, I was at a camp, which in my dreaming mind was a Girl Scout camp, but in my waking mind I'm thinking it was more like a crazy militia camp. Anyhow, it had been raining a lot and there was definite risk of flooding all around the trailers and buildings (totally not cute cabins in the woods). One of the groups had already left and I was going from building to building actually looking for a place to shower. I came upon one area where we had these big metal cages covering these storm drains where all the water that was raining ran down into these big underground tanks. So I watched as this little girl slipped between the cage and was hanging on and trying not to get sucked down into the storm drain. I couldn't reach her so I went over to this group of kind of like national guard but for some reason they were dressed like calvary from when I was a little girl and my dad did calvery re-enactment. I begged them to try to help the girl but they wouldn't come and when I got back to the drain, she had been sucked down. I went underground and she was dead in the bottom of one of the tanks (like think public aquarium sized tanks). Apparently we had no way of getting into the tanks because there was a lot of other debris in the tanks. I went back above ground and went back to trying to find a place to shower.

Camp(ing): 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. (I do totally want a vacation, oh yeah and that belonging but independent thing is totally me too.)

Rain: To dream that you get wet from the rain, signifies that you will soon be cleansed from your troubles and problems. Rain also symbolizes fertility and renewal.

Flood: To see a raging flood with its muddy debris, represents emotional issues and tension. Your repressed emotions are overwhelming you. Consider where the flood for indications of where in your waking life may a situation be the source of stress and tension. (If it wasn't raging does that mean it isn't overwhelming me?)

Dead: To see the dead in your dream, forewarns that you are being influenced by negative people and are hanging around the wrong crowd. You may suffer material loss. This dream may also be a way for you to resolve your feelings with those who have passed on. (Damn those gay boys! :) Ok I jokes, I lurve the gayboys!)

Dying: To see someone dying in your dream, signifies that your feelings for that person are dead or that a significant change/loss is occurring in your relationship with that person. Alternatively, you may want to repress that aspect of yourself that is represented by the dying person. (Hmm. Since I didn't actually know this girl I don't know if this applies, but most of the interpretations about dead or dying people are people you know.)

Tank: To see a tank filled with water in your dream, signifies prosperity and satisfaction with the current state of your life. (Interesting... thus far except for the dead person, this would totally be a great dream! Ok maybe not, I just reread flood's interpretation.)

Shower: To dream that you (or someone) is showering with their clothes on, suggests that even though you (or someone) change your outer appearances, it does not change who you are on the inside. Alternatively, your dream may indicate that you are unwilling to let your guard down. You are still keeping up a protective barrier between you and others. (Hmm...)

Fortuna for Joanne

I ordered Chinese for dinner tonight, because really, I couldn't face cooking. So here's my fortunes (fingers crossed on both of them being accurate because I have to believe right?). Your luck has been completely changed today. (Damn I could use THAT!) You'll be invited to dine at an adventurous place. (Could be fun, I like adventure, you know, unless this is some weird meal with the brownies)

I'm watching Along Came Polly on On Demand. I think I'm in love with the concept of On Demand. I can just watch a movie on HBO whenever I want instead of having to adhere to their schedule. The ferret is very cute, although much larger than Baxter or Minka. It also doesn't make proper ferret noises. (Yes, apparently I'm a dork) As I watch the movie, though, there are definitely shades of Rachel that I can see. I watched too much Friends, I can tell. I do not like the big blond friend character, in case any of y'all care.

Friday, January 14, 2005

How did I ever live without this quiz??

Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain: Everybody's got a laughing place
to go-go-go-woah! You are a romp through folk
lore from the old south, a cheery log ride that
is always pleasant despite such unfortunate
circumstances like a five story drop into a
briar patch that proves to be more fun than
scary. You are casual, friend, warm, and
inviting, if a little reckless, it's always a
zip-ee-dee-do-dah day for you even when you get
yourself into some mighty steep trouble. What
movie you sprung from, Disney doesn't like to
tell, some consider it racist, but never you
mind, the critters inside of you (previously
stars of 'America Sings') are always cute and
you are just here to have a good time. You
love the camera and you live life to your
fullest, your thinking is that if 'you WILL get
wet' you might as well sieze the day!


What Disneyland attraction are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

TV Schedule

I was harassed today about the fact that I do some of my social engagements based up on my TV schedule. So here's my justification for the whole world to read... :) If there is the possibility of sex in it for me, fuck TV. I'll tape it. :) If it is just me joining the gay boys for darts and booze. I can do that any night of the week, so I feel totally justified in scheduling them around my TV viewing. :)

Random drinking tale

I went out with the boys last night (being Matty & V) and we were joined by the trannys that Matty & V usually hang out with on Thursday nights. I usually watch The Apprentice on Thursdays, and nothing interrupts my date with the Don (although this season may be what interrupts my date with the Don). Anyway I digress. Gay pothead bartending fiance says to me that he hears I write about him on my website. I confirm that. And he says 'aww isn't that sweet'. :) I tell him that I just tell the truth, he's dead sexy and the best bartender I go to. Anyway, we're joined by a 3rd tranny who was either so damn stupid or so damn on something she was intolerable. By the end of the 1st game (and only) with her, Matty was ready to gouge his eye out with a dart, and I would've helped him gladly for the distraction. She was telling us this long and drawn out story about her divorce and the house and going to school and blah blah blah. Sometimes I wish I had the superpower to either teleport or freeze time so that I could flee the story teller.

When did I become such a fucking pansy?

And I don't even mean when did I become such a fucking pansy I cry at everything. That I know. Age 28. But more like when did I become such a fucking pansy I can't cope with this cold weather we are having. Apparently right now it is 36 degrees outside*. As I was walking to work this morning here were my thoughts... Cripes it is cold. My right eye is actually watering because it is so damn cold. My calves hurt (completely unrelated to cold actually). Damn I need long underwear. So** here's my question. When did I get to be a pansy? Really? I lived in Alaska for fuck's sake. ALASKA! Where it was really cold. We knew what real cold meant. And I didn't have a car there. I walked there. I rode the bus around there. California. I think that's where I became a pansy***. Where 68 degrees is considered ski boots and parka weather. Damn pansyness. I even LIKE the cold. I LOVE snow, but walking to work this morning, we were not amused.

*Thank's Matty for having that little thing on your blog so I don't actually have to research the temp my actual very self.
**KTP I noticed I start far too many sentences and posts with so also, where's that from?
***Completely unrelated, but one of my favorite authors had a main character who owned a mastiff named Pansy. She was so cool in the stories, trained to kill really because the guy was a badass, but I love the idea of a ginormous dog named Pansy.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

It is nice to be wanted

I've gotten 2 phone calls in the past 3 days about contracting for this one group. Now would I leave the safety of my job and the place to hold my brownie meetings for contracting? No. But it is nice to be called. :) Especially considering my resume hasn't been out there for over a year.

Interviewee update

Ok, not to sound cocky, but if this guy is my competition, I'm not worried at all. I don't know what the other 2 are like but my impressions of this first guy are: 1 - not smart 2 - smarmy. Could I work for him, probably. Am I smarter than him, probably. Would I eventually kill him and eat his young, definitely. There's another interview next week with a woman and then a 3rd that hasn't been scheduled yet. Sights are looking up and I'm feeling more hopeful.

From the management...

It has come to my attention that I've been a little slacking in the posting department lately (Hi, KTP :) ) So here's a mini-update to hold you over for a few hours until I have something else to babble about:

I went home early from work yesterday just generally feeling crappy. Took a 3 hour nap. Was in bed by 10, thanks to a little chemical assistance. It was necessary, but I took the sleeping pill at 9 and it is only supposed to take a half an hour, it took over an hour AND it didn't help me stay asleep, although I think it helped with the amount of time I am usually awake when I wake up in the middle of the night. I did the good thing and did not have soda after the one I drank with dinner (unfortunately I ate dinner at almost 8:00). I just drank OJ. I didn't realize I liked OJ as much as I do, but I had 2 glasses full. Yum (with no rum I might add!)

Today I am part of a panel interview for my boss's job (the 1st of the 3 external candidates). I'll post more about that after the interview.

Finally, is it wrong that I'm slightly glad my boss's kid is sick? She's only coming in for the interview and to monitor the front desk while the rest of us panel interview and then she's leaving again, so Michelley I'll be on IM later today. Yay!

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

You are such a girl.

I've heard that a lot lately. Mostly from people who didn't know me that well before and are suddenly a little surprised at what I guess is the real me (as opposed to the first me you meet, I take a while to warm up to people, what can I say?). My co-worker said that when she first met me she thought I was jaded and cynical and kind of mean. Apparently she has now seen through my facade and determined that yes, I am a girl. Her examples of my girlishness...
1 - I have Christmas socks
2 - I made her walk out of our way (ok it isn't out of our way it is one of 2 routes to go home) so I could stop and see work stalking victim (I mean crush) and chat
3 - I'm a Brownie leader
4 - I'm terrified of bugs. As in scream and stand on couch and throw shoes at them and try to convince Baxter to eat them for me.
5 - I sew
6 - I love the movie 50 First Dates
7 - My hat story
8 - I was worried that V would think we were 'checking up on him' when Matty & I saw him at the bar last night. (That's actually Matty's reason I'm such a girl!)
9 - I believe boys should let me win. (Also Matty's reason)
10 - I cry at EVERYTHING. Hallmark commercial, out come the tears. Applebee's commercial where the girl brings the dinner to the housebound old lady and says 'join me for dinner?' bawl. Most movies, romantic stories, stories of people overcoming adversity and on and on and on.

Apparently I am 'such a girl' but I'm okay with that. Hell, I guess I have to be since there isn't much I can do about being such a girl. :)

Top two

Well, I'm in the top two. For my boss's job that is. They are interviewing 3 outside candidates and they will take the top of those 3 and compare to me. I still have fingers crossed. Luckily I am not going to have to do the whole interview process. AND I get to interview them, with the panel interview, so I can at least get a sense of the people, who they are, even if I don't really get to contribute an opinion.

Monday, January 10, 2005

It is too early to be this drunk

Matty P and I went out to play darts and drink heavily. Jeffy, my gay bartending pothead fiance tends to pour a little heavily. That would be why I lurve him. Now I'm eating corn chips and drinking lemonade. Lemonade without rum, although I discovered yesterday that lemonaid with cherry cabanaboy rum is pretty damn good. Mmm. I love rum, rummy yummy rum. Anyhow, Matty P actually said 4 nice things to me. I was kind of shocked. I wish I could remember what they were because it is pretty unusual. He was very drunk too that could be why. He is turning out to be a fun person to hang out with (even when he isn't drunk). It is good to have more people to hang out with. We ran into V and his date. They seemed to be having fun. I'm hoping that the alcohohl will help me sleep although I know typically it doesn't. I'm ever so sleepy right now. I know when I lie down though my mind will go all wonky and I'll not be able to sleep. And unfortunately there's a delicate balance between happy joanne drunk and sad joanne drunk. I'm feeling on the wrong side of that balance right now so I will refrain from posting anything else because sad drunk joanne is not fun.

Joanne Can Cook!

Did any of y'all see an older cooking show called Yan can cook. I don't know why it came into my head, but I remember I used to watch it. Anyway, another reason for y'all to be jealous... I just ate some incredibly yummy enchiladas made by yours truly. And for breakfast I had chocolate chip muffins. Also made by yours truly. Now if only I didn't hate to do dishes! :)

Dreams again

I'm still having trouble sleeping, but apparently not having trouble dreaming weird dreams. This one was very vivid and I was almost a bit confused on waking this morning, I knew it hadn't happened, but didn't KNOW, you know?

Michelle, Missy (old roommate) and I were back in college, but it wasn't the one Michelle, Missy or I attended the 1st time (Missy attended a different one than Michelle & I). So they were buying books at the bookstore which was in a storefront like in a plaza. For some reason our living space (not really a dorm) was in the next door storefront. So I went over to talk to them and apparently had missed my first 2 days worth of classes because I just forgot to go. So while we're wandering around the bookstore (which for some reason had an exorbinant amount of Hello Kitty merchandise) this really hot guy comes in and we're chatting and he puts his hand on the small of my back but so his fingers are actually inside the waistband of my jeans. I think he 'guided' me around the store like that, sometimes tugging on them if I was going a different direction. After he left, Michelle, Missy & I giggled over whether or not he was flirting with me. So I was telling them that I had missed the 1st 2 days of classes and they both pull out these little calendar thingies telling me I need one of them. I run back to the room to get my schedule and think ok, I can work today because I don't have classes until the evening and it dawns on me that I have skipped 2 days of work and I thought I had told them I was going back to school full time, but I remembered I hadn't. The last part of my dream has me trying to find my dorm room again to call my work so I wouldn't be fired. And then I woke up.

College - To dream that you are in college, indicates that you are going through some social or cultural changes. You may be wanting to expand your knowledge and awareness. It also suggest that now is a good time for you to experiment and try new things. If you had gone to college in your past, then also consider your personal experiences and memories of your college days.

Friend - To see your friends in your dream, signifies aspects of your personality that you have rejected, but are ready to integrate these rejected part of yourself. The relationships you have with those around you are important in learning about yourself. Additionally, this symbol foretells of happy tidings from them and the arrival of good news.

Fired - To dream that you are fired from your job. indicates that you are wanting to end some relationship or situation in your waking life. It also suggests that you are repressing what you really desire most.

Man - To see a man in your dream, denotes the masculine aspect of yourself - the side that is assertive, rational, aggressive, and/or competitive. If the man is known to you, then the dream may reflect you feelings and concerns you have about him.
If you are a woman and dream that you are in the arms of a man, suggests that you are accepting and welcoming your stronger assertive personality . It may also highlight your desires to be in a relationship and your image of the ideal man.

Missing - To dream that you are missing something, denotes a sense of being out of control and being disorganized.

Calendar - To see a calendar in your dream, denotes that you are well-organized and well-prepared. (At least Michelle is) :)

Hmmm... I've already established that I'm tired of being single, so there's the man explained (although I generally don't fall for 'uber hot' because well, I'm way too insecure for that.) As to the rest, I suspect I know what it means too.

Matchy Matchy Bathroom

Look! It is my cute bathroom all decked out with devil duckies! I know y'all are jealous. :)

.

Sunday, January 09, 2005

It snowed!

It was so cool! This morning when I woke up at 6:30, there was snow on the ground AND it was still snowing. I had wanted to go outside and walk around in it, but I had to shower blah blah blah before I went outside. So instead I took a nap at like 9:30. When I woke up at 11:30 the snow was mostly gone. :( I was desperate for a nap, I haven't slept well the past few days. I think maybe I should cut back on the evening soda maybe? I get tired sitting on the sofa at night, but when I actually go to bed, I just lie there wide awake. It is getting tiresome. Maybe tonight will be better, but I have to not take an afternoon nap, because I think the napping is part of the problem.

I saw work stalking victim (oops I mean work crush) after work on Friday. He has dyed his hair very blonde. I don't think guys who are not very blonde to begin with should dye their hair very blonde. It looks wrong. I also don't think that guys who are not very blonde should highlight with a lot of blonde highlights. I find that a slightly odd look.

I want to fall in love this year. That's a goal (probably unattainable) but a goal nonetheless.

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Michelle sent this

To me, but I decided not to do the send it out thing because that's annoying, so I will be even more annoying and post it here...

1. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Is Glamour considered a book?
2. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? 9:22 PM
3. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don't have one
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? Disney Trivia
5. FAVOURITE MAGAZINE? Cosmo and/or Jane and/or Glamour
6. BABIES? Great if they belong to someone else
7. FAVOURITE SOUND?
8. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? That there's nothing you can do
9. FIRST THING YOU THINK OF IN THE MORNING? Ugh, gym
10. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? 2ish
11. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? No future kids
12. FAVOURITE COLOUR? Green
13. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE? Air
14. FAVOURITE FOOD? Tacos
15. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Piano
16. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST? Sure
17. SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Yup, since I was 8
18. STORMS - COOL OR SCARY? Depends. Lightning/thunder = cool Wind=Yucky
19. WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? Toyota truck
20. THE ONE PERSON FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO? Sasquatch
21. FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? Anything with rum
22. IN THE BOOT OF YOUR CAR? No car
23. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB YOU WANTED WHAT WOULD IT BE? Astronaut
24. PEOPLE LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL? Didn't send it
25. EVER BEEN IN LOVE? I thought so at the time
26. IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL? It's just half a glass
27. FAVOURITE MOVIE? Beauty & The Beast
28. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? Yup
29. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? I probably don't want to know. Bax drags stuff under there all the time
30. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE NUMBER? 3482
31. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SPORT TO WATCH? Hockey
32. SAY AT LEAST ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? She's a good friend and I miss hanging out with her more and more.
33. IF YOU COULD BUILD A HOUSE ANYWHERE WHERE WOULD IT BE? Cabin in the woods
34. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING? Blue Jeans
35. BEACH, MOUNTAINS OR CITY? Mountains
36. TECHNOLOGY OR ART? Technology
37. COMEDY OR HORROR? Comedy
38. FAVOURITE PHYSICAL FEATURE? Mine? Hair
39. FAVOURITE TIME OF DAY? Early evening
40. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT? Pearl Jam 10 to replace a scratched one
41. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO BE MASSAGED? Shoulders
42. WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT, STRONG IN MIND OR STRONG IN BODY? Mind
43. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? 5 on gym mornings 6:30 non gym
44. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE KITCHEN ITEM? Dishwasher. I wish I had one too!
45. WHAT MAKES YOU REALLY ANGRY? Very little
46. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR 4x4? Hybrid
47. DO YOU BELIEVE IN AFTERLIFE? I would like to
48. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SEASON? Winter if I live in a place with snow, otherwise Spring
49. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Fly
50. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS It? Dragonfly middle of the shoulderblades
51. CAN YOU JUGGLE? Does 2 balls count?
52. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE DAY? Saturday
53. WHICH DO YOU PREFER SUSHI OR HAMBURGER? Hamburger, mmmm... red meat
54. FROM THE PEOPLE YOU WILL EMAIL THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TORESPOND FIRST? Didn't send it
55. WHO DID YOU RECEIVE THIS FROM? Michelle
56. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CARTOON? X-men any version
57. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEAL? Tacos
58. IF YOU COULD TAKE A VACATION ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD IT BE?Disney World

I say blame Michelle

:)

Three names you go by:
Joanne
AJ
Jo

Three screen names you have:
jo
joanne3482
jominkbax

Three things you like about yourself:
Boobies
Kind
Volunteer

Three things you hate/dislike about yourself:
Have to live Gluten-Free
Too sensitive
Cry easily

Three parts of your heritage:
Polish
German
English

Three things that scare you:
Bugs
Betrayal
Bugs

Three of your everyday essentials:
Pepsi
IM
Did I mention Pepsi?

Three things I am wearing right now:
Gray new shooz
Blue Jeans
Gray shirt

Three of your fave bands/artists (today):
Linkin Park
Pearl Jam
Smile Empty Soul

Three of your fave songs at present:
I want my life - Smile Empty Soul
Somewhere I belong - Linkin Park
Anything else loud

Three new things you want to try in the upcoming year:
Dating. :)
Brussel Sprouts (kidding)
My hand at my boss's job

Three things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
A shoulder to cry on
Laughter
Ease

Two truths and a lie:
I have a headache
I want a nap
I love scotch

Three physical things about the opposite/same sex that appeal to you:
Eyes, kind eyes
Brawn
Great ass

Three things you just can't do:
Cry at Hallmark commercials
Walk past a fountain without making a wish
Not eat tacos at least once a week

Three of your favorite hobbies:
Reading
Computer games (currently Age of Empires)
Volunteering

Three careers you're considering:
Nun (may as well, I'm sure I'm a born-again virgin)
IRS auditor
Doctor

Three places you want to go on vacation:
Maine
Ketchikan
Disney World

Three kids names (boy or girl):
Ben
Katya
Frank Jr. Jr.

Three things you want to do before you die:
Fall in love
Buy a place to live with a balcony, a dishwasher and a washer/dryer
See the Great Wall of China

Don't kill me, but I found another one and it's really long.

I'm sorry. I truly am, but I am obsessed.

-Michelle

Three names you go by:
1. Michelle
2. Michelle
3. That bitch

Three screen names you have:
1. genius163
2. Michelle
3. smartypants2010

Three things you like about yourself:
1. Brains
2. Beauty
3. Brawn

Three things you hate/dislike about yourself:
1. Snarky
2. Snacky
3. Snoozy

Three parts of your heritage:
1. French
2. Scottish
3. Mexican

Three things that scare you:
1. Drowning
2. Suffocating
3. Being poor

Three of your everyday essentials:
1. Laptop
2. Diet soda
3. Complaining

Three things I am wearing right now:
1. White socks
2. Crushed velvet pajama bottoms
3. Dr. Seuss t-shirt

Three of your fave bands/artists (today):
1. Bowling for Soup
2. Goo Goo Dolls
3. Gin Blossoms

Three of your fave songs at present:
1. Goo Goo Dalls - "Sympathy"
2. Gin Blossoms - "Until I Fall Away"
3. ? - "Question"

Three new things you want to try in the upcoming year:
1. Being thin
2. Writing for a living
3. Stalking

Three things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
1. Activity
2. Chores
3. More nights out

Two truths and a lie:
(not in any order)
1. I like Hello Kitty
2. I like kitties
3. I shave my kitty

Three physical things about the opposite/same sex that appeal to you:
1. A gorgeous face
2. Stomach muscles that make you cry just to look at them
3. Great shoulders

Three things you just can't do:
1. Not speak up in meetings
2. Ski
3. Eat beets

Three of your favorite hobbies:
1. Reading
2. Riding my bike
3. Arts and crap

Three careers you're considering:
1. Writer
2. Muckraker
3. Layabout

Three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Mexico
2. Brazil
3. Chile

Three kids names (boy or girl):
1. Katie
2. Kenna
3. Ian

Three things you want to do before you die:
1. Sleep with Brad Pitt
2. Win an Academy Award
3. Get out of debt

Friday, January 07, 2005

Living Alone

Sometimes it is a good thing I live alone. I have noticed that I have a few little eccentricities that magnify themselves when I am at home alone.

1 - I fall over. Randomly. Not all the way over but I'll be standing and like the world shifts a bit and I feel like I'm about to fall, so now I'm doing the arm waving thing trying not to fall. It is worse when I'm already standing on 2 feet. I also have a high tendency to not realize my true size and I clip walls, doorknobs, doorways. In my imagination I must be a size zero, since I am constantly walking into shit.

2 - I dance. And sing. Badly. I am overly caucasion and I know it. So sometimes I'm in the kitchen and I'll do a little dance then crack myself up for being a total dork. I also like to sing along to my music. I know I don't sing well, but I like to do it. Loudly. Shelley once described my singing as a dead baby dying, she may not be too far off.

3 - I can put my pajamas on immediately after work and not catch flack about it, or feel badly about it. :) Did I mention I get home at 5:00 PM?

4 - The Christmas tree, that I was so proud of the accomplishment of putting it in its box... you know that one? It is still in its box in the living room. The ornaments I took off said tree are still sitting on the table waiting to be put back in their box. I keep thinking I have to reorganize the boxes, but I don't want to do it, so there it sits. I may actually have to do it soon because Baxter likes to dig in the boxes.

5 - I like to listen to my CD Radio when I get up and get ready for work. So at 5 AM Pearl Jam (or before Pearl Jam, Linkin Park) is blaring through my little speakers (and usually I'm singing along). This may be why the neighbors talk so loud out on their balcony, to get me back.

6 - I crack myself up. All the time. Randomly. I laugh at some of the dumbest things that I do. It really may be embarrassing.

This is how we do it in S-town bitches.

So Matty P and I field tripped to the college I work for to see my work team play our Alma Mater. This was entirely more fun than I thought it would be, especially given that I don't realy have an affinity for basketball. We take our seats somewhere around the middle of the bank. There is a distinct aisle between our side and the other side.

While we are waiting we make a few observations. One being that it is obvious why these teams are not Division 3. Both teams have some of the shortest players ever. Seriously, some of them were as short as V. People slowly come in, and we think we're probably going to be the only UAFers there until we see girl with UAF beret and scarf.

At some point a gaggle of black men enter. A large gaggle of large black men with a handful of women and children thrown in for good measure. Ok, we think, they're here to cheer on one of the home team players. Interestingly enough, the aisle seems to form an unsaid dividing line between students (most of whom were not black) and gaggle of large black men (GOLBM).

In the student section, 3 boys appear in the front row wearing red and white striped rugby shirts. They are: fat guy, faux punk boy (he's so punk because he has long scraggly goatee, mohawk and tattoo on back of leg, but seriously so not punk since he is wearing a red & white striped rugby shirt) and computer geek boy. They cheer and generally be obnoxious, however not offensively obnoxious (this is important).

At half time we are 'treated' to a halftime show by the cheerleaders and red striped boys are joined by pseudo-intellectual obnoxious hipster (PIOH). PIOH frequently shouts those weird intellectual insults that no one in the audience understands but he thinks are oh so clever. (Oh and in basketball scores, UAF was up at halftime).

At some point PIOH starts to get a little too obnoxious for GOLBM and actually harangues them for cheering for Alaska. GOLBM doesn't take to kindly to them and one of the pack starts doing the chest puffing and posturing and is pulled back by one of the other gaggle. PIOH, full of the bravado and stupidity and testosterone only a 18something boy can have returns the fronting. This goes back and forth a couple of times until woman intervenes. Now men, you know when your woman gets between you and stupidass punk, you have to back down and large black man does. However PIOH continues to be just a total freaking ass. He turns to fauxpunkboy and they chat, and you can totally tell that PIOH is full of bravado and telling fauxpunkboy how he would kick large black man's ass.

Now we, in the audience, are mostly amused by this. Sad little student door keeper worker is not. He is having a small coronary and keeps going to talk to the security guards who are stationed around. It gets so bad, the refs question both PIOH and GOLBM to make sure everything is okay.

At the very beginning of the show (oops game) they did announce that fans in the audience exhibiting unsportsmanlike behavior will be ejected. I so wished they would've followed through. So PIOH and GOLBM are continuing their back and forth, except really, there's no contest. GOLBM ARE kind of scary (but a couple of them, totally hot). Matty P and I finally figure out why they are for UAF, one of the players is from Seattle. This must be his entire family, pastor, random friends and neighbors.

The game is actually getting hot and heavy too. UAF is up by something like 7 points and then suddenly we're tied. UAF manages to get the lead and ultimately wins. YAY! I cheered a lot and really got into it towards the end. It was just so exciting.

After the game our associate director of athletics, is standing next to PIOH while GOLBM leave. So I walk up to him and say, you do realize that PIOH was completely in the wrong right? GOLBM had been doing nothing wrong until PIOH harassed the shit out of them. Apparently this is common practice for PIOH and he does this at every men's basketball game, never the women's which are all nice and quiet. That's nice to know since Matty P & I will be attending the women's basketball game when UAF comes too. Why they don't eject him from the games is beyond me.

I'm sure Matty P will put up his own commentary full of quotes from the event, since I don't remember any of that crap and he writes shit down. :) There was one guy who made the comment that if a black man knew his name he'd be scared. Very white suburban of him I suppose. Oh and the whole time Matty P & I were being snarky and hoping that GOLBM would kick the shit out of PIOH (which they were kind of threatening to do) this couple in front of us were listening and laughing their asses off. That is all (and damn a fairly long story to boot).

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Names

I love the name Ben. I really do. I was just sitting here thinking I would name my 1st born Ben, then I remembered, my beloved Bronco was named Ben. You can't name a child after some former inanimate object in your life, can you? That also rules out Jakob (another name I love) and Zelma (well no one would name their child Zelma except the mother of the crazy woman who managed the very 1st apartment building I lived in). I also love the name Emma, and was considering for years to name a daughter that until damn Rachel on Friends screwed that up. Of course this musing could all be moot if the doctor is correct and it is extremely difficult for me to have kids, but I've never tried so who knows.

Voltaire!* Bless My Boss

For shutting the office door when discussing breast pumps and all that jazz. I never want to hear that (although I did listen for a moment just to see if she was talking about something important)

*See this page for an explanation why I'm using Voltaire!

Volodiya's Answers

Joanne's Life
1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
Break up with a man I was actually in love with.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did keep it and I will make another one. yeah for me!
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
nope
4. Did anyone close to you die?
nope nope
5. What countries did you visit?
Just Montreal and Vancouver, Canada.
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
a better-paying job
7. What date(s) from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 1st, I got a new job and that girl's birthday cuz we had fun and Michelle came to visit.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
That I haven't ended up in AA yet.
9. What was your biggest failure?
That I'm quickly skidding towards needing AA.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes, I was chronically ill at the end of 2004. Damn germs.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
This really cool champagne glass set from Bed Bath and Beyond that I was teased for by my gay friends for it being too 'faggy', but then watched them ALL fall in love with the set when they realized how fabulous they looked holding the glasses.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Joanne, because she's getting all skinny.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
George Walker Bush
14. Where did most of your money go?
Alcohol and Rent
15. What did you really really get excited about?
Seeing my nephew grow up via webcam
16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2004?
Black Eyed Peas - Hey Mama, Blondie - Good Boy, Missy Elliot - Pass that Dutch, No Doubts - It's my life
17. Compared to last year, are you:
happier or sadder - sadder
thinner or fatter - thinner
richer or poorer - significantly poorer
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
working out and practicing abstinence (what are you laughing at?)
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Drinking
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Laid up in bed after a visit to the Emergency Room
21. Did you fall in love in 2004?
Yes, I did. Twice.
22. One night stands?
Too numerous to mention
23. What was your favorite TV program?
The Golden Girls, The Nanny, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG-1 (mmmmm Christopher Judge, the only black man I would let tie me to a bedpost and not let me up until the Department of Health threatened our wild lovemaking with sanctions and jail time)
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Who can keep track? I know I can't.
25. What was the best book you read?
Vampire Vows...someone gave me this book for my birthday and I can't remember who. I've had for probably 2 or 3 years and I finally read it this year. It was great!
26. What was your greatest musical discoveries?
Joss Stone, Angie Stone, Daft Punk, and rediscovering Basement Jaxx.
27. What did you want and get?
Christof Clements..oh wait...that was this year. Brian from Minnesotta...although he chased me. Oh, I know! Making out with Shannon!!!
28. What were your favorite films of this year?
The Grudge...hands down this movie rocked.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 32 this year. Had a party at my friend Steve's. Got drunk. Went out to party with the gay boys afterwards.
30. What would have made the year that much better?
If Brian lived in Seattle instead of Minnessota and if I had a better paying job.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
Anything in size small from Abercrombie and Fitch and medium from Old Navy.
32. What kept you sane?
My vidjya game City of Heroes
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Christopher Judge of Stargate SG-1
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
I try not to follow politics. I don't need to stay well informed since I'm well endowed.
35. Who did you miss?
Steve Foster for a bit while we were 'on a break'
36. Who was the best new person you met?
My ex's roommate Sunny. She so craaaaaazy!
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
Trust is a fragile thing.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Take a chance, you stupid ho! - Gwen Stefani