The Holiday Season

Well, Christmas is four days away. How weird is that? It's mild and rainy and feels nothing like Christmas. Not that I'm complaining. I'm not one of those people hoping for snow on Chirstmas Day. Christmas will come and go with or with out snow. We still get to open presents and spend hours with family and listen to Christmas music and watch the Disney Parade (that never has snow) and what ever else you might normally do on Christmas Day.

Anyway, my fun begins tomorrow. With the TNOF gift exchange party. Then Saturday is the first family gathering. We will exchange gifts with my mom's side of the family. Then on Christmas Eve, we will again gather with my mom's side for dinner. On Christmas Day, I will wake up to the children opening presents. After which I plan to nap, then go to my Aunt Sue's for turkey dinner. From there we go to my Uncle Karl's to sit on Santa's lap and get our final gift of the night. One would think that is enough family fun for one season, but not us. Nope. We will get together once more on the 30th for the final gift exchange. Yay (that is a sarcastic yay).

I'm looking forward to not working. Sleeping in. Being lazy. Spending time with friends. Shopping. And I think NYE will be fun this year. Even if Ryan chooses to be lame and not hang with us. (Yes, I know a certain someone can be annoying, but you're going to let one person keep you from spending NYE with many friends??? That's silly).

Ok, I really should try to find some work to do. I really don't have any, but I should at least give it a try.

Happy Holidays!

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Hello

Hi! I thought I would post an update for those who still check this blog and are tired for seeing the 'Lions and Tigers and Spartans, Oh My!'

I have offically finished my first semetser back to school. I'm not sure how long it will take to get the grades back, but I'm not worried. I should have 2 A's and a B. Winter classes begin on January 8.

I have a lot of shopping to do. I have yet to buy one present for X-mas yet. I tend to be a last minute shopper. I make my list of things to buy very early, but I wait and wait to actually go buy them. But, since I have a holiday potluck and gift exchange at work tomorrow, I guess I have to start today!!

And --- I have started dating someone. He is a friend of our friends that got married in Mexico. I had met him 2 or 3 times before, but we had never paid much attention to each other. In Mexico we started talking and had a really good time. Unfortunately, he works midnights so there is only one day a week we can see each other (Saturday). But, it seems to be good so far. He will be at the New Year's Eve party - for those of you coming with us you can meet him! And of course his name is........Dave. I know, I must be cursed! Anyway, Beckie and I talked about it and he will be referred to as El Dave so we know who I'm talking about going forward - haha!

Well, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Jolly New Year, etc.
:-P

SATC

You Are Most Like Carrie!

You're quirky, flirty, and every guy's perfect first date. But can the guy in question live up to your romantic ideal? It's tough for you to find the right match - you're more than a little picky. Never fear... You've got a great group of friends and a great closet of clothes, no matter what! Romantic prediction: You'll fall for someone this year... Totally different from any guy you've dated.

Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?

Lions and Tigers and Spartans, Oh My!

As much as love love sports, it's a bit crazy when they are all taking place at the same time! I was lucky enough to go to the Tigers game on Sunday. It was fun. I went with some cousins. I'm still waiting for Marc to send me the pics, but will share when I get them. It was quite cold, but we were prepared with toe warmers and scarves and gloves (and beer). I like hanging out with the fam. Now that we're more mature, we actually get along!

Anyway, last Friday was movie night. The Prestige was good. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I did like it. Probably won't buy it though... Saturday I just followed Beckie around town. Went to Ferndale for her friend's b-day party. We watched the Tigers game there then headed to Fishbones for a pre-Cadieux Cafe drink. Cadiuex Cafe was fun. Jessica and I almost kicked some feather-bowling-ass, but we fell apart in the last round... Jessica - We'll get 'em next time!! :)

This weekend is dress-up time! I'm looking forward to it.

B-day Mania

Man, October is just crazy with the birthdays! We have already celebrated Mike's, Sarah's and Jenn's. Today is my Dad's. Also, my two nephews and niece are this month (10th, 18th & 28th) and Gayle's is the 30th. And I'm probably forgetting someone...sorry someone!

Anyway, it is definitely fall. Heck, it's borderline winter already with the frickin' snow we had last week. I love fall, but only when it is truly fall. Not fall for a week, then winter for 5 months!

This past weekend was full of fun. The Tigers played on Friday and won. Then we went to the MSU football game Saturday monring. The tailgate was cold! We drank warm apple cider with Captain Morgan's - yum! Sarah and I left the game at half time to drive home in time to rest for a few minutes and watch the Tigers sweep the A's to go on to the World Series...GO TIGERS!! :) We then went a bachelorette party downriver. It was fun to see our friends that we don't see much, but when the stippers arrived, we were ready to go. They were icky. They just thought they were hot stuff even though they were rather scary and not attractive at all. And they were 45 minutes late but acted like it was no big deal even thought being 45 minutes late kind of killed the party because we were just sitting around waiting for them to show. Annoying naked men!

On Sunday I went to my parents' as usual. We had a mini celebration of my dad's b-day. It was mini because my mom has been so busy planning the kids' party that she forgot to think about my dad. I had to buy a couple of pies on my way there. The kids were in rare form. Jordan was actually in a good mood, she's cute when she's in a good mood. Cayman has a tendancy to mouth-off when he doesn't get what he wants. And Jeffrey gets no attention from my brother and does bad things so he does. At this point, jeffrey will take whatever attention he can get, bad or not. I feel bad sometimes. My brother blames Jefrrey for where is life is and takes it out on him - obviously claiming he doesn't, but we can all see it. Jeffrey will go away to college and never come back. And my brother is too stubborn to admit when he's wrong so he'll never change and it won't get better. It's sad.

I also ordered my costume this weekend. It's a "Hot Rockin' Witch". It wasn't my first choice, but since it was $35 cheaper than what I really wanted, I will make it do. Looking forward to getting dressed up this year, it feels like it's been forever since I have. Fun, fun.

Moment of Flattery

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted...mainly because there's not much to update. I started school a couple weeks ago. I am now very tired because I'm not used to the schedule. The classes are very easy, almost as easier than high school... In Anatomy & Physiology my teacher will lecture and say "remember this, it's going to be on the test" or "you don't need to memorize this, it won't be on the test" - uh, ok. As for psychology, that class is going to be my worst, not the hardest, just the worst. See, I didn't go to the first class because I was way too tired and slightly hungover from the b-day extravaganza. I was so paranoid about missing that I read the first two chapters in time for the second class, hoping to be prepared for a test. Well, in the second class, I found out they covered chapters 1 & 3 - d'oh! Luckily, the teacher lectured about chapter 3 before the break and gave the test right after AND it was an open book test. The way my PSY 101 class is set-up, our homework is to read a chapter (this week is chapter 4), then during the next class she will discuss/lecture on ch. 4 and then we will have a test on ch. 4 the same day. I don't know if all of the tests will be open book, but I still find it is rather easy. Too bad I'm not going to that class this week either. There is a football game and I don't want to miss the tailgate. This means I will have missed 2 of the first 3 classes and will have to miss a class in November due to my Mexico trip. I have done the math, and since I get to drop one of the lowest test scores (which will be a zero), if I get 95% on all the other tests, I will still get 81% or a B-. And since I don't care, that is fine by me. My third class is Medical Terminology. This will be slightly more challanging, but is still rather easy. The teacher is funny and our class is actually learning stuff.

Anyway, this school thing is now up in the air for me. See, this new college has not counted any credits for classes I have taken in the past. If they still refuse to accept any of these credits after I meet with my advisor next week, then I'm going to just go back to Henry Ford CC since that's where I have all the credits. If I go back to HFCC, I might have to wait until next fall to slip back into the Surgical Tech program which will postpone my internship another year, which sucks, but if I save money by not having to re-take 4-6 classes, so be it. Also, if that's the case, it gives Sarah and I more time to sell the house and we won't have to worry about the pressure of selling really fast in such a bad market. This school and house stuff is so annoying, but I know it will be worth it in the long run.

As for this past weekend, it was the MSU/UM football game. Most MSU fans knew that UM would win. Heck, they're the better team, they should, but I was irked by some of the calls and the lack of coaching. It was so frustrating I just focused my attention on the Tiger game. And how 'bout them Tigers. I think it's great. I drove over to East Lansing to watch the games at the bar with Danielle and her co-worker/friend. It was fun. On my drive home, I was talking to Beckie on the phone and got mad at this car because I was trying to pass it and it wouldn't let me, so I slowed down the let it go by and it slowed down. I was annoyed so I got off the phone and finally passed the car. A few moments later, I noticed the same car next to me on the left and realized someone was waving at me. I looked over and the guy from the backseat (it was a 2-door Cavalier) was hanging out the window, waving his arms to get my attention! They wanted me to roll down my window, but I felt the situation was rather unsafe and just shook my head "no". The guy got back into the car and they shurgged their shoulders and I pulled away. For some reason, I was then immediately regretful that I didn't roll down my window. I'm sure they were 22 and just being crazy, but I never do anything crazy anymore and was bummed about that. But then, the 30-year old in me said it was best because I was alone and what would have really come of the situation anyway? I just decided to accept it as a moment of flattery...three young boys thought I was cute enough (in the dark, from 20 feet away) to hang out the window of a moving car to try to talk to me. Lucky me.

I am amused easily...

http://www.youtube.com/v/RB-wUgnyGv0

Hum Drum

• I was able to purchase my school books for $185 vs. the $375 the bookstore wanted. Very happy.
• Sporting events are no fun when it rains. Well, that is if there is no alcohol available to drink. The MSU game last weekend was cold and rainy, but the vodka helped ignore that fact. However, the absence of vodka at the Tiger game on Wednesday made the rain annoying.
• 5 days - I really don't care that I'll be 30, but it is still a milestone b-day. Remember in high school when 30 seemed old?
• Work has gotten better since I moved to the new managers. They're totally awesome. I told M (my new managers are M and T) that I was going to lunch and she was like, "Why are you telling me? I don't care. It's lunchtime, just go." It was very strange. I got so used to telling L where I was going every second that it's now a habit. One that I don't think will be very hard to break :)
• I already foresee the down fall of the dating Whatshisface. He is a very nice guy, and I do like spending time with him, but I think I just like the idea of having someone to spend time with. he is very simple and quiet and a slow driver... I just need to be with someone who is outgoing and spontaneous at times. When I talk about the things we do when I hang out with my friends he has no stories to tell. I understand his close friend are now married, but I find it odd that he doesn't have any other friends to hang with on weekends and such. I don't want to sound stuck-up but he's just not the right one for me.
• Tonight I'm going to Tom's Oyster Bar in Royal Oak, but not to eat oysters. I'm still afraid to try those slimy things... Tomorrow will be a lazy day watching MSU on TV then going to the Tiger game in the evening. And Sunday I'm going to my parents' house. The whole family will probably be there for my b-day. We ordered two yummy cakes from a bakery in Livonia. Yum!

Remember

I don't feel that I can't just post a blog today without paying some respect to those who lost their lives 5 years ago. I remember where I was and I remember the shock that was 9/11/2001. It was a sad day in history, hopefully one that will always be remembered and one that will not be repeated. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world and there will be more days of similar devastation no matter how much we pray for peace. This is the world we live in.

Now, on to my trivial topic:

Does anyone know how a Student Edition of a book is different from the regular edition? I thought maybe I would see a Teacher Edition or something, but I have not. Just curious.

I will write about the weekend another day.

Bastards

I went to the bookstore today to check on the price of my books - and for two classes they want $375 in books! This doesn't include my psychology class at the other campus. They are truly insane. AND, of cousre they don't have any used books. The bookstore opened on Tuesday, so I know it's not that the used books are gone, it's that they didn't have any to start with! Bastards. I have already checked online and through eBay I can get the same books for $150 - that's 60% cheaper. Outrageous. What a scam. Bastards.

Weekend at Anna's

Friday I only worked a half day. Came home to take a nap on the couch and then head to Lansing w/ Sarah. At Danielle's we ordered pizza and watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I had never seen it; I thought it was pretty sad. After reading an old Us magazine, I went to bed around 12:30. We got up at 6:30 Saturday morning to get to the tailgate early. As Sarah mentioned, we made pancakes, eggs and english muffins. I was drinking, but actually never really got drunk. The game was boring. I have a feeling it's going to be another one of those bad seasons, but we'll still be there at every game. Heck, the tailgating is so much fun! After the game, I took a 5-10 minute nap in the car while hey made hot dogs. That was enough to rejuvenate me for the rest of the night. I left Lansing at 5:00 to drive to Buffalo and arrived at Anna's about 10:30. The drive was horrible. It was dark and raining the whole way, and they don't have light on the 403 so I was afraid I was going to drive off the road. Then on the QEW, the winds were very gusty. I'm glad I made it! At Anna's, I had a drink and showered while Anna, Jacque and Sandra went to pick up dinner. We got ready after eating and headed to the bar around 12:30. The bars were not very crowded because of the rain, but we still had fun. Anna made out with 2 guys and got really drunk. When I saw her on the floor around 3:00. I knew it was time to go home. I gave my number reluctantly to a 20-year-old, ex-marine who was very short. He was very cute and very nice, but only 20 and very short. Apparently he was medically discharged, but I did not ask for details. He did make a comment about not hearing well due to explosions. Yikes! Anyway, we got home and in bad around 4:00. So, I had been up for 21.5 hours. I was impressed since I haven't done that since high school!! On Sunday we went to Denny's for breakfast then headed to Niagara Falls. We walked around a little and then Jacque and Sandra had to leave. Anna and I went to the grocery store. For dinner we made awesome steak and chicken kabobs, potato packets and green beans. We also made chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries for dessert. We watched the movie, Clue, and went to bed. I agree with the guy from the tailgate...I can't go out two nights in a row anymore. I'm perfectly happy sitting on the couch watching a movie and going to bed early...gosh, I'm old! :) On Monday, we made breakfast and went to the movies. We saw Little Miss Sunshine. It was good, but sad - I need to see a comedy to make up for these sad movies I've seen this weekend... I left Anna's at 2:30. The drive was very easy, until I got to the Bluewater Bridge. I waited there for 2.5 hours to get over to the U.S. What made me mad was that I waited 2.5 hours and when I got to the booth, she asked me two questions and I was on my way. 2.5 hour wait for a 20 second conversation - it doesn't get more annoying than that! I got home just before 9:00 last night. Louie was so happy when I came home. He's such a little baby boy. I love him to pieces.

Today I am working from home. I was feeling better, but woke up with a headache. So, I stayed here. I think I'm going to do some laundry now.

p.s. - I am very sad that Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, died. I feel sad for his wife and two small children. In case you haven't seen one of the hundreds of articles online: http://news.yahoo.com/fc/entertainment/steve_irwin

Skip and Go Naked

I'm sick. Blah! It's just sinus congestion that has plugged up my right ear. I was hoping it would just go away, but it has been three days, so I broke down and bought some decongestant. I hope that works, I really don't want to have to go to the doctor.

Anyway, this upcoming long, holiday weekend is indeed going to be very long. Sarah and I are headed to East lansing Saturday night ot hang out with Danielle. Then we will be up at the crack of dawn to have a breakfast tailgate for the first MSU home game of the season. Game time is 12:00. After the game, I'm hopping in the car and driving all the way to Buffalo. That will take about 5 hours from Lansing. I really hope Sarah comes with me, because the drive sucks alone, but she has to work on Sunday and all her co-workers suck and never switch for her. Instead the just egg our house!! (See Sarah's blog for details.) Once I/we get to Buffalo we will probably go out Saturday night and sleep all day on Sunday. Anna's other friends, Jacque and Sandra, will also be there, but they are leaving on Sunday, I think. I/we will not drive home until Monday though. Even though it's going to be a tiring weekend, I'm looking forward to visiting Buffalo again. I will not be able to go there for at least 4 months because of school, and by then Anna may not even be in Buffalo anymore (she had a job interview in Milwaukee and she will move if she get the job offer.)

As for tonight, I'm going to family dinner for my grandpa's 87th birthday. Then I'm coming home to do some packing for the weekend and of course watch the MTV VMAs because Justin is going to perform. I'm so excited!! :-)

Gloomy Day

Today is one of those cloudy days, the sky is gray and it makes me tired. I am bored at work. Although, if it rains, I now have a window seat, so I can enjoy watching the peaceful rain drops. I do have meetings later today. We have one of our company's executive leaders visiting today. And he will be here on Monday also, with another higher-level executive. So everyone was running around this week, nervous and such. I'm like, whatever. If I even meet him while he's here, he won't remember me. One lady even asked me what I was going to wear!! I held back my laughter. Anyway, things are slow now that I no longer support L. I still have two things to turnover, but the daily activities are over. Ding, dong the witch is in Texas with a new person to bark at!

Well, this weekend will be nice. Anna is coming home and she will be staying at our house. Tonight will be dinner (I'm actually going to cook) and drinks and season finale episodes of Monk and Psych. Tomorrow Anna and I are going to a concert at Ford Field. Get ready to laugh...it's a country concert. Our friend, Beckii, asked us and it sounded fun. I don't mind country music, I just don't listen to it regularly. Luke, aka mini-wink, is also supposed to go as well as Whatshisface. Beckii was the one person who wanted to go the most, but she is now in Japan for work :( On Sunday, the Winklers are having a party in Lansing for their grandma's 90th birthday.

Back to work. Happy Friday everyone.

Let's Light Up

I recall watching Tom and Jerry as a child and I remember laughing. I do not remember the urge to light up because Tom (a cartoon cat) was smoking a cigar (a cartoon cigar). Maybe that's because I received an education as well. I understood that a cartoon of a smoking cat was not real and in no way was telling me I should smoke. Maybe that's because I had parents that contributed to my education and explained to me the smoking was bad and cartoon were not real. I get angered when I read articles like this because in this day in age, no body takes responsibility for their children. They point fingers and blame cartoons and music and movie for their children's behavior. Maybe if they got of their keysters and spent time with their kids, we could enjoy all forms of entertainment, even classic, silly cartoons...

Easy Mac

So, the orthodontist told me I'm looking at $6,000 worth of work to straighten my teeth. And the $6,000 is the price if I don't need surgery... HA! yeah, right. No thanks, I'll live with crooked teeth. He said my jaw should have been stretched wider when I was younger to make room for my teeth, so just getting braces isn't the solution. I'm going to get a second opinion.

Last night I had a date with Whatshisface. It was good. PF Changs for dinner, yum! Then back to my place to watch Dodgeball, which he had never seen. I love that movie, I laugh every time. Anyway, it was a good date. He's still holding back, quite shy. I think he's just afraid he's going to mess it up so he's nervous about everything. I'm hoping after another date or two, he'll loosen up and relax a little and be more himself. I'm optimistic, but if he doesn't relax it won't last very long...

Tonight I'm coming home to spend time with the pups. It's the finale of So You Think You Can Dance. I hope Benji wins. It is also Project Runway night.

Also, on the work front, I have been successfully pushing off work for L. I'm just not doing it anymore. I think she's mad, but oh well. She did get mad when she saw I changed managers. She told me she would have never let me go in that case. Even though she was the one who told me to find a new job...! She's very hard to understand. I turned over some work to another admin who is in Texas. L doesn't want her to be the one, but I don't care who it is as long as it's not me. The last thing to dump is the financials. We have a meeting on Friday, I think it's going to get ugly, but I'm tired of being walked all over. Time she learns how to do a few things for herself.

Lunch time! Well, not quite, but I'm hungry. Have a nice day.

Bananas and Rumbutans

My porch calendar has a very pretty picture this month. The caption explains that the porch is in Bali , and a "bamboo roof provides shelter and bananas and rumbatans are the snack of choice." I wish that was my porch.

Anyway, drinks with Whatshisface on Friday went well. We had good conversation. We talked for about 2 hours over a couple drinks. Then I headed to Julon's to watch Psych with Mike and Jessica. I love that show. James Roday is super cute, even though he vaguely reminds me of Joe (old friend from GM Card days). We also watched House. I have recently started watching that show. It's very good, in my opinion. On Saturday, I cleaned up the house a little bit. Then I was lazy. Napped on the couch with the Tiger game on the TV. They lost, again. They on a 5-game losing streak...yikes. Hope they snap out of it. Then Saturday evening Jessica and I car-pooled to Jay and Eric's. I concur with Mike, it was a very nice condo. I want a nice, shiny, new place like that. I was also in love with the strawberries and chocloate dip, and the Hostess tray of goodness. On Sunday, I did nothing. I mean, I went to my parents' house as usual, but I did no work. No cleaning or laundry or dishes or anything. I should do more of that.

Well, it's Monday. And I'm at work. And I want to be home. But I have an orthodontist evaluation at 6:00. I have a feeling it's going to be very expensive. :(

Drop It Like It's Hot

3:00 on Friday afternoon. The only better time of the week is 5:00 on Friday afternoon. I'm just hanging out, waiting for an ok time to leave. I finally finished the horrendous financial reports. They were two days late because I procrastinated too much, but hey, they're finished, right? They ended up not being as bad as I expected, but still time consuming. 6 hours yesterday and 4 hours today. Yuck.

So, I had lunch yesterday with Whatshisface from work. It was ok. He is very nice, and also very shy. We did have good conversation though, so at least there wasn't any awkward silence. I think we are going to meet for drinks later. I have a date with Jessica to watch Monk and Psych with her at Julon's, so it won't be an all night date. (but Jessica, if you read this, I might be a little late for Monk...) It should be interesting. I totally forgot how awkward it is trying to date. Not really knowing the person, trying to learn things about each other but still not really knowing someone. Hoping there will be good chemistry, afraid there won't be.

Can't Make Me Do It

I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really do not want to deal with these financial reports! I have no desire to even look at them. I just want to go home, walk my puppy, sit on the couch and eat a yummy greek salad. I have to do laundry tonight also. How exciting is my life??

Lazy Days

While some of our friends went to Canada for the weekend, I was stuck in Warren. I had to finish my house and dog sitting obligation. Although it went well, I was bummed I missed the cottage once again. Instead, I went home on Friday after work to let our pups out, fell asleep on the couch, woke up and went to the other house, watched Monk and Psych on USA and went to bed. Saturday I went home to spend time with our pups, fell asleep on the couch, woke up and went back to the other house, watched the Tiger game and SNL Justin Timberlake and went to bed. I was up at 6:30am Sunday to let the dogs out. Then the homeowners cam home around 8am. Which was ok because I had to go home to meet my brother. He came over to help Sarah and I clean up out yard. He trimmed our trees and helped rid us of the jungle on the side of our driveway. He also trimmed behind our garage and sprayed round-up along our fence line. It looks so much better now. We still have some spraying to do to the lawn to kill the weeds, but we are happy. We also still have clean-up to do bagging up the stuff from behind the garage (Sarah, I totally forgot about that). Then we took a nap and went to my parents' house for bbq. It was a nice lazy weekend, but I feel old when I don't do anything on the weekends.

Anyway, I find it interesting the NBC has such a poor line-up that they are taking hit shows from other channels now. Both Project Runway (Bravo) and Psych (USA) have been shown on NBC for ratings. Now I know they are probably brother/sister channels and what not, but it's still interesting to me.

Also, did I say how much I love Justin Timberlake? He's so awesome. I was a little surprised by his new song, but I'm now hooked and listen for it on the radio every second I get. I need to get it loaded into my MP3. His album comes out late August or early September. I'm excited. I hope that means he's going to tour again. I heard fro the radio people today that he has a few good songs on his album. JT 4-ever!!:)

And last, I am kind of talking to a guy at work. He's a shy guy, so it's interesting. Not someone I probably would pick out for myself, but he's a nice guy, with his act together. I need to stop searching out the losers just because they have 6-pack abs, ya know? I think we are going to have lunch one day this week. Maybe I should email him now to confirm. He's never had Jimmy John's - oh the tragedy :)

Crazy Talk

Well, today I had my follow-up conversation with my new boss. I told him I was offended that he made it sound like it did a poor job. He apologized, saying that there were a couple performance things that he did not mean to make it sound that way. I still think he did, but whatever. So, I told him I decided to move over and support two leaders that will report to him (so one level down). He tried to emphasize that he didn't want me to make that decision because I feel I'm being pushed to, but I saw through it and know it's what he wanted me to do. He also said that he felt I made the "mature decision". What the $@#! does that mean? If I decided to stay where I'm at then I'm immature??? I'm still taken aback by the whole thing, but whatever. I'll get over it. My new, new boss seems very cool. He's even more laid back and funny actually. I'll also be supporting another manager, a woman, who ironically, will be working very closely with my old group. It's a small, small world.

This week I have been house and dog sitting for a lady at work. I brought Louie over to hang out and play with her two dogs. They love to run and play, but it's been too hot out to let them have run of the backyard for a long time, so they have been a little crazy from the cabin fever. I think Sarah is going to take Louie home tonight after PR. I don't know if I can sleep in a tiny bed with three dogs for another three nights!

Anyway, I'm excited for Project Runway tonight. Very controversial episode. Someone will be asked to leave. Who?? I don't know. Why?? I don't know. Have to watch to find out!!!

As for crazy talk - my mom and brother are concocting this insane plan. They're talking about buying land and building a house for all of us to live together in. My brother and wife and 3 kids, my mom and dad, and me too. It's so funny. It drives my dad nuts when they talk about it. They even have a floor plan and price for the house. It's a 6-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2-car garage house before the modifications. They want to add a bathroom between what would be my mom and dad's bedrooms (yes, my parents have their own rooms because they sleep in separate rooms in their current house. they have for years and years. we make fun of them). Anyway, they also need to add-on to make it a 3-car garage and put an apartment in the basement for me. Yep, I'd get my own apartment. I told them I'd be game only because if I have internships for school and can't work full time in a year or so, Sarah and I need to sell the house and I'd need a place to live! BUT - I don't ever see this becoming reality, even though they have been talking about it for over a week now. They are crazy.

Well, I should get some work done before I decide to skip out early :) Later gaters.

Hey, just realized today is the one-year anniversary of my blog. Happy Anniversary to me!! :)

Necto-tastic

Friday night was very fun. It started with a surprise party for my friend Trina. She will be turning 30 on August 5, so we threw an early b-day surprise for her. What was even better was that our friend, Jess, came in from Minnesota just for the occasion. It was so good to see her. We were bummed though, she found out a little while ago that she has gall stones and of course, the darn buggers had to start bothering her at the b-day party. She was in pain for over 2 hours!! I can related to the pain she was in since I had the same problem a year ago. It was a happy day when my gall bladder was removed. I hope she gets in to the doctor soon to take care of it. Anyway, so, Jess had to miss the Necto experience :( That's too bad because I know she would have loved it. Jess, did Trina tell you about the awesome drag queen and his splendid dancing? I was angry I didn't bring my camera. The Necto was really fun. We danced and drank and sweat our butts off. The basement get so stuffy and sticky - but the music is so cool down there! We danced to songs like "It's Raining Men" and "Barbie Girl" and a lot of Madonna - haha. Trina ended up drinking a lot since we kept buying her shots. I was unaware of how drunk she was until we stopped dancing and sat down for a minute. She started rambling on and on - it was funny. On my way to take her home she wanted tacos. So we drove through Taco Bell. After one bite of a taco, she passed out. Not completely, because she had to give me directions home, but she never took another bite. When we got to her place she could hardly stand. When I left her house, she had crawled into the bathroom. Rumor has it she didn't get sick, and amazingly was not hungover the next day. You go girl!! She took Tylenol before going to bed for good and woke up to eat the Taco Bell we bought at 6am :) That girl is funny. I'm glad she came. I'm sad Jess couldn't. Jess, you need to keep a Friday night open the next time you come home!

Anyway, I am now sitting at work. Still erked about last week's conversation and not in the mood to do any work right now. Also, this morning everyone in the company got an email to watch a 2 minute video about Ethics & Compliance and blogging. It was a warning to not post secret company information on a blog. Really? Wow, I'm so glad they told me that. I was about to give away something really interesting....NOT.

Happy Monday to all.

Bachelorette party was fun. Seems like we were all hurting the next day, but nobody got sick so it's was all good. I look entirely too drunk in all of the pictures so I'm not sharing any of them (I'm sure Jessica or Sarah will now...) Anyway,

I found out earlier that my new manager is concerned about the job I'm doing. It honestly is because my old manager is still monopolizing a lot of my time, so I'm not focusing on the the new things that I should. He didn't approach me to say I was crappy, he was just concerned that the work will get busier going forward and wanted to make sure I was up to it. He also offered me the opportunity to do some shifting and work for someone different, a manager one level below him. With going back to school, it could be a concern the time needed for work if I stayed with him. I had also told him a month ago I wanted to have a life outside work, so he wants to offer me something that would allow that. He told me to think about it. I already know my decision. I'm dedicated to school this time, so I want to do what ever will make school easier. Also, by stepping down, it also makes my decision - what to go to school for. It will be on the Surgical Tech path. I just feel this is a small sign to help nudge me in the right direction. I can work in a less stressful position for the next year or so while I get back on track. Then when it's time for the internship and such, I can bow out of my job. I believe I'm not meant to be an admin forever. At least, I hope not...

I bite my thumb at you...

MySpace - I don't like it. Apparently all of my friends are too cool to blog anymore, they are all on MySpace (well, they still blog a little, but I know they're on MySpace a lot more...) I do not go on MySpace, so I am no longer hip to the interesting things they are talking about. I'm missing out on funny dog walking stories and surveys and such. Oh well, I guess I'll just be the lame friend who doesn't know what's going on...

Anyway, here are a few things that have happened since my last update:

• Camping - see Sarah or Jessica's blogs
• Cedar Point - Fun but hot. The Millenium Force was broken, we waited 2 hours for the Dragster (because it broke too) and the new ride was tres cool. I also had a yummy Mojito at TGIFridays.
• Orientation - I had to take a reading and math apptitude test; I was not happy. They feel I would benefit from taking pre-algebra - HA - no way, won't do it. I took Calculus at MSU for goodness sake. I am scheduled to take PSY 101 (again), Anatomy & Physiology and Medical Terminology. Classes begin September 25.
• Dentist Appointment - I was referred to an orthodontist for a consultation...braces might be in my near future. That's what I get for never wearing my retainer after my first experience with braces...
• Tiger Game - Same as CP, it was fun but hot. VERY hot. We were melting, but the drinks were good and the company was great. I also enjoy the fireworks - unlike some un-named people...Ryan.
• Family Dinner - I don't go very often anymore, but I went this week because it was my grandparents 59th wedding anniversary. I can't begin to imagine being with the same person that long! I think it's great. We made fun of them because we had to host a 40 AND a 50-year anniversay party because my grandparents keep saying they are living on borrowed time - we would like to know what bankthey get their loans from - haha. My grandpa is 87 even though his parents didn't live past 60. Needless to say, we are getting ready to start planning for next year's 60th party.

This weekend is the bachelorette party for our friend, Darcy. It will be "Da Bomb". I am going to attempt to make Sangria, wish me luck. I am already planning the hangover on Sunday...I just hope I don't throw up.

On that note, have a nice day.

Wasting Time

I'm just trying to kill a little time until I can leave early. I love holiday weekends!

On Wednesday, I went to the fireworks in Detroit with my parents, my brother & his wife and the two boys. My dad is one of those guys who always has a connection. Well, he helps this one woman get baseball tickets for her members, ever heard of the Detroit Society? - me either... Anyway, because he helps her get tickets, she invites him and our family to their fireworks party every year. The rent two floors of a parking garage right next to the RenCen and they have games for the kids and a band and DJ and a ton of food and drinks. It was really nice - until we left to go home. My brother made us wait 45 minutes after the fireworks eded to leave because he wanted traffic to be less. BUT, waiting 45 minutes only allowed the traffic to pile up. We tried to go around the busy roads, with no luck of course. Then at one point when we were almost to the freeway, my brother missed that the road turned and we ended up driving right back into downtown!! I was rather annoyed at this point. The fireworks ended at 10:40 or so, we got home to my parents' house at 12:45. I ended up driving home because I didn't want to drive from Southgate to Auburn Hills the next morning.

Yesterday Sarah and I went shopping. We tried to look for rain coats, but apparently Target doesn't sell rain coats...how odd. We ended up buying a few things for our camping weekend and then headed to Home Depot to buy a Weed Whacker. The stupid city gave a notice that our "grass and/or other weeds" have exceeded the city's 6" height rule. How annoying is that. Well, we let someone borrow our lawn mower so we thought a weed whacker would help. Sarah ended up borrowing a lawn mower from our neighbor. I'm so glad she's the husband in our relationship :-) hahahaha

Tonight is full of packing and checklists (after I find rain coats...). And tomorrow morning we are off. I'm very exciting for our camping. It will be fun. I just hope the weather holds out and doesn't make it miserable...

I pooted.

While driving to the wedding on Saturday, we saw a billboard that said 'I pooted." That's all it said. We giggled and wondered what it could be. Then I saw a billboard yesterday that said "Look! I have a meat beard." Well, Ryan did a little detective work and found out theyare quotes from "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" which is on Cartoon Network. I guess there are a few others, per Ryan:

Clowns hate tangelos.
I'm a hot toe picker.
My boogers itch.
Shiny shiny. Pretty pretty.

Anyway, I'm also including a few pictures from the weekend. A couple from the wedding and one of the pups that I think is cute.

ice cream the the Dairy-Go-Round
at the reception
cute pups

Stormy Weather

Well, it's just one of those days. So much stuff going on, it's hard to stay focused on work.

One of the big things being, I found out today my brother sold his house. We had nno idea. See, my brother lost his job last June for a really stupid reason. He spent 7 months going through a union arbitration to get his job back. In Februday/March he found out that he lost his case. He has been on unemployment, but that pays him nothing close to what he made. And with the market, he's having a very hard time finding a job. His wife is working at a car dealership and she just started back at Ford's two weeks ago for part time work. Unfortunately, they were financially strained and couldn't make all the bills. They finally were too far over their heads and had to get rid of the house. And the even bigger blows, they didn't even make money on the house. Simply broke even. I am heartbroken for them. They have 3 kids and everythings seems to be getting worse and worse. There is no way to help them. That's the worst, when you can't help the people you love. I truly hope there are better things coming. For my brother's sake, I hope the sun comes out soon.

:(

New Job

Well, I have accepted a new position. I will be doing the same thing (Admin. Assist.) but for a different manager. I will not officially change for about a month since there will be transition that has to happen to L's new assistant who has not yet been named. I'm a a little bummed that I can't jump right over, but as least I know the end is in sight!! :) I will continue to work in Auburn Hills. And I'm still going back to school in the fall (my new manager is very supportive of that). Yippee! TGIF

7 years & 2 months

That's how long I have lasted, to the day. April 5, 1999. I have worked here much longer than I thought I actually would. And I have at least one more year to go. I now have two potential positions available to me, both of them are administrative assistant roles. I have one interview at 4:30 today and the other on Thursday. I'm very happy to be moving on. I think a new, more laid-back manager will make me happy. Especially if my manager is remote, meaning not in Michigan, then I could work from home more - bonus. The other manager is not remote, but I would be on the GM account, therefore get GM holidays (which is 6 more days off per year) - bonus.

My orientation is on July 12 for school. I'm so excited to sign up for classes. I wish I was able to take a summer class, but financially I need to wait. Hope I get the loans I need!

In my spare time lately I really haven't done much. I've actaully been watching the Tigers on TV. I have found baseball is actually fun to watch when you're watching a good team. For those of you who don't know, the Tigers are in first place - yay.

Anyway, I went to Royal Oak on Saturday night with Beckie and Sarah. Jessica had to babysit. It was a nice time, I was just glad to be off the couch on a weekend night for a change. Well, that was until I got sick... I only had three drinks and a shot. I've had much more than that before and not gotten sick, so it was very strange. I wasn't drunk the whole night, then when we were walking back to the car, it hit me. I was dizzy and ready to pass out, but made it home before getting sick and passing out for good. I slept on the couch and felt like crap Sunday morning. Again, it was very strange... I did feel better by the afternoon, so I went to my parents' house and we went to Applebee's for dinner. I had an Oreo shake - yum.

I have nothing planned this week. Just some Wheel of Fortune and walks with Louie. I have to spoil him this week because he's going to the vet to get fixed on Friday. I hope that helps with his humping problem (those of you at Mike's bbq know what I mean) :) And I'll be going to Ryan's shindig on Saturday in Toledo - and ready to par-tay!

Reality TV Update

Yes, I am a reality tv junkie. I think I'm getting better since I no longer watch MTV's Real World or VH1's Surreal Life. But I do follow the following shows and thought I'd share with you the results and my thoughts :)

America's Next Top Model - Winner: Danielle (glad she won, was a good person and took great pictures)
American Idol - Winner: Taylor Hicks (glad he won, I actually liked him from the start and was surprised he made it so far. Go Soul Patrol!!)
Top Chef - Winner: Harold (He rocks)
Apprentice - Final Two: Lee and Sean (I will be voting for Sean, he's cool. Lee is a politician and annoying)

I didn't watch Survivor but I know the winner was Aras, I have no clue if he deserved the million dollars.

'Til next season...

Happy Happy

Happy Birthday, Beckie!

I'm having a nice day because L has called in sick today. It is quiet and I can do work if I feel like it or I can just put it off until tomorrow :)

No leads on the job front yet. I think I will find out about any possibilities this week. I also was given a name of some one at Compuware as a contact. I sent my resume, so now I just wait.

Apple Jacks

Just a couple updates to share:

1) I was in Chicago this past weekend with two friends from high school. They are the only two people I keep in touch with from HS and they are both married. It was fun, we were able to all get away from our day-to-day annoyances (is that even a word??). Anyway, we ate at the Cheesecake Factory, went to the aquarium and Navy Pier and did some shopping on Michigan Ave. We didn't go out to any bars because Friday was a long day of travel and Saturday we walked all day long. I will say it was a little strange not going out. I know if I was with Sarah we would hit the bars dispite any tired legs or sore feet :) I didn't mind though. I quite enjoy being lazy on the weekends, especially when I'm on vacation.

2) I am in the process of looking for a new job. Most likely I will easily find a new adminstrative position with the same company - I have a good reputation and I will get a good recommendation from L. But I'm not totally ruling out going somewhere else if an opportunity presents itself. I'm actully looking forward to the change. I felt swamped everyday and didn't see any relief in sight. But in gaining a new manager, I will be able to have a normal admin job with will allow me to work normal hours and make time for school. We are aiming for me to have a new job by July 1.

3) I applied to Baker College. I will be going back to school for sure in the fall. Baker College has several campuses, one right in Clinton Township. I still have to make my final decision what I'm going back for. The options being - finish my Bachelors degree in Business Administration or go back into Surgical Technology. I'm not sure yet, but am leaning towards ST. I kind of reget not finishing it the first time around, so I think I want to finish that and get into a career that I will truly enjoy.

The Da Vinci Code

Does anybody have a copy I could borrow? I'd like to read it before I see the movie.
Thanks :)

Blog Monster

Well, I wrote a long post to tell you about my trip to SF with my mom, but the blog monster ate it. When and where will he strike next? Only time will tell...

Shampoo is Better. It goes on first and cleans the hair.

Yes, I'm excited that I saw Billy Madison yesterday. It's one of my favorite movies and I hadn't seen it in a long, long time. It was on Comedy Central. I know many think it is stupid, but I find it to be silly and humorous. - Stop looking at me, Swan!

Anyhoo, I am enjoying another L-free work week. She's in Plano once again along with 3 other people so it is quiet in the office. Too bad I'm taking a long weekend, that makes it kind of a waste to miss out on two full days she's not here.

I'm going to San Francisco with my mom for our yearly bonding trip. Although, I don't think we bond because I never talk to her about my life really, but she thinks we're close, so I take advantage of the free trips. I know that might sound bad, it's not like I dislike my mom, we're just not close. We're not friends, she's just my mom. If she does help me out, she kind of holds it over my head like she did me a favor. Which, yes, it was a favor, but as a parent sometimes it's just what you do.

Lately, I have been thinking about looking for a new job. I'm not in a big hurry because I'm waiting to see if I get a bonus. If I don't, I'm out of here for sure. If I do, I'll probably hang out for a little bit, but plan to really be looking or have something new by the end of the year. I don't want to go to another job just like this, I'm looking for something I will truly enjoy. I know that's very hard to find, but I believe it's out there. I'm just tired of working these hours and being treated like a child but being the only person L depends on to get work done. My job is not my life. She will never get that, so I need to look elsewhere.

Little Bunny Fu-Fu

Easter weekend was nice. I love having days off from work. Thursday night I met Beckii Dial and Jacque Gibson at Diamondback in Belleville. It was quarter-beer night so it was packed. They got the last table at 8:45 so we had to sit directly in front of the mens' bathroom. I even had to wait in line when I arrived at 9:50. I always have fun there. I enjoy country music on occasion so I'm not bothered by it. Plus they switch to hip-hop/dance music between sets so it really is a mish-mosh of music. Remember at Tiki Bob's, that old guy who went every weekend and danced with the young girls? Well, Diamondback has their own old guy. He wore a cowboy hat and a collared shirt with shadows of men riding horses on it. He knew all the line dances and even got down to 50-cent. We laughed about that. Anyway, we left around 12:15 and I decided to stop at a Dearborn bar to say hello to my cousin (home from AZ for the weekend). They were at Howell's, a small, corner bar, not a club. They played Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire at least a dozen times between 12:45 and 2:00. We laughed about that.

On Friday I was totally lazy. That night we went to Lucky's in Novi for Danielle's b-day. It would be nice to have a place like that nearby where we live. I enjoy playing the old video games and skee-ball and the addicting coin machine. The drinks were expensive so I didn't buy any but I still had a good time. It's always fun when all of the Winkler siblings are in the same room :) We stayed until about 1:30. I was starving on the way home but we were all tired (Saran even fell asleep) so we just went home to bed.

Saturday I did some reading. I finished Harry Potter #6 (finally). I'm so proud, it only took me 4 1/2 months - ha. Now I'm going to read Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. Anyway, I did make a trip to Target to get paper plates and cheese sticks. I also bought the board game, Sorry, but we never played it. Beckie, Mike, Dan and Jessica came over. When Sarah finally got home from Panera we watched Shaun of the Dead. I had never heard of it; I quite enjoyed it. It was very funny even though I had bad dreams about zombies that night. I'm not sure why, but within the last year I now have nightmares after I watch "scary" movies. I had bad dreams after watching Saw II and some other movie I saw over the summer (don't remember which movie...). I never had nightmares growing up. The closest thing to a nightmare would be the dreams I had about Freddie Kreuger, but he was always my boyfriend or something bizarre like that. Now I have bad dreams and I wake up in the middle of the night. I wonder if it has to do with sleeping alone? Did I get used to having someone next me and that subconsciously made me feel safer so my mind would dream scary things? If that's it, I'm in trouble. I do not foresee sleeping next to anybody any time in the near future.

Easter Sunday was nothing new. Every year I go to my aunt's house on my dad's side of the family. She makes the same meal every year - ham, potatoes, corn, rolls, salad and we have cupcakes for dessert. This year she did make green bean casserole too. I came home and watched Sex and the City until DH came on. I was angry that Grey's wasn't on this week. I think that is by far my favorite show now.

Work is rather nice this week. L was off on Monday and she's in Texas for the whole week (and I think next week there is another meeting in Texas she has to go to - par-tay!) I only talk to her once a day to get and give an update on things to do and get to leave at 5:00. Hip, hip....hoorah! I'm so happy because the weather is so nice now. I go home and take Louie for a walk. Figure it's the only thing I can do for exercise right now since I'm not paying money for a gym and it's too hard to workout at home - the dogs would jump all over me as soon as I sat on the floor. Need to come up with a better exercise plan...hmmm.

Well, I'm going to do some work now. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate financials?

This too shall pass

As I lay n bed, I think how boring my life seems these days. I work a 10-12 hour day and come home and sit on the couch to watch TV for a couple hours then go to bed, wake up and repeat. On the weekends I could redeem myself and do something fun and exciting, but who am I kidding, I live in Michigan. Last Friday I stayed home and watched Four Brothers with Sarah and Darren. On Saturday I went to my parents house during the day. That was Tiki night. Sarah, Darren, Luke and I headed to Pontiac for a happy hour party. Boy, has that place changed. It was totally packed by 10pm. It was an 18 and over night, which totally sucked. I stood at the bar for 20 minutes waiting to be served. As I watched everyone around me come and go, I got an attitude with the bartender. He was an asshole. I told him that I was next because I had been standing there so long and his reply was "everybodys waiting". I was like, Hell No!, I have seen everyone get served and leave and new people get drinks before me. Sarah and Darren both went to a different bartender and got drinks before I ever did. When the asshole finally came to take my order, three people around me asked to order for them. With all the drinks, I didn't even get what I wanted because the bartender was so sucky. I felt bad because one of the guys next to me ended up paying $12 for two beers and two shots that were all $1 each. I only had a twenty and knew it would take forever to get change from the asshole so the guys just asked for a kiss on the cheek. I was like, whatever. We ended up leaving Tiki after about a half hour to go to Teddy's, Darren's "jump-off" (yes, that what he called it). That place is ok. It is full of white trash, way too smoky and the DJ plays good music but talks too much and ruins a lot of songs. I ended up not drinking that night. On Sunday I went to an engagement party with Beckie in West Bloomfield. We drank frozen martinis and ate coconut shrimp, beef tenderloin and awesome desserts in a 3.5 million dollar home on a lake. How awesome would that be? I don't even know where to begin to try to make that kind of money. Hmmm, how many people can go in on a loan? I say if we are all still single in a few years we all go in on a huge house with lots of bedrooms and live together :)
During the week all I did was work. I was supposed to plan dinner with this guy I met online awhile ago, but between his schedule and my schedule it didn't work out. He said we can try for next week, but I'm not going to. No point, I'm really not into him and already have plans 4 of the 5 nights next week. Also, Tall Mike end up being a jerk. Since I didn't want to spend the night at his house or sleep with him, he stopped calling me. I guess it's not that big of deal because I didn't see any potential for a relationship or anything, but it was nice to think I might have someone to go out with and have some fun every now and then. Time to start over. It sucks. I have been really down on myself because GMD called me over a week ago. We talked for about 10 minutes. About nothing really, but just talking to him brought back all of these feelings I thought I had put behind me. I miss him again. Probably not him, but the idea of him, and I fell lonely and sad.
Anyway, two nights ago I went to Mt. Clemens and had way too much to drink. I passed out on the table at Denny's and got sick in the driveway when I got home. It was horrible. I am too old for that shit. I'm not 21 anymore and should be able to control myself. Last night I went to Teddy's with Sarah. Again, too smoky and too white trash. We tried to dance a little but we were swarmed by nasty guys and that makes it annoying. "You can look but you can't touch it, if you touch it I'm gonna start some drama, you don't want no drama, no no drama, no no no no drama. So don't pull on my hand boy, you ain't my man boy, I'm just tryin' to dance boy..."
W got home around 1:30 with our BK and then went to bed. Today I'm going to my parents' for dinner. In a small way I want to go out tonight. I have this overwhelming urge to meet someone and it's not going to happen sitting on my couch. But, seriously, who am I going to meet at a bar? Nobody worthwhile, so I'm just screwed.
Tomorrow is the Tigers' Opening Day game. I'm going with Sarah, Darren and Zac. I'm so glad o have the day off tomorrow. And with Friday being holiday, it's only a 3-day work week. Yahoo!

Well, time to get up, shower, go to Target....blah, blah, blah.

Geek or No Geek?

My score is 26
0 to 29: Stuck in the Last Century

0 to 29: Stuck in the Last Century
30 to 60: Heading to Geekdom
61 and up: Seriously Nerdy

Take the quiz: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11977271/from/ET/

Meet Sam

adopt your own virtual pet!

Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures of Louie when I brought him home:

Boney Butt


Happy to be home



Louie has already started to put his weight back on. His hind legs are little weak still; he can't jump up on the bed yet, but he is energetic and ready to play with Duke and he is getting spoiled rotten - things are back to normal :)

Best (and Worst) Week Ever

The last 12 days have been the most emotional, stressful days of my life.

It all started because of Vegas. I'm not going to give a play-by-play because I think Beckie plans to post an extensive blog regarding our trip. No need for everyone to read the same thing twice. We went a a different bar every night and were pretty darn lazy during the days. On Wednesday we saw 'American Storm' (the male-review group from VH1's show StripSearch) at this rinky-dink bar at the Riviera. It was very random and ironic since we had commented about this when we saw a sign for 'Thunder From Down Under' sign at the airport. Anyway, it was funny. On Thursday we went to the ghostbar at The Palms. That place is really quite annoying at first. Since it is one of the hot spots for famous people, everybody who stays there thinks they are hot shit. The lines for the bars are ridiculous and there is no organization at all to get people in (even when you've paid $25 in advance to not wait). I would never stay at The Palms and don't think I'll go there my next visit. But aside from all that, we had a good time. The drinks were reasonably priced (for Vegas) and the music was good even though dancing was prohibited. The ghostbar is a lounge, if you want to dance you should go the night club, Rain... That's what the sign said as you walked in. I still wasn't sure why the played rap/dance music if they didn't want people to dance...??? In any case, we met a few people and got a good laugh out of the girl wearing leather underwear. We saw this interesting group of people - I'm guessing they were a band and their girlfriends, but they had spiky hair and rocker type clothes. And literally, one girl was wearing leather underwear as her outfit (with a long fur coat over it to stay warm - HA). We saw them going into the lounge and we saw they getting kicked out :-) One of the girlfriends go too drunk and couldn't even walk...how cool were they, eh? Friday was St. Patrick's Day. Marc and I watched basketball games (MSU really sucked it up and lost their first round game) and Beckie and Jenn gambled a little. We had dinner at a 50's diner in our casino then decided to head to The Paris since Marc had to get money from a friend. We ended up at club Risque. It was free to get in, but the drinks were insane...$10 for a shot! Ouch. We stayed there until 1:00. I literally danced all-night that night. Good music and a cute, tall, bald boy from L.A. made the night fun. Since Saturday was our last night, we wanted to go out and have an especially good time...and boy did we. We first tried to go to Pure at Ceaser's Palace, but the line was an hour and a half long. We didn't want to wait so were going to Club Rio. As we walked to the cab line, a guy stopped us and gave us his promo card for Light at the Bellagio. We could get in free and get a free round of champagne - score! But when we got there they were going to make my cousin pay $30!!! He ended up leaving, so I was upset and angry because it was our last night and I wanted to hang with my cuz since he live in AZ and I never see him and he could be sent to Iraq or any place else in the world being in the Air Force and all. At any rate, he ended up coming back and getting in for free (thanks to Jenn). We hung out with some VIP table and then we split up when we all met people. We found each other when the bar closed but went our separate ways again. I ended up playing Blackjack with some guy from Colorado. I got home at 7:00am and was the first one home!!

Sunday is when I received the bad news. My brother informed the Louie had ran off the night before and they couldn't find him. I was in shock and was immediately crushed at the thought of my puppy being gone and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't get a earlier flight home, so I was stuck in Vegas until 11pm. The whole day I cried and waited for my phone to ring with good news. When I got home Monday morning, Jenn, Beckie and I started wandering around my brother's house, didn't find anything so I had to go home without Louie. The following 3 days were the hardest ever. I made a million phone calls and went online searching. With every passing day I lost more hope. How could an 11 pound puppy survive outside in the cold so long? I tried to stay positive, thinking someone found him and just didn't want to give him back. But on Thursday, I got a phone call while at work from both the Monroe Animal Control and Mary Johnson of Flat Rock saying that Louie had been found. Words can't even describe the relief an joy I felt at that moment. I left work and drove straight down to get him. When I got there Louie was still curled up in a pile of leaves because he wouldn't let the woman pick him up. But when he saw me, he knew mom found him and tried to stand, but didn't have the strength. I picked him up and he was nothing but bones. He had lost 2.5 pounds (22% of his weight). I took him to my brother's to clean him up and then went to the vet. There I found out his tempurature was extremely low, 90 degrees. His temp is supposed to be 99-102. Basically, Louie would not have survived another night. It was truly a miracle that he was found when he was. I brought him home Thursday night but then went back to the vet Friday for a follow-up. He passed all his tests and now he just needs to get his weight and strength back. His personality hasn't changed - still as lovable as ever and still annoys our cats :) I am so thankful for his safe return and appreciate all the thoughts and prayers everyone provide along the way.

Santino Rocks

If only I had a voodoo doll. I'd curse Nina Garcia. Although Michael Kors is deserving as well. In the finale of Project Runway yesterday, Chloe Dao was named the winner. Don't get me wrong, I like Chloe but I did not care for most of her designs. Santino on the other hand is great. He was dubbed the bad guy of the show but he's really a good guy at heart. And he's passionate about fashion design and typically has a No Holds Barred attitude. They told him his final collection was "too safe" after they beat him up all friggin' season about being too crazy. They totally contradicted themselves and I was angry. I did agree with Ryan; none of the designers truly had a "collection" or theme to their work. But Santino had the most creative and I would actually wear most of what he made. To me, that is what defines a good designer, someone who makes clothes that people will wear. Silly me.

Dude, where's my phone?

So, Sarah has already posted about the weekend, but I will give you my version :)

Friday I had an impromptu meeting with a guy a met online. We had drinks at Salvatore Scallopini's and talked for about an hour. He's nice and smart and grounded. I don't think I've ever gone out with someone like that. I will most like go to dinner with him one night this week.

Saturday I got up early to go shopping with my mom. I ended buying a pair of shoes (on clearance) and a couple of tops and earrings to match. I also bought a bra at Victoria's Secret. I usually don't spend a lot on bras, but I tried it on and it was awesome. After shopping and lunch, I came home and took a nap while Sarah, Anna and Jim went shopping. I had no idea what lied ahead that night. We went to Pizza Papalis where I didn't eat much because we were already drinking. At the first bar I had two Yager bombs. I really shouldn't have had anything else after that, but I did... I then had a Kamikaze and Yager shot at the second bar. Drunk Andy had bought me a beer that Sarah ended up drinking because I hate beer. I really don't know when I ended up so drunk because we were dancing so much. I do know that it was the Tequila shot that did me in. I took that shot as we were walking out the door, that was really dumb. I DO remember getting annoyed by Andy and dancing with a tall guy named Mike and getting annoyed with the bouncer and trying to text Beckie and failing. I DO NOT remember yelling at Jim about my phone or deleting Beckie's number or talking to Luke or getting sick at Mobil or asking Sarah to call Trina to cancel lunch plans. Since I only get drunk like that once or twice a year, I could be done drinking after the Vegas trip :) I can't believe I'm going on 30 and still getting silly drunk. I guess we all still do that from time to time, but I still don't like it. I plan on doing nothing this weekend to save some cash for the trip. I have to do laundry tonight because I want to start packing already! Only 9 days. I'm excited.

Anyway, I was hung over all-day yesterday. Some how I made it to my brother's for dinner. I watch the Oscar's even though they were kinda boring. I'm a little sleepy today. Wish I didn't have meetings until 6:00...

Did you know...

Here are 10 things about myself that you might not know. Comment on whether you knew or not. Then write your own 10 things, in your own blog.

1. I hope to own a Lamborghini in my lifetime.
2. I dip grilled cheese sandwiches in ketchup.
3. I broke my collarbone at age 5 by falling out of a moving car.
4. I think my feet look ugly.
5. The thought of being pregnant makes me gag (if I ever have children, I'd rather adopt).
6. My first major in college was Zoology.
7. I love sour cream & onion chips with vanilla ice cream.
8. I played the oboe in jr. high school.
9. My biggest fear is drowning.
10. I failed my first written exam to get my driver's license.

You're Out

So, I'm looking forward to the Project Runway finale. It's a two-parter; part one is tonight. It will be great, I think all three remaining designers are really good. I like Daniel because he is young and has a lot of room to grow, but I think Santino is going to pull off the victory. Only one way to know...watch!

I went to the website today and found out you can buy the Kara Janx Kimono Dress. This wasn't even one of the actual designs during the show. One of the designers made this dress for herself and it was better than the dress she designed for the competition! I can't believe it's going for $210. I'd probably buy it if it was under $100. All of these designers have the potential to make some mad cash now that they have been showcased. I wish I had talent and vision and could design clothes for a living. It would be fun, but I can't even draw a house without it looking like a 4-year old did it :)

Anyway, I'm going to try to leave work now. It's been a quiet week so far. I have left work by 6:00 every night so far (knock on wood).

"Working for the Weekend" (Loverboy)

Or in my case, working on the weekend. Yep, I worked an 8-hour day yesterday. It was shitty. I even had plans that my manager asked me to cancel. I was quite angry with the situation. When I agreed to work, I thought I was going to work for about an hour (from 9-10am) but got sucked into these horrid meetings and before I knew it, it was 5:00. What was even more annoying was that I really didn't need to sit on the calls. As they discussed things and figured out what the hell they were doing, I updated a presentation. They could have easily had these meetings without me and summarized the changes in one email. But my boss doesn't think like that. I'm sure part of her thought 'if I have to work, eveyone else does too'. Another part of her just doesn't get it. She makes things more difficult than they should be. I think it's about time to tell her about school. She really needs to realize I will not be here forever and has to find another way of doing things. Plus, maybe she'll be up front and tell me about her relocation plans finally. My biggest fear with that though, is I might have to go to Texas for a couple weeks to train somebody... That's not for sure, it's just my thinking. I'll have to be sure not to mention that because she might not think of it and I don't want to give her any ideas.

Anyway, if I subtract Sunday from the equation, I had a fun weekend. Friday I ran errands and went out with Sarah, Jessica and Beckie that night. We started at Posh in Ferndale. We were 4 of the 10 people in the entire bar. The bartender said Saturdays were better so Jessica and I planned to come back. The four of us finally ended up in Mt. Clemens for some drinks and dancing. And of course we ate at Denny's on the way home. On Saturday, Sarah and I slept in until almost 1:00. Sarah had to work at Panera - boo. I was basically lazy all day. Planned to take Louie for a walk and go to the bank, but never did. I had to work on Saturday also, but for only 45 minutes (which is why I agreed to work Sunday; I thought it would be the same thing). Jessica, Sarah and I went back to Posh. We were amazed at the differece from Friday night. The place was packed, there was a line and we had to park a block away. The good thing was that ladies get in first. If ladies come with guys, then those guys can get in without waiting in line. So these dudes asked if they could go in with us so they didn't have to wait. We said no, but then they offered to pay our $10 cover, so we said ok. One dude tried to get out of paying, but Jessica put him in his place and we all got in for free. The crowd wasn't the ideal crowd for meeting people, but the music was good and I liked the bar's set-up. Beckie and Susan met us up there for a short time. I had fun that night just dancing with the girls :)

Looking forward to this weekend coming up. Anna is coming home and bringing her new beau. We'll be headed to the bar(s) again. Two weekends in a row, wow, I can't remember the last time I went to the bar this much...

"PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean?"

I have ever truly bitched about work and my frustration? I'm sure you all understand how I hate my job from the few posts I've mentioned it, but I'd like to say it again. I hate my f-ing job. It has become an absolute joke. Today I spent the day reformatting charts. We already had the charts and the data, but my boss wanted the rows to be the columns and the columns to be the rows so I had to re-do the whole thing. Then when I got done, the numbers in the charts changed. Then I created these other chart that show a calendar and what activities happen when. Well, these are not done easily, but of course about 30 mins after I finished them, the dates changed and I had to do this over again. My job revolves around rework. If I did everything only once, I'd seriously only work 2 hours a day. I took tomorrow off because I'm one hair away from walking off the job. I know I don't have to do this much longer, but it's still another 6 months so I have to suck it up. I have heard multiple rumors that my boss will be relocating to Texas but she has yet to say anything to me about it. Even though I have taken phone calls from real estate, saw emails and also caught her looking at houses online... I'm kind of annoyed that she hasn't told me, even if she's just thinking about it. Um, it kind of effects my job too. But she doesn't think of others around her, it's all about her. I can't wait for the day she tells me and says she wants me to come with her and I say "Oh No, Hell No!" Although, it is awfully presumptuous of me to think she would want me to go; I would be really shocked if she didn't ask. Anyway, I'm just sitting at my desk like the good, little employee that I am waiting for her finish her meeting so I can find out what new action items I have to complete. Well, of course that means I'll be here until 8:00 because nothing will be able to wait until Monday. AND - I had scheduled an URGENT financial meeting on Wednesday which she moved to today which she again moved to tomorrow. Did I mention I'm off tomorrow? Does she think I'm going to dial into a call on my day off? I don't think so. That will be a fun reminder when I leave tonight. I wish I could just not say anything but I will get hell on Monday because the meeting will be a total waste without me there. Not my problem. She knew I was off since the beginning of the week. (sigh) Are you still even reading the post? I can't believe I'm even still writing about this. So I'll stop.

This weekend will be nice. Tomorrow I will be running errands (doctor appointment, nail appointment, get my taxes done and probably go shopping somewhere in there). Saturday I have no plans, but I'm sure something will come up. Or maybe I'll lay on my lazy butt all freakin' day... Sunday I'm having lunch with Trina while we watch MSU lose yet another basketball game. Then I'll go to my parents house to see the fam. What an exciting life I lead - aren't you jealous? I know, me neither.

Cheap Gas Finder

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Weekend

Friday I got stuck at work until 7:15pm. I was annoyed but looking forward to Jessica and I heading to 5th Avenue in Novi to meet up with most of the TNOF gang. It was good to see Ryan and Jay since it had been awhile. I like the atmosphere at 5th Ave, but it's kind of far away. I wish I still lived in Novi. I really liked that area and it reminds me of the good ol' times. Too bad we had to grow-up and become mature and responsible.

On Saturday I went shopping at Target and then went to my parents' house. My sister-in-law has started selling Tastefully Simple. Since my brother is still out of work, they can use any extra money they can get these days... The food was amazingly tasty. They have really yummy desserts (brownies and apple cake, mmmm). We also had samples of salad dressing and pasta seasonings and beer bread and dips and soups. All of it was good. While there I kept track of the MSU/UM basketball score. I did not watch the game because I decided to boycott after their last 4 unexplained losses. MSU won by 20 points [sigh of relief]. I just hope they can fix their "on the road" issues and win some games when they're not at home. Anyway, after the game I went home hoping to go out. Sarah was exhausted, quite understandably, so we just watched In Her Shoes. When Sarah fell asleep, I watch some episodes of Friends and headed off to bed.

Yesterday was a nice day. I'm not referring to the weather (friggin' freezing!!). I went with Sarah and Darren to Zac's b-day lunch/dinner. We went to Outback and it was very yummy. After we stuffed ourselves to the gills, we went home and watched the second Zorro movie (not very good). We decided we were going to head up to Woody's since Sarah was off today (she gets President's Day but not Good Friday...???) and I still needed to fulfill my urge to go out from the night before. It was fun. Beckie came with us and we danced and had fun. Beckie and I left at 12:30 since I had to get up for work. We made the quickest drive-thru White Castle on our way home. And I surprisingly woke up at 7:30 this morning and feel rested. Probably has to do with the 20 hours of sleep I got over the weekend.

What do you think of me?

Bad Things
http://kevan.org/nohari?name=Jax92076

Good Things
http://kevan.org/johari?name=Jax92076

What a Monster

Your Monster Profile

Basilisk Slimer You Feast On: Olives You Lurk Around In: Las Vegas You Especially Like to Torment: Lawyers

What's Your Monster Name?

Be Anyone in Las Vegas

My New Identity:

Name: SCARLETT
Origin: KANSAS
Profession: Hip Hop Producer
View my Vegas Identity

Jimmy Johns

As I sit and finish my Jimmy John's sub (Turkey Tom - mmm) I'm thinking about all of the things I should be doing, but have decided to do none of them. I'm so burned out, I don't care anymore. Since I'm not swamped right now I could accomplish a few things but just don't feel like it. So, I'm posting.

This weekend was nice and lazy. Friday night I had Red Lobster for dinner. I hadn't been there since my b-day so it was long overdue. Then I went to see Brokeback Mountain. I thought it was good, the actors did do a superb job. Now I want to see some of the other Oscar-nominated movies. Walk the Line the most. Anyway, after the movie we went home and sat around until about 1 and went to bed. Saturday I went to Target and the mall. I came home and sat on the couch the rest of the night. I watched some college basketball, some Olympics and started reading Harry Potter book 6. By 12:30 I was ready for bed. Sunday was Julie's awesome brunch then dinner at my parents'. Although, I didn't eat dinner because I was stuffed from brunch, so I only had dessert. I came home and read a little then watched Elizabethtown with Sarah before Grey's Anatomy. Good episode, however, I was unhappy with the end. Why would he drive all the way over to her house just to say "I'm glad you didn't die today"? Grrr, he needs to dump his annoying wife and get back with Meredith.

Anyway, now I am at work, doing nothing. I like it that way. I'm going to go look busy now.

Ever Feel Like This?

Playing Catch-up

Well, I haven't told my manager about school yet. I have decided to wait. I'm filling out my financial aid application and scheduled my advisor appointment. I figure once I have better line of sight to what I'm really getting myself into, I will be able to inform her. Until I know how many classes I really have left and how much money I will have to come up with on my own; I really can't make my final decision on school. Don't get me wrong, I really want to go back, but I want to be smart about it. It wouldn't make sense to quit my job if I can't make ends meet while in school. At least, that's what I told my parents. They're afraid I'll quit and live in a box or something. Anyway, only time will tell.

Since Buffalo, I've been busy. Work has been completely hellish. Last week I worked until 9pm on Monday and 8pm on Tuesday. It's that time of year for financials, and financials suck. I hate it. We have to update what we forecast we will spend and then fill out 12 different reports explaining the numbers. It's absolutely horrible. Also, there is an activity going on here that is supposed to be a big help for our big clients but of course it's all messed up and nothing is in order. I haven't figured out why they would talk about a program and start the program and then try to figure out how many people we need and what people need to do to accomplish the goal. Personally, I would plan the project, then figure out the people and then start it. But, who am I? Just a peon, I don't know anything. It's sucks.

Anyway, Super Bowl weekend was fun. I did end up volunteering for the SB Host Committee at the NFL Experience at Cobo. Friday night I was in the Kid Zone. It was fun, but I was very tired. I spent 4 hours playing with kids and throwing and catching footballs. On Saturday I was sent to the exit doors where myself and another girl were passing out small, event guide/newspapers. We saw a lot of people and gave a lot of directions. We also saw a lot of football players coming and going. We had no idea who they were by name, but they were large, black men wearing lots of bling and surrounded by security. The highlight of my weekend was when I looked up to hand out a newspaper and the person I was giving it to was Jay Mohr. He was short, but as cute in person as on screen. It was unexpected so I didn't know what to sat so I just said "hi" and gave him the thingy. After he looked at it, he realized he didn't want it and gave it back nicely by saying "I don't want to just throw this away. thank you." It was cool because I honestly didn't think I would see anyone "famous" all weekend even though there were supposed to be people all over the place.

It was interesting to be downtown during the chaos. I decided to chuck the shuttle idea when I got to the mall and the line was a mile long. I drove downtown and was fortunate enough to park very easily for only $5. The people mover was quite crowded, but I was willing to wait since I didn't get stuck in the shuttle craze. I didn't walk around the winter blast because the weather was too yucky but heard that was pretty cool.

Saturday might I went out with Beckie to Novi. Jenn met us at the bar and we ran into the foolery as Beckie explained in her blog. I had fun that night (minus the jerky boy that I didn't pay any attention to).

For the Super Bowl, we had a couple people come over. No big party, it was nice to hang out and watch the game. I liked the commercials, thought they were funny. Many people didn't think so, but I laughed at several of them. I liked the Ameriquest ones the best ("Don't judge too quickly") and of course the FedEx one with the cavemen/dinosaurs.

This week has been a little better, not working quite so late although I was here until 7 last night. My manager has to go to court tomorrow for a deposition (ex-employee suing for wrongful termination) so I'm excited she will be out of pocket all day. I will actually get some work done! :)

I don't know what I'm doing this weekend. I am getting my hairs cut tomorrow after work, then probably catching a movie. Saturday I just don't know and Sunday is brunch at John/Julie's then dinner at my parents' house.

Oh, and I'm going to Vegas in March. Thank goodness for vacations. Now that I have something to look forward to, I might not go insane.

"Don't go looking for Mr. Right. Look for Mr. Right Now."

As usual, Buffalo was fun. Friday night we stayed in. Made home-made pizza and delicious daiquiris with frozen strawberries and peaches, watched SATC and played the SATC Trivia Game. We went to bed at midnight, knowing we had to rest up for our Saturday. Saturday AM we went to Denny's for breakfast. Then we watched the MSU basketball game. After that, we went shopping to the awesome outlet mall. I got a cute, black Coach wristlet purse for the bar. I could have bought a lot more, but am trying to be good. We also went in search of a Deb store and ended up at this faux mall. We think it used to be a normal mall, but 3/4 of the stores were closed/empty and the open stores were weird non-chain stores. There was a Deb but that, a Steve & Barry's and Sears were the only "real" stores there. This place was also the site of a boat show, so there were a lot of boats and jet-skis to look at. They even had a small pool set-up in the food court area, filled with fish, and people were trying to fish. It was quite interesting. We went to Outback for dinner. But because there was a 2 hour wait, we did call-ahead seating and had some drinks at Sara's house (Sara is Anna's co-worker/friend). We started to get buzzed before we even got dinner. At Outback we had a few "WOO"-tinis to continue the buzz. I was very upset because the Outback chain in New York no longer serves crab legs. So I had to settle for the shrimp dinner. From there we got ready for the bar at Anna's and headed for downtown B-town. Somehow we were allowed to skip the line at the first bar and get right in. It was called Sub Zero. The music was good, the drink prices were reasonable, but there were not very many cute boys. Somehow Anna seemed to find more than one for herself though :) We were there until about 2:15. Sarah and I thought we were going home, but when we left Anna dragged us across the street to a ber called Level. I always like that bar. I like the set-up and the music and there are always cute boys. We were there for about 5 minutes when I spotted a cutie on the dancefloor and walked over and started dancing with him. We ended up kissing (which I typically to not like anymore because I'm too old for that and I know I hate it when I see other couples going at it on the dancefloor). But, I had set a goal for myself - meet a cute boy and make-out. I have now been single for 6 months and just wanted to have a little fun. Andrew, 23, was from another part of New York. He is leaving for Texas for 2 1/2 months because he's in the Air Force Reserves. Sarah confirmed that he was cute (because you all know I lose my sense of attractiveness when I drink). Anyway, I had a lot of fun and Anna gave her number to four guys (two of them already called and/or texted her). We closed the bar and headed home around 4am. Sarah and I had to get up at 9am to drive home because Sarah had to work today. She ended being about a half hour late, but she made it in. She's such a trooper. While Sarah was slaving away at work, I laid on the couch and fell asleep. I am now sitting with Darren, Marcus, Malcolm and Torren watching the Piston game. Back to the grind tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it. I already went through my 115 emails from Friday so I shouldn't be too far behind starting in the morning. Joy.

"When they ask me what I liked best, I'll say it was you."

That's the kind of love I want to find.

Anyway, I'm free at last! Well, at least for the next three days. Looking forward to bar hopping in Buffalo. It will be fun.

Answer: City of Angels

"I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen."

Name that movie.

I'm sitting in a meeting right now not doing any work. I have nothing to contribute to this meeting. I have plenty of other work to do, but sitting here doesn't allow me to get any of it done. It's rather annoying/frustrating. I sure hope the movies I ordered last week were delivered today. I want to watch Wedding Crashers again. Ah, I can't wait to go home, sit on my couch with the pups and watch a funny movie.

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!"

Name that movie.

I'm sitting at work and I really just needed to take a break. I'm so glad I'm off on Friday. I'm head to Buffalo to visit Anna. I hope Sarah can come. The dumb scheduler at her second job put her to work both Saturday and Sunday, even after she told this person she can't work weekends. They have no comprehension that she already works a 40-hour job Monday-Friday and they don't realize that her working on Saturday and Sunday doesn't give her a day of rest! I wish I could go punch her in the nose (the scheduler, not Sarah). Anyway, Sarah must find someone to switch in order to come along. I hope she does.

After Buffalo is Super Bowl week. Is everyone excited? Looking forward to the closed roads and lost tourists? I'm supposed to volunteer during that week, but I'm not sure now. I need to get my uniform for the Super Bowl volunteering and for Julie/Gleaners I need to buy a new wardrobe. Can you believe I don't have khaki pants or a white [mock] turtleneck? I need both to volunteer at the Winter Blast but I really don't have money to go out and buy these things. Now I feel bad. Why does everything have to be a pain in the ass? I just want to help and check out the events - now they seem to be becoming a hassle. I will watch the game just not sure where. My friend in Ypsilanti is having a party at her house, but it's 45 minutes away so I don't know if I want to drive that far but I want to see her, so ???

After the Super Bowl is Vegas. Well, I hope Vegas. My cousin is going to be in Vegas for the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. He says Vegas is a lot of fun at that time so I want to go. I just don't know if I need to get a hotel or stay with him & his friends who will already have rooms. Also, I don't know if I want to go alone 'cause I might want to do a few things that my cousin doesn't. Anyone interested? I think it will be March 16-19. Also, a good deal on a flight is required.

Well, I should get back. Maybe I can actually leave work by 5:30 today. Woohoo.

Girl Talk

So, I think I just blew this guy off. I met him just before Christmas. We have hung out a few times; twice at the bar and twice at his place watching sports and movies. He called me Thursday but I really did not feel like going to his house (he's one of those 'come over my place' kind of guys, never seemed like he would come over my place if I had asked). Anyway, so I blew him off on Thursday but recommended that maybe we do something Saturday night. Well, he called me on Saturday but, again, I did not feel like doing anything or going out at all. I did return his call and I left a voicemail that I was tired and not really up for doing anything but to call me and we'd hang out soon. He has yet to call. I think he picked up on my lack of enthusiasm. I fell bad because he's a nice guy, but I guess it's just not there. He doesn't like movies at all (he didn't even know how to use his DVD player). I found that strange only because he didn't really do anything else that would replace the hobby of 'movie watcher'. He watches some sports but not all and he watched CNN a lot. He is currently jobless but not desperate for money. He was older (36) which means more mature. Maybe I'm not mature enough for him because I still played a stupid high school game by leaving a lame message rather just being honest. ??? I guess I could try to call him tonight, but I'm struggling as to why I would call. I feel I would only be leading him on more by spending more time with him. But I hate being the kind of person who just drops the ball. I hated my relationship because it was crap. But I hate being single because it is crappy. Ugh.

Superstitious?

Well, it's Friday the 13th, the day of Jason. Good thing it's January and cold - no possibility of going camping, having sex in the woods and being hacked to death by a walking dead psychopath. Phew.

Anyway, I really don't have anything to report but I haven't written in awhile. Since I got my good news, I have not done anything. I need to apply for financial aid as soon as possible. My parents are still being funky about the whole thing. For some reason they have it in their head that I will not find a [good] job after school. They really have no idea how I feel about my current job. Although it pays well and I am gaining a lot of good experience, I have a manager that is overbearing and a control-freak. I am sometimes treated like a child, I get annoyed by the hours, it's getting more stressful, there's no possibility of movement because I will be stuck with my manager as long as I stay with this company. I really don't have the flexibility that my other co-workers do (meaning cannot work from home or cannot just leave early due to lack of work, heck it's like pulling teeth to leave an hour or two early the day before a holiday...) I am now doing the work of at least two people if not three. And besides all that, this job is not what I want to do for the next 20 years. Why is that so hard for my parents to understand/accept? Whatever, I will do this because this is what I want and I need to put myself first. You only live once, right?

Anyway, I didn't expect this blog would become a bitch-fest about my job. And understand, I know there are people with much more stressful or annoying jobs than I have. But, I just want to something I like to do because we're talking about the rest of my life. I already regret not finishing school twice. I'm not going to strike out.

*deep breath*

This Saturday I have a Pep Rally to go to. It's because I signed up to volunteer during Super Bowl time. There is something going on at Cobo Hall, some sort of carnival/convention type thing for out-of-towners to entertain themselves while in D-town. Of course, in-towners can go too, but I don't know any details yet. I'll let you all know what it is and when so maybe you can come visit me while I'm doing my volunteer thing. I thought it would be fun and a good way to meet people as well as experience the Super Bowl atmosphere. Maybe I'll meet some handsome, rich guy from out-of-state and my charm will sweep him off his feet and he'll take me to the Super Bowl game and then off to travel the world. Or I'll just make fun people like I do at Cedar Point :)