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

Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening.

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

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 :)

Good News

Subject: Readmission to MSU: Welcome Back!
Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 14:42:26 -0500

Dear Jaclynne XXXXXXXX
Welcome back to Michigan State University!

Your application for readmission has been approved at the Bachelors level in Clinical Laboratory Sciences beginning FS06 Semester.




I am very pleased. Too bad my parents are freaking out and acting like I'm 16 and pregnant.
Anyway, so much to do between now and August. What am I getting myself into??

Happy New Year

Well, another one bites the dust. I dont mind really; I can't say that 2005 was all that great for me. But I am ready to start anew. Here are a few pictures from last night:














All pics can be viewed at:
http://www.photoworks.com/share/shareLanding.jsp?shareCode=AD9A5B1BFB4&cb=PW

Happy 2006 Everyone!

Snowfun

http://www.kilogramme.co.uk/snowgallery/1.html

Create your own snowman at: http://www.kilogramme.co.uk/snowgallery/

Is it really Christmas time???

Hello everyone. I am just sitting here at work waiting for my manager to tell what work to do. I guess there are several pressing items that must be completed today. Note: today is the last working day before practically 95% of the company takes the next week and a half off due to the holidays. Of course these items can't possibly wait until next week, because next week there are several other pressing items that will need to be completed while 95% of the company is not working. My job is not to ask why, it is merely to do what I am told. Kinda sucks. I didn't save any vacation time because I thought I just would get the two days off next week, boy was I wrong. But now I'm glad I didn't save vacation time because I would have to work on those days anyway. Yes, it is annoying when you manager is a work-horse and you are not.

Anyhoo, I'm looking forward to the weekend. Sleeping in, eating tons of food, hanging out with friends and family, opening presents, etc. i should have plenty of time to finally start book 6 of Harry Potter. Something I should have done already but have not because I have been sucked into that new TV game show, Deal or No Deal. I'm not sure why I find myself drawn to these shows. This new one isn't even exciting, no trivia and no challanges, just people picking random numbers in hopes of being offered a lot of money. I find many people are very greedy... Isn't that a deadly sin? People gamble away guaranteed amounts of money (over $100,000) because they want even more. Unfortunately, nobody has been screwed yet, I'm hoping that happens though. It's fun for me to laugh at morons who lose out on a good thing because they want to be greedy. Ha.

Hey, does anybody have any clue what the story is behind serving hard-boiled eggs at a bar? I've searched online with no luck. I ask because I went to a new restaurant in Somerset, Bon Vie, to get a gift card for my boss. They had several racks of hard-boiled eggs sitting on the bar in place of where the bowl of pretzels should be. I did not ask the bartender because I really just forgot to. I was mesmerized by the woman next to me peeling and salting one of the eggs while sipping her Dirty Martini. It is a French-American bistro - anyone have a clue???

Well, I should go. I want to be ready when I find out what work needs to be done so I can do as quickly as possible.

Order of the Phoenix

Alas, I have finished book 5. Soon I will be in the same ranks as all of you that read all 6 books.
The death, although sad and unecessary, was not as dramatic or shocking as I expected. I was happy when the character was first created, but with the lack of creating it as more of a main character, I was never able to grow attached to it. I do wish the character was more profound, at least like McGonngall or Snape. I'm sure, however, that the movie version will have me crying.

Anyway, I should go to sleep now. Good night...or rather good morning since that's when you will most likely be reading this.

Deep Breath

It is now 5:30pm. The presentation is 10:00am tomorrow morning. I have been working on 4 slides since Monday and my manager decides to tell me now that she doesn't like them and wants to change them. Please note: it's not that I worked on them for 3 days and just showed them to her and she didn't like them, no, she has seen them at least 4 times every day and has requested changes every time she saw them! This is my life. I thought I coul;d be anal and annoying about some things, but man, she has got me beat! Good thing I have no life and no plans and can stay here for the next hour while she makes up her mind...

Peek-a-Boo

Hello, I am here and breathing. Just haven't had much to say lately. I have been in my own little world lately. Thanksgiving weekend was nice. Family, food, friends, etc. The usual. Nothing annoying or exciting going on at work, just day-to-day operations. I did go to the bar (Waves) with Sarah last Saturday. It was actually fun - probably because I was drunk and we met up with a group of people; it also helped that I knew the ex was out of town and had no chance of running into him with his new ho (I really shouldn't say that, I don't know her, I'm sure she's nice and smart or whatever even though I don't think she's really that pretty and she's 37 or something old like that...) ANYWAY - Waves was fun until the end of the night when I finally mustered up the courage to talk to this guy I had been staring at all night. I walked up to the bar and started a conversation. He was nice, but claimed he was shy. We talked for a few then he suddenly had to go the to restroom. I knew right then that he had no interest in talking to me. Then the questions started in my head... Could he tell I was a little tipsy and that turned him off? Did he think I was ugly? Was he really just shy? Was he really a jerk with a girlfriend but didn't want to say that? I thought guys were typically impressed with confident women, but I'm starting to think that is an urban myth. Mayeb guys really think girls are desparate when they resort to walking up to guys at the bar. I think it is a sign of weakness; that a girl is "on the hunt" or whatever you want to call it. If that's the case then that is bullshit. Anyway, that kind of bummed me out and I was ready to go home and sleep the rest of the weekend away. I can understand why guys say it's hard to talk to girls because of the fear of rejection. Rejection totally sucks, especially when there really is no reasonable explaination for it. But I do think it is a lot easier for guys to meet girls if they want to. Seems like guys can fall into relationships as easily as they fall out of them. That's just my opinion.

Anyway, I hate traffic and I hate winter.

This weekend we are headed to K-zoo for Gayle's wedding.

I can't wait for the holidays - well, really I can't wait to have the time off work.

Barefoot

I did not get shoes :(

Here's a neat bloggy thing I took from my friend, Jess.



create your own personalized map of the USA

I have visited 24 states or 47% of the United States. You may say I cheated, but I counted states I have just driven through. I really want to visit Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Maine and Massachusetts. Not sure that I have any desired to visit Iowa or Nebraska or any of the state located in the bible belt/corn country...but one never knows where life will take you.

Ho Hum

It is November 28th in Detroit, MI and it is currently 64 degrees outside. It was like 10 degrees on Thanksgiving with a below zero wind chill factor. I will never understand. Like the comic said - only weathermen never get fired for being wrong all the time. Maybe that's what I should go back to school for...

No, really, I reapplied to MSU yesterday. It will be several weeks before I hear anything, I'm sure, but keep your fingers crossed for me. I really need a change. I am stuck in a bad place right now and the only way out is to make a change. Change will not just happen. I need a new place and new routine.

I think I'm going to go to DSW after work. If Jessica was able to find the perfect shoes, hopefully I can too.

The Holidays

My weekend in Buffalo was fun and relaxing. It took about 5 hours to get there because it was snowing most of the way and there were several accidents. But I arrived about 7:00 and we went to dinner at Red Lobster. We went to a 10:30 showing of Harry Potter. I liked the movie but will not comment much for those who have not seen it yet. I will just say I liked the book better (no different than the other 3). On Saturday we tried to sleep in but were up by 10:30. Anna made cappuccinos and we headed to the outlet mall. I got some Christmas shopping done which was a pleasant surprise. I always wait until the last minute but this year I'm half way done already. After shopping, we went to Anna's where we watched the MSU/Penn State football game and last week's episode of Lost. Dinner was at Anchor Bar, home of the original Buffalo Wings. We thought about going out, but after a couple hours of drinking and watching SATC and playing the SATC Trivia Game, we just stayed in. It was fun to just spend time with Anna and Travis (Anna's friend from college who lives in Missouri so we only see him one or two times a year). Sunday we were hungover. I left about 2:00 and was home in a speedy 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Although I'm not a fan of the cold weather or the shopping or the crowds, I am glad it is the holiday season. I'm glad I get days off of work and get to see friends and family that I only see this time of year. I am glad that is it already Monday afternoon and I only have to work two more days this week.

Copycat

You Are a Little Scary

You've got a nice edge to you. Use it.

How Scary Are You?

Nothing Exciting to Report

The comedy club was fun and Jessica's surprise party was a surprise. The weekend was a success. On Saturday I spent time shopping with my mom. I then went to my brother's house where Louie wore himself out chasing and being chased by the kids. I stayed the night at my brother's house since we had to get up early to go to the Lions' game on Sunday with our dad. We were lucky, the Lions actually won so we had a good time. After the football game we ate dinner at my brother's house then I took Louie home so he could immediately crash on the couch. He was so worn out that he practically slept for the next 24 hours.

Monday was work. Sarah and I made chicken burgers and smashed potatoes (thanks to Rachel Ray) for dinner and watched Bewitched and Elf.

Tuesday was work. I stopped for an oil change on my way to dinner at Monterrey's in Royal Oak. I met Barb and Diane (old school, GM Card co-workers) for dinner. I had tacos and fried ice cream (yum). I then went home and watched the end of Biggest Loser and all of Earl. Sarah got home from Panera by 10:00 so we watched SVU together before going to bed (not together).

Today was work (again). I am just waiting until 5:00 so I can leave and go to my nail appointment.

Tomorrow work continues. And Friday I only have a half day because I'm leaving around 12:30 to drive to Buffalo to visit with Anna and our other friend, Travis. We will be going to see Harry Potter at 10:30pm, the rest of the weekend is not planned out yet. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them - if only the drive was a little bit shorter... Anyone want to come with me? :)


Oh, wait, I almost forgot... Panera brought back their German Chocolate Danishes - YAHOO! They are so yummy. Now that is something exciting to report.

Bumpersticker

Although I did not see any "Thug Life" stickers on my way to work, I did see "It's a Child...Not a Choice". Nothing like a good pro-life statement first thing in the morning. Joy.

Anyway, I finished HP 4 last night. Very good; I enjoyed it very much. The death in this book was somewhat predictable and not very "earth shattering" but sad nonetheless. I am ready for book 5 now. I don't know how anyone could read these books then wait a year or more for the next one to come out to find out what happens next. Voldemort is alive... now what!!?!??!?!? Anyway, I went back and watched the third movie just because. I was a little disappointed because there was a lot of detail from the book left out. I understand they can't squeeze all of it into a 2 hour movie, but that only means I'm a little skiddish about seeing #4 when it comes out. Everything in the book is important so I don't know what they could skip to keep within a reasonable timeframe... Guess we'll just have to see.

Outside of work and reading Harry Potter, I haven't done anything this week. I did go to the grocery store and took Louie to Petco for food, but that's not exciting at all. I'm getting a little perturbed with Louie lately. Don't get me wrong, he's still my baby and I love him and wouldn't trade him for the world - but he's almost a year now and we still have some issues with going potty in the house and not lifting his leg therefore peeing on himself almost everytime. We take him out a lot and so I don't understand the need to go in the house. I do get that he might be confused by the litter boxes or the fact that our basement is dirty and smelly and needs major cleaning because of the cats, but is that it; is that the reason for it? Any dog experts out there with advice? We are never gone more than a couple hours and we always take them outside before we leave. I'm so confused. The joys of puppy parenthood. I'm sure you all enjoyed reading about my puppy potty problems. Sorry.

This weekend will be a good one. Comedy Club entertainment and hanging out with friends - who could ask for anything more? See you all tomorrow!

Home Sweet Home

Well, I'm back from my whirlwind trip to Phoenix. And it was just that. I arrived Friday afternoon. My cousin picked me up and we went to grab a bite to eat (Jack in the Box - YUM!!) and then to the grocery store to pick up essentials like alcohol, potato chips and bagels. We then went to his apartment and killed time until it was bar time. We headed to a place called The Lighthouse. It was OK, but it had no atmosphere. When we arrived it was Karaoke time. I hate Karaoke. Not just because I am a horrible singer and refuse to do it myself, but because everyone else (well, 6 out of 7) is horrible and should be shot for picking up the microphone. I do not find tone-deaf, drunk people muttering into a loud speaker very enjoyable. Anyway... after a while the other side of the bar became club-like. Playing some hip-hop/dance music. I suddenly felt like I was at Waves (minus the atmosphere). We stayed until close and surprisingly after 5 Yager bombs I wasn't tipsy at all.

Saturday morning we woke up to watch the MSU football game. I should have stayed in bed. They lost (AGAIN) and the season is now shot to shit and I have no desire to watch any other games this season. Only MSU would start with 4-0 record and NOT be eligible for a Bowl game at the end of the season. Woohoo, way to go John L.

After the game my cousin took me out the Scottsdale. It is equivalent to Bloomfield Hills - the upper class part of town. We went to a couple of malls. It was nice because the weather was beautiful and the malls were not enclosed. Then we grabbed some dinner and got ready to head out for night #2. This time we went to a much better bar. It was like a club here at home. Good music, good atmosphere. I also enjoyed all the free drinks :) Again, I had several Yager bombs and some shots. I danced with one guy's girlfriend and had a good time. I talked to a cute boy (24 yr old Alabama boy) but there was no making out as I had initially hoped for. But I really didn't care. I was just hanging out. It was really nice to see my cousin. He won't be home until Christmas. And he is talking crazy- saying he wants to volunteer to go to Iraq. He doesn't feel like he is serving his country where he is right now. That darn military - brainwashing our youth!! I told him he can't serve his country if he's dead... Really, I guess I know why he feels that way, but I really don't want to wake up every morning knowing that I have family over there ; just waiting for bad news. Granted, he's not a pilot or a combat person, but over there, anything goes. They could make him do anything even if he isn't trained for it. That is scary to me. Anyway, I don't want to get on a soapbox about my feelings about the war. I just know I don't want my family to be over there.

I got home last night just in time for DH and GA. Good shows. It is now Monday and I am at work and it feels as though I never left. Well, I didn't really...

I read a about 500 pages of HP 4 over the weekend and should be done very soon so I can see the movie when it opens. It is definitely better than the first 3 - in my opinion.

Preview

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - the movie - looks really good... Can I read book four between now and November 18? It will be hard since I do not have that book in my possession. But, I think I might know someone who might let me borrow it...

It's Not the 60s Anymore

Virgo August 23 - September 22
Monthly Love for November, 2005
Provided by Astrology.com

Sometimes you just can't get enough of love and romance. You are fascinated by other folks, and you love watching how human beings fall in and out of love. Which isn't to say that you fall in and out of love gratuitously, or even particularly often. It's just that you bring a natural curiosity to the process that makes the whole thing worthwhile, whether or not it works out. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd, you'll have lots to think about in the romantic arena. The 7th, get out your field guide to the wilds of romance -- you and a potential partner have spotted each other. The 13th, why don't you two romantic explorers go out to dinner somewhere off the beaten track? Then, by the 17th, do your best to communicate with your love interest in language they can understand (don't forget: It doesn't have to be verbal!). The 21st, you need to stay flexible, and the 25th, you two are having a ball together. The 29th, you look up and realize you've had a very interesting month!


Are they telling me I will meet someone on Monday and that I should have sex with that person just 10 days later??!! That is awfully presumptuous of them. What kind of girl do they think I am?

Not So Happy Halloween

Although this is typically my favorite holiday - it is not this year. There was no costume fun, no scary movie watching, no parties and worst of all, no date. The lonliness bug has caught up to me and that puts me in a bad/sad mood. I was watching Grey's Anatomy last night. It was a great episode but rather sad and it made me cry. Even after the show ended I was crying. And I couldn't stop. And I wasn't crying about the show anymore, I was just crying. Maybe it's the weather, yeah that's it, blame it on the weather. However, this seems to be going around as a couple of my friends have also had sad days lately. I have been doing my best to keep moving on and trying to be "happily" single, but I think that is a myth. How can one be happy if they don't have that one special person in their life to make them laugh and smile? I want that, I miss that. I'm sure this is a phase that will pass (quickly, I hope) but I can't help but feel lonely and sad. Maybe passing out candy tonight to little kids in adorable costumes will help lighten my mood. And hopefully my weekend trip to Phoenix will be a success. By success I mean a plethora of hottie Air Force boys (or MEN) to choose from and hopefully some random, meaningless kissing :-)

But for right now, I'll just eat a Halloween cupcake.

Medical Incredible

"Baby No Skin"

I'm watching this show and it really is incredible... A baby (two years ago) was born with no skin on the top of his head or around his abdomen. You could see his organs and they had to do a skin transplant, he is perfectly fine now, but how scary. To have a baby, and he is missing skin. Yikes!
Now they are talking about a guy with super elastic skin. It's yucky.
Next they will talk about a little girl who has to eat hamburgers and candy and junk food to survive, as well as a person with "werewolf syndrome". He has hair all over his face and looks like a werewolf...this condition actually is where the idea of 'werewolf' came from. Crazy stuff.

Anyway, my weekend was fairly uneventful. No Halloween fun for me. On Friday I went to the South Lake H.S. football game (they lost, it was first round of play-offs). Then we came home and ordered pizza bread. Pizza bread is really cheese bread with pepperoni on it and the sauce on the side. What's strange is that it is like $5 for that...but a pepperoni pizza would cost at least twice that, hmm? We watched Batman Begins then went to bed.

On Saturday morning we (whenever I say we it's usually Sarah and I, most of you probably know that already...) got up at the ass-crack of awn to drive to my brother's house to pick up my nephew, Jeffrey, for the MSU football game. We then drove to EL for the game. Tailgating was good and the game was fun since we had good weather and we finally won a game we were supposed to. We got home around 8:00 and we watched the UM football game until we fell asleep. I went to bed around 12:00.

Of course I forgot at first that the clocks fell back while I was sleeping, so when I got up at 10:30 I was really 9:30. I woke up in a bad mood for some reason. I started cleaning the house and picking up. We had glasses and newspaper and socks all over the house as well as a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. After cleaning, I made Halloween cupcakes and watched the Lions' game. Then I went to FJ to buy groceries. I was so proud of myself, I was a mini-Rachel Ray. I made turkey burger with seasoning and parm. cheese and smashed potatoes. With applesauce on the side it was a well rounded meal :)

Now I'm on the couch surrounded by sleeping puppies watching the Discovery Health channel. I'm disappointed because DH is a rerun tonight. I guess I'll have to watch a movie or something.

Puppy Love v2

More pictures of my baby:

Fashion

Glamorous Soul 62% Tastefulness, 46% Originality, 52% Deliberateness, 70% Sexiness

[Tasteful Original Deliberate Sexy] You choose your outfits carefully according to many criteria. You don't like looking cheap, dull or random and you go to great lengths to avoid this. You are successful, too. People admire your taste and sex appeal. Many try to imitate you but not many can recreate your unique style. Sometimes, however, they find you too intimidating to approach. If you don't wear retro style yet, perhaps you should consider it. It would become greatly your sexy, mysterious self. The opposite style from yours is Fashion Enemy [Flamboyant Conventional Random Prissy]. All the categories: Fashion Enemy Bar Cruiser Kid Next Door Sex Bomb Hippie Kid Fashion Rebel Fashion Artist Catwalk God(ess) Librarian Sporty Hottie Office Master Uptown Girl/ Boy Brainy Student Movie Star Fashionista Glamorous Soul

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 64% on Tastefulness You scored higher than 40% on Originality You scored higher than 48% on Deliberateness You scored higher than 97% on Sexiness

Link: The Fashion Style Test written by mari-e on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

It's Monday

Word of the Day for Sunday October 16, 2005
lackadaisical \lack-uh-DAY-zih-kuhl\, adjective:
Lacking spirit or liveliness; showing lack of interest;
languid; listless.

How strange. This is exactly what I was yesterday. Who knew the word of the day could be one's horosope? Really I was just resting because I feel like I'm getting sick. I'd like to get as much rest as possible to help fend off the flu germs. Wish me luck.

I love football season. There is nothing better than sitting on the couch all day watching game after game. I just wish my teams would actually win for a change.

Both Friday and Saturday I fell asleep on the couch and didn't go out. This makes me feel old. Well, I don't feel old because 29 isn't old, but when I stay home and don't go out becuase I'm tired from the weekend before, I feel like I am acting old. That's not good.


Virgo - Daily Love for October 17, 2005
Provided by Astrology.com

Daily Flirt: It's not like you're communing with the spirits on high or anything, but you've definitely got a better sense of where you stand -- and where you want to go. Strike out in a fresh direction.Daily
Daily Singles: Watch for a change in the romantic vibe right about now. Something (or someone) that had you all excited could have you in a more questioning mode. Find a way to put it into words, if just to a friend.


Quotes of the Day
Selected from Michael Moncur's Collection of Quotations - October 17, 2005

There are two types of people--those who come into a room and say, 'Well, here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah, there you are.'
Frederick L Collins

To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

He who praises you for what you lack wishes to take from you what you have.
Don Juan Manuel (1282 - 1349)

Ah, lunch time. Mmmmm.

Random Things

I was driving home from work today and saw a white Dodge Stratus decorated for Halloween. It had, what looked like, a leg hanging out of the trunk and fake blood around it like bloody fingerprints. It also had the word 'HELP' written in the fake blood. This I did not understand... How could "the person inside the trunk" write help on the outside of it??? Granted, I have never seen this before so thought it was creative, but still lacking in thought. As I passed the car, there was some old guy driving and it had a magnet on the side which advertised for a delivery company. Very strange.

This week at work I was offered an opportunity to go to South Carolina next week for three days. It would be to help transition 250+ employees to our company because of a big deal we just won. I was very excited but knew there would be an issue. Of course, I had to ask permission from my boss. This is never easy since she is very over-protective and annoying about me (and the work that I do). See, because I do work that no other admin does because it really isn't in the job description, there is nobody that I could ask to act as my back-up while I'm gone. Is this my fault? No. My manager has greater expectations and therefore I have no flexibility. This is one of things that has made me consider going back to school. When I get my transcript from HFCC, I plan to re-apply to MSU. I informed my manager of this as a courtesy during my review last week, but now she will use this against me. Why offer me opportunities to learn and experience things, like the SC thing, if I plan to quit in less then a year? Well, my way of thinking is, why stay if I cannot do things like SC because of reasons that are only selfish to my boss? It's really annoying. And how would I be able to take time off work if there is nobody suitable to take my place while I'm gone? I do not understand. So, I scheduled a meeting with her on Monday to discuss this. I might as well start training a back-up now...it would take me at least 6 months to train someone to do what I do! I know I should be flattered that she thinks so highly of the work I do, but I don't want to turn 40 and still be a glorified secretary. Granted, there's more to what I do than that, but my job title doesn't show that. I'm just an Administrative Assistant, big deal.

Tonight I watched Alias. It is was good, but I don't know if I will watch next season with no JG or MV. They were the main characters and without them the show is not going to be the same. But never say never I guess.

Sunday is my dad's birthday. 55. I am going to the cider mill Sunday morning to get cider and donuts because he loves them so. Happy Birthday Dad :)

My head suddenly itches, I feel like I have fleas... OH NO, not again. No, our dogs are finally clean from that mess, but my head still itches. Probably because I only wash my hair every other day.

Tomorrow is my breakfast day at work. Thank goodness for roommates that work at bagel shops and get you coupons for free stuff. Hip, hip, hoorah.

Well, off to bed. No book to read since I finally finished In Her Shoes. Now I need to see the movie. Nighty night.

The countdown...

59 minutes and counting until:

I get to shut down my PC and walk to my car. Spend 45 minutes in rush hour traffic driving home. Let the dogs out. Go to Target and Farmer Jack to buy necessities for the party on Saturday. Come home and clean the house. Welcome Anna when she arrives from Buffalo, NY around 9pm. Continue cleaning. Welcome Sarah home from Panera around 10:30pm. Sit around and talk about girl things and how fun the party is going to be. Go to bed. Wake up and go tanning and liquor store. Go home and eat lunch and watch some college football (MSU's bye-week, so hope UM loses to Minnesota). Last minute prep for party (cleaning, food prep, shower, get dressed, make-up, hair, etc.) Welcome our guests at 8pm. Drink, eat, converse. Jump up and down when the limo arrives at 10pm. All hop in the limo and head to Pontiac to bar hop and dance and drink and have fun until bars close at 2am. Get back in the limo to come home. Not go to White Castle because Ryan doesn't want to :) Get home and eat and pass-out (notice I left out vomiting since I hope nobody does that at this party). Wake up Sunday morning to make breakfast for all of our overnight guests. Clean the house and shower. Drag myself to my brother's house for a birthday party for my niece and two nephews. Come home from that and do laundry and watch TV and go to bed early. Damn, it's already Monday morning, how'd that happen?

Popular Primates

I'm bored, what can I say?

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz_log/entry/2005/10/05/1100/

If it weren't for the stupid internet, I wouldn't be half as in debt as I am today! I hate that I can sit on my butt and still spend money. I wish I didn't have my credit card number memorized; I wish I didn't have internet at work. I'd save a lot of money that way!!

I just won an auction on eBay for a Canon PowerShot SD200 digital camera. I am very excited because I've wanted a digital camera for a long time time, but when you go to the stores they only sell the newest, fanciest ones for $400. But you see, I don't need/want a 700 megapixel, 5000MB memory camera. The one I got is 3.2 megapixels and a 16MB SD memory card (which I might need to upgrade). I am very happy with my purchase and hope to have it for the limo extravaganza this Saturday, but I probably won't. I just hope there are plenty of other cameras to capture the shenanigans.

Anyone else watching the new TV show on Fox, Prison Break? I got sucked into it last week when my roommate was watching it and I had nothing else to do but watch it as well. Of course, it was part one of two so I had to watch last night to see the end. I like the show because it is intriguing to me, but it also bothers me. In the last two episodes there was a prison riot. A female doctor was trapped by crazy inmates trying to break into the room she was in so they could do bad, bad things to her. But she was saved by a good inmate (he got himself thrown into jail to help break his brother out {that is the main plot of the show}). I just watched the whole show shaking my head back & forth because I can't fathom how crazy people can be. Yes, this is a fictional show, but I know real prison riots have to be scary - crazy killers and rapists running free beating up innocent guards just because they can. On the show, there is one 'evil' guy (he's the one that leads the gang who preys on the young, new inmates for 'pleasure'). Well, he wanted to kill a guard but the other inmates said no. They let the guard go but the evil guy killed him anyway. I do not understand why the good inmates (good compared to other inmates, not normal people) never killed the evil guy. It was a freakin' riot, would who know (or care). I hope they kill him soon.

Anyway, I think that is all for now. I am at work and should be working. (Oh, I had my review today and it went really well. I finally feel like my boss likes me and really appreciates the work I do. She refered to me as her life-line...guess that's pretty good job security, eh? I just wish I still wasn't afraid to ask to work from home from time-to-time.)

Some things never change

MSU did not beat UM...again. It doesn't matter who is on our team or where we play or which team is ranked or which team isn't ranked or who has th better record... MSU has a mental handicap that will not allow them to beat UM in football. MSU was favored by 5 1/2 points the last I heard, but that along with all of the sporting "experts" picking MSU to win was a jinx. Too much pressure, too much confidence...whatever it was, it was sad. Both teams played a horrible game and neither deserved to win (I'm sure the UM fans would say differently of course). Missed field goals and bad defense is just no way to win a tough game like that. Typically I am one to say "There's always next year" - hahaha. No more, next year will be no different, it never is.

Aside from the final score, the weekend was a win in my book. I got to Lansing around 6:15 Friday evening. Went shopping for MSU gear for my nephews and niece, then went to Danielle's for dinner. Anna arrived from Buffalo then we headed out to get her some food, drove by the Sparty watch to give Johnny Spirit some food and went to Meijer for propane and beer. We watched Fraggle Rock then went to bed. Woke up at 5:41am to get ready for the tailgate. We parked our car at 7:20 or so. Unpacked the truck and began the party. We had a lot of people stop by we ate pancakes and sausage and drank Mimosas. By game time most of us were sufficiently buzzed. The game seemed long. After MSU lost, we headed back out to the car to drink our sorrow away. We headed back to Danielle's around 7:00. I came home since our puppies were home alone all day (they did have someone to let them out a couple times, but they were still lonely). I was so tired that I was asleep by 11:00 and slept straight until 9:30am.

Anyway, the tailgate was fun and it was great to hang out with everyone. It got me ready for next weekend. Saturday the 8th is our limo night. It's going to be most fantastic.

Well, I'm off to watch some TV and finish some laundry then watch Housewives and go to sleep. I'm getting a cold and need lots of rest so I'm at 100% for the party next weekend!!