Mailbox Finale

I have solved the case of the new mailbox.
When I drove home yesterday, I looked at my neighbor's mailbox (the neighbor that had my mailbox under their car). They have the exact same mailbox as me, the same gold and black slanted numbers, and the numbers are only on one side. When my mailbox was first put up, it only had numbers on one side.

I have deduced that they HAD to have put it up. There are too many coincidences. So..when I see them outside next time, I'll ask them if they put it up for me. I am such a jerk. I never do anything myself, and then people end up doing nice stuff for me. I will say thank you though. Can you believe it? I hope they don't feel bad that they ran over my old mailbox. It was my own negligence.

I'm SO in with the Karma Gods right now.

Never Burn Your Bridges

You know how your parents and other random people tell you this. Well, it's true. Don't do it. It's not worth it AND it will come back to haunt you.

I received a call the other day from a validation company, and they were asking if I was interested in changing jobs. I have so many different things going on that I figured I might as well talk to the people. I don't necessarily hate my job here, it's just very frustrating at times. I figured it can't hurt to look around. So, I talked to the lady and told her what I was good at, my strengths/weaknesses, blah blah. She told me that I would hear from someone in the validation department within a couple weeks if they were interested in talking to me.

Last week, the lady emailed me and told me that someone would be calling me. I ended up talking to a lady yesterday. She mentioned a man that I think I worked with at my first Validation job. I told her that the name sounded familiar, and if it's who I think it is, I worked with him at my first job. I said 'Oh, did he give me a good recommendation? If he did, then, yes, I know him.' The lady started laughing really hard. HA!!HA!! I laughed too, and told her that I think I did work with him, but there are a lot of older men in my profession, and I can't always remember all of them. She agreed that he is older, so I thought it could be the same guy.

Anyway, I got online a few minutes ago, and did a search on this guy, and come to find out I did work with him at my first job. How funny is that? He didn't even really know me, but I guess he recognized my name. Awesome. I don't know if I will get the job or even an offer, but today is a good day for being happy about not burning bridges.

I'm not really a fan of keeping strong bridges: weak, wooden ones are more my style, but so far so good.

Quick Thought on Being in a Band

I went out Saturday night to see this band play. Their name is Tripwire, and it consists of 4 young guys. When I say young, I mean 21-24 maybe. I'm really bad at guessing people's ages, but that's where I put them. They sing all covers and they were REALLY good. I like cover bands because I know the songs. Whether they are good or bad, I can sing along.

The band was playing and two older ladies started dancing (like 50s). I don't remember what they were dancing to, but that didn't matter. When that song was over, the ladies left, and three big girls started dancing. On the next song, the old ladies and the big girls were all dancing together. I thought to myself 'When young guys start a band, I bet they think that all the hot, skinny girls will like the music, and dance in front of them, and then hook up afterwards. I wonder if these guys are surprised that they have old, big girls dancing.' That was my thought. I think they were happy that people were enjoying themselves. At least, I hope so.

I wore my boots with the heels on them, so I was pretty tall. I like being taller than most people. I can be mean when I'm tall.

My Computer Has a Virus

I went to Happy Hour on Friday and had a few beers. The guys from work showed up as I was downing my second beer, so I didn't visit with them for too long. I came home, took a shower, got ready to go out SOMEWHERE, and decided to read East of Eden. Well, I was snuggled under the sleeping bag and fell asleep. I guess the beers made me drowsy.

When I woke up on Saturday (ha ha ha), my computer had been overtaken by these Symantec Email Proxy notices. It says 'your email message was unable to be sent because your mail server rejected the message.' Then it has some nonsense about viagara, cialis, levitra, paxil, etc..It also has the address of some random people in Italy, Denmark, France, etc..I don't know what's going on. Anyway, I have 905 of these boxes on my computer (I let them continue to pop up all day yesterday). I ran a McAfee scan, and I did a Norton Antivirus scan, and they still pop up. So...tomorrow I'll have to call Geeks on Wheels or take my computer to Best Buy.

In the meantime, I'm perfecting moving my window around these email notices. I'm gettin pretty good at it. I hope it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.

Mailbox Woes Revisited

So after the neighbor drove over my mailbox, the mailman started delivering mail in the mail holder. I was so excited. I was ready to put a note on the holder saying THANKS!! Well, the weather turned cold, and I stopped receiving mail-yeah, no movies for the past few days.

I went to happy hour after work and then Home Depot today and finally just bought a new mailbox. Well, when I got to my house, I was looking for the stump that I now use to recognize my driveway, and there is a brand new mailbox sitting on the post. It even has new numbers (although it's my neighbor's numbers) stuck on the side of the mailbox. I don't know who put the mailbox up there, but I'm satisfied for now.

I know tomorrow morning, my flamingly gay neighbor is going to come by and tell me that he paid someone to install it at his house and I have to take it down. I'll tell him that he can take it down because I didn't put it up there. I'm so curious as to who put that new mailbox on my stump. It's like a secret admirer!!

I hope the mailman brings my movies tomorrow because I have last season's 24 that I want to start watching over the weekend.

Indoor Voice?

I sure do wish I had one. I never like talking on the phone at work because 1) I hate talking to anyone and 2) I'm loud. HA!!HA!!

I have to call all these people about my grandmother's stuff, and I wish I could do it at work. I'm frustrated because I can't call anyone because I know that my nosy coworkers will be listening, even though it's such stupid talk. I wish I had a quiet gene in my family. Grrr....

We had our department meeting today and the big boss went over the same exact stuff we talked about at our Jan. 04 meeting. THE SAME EXACT STUFF. I told YB and Gabby Hayes that I need to see a psychiatrist because I don't pay attention in the meetings, I don't care what others are talking about, and all I sit there and do is think about when I can get out of my chair. YB thinks it's ADD. I think it's apathy.

I went to Quiznos for lunch after the meeting. Their pink lemonade/mango drink is really good. I'm guessing Mango, but I have no idea what flavor it is. It's just good. I got the combo and have a bag of Cheetos. I haven't had Cheetos in forever. The bag is bigger than the usual size, but now it's making me sick. I think I won't be eating Cheetos for a while. Why do portions of everything have to be so huge. It makes me mad. Then people wonder why they are fat. WELL, FRITO LAY OR ANY OTHER JUNK FOOD MANUFACTURER, STOP MAKING THE PORTIONS SO BIG!!! There are people starving in Africa. Make smaller portions, and sent the rest overseas. Write it off on your taxes or something. Grrrr..hee hee.

3 hours and counting. I'm so into my book this week. I hope I finish it today.

My Day Off

I'll be leaving in about half an hour to go to PA to have my grandmother's deed transferred into my name. Apparently she owes money on her house, but I hope that I can still get it transferred. My mom thinks that I won't be able to do it, but I have to try for my grandmother. I think she's in denial that she owes $$.

I'm not sure what's going on between my Mom-mom and my mom, but my mom wants her to move to an independent living type home, and I think Mom-mom wants to stay in her house. She's 87, and she's lived in this house for over 50 years, so I can understand why she wants to stay, but she's having troubles with her vision and her arthritis, so she spills stuff a lot and can't see that she's dropping crumbs everywhere. I think my mom is getting tired of going up to PA for every single thing. I don't know if my mom has offered Mom-mom to live at her house, but sooner or later something has got to be done. I'll talk to my grandmother today and feel her out about moving or whatever.

If there is a lien on the house, I think we may have to sell it. The money she supposedly owes is way more than the house is worth, but we'll see.

Weekend Stuff

I watched two movies this weekend.
Sleepers with Jason Patric, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, and Robert Deniro. It was really good. I've been having pretty good luck with movies lately. Kevin Bacon is a molester of boys. Yuck.

I also watched The Woodsman. That was not a good movie. But, out of the ones I've watched in the last couple weeks, there is always one bad egg. Kevin Bacon is a molester of girls. Yuck.

I don't know what the odds are that I would rent two movies with Kevin Bacon, or the odds that he is a child molester in both movies. Crazy huh?

I left a message with Ed (on Wednesday) that he could get his stuff on Saturday when I was going to be gone. I told him to leave my key on the counter when he was finished. I guess that made him want to talk to me. We talked on Thursday and kind of hashed everything out. He thought that I hadn't made any steps towards working on a relationship with him, and I thought he didn't support me in the things I wanted to do. In the end, I told him I'd have to think about our future, and let him know whether I see him in it or not. He said that if I did get into pharmacy school and wanted to move away, he does not want to go. He has a lot of reasons to be nervous about moving, but if that's how he feels, that's it. On the other side of things, if I don't get into pharmacy school, I don't want to say 'hey, let's stick it out' because I know me, and I know I'd be interested in something else and want to take a chance. So, there is lots of stuff for me to consider.

Both football games were boring to me. Ed Hochulie was the referree for the Panthers/Seahawks game, so that was cool, but other than that, I was pretty bored watching football. I hope the Superbowl doesn't disappoint me. I'm so glad I'm not going this year. I told Ed and his brothers that I would buy a Seahawks sweatshirt just to protest the Steelers, if I were to go to the game. YB says the Superbowl is in Miami next year. Maybe I'll try to get tickets.

BS Friday Answer

I'm glad so many played this week, but the story is false. Well, it's a true story, just not my story. Andy is true, the way the class was set up was true, but no one ever beat him up, or anyone in my classes for that matter. We all got along great. We did make the substitutes cry, but what class doesn't do that? This story was really about a boy in YB's class. They honestly beat him up every time the teacher left. I told YB that his punch was the one that put the boy over the edge, and made him punch girls. I really do hope that guy isn't abusive anymore. Scary mama.

Last night I watched Love Actually. That is a really good movie. It's a romantic comedy, I guess, but it's still good. Hugh Grant is in it, and I'm not even a fan of his. You guys should all check it out. I love the little boy in the movie. Oh..and you'll be happy to know that even though everyone has British English accents, I didn't even THINK about falling asleep. YAY!

I took my pharmacy test today. We'll see how it goes.

BS Friday

Guess whether this story is true or false.

When I was in 4th grade we all sat at tables in our classroom. There were maybe 6 tables of 5 in our class. The center of the classroom was open for storytime or for our teacher to just walk through the class. The girls usually sat at their own tables, and the boys always sat together at their tables.

There was also a special two person table in the front of the room, but hidden behind a huge palm/big tree. If you got to class early, you and your best friend could sit there and not be bothered with the rest of the class. That was prime seating. My best friend and I sat there many, many times. It helps when you walk to school and don't have to rely on the schoolbus.

There was a boy in my class named Andy Kessler. I probably shouldn't put his name, but that's ok. He's not thinking about me. He was short (comparatively) and had auburn red, curly, curly hair and freckles. I think he had some problems at home, but whatever. Anyway, every time the teacher would leave the class, the boys would jump up from their tables and start beating him up. The girls could care less. We were probably talking about our newest Swatch watch or Madonna or whatever. I don't understand those boys. When we heard our teacher's high heels clomping down the hallway everyone would jump back in their seats and get back to work. It seemed like Andy liked the attention or something because he would never fight back. He got into his seat like everyone else and went on with his day.

He was in my class in 5th grade (it was a 4th/5th split), and after that I moved. I did go back to visit some of my classmates several years later after I got in touch with this boy that liked me. It was so weird. They told me that when they went to middle/high school, Andy was the cool guy. Everyone was his friend, and he was Mr. Popularity. On the down side, they told me that he ended up physically abusing all his girlfriends that he had in school. That's really odd, but I guess after getting beat up for so long, you start to take it out on others. I hope he's gotten out of that habit by now. Maybe I should take his name off this blog. hee hee.

What do you think?

Two Things

I got home yesterday and the mailman had stuffed my movies, catalogs, and other mail in my door mailbox. When I moved into my house, there was a mail holder right next to the screen door. I have actually found packages in there MONTHS after I was supposed to receive them because I never look in that thing. Anyway, I'm happy that he walked up to my door and delivered my mail. I was telling YB that I should've tipped the mailperson at Christmas, but now I guess I don't have to.

I don't really want to use the mail holder as a permanent mailbox because in my neighborhood, everyone's mailboxes are out on the street. The mailman would hate me if every day he had to march up my driveway and put mail in the door holder. So..maybe today I'll make the trip to Home Depot. I think it's supposed to be a little warmer. Oh, and when I got home, the car that my mailbox was under was sitting out front warming up. I thought I would get the chance to hear my mailbox scraping, but I guess they left and came home because my mailbox was nowhere to be found. hee hee. Now I don't feel so bad.

The results from the motorcycle contest that I participated in last year are posted. I wasn't on the list initially, so I emailed the guy asking him what happened. I wasn't able to find a sign that had the high point of CT, so I thought I might be disqualified or something even though I explained that to him when I sent in the pictures. He emailed me back and said it was an oversight. I'm so happy to be getting my 10 dollar plaque. :) I'm 2/2 in these contests. They are so much fun. I'm excited to see what the next one is.

Mailbox Woes

About three months ago, my mailbox kept falling down. There is a wooden post that is perpendicular to the ground (like any mailbox). Then there is a smaller wooden post that sits on top of the vertical post. I had a metal mailbox with my address painted on it, that was nailed to the top post. Well, the wood rotted, and I would place the mailbox precariously on the half rotted wood every couple days. Some days it would stay for a couple days, and some days I would have to pick it up off the ground.

About two months ago, Ed decided he would get me a new mailbox. I guess he was in Home Depot and saw them. Well, he got me a white, plastic mailbox, and he bought some black stickers to put my address on it. I don't really know what he did, but he somehow put the mailbox up and it was sturdy. Well, the past month or so, my mailbox has been falling down again. Half of the rotten wood piece is still on the vertical post, and I don't know what happened to the other half. Kids walk by my mailbox and knock it down, I think. If the wind blows, it gets knocked down.

Yesterday when I got home, my Netflix movies were spread on the ground, and I didn't have mail because the box was on the ground. I picked up my movies and put them in my car, and placed the mailbox back on the post. I think I checked on it an hour later, and it had fallen down again. I never picked it up.

It is pouring down raining and slightly windy this morning. I looked out front, and I didn't see my mailbox AT ALL. I figured I would look for it when I left the house and throw it on my porch or something. Did I mention it's pouring outside? Well, when I left my driveway, I saw my mailbox lodged under my neighbor's car. They park on the street because their driveway only fits two cars, one behind the other, and I think the husband and wife have different work schedules. I thought, 'Should I run out and get my mailbox from beneath their car?' I decided against it. I hope they don't just drive forward or they will hear the worst plastic sound against the road. I probably should have gotten it, but I didn't want to get wet. I'll have to buy a new mailbox tomorrow and set everything up the right way. I thought about not putting up a mailbox at all. All I get is junk mail anyway. Is it illegal not to have a mailbox?

Today's Funny

I bought a cable design, turtleneck the other day. It's so soft and warm because it's made from angora, merino wool and a touch of cashmere. The funny is that it is the exact color of my blog template. It is bright green and I love it!

Coinkydink

I just found out that my sister broke up with her boyfriend of 9 months. She is so funny. My sister is an engineer, and she is more impatient than I am. She's the oldest, so she's pretty bossy, and she's like 5'2 MAYBE, so she has Napoleonic complex. hee hee.

She just told me that her boyfriend would put her on speakerphone, and when she would ask if she's on speaker he would say 'Why do you ask?' She would say "Because it sounds like you're in a cave." He would say "What kind of cave?" and then she'd be mad. HA!!HA!!

Also, the other night it was really windy. They went to bed, and he said 'Where does the wind come from?" She yelled, "I'm not on the internet right now. I'm tired and want to go to sleep. Why do you ask me those stupid ass questions all the time?" I think that's when they got into a fight and broke up.

This guy never talks anyway, so I guess it's probably for the best. She has two dogs, he has 0 pets, and when she asked him 'Would you rather have a dog or a cat?' his answer was "Neither. I guess I could deal with a cat." Who would say that when your girlfriend has two dogs that she's not getting rid of anytime soon. Strange guy. He is from England, so the odds that they would have a long term future together isn't really that great, but she was trying, I guess.

So, I told her how Ed hadn't talked to me since Wednesday morning/a bit on Saturday and I think we're done too, and she was just like 'oh.' That's all she said. My family is so caring. *rolling eyes*

Complainers

My coworker (Gabby Hayes) loves complaining about her future mother-in-law. She has been dating her boyfriend for 7 years or so, and they are engaged. She doesn't want to get married until he picks a wedding date. She picked the date twice and then something happened so they ended up not sticking with the date, so she says he has to decide now. I figure he's not going to decide. I don't think he cares that much, and apparently neither does she. She got tired of waiting around for him to get his money together to buy a house, so she went on and bought a house. Now he lives there and pays rent, I guess. I know the specifics, but I usually tune out halfway into the story, so I can't recall.

Today's complaint is that her boyfriend invited her grandmother to dinner. Gabby was fine with that. Then, the boyfriend wanted to invite his mother to dinner also. I guess Gabby told him that was fine. Well, Gabby hates his mother and his mother apparently hates Gabby. Yet, they see each other all the time, and then talk about each other once they part company. So Gabby doesn't want his mother at dinner tonight. I suggested (me being the problem solver that I am) going to her grandmother's house and changing the plans. She said she doesn't want her boyfriend at home cooking for his mother if she's not going to be there. I then suggested telling the bf to go to his mother's house and cook for her. She said 'Well, you can't say that.' I said "No. YOU can't say that. I can." Then I told her how I don't do things I don't want to do, and if something is making me unhappy, I change it or shut up. She's not like me though, so she will sit and complain to everyone about how she hates the mother-in-law. It gets old fast. Even YB has had enough. hee hee.

Some people do like the drama. I don't know why. Who wants to talk to others about how miserable or unhappy they are to everyone they meet. And why do they think that everyone wants to hear it?

I hope that since I listened to her for an hour I won't have to hear about it again until at least tomorrow.

Cycle World Motorcycle Show

I went to the show yesterday in DC, and was actually able to find parking two blocks away. Go me!

The show was a lot smaller than last year, but it was still a good time. I bought some rescue tape. This tape doesn't have an adhesive on it, but somehow it sticks to itself and has to be cut off after it's sealed to the other side of itself longer than a minute. It's pretty cool. It's resistant to heat, acids, water, etc..In case of emergency, this tape can come in pretty handy.

I got to the show around 12, walked around with another Motor Maid (who, is pretty annoying, btw, but she's nice enough) for about an hour, and then I went to the AMA booth to man my station. Several people signed up for the AMA while I was there, and I got to talk to some nice people, so that was cool. Guess who showed up at the booth? Yup, Ed. I left my station for about 15 minutes (his brother is doing ok for now), and walked around with him for a bit. I told him I had to get back to my station, but I was leaving at 4 on the nose, because I wanted to get home and watch football. He mentioned that most of the family was going to Eric's house to watch the games. At 4:10, I left the booth and tried to call Ed to see if he was still at the show, but his phone went right to voicemail. I think something is wrong with his phone. But, I can't solve the world's problems so I left. I didn't hear from him the rest of the day.

The Redskins lost. They really need to work on their offense in the upcoming season. Their defense wasn't too bad, but the Seahawks were stopping the run every time, and for some reason, Brunell doesn't throw the ball a lot.

The Broncos/Pats game was the one to watch. I missed the first 20 minutes (real time) of the game because I took a nap, but the last two minutes of the first half were incredible! The Pats weren't playing well at all. I'm happy that the Broncos beat the Pats, but they need to work on their offense too. Most of their points were turnover recoveries, so there's something to be said about that.

I'm eager to watch today's games and see what happens. Have a great Sunday everyone!

How Did I Know?

I called Ed after work today and left a message asking him to stop by when he finished his day.

He called me back around 5:45 saying that he was still down in DC, and he wouldn't be able to stop by because his brother was waiting for him at his house, and he had to meet him. I said 'Well, maybe you can stop by tomorrow.' He said he doesn't think he'll be able to. I said, 'Ok, well call me when you think you can stop by.' He agreed, and we said our goodbyes.

I didn't ask him whether he was going to the motorcycle expo tomorrow. I have to volunteer for the Motor Maids from 2-4.

His brother is totally bringing him down. I guess he is now the official babysitter, and that's really unfortunate. Now that his brother is on bad drugs, he gets thrown into the mix, and can't do his own thing. That's sad. Honestly.

So I don't know when I will talk to him, but he'll call me when he's ready. You would think that he has 5 minutes of his life to talk to his girlfriend, but I'm not going to sweat it. His brother's drug problem is way more important than me.

I'm going to the expo tomorrow and I will have a great time. I still wonder-was he going to the expo because I had to volunteer, or he was really interested in going. That question will always be on my mind. Does he do the things he does for me, or because he wants to? I will probably never know the answer.

Mr. Mistoffeles

That's the name of one of the cats in the show Cats. The guy I went to the show with said that this cat was the gayest guy in the whole production. He was a black cat with a white face, and was really happy. He was all smiles as he was dancing around. Anyway, the song that the group sang while he was dancing around is so catchy. I think I am going to use my iTunes money to buy this song. I've been singing this song since Tuesday, and I don't even know half the words. HA!!HA!! I'm just making them up.

I talked to LE last night, and we had a good conversation. She rules!

I'm sick of myself being such a wuss, so tonight I'll have to start writing my own story and see how things go.

Oh, I talked to my mother the past two nights, and of course, I was a crying baby. I cried when I told her about Ed's brother being on bad drugs, and I cried when I told her that I didn't want to hurt Ed's feelings. She said "Are you pregnant? You sure have been emotional lately." I told her that I'm always emotional, and she said "Yes, that's true." So I said "If that's true, why are you asking me if I'm pregnant?" She didn't have an answer. I guess she figured that since I normally only talk to her once a week, and have called her twice, and been crying, my normal patterns are off, and she thinks I'm in trouble or something. I guess at 31, she doesn't realize I'm responsible. *sigh* hee hee.

She also told me that when I talk to Ed, to offer the earrings and ring back. I told her I might offer the ring, but there's no way I'm offering the earrings. I haven't had the ring sized, so if he wanted to return it, he could. I hope he doesn't offer to return any of the gifts that I got him. I would never take them. I hope he feels the same about my earrings and ring. I think my mother thinks that her two oldest daughters are destined to be old maids. At this point, I'm ok with that.

I've Read the Story

Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Girl likes other boy. Girl tells first boy she doesn't like him so much. Girl tells other boy she likes him. Other boy isn't interested. Girl ends up alone and both boys are happy with someone else.

That book sucks.

So, is it bad to go watch a basketball game with other boy after everything that happened yesterday?

Cats-The Show and other stuff

I went to see Cats last night. And..I didn't go alone, but I didn't go with Ed either. His brother has been having some serious problems with drugs, so Ed had to go save the day. So that left me with an extra ticket to the show. I called a friend of a friend (a guy), and ended up going with him. This guy told me that he would love to go to the Hippodrome, and if I ever had an extra ticket to keep him in mind. Well I did, and he was able to go.

The show was great. We sat in Row A, seats 107/108, which is in the middle. The cats were posing, and staring right at the people in the front row. It was crazy. I kept staring back and smiling/waving, but these people never looked away. Great actors and actresses/dancers. My guest enjoyed himself. I'm so glad I got to go to the show.

After the show, I met up with Ryan and stayed at his house. I probably should've gone home, and I KNOW I should've gone home, but I didn't. I wasn't thinking straight.

This morning when I went home, I saw two dry spots on my driveway. It started raining about 10 minutes before I got home, and I wondered why there were two dry spots. I ended up talking to Ed, and he said that he and his drug brother stayed at my house while I was out last night. In a way I'm glad I didn't go home, because I would've had to kick them out of my house-well, at least the drug brother, but I might as well send both of them on their way. On the other hand, why is Ed bringing his drug abusing brother to MY house? Ed is going to fall asleep at some point, and although I don't have a lot of stuff in my house, some of the stuff I have is nice, and one could get a pretty penny for it on the streets. I don't feel comfortable with that at all. Last month, I would've let the drug brother stay in my house anytime he wanted, but NOW, my views have totally changed. Ed has basically nothing in his house (a lot of his valuables are at my house), but he ends up staying at MY house? I don't get it.

So, Ed called me a couple times this morning, and I called him back, and he was mad that I went to the show with "some guy", and was mad that I didn't go home last night. I can understand him being upset with me for not going home, but how was I supposed to know he was staying at my house and would be expecting me? I didn't. He said 'Oh, so it's ok if you don't come home as long as I don't know about it?' I said 'It's not even like that. I didn't feel comfortable driving home.' Then he said he had to go and hung up.

I don't know what's going to happen tonight, but he and his drug brother better not come near my house tonight.

Race

I'm not a big "race" person. I don't care. If someone never tells me they are Vietnamese, my life will go on. I don't need to know, nor will I ask. I either like you for you, or I don't like you because you smell. HA!!HA!! My sense of smell is really bad, so if I do smell you, it's really bad. But, I digress.

Today I was talking to this girl, who is black (it's key to the story). I was telling her how Engineer Guy (who is white) told me that he was surprised she didn't stop by to say goodbye to him on his last day, after asking about him a week earlier. She said "I wasn't even thinking about Engineer Guy. He has been trying to go on a date with me since he first started working here, so what's that three years?" I shrugged my shoulders because I have no idea how long he was working here. Then she said "Besides, who even knew he liked black girls?" I said "I don't know if that's true. Maybe he just liked you." Then she kind of shrugged, and walked away.

SO WHAT?! You are going to care that much whether someone likes black girls or purple girls before you accept a date? I always thought that girl was pretty sensible. I no longer think that. It's really too bad. I absolutely hate when people say stuff like that. "Oh, he's poor considering he's white." Or whatever. I can't even think of any of those stupid statements.

The Case of the Missing Money

I sent my dad a check in September because he was going to buy a shack in TN for me. I was going to rent it out and bring home 125/month for rent. It ended up that the man who died in the shack had like 18 kids, and all those kids had to be notified that the house was for sale, and/or give up their rights to the house. There is no telling where those adult kids are, so I never bought the shack.

My dad wrote me a check when he came back home and I sent it to my bank to be deposited. Well, it's now January, and I still haven't received the money in my bank. I called and called and they said they would look into it. Well, my dad just got his bank stuff and the check cleared his bank in October. So..where is my money??

Last night I talked to my dad about it again and he told me that for some reason, his bank deposited his check into his account. I endorsed the check, so why would they deposit money from his bank account into his bank account? I don't get it, but at least I know where my money is. My dad said he's going to the bank in a couple days, and he'll put the money in my account. I said 'Daddy, feel free to add the interest when you deposit my money.' He laughed so loud. hee hee. Then he said 'Well, how much interest are you earning?' I told him that I wasn't sure, but it was probably close to nothing. He said he thought so too. So then I said 'well, an extra dollar may come in handy.' He laughed again and said 'We'll see.' My dad is cheap like me, so he's surely not giving me a dollar. He is going to do my taxes for me when it's tax time (like he does every year), so that's savings enough.

I'm glad this case is finally solved. Now...what to do with my "found" money...

Sudoku

This game is sweeping the nation. My sister was showing my dad how to play it around Thanksgiving, I think, and today I started playing. A lot of newspapers are including it next to the crossword and word jumble.

I just completed my first easy puzzle without any mistakes. The goal is to get the numbers 1-9 in each row, each column, and in each box without repeating numbers.

I will be playing every morning. If you go to this site Websudoku, you can play too!

Good luck.

Weekend Update

I had to drive down to Va early Saturday morning, but I made it home in time for the Redskins game.

Wild-card weekend wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. It started off great, with the Redskins intercepting the ball and then recovering a fumble for two touchdowns. Then the game fizzled out. I started watching the NE/Jacksonville game and I ended up falling asleep around 10. I knew who would win that game.

Sunday, I woke up, studied a bit, and went to Ed's mom's house to watch the Sunday games. Ed's nieces were coming over to celebrate their Christmas with grandma, so the whole crew headed over. I wasn't that interested in the Panthers/Giants game, but I was rooting for the Giants, and they played really bad. I though the Bengals/Steelers game was going to be good, and I was rooting for the Bengals. Once Carson Palmer got hurt, I wasn't sure if they would be able to pull out a win. Although Jon Kitna played his heart out, the Steelers were too good for them. That makes me sad because I wanted the Bengals to go all the way.

Oh, my teacher said that he would write up lesson plans for me, and I would just have to basically read the notes, and that's how I would teach the class. I emailed him on Sunday morning reminding him to send me the lesson plan before class starts (Thursday). I also told him that I could write up a lesson plan if he gives me the headings that I need, but I'd have to charge him for them. He wrote back 'What plans do you have written down so far? I don't think there will be enough students to have a class this semester, but I will contact you in the spring in case you're still interested.' I told him that it's ok, and I was excited to teach the class, but I understand if there's not enough interest. I also wrote that I would drop off the book that he loaned to me at some point. So..that's the end of my budding teaching career. I'm happy and sad. I can use the extra time wisely, now that I have it, but I was excited about teaching.

Cats is playing tomorrow night. The million dollar question is-will I be going alone?

BS Friday

I almost had to pass today because I couldn't think of anything good to write for BS Friday. And then I came up with an idea.

You know how in Boston/New England, people always describe everything as wicked? And in Michigan (and some in Cali) people say hella?

Well, when I was growing up in Seattle, everyone used the descriptive word mass.


Everybody vote. True or false?

Smart People are Curious People

Do you think this title statement is true?

I'm smart (today, that is), and I like learning and I like to do new things. I moved around a lot when I was little, so I always had something new to see or do. Moving all the time causes someone to either become a strong extrovert or a strong introvert. That's from my personal research. I am the strong extrovert. I will talk to anyone and am very friendly on the outside. I may hate you on the inside, but I'm still friendly enough for simple conversation.

I can't understand the people that don't want to do new things. What makes you not want to explore/learn?

Here's an example-There is a street in Hamden (a neighborhood in Bmore) called 34th street. Every Christmas, everyone decorates their houses, and tons of people drive to this street to see the lights and take tours of the people's houses. It's basically 'A Miracle on 34th street.' Well, they have lottery commercials on tv, and one of the lottery commercials spotlights some of these people's houses. One guy has trains running through the house, and another person has a hubcap Christmas tree. I asked Ed if he had ever gone to 34th street around Christmastime. He lives off 40th by the way, so it's right down the street. He didn't know anything about it. I was SHOCKED. It's right outside of his door and he has no idea. This has been going on for many years, and he has no idea? I just don't get it.

iPod Question

So now that I have an ipod and Ed has one, I want to keep our music stuff separate, but he doesn't own a computer. Currently, I have his set to "update songs manually", so I can pick and choose which songs will be loaded, and I have mine on "automatic update." Is there a way to have two separate libraries, so that when he plugs his into the computer, it updates only his, and when I plug mine in, it only updates mine?

I'm so computer illiterate it's ridiculous. Oh, that website for changing templates was a little too complicated for me. It said you had do download the text and I didn't know how to do that..

A Moment in My Life

Today I went to lunch with YB and another engineer. It was just the three of us for burgers today. I thought it would be a good time to get to know this engineer a little better, even though I have socialized with him outside of work, and he's a pretty neat guy. He's 22 or 23 maybe, and skinny as a rail. He's the guy you would describe when someone said 'describe an engineer' except he doesn't wear glasses. HA!!HA!!

Anyway, on our way to lunch, I was thinking about Cheater Guy, a guy who was having this "forbidden" love affair with the girl I hate in our office. He still has open projects in our dept. as well as his new department. All of a sudden I blurted out 'I wish I was retarded.' YB and the engineer started laughing hysterically. They were like 'what ARE you talking about?' I told them how CGuy got to do whatever he wanted at all times. He never has to complete anything, and he screws up everything he does. It's so unfair. So then YB said 'If you were retarded, would you want to know it?' That took some thought from all three of us. I think the consensus is that we wouldn't want to know.

The burger place was closed, so we ended up grabbing our food to go (I bought YB lunch today because he treated me last week), and we were on our way back to work. There are some new townhouses along the way that are running about $5-600,000. I told them that if I was going to pay that much money, I wouldn't want a wall connected to someone else's. Basically saying I need a single family home. The engineer said 'It's all about location, location, location.' I then said 'Well, if I wanted to live in that townhouse, I'd just sell my body and be done with it.' Then I rethought that (I almost typed rethunk-I am retarded. hee hee), and said 'I'd be a retarded prostitute.' HA!!HA!! They started laughing again and the engineer said 'That's just sinful.' I said 'No, sinful is the person that would be paying to sleep with me knowing I'm retarded.' Then they both agreed that I'd constantly be getting ripped off because they would give me wads and wads of ones. I'd think I was rich, yet they were only paying 20 bucks. I agreed, and now I have to think of a different way to afford those townhouses.

Why/how do people think like this? I am a nut, I tell ya. This is a day in my life.

Bonuses

We got bonuses. This is my first bonus since working at this job, and it's been 2+ years. Crazy, huh?

I don't know what I'm going to buy. I guess if Ed hadn't gotten me those earrings, I would go buy them. But..he did, so I have some time to think about it. I'm happy.

Our work is still a weird place, but I will gladly take the money and run.

2005 in a Nutshell

This questionnaire was stolen from YB.

1. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
I rode to Sturgis, SD and back. 4400 miles exactly. Yeha!
I went to the Harley Rendezvous-good times.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Well, I didn't make any, so I didn't break any.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Sure..a lot of my "friends" did, but I don't really keep up with them. Close enough to care-I'd say no.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
I'm happy to say no.

5. What countries did you visit?
None.

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
Clarity in my life.

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
My birthday weekend-May 19-22; I spent it alone and carefree.
December 13-the day I realized the bird probably wasn't coming back.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I completed the AMA Up, Down, and All Around Contest

9. What was your biggest failure?
I don't like to be so negative, but I guess it's not communicating like I should.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I hurt my left, ring finger at work, and it's still a little numb.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I went on a shopping spree in February. Out of all of the things, I love the gold, stripper shoes the best.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
All of the young men that are enlisting in the military.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Kanye West's statements after Hurricane Katrina. What an idiot. I will also say that the people in the Superdome that were raping people have some nerve. I hope they floated away or got run over by the buses leaving town.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Retirement/savings.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
75 degree temperatures on New Year's Day 2005. Yes, I went riding.

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Live Like You Were Dying (I think it's Tim McGraw, and I guess it was a new song)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
I'd say a little of both. I can't complain.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Traveling/sightseeing. I can never get enough.
I will also say keeping in touch with close friends.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I wish I'd been less of a grouch. I was really grouchy at the end of this year and that does not become me at all.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
I went to my parent's house.

21. How did you spend New Year’s?
I went to Ed's brother's house and there were 8 of us. We played Catchphrase, which was a lot of fun.

22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
I don't know.

23. How many one-night stands?
No comment. ha ha ha.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Judge Judy, The Amazing Race, Everyday Italian(food network), and What Not to Wear/How Do I Look.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No. This doesn't include some of my coworkers.

26. What was the best book you read?
Travels With Charlie was great. I'm reading East of Eden, and that might have to be on of my favorites for 2005 also.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
None.

28. What did you want and get?
An iPod, diamond earrings (I've always wanted a pair). I know..pictures coming soon.

29. What was your favorite CD of this year?
I bought Michelle Branch and Nora Jones. Sure would be nice to have them back. Wait..I don't remember if I bought them in '05 or '04. hee hee.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Good call YB, Hitch was great.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 31 and I went to random parties. I also met some motorycle internet friends in Winchester, VA.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I had a pretty good year.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
"You can never go wrong with corduroy."

34. What kept you sane?
Jemma and having a few fun coworkers.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I fell in love with Paul Newman. I can't say I fancy any of them.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I hate all the political party bickering. Maybe I'm getting old, but I have never heard people be SO mean to each other just because they are a Democrat or Republican. It's on my nerves, and we are all still people to be judged individually, not by party affiliations.

37. Whom do you miss?
Third time's the charm-Jemma.

38. Who was the best new person that you met?
There is a blogger that I really admire, but we've never met.

The best new people that I met have to be Ryan's friends. It's just a bunch of 8-10 guys, but as a group, they fit together so well, yet all of them are different in their own way. I think I like them because ALL of them are smart. I never hung out with a group of so many smart people at one time. It sucks they're all younger than me. I feel like an old dummy. hee hee.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:
I learned that you can always talk to your mom.
I also learned that keeping things inside your head sucks sometimes, but I'm still working on that.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I don't know enough songs or the lyrics to do that, so I'll pass on this one.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We made it to another year! I'm so happy to start fresh and begin again.
New Year's Day is a pretty cool day.

Last night I went to Ed's brother's house and since 4/8 of us weren't drinking, we played games and ate a fantastic dinner. We had salad with cranraisins and almonds, potatoes and cheese with a cornflake topping, and beef tenderloin. Delicious. We played Catchphrase for most of the evening. If you have never played that game, I suggest you go buy it. It's tons of fun.

Before we left, I told Ed I wasn't sure what I was going to wear, and he ran upstairs and said 'I have something for you to wear.' He got me an anniversary present, which was a white gold ring, with 7 diamonds going across the top. They're medium sized and they each have their own compartment. It's not a channel setting, but individual diamonds. I couldn't believe it. I didn't even get him a present (oops!). hee hee. It has now been officially two years for us. We had a fun time at the party, but the more jewelry I get, the more I feel like I'm sinking into a bigger and bigger hole. But..enough about that. It's a new year, and a new start.

I hope everyone has a great first day of '06.

Oh, and Nora, I had a flat tire on my car yesterday, so I had to rush to Mr. Tire to get it fixed. Thank GOD I have an air compressor in my garage. I pumped that bad boy up and headed to the shop. 20 bucks later, I'm good to go. I ran over a huge nail.