Just Me Rambling

What a lovely day...

2009-01-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

I was so happy today. I loved the crowds; Cheney entering in a wheelchair like grumpy old Mr Potter; Aretha's hat; the fumbled oath; the inspiring speech; Malia's camera; Sasha's thumbs up; Bush flying away; the Get a Life Marching Band; will.i.am's "It's A New Day" at the Neighborhood Ball and Barack and Michelle dancing to Beyonce's "At Last" while everyone (including me) teared up. It was so lovely and perfect that I'm afraid I'm going to wake up tomorrow and it will all have been a dream. Please let this feeling of hope and inspiration and happiness that America has been swimming in today last.

The day after...

2008-12-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

Maggie's first snow...

2008-12-17T16:52:00.001-08:00

It's been steadily snowing in Las Vegas for like the last five hours and the news says it's not going to stop any time soon. That is just insanely crazy cool. We even got to leave work early. Snow day!!! Awesome. I took my dog for a walk when I got home. It snowed a little bit here when she was a puppy but it was nothing like this. This is her first real experience with a walk in the snow. When I first took her out and she saw the snow she turned back around but when she realized her only options were snow or no walk at all she decided the snow wasn't so bad.

I'm so happy right now...

2008-11-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America."--President-Elect Barack Obama

I refuse to use the obvious title...

2008-11-03T23:48:00.000-08:00

I'm on vacation this week so I went to see Jersey Boys at the Palazzo tonight. It was incredible. It has replaced Stomp Out Loud as my favorite show on the Strip. Stomp Out Loud had replaced Blue Man Group which had replaced Mamma Mia but then I saw Blue Man Group again after I saw Stomp Out Loud and I really loved Blue Man Group so I was questioning my decision to give Stomp the edge but Jersey Boys clearly wins. It was the most expensive show I'll probably ever pay for but I didn't feel cheated at all. All the guys in it are super cute, too. Shallow observation maybe but important to my overall enjoyment factor.

I'm going to see "O" on Wednesday night. Another show I've never seen before because it's super expensive. I don't know what got into me this morning. I just broke out the AmEx, got on the internet and went to town with the ticket buying.

Yesterday I went to Hoover Dam and Boulder City. They have this old train in Boulder City that you can ride for $8. It was fun. They have really happy volunteers dressed in period train garb answering questions and stuff. Then I ate lunch in the oldest building in Boulder City. Built in 1931. I do love an old building.

Tomorrow is going to be a super long day. It better have a happy ending. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't

Bet you can't guess who for...

2008-10-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

In other news, The Secret Life of Bees is a really good movie. Much better than I thought it would be. I was expecting something depressing but it was very funny. The acting was great across the board, too. Dakota Fanning is ridiculously talented.

Because I'm obsessed...

2008-10-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

100,000 people at St Louis rally today

More talk about politics? Seriously?...

2008-10-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

I’m sick of Joe the Plumber. His name’s actually Sam, he’s not really a plumber and he’s kind of a jerk. It’s enough already with him.

My neighbor has a poster of Obama taking up their whole front window with just his picture and the word HOPE at the bottom. It’s pretty awesome. I hope no one throws a rock at it.

I am full on obsessed with this election polling site www.fivethirtyeight.com. It’s ridiculous how many times a day I check it.

I have a very strong feeling that if Obama doesn’t win this election America will become like one of those low-budget futuristic movies from the 80s where everyone is dirty and wears burlap and lives underground because the sun is too close to the Earth and are forced to bargain with thugs for black market half-eaten apples so they don’t starve. Sports will most likely become very violent also. Players will die. It’ll be bad times indeed.

Just because...

2008-10-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

A bit of bad advice...

2008-09-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

From 1940s radio show “Alex Prescott, Wife Saver”:

A sheet of asbestos paper rolled into a cone shape will act as an oven when placed securely in a campfire. You stick the small end in a fire and it gives you a place to bake apples, eggs, potatoes and hot dogs. Toss them in like a horn of plenty and the fire lapping up the sides of the asbestos will turn them quickly into something to eat.

Eat them on your picnic table covered in peeling lead-based paint and have a big helping of red m&ms for dessert. Don’t forget the lawn darts!!

The one where I feel better...

2008-09-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

Pretty good day today. The computer program testing that I wasn't really excited about doing at work was called off until further notice. I went to a new casino and ate at a restaurant where you pay 12 bucks and just pick food off a list and they keep bringing it to the table until you want to stop eating. I wasted a lot of food trying stuff out but it was all good and kind of a fun concept. Dan won HOH on Big Brother. Go Dan. Eli Mattson was on America's Got Talent. He's awesome. Go Eli.

">

The one with a lot of complaining...

2008-09-03T20:46:00.001-07:00

I have been full on bummed for like three days. I'm just sick of pretty much everything and everyone right now. I hate politics. I hate listening to other people's opinions about politics. I hate hate hate listening to stupid people's opinions about politics. I'm terrified that McCain is going to win in November. If he does I might pull a Baldwin and move to Australia or something. Although Baldwin just stayed here and revived his career with an Emmy-winning sitcom but you get my drift. I am bored. With work and tv and reading and food and everything. I tried to eat my way to happiness with some Panda Express but it took forever to get it and then the cook had poured like a whole container of salt in the fried rice which got mixed in with the chow mein making it all inedible. It was awful. I've been reading some new blogs lately and I can't stand the bloggers. Bunch of privileged brats talking about how hard it is to leave academia. Boo hoo. You're pushing thirty. Get a job. Arrggghhh....I'm in a really bad mood.

I feel I should say something pleasant. I washed my dog with fancy vanilla bath wash and she's never smelled better. I got a raise last Friday. That was nice. I've found a new old radio show called "The Halls of Ivy" starring Ronald Colman. It's awesome.

Those are some long arms...

2008-08-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

I've been insanely into Michael Phelps all week. As I type this I'm obsessively checking nbcolympics.com for the results of his final race. (Delayed!! Torture!!) I'm pretty sure that I will forget all about him after this weekend but I thought I would commemorate my weeklong summer crush with a couple of pictures.

Now I want to go to Greece...

2008-07-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

In honor of the incredible fun I just had watching Mamma Mia I present the songs that my nine year old self played over and over and over again singing at the top of my lungs. I don't understand why my mom never broke the 45s.

George of the Jungle should have been 3D...

2008-07-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

I saw Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D today. It was super fun. The parts where stuff jumped out at you were good but the scenery in 3D was the best part. Some scenes were really gorgeous. Plus, I had forgotten what a huge crush I have on Brendan Fraser. Such a cutie. Now I need to dig out my George of the Jungle or The Mummy tapes.

Ever since they opened the Rave Theater in Town Square I've been going to the movies like crazy. Next week Mamma Mia! Meryl Streep sings ABBA!! Hopefully I'll be able to get to my theater through all the Batman people.

Qu'est-ce que c'est?...

2008-07-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, I'm trying to lose weight. I haven't told anyone at work though because I don't want a bunch of discussion about everything I put in my mouth. About thirty minutes ago someone called up and said that fancy cupcakes were delivered downstairs. I didn't go down to get one. Then that person called again to ask why I didn't come down to get a cupcake. Then someone emailed me about how great the cupcakes were and why wasn't I coming down for one. And then someone came by my desk and asked why I didn't want a cupcake because they were so delicious. It's diet torture and I can't even get mad at them because they don't know I'm on a diet.

Mmmm...cupcakes.

Update: The person that came by my desk earlier to tell me how great the cupcakes were just brought the box with the last two cupcakes to my desk, put it right in front of me and said if I didn't want one they were throwing them away. I said no. They looked pretty good, too. Because of my awesome willpower two cupcakes are in the garbage. I'm a cupcake killer.

Summer at the Bellagio...

2008-07-06T18:51:00.001-07:00

I totally want to learn how to bend a bullet...

2008-07-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Wanted rocks.

That's all I had to say.

I just want my butt to fit in every theater seat...

2008-07-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

So I started a diet of sorts this week. Nothing too terribly strict. More veggies & fish and no frozen, fast & junk food. I’m really committed to getting down to my goal weight this time. (Which I’ll just say is a looong way from my weight now and leave it at that.) So what should happen today? The receptionist calls to tell me that a vendor has brought over four heaping baskets full of snack cakes and donuts and all manner of dietbusting whatnot for the office to try. Oh well, it’s a good test of willpower I suppose. Lunchtime should be fun with everybody snacking away around me.

Completely by coincidence, I happened upon the Fat Acceptance movement on the internet. So I’ve spent the past couple of days reading about how all diets fail and if I do lose weight I certainly shouldn’t be congratulated for it because it’s the same as congratulating someone for staying with an abusive husband or trying to “de-gay” themselves. Or something? And I’m just going to gain it all back anyway. And I’m bowing down to the fatists. One blog tells you not to even bother registering if you’re on a diet or are thinking about losing weight on purpose ever. There were some interesting/entertaining blogs out there, though, with some good discussions in the comments. Including the one that doesn’t want me to register. My favorite is called Eat a Cheeseburger. And they talk about eating cheeseburgers a lot. And show pictures of cheeseburgers. Mmmm…cheese and meat and bread all hot and melty and delicious.

Anyway…I’m thinking if my diet can survive staring at free cupcakes the whole lunch hour and two days of reading fat acceptance blogs and people talking about cheeseburgers then I might be in decent shape to succeed

LA Vacation

2008-06-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hollywood Walk of Fame. What? I was excited when I saw it. It's Yankee Doodle Dandy!

This was next door to the super-awesome Hollywood Museum in the old Max Factor Factory building and across the street from Hollywood High School. I didn't eat there. I just thought it was a cool sign.

Union Station

Celebrity Sightings in Hollywood

Mural across the street from the Bradbury Building downtown. I love this. The Bradbury Building was pretty cool, too.

A fountain at the Adamson House in Malibu. The Adamson House was my favorite thing of the whole trip. Beautiful and interesting and educational and the tour was only $5.
The grounds of the Adamson House in Malibu. That's Surfrider Beach in the background.
Grounds of the Adamson House.
More Adamson House.

Ghost Town at Knotts Berry Farm.

Crazy-steep water ride at Knotts Berry Farm. I didn't ride it.
Rooster at Knotts Berry Farm. There were a lot of them by Independence Hall. I don't know why.

California Adventure Theme Park. There were these three singers and dancers that did a whole show and no one took any pictures or anything and then Mickey comes out and everyone starts snapping away.

From the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. This is where they filmed "The Music Man". And it was Stars Hollow from the Gilmore Girls. Which would be beyond cool except that it's where they filmed "The Music Man" and that trumps anything else. Robert Preston sang and danced right there!

This is what Friends used for Central Park in the scene where Phoebe runs funny. The place where they play Thanksgiving football was around the corner. On a related note, I saw the guy who played Phoebe's cop boyfriend in front of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

Street where they filmed parts of the movie "Rent". Namely the part where they dump all their flaming garbage out on poor Taye Diggs because they're not gonna pay rent. I love that movie. I really do. But I think they should probably just pay the rent.

Scooby and The Mystery Machine from the WB Studios Tour. This room also had the new Batmobile and the Weasley's car from Harry Potter and the General Lee. Fun.

Griffith Observatory. I really recommend the Leonard Nimoy movie in the basement. It's a very interesting look at the history of the Observatory and how they remodeled it. Plus, Leonard Nimoy is funny in it.

View of LA from Griffith Observatory.

I also went to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens on the same day as Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell. They seemed really nice and happy. We were supposed to go to Universal Studios but we weren't much into after it caught on fire so we went to Disney that day instead. We drove down Sunset Blvd to Malibu and went through Beverly Hills and Bel Air and past a bunch of fancy houses. I actually liked the fancy houses in Pasadena better, though. The Pasadena ones all look like The Great Gatsby lives there. On the way back from Malibu we ate at Callahan's Diner in Santa Monica that opened in 1927 and didn't look like it's had a whole lot of remodeling since then. It was pretty cool. We went to the Tar Pits. They were interesting but smelled strongly of tar. Farmer's Market was great. I bought some chocolate coconut macaroons there but didn't eat them until I got home and they were incredibly delicious but it was too late to buy more. We drove down Melrose which was crazy and passed Paramount studios. Rodeo Drive just seemed like an outdoor Forum Shops so we skipped it. We rode the train and the subway from Pasadena to Hollywood. They were nice and clean. I think that about covers the main touristy things. We took surface streets most everywhere so we got to see a lot of the neighborhoods. It was fun but a little cramped and messy for me. It felt good to get back into the wide open emptiness of the desert on the way home.

Hooray for Hollywood...

2008-05-27T07:03:00.001-07:00

I'm going to Los Angeles on vacation next week and I'm ridiculously anxious to get going. I have a list two binder pages long of places I want to see and things I want to do. I just want to get started! I have four days of work to get through first, though. Bummer.

I saw Indy on Friday. Awesome. Super fun. And I don't think I've ever mentioned how much I looove the new Rave Theater at the Town Square. Big wide seats and four feet between aisles and elevators to the top sections...it's great.

Gotta go work. Maybe if I work harder than I ever have the next four days will fly by. I hope so.

Some Red Rock Canyon Wildflowers

2008-05-11T16:19:00.001-07:00

Just babble because I'm bored...

2008-04-03T16:42:00.001-07:00

What's been going on? Hmmm...

I got a new boss. He seems like a good guy. Hasn't really hassled me about anything. He told us he likes chocolate cake. How bad can he be if he feels cake is important enough to talk about right off the bat?

To make room for the new boss they moved a guy into my office area. He's nice and all but he ate the most repulsive smelling thing the other day. Seriously. People were gagging. It was gross. Hopefully he won't make a habit of it.

I saw Kenny Loggins for free. He was good. He has crazy fanatic fans which was surprising to me. He just doesn't seem the type to inspire anything like that. I'm in this program that offers free tickets to a bunch of different shows and concerts so I've been seeing a lot of people. I saw The Spice Girls, KC & the Sunshine Band, Terry Fator, Fergie, Barry Manilow, Martina McBride...all really entertaining. And free! So yay!

Watched No Country For Old Men. Really liked it. Javier Bardem is awesome. Also saw Into The Wild. Sort of liked it/sort of didn't. All the characters got on my nerves and it was way too long. It looked pretty, though. Gone Baby Gone was quite good. A little far fetched plotwise but interesting. Casey Affleck got awfully attractive all of a sudden. Didn't like Becoming Jane at all. Anne Hathaway was irritating. Thought Black Book was ok. Not as great as the reviews told me it was going to be. I have the Tunnel, Wristcutters, and Dan In Real Life lined up for my weekend viewing. That and a ton of Eli Stones.

I watched all seven episodes of Jericho last Sunday. Awwww...I'll miss those crazy post-apocalypse kids.

I should pull a Costanza and go under the desk...

2008-03-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

I'm not feeling daylight saving time. When I came to work this morning it was still nighttime. The sun wasn't even peeking out. It was dark. That's not right. I couldn't get to sleep until 11:30 then my dog woke me up at 2:30 barking then I couldn't get back to sleep until 4:30 then I had to wake up at 5:30. Yesterday on CBS Sunday Morning they had a segment on sleep deprivation and how if you lose two hours of sleep it's like you drank four beers. So I'm like totally wasted dude.

This little piggy is going to market...

2008-02-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

Mt Charleston is out. Instead it's a day of Strip window shopping. So, unless there's some sort of horrific stubbing accident, my toes are safe.

How I Spent My Winter Vacation...

2008-02-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Vacation this week! Yay!

So far I've won $77 playing Megabucks. I was going for $10 million so it was a little less than I was hoping for but still better than I usually get. I'm halfway through my total apartment makeover. We've carted about a dumpster's worth of garbage out and somehow managed to get a fountain made entirely of concrete from my patio to the dumpster area. We didn't actually get it in the dumpster but it's behind the gates so I think that's close enough. I went on one of those free Goodwill shopping trips with my mom's bonus certificates and found a 2GB mp3 player. It just plays music but that's all I really want it to do and...you know...free.

Later this week we're supposed to go to Mount Charleston to see the snow. I don't actually have any snow-appropriate footwear so I might lose a pinkie toe from frostbite. That would be a good vacation story, although I think I'd rather go with the won $10 million on Megabucks option. Only time will tell.

Go Hillary.

I used to stay up all night and sleep 'til noon...

2008-01-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

I was sitting here all excited because I get to sleep in tomorrow. Then I realized that "sleeping in" means I get to wake up at 6:30am instead of 5:30am. What has my life come to that getting to wake up at 6:30am makes me happy? Oh well...I guess I should take my happy where I can get it. Yay!!! I get to sleep until the sun has almost risen tomorrow!!!!

They have MySpace in the front office?...

2008-01-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

When I got home from work last night there was a notice on my door that I hadn't paid my rent. At first I was all "Those idiots lost my rent check!" and then I was all "Crap...I didn't pay my rent!" So I go up to the office first thing this morning to give them my rent + an $80 late fee and I have to wait out front for about five minutes with some twentysomething guy on his phone. This was his conversation. It was extremely loud and I'm censoring the swearing but this was the gist of it:

The office is f'n closed. Yeah. It's f'n closed. It won't f'n open for another f'n five minutes and I f'n want to check MySpace. Oh f Autumn. She's not f'n sick. She's f'n not. She f'n lost her job and she's not f'n sick and now we're f'd because we don't f'n have insurance and she's not even f'n sick. Screw Autumn. Well, don't screw her. She's not sick, though. She has like a cold. I live with her I know she's not f'n sick enough to f'n lose her job. I mean, I know she's pregnant but she's not f'n sick and now we don't have insurance. Do you know how f'n much it costs to f'n have a baby? They don't have universal health care. You don't f'n know what you're talking about Mom! They don't have Cobra. We're totally f'n screwed. She can't get another job. No one is going to f'n hire a 7 month pregnant woman. Now we have to get married and she has to assume all of my debt and then we'll f'n have insurance. I'm $67,000 in debt! So f Autumn.

Around this time the office person opened the door to tell him she could hear him all the way in the back so he hung up. On his Mom. Who he had just said the f word to about hundred times while berating the 7 month pregnant mother of his child. What a charmer. And what a lucky baby!

Regarding my rent problem. I am a mental case. I've been trying to figure out a good New Year's Resolution and I think it should be to quit being a mental case. I totally flipped out about forgetting the rent. I've never done it before. I got nervous about paying it and I couldn't sleep all night wondering what they would say to me in the office and when I got up there my hands were actually shaking I was so nervous and they just said it happens and thanked me for being nice about paying the late fees. So I spent all night freaking for nothing. So I resolve to not be a mental case in 2008. And to pay the rent on time.

Just say no...

2007-12-30T08:03:00.000-08:00

Last night I dreamed that I went to a really clean parking lot and bought some heroin from a girl who I'm pretty sure was my friend in high school. The heroin looked like children's chewable baby aspirin. She told me I had to pay the big black guy across the parking lot. So I went to him and said I would like two heroin please and he said that would be four dollars so I poured some Pixy Stix candy in his hand. He said that wasn't quite enough so I poured a little more. He then shook a little back into my hand as change and said thank you. I went to the car and immediately panicked because I was afraid the cops would arrest me so I started trying to figure out the best way to get rid of it. Then I woke up feeling guilty because I bought drugs in my dream.

Merry Christmas ...

2007-12-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

I had the bestest day yesterday. I found out that not only was the Adam Carolla Show coming back in January but Danny Bonaduce is out. This is very exciting news for me. The office closed at noon for a four day weekend. I went Goodwill shopping with my mom's gift certicates she receives for making sales goals. That means we just walk around the store throwing stuff in the cart and it's all totally free. Awesome. And she's been making her sales goals a lot so we can get a lot of free stuff. More awesome. Somebody donated their VHS collection of Degrassi High episodes and I bought them all. I'm talking classic Degrassi not this new The N "it goes there" Degrassi. Whoohoo! I also got a couple of dancing turtle toys that boogie to Funkytown and Let It Whip. Don't judge. They're cool. And some "I heart Jim" The Office notepads. Awww....I do heart Jim. After Goodwill pillaging we ate dinner at the Roadrunner. Mac and Cheese and Dr Pepper Steak Tacos. Delish. And then we checked out Bellagio's Christmas display which was better than ever. Polar bears are out; penguins are in. Such a fun afternoon and way better than sitting at my desk counting the minutes until the holiday weekend.

Christmas weekend plans? Sweeney Todd and National Treasure 2 at the new Rave theater they built down the street. And my mom and me decided to shaft her employees and steal the ham she was taking for the potluck today for our Christmas dinner. Scroogy? Perhaps. They're getting KFC instead though. It's not like they're going to starve. And she also took them multiple bags of presents so they'll have a good day even if it is hamless.

Pictures from the Bellagio. The reindeer are covered entirely in pecans. I know! All the tourists thought it was really cool too!!

Just some whatnot...

2007-12-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

I was sitting next to this cute maybe sixish year old kid playing some sort of handheld video game at lunch today. He was just playing the game and smiling and once he got up and walked around playing the game and he was cute and we were watching him and then, all of a sudden, he just lets out this wail and throws the game down and claws the left side of his face with his fingernails and then stands up in his seat and starts throwing stuff. I guess he lost the game because his father took it away from him and calmly told him it was ok and he was on level five and blah blah. Then someone else at the table asked what he did to his face because there were raised marks down his cheeks where he had clawed himself. It was craziness.

I'm sick of the writers' strike. I think they deserve what they're asking for but I think it stinks that they've put so many people out of work to get it. There had to have been a way to continue talks without putting thousands of regular crew out of work right before the holidays. What do they actually think they're going to accomplish anyway? Between reality tv and reruns I would think the studios can hold out for quite some time. I've also grown to kind of hate Nikke Finke. The more popular her site has become the more obnoxious she's become. I actually think she's the reason I'm not supporting the writers as much anymore. But really, none of this has anything to do with me anyway so I should really just move on.

I've had an awful cold for about a week now. Well, actually it was just a cold for a couple of days and then it was awful for a few days and now it seems to be winding it's way back down to just a cold again. Although I have a wicked cough still and every time I cough it feels like my brain is throbbing against my skull. It's painful and disturbing. Hopefully that will go away soon. I'm trying to decide whether I should ditch out of work tomorrow or not. I probably shouldn't. Which doesn't mean I won't. I probably won't though. But I might.

Two unrelated things...

2007-11-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

I just spent half my lunch hour listening to co-workers feel sorry for OJ Simpson. Poor OJ can’t get a hotel room. Poor OJ is being tried for something that other people wouldn’t be. Well, yeah…you reap what you sow. He murdered two people and then made jokes and wrote a book about it. Then he broke into a hotel room with a gun and tried to steal stuff. Was it a setup? Probably. He still did it. He wasn’t forced. He’s a criminal. Why shouldn’t he be punished? Then it actually devolved into a discussion of how he didn’t even commit the murders. He hired someone else to do it. What? Where did that come from? God…I hate OJ. I almost wish he wouldn’t go on trial for the robbery because I don’t want to hear about him for months on end.

I was sort of hoping that the writers’ strike would go on for a really long time just to see what would happen if Hollywood shut down. Then last night I was watching Life and I realized if the strike does go on for a really long time I’ll probably never find out who set Crews up. That would really bug me. Although, NBC will probably just cancel the show and leave me hanging either way so I guess it doesn’t matter.

My big Sunday adventure...

2007-10-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

About an hour and a half north of Las Vegas on US93 is the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, we were there at what must be the worst possible time because the lakes were mostly dried up and there were maybe ten birds total in the whole place. Still, I could see where it would be nifty at the right times of year.

After the refuge we drove through the small town of Alamo (proud home of the Panthers)and the even smaller town of Ash Springs (proud home of one gas station and a natural hot springs swimming hole.) About two mile before Caliente was a turnoff for Kershaw-Ryan State Park. We hadn't intended to go there but we decided why not. It's a very small park but so pretty. Grapevines planted in the 1800s by the original settlers cover the canyon walls and wildflowers line the creek bed. I was craving some fall color since Las Vegas is pretty lacking in that department so I was extremely happy to stumble upon it by accident.

Kershaw-Ryan also had the scariest bathroom I've ever been in. I had just finished reading the rattlesnake warning sign when I noticed it so I was already freaking out over every step I took. I actually didn't know it was an outhouse at first. I went up there to figure out what it was. The second picture is using the flash. It was very dark and creepy in there. I didn't even go in to take the picture, I just held the camera as far in as possible and clicked the button. I'm pretty sure if I had lifted that lid there would have been a whole family of rattlesnakes just waiting to attack. Rattlesnakes and rats. And a bat.

A couple of miles past Kershaw-Ryan was Caliente. Every street in this town has some sort of cool old house or building. I was going to post a picture of something else because everyone who ever goes to Caliente and then puts it in a blog posts a picture of the train depot but...what the heck...it's a pretty cool train depot.

A little ways past Caliente is Cathedral Gorge State Park. Now, I've since learned that I missed like half of Cathedral Gorge State Park because I didn't know there was more to it than this part at the beginning. This part was neat, though.

Pioche is about three hours away from Las Vegas. It's a living ghost town filled with buildings & mining equipment from the 1870s through the 1920s. They haven't all been turned into gift shops and cutesy flower marts either. I hate that. All the buildings are pretty cool but the Mountain View Hotel was my favorite by far. I totally want to buy it and fix it up and live in it. Maybe hire some women to dress trampy and loll around the upper balcony waving at the street every once in a while. I can't tell you how much I wanted to break in and roam around that place. It was probably the closest I ever came to criminal activity. I didn't though. I'm kind of bummed about it.

(By the way, nothing in Pioche looks as good as the pictures in that link. I don't know what year those people were there but those buildings have seen some hard times since then.)

So that was my big road trip. It was fun and pretty and interesting but I was happy to get back to the city at the end of the day. Not much chance of a rattlesnake biting me on the bum when I go to the bathroom here and that's the way I like it.

This is getting pathetic...

2007-10-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I posted I forgot my userid and password. I wish I could say I've been incredibly busy with charity work and whatnot but I've mostly just been watching tv and being incredibly frustrated by work. I figured I should interrupt my Netflix Watch Instantly "30 Rock" marathon to post something before the entire month of October passes by.

Yesterday some dude in an old Volkswagen hippie van yelled "C'mon Grandma!" at my mom because he thought she took too long making a u-turn. If you're going to be a road-ragey, disrespectful, butthead jackass you shouldn't be driving a hippie van. It's a total misuse of the vehicle.

Favorite new tv shows? "Moonlight" and "Life".

Tomorrow I'm going on a little roadtrip to Pioche. I really need to get out of town so yay.

It's not all buffets and slot machines...

2007-09-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

Maybe if I checked this blog more often I would have noticed that all the pictures were missing from my last entry for God only knows how long. Oh well...they're back in all their glory now.

Since I'm bored today I thought I would post some cool non-Strip things to do in and around Las Vegas. They're in the order in which I'm thinking of them which might indicate the order in which I like them but I'm not officially saying that.

The Clark County Museum has this exhibit called Heritage Street where they moved a bunch of old houses and buildings onto one street and decorated them in period style. There's some train stuff and a replica indian village and exhibits there too but I really just go for Heritage Street. It's super fun and it only costs a buck fifty. Try not to go in the middle of summer, though. Almost everything is outdoors and it's hot.

When I first heard about the Atomic Testing Museum I totally thought it was going to be crap stored in some old dude's garage but it's actually built in association with the Smithsonian Institution and it's crazy cool. It has exhibits on just about anything you could think of regarding the before, during and after of atomic testing around Las Vegas. My favorite part is a section where they have a timeline of the atomic age and then videos of pop culture things that were happening at the same time. Lots of old commercials and whatnot. There's also a movie of an atomic test explosion where you get in this bunker and air blasts at you when the explosion hits. It scared a yelp out of me but there wasn't really anybody around so not too embarrassing. The movie also has a lot of pro and con discussion of atomic testing. The whole museum is very educational and I guess entertaining, although I left feeling sort of spooked and weird so I'm not sure entertaining is the right word. It's certainly worth a visit. Or maybe even two since there's so much to see you're probably going to miss something the first time around. And you can buy an Albert Einstein action figure in the gift shop.

Floyd Lamb/Tule Springs Park used to be a ranch where people in the 1950s would come for six weeks so that they could get a quickie divorce. Yeah...yeah...there's several lakes and fishing and some sort of 13000 BC archeological site but I just like it because it has the ruins of the ranch 50s people came to for quickie divorces. It also has like a dozen wild peacocks running around. I don't know if the two are related. I wasn't expecting the peacocks though and I was tromping across their field and all of a sudden noticed them all around and frankly got a little freaked. Do peacocks attack people? These didn't attack me so I guess either they don't or I was lucky.

The Springs Preserve is an...I don't know...educational museum/garden/trail/concert venue? Right now there's a fun museum that seems pretty geared towards kids that teaches the history of Las Vegas and its water usage. (The whole thing was built by the Las Vegas Valley Water District.) There are some desert animals displayed. Some lizards and creepy crawlies and a fox and some bunnies. There are miles and miles of hiking trails that I was told not to go on by the guy at the start since it was super hot the day I went and he was afraid I'd die out there or something. I think I'll go back in the spring and hopefully they'll be some flowers blooming. There's a really pretty section where they have various types of gardens that you could have in the desert. Later they'll be moving the Nevada State Museum there but they haven't finished the new building yet. Reading back over this, I don't sound all that enthused about the place but I spent a great day there and I'm looking forward to going back when it's not 110 degrees out. The absolute best part is the flash flood exhibit where you stand in this little room in front of a fake ravine and wait through a cutesy little film until 5000 gallons of recycled water comes rushing straight at you and then goes under the metal grate at your feet. I watched it like three or four times. Super fun.

I wish I was always on vacation...

2007-08-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

So I haven't written anything in like two months. What's been going on? I went on my vacation which was totally awesome. Then I bummed out for like a week when I came back because real life wasn't as awesome as being at the Grand Canyon. We started turning the spare room into an office which required a lot of really heavy moving and an extremely frustrating attempt to hook up the cable internet that took several days. The whole office thing is still a work in progress so there are piles of paperwork behind me next to a half-built desk. I got free tickets to Martina McBride and Patti LaBelle concerts. Both were amazing. I'm boycotting Big Brother until Dick is kicked off because he's loathesome. I think that's all the major things.

Here are some pictures from the big trip:

The Grand Canyon. The picture really doesn't do it justice. It's beyond beautiful.

Beautiful Bedrock City, Az. Like Disneyland if it were made of paper mache and all the attractions had hornets or some other stinging insect nesting in them.

Grand Canyon Deer Farm outside Williams, Az. You buy feed and the deer come up and eat out of your hand. They also eat you shirt and your purse. It's way more fun than it sounds.

Wildflowers grew all along Route 66. I loved them so much that when I got back home I had a dream that I was dating Desmond from "Lost" but he wouldn't tell me he loved me so I left him and when I came back to pick up my stuff he had planted a whole garden of these flowers in the backyard and proposed to me next to them.

The Hackberry General store was out in the middle of nowhere and there was a rooster crowing and one of those metal signs was creaking and it was almost like you'd driven back in time.

Cool Springs used to be a happening place everyone would stop at before heading off to Oatman but it was bypassed by a new route, and then burned down and then blown up in a Jean Claude Van Damme movie. For a long time the rubble just sat there but then this family bought it and restored it to it's original coolness.

It also had what was surprisingly one of the better bathrooms of our journey. Which is saying a lot about the other ones we used.

Oatman is an old mining town in the middle of nowhere. The main draws seem to be that wild burros come down from the mountains every day and block the street to eat carrots that tourists feed them and that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon at the Oatman Hotel. The burros are very cute and the hotel is very old (and very hot inside). The rest of the town is just your standard tourist gift shops.

These last few minutes are killing me...

2007-07-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

Six day vacation starts in 15 minutes!!! And today has been a fairly horrible workday so I'm looking forward to getting out of here even more than I was before. Grand Canyon Thursday and Friday; Williams, a deer farm and Bedrock City on Saturday and Route 66 on Sunday. I've never been to the Grand Canyon before so I'm really excited. Yay for me!

Bellagio! Flowers! Route 66! Yay!...

2007-06-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm rich...

2007-06-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

I was looking in my wallet for some stamps and I found $60 that I can only assume I hid so I wouldn't gamble it in some casino. Yay! Found money is the best.

I wasn't even staying at the nicest hotel...

2007-06-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

I was pricing imaginary vacations last night on Expedia and it was cheaper to fly to Rome and stay in a 4 1/2 star hotel for a week then to go to DisneyWorld for a week. That just seems so wrong.

Yay!! Jericho is saved...

2007-06-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

It just makes me so happy.

If only I could say it to their faces...

2007-06-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

As a little followup to that last post from Julia Sweeney’s blog I just want to say that I’m sick to death of all of the people at my job who made a big deal about voting for Bush for the second term and now complain constantly about him and how we have to get the troops out and blah blah blah. If you voted for him so that he could have a chance to “clean up his mess” then don’t sit around and rant about how awful everything is now. It’s mostly your fault. So just shut it.

This is exactly how I feel...

2007-06-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

From Julia Sweeney's blog:

"You know, I can’t even hear him anymore. When President Bush is on TV, or on the radio, I almost always instinctively change the channel or the station. I can tolerate listening to Bush in post script – I mean, I can hear people making comments about his speeches or “quips” or whatever he does that constitutes talking. I can hold by breath and just barely take it when there is commentary about his speeches, but I can’t actually listen or watch them as they occur. I just hate him too much.

And it doesn’t feel like a cerebral, intellectual choice. It feels like it’s instinctive, and I am repulsed. Like he is not just a president who I really don’t like, but instead spoiled milk in my fridge, milk that I innocuously lift to my nose and then recoil from and nearly gag. I can’t help it. When I am in the car and his voice invades my otherwise thoughtful sanctuary, I watch my hand change the station even before I am aware that he is speaking! Yes. It’s that bad. It’s below the level of awareness, and I cannot control it and I don’t want to control it. Usually, if it’s an important speech, I will read it in the paper the next day. Then, I can digest it -- nearly. But I cannot hear his voice, I cannot watch his cocky arrogant teenagish demeanor, I cannot peer into his chicken eyes and I cannot stomach his permanent smirk. I hate how he rests his body weight on one foot and leans in with one shoulder, like the smart aleck in junior high (see how I’m making him less mature with each analogy?) and I hate his superior snicker. I hate him. It’s beyond anything rational, I just HATE HIM SO MUCH.

Unfortunately, yesterday, at the gym, I was on the stair master and Bush was in the middle of his latest speech (which I think was actually given the night before) and the spectacle of him was on both the TV channels right in front of me and I have no idea how to change them and other people were watching, so I really couldn’t. The sound was off, but you could read the text of his speech below him.

All I can say about this is, every time I write off this last eight years or bemoan how we have injured the world by electing this pig, or worry, worry, worry that we will never regain any sort of respect in the world, and every time I think of other president’s blunders and think how bad Bush is compared with even the worst other presidents we’ve had and then I just think I’ve settled that in my mind: Bush is the worst, he’s taken us closer to the brink, blah blah blah end-of-story: every time I’ve done this, when I am confronted with the man afresh – when I can’t avoid him – when he is there before me as I step up and on the stair master for example…I am again shocked and flabbergasted that the specter of him is so ghastly. So much worse than I had thought before; before when I thought he was the WORST POSSIBLE. How does he do that? It’s like he had broken some physical law or something."

I love rickey.org...

2007-05-31T07:39:00.001-07:00

This guy freaks me out in the best possible way. How does he do that with his arms??

This guy just makes me happy.

I'm exhausted...

2007-05-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

Liza Minelli was interesting. I've seen people do impersonations of her and I figured they were just goofing but they were pretty close to how she really acts. She's kooky. She certainly has a lot of fans though. I'm glad I went just to see what it was like but it wasn't really my cup of tea.

I spent all day today cleaning out the spare room. We already cleaned half of it a few weeks ago and donated a whole trunk and backseat full of stuff to Goodwill. We just got rid of that much again. We still have probably a day of cleaning out to do, though. We need to tackle the kitchen and the half of my closet that I'm afraid to go through. I already did the clothes but I haven't touched the side filled with stuff I've had since I was a kid. I know that I need to get rid of most of it. It's just toys and stuffed animals and blow up stuff and magazines that I saved when I was a teenager. I think I'll probably be able to part with everything but the magazines. And maybe some stuffed animals.

I seem to hurt myself a lot...

2007-05-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

I was looking at my keyword activity to see why my numbers skyrocketed from my usual 0-1 readers up to 26 yesterday. The View snub seems to be the big draw with an assist from a Liza Minelli searcher and someone who searched "sayid kills with feet". (Sayid is awesome). I don't generally look at my keyword activity so I was surprised to see that back on May 11th someone found my blog searching for "blinder than a billy goat". I've never used that phrase. I don't even think I've ever mentioned billy goats. Weird. On May 10th some poor person found me by searching "I slammed my thumb in a drawer". Apparently I did that back in January of 2006 and it hurt so bad I thought I might throw up. I hope the May 10th searcher didn't have such a severe reaction.

So You Think You Can Dance was on last night. This guy named Jamal Weaver auditioned and I love him. I thought for sure he wasn't going to make it through but he totally did! Yay him! If you go here you can see both his auditions. I've seen the swing one four times and I laugh out loud every time.

Random thoughts...

2007-05-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Lost finale has me all confuzzled and excited and I can’t concentrate on work today. Future Jack all bearded and crazy? That’s awesome. Unfortunately future Jack was still hung up on future Kate which sort of wrecks my hope that Kate gets killed on the island and Jack ends up with Juliet. I did have a little aww moment when Jack told Kate he loved her though so maybe I’m not so anti-Kate after all. When Sawyer told Hurley he couldn’t go with them because he was too fat I almost cried. It was such a sad After School Special moment. But then Hurley saved the day! Yay! And then Sayid broke some guys neck with his feet! Sayid is awesome. And Jack beat up Ben and Locke tried to kill Jack and Charlie drowned and Penny called and some dude is either going to save everybody or kill everybody and some future person died and no one cared and it was the best finale this year easily. Maybe the best Lost episode ever. And now I have to wait until January for another one.

Lost and Heroes are the only shows on tv that I don’t read spoilers for and I end up enjoying them so much more. I’m going to try to remain spoiler-free for all shows from now on. Even the reality ones. I gave up fast food so surely I can give up spoilers.

I think I can officially say that I gave up fast food. I’ve tried several times in the past but this time it’s been since November and I don’t even consider it as an option anymore so I think it’s going to stick. I used to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner some days so it was a pretty big deal to stop. Now I have to figure out a way to get rid of all the weight that eating it put on me. Stupid fast food. It’s what they serve in Hell, I’m sure of it.

I’m going to see Liza Minelli this weekend. I got the tickets for free. I have no idea what I’m in for but at least I can say I saw Liza Minelli once.

I really don’t like Elizabeth Hasselback and I love that Alicia Silverstone snubbed her. I wish everyone would snub her. I decided to quit watching The View because Elizabeth annoys the bejeezus out of me but if I could be assured of a daily snubbing of her I would start watching again.

Stumbled upon...

2007-05-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

I can't read this website at all but the pictures are super cool.

Don't mess with the man in black...

2007-04-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

We were watching Kris Kristofferson get some sort of Johnny Cash achievement award on the tv at lunch today and Kris was talking about how great Johnny was and how he was his friend and mentor and blah blah. I was at the coffee maker pouring hot water over my tea bags (which I have done a thousand times before without incident) when I questioned why no one ever gave a speech about what a jerk Johnny Cash was and how he never helped them at all. At that exact moment I spilled the whole glass of hot water on my hand. That’s the reason why you never hear anyone say anything bad about Johnny Cash. He’ll get you if you do. Don’t mess with him. Just a little cautionary tale for you.

I think that’s one head butt, one curb fall and one hand scalding so far this month. Odds are good that some part of me is going to end up in a cast by May.

The Hucklebuck hurt me...

2007-04-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

So I'm leaving a restaurant last night all happy and singing The Hucklebuck and all of a sudden my left ankle flopped right on the curb and I fell off the curb onto the parking lot. All of my weight landed on my left shoulder and for a second I couldn't move and I thought I had dislocated it and I waited for the horrendous pain and started to think about the episode of Lost where Kate had to pop Juliet's shoulder back in place and how much it hurt. Luckily I hadn't dislocated anything. I still couldn't move though and my mom was standing over me trying to help me up but I was just laying there in between two cars for a while. I finally sat up and right then this guy came over and asked if I was alright and I just started saying in this really fake way "Yeah! I'm fine! I'm OK! Thanks! I'm fine!" Which I clearly was not so I have no idea why I said it. My mom told him I fell and he was all sweet and said that he had fallen many times before. Which was nice of him. He was cute too. Maybe I should have written my phone number on his ankle while I was down there sprawled at his feet.

Anyway, I finally got up and in the car and my whole body was hurting and my left foot was getting sort of numb and my mom was insisting we go to the doctor but I just wanted to go home. On the way home I got the chills where my teeth were chattering and my insides were shivering and my hands and my feet got icy cold. I stayed that way for like two hours. It was freaky. What was up with all that? I went to bed at 9:30 and slept for ten hours and I feel surprisingly ok today except my shoulder hurts and I can't really put any pressure on my left foot. You would think that would be ok but I could never really put any pressure on my right foot because I had hurt it a few times in the past. Which leaves me with no feet that I can really put any pressure on. So I'm walking kind of crazy.

In honor of my fall I present to you The Hucklebuck:

A bonus Hucklebuck!

I didn't have a camera at the Bellagio...

2007-04-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure how it happened since I intended on just staying at home all day watching stuff on the DVR but I somehow ended up going to the Bellagio Conservatory of Flowers, Red Rock Canyon and the Dolphin Habitat and Secret Garden of Siegried & Roy at the Mirage today.

Here are a few pictures that I kind of liked from the Secret Garden part.

I'm a spaz...

2007-04-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

I just leaned over to pick something up and hit the top of my head reeeeeally hard on the light switch. It hurt so bad I almost passed out. Now there's a big bump there and it only happened like five minutes ago. Ouch.

There is now a big stuffed pink bunny in another tree in the parking lot at work. It's even higher up then the bear. I'm 99% sure that it wasn't there at 7:20 this morning but it was there at noon. So someone had to put it up there while we were all inside working. Awesome.

Such a litte mystery...

2007-04-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

There is a big stuffed bear in a tree in our parking lot at work. I first noticed it last Friday and no one has any idea who put it there or why. It's pretty high up so someone had to really make an effort to place it up there. I love that.

Melinda is still my favorite though...

2007-03-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

Krispy Kreme brought us free donuts and a sample of this new lemon square that they’re selling. I thought the lemon square was really good but every other person who tried it thought it was disgusting. They actually spit it out as soon as they put it in their mouth. What’s up with that? How can I think it’s yummy and they find it so repulsive that that would rather have a chewed up ball of it in their hand than swallow it? I’m going to go with the idea that I have a highly evolved palate.

I saw Stomp Out Loud at the Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin) on Sunday night. I think it may have narrowly edged out Blue Man Group as my favorite show. It’s funny and interesting and loud and extremely entertaining. Plus the guys are all quite attractive. There’s a locals special until April 16th where the tickets are only $50. I printed mine off Ticketmaster and nobody checked to see if I was actually a local so I would imagine anyone could do that. It’s worth it even at full price though. So much fun.

I’m really hoping in a couple of weeks Sanjaya just busts out and becomes like the coolest singer American Idol has ever seen. That would be some awesome tv right there.

Just stuff..

2007-03-22T13:32:00.001-07:00

I’m finding office politics very irritating today.

I’m going to the Grand Canyon in July. I wanted to stay at the old lodge on the rim but you apparently have to book a room like a year in advance so I’m staying at the Yavapai Lodge. I’ve never been before so I’m really looking forward to it. I won’t be hiking to the bottom or anything. I think that would be a very bad idea and I would most likely die coming back up. I’m nervous enough about falling over the edge while trying to take a picture.

I finally bought an mp3 player. It’s a cheap Ilo brand 1gb one I got for $70 at Walmart. I started ripping songs from all my CDs to put on it but I started with the back row of CDs which are all the ones I bought for one song and then didn’t like the rest so I just have a ton of random songs on there like “Are You Jimmy Ray?”, the Mandy Moore version of “Have a Little Faith In Me” & “How Do You Talk To An Angel”. That and a ton of Barenaked Ladies. I’m aware that my mp3 player and the songs on it are probably the uncoolest things ever.

I signed up for the Bank of America “Keep the Change” program finally. I’ve been thinking about it since it first started a couple of years ago but I just never got around to it. I’m going to attempt to save enough to pay for a fancy Disney World vacation for my 40th birthday making no effort whatsoever. That’s four years away so patience is the key with this project.

My reality tv viewing is getting out of hand. I’m watching American Idol (Yay Melinda! Yay Jordin! Yay Blake!), Grease (Yay Max!), America’s Next Top Model (Yay..Nobody?! Yay Tyra!?), Australia’s Next Top Model (Yay Gemma?), Top Design (Yay for not really caring!), Survivor (Yay YauMan! Boo Rocky!) &The Amazing Race (Double Yay for Danny & Oswald!! Double Boo for Mirna!!).

Seriously, Danny and Oswald are the greatest. I wish I had the power to get them their own travel show. I totally want to watch Danny and Oswald travel the world together and be cute and fabulous and make me smile.

Oprah knew "The Secret" all along...

2007-02-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

I did have to report to jury duty at 7:30 this morning. I had to go to the new Regional Justice Center and I don't know much about courthouses but this one seemed really nice to me. They had these incredibly tall granite walls with quotes about justice etched in them at random points. I thought it was pretty cool. The jury room had much comfier chairs then I was expecting and the vending machines were only 75 cents for stuff. There was a tv on which some woman watched possibly the most annoying "Oprah" episode ever about The Secret. (I like Oprah and all but sometimes I just want her to stuff a sock in it. We get it, Oprah. You're great. Yay for you.) They only needed two juries and my number was at the very end of the group that had to report today so I just sat around for five hours doing crossword puzzles and kriss krosses until the clerk went to check when we could go to lunch and instead was told we could go home. So I went to Fremont Street and played some penny slots at Fitzgerald's and saw Because I Said So at the Neonopolis. It was cute. I have a rather embarassing love of Mandy Moore movies. Plus, I developed quite the crush on Gabriel Macht in "A Love Song For Bobby Long" and I didn't know he was in this. That was a nice surprise. I wish he was in more stuff.

Then I came home and found out Anna Nicole Smith died. Which totally shouldn't have shocked me but it did.

ETA: There was this woman at jury duty who looked just like Meg from Family Guy. She wore the little knit cap all the time and everything.

It's too early to think of a title...

2007-02-07T07:36:00.000-08:00

I reserved my Harry Potter book at Borders on Sunday. Yay. Now I just have to wait six months for it to come in. They offered me a choice of a "Trust Snape" or "Snape Is A Very Bad Man" sticker. I went with the "Trust Snape". And I better be right. If Snape turns out to be a very bad man I'm going to be quite unpleased.

I went to see The Scintas Monday night. Frankly, I wasn't expecting to like them very much. I thought that they would be mildly talented and the show would be way to corny. Instead it was very, very good. It's an old-fashioned lounge-type show for sure, but they're extremely talented and very funny. It was a good night except for the $20 that I might as well have just thrown on the floor for all the good the Family Feud progressive machine did me.

I might have jury duty tomorrow. I'll find out after six tonight. I'm sort of curious about the process but I still hope they tell me I don't have to come down. My company doesn't pay for jury duty and I really don't want to use my vacation days at the courthouse. Not that I have anything else planned to use them on. I just hate not having any just in case days in reserve.

Check out Harry Potter...

2007-01-30T17:04:00.000-08:00

More pictures here.

Including some almost full frontal ones.

Of Daniel Radcliffe.

The Harry Potter kid.

Almost full frontal of Harry Potter.

It's just so wrong.

I can't stop looking, though.

Knee deep in the hoopla...

2007-01-21T12:39:00.000-08:00

Starship starring Mickey Thomas was filming a DVD at the Hilton this weekend and they gave out a bunch of free tickets so I went last night. I knew that they had recorded We Built This City ( the worst song of all time according to Blender magazine) which I love (bite me, Blender magazine) so I figured I'd at least like that one. It turns out that Starship recorded tons of songs that I like. They didn't record a lot of songs that the many, many senior citizens who showed up for a free show liked, however. The old people were escaping the showroom at a record pace. Old people running away aside, it was a fun show. Actually, the old people running away made it even more fun.

Based on how loudly I sang along, this is apparently my favorite Starship song.

">

I'm not big with the porn watching...

2007-01-12T21:57:00.000-08:00

So, I got free tickets to see Gordie Brown and I arrived at The Venetian just as the annual porn convention was letting out for the night. Now, I've lived in Las Vegas for 13 years. I've seen a lot of strippers and many, many billboards and flyers and ads for "exotic dancers direct to your room". Plus..you know...I have cable tv. I've seen things. I have never been in a crowd of porn people before, though. Just one right after another after another of the porniest looking people you can imagine. They really put it out there. It's not like your going to mistake any of them for a teacher or pharmacist or something. They clearly are getting paid to have sex on film. They're porny. And being stuck in the middle of them sort of freaked me out more than a little bit. That's all I'm saying.

Gordie Brown was cute and funny, though.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2006-12-31T23:43:00.000-08:00

There's about 300,000 people like twenty minutes away from me listening to bands and gawking at Britney & Pamela & Kid Rock and waiting for all the casinos to shoot off fireworks. I'm watching it on tv. Every time I decide to stay at home on New Year's Eve I get a little bummed that I'm not down in the thick of things. But the four times I was down in the thick of things I kind of wished I was at home. Last year I just went to bed and fast-forwarded through the festivities on the DVR to see if anyone made a fool of themselves or got arrested or something. At least this year I'm staying awake.

Only five minutes until midnight!! Yay!! Good riddance to 2006. Hopefully 2007 is the best year ever.

I think it really can read my mind...

2006-12-22T18:19:00.000-08:00

This was supposed to be a gift for someone but it just guessed that I was thinking about a tv, nail clippers, a volcano and a lava lamp. What the heck? I figured it might get lamp but lava lamp?! It's the coolest toy ever! I'm totally keeping it for myself and playing with it until I win or go insane trying.

Replacing a rant...

2006-12-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

I had posted a rant here about how crappy my afternoon was but, in the spirit of my New Year's Resolution to be a happier person who doesn't let work stuff annoy me, I'm replacing it with a list of a few things that I've been enjoying lately.

StumbleUpon There used to be a web browser that would send you to random sites that I loved. I can't remember the name of it but I missed it. This is actually better than that because you can tell it what kinds of websites you like to be sent to. I've found tons of games and photo sites and things that might be illegal that I never would have found on my own.

Internet Archive I've only used it for the great Old Time Radio collections but I'm planning on spending quite a bit of time snooping around the ephemeral films section soon.

RUSC and OldTimeRadioFans are also great places to download old radio shows. I'm completely obsessed with them now. I've been listening to them all day every day at work and the days are just flying by. My favorite is still the sci-fi series "X Minus One" but "The Saint" (with Vincent Price) and "Dragnet" are great, too. I'm also really enjoying all the WW2 era variety shows and the commercials. Really fun stuff.

The Lost Room I watched all six hours twice last weekend. They totally better make this into a series or at least do another miniseries because I haven't had that much fun with a tv show in a long time.

Merry Holidays...

2006-12-14T16:14:00.000-08:00

Office Christmas party today! Woohoo! There were a couple of cute magicians and a sort of lame hypnotist. The sort of lame hypnotist "hypnotised" a totally hot car wash manager who proceeded to tear off his shirt, dance like a ballerina and do some awesome kung fu fighting. There is much discussion about whether he was faking it or not but he was quite entertaining either way so yay for him. I was included in a group picture where I look positively hideous. Like truly horrifying. I stole the picture but I think there are copies so I'm sure it will be included in some sort of company scrapbook anyway. They had great prizes like Ipods and portable DVD players and a $500 Best Buy gift certicate. I won nothing. On the way out I did steal the really pretty flower arrangement from my table, however, so yay for me.

Bellagio Christmas

2006-12-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

A couple of pictures from the Bellagio Christmas display:

This is from the candy story down the hall from the flowers. It's all edible.

I feel as if I should write more. I'm not going to though.

I don't have a title...

2006-12-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

They’ve been doing explosives training for the past few days at the abandoned building next door to where I work. I’ve just been sitting at my desk pretending to be busy when BOOM! It’s quite distracting. Even more distracting is that I’ve been told that today’s explosions are going to be even louder than the previous explosions but, thus far, they haven’t been. So I’m just sitting here anticipating the big one. How am I supposed to concentrate on my work? I’m just saying that I shouldn’t be held responsible for today’s productivity.

I was very unhappy with last night’s Survivor episode. Jonathon? Why? He had slowly become one of my all-time favorites. I wanted a Jonathon/Yul finale. It better not get down to Parvati and Adam. I’m also not particularly excited about Becky and Sundra. Ozzy’s ok but I really want Yul to win. Please let Yul win. If Yul doesn’t win I will never watch Survivor again. (Which is, of course, a total lie because I totally will watch Survivor again even if Adam wins and then proposes to Candice on the reunion show.)

That Girl marathon on TV Land this weekend! Awesome.

I am Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout...

2006-11-24T12:52:00.000-08:00

This page is an interesting read: The Forbidden Library

Some of my favorites:

Clan of the Cave Bear. Jean Auel. Coronet. Challenged at the Berrien Springs, Mich. High School for its use in classrooms and libraries (1988), Banned from the Cascade Middle School library in Eugene, Oreg. (1992), Challenged, but retained on the Moorpark High School recommended reading list in Simi Valley, Calif. (1993), despite objections that it contains "hardcore graphic sexual content." (Purchase)

In junior high we all knew what page to turn to for the good stuff.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Anne Frank. Modern Library. Challenged in Wise County, Va. (1982) due to "sexually offensive" passages. Four members of the Alabama State Textbook Committee (1983) called for the rejection of this book because it is a "real downer." (Purchase)

I have noticed that most of the holocaust stories are real downers. Didn’t anyone write a diary where they just had fun with it?

A Light in the Attic. Shel Silverstein. Harper. Challenged at the Cunningham Elementary School in Beloit, Wis. (1985) because the book "enourages children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them." Removed from Minot, N.Dak. Public School libraries when the superintendent found "suggestive illustrations." Challenged at the Big Bend Elementary School library in Mukwonago, Wis. (1986) because some of Silverstein's poems "glorified Satan, suicide and cannibalism, and also encouraged children to be disobedient." (Purchase)
Where the Sidewalk Ends. Shel Silverstein. Harper. Challenged at the West Allis-West Milwaukee, Wis. school libraries (1986) because the book "suggests drug use, the occult, suicide, death, violence, disrespect for truth, disrespect for legitimate authority, rebellion against parents." Challenged at the Central Columbia School District in Bloomsburg, Pa. (1993) because a poem titled "Dreadful" talks about how "someone ate the baby." On the other hand, this book does present the negative consequences of not taking the garbage out. (Purchase)

This just makes me want to go read all of my Shel Silverstein books again. And then take some drugs, break some dishes and lie to my parents about that wild weekend where I worshiped Satan and got a tattoo of Ricardo Montalban on my shoulder.

Dear Santa...

2006-11-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

All I want for Christmas is my own revolving drum corp. Awesome.

">

YAY!!!!! 4 1/2 day weekend!!!!!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

Robin Sparkles rocks...

2006-11-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

"How I Met Your Mother"'s Robin has a dirty little secret.

It's catchy, though.

">

So now I can't blame my father anymore?...

2006-11-15T16:37:00.001-08:00

Last night my mother and I were chitchatting about before I was born. My mother apparently wanted a boy because she thought my brother was the bees knees and figured a girl would be harder to raise. She says that she worried the whole time she was pregnant with me that, if I were a girl, I would get my heart broken and possibly worse by men. Fast forward about 36 years and I'm single and have absolutely no interest in dating. So I'm thinking maybe my mother imprinted her worries into my little fetus brain causing me to avoid relationships for fear of getting my heart broken and possibly worse. That's heavy, man. Heavy and deep.

On a completely unrelated note: I can't get the song "SexyBack" out of my head and it's really sort of driving me insane.

Stuff of no importance...

2006-11-14T16:59:00.001-08:00

This website is awesome. I now have a big crush on Bob Hope. Alas, I was born about fifty years too late to do anything about it.

I love "Brothers and Sisters". I hope Justin doesn’t have to go back to war. Hopefully Calista can use her wiles on Rob Lowe to get him out of it. I realized last night that I only know two of the characters' names on that show. I just call everyone else by their actors' names. Except for the gay one and his cute boyfriend. I don’t know the actors' names so I call them the gay one and his cute boyfriend. I really need to make more of an effort to learn all the characters' names.

After much thought I’ve decided that I would like to have Hiro’s power to bend space and time a smidge more than Charlie’s power of amazing memory. Profit’s power of flight is pretty cool but sort of limited. The cheerleader’s power seems like it’s just asking for trouble. Same with the hearing of people’s thoughts. I certainly don’t want to be radioactive or have a crazy, murderous altar-ego. Those seem more like curses than super-powers. And the future painting dude has the whole heroin issue that doesn’t seem too appealing. Walking through walls wouldn’t be that fun after the first couple of times. Controlling technology might be ok but it’s certainly not better than stopping time. Hiro totally lucked out with that one.

Random work tip...

2006-11-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

If you’re training on a new job and you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t throw away pages of the training notes that you consider unimportant. If they were unimportant then the person compiling the notes probably wouldn’t have included them. Finding out that you threw them away might make the person trying to help with your training very, very annoyed with you.

The Office brings the sexy back...

2006-11-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

Everybody back in the pool...

2006-11-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

No jury duty. I called last night and they said that if my badge number fell in between these two numbers I had to be at the courthouse at 8am. If not, then I would just be put back in the jury pool and receive another summons later. My number was way higher than the ones they called. I sort of feel like I dodged the draft except...you know...no one would have shot at me if I had to go to jury duty. I hope no one would have shot at me, at least.

I love the movie 12 Angry Men....

2006-11-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

I may or may not have jury duty next week. I’ll find out on Monday night at six if I have to go in the next day. I don’t really know how I feel about it. First I got pretty upset because my company doesn’t pay for jury duty and I only have five days of vacation time which is supposed to last until next August. I imagined this scenario where I was chosen for some three month sequestered mob trial and I’d have to file bankruptcy because I couldn’t pay my bills and I’d get evicted and end up living in one of those scary little motels behind the MGM Grand. Or that I was picked for a case and all the other jurors hated me and I had to spend all day locked in a room getting bullied by them until I cried. Or that the judge would ask me all these incredibly personal questions and I’d have to answer in front of everybody or he would find me in contempt of court and I’d have to go to jail. So then I started getting really angry about how unfair it was that I was being forced to give up my vacation time and getting yelled at and going to jail and maybe having to move into a scary little motel behind the MGM Grand when all I was doing was trying to fulfill my civic duty. I mean, really! How dare the government treat me this way!

Once I stopped making up horrible jury scenarios, though, I started to get a little excited about it. Or, if not excited, then at least interested. I’ve never been to the courthouse before so it might be kind of fun to see how everything looks and works. I used Google blog search to look up other people’s jury experiences and, other than a couple of clearly deranged people, everyone seemed to get through the process without anything too horrible happening to them.

Google blog search is pretty fun, by the way. I’m going to have to use it more often.

I even watch tv in my sleep...

2006-10-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

I dreamed I was watching tv with my cousin Johnny, who I haven't seen in ten years, and some woman I don't know.

First we watched a commercial for a cardio wing at a hospital. The commercial starts out with a really rocking band and a bunch of dancers and then the camera starts pulling out and you start hearing less and less of the music and more and more of the bass thumping. Then the camera is focused on some guy's chest and it turns out that your heartbeat is really just the thumping bass of some crazy dance party going on in your heart.

I turned the channel (and it was an old tv so you had to sit in front of it and turn the nob) and next was David Hasselhoff Live In Concert. He was playing the piano and singing a lovely version of "Can't Help Falling in Love". My cousin Johnny didn't want to watch David Hasselhoff so we turned the channel again.

Next was some sort of sports channel which was featuring rowing I think. There was a long line of handsome young fellas in speedos wearing little shower cap-like things with tiny gold crowns on the top. They had to walk down a long flight of stairs and across a busy freeway with their rowing equipment (including their boat) before they could start the competition.

Next channel was Samantha Brown Passport to Europe. This episode was Venice, the capital of Austria. It was very green with lovely bridges but no water that I saw and a beautiful capital building that doubled as a famous restaurant called "Casa del Sol".

Then my dog woke me up.

New TV shows I like...

2006-10-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Dexter: I have a crush on a serial killer. I can’t help it. The dude is smart and cute.---> And he only kills people who deserve it. That’s not so bad, right? Whatever. He’s cute. The opening credits are creepy.

Jericho: I don’t care that the critics think it’s boring and depressing. It’s a post-apocalyptic soap opera starring Skeet Ulrich. That’s good stuff.

Heroes: Profit can fly! What’s hotter than that? Do you wanna know what’s hotter? Mohinder. -----> And he doesn’t even have a superpower. His hotness is his superpower.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: I’m sensing a pattern in the shows that I like but…Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford are funny and I like to look at them. I also like Amanda Peet, though. And I like the teacher woman from Jericho. So I don’t only watch TV shows because I think the guys are cute. Just look at the next one.

Ugly Betty: I watch for Betty. It’s not my fault that they hired the very attractive Eric Mabius to be her boss. ----> I would like it even if he wasn’t very attractive. I probably wouldn’t like it as much but I’d still like it.

Just great...

2006-10-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

I yelled at my mom in front of the cute guy with the beagle this morning. So now he's never going to marry me. Not that the chance was all that great that he was going to marry me before since he doesn't know me and I think he might be gay but now he's really not going to marry me because he thinks I'm the girl that yells at her mother. Which I am but not in a bad way. Not that he'll ever know that. And I wouldn't care so much if it were just the beagle but I saw him with this other dog and it's just as cute. Oh well...I guess a marriage based on my love of his dogs wouldn't have lasted all that long anyway.

This is interesting...

2006-10-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Miniature Earth

It's fall...

2006-09-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

I know this because the Bellagio changed their flower display.

Where the heck are the memory caves?...

2006-08-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

I stubbed my pinkie toe on my bathroom door last night. I don’t think it’s broken but it hurts like the dickens.

I spent hours and hours this weekend playing a game called “Aveyond.” I didn’t mean to waste so much time with it but I kept stumbling into these other lands and then I had to explore them and there was always a cave or something that led to another land I had to explore and then I kept getting all of these tasks and I can’t find the key to uncurse the ghost city and I can’t find the fairy land so the Mountain King and Snow Queen will get back together and quit fighting. I did find the little cat’s voice box and returned it to him in Teacup City but he totally didn’t give me anything good for it. I mean, he thanked me and all but I was kind of expecting some sort of token or amulet or something. I did fight a harpy for it after all. Whatever.

Anyway, when I wasn’t debating whether or not to delete Aveyond from my computer, I started watching “24” from season one. Man that’s a good show. I’ve only watched two hours and I’m totally hooked. I can’t figure out who the good guys are and who the bad guys are and why these people are kidnapping those people and they’ve already blown up a plane and shot a bunch of people and Keifer Sutherland is soooo cool…it’s awesome.

Vacation in two weeks! I’m going to Las Vegas for nine days! Yay! And I live in Las Vegas so that saves us a lot on airfare and hotel and car rental. Whoohoo!

I love Dr Will...

2006-08-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

I really hope Dr Will wins Big Brother All Stars. He is the best contestant ever.

And he's cute.

">

They can't even survive one night alone?...

2006-08-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

I downloaded this game called Virtual Villagers last night and started playing it before I went to bed. It’s one of those games that keeps playing even when you close it down. So I wake up this morning and check to see what happened and I get this message saying that they’re out of food and one of my villagers is dead and now he's decomposing. What’s up with that? Now I’m actually sitting here at work wondering if all my villagers are dying since I’m not there to teach them how to harvest crops or fish or something. That’s not a very fun game. It’s sort of stressing me out.

He's not really 16 so it's not really creepy...

2006-07-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

The ceiling fell in my mom's bathroom. My mom's tub is filled with the ceiling. She called the office but got the answering service. She told them that there was a big hole above the tub. They took her name and phone number and said that the maintenance people would call and then they never did. Wouldn't the ceiling falling in at least warrant a call? I bet they never even get the message. The answering service girl probably used the back of the message to write down the phone number of the hot guy who changes the light bulbs in her office. Oh well...hopefully the rest of the ceiling won't cave before we can actually get someone to come look at it.

On a completely different note, I'm really liking the show Kyle XY. Not just because Matt Dallas is incredibly good looking, either. Although that certainly adds to the enjoyment. Geez. Just look at him over there. So dreamy.

Is this for real?...

2006-07-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

Janet's latest photographic discovery inspired me to do a little research and I came up with That Girl Emily's blog. If we can believe that this is all true and not some sort of teaser for a movie or tv show or something, Emily is mighty po'd at Steven and is spending 14 days letting it all out.

ETA: Ok...a little more research and I came up with the idea that it might be a campaign for a new show on CourtTV. Maybe? I guess I'll just have to wait and see. It's funny either way.

Last month my mom saw a billboard like this here in Las Vegas. I was sort of hoping that it was just some flatulent nut that put it up but it appears to be an ad for the Cartoon Network.

Apparently there will be "I pooted" toys soon! How fun for parents everywhere!

I thought I was safe since I was First Class..

2006-07-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

I went to the Titanic and Bodies exhibits at the Tropicana today. They were both a lot different than I was expecting. The Bodies one was more serious than I thought it would be and the Titanic one was a lot more fun.

The Bodies exhibit sort of seems like it's going to be a freak show or something when you read about it but it was fully educational. You pretty much see and learn how everything in the body works. There's an audio tour which I wasn't all that into until I discovered that I could listen to the kid's version. That was much more fun. There were skeletons and cross sections of organs and your entire digestive system all layed out. I got to hold a brain and a heart. I saw a diseased liver and some black smoker's lungs. There was a box next to that display to throw your cigarettes into after they'd scared you. There were quite a few packs in there, too. There is also a section on the stages of fetal growth that's pretty incredible. Without getting too political, it really messed with my right to choose views. They give you the option to skip that room if you want.

When you walk into the Titanic exhibit they give you a boarding pass with a name of a passenger that was on the ship and at the end you get to see whether you lived. I was George Widener, a first class passenger traveling with my wife, son and a male and female servant. The women lived but my son, servant and I all died. Darned women and children first rule. The exhibit had a lot of great artifacts. Stuff you'd think for sure would have been destroyed. There was a replica of the grand staircase (which totally made me think of Leonardo DiCaprio) and a super-cool replica of the Promenade deck that made you feel like you were there. (And...okay...totally made me think of Leonardo DiCaprio.) The audio tour was great. I really got a sense of what it was like to be on the ship.

They're a little spendy (it cost me $45 to see both of them with the audio tours) but I'd recommend seeing them both. If you can just see one, I'd go with the Titanic. I just thought it was more fun.

Well, these are weird...

2006-07-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

Emmy nominations came out today. They're kind of all over the place. Because I know the world is dying to know, I've bolded who I'd like to win in the categories that I care about.

Drama Series: "Grey's Anatomy," ABC; "House," Fox; "The Sopranos," HBO; "24," Fox; "The West Wing," NBC.
Where's Lost? Although it would probably take House's place and I'd rather House be nominated.

Comedy Series: "Arrested Development," Fox; "Curb Your Enthusiasm," HBO; "The Office," NBC; "Scrubs," NBC; "Two and a Half Men," CBS.
I like these nominations. I know people are griping about Two and a Half Men but I think it's funny.

Actor, Drama Series: Denis Leary, "Rescue Me," FX Network; Peter Krause, "Six Feet Under," HBO; Kiefer Sutherland, "24," Fox; Martin Sheen, "The West Wing," NBC.
Excuse me. House wouldn't be the best drama if there wasn't any Hugh Laurie. I don't actually watch any of these shows except SFU, though. Maybe everyone else is super good.

Actress, Drama Series: Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer," TNT; Geena Davis, "Commander in Chief," ABC; Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC; Frances Conroy, "Six Feet Under," HBO; Allison Janney, "The West Wing," NBC.
Ooh!! Thanks to a TNT marathon a couple of weeks ago I loooove The Closer.

Supporting Actor, Drama Series: William Shatner, "Boston Legal," ABC; Oliver Platt, "Huff," Showtime; Michael Imperioli, "The Sopranos," HBO; Gregory Itzin, "24," Fox; Alan Alda, "The West Wing," NBC.
I don't watch any of these shows. I have a little crush on Alan Alda so I'll choose him.

Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Candice Bergen, "Boston Legal," ABC; Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy," ABC; Chandra Wilson, "Grey's Anatomy," ABC; Blythe Danner, "Huff," Showtime; Jean Smart, "24," Fox.
I love all of these actresses so I'll be happy with anyone. Chandra Wilson introduced the world to vajayjay though so I'm going to root for her.

Actor, Comedy Series: Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," HBO; Kevin James, "The King of Queens," CBS; Tony Shalhoub, "Monk," USA; Steve Carell, "The Office," NBC; Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men," CBS.
This category seems to be causing some problems for people. I like that Kevin and Charlie got nominated. They make me laugh a lot.

Actress, Comedy Series: Lisa Kudrow, "The Comeback," HBO; Jane Kaczmarek, "Malcolm in the Middle," Fox; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine," CBS; Stockard Channing, "Out of Practice," CBS; Debra Messing, "Will & Grace," NBC.
Lisa Kudrow was so funny on The Comeback. I didn't like the show much but she was great. I love Stockard Channing but I'm thinking there's probably someone more deserving out there. Mary Louise Parker comes to mind.

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Will Arnett, "Arrested Development," Fox; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage," HBO; Bryan Cranston, "Malcolm in the Middle," Fox; Jon Cryer, "Two and a Half Men," CBS; Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace," NBC.
All these people are funny but...c'mon...Ari has to win. He's hilarious.

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Cheryl Hines, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," HBO; Alfre Woodard, "Desperate Housewives," ABC; Jaime Pressly, "My Name Is Earl," ABC; Elizabeth Perkins, "Weeds," Showtime; Megan Mullally, "Will & Grace," NBC.
What!?!? Alfre Woodard?!? That's a ridiculous nomination.

I blame Thom from Queer Eye...

2006-07-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

My plans for the 4th were to sit on the couch in my jammies and watch the Monk marathon on USA. Instead, my mom and I decided Monday night that the furniture in every room in our apartment was arranged badly and was making us depressed. So we spent Monday night and all day Tuesday rearranging everything. Tables, bookshelves, desks, loveseats, beds, tvs, dressers, trunks, rugs, entertainment centers...nothing was left alone. Now I'm back at work and exhausted. Ah well...at least my apartment looks awesome. And I have all the Monks recorded so I can watch them later.

This is really hard...

2006-07-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Invisibles

These questions are so random...

2006-06-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

I got these questions from Jessica who got them from Jane who got them from Whoorl who got them from someone who got them from someone who got them from glittermouse who used the words "bollocking hell" which I think may soon become my answer to #1.

1. What curse word do you use the most? Variations of ass: Jackass. Lazeass. Crankass.
2. Do you own an iPod? No.
3. Who on your MySpace “Top 8” do you talk to the most? I don't really use MySpace.
4. What time is your alarm clock set for? 6:15 am on weekdays but I hit the snooze until 6:30. On weekends the alarm is off.
5. What color is your room? White.
6. Flip-flops or sneakers? Sneakers
7. Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture? Take the picture.
8. What’s the last movie you watched? Elmer Gantry
9. Do any of your friends have children? Yes
10. Has anyone ever called you lazy? Me and my mom. My coworkers would be shocked at how lazy I really am.
11. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep faster? Not lately. I used to take over-the-counter stuff like Tylenol PM sometimes.
12. What CD is currently in your CD player? A country music mix cd.
13. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk? Soy milk
14. Has anyone told you a secret this week? No
15. Have you ever given someone a hickey? No
16. Who was the last person to call you? A vendor wanting their check.
17. Do you think people talk about you behind your back? Definitely.
18. Did you watch cartoons as a child? Some but not a lot. I mostly watched reruns of Mr Ed, Leave It To Beaver, Father Knows Best…stuff like that.
19. How many siblings do you have? One brother
20. Are you shy around the opposite sex? Sometimes.
21. What movie do you know every line to? Valley Girl (You have to find it on the menu on the left. This site is awesome, though.)
22. Do you own any band t-shirts? a Clay Aiken one
23. What is your favorite salad dressing? Applebee’s honey mustard
24. Do you read for fun? All the time
25. Do you cry a lot? I cry at books and tv and movies a lot. Not so much about my life unless I get really mad about something.
26. Who was the last person to text message you? My brother but I didn’t know how to reply so I just called him back.
27. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop? Desktop.
28. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoo? No.
29. What is the weather like? Hot
30. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos? Sure
31. Is sex before marriage wrong? Sex without a serious commitment is wrong for me.
32. When was the last time you slept on the floor? When I first moved to Las Vegas.
33. How many hours of sleep do you need to function? I don’t know. Five?
34. Are in love or lust? No. Unless you count Jim from “The Office”. Then yes to both.
35. Are your days full and fast-paced? Not usually.
36. Do you pay attention to calories on the back of packages? Sometimes.
37. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 36
38.Are you picky about spelling and grammar? I don’t like it when things are spelled wrong on business stuff like signs.
39. Have you ever been to Six Flags? This is a weird question. Why Six Flags? My answer is once, when I was about four.
40. Do you get along better with the same or opposite sex? I get along with both about the same.
41. Do you like cottage cheese? Never tried it.
42. Do you sleep on your side, tummy or back? I fall asleep on my side and then I move all over.
43. Have you ever bid for something on eBay? Once I bought the James Spader/Robert Downey Jr classic Tuff Turf. That’s the only time I can remember, though.
44. Do you enjoy giving hugs? Not particularly.
45. What song did you last sing out loud? Brand New Girlfriend (I like the 'kissy-kissy, smoochy-smoochy talkin' mooshy-mooshy bout nothin' part)
46. What is your favorite tv show? At this moment it’s “The Office” but it changes frequently.
47. Which celebrity, dead or alive, would you want to have lunch with? If I could be guaranteed complete honesty on anything I ask then I’d like to have lunch with Katie Holmes.
48. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach? I don't remember. I get them a lot so it was probably pretty recently.
49. What one thing do you wish you had? Massive wealth.
50. Favorite lyrics? Probably Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (the Ella Fitzgerald version)

I don't care that he's fictional...

2006-06-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

There's a show on NBC called "The Office" and there's a character on that show called Jim and I'm in love with him.

I know that it could never work because he's in love with Pam.

Also, he isn't a real person.

I still love him, though.

Very, very much.

What the heck?...

2006-06-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

I just cooked a frozen pizza and when I took it out of the oven it was whistling. Is that normal?

If I never blog again I've probably died from eating the whistling pizza. Have the CSI team check the leftovers.

UPDATE:

Although the whistling pizza was not very good, I have survived.

I just can't stop...

2006-06-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

It all began again with The Bold and the Beautiful. I reaaaally didn't want to get sucked into that one but everyone else was doing it so I tried it and then I started watching every day in the breakroom at lunch. And it's stupid! It's not even good! Creepy Ridge and Dopey Brooke and Poor Bridget. Then Days had it's 40th anniversary. I had to watch the Bo and Hope marathon on Soapnet. I just had to. And I had to read a couple of Days message boards just to join in the reminiscing. That seemed harmless enough. But I read that Matt Ashford was back as Jack. And I loved Matt Ashford as Jack. So I had to tune in just to see him again and I saw Shawn and Mimi. They were hot together. I wanted to see if they were even hotter the next day. So I set it to record on the DVR. I was getting hooked again. After about a week I realized that I had been down this soapy road before and nothing good could come of it. So I stopped recording Days and I stopped watching B&B. But everybody at work watches B&B. They all talk and laugh and I was missing out on all the fun. I decided that it would be ok just to watch that one. It's thirty minutes a day. And I make fun of it. If I'm not taking it seriously then it isn't a problem, right?

Then NBC announced that Steve and Kayla were coming back to Days. Patch! But I wasn't going to watch. I wasn't going to get hooked again. I hadn't counted on the internet though. First I just figured I'd watch an old clip or two on youtube. Just to see if they were as good as I remembered, you know? But they were! They were sooo good. I had to see another and another. And then someone showed me how to score some Jack & Jennifer. And the next thing I know I'm staying up until two in the morning watching twenty year old Days of Our Lives clips. Within hours I've got a couple of gigabites of vintage soap on my computer and I just want more! I've got a lead on some good Justin & Adrienne but I'm dying to get my hands on some primo Eden & Cruz or Simon & Jessie or Johnny & Roxie. Plus, I've signed up for this site so I'm watching soaps from fifty years ago. And Days is back on the DVR to be recorded list because I have to see the big Steve and Kayla reunion. I'm sliding down that slippery slope of addiction. It's like the summer after 8th grade all over again.

I dig the clothes...

2006-06-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

My company had a picnic today and it was like 107 degrees. I don't really enjoy company events but I always feel guilty about not going since someone has spent a lot of time planning them. So I went to the hot park and roamed around and played picnic paparazzi sneaking pictures of my co-workers for about an hour and a half. I also had my picture taken and talked to a bunch of people from work so no one can say I didn't show up. Then I came home and watched tv in my air conditioned apartment as God intended. It was a decent picnic, though. I liked the stiltwalker dude.

I just watched "The Secret of Roan Inish" and I'm just about dying to chuck it all and move to Ireland to run a shop or something.

Maybe my favorite Bellagio display ever...

2006-05-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

Model trains! And trolleys! And little miniature Bellagios and Smithsonians and farms and bridges and tunnels and hot air balloons! And kites! They even have a little miniature nursery rhyme village with the three pigs and the little kittens who lost their mittens and the old woman who lived in a shoe! Awesome.

How does he do that?...

2006-05-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

This guy was on So You Think You Can Dance last night. I thought he was pretty amazing.

">

I'm not ashamed to admit it...

2006-05-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

What with Lost, AI, House, So You Think You Can Dance and Clay’s new haircut I never got around to posting about last Sunday.

I went to the all-day free concert down at the Fremont Street Experience. It was quite a mixed crowd. The concert was teamed up with a Harley Davidson motorcycle ride for charity. So there were a lot of motorcycle people that looked like they stepped right out of “Mask”. No Sam Elliott look- alike as far as I could see, though. Darn. They got to stand in their own little gated off section and there was lots of dancing going on in there. They seemed to be drinking a lot but never acted drunk. I can't say that for everybody, though.

You know that family in low-budget horror movies that live in the rundown cabin in the woods? The family that is always drunk and over-sexed due to years of in-breeding and possibly some nuclear waste exposure from the illegal dumping in the creek out back? I stood next to that family for about three hours. One woman sprawled on a beach chair surrounded by garbage. I’m not just talking a couple of wrappers. I’m talking hours worth of garbage. Another woman decided it was a good idea to pull her tshirt up under her breasts even though her breasts were reaaaally saggy and her stomach was reaaaally flabby. That woman’s closest companions were a supremely drunk girl in a bandeau top who kept flashing her boobs at the stage and another supremely drunk girl who was inexplicably wearing a long-sleeved thermal Old Navy shirt even though it was like 85 degrees out. Old Navy girl spent most of her time dancing with/molesting the men around her. One of those men decided to pour alcohol all over some other woman’s chest and lick it up. This was all in a crowd of people, mind you. Including lots of little kids. Lovely.

During Muzik Mafia I stood next to a couple who were very fond of the “sexy” dancing. They were both like 5 feet tall and the guy was in the front rubbing his butt up and down the girl. Which I thought was odd. I’m no dance expert but I think it’s supposed to be the other way around. He kept hitting me with his flailing little arms.

The concert itself was pretty decent. Montgomery Gentry, Big and Rich, Dierks Bentley, Trick Pony, Gretchen Wilson, Muzik Mafia, Buddy Jewell, Rocky Lynn, Little Big Town, Brian McOmas, Emerson Drive and some other people I don’t remember performed. The sound wasn’t all that great and it was a lot of standing, though. Plus, they were handing out free Berries & Cream Dr Pepper and everyone was pouring them on the concrete so the ground was super-sticky.

We got tired at one point so we skipped out for a few hours and saw Mission Impossible 3. Some woman talked on her cellphone the whole movie. And there were only like 20 people in the theater and this family still decided to sit right next to me. They didn’t even leave an empty chair between us. What’s up with that? I moved. I hate going to the movies. I’d much rather just NetFlix it later and watch it at home. The movie was good, though. I love Tom Cruise.

Things I learned today...

2006-05-22T01:24:00.000-07:00

If you throw a free country music concert really trashy drunk people will show up.

Using night flash and the highest level zoom in a crowd of really trashy drunk people makes for really blurry pictures.

Even if there are only 20 people in a movie theater, the annoying rude ones will sit right next to me.

In and Out Double Doubles taste better after midnight.

Some thoughts and stuff and whatnot...

2006-05-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

What's with tv shows killing off characters this year? At least six of my shows have killed a character off. And a couple of them were characters that I really liked. I admit, it makes for good television but...c'mon...it's one thing to kill people off of a big ensemble like Lost but there were only three main characters on Ghost Whisperer. Did one of them have to get squashed by a falling airplane? With Andrea gone, who's going to work in the store while Love runs around yakking it up with the spirit world?

Speaking of death: The Death Psychic
(Warning: no one dies a peaceful death according to this site.)

Jack (Sean Hayes) and Karen (Megan Mullally) sang "Unforgettable" on the Will and Grace finale and I thought it was so lovely that I teared up a little.

There used to be a YouTube video here but it was pulled by the Man. Damn the Man.

If you go here and click on video library you can watch clips from all the seasons of SNL. It's pretty cool. And, for the moment anyway, there's a really cute picture of Kevin Spacey!

I've seen this linked a couple of places. At first I didn't get what all the fuss was about. Then I thought it was sort of cute. Then the guy busted out some Vanilla Ice moves and I was hooked.

">

Sunday I'm going to an all-day boot-stompin' party down at the Fremont Street Experience. It's motorcycles and Montgomery Gentry and Two Foot Fred and Big and Rich and maybe even Keith Urban! For free! Cool.

Grey's Anatomy is my favorite show but...

2006-05-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

Man, Izzie Stevens is irritating. Seriously. I just spent three hours yelling at the tv because Izzie Stevens is so irritating.