Confessions Of A Blonde Redhead

I am a Latter-Day Saint?

2011-06-05T15:58:00.014-04:00

HELLO! (Psst.....click the "Hello!" to get a happy little treat!!)

A few weeks ago, Fred and I were driving down the road and we happened to drive by two Mormon Missionaries. I'm going to be honest with you, my reaction to it even startled me! "LOOK! Mormons!! I wonder if they'll stop at your dads house!!" is what I said. Yes I, the pagan, got super excited about Mormons! It was like two midgets just walked by the car (because you KNOW you get all excited when you see a little person)!! When Fred pointed out that they may have been done for the day since it looked like they were unpacking their car, I got sad. That startled me as well. Why was I so excited about Mormons, you ask? Honestly, I had to sit back and think about it myself for a minute. Then I realized I just wanted to talk to them! I wanted a copy of The Book of Mormon!

Don't get nervous though, people, back the truck up a tad. I am NOT converting to Mormonism anytime soon. The story of the Mormon faith is what's fascinating to me. The way that Mormons carry themselves is fascinating to me. Of all the religions in the world, the Mormons seem to get the short end of the stick alot of the time!! Of course, if you know anything about the religion, you can probably understand why that's the case. If you don't know, you can either A) listen to "All-American Prophet" from the Book of Mormon musical, or you can choose less awesome option which is B)let me give you the CliffsNotes version of how Mormonism was born:

In 1823, a man named Joseph Smith was visited by the Angel Moroni. Moroni told Joseph that buried by a tree on a hill, he would find Golden Plates. On the Golden Plates would be written the history of the Nephites a.k.a. ancient jews (Mormons believe that they later became Native Americans) who built boats and sailed to America. 600 years before Christ was born. Yeah....they built boats. Chew on that bit for a minute.....Good? Ok, here we go again. My favorite part of the whole story is that there are only 3 witnesses who said they SAW the Golden Plates. THREE!!! Noone else was allowed to see the Plates and once Joseph Smith was done with them...wait for it....he gave them BACK to Moroni. So just in case you were wondering why there's no Golden Plates now, there's your answer! Joseph then took the "Chosen Ones" or his fellow Mormons and led them west to the "Promised Land". Hmmm...sounds an awful lot like Moses now, doesnt it? And much like Moses, Joseph Smith never even MADE it to the Promised Land (a.k.a. Salt Lake City) and the job was handed down to Brigham Young. Hence the reason why every other building in Utah is named after Brigham Young.

Now I wouldn't call myself an authority on Mormons after seeing a musical about them. But after doing some research myself, it turns out the musical was pretty spot on! If the origins of the religion weren't strange enough for you, some of their beliefs are even stranger. This is including, but not limited to:

1)Mormon's believe that when Cain slew Abel his skin turned black due to his sin. Thus creating African-Americans. (I know, right????)

2) Dinosaur bones come from other planets. But they're here somehow.....

3). Jesus visited with the "ancient American tribe" after the Resurrection

4). God lives on a planet called Kolub. (this part seriously sounds like it was written by L. Ron Hubbard)

For more strange Mormon beliefs, give the song "I Believe" a listen.

I didn't find "The Book of Mormon" disrespectful. 98% of people who have seen it don't feel that way, and that includes Mormons themselves, which is shocking considering "Hasa Diga Eebowai" (FYI this song is not safe for work, Born Again Christians, or your mom) is our introduction to the Ugandan village Elders Price and Cunningham are sent to. I didn't set out for this blog to be disrespectful either. But my point is this: Why are we so quick to skewer Mormons for their strange beliefs? Don't all religions have strange beliefs? Mormons are raised to believe this. Much like people are raised Muslim or Protestant or Buddhists. As someone who was raised Christian, I look back on some of the teachings of the church and laugh. Some of them are so silly and hypocritical. I chose to not be a part of it anymore. Mormons however, especially Missionaries, just want to share their faith with you. You never hear about Mormons killing in the name of God. Mormons don't spark Holy Wars or vandalize other churches. Much like this PSA from the 1980's, Mormons are actually very nice and genuine people whose views about life and God are just a tiny bit skewed. They just want you to read their book, dammit!

I guess in closing I'll say that when a Mormon comes to you door, don't be so quick to turn them away. If you've got nothing better to do and they ring your doorbell, invite them in for a bit. it'll be the most entertaining hour and a half you've probably every had when listening to a salespitch (basically that's what missionaries are trained to be...salesman). Especially if its freezing cold or steaming hot outside, i'm sure they'd love a break and seat.

I may not have convinced you...but I hope I made you think a little. And as a thank you for sitting through that, here's my absolute FAVORITE song from the Book of Mormon "Tomorrow is a Latter Day". As the song says "Who cares what happens when we're dead, we shouldn't think that far ahead! The only Latter Day that matters is tomorrow!!" If you can't get behind this song....then I can't help you ;).

New projects!!!

2011-06-03T17:29:00.006-04:00

Hello again, readers!!! Did you miss me? No? Really??? Well then...this is all sorts of awkward now, isn't it? Oh well, i'll just share this quick update with you and hope you can forgive me for not writing something sooner! Ok? Ok let's do this....

So it's been about a month since my last post. I tried to write a "post-rapture" blog a few weeks ago, but it never got off the ground. Much like Harold Camping and his followers during the "Rapture", haha (insert rim shot here). I'm still working on it though. The thing that sucks the most is that I HAD the blog all written out in my head...and as soon as I opened up Blogger it poofed. So unfair!! Anyway, back to the point of the post. I'm very excited about two major projects on the horizon, both of which I hope will catch on and people will really enjoy!

The first is a new blog/news website i'm going to be working on with Fred, my amazing partner-in-crime and our friend Patrick. I think we have about 10 aspiring writers so far who want to be involved in this project. I'm fairly certain this thing is gonna be awesome once we get it started. We're aiming for it to be a less-sensational version of the Huffington Post. It's far reaching I know, but that's what we want it to mirror in terms of content. The tentative title and slogan are either going to be "Slanted Thoughts: We Say Everything You Can't" or "Slanted Thoughts: We Say Everything You're Afraid To". Thoughts? Which one do you guys think is better? I think either one works, personally. We are going to write about anything and everything with topics varying from philosphy to politics to movie reviews! Everyone involved is very excited and I can't wait 'til we get this thing started!! I think you guys will be very impressed. I will keep you all posted when we get more info about it!

The next project (which is a little bit more of a pipe dream, yet still fun to work on) is a screenplay entitled "Christ Of The Dead". Yes, you read that right. A zombie movie starring Jesus. Originally entitled "Jesus Christ: Zombie Hunter", we decided to change the title so people wouldn't get it confused with "Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter". The idea came when myself, Fred and our friend Gary were discussing Palm Sunday/Easter. Somehow the topic turned to Judgement Day and someone said something along the lines of "If Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead, would that mean zombies?" You can probably piece together that it snowballed from there and BEHOLD..."Christ Of The Dead" was born. The tag line (of course) will be "He Has Returned To Judge The Living (insert Jesus cocking shot gun here) And The Dead". The story is going to be told from the viewpoint of Paul (yes THAT Paul), who first encounters Jesus and his Apostles on the road to Damascus. Damsacus, Maryland that is. Yes, it's a real place. Most of the situations and characters will be based off charecters and stories from the actual Bible itself. We have our Mary Magdalene charecter, the 12 apostles (including Judas, an ex-cop who isnt sure if he should be following this "Jesus" character or not), and even a King Herod figure!! We decided that in a world where "Shaun Of The Dead" exists, and a movie like 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua" can be made, there HAS to be room for a movie like COTD. But first things first, of course!! Step one: Write Screenplay (or is it "Collect Underpants?"). Step two: Find some way to get it made. Step Three: PROFIT! Sorry....sometimes when I make lists like this the obssessive South Park fangirl in me comes out.

Well there you have it! My little update! I truly have missed writing. I hope you guys can forgive me for not posting more!! In the coming days/weeks, I'm truly going to try and make more of an effort to write more!! So are we cool now? You sure? Awesome.....

Fit for a Princess

2011-04-24T11:03:00.005-04:00

Dear America,

I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. This coming Friday the world will bear witness to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. And much to the chagrin of you, the American public, it will most likely be plastered all over your favorite news sites and of course your Facebook status updates and most likely your Twitter feed. Countless video feeds and photos of the happy couple on their wedding day will be inescapable. Isn't that the worst thing ever?? Sorry. You may have to grin and bear it. Luckily though, it's happening at 11am local time in ENGLAND...which means it will be airing here at 5am. So unless you're a craze-o like me who plans to be awake for it, the actual CEREMONY probably wont impact your daily soap opera/smut talk show watching/TiVo recording....YAY!! There's a glimmer of hope still for the gloomy masses!!

Why have I embraced the Royal Wedding, you ask? "It has nothing to do with America!", "What a waste of money!", "The monarchy is obsolete and doesn't do anything for the country anymore", "Why should I care about two people i'll never meet getting married?" are all perfectly acceptable questions and excuses for not caring about the Royal Wedding. My answer is as simple as this:

When I was 12/13/14, Prince William was, by far, one of the cutest boys on the planet. And not only was he cute, he was also a PRINCE. Marrying him would make me a princess. And by God, I would've tried anything to move to England just for the slim and impossible chance of that happening. Of course now, I'm older and have moved on from fawning over Prince William. He's grown into a fine young man. A man his mother would certainly be proud of if she were alive today. As William and Kate's wedding draws closer and closer, the 13 year old in me is excited for the Royals all over again! I guess you could say that my 13-year old self is living vicariously through Kate Middleton! Even though her life from here on out probably won't be as glamorous as it seems due to the high profile family she is marrying into, this coming Friday, she will become that Princess that I wanted to be!! Any woman who says she didn't want to be a princess when she was little is lying through her teeth, I guarantee it. Also, I wasn't even ALIVE when Charles and Di got married. I was even too young to watch Andrew and Fergie! The only really "huge" royal events i've gotten to see in my lifetime are THREE funerals (Diana, The Queen Mum and Princess Margaret. Oh yes I watched Princess Margaret's funeral. Does anyone else even know who Princess Margaret is?) and the wedding Prince Edward and Sophie. It wasn't even that big of a deal! Doesn't my generation deserve it's own real-life fairy tale love story? The answer to that is yes.

So there you have it. My reason for going crazy over the royal wedding. It's probably not the best answer, and may not make sense to people but it makes sense to me and that's all that matters. Frankly, i'm getting annoyed by people who are "tired of hearing about the Royal Wedding". Come on people, you have LESS than one week left. Put on your big kid pants and deal with it! After that you can go back to living day to day and not caring about the royals.

Cheers, Wills and Kate!!

Transitions

2011-02-19T09:05:00.006-05:00

"So come out of your cave walking on your hands,
And see your world hanging upside-down,
You can understand dependence,
When you know the makers hand,

So make your siren call,
And sing all you want,
I will not hear what you have to say,

'Cause I need freedom now,
And I need to know how,
To live my life as it's meant to be"

Ahh, "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons. I'm a big fan of it these days. It serves as a worthy theme song for everything that is going.

I was gonna spend my boring morning at work FINALLY finishing book 3 of The Dresden Files...but apparently that's not going to happen because I now feel inclined to blog. I've found my way back to the page that has given me a voice so many times. A place where I can say what I need to say without fear of being interrupted or corrected. My own little piece of the interwebs where I can tell my story. I don't feel the need to defend myself or play the victim, I just need to get the words out so that hopefully this little area can go back to being a fun and light hearted place where I can let my thoughts go. For now though, this is how it has to be. I just want to explain some things and hopefully make people understand. Even though I know people generally suck, (this is just a life observation, btw) I can still try, right?

I wonder how many times in life people end up questioning themselves. I mean seriously questioning themselves. The decisions we make, the paths we choose, the people we associate with, the jobs we do. One thing i've learned over the past 3 or 4 months is that life is a constant lesson/learning experience. Just when you think you have all the answers and everything figured out....another wrench gets thrown in and you're back to square one. That wrench is not always for the worst though. Sometimes it can help you grow and realize your full potential. That's where i'm at right now. Struggling with your own conscience, questioning your own judgement, only to find what's happening isn't exactly wrong. It's actually completely right and the best thing that ever happened to you. Once you finally break your silence to someone (or several people in my case, you know who you are) and start sorting through EVERYTHING, you start to realize where problems lie and what needs to be fixed in order to keep growing. It just sucks when you've reached that point and mentally you're prepared to set out and start your life anew. You're ready to keep on moving....then you hit a god damn road block. Well let me rephrase. Not a road block....but a traffic jam. I say a traffic jam because you have no guarantees of getting around a road block. Traffic just moves slow, but eventually you'll get to your destination. Even if you're in China where you can be stuck in traffic for days.

I knew after I had made up mind that it may not go over well with people. That's the reason why I've been on radio silence for what feels like forever. I had to be very careful with who knows what and why. When you're limited to what you CAN say, you have to be careful who you say it to. Sometimes you get stuck between a rock and a hard place and when that happens, you should try and avoid making it worse. How can it get worse, you ask? By listening to too many people. Too many different strikes coming at you in all different directions takes the focus off of the main one you're trying to deal with. One thing i've learned through this whole thing is that everyone thinks they give the best advice when there's really only one person you should listen to you. That person is yourself. Although the one piece of advice that seems to reign supreme is "You need to do what you have to to be happy" and "Your happiness is most important". The problem is, when you HAVE made your decision that will MAKE you happy...and you have to deal with the aftermath.

I understand the amount of suck thats going to come out of this. I know that this will turn worlds upside down ("So come out of your cave walking on your hands, and see the world hanging upside down"- See, it's kind of appropriate.).I understand and have come to terms with the fact that people will hate me and be mad at me. Hell, even this blog alone MAY piss people off, but I really don't care. For once in my life though, for the very first time....i'm ok with that. I'm not perfect. I may be considered the "golden child" in my family (and let's face it family members who read this, you know thats the truth), but I'm finally comfortable enough to accept blame and the faults that I have. It's time for others to see that too. Little Joanna with the pigtail braids isn't here anymore. Jo with the red hair is here now and she fucks up occassionally. You may not like it, but frankly I don't give a damn anymore. I'm living for me now. You can support me and let me do what I have to do or make your judgement and turn your back. Those are your choices. I've made my choice.

For those of you who DO know what's going on, all I can say is thank you. Mainly for listening. For listening!! God damn, that's another reason why i've been so quiet. Not enough people actually care enough to listen. People hear what they want to hear and go from there. Some people are too quick to judge and be critical. Others will be supportive to your face, but then talk about YOUR situation behind your back and assume they know whats right. That's the absolute last thing I need to deal with right now.

One final note before I get back to reading Dresden, let me say this. You can call me a bitch. You can call me a bad person. You can say that i'm confused and assume that I dont know what I'm doing. Say whatever you want about me. It wont change the truth one iota. I'm comfortable right now. I just need to do what I need to do right now. Nothing personal, really. I just can't be bothered with other peoples BS when i'm trying to deal with my own. If you cant understand that, then i'm truly sorry.

Now it's time see if Harry Dresden will make it out of this party alive.....
'

Red Letter Days....with some specks of black lingering in there....

2010-08-26T16:57:00.006-04:00

Today I feel good....as opposed to the past few days where its been the wildest rollercoaster ride of ups and downs one can imagine. So this post probably isn't going to have any real rhyme or reason to it, i really have no idea where to start. Its just a random post for the sake of posting since i'm in a good mood and feel like talking.

-I'm really digging Katy Perry's cover of "Your Love" by The Outfield. Her version is called "Use Your Love" and the lyrics are altered a tad, but it's still pretty awesome. Here is the video for it.

I wouldn't have even known it existed if it wasn't for Pandora Radio. I'm realizing more and more that I really do like Katy Perry. You can judge me all you want for that, but that chick puts out some catchy tunes! I think I might actually buy her new album on iTunes. I haven't decided yet. Decisions, decisions. I'm still iffy about "Teenage Dream" though, i'm not sold JUST yet. "California Gurls" is where it's at though! I can overlook the terrible spelling mistake because the song is so damn good!

-Today they were having some special event at the hospital for employees. Why? I really have no idea. Maybe just because the hospital is awesome like that? They just do stuff like that from time to time. But what I definetley DO know is that I got a free popsicle out of the deal and I got my picture taken with Wally The Green Monster. I know that's extremely cheesy, but at least it made me smile :). And I got to see my buddy Bruce, of course, which was awesome and full of win!! Yay Bruce!

-Last night I had my mom put my hair in curlers for me. I haven't done that since... I was, like, 10. Which means, I also haven't SLEPT with curlers in my hair since I was about 10. It wasn't as bad as I remember thinking it was back then. I must say though, I am QUITE pleased with the end result. I'm surprised it has STAYED curly all day. I took the curlers out at 745 this morning and it's almost 12 hours later as i'm writing this and still pretty spring-y! My hair is getting stronger in its old age, I guess, lol :). It also could have something to do with the amount of hairspray I put in it as well. I feel bad for anyone who missed seeing my pretty curls today. Does that sound conceited? I didn't mean for it to. I just think it came out so awesome!

I might try curling it again tomorrow with just my plain curling iron. But we'll see how tomorrow goes because not only am I getting up at 5am to work out but...

-...tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day as it is! First off, the Museum of Science is FREE! Seriously how awesome would your day be if it started out with a trip to Museum of Science?I really want to go but I haven't decided if it's at all possible to pull it off in a timely manner before work. Catching an earlier train is obviously an option. I wouldn't be able to stay long, thats for sure, but I wouldn't feel TOO bad about that because i'm going for free anyway. There's also the amount of children that are most likely going to be going to consider. I'm so torn. Also.....

-...there's some commercial thing going on that my boss signed me up for tomorrow? I dunno what it's for (i'm assuming it's a hospital thing) and I dont know WHEN it's happening. All I know is that it's happening some time tomorrow. That's why I really can't be LATE for work tomorrow which again hinders my trip to the Museum of Science, if I don't time it correctly. I really don't mind that my boss volunteers me for these things. I don't think there's a bigger attention whore in my department. Seriously, i'm like a 5-year old. It's wicked bad. That's something I need to work on.

- I just finished reading an awesome book called "A Canticle for Leibowitz". A friend of mine leant it to me a few months ago (Sorry, Fred!!) . I remember starting to read it, and then somehow it ended up on my bookshelf mixed in with all my other books and i'll be honest I kinda forgot about it. I ended up looking through my stuff and said "oh shit, that's not mine!" . So I picked it up again and started from the beginning and I ended up finishing it in 4 days. 4 days!! The only other books I've read in 4 days are part of a little series of books called "Harry Potter". Considering that the story is an extremely well written and intelligent science fiction novel, I am quite proud of myself for finishing it that quick. Proving that when someone says that I might like something, it's most likely true. I might ACTUALLY like it., and I did :). I enjoyed it thoroughly. I wouldn't be disappointed if I got my own copy for, say, my birthday (which if you havent heard is happening in less than a month on September 20th.). Just saying.....

- I also wouldn't mind this and some of these as gifts. Again, just saying....here's some ideas. These are the kinds of things i'm into, people!

I guess that's all for tonight, considering how late it is...good night!!

10 Songs.....finally...

2010-08-21T09:20:00.000-04:00

A long time ago (literally it was over a YEAR ago) I noticed a facebook meme/thing-y asking to list the "10 Songs You Cant Live Without". I thought that was a pretty cool idea. I actually STARTED to draft the blog....but then gave up mid way through. It's taken me a while to post, because there are about 1700+ songs on my ipod, many that I LOVE. It's hard to narrow it down to the ones I can't live without. So sit back, grab a Zima (you know you still drink Zima along with OK Soda AND Crystal Pepsi) and relax! This is gonna be a long one! (Hint: If you click on the song title, it brings you to the video)

1. "Alone I Break"- Korn. As mentioned previously in this blog here, I've come to the realization that for every facet of my life, there's a Korn song I can relate to it. This song is on the "Untouchables" album, which was released in 2002. It seemed to come out at just the right time, when i needed it. I wasn't feeling very good about myself. I was very lost and felt abandoned and confused. I didn't think I had anyone around me to support me, even though I did. I didn't want to be a burden for anyone else to bear. I remember when I listened to this song and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I just cried and cried and cried. I didn't think anyone knew what it was like to feel how I felt, but Korn helped me to see that I wasn't alone. They saved my life with that song. I've mentioned this before, but J.D. seems to know what's up. This song is the best example of that. Even though I've moved forward from that dark time and I try and cherish everything and every person in my life, I hear this song and it reminds me of who I was and what I never want to be again.

2. "Joanna"- Kool and the Gang. I think anyone who has a song with their name in the title, gets tired of hearing that song sung to them over and over and over. When I was younger, thats how I felt. People would meet me for the first time and go "Jo-aaaaaannn-aaa, i loooooooove youuuuu". First of all, people randomly telling me that they loved me when they hardly even knew me, was just flat out creepy. Secondly, you can imagine how hearing that over and over can get annoying. Because thats THE ONLY LINE OF THE SONG PEOPLE KNOW!!!As iIve gotten older though, I learned to love it. I even have it on my I-Pod. I love my name. Its unique and you don't hear it often. It helped define me as a person. I was destined to be different, because i was given a different name. Thanks Mom and Dad :)

3. "Somewhere Out There" - James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt,from An American Tail.Get ready for a "Jo Fun Fact!" When I was about 6 (maybe 7?), I used to be in dancing school. I took acrobatics my first year and jazz and ballet the next year. When i started in ballet, i was in a class of 8 or 9 girls. By the time the recital came, i was the only one left. I had the prettiest sky blue tutu with blue ballet slippers, a little corsage thingy for my wrist, and a choker. I loved it so much that I actually wore it to school one day....not kidding. The day of the recital I dont think I actually knew what I was about to do. I was going to dance onstage...in front of people.....by myself. I think I was so focused on my routine and getting it right that the crowd didn't even phase me. The song I danced to was "Somewhere Out There". I remember when it was all over, I ran off stage into the arms of my dance teacher who gave me a giant hug. I think a good chunk of my family came to see me dance as well, even my Nana who lives all the way up in NH. My mom can't listen to that song now without tearing up. I even chose that song for my dance with my daddy at my wedding. Its rather amusing watching the home video of that recital actually. One day I was watching it and went to rewind it and hit "record" by accident. So in the middle of the tape, it jumps to a clip of "Tiny Toon Adventures". Its only for about 5 seconds though, but still, those are 5 seconds i can never get back on that tape LOL. And there you have it....a Jo Fun Fact :)

4."Strawberry Fields Forever"- The Beatles. I was surrounded by the Beatles when I was younger because my dad is a pretty big fan. I can't put into words just how happy this song makes me. Its so rare when they play it on the radio!! I remember my mom, brother and I used to drive around in the car listening to one of the Beatles albums (i dont think it was "Magical Mystery Tour") over and over and over. That song would play and I wanted to GO to Strawberry Fields too!! I didnt know what the hell John Lennon was talking about, I just remember I thought it was a neat place. I have my own copy of "Magical Mystery Tour" now. It sits in my car's CD player and waits until there's nothing on the radio, and then I blast it!! :)

5. "Magic Dance"- David Bowie from Labyrinth. I tried to pick songs for this list that I have vivid memories of because that means they made a significant impact in my world. I remember when I was was really small....as in REALLY small, my Aunt Wanda used to babysit me sometimes while my mom worked. I always went over with a movie and a can of Spaghetti-o's in my little lunchbox. I'm sure I ate more than Spaghetti-o's when I went over there, but thats what sticks out in my mind. I always brought the same movies. One of those movies was "Labyrinth", the David Bowie-Jennifer Connelly-Jim Henson masterpiece of the 80's. To this day, I STILL love that movie. I know every song and every line of dialogue by heart. My favorite scene/song in that movie is "Magic Dance". I have the soundtrack on my ipod and whenever that song comes on I just wanna grab whoever is next to me and go "You remind me of the babe.....". I actually credit Labyrinth for breeding me into the Bowie fan I am today! I always thought the juggling he did in the opening scene with the crystal ball was special effects up until a couple years ago when I was introduced to contact juggling. I identify "Magic Dance" with happy times, basically, and thats how it ended up on here.

6. "This is Halloween"- Danny Elfman, from "The Nightmare Before Christmas". You know I couldn't write a list of 10 songs I can't live without that didn't include this song! All the songs from "Nightmare" are good, but I think this one is probably my favorite. Why? Isn't it obvious? It's all about my favorite holiday, of course! The lyrics are memorable, and it embodies all the fun that Halloween has to offer! It's also such a great introduction to the film. The minute the song starts, you know you're in for an entertaining show! It never gets old. I could listen to it over and over again :). The only way it could be better is if someone like Marilyn Manson covered it....oh wait....he DID!!! Panic! At The Disco also covered it...it was nowhere near as fun. It actually made me quite sad that they ruined my song!!

7."Spiderwebs"- No Doubt. I can't remember the first ever time I heard this song. I do know that it was on ALOT of answering machines back in the day (probably because of that "Sorry, im not home right now..." line). This song was my first ever introduction to Gwen Stefani. My very first example that chicks could ROCK!! I remember wanting to be JUST LIKE HER! I remember being rather impressed with myself that I could actually match her almost perfectly when I sang along! Of course now I realize that EVERYONE can sing like Gwen Stefani and its really not that impressive at all. I'm not talking about the "Hollaback Girl" that she is now. Back in the early 90's she was completely kick-ass. She was a non-stop powerhouse performer. A great role model for a pre-teen like myself at the time. She still is of course, just in a different way. It's amazing when you think about the path No Doubt's music has taken. I very much prefer their older stuff to the newer music anyday. "Snakes" puts "Hella Good" to shame. Seriously, check out their very first self titled debut album. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised :).

8."Daydream Believer"- The Monkees. (FYI, this is the only one I couldn't find a video for) I've admitted this before and I'm not ashamed of it at all. My very first celebrity crush was on Davy Jones from The Monkees. How old was I? Probably 5 or 6, I don't even remember. How old was he? Pffft, who knows? I used to watch re-runs of the old show....so in the 80's I think he must've been in his late 30's-early 40's. Why? I have no friggin clue. I just thought he was the bees knees! Ask any girl in the late 60's what the appeal was,and there's your answer!There was only a handful of Monkees songs I knew back in the day, but "Daydream Believer" was always my favorite. That song still gives me the warm fuzzies when it comes on my ipod. That mental of image of Davy Jones doing the Axl Rose dance makes me burst out in a big smile! I kind of am a daydream believer. At 26, I still enjoy using my imagination to create fantastical, larger than life situations that will never ever happen as hard as I try. It's a form of escapism. Sometimes it gets me in trouble. It's ok though, its worth it :)

9. "Good Enough" - Evanescence. As I got further and further down on this list, the harder and harder it got to pick songs for it (literally, wait until you see my last choice). So instead of just going through SONGS that have made an impact with me, I started going through significant artists and bands as well. I realized this list wouldn't be complete without at least one song by Evanescence on it. I like Evanescence for pretty much the same reason I love No Doubt. Amy Lee and Gwen Stefani are both fine examples of chicks who rock, just in different ways. "Good Enough" is off of Evanescence's last album "The Open Door". Originally the song was intended for "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" soundtrack but when I listen to it, I dont really get that vibe. It really is a beautiful song, and it's plain and simple with its message. Am I good enough for you? I think there is at least ONE point everyday where I feel small and insignificant and this song comes to mind. And for some reason it always makes me feel better. It's extremely haunting and the lyrics are powerful. I think out of all their music this is my favorite song!

10."I'm Cute" - from the TV show "Animaniacs". Yup.....it's a childrens song. Not only is it a children's song, but it's a childrens song from a television show that hasn't been on the air in YEARS. I used to LOVE this show. They put out an album with songs from the show that my aunt recorded for me on a CASSETTE TAPE (For all my younger readers, a cassette tape is the thing that came BEFORE CD's.) and I used to listen to it allll the time. There's three songs from that album that I could probably still sing word for word to this day. What are their names? Two out of the three I can't remember. One of them is Yakko singing all the countries of the world (I still get very excited when someone sings "United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama.....), the second is Wakko singing the US States and their capitals (If anyone ever asks for a specific state capital, I sing the song until I get to the state I need lol), and the third is "I'm Cute", as sung by Dot. Most of the songs on this list have some sort of lasting effect on my life in some way, shape, or form. But not this song....this one is just pure NONSENSE :). But I love it!! Did you watch the video yet? Is it NOT the cutest song ever?? I certainly think so. My favorite part is at the end when she starts yelling and Yakko says "Y'know you're awful cute when you're angry". :)

So there you have it! Thanks for seeing it through to end with me!! I've never been so happy about having a blog finished!! Seriously, this things been sitting in draft mode for over a MONTH and i've been adding to it sporadically whenever I come up with a new song. Don't like it? Well then to hell with ya!! Why don't you try writing a list of 10 songs you cant live without and see how well it comes out :-p!

14lbs....

2010-08-19T16:38:00.004-04:00

As many of you know, i've finally decided on my Halloween costume for this year. I'm going to be Black Widow from Iron Man.

Yup, i've chosen the most unforgiving costume ever. A black catsuit..... You have to be in IMPECCABLE shape to pull it off. Few can. The most impressive example being (in my own opinion of course) Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in "Batman Returns". As soon as I made the decision to be Black Widow, I knew I was going to have to step up my game when it comes to my workouts. I made an effort to try and find out what exactly Scarlett Johansson did to prepare for her role in Iron Man 2. I came across some interesting tips...and also some rather disheartening information. According to reports, Scarlett lost a total of 14lbs in order to fit into her costume.

A normal human being would read that and think, "14lbs isn't terrible!". And you'd be absolutely right! If we weren't already talking about Scarlett Johansson...

Scarlett has always been a curvy girl, mainly because she has hips and boobs, and she looks great because of it! Otherwise, she's a small girl. Which leads me to ask the question....where the FUCK did the 14lbs come from?? There was NO extra fat on that girls body! It truly boggles my mind!

The most disheartening part though is this: If someone as gorgeous as Scarlett Johansson had to lose 14lbs to fit into that suit, then where the hell does that leave me?? I'm constantly struggling to stay thin and i'm nowhere NEAR the ideal BMI for someone my height. Although, if I did LOSE 14lbs I'd be right on the money. I've gotten close before, but I'm always falling off the wagon. What can I say? Some weeks I stop excercising for days at a time and I love FOOD too much!!

Can I do it? Sure. All it takes is a little will power and discipline. Do I WANT to do it? Absolutely. What woman DOESNT want to fit into a sexy catsuit and show off her curves? Will it actually happen? That's another story entirely. Halloween is only 73 days away. 73!! Experts say that the "safe way" to lose weight, is to lose 1-2 lbs a week. In a perfect world, if I COULD lose 2lbs a week I'd be well OVER my goal of 14lbs by the time Halloween rolls around. But as we all know this is NOT a perfect world. That's a LOT of wishful thinking if I think im gonna lose 2lbs a week.
Its especially unreallistic because the week leading up to Halloween, we're going to Orlando for vacation. Specifically to The Magical World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. Y'know what they have there? BUTTERBEER!!! I've already decided i'm going to be at the gym at the time share EVERY single morning to combat the mass amounts of fat and salt i'm going to be consuming all week.

This is gonna be hard and I hope its worth it in the end. So if you read this and you WANT to see me in a black catsuit this Halloween....send me some words of encouragment! I'm gonna need all the help I can get....

The Pin-up and the Psychic

2010-08-15T10:25:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I had my first ever professional psychic reading done, and I must say, it was quite the enlightening experience!

Some friends and I got together yesterday and went into Salem to do tourist-y stuff. You'd think since i've been going there my whole, I would've DONE some of that stuff by now, but of course not. Our first stop was at the World of Witches Museum on the Pickering Wharf. It was a nice little shop with a full museum in the back chronicling the history of witchcraft and how Wicca has become what it is today. I didnt go in, but I got there early enough that I got a chance to speak with the store owner (and the gentleman who would be doing our readings), Rev. Don Lewis. He was a very sweet older gentleman who I felt very comfortable around (which is probably good considering he was about to give me a reading). He had a cheerful demeanor as he chatted with me and still greeted customers as they walked in.

Since I arrived first, I opted to go first while we waited for the others in the group to arrive. He explained that he does two kinds of readings: clairvoyance and Tarot cards. I opted to go for the clairvoyance reading. I'm familiar with Tarot and have worked with them in the past for myself so I figured whatever he could tell me with Tarot, I could probably tell myself. The reading itself took about 10-minutes and in that 10-minutes I learned more than I thought I would. He asked if I had anything specific in mind to work with and I said no, and to just let whatever needs to come out to do just that.

He began talking about my career. He said by the end of November/possibly December, he sees an uprising or a promotion or something going in an upwards motion career-wise. I thought that a promotion sounded nice...but then he continued. This isn't word for word, but this is the basic gist of it: He said that this moving upwards career wise is a risky move and that i'm afraid to pursue it but there is no reason to be afraid. I have the tools and I will be able to do it well because I already can, I just have to ACTUALLY do it and it will work out the way I want it to. At that moment I knew he wasn't talking about my job at the hospital. There's no risky moves at this place. i'm not afraid to do anything here. And this may sound pretentious of me, but the only thing I can relate to a reading like that is my pin-up modeling. The reading continued with him telling me that the next symbol he saw was a spider. A spider for him generally symbolizes the weaving of a web, and for me he said it has something to do with me needing to weave and manipulate the web of my universe through meditation in order to make what I want to happen happen,basically. He said I already knew how to do that very well and now I just need to use it. Which then led to information about some of my spirit guides who were coming through. I seem to have a few, but there were two prominent figures that came through. A older, plump, pleasant woman named Agnes (who I imagine looks like my grandmother) and a gentleman dressed in Victorian-style clothing named Albert. Both of which wanted to let me know that they are their when I need them. The very last thing he saw before we closed was a star. He said a star generally is a good sign that eventually things will work out the way I want them to and they will be great, which goes hand in hand of course with the above revelation about the job. When it was over, I was almost speechless. I kept saying "That's wonderful!" and "Thank you!" while I tried to wrap my head around what I just heard.

I've never been more motivated to do something in my whole life. I've said this a million times over, but I am not one to sit behind a desk. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I love my people here(seriously, they are the BEST coworkers ever!). I love being able to help people everyday. What i'm saying is, I need more. Now, that doesn't mean i'm gonna leave my perfectly ok full-time job and pursue pin-up modeling 24/7 because that would be stupid. What it does mean is i'm going to make more of an effort at it though! I'm gonna bust my ass, so hopefully, if this reading is accurate, when that time comes I will be ready to face this thing head on! I LOVE PIN-UP MODELING! Many different women have different ways of making themselves feel beautiful and more women-ly. Modeling does it for me. Most of my life I never felt pretty. In my teen years, I was kinda frumpy. I didn't wear the best clothes. I never did my hair up and would try to wear makeup, but would fail miserably. It wasn't until my late teens/early 20's, people started telling me I was pretty. To this day, I still don't believe it sometimes. I look at myself in the mirror and still see frump girl. No matter how well my hair or makeup looks, I still think it could be better. I dont know how to take compliments and I think everyone is just lying when they tell me i'm beautiful . That's just more proof that i'm nuts to go hand-in-hand with this post from the other day. So I'm not doing this to please anyone else but myself. I need this. I love getting all dressed up and doing my hair and makeup and posing. Posing is harder than it looks!! Holding a pose for while someone gets JUUUST the right shot takes forever!! Y'know that calssic pin-up pose where the girl is laying on the bed with her legs in the air? That shit is HARD, LOL!! It is ALL ABS!!! If you're not in good shape, you will not be able to hold those legs up long!!I love that you dont have to be PERFECT to do pin-up modeling. I know that contradicts the last statement i just made about being in good shape, but its true. Their are pin-up models of all shapes and sizes! Not just 6'5" walking twigs! You NEED to have curves for pin-up modeling or else it just looks funny. Alberto Vargas girls got MEAT on their bones (Sorry Megan Fox, but you FAIL). I've mentioned this part before but i feel the need to reiterate that I feel like a ROCK STAR while shooting! Then Monday morning comes and i'm back to being frump girl.

I'm sorry if im babbling, but this is something that i'm so passionate about and I can see myself being happy with it for a long time! I'm not afraid anymore. I have no reason to be. Of course there still is that little inkling in my head that is reminding me that this could all just be a pipe dream. As much as I want this, that reading could've pertained to a promotion of some sort at my actual job. So in two months if i do get another job offer here, i'll take it and i'll accept. And i'll know to never get my hopes up about anything ever again.....

After that whole rant, I feel bad not talking about the rest of the Salem trip. You can stop reading now if you've had enough of my babbling. But if you want to continue on, please do! I'm glad you're sticking around! You're good peoples!

After the readings we got some ice cream and walked around the wharf and took a free tour of one of this ships that was docked there (NOT the Friendship...there were two ships yesterday).We walked all around the downtown area, going in the shops and checking things out. It was great to just go and enjoy the city with great company, since I haven't had the time recently. After some walking we stopped at the Salem Beer Works for dinner where we were kept entertained by my friends almost 3-year old daughter. She was a riot! After dinner we walked some more and hung out around the Olde Burying Point and the Witch Trials Memorial until it was time for our ghost tour. Lucky for Giles Corey, they gave him the BIGGEST bench because, yknow, his death was the most severe. I can sleep easy now knowing that at least he didn't die in vain :-p. Thanks City of Salem. The tour started at 8 and it was pretty fun! I was wondering how far the tour would take us around the city but it turns out that they didnt have to go very far past downtown to tell some awesome stories! The guide actually brought along an EMF gauge for the tour and I immediatley thought "Why didnt I bring mine??" (yes I have an EMF gauge, I got it for christmas last year). Then of course i was kicking myself for not bringing my camera as well. Ghost photos don't show up as well with a camera phone :-/. So i'm thinking of going back on one of my days off to take some real pictures. Overall, it was quite the fantastic day filled with good friends, some awesome food, and a bit of great news! I can't complain!!

Looking upwards to the future from here on out!!

Paranoid....

2010-08-12T17:17:00.007-04:00

I have a bunch of other posts written. One of which I was going to post tonight. But they all have to wait. I need to get this out today. Get ready, because you're about to get a dose of just how crazy I am. I'm actually kind of ashamed to admit ANY of this because i'm afraid it might make me sound like a bad person. I'm gonna use the cheesiest line in the book here when I say this but....Remember, it's not you...it's me.

It goes like this: My brain has two parts. The crazy part and the rational part. I tell people i'm crazy all the time. People generally respond with "Ahhhh, you're the good kind of crazy though. You're fun. You keep things interesting!"....like i'm joking. I'm not joking....at all. I think there is seriously something wrong with my brain. Why, you ask? It's hard to explain. But i'll try my best.

I constantly live in fear that people are angry with me. Why? I have no idea. Thats why i'm writing about it. So maybe I can pinpoint an idea that makes sense? For as long as I can remember, i've had that fear. It is ridiculous and irrational. <------------------See right there is what I call using the "rational side" of my brain. I KNOW my fear is irrational and stupid. But I insist on believing the crazy side. Sometimes i'm right and people ARE angry with me....but 95% of the time, its just me losing my fucking mind and overanalyzing things as I always do.

I feel like if I haven't heard from someone or seen them in a while, I automatically think it's because they're mad and avoiding me for some reason. Why? Because thats what I do when I'm not fond of someone. Avoid the uncomfortable situation at all costs. But instead of reaching out and actually contacting said person and finding out what the fuck is going on because I am NOT good at confrontation, I just recoil and continue convincing myself that that person is angry with me. Its kinda like this "Sneaky Hate Spiral" here, only nowhere near as funny.

Sometimes, it doesnt even have to be that though. All you have to do sometimes is say something the wrong way....send the wrong text message...not respond to me quick enough in any way, shape, or form......and my brain automatically kicks into crazy mode. "Well, what he fuck did I do to you, ASSHOLE?" is generally how it goes.....

I know I have flaws, and I know I have pissed people off in the past. But those incidences are few and far between. When I start convincing myself someone hates me, I often overanalyze the entire situation. Including "what the fuck did I do to bring this situation on?", which generally leads to me beating myself up ALOT because I can't seem to figure out the problem, when in reality there IS NO PROBLEM TO FIGURE OUT WHATSOEVER. That leads to alot of unneccesary self-abuse mentally. It kinda blows really.

The rational side of my brain tries to reason with me and says "Hey Jo....they're probably just busy. It's all right...nothing to lose sleep over. " But my crazy side pipes in with "Yeah but what about (insert random inane situation that makes no sense here)?" and then I kick my rational side down a few more notches, so I value the rational sides opinion less and less, and the crazy side wins!!!

See, i'm not "eating my hair and poking at the padded wall" crazy, there's just wires that aren't crossed properly. Does any of this make sense? Is it just me? Does anyone else have these paranoid delusions? Should I get this checked out?

So in conclusion I have to say this. If for some strange reason you ARE mad at me.....could you tell me please? I hate feeling like i'm losing my mind. Just talk to me, so I can avoid this kind of unpleasantness in the future.....k?

The cutest thing i've ever seen :)

2010-08-08T15:25:00.003-04:00

I dont know who drew this, but I found it over on The Daily What. Ahhh, nerdy love. Isn't it awesome? Anyone who has ever played Tetris knows that feeling! Unless for some strange reason you've never played Tetris.....then there's just something wrong and you need to remedy that ASAP!

So, if the point where you're about to GET a tetris is the equivalent of love, then i'm GUESSING that the moment where you mess up a Tetris is equal to a bad break-up? Or maybe the worst fight ever? That earth shattering moment when you KNOW you just fucked up because you didn't move the long piece over far enough because you were SO excited about getting it in the first place? And then you get that stupid "s" shaped piece that you can't put ANYWHERE now. Isn't that the worst feeling EVER??

Yeah...nerd love....it's just like that :)

Spaghetti!!!

2010-08-08T08:38:00.000-04:00

I dont have anything really to blog about today. But considering I've been very bad about blogging recently, I feel the need to write something just for the sake of writing it. One day I asked friends for blog ideas since I was blanking on things. My friend Bill said "Spaghetti".....and I thought that was a good idea. Its just silly enough and I do love spaghetti. so here it goes!!

The above photo is of The Flying Spaghetti Monster. Our noodle-y master. He is the deity around which The Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster (aka Pastafarianism) is based. The story about how the Flying Spaghetti Monster came to be is one of the funniest protest stories ive ever heard. You can read all about it here, but here is a short excerpt from the wiki page if you dont feel like reading the whole thing:

"The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the parody religion, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism. Created in 2005 by Oregon State physics graduate Bobby Henderson, it was originally intended as a satirical protest against the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to permit the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public schools. In an open letter sent to the Kansas State Board of Education, Henderson parodied the concept of intelligent design by professing belief in a supernatural creator which closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs. Henderson further called for his "Pastafarian" theory of creation to be allotted equal time in science classrooms alongside intelligent design and evolution. He explained that since the intelligent design movement uses ambiguous references to an unspecified "Intelligent Designer", any conceivable entity may fulfill that role, even a Flying Spaghetti Monster. After Henderson published the letter on his website, it rapidly became an Internet phenomenon and a symbol for the case against teaching intelligent design in public schools as well as religion in general."

I think this is the best way to start my spaghetti blog....with the noodle-y master himself. I've grown quite fond of the story of FSM, and I like to consider myself a "pastafarian". It's just pure sillyness. But then again, isn't organized religion itself, just pure sillyness?

Is there really any food better than spaghetti? Or just pasta in general? There are so many different kinds and different things you can do with it! Ziti, penne, fettucini, angel hair, Farfalle, etc, the list goes on!! You can have just plain pasta with red sauce. You can stuff things INTO the pasta and make things like ravioli's or manicotti. You can add CHEESE to the pasta. Any kind of cheese you want! Of course, my fat ass prefers any kind of stretchy cheese. Me and ricotta cheese really aren't friends because it doesnt really "melt" it just kinda sits there....but this blog is not about cheese! Its about PASTA!!

I don't really know what my favorite pasta dish is. It's a toss up between Fettucini Alfredo and Chicken Parmesan. I always say that Fettucini Alfredo is kinda like the adult version of macaroni and cheese. Well isn't it??? Think about that for a second!! Chicken Parmesan combines 3 of my favorite things: pasta, melty cheese, and chicken cutlets. It adds up to the perfect meal!! The only thing that can ruin it for me is the sauce. I'm not a fan of chunky sauce. I like a light, thin, sauce.

The best pasta dish I ever had was, of course, in Rome. Just plain and simple ziti and red sauce. It was DELICIOUS!! There was no need to add anything special to it to make it better. The sauce was NOT thick and chunky like one would expect, but it wasn't TOO thin either. It was the perfect consistency for sauce, i think. And the pasta itself was cooked to perfection. Of course the pasta was then followed up by ANOTHER entree of roast beef and potatoes and THEN dessert on top of that. Damn....Italians know how to EAT!

So there you go. I just wrote a whole post....about spaghetti.... Yeah kids, i am hurtin' for ideas over here!!

Yup....

2010-08-06T17:12:00.004-04:00

I've done it again....

I've gone more than a week without blogging.

That's BAD!!! I had a really great routine going for a while there! Thankfully, I anticipate work to be horrendously boring today and tomorrow, so I have NO choice. I will have to blog in order to pass the time.

FYI, this is gonna be one of those posts where I randomly throw shit out there because I have no idea what to say, lol. Just kickstarting the blogging part of my brain...

- I've been feeling sickly the past couple of days. I will never admit that I'm ACTUALLY sick, because I dont FEEL sick. Usually when I get "sick", I feel run down and tired all the time. But i havent felt that way thus far. I'm just sniffly. Yesterday my nose was running all over the place! I can't count on one hand how many tissues I used in a matter of an hour. It was gross. Today I took medicine though, so i'm not a gross, snotty mess.

- I'm so behind when it comes to movies these days. The last movie I saw in the theater was....was.........."The Sorcerers Apprentice". Yeah it's been THAT long. I had to think about it for at least 5 minutes! I still haven't seen "Dinner for Schmucks", "Inception" (which I've heard is FANTASTIC, btw) or even "Salt"!! I refuse to see either "Dinner for Schmucks" or "Inception" BEFORE I see "Salt". Its a loyalty thing. My girl Angelina is crying because I haven't seen her latest action flick. She probably isn't but I like to pretend she is, lol. Then coming up there's "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" and "The Last Exorcism". I'm working on remedying the "Salt" situation this coming Tuesday. I hate having to choose between seeing all these films. Stupid "being an adult and having responsibilities". That shit is overrated. I will make ever conscious effort to see "The Last Exorcism" when it comes out. Eli Roth may be dating a dirty cow these days but I still love him! And he still knows how to produce a scary-as-hell horror film.

- I made these cupcakes the other day. Cute, no?

You can't tell from looking at those pics but the actual CAKE part of it is also rainbow-layered. It's a rather drawn out and tedious process putting the whole thing together! You have to seperate the cake batter, add food coloring to each seperate part, measure it out so you have enough of each color to fill ALL the little cupcakes holes, and then LAYER the different color batters in each individual cup (but dont let them mix together!). The frosting is as much of a project as the cake itself! First of all, I MADE homemade frosting for the first time EVER without ANY problems. Yeah I know, what kind of moron can't make frosting? THIS moron can't make frosting! Anyway, you make the plain white frosting. Then you use a brush to paint stripes of food coloring INSIDE a pastry decorating bag. Then you spoon the frosting INTO the bag, and when you squeeze it the frosting comes out with all the colors around the edge. Its wicked neat and stuffs! So if you were lucky enough to receive or EAT one of these culinary masterpieces, just keep in mind what kind of epic process went into that....

Have I told you all about my newest "nephew" yet? I normally wouldn't post anything about my friends kids, but Jenie suggested that I post about how awesome her kids are when I mentioned I was out of blog ideas. So yeah, we have a new little baby amongst our circle of friends named Matthew and he is the best thing ever! I say "nephew" because we're not related, but i'm still his Auntie Jo. Since Ron is an only child and my brother is not in any state to have kids anytime soon, i'm covinced its going to be a while before I get to be a real "auntie" and that bothers me. I had at least 5 aunts and uncles on each side of my family growing up. I loved all of my aunties (and still do, dont get me wrong!) and I want to be able to have that on my own now that im older! So for now I get to shower my friends kids with attention and love, lol. Matthew has an older brother named Alex, who is literally the greatest kid ever! I'm not even exaggerating! If i'm ever in a bad mood and somehow come in contact with Alex, I am NOT in a bad mood anymore. Its pretty incredible. I am truly so happy to be a part of the lives of these little guys and its exciting to watch them grow!! But do NOT get the wrong idea, there will not be a child living within this uterus for quite some time. I get my baby fix with Alex and Matthew and then give them back :). Ahhh, the joys of being an Auntie!!

- I am REALLY in the mood for greek food. And I really have no idea where to get any and that depresses the hell out of me :(. I once asked my boss for greek food. He said he couldn't do that. Why? Because he "just can't". Yeah I know, great boss huh?

- Speaking of my boss, it is really amusing blaming my current affliction on my boss. He gave my coworkers and I chocolate from our gift shop on Friday. Since then, my friend Maria and I have BOTH been stricken with some sort of ailment. Maria has vertigo and I have been sickly and sniffly and even coughing at times ever since we consumed the tainted chocolate!! Yoly didn't eat her chocolate thankfully because GOD FORBID something happen to our favorite pregnant lady!! I will never EVER eat chocolate from either my boss or the gift shop ever again.

I guess thats all for now. It's something at least....right?

Mayhem Festival Recap!!! (Including my Bootleg'd photos from the show!)

2010-07-28T10:04:00.011-04:00

All I have to say is.....OUCH! I was soooo achey yesterday!! Which means I got my ass kicked at the Mayhem Festival and I enjoyed myself throughly :). This post is gonna be KINDA long....but it's gonna have awesome pics so bear with me!!

I woke up in the morning on Tuesday completely refreshed!! I slept for almost 13 hours, if you count my 4 hour couch nap before I went up to bed for the night. What can I say? I was exhausted!! I didn't sleep well Sunday night and work was hellacious all day on Monday. I needed a good rest. The morning started with my husband telling me that I basically had 20 minutes left to shower before the city shut off our water so they could work on the pipes near our house.WTF?? I wanted to get a workout in before the show, but if we didn't have water to take a shower afterwards, that means no workout :(. I was not happy. Then I had to call my bank because I lost my debit card. Lucky for me they PRINT new debit cards right at my bank branch now. I sat around for hours wondering what to do with myself now that my plans had gone awry So...yeah.....my morning was already starting beautifully.I was sads...I needed Korn...badly! After what felt like FOREVER we finally left for the show. We stopped at the bank to pick up my new card and we were on our way!! Once I realized we were FINALLY heading down to the show, I perked up alot!! And now....ON WITH THE PICTURES!!

I wanted to get to the show early because I read online that Korn was going to be doing a meet and greet signing at their record label's booth the show. The catch was you had to buy their album in order to get a wristband, which I was fine with. I only had their album on iTunes, so i needed the actual disc anyway. By the time we got INTO the show (after parking and walking in and FINDING the booth) it was already almost 2. The doors opened at 130 and I was starting to worry. Any loyal Korn fan who saw that would probably already be in the line getting their wristband. I started to worry even MORE when I saw the line for the wristbands. When I asked about the line the girl at the table said it was going to be limited to 300 people and to get in line quick! Luckily I had my placeholder (aka my husband) already in the line while I was asking! Those husbands are good for SOMETHING at least. When we got closer to the front of the wristband line, I noticed the sign said "Korn (two members): 530-615" and my mind automatically thought "Huh....its probably gonna be Ray and Fieldy". So I actually ENTERTAINED THE THOUGHT of getting a wristband for Rob Zombie instead. I did have his wife on my shirt after all, It would've been a conversation piece!! But then I figured Ray and Fieldy were better than nothing. So I got my Korn wristband instead :)

In my heart, I wished for it to be Jonathan and Munky....or Jonathan and Ray....or Jonathan and Fieldy (can you tell who I really wanted to meet)...but in the end it WAS in fact Ray and Fieldy. Fieldy was Fieldy basically. I didn't expect much out of him. Very reserved. I certainly hope he didn't adopt that "holier than thou" complex that most Christians have now that he's converted. Ray, however, was extremely friendly and personable!! One of the guys in front of me was a real asshole to him and he just laughed it off!! The guy gave his album cover to Fieldy to sign and took it back before Ray got to it!! Asshole!!

They didnt allow pics, but Ron did the best he could with my blackberry and actually got a good pic of Ray!!

It seemed like forever before they opened up the main stage. When they finally did and we got to our seats, we KNEW it was going to be a good show because THIS is the first thing we saw. No concert experience is complete without OOMPA LOOMPAS!!:

The first band that we saw onstage was Lamb Of God. I'm not big fan of theirs so their set didn't impress me all that much. But the next band to come on was Avenged Sevenfold and they brought the fire and the pyrotechnics with their show which means, I was fully entertained!! The music was pretty good too I guess :).

With the lesser acts out of the way (and by lesser, I mean that in the nicest way possible!) it was time to pull out the big guns. Rob Zombie came out first and put on one of the most ENTERTAINING shows i've ever seen!! He started things off by coming out of a giant robot that was ON FUCKING FIRE!!!You cant see it too well in that pic but it was DEFINETLEY on fire!!

Not only was the show VISUALLY entertaining, but Zombie himself knew how to work the crowd. After seeing his live show, I understand now WHY he's such an amazing director! He knows what the people want to see!! He was funny, yet STILL rocked hard!! When trying to engage the male members of the audience in a chant, he pointed out one poor guy in particular by saying "YOU! I cant make out whats on your shirt to single you out, but WHY ARE YOU NOT PARTICIPATING???"He was full of witty remarks like that! He played alllll of my favorite songs. "Superbeast", "Scum Of The Earth", "House of 1000 Corpses", "Never Gonna Stop", "Living Dead Girl", and "More Human than Human". He even brought out another ghoulie monster to dance with during it!!

He closed out his set with "Dragula" and "Thunderkiss '65".

Shorlty after "Thuderkiss", Rob turned the show over to his guitarist John 5 to deliver a kick-ass guitar solo! Why did he do that, you ask? Oh, just so he could WALK THROUGH THE CROWD. At one point I was literally 6 steps from Rob Zombie! Once Zombie was done with his stroll and back on stage, they ended their set with John 5 smashing his guitar on stage. I've never EVER seen this done onstage before! This truly was a rock show. Rock the mother fucker, Mr. Zombie. I cant wait to see you live again!

Finally it was time for my boys to come on. I was truly afraid that Rob Zombie's epic stage show would upstage them, but boy I was wrong! They opened with "Right Now" and for some god-awful reason I thought it was "Here To Stay" when it was starting. Coincidentally "Here to Stay" was the second song they played :).

Their set included two giant oil derricks which is in conjunction with the first single off their new album called "Oildale (Leave Me Alone)". Oildale is a city in California just north of Bakersfield where the boys grew up. Jonathan has said in interviews that oil-rich and profitable city of Oildale is a striking contrast to the rather poor neighborhoods of Bakersfield where they all lived. That is what inspired the name of the single.

I couldn't really get a great pic of Jonathan rocking out because every single one of them came out blurry. The hour that Korn was onstage seemed like it went by all too fast. It always does. They played their typical hits "Got The Life", "Freak On A Leash", and "Blind" and they also played some uncommon tunes like "Let The Guilt Go" (off of the new record), "Somebody Someone" and "Clown". I dont think I've ever heard them play "Clown" before. It made me happy because I loooooove that song :), which is ironic since I hate ACTUAL clowns! Of course, no Korn show would be complete without Jon pulling out the bagpipes for "Shoots and Ladders"

Sadly, like all good things, the show had to come to an end. What was even more sad was that they didn't have time for an encore :(. All the bands seemed to be running late so everyone lost set time. It sucks that the Comcast Center HAS to end shows by 11. So what if a show runs 15 minutes overtime? I'm sure the neighbors can deal with it!!! Overall it was an AMAZING concert experience. If you've never seen KoRn or Zombie live, make sure you put them on your list!! You will not be disappointed, I guarantee it!! Believe me, i've seen Korn many times (and will continue to see them for as long as humanly possible) and every time i've been entertained!!

Keep on rockin', guys!!!

White and Nerdy

2010-07-25T17:52:00.003-04:00

Today marks the close of an event that all of us geeks look forward to all year long: San Diego Comic Con, or SDCC, or Comic Con International, or just plain old Comic Con as it’s most commonly known. It’s an event where announcements involving all things white and nerdy are made. Anticipated movie trailers and footage, star studded panels, and serious cosplayers galore are around every corner. It’s a great weekend to be a geek whenever Comic Con is happening….or is it? Has Comic-Con grown to the point where it is becoming almost obnoxious for a typical fan to enjoy themselves? In recent years, celebrities have even been “walking the red carpet” at Comic Con. Seriously? When did this become a red carpet event? I know I’ve never been to the big event before, but generally for me, cons are all about jeans and t-shirts. Big, fat, sweaty, jeans and t-shirts. And cosplay, of course!

I’ve had this idea stewing in my head for a while. I remember a time when reading comic books and talking about super heroes and video games was just stuff that us geeks did. Now, though, it seems like all the cool kids are doing it too? So then is it technically still nerdy? Are the cool kids nerds too? Or are all the nerdy kids now cool? I don’t think I want to be a cool kid, if that’s the case I want to be a dork! How do I go back to being a dork?

With the recent surge of comic book movies being a hit at the box office, it’s no surprise that the public is beginning to take notice of everything us nerds hold dear. 75% of which have never read the comic/played the game. Talking with someone who has only SEEN “Watchmen” and never read the graphic novel is a sad conversation. I’m curious how many of the people who have seen Spider-Man actually know who Stan Lee is? They probably know NOW considering he’s made a cameo in most of the Marvel movies that have been made, but who knew who he was then? I knew who Stan Lee was, right from the beginning.

I remember when I was younger being a HUGE fan of X-Men. I used to read the comics and watch the show. I will admit, I did have a crush on Wolverine. I don’t know why I did then, but I certainly know why I do now (Hugh Jackman, YAY!!). Rogue was my FAVORITE X-person. I remember being disappointed because Rogue was a hard action figure to find in the store, so my aunt made me a Rogue out of clay and painted it. It was pretty sweet, I think I still have it somewhere actually! I remember talking to my aunt about who would play who if they EVER made an “X-Men” movie and how AWESOME would that be?? And then they did make an “X-Men” movie….. and I was not happy with Rogue. I was pleased with the rest of the cast (except for maybe Cyclops, but then again I always thought Cyclops was kind of a pussy anyway). Rogue wasn’t Rogue….she was Jubilee with Rogue’s powers. Basically that’s all that was. There is a point to this whole spiel which is: When the movie came out EVERYONE was talking about X-Men and how great it was. It kind of annoyed me because I would think “Well yeah, I’ve known that for a long time now”. And then here's what happens: You mention how much you like X-men in general conversation. The random person you're talking to says "OMG, I love X-Men!" and then when you try and have a conversation with them ABOUT X-men, you bring something up from the comics and they’re like“Was that in the movie, because I don’t remember that part?” No….its part of the COMIC BOOK SERIES, that’s been around since the 1960’s!! It’s been that way with almost EVERY superhero movie they’ve made. And it pisses me off!! You have no idea what the entire series is even about, how DARE you see the film and get all fangirl/fanboy-ish about it!!

The same thing has happened with video games. Anyone who owns a Nintendo Wii or any form of “Rock Band” is all of a sudden a “gamer”. Sure, my husband and I DO have both a Wii and Rock Band, BUT we also have a PS2, a PS3, and 3 Mac computers in our house. It’s COOL to sit around and play video games now! WTF, seriously?? Of course the E3 Con (or Electronic Entertainment Expo) is nowhere near as big as Comic Con in San Diego, but it’s getting there!

I dont know, I just don't like how everything is all "popular" now. "Iron Man" is right up there on the pop culture list with Miley Cyrus and "Grey's Anatomy". I guarantee you, if it was 13 years ago, that idea would almost be laughable. Granted Hannah Montana and Grey's, didnt exist 13 years ago , but you get what i'm saying right? The general public would most likely say "What's Iron Man?"

Ugh...I don't see this trend dying off anytime soon either. Y'know how trends go in waves? Yeah...this one isn't going away. It'll at least go on until after the "Avengers" movie comes out...

Caffeine and I.....

2010-07-20T15:02:00.003-04:00

....are not friends. Well we kind of are, but its kinda like a toxic friendship, which i'll explain in a little bit.

We used to be best friends back in my hotel days. I could suck down 3 or 4 cups of coffee in as little as 2 hours and be just fine. Except when I crashed of course, then I was just a miserable bitch. Not anymore though! I haven't been able to regularly consume caffeine since my thyroid flare up (or whatever the hell that was) two years or so ago. Now I have to deal with anxiety attacks if I consume too much. Which are never fun....EVER. Sometimes, I can have a random glass of soda or even regular coffee, or chocolate every so often and be perfectly ok. But it's in those random instances, that all hell CAN break loose.

Now, when I say I have a toxic relationship with caffeine, this is what i'm talking about: On those random occassions when I have coke or any form of caffeine, I feel kind of ok. I'm happy-go-lucky and energized and feeling good about myself, and because I don't consume A LOT, there isn't the nasty crash associated with it. So I think "YAY! What a great day!Thank you for being good to me today, caffeine!!". Then the next day comes and I think "Hmm....i could go for a coke today" or "Hmmm...I would love an iced coffee". Deep down my little conscience tells me that this is a bad idea. But since I have no will power WHATSOEVER, say "EFF THAT, CONSCIENCE!", and go ahead and buy that iced coffee...and I feel fine again. This can go on for days until.......the anxiety creeps up. Ok, "creeps" is probably a bad word. "Creeps" would mean it quietly sneaks up on me. It's more like it jumps out at me from a dark alley and scares the living hell out of me.

This particular instance of consuming mass amounts of caffeine when I know i'm not supposed to lasted about a week and a half. That's a record! Yesterday I crashed. Although I must say, I did a very good job of NOT freaking out in the middle of the lobby. Lucky for me, I can tell when i'm starting to get anxious, so the earlier I recognize whats happening, the easier it is to relax. Usually all I need to do is just sit and breathe and try and focus on other things, which is exactly what I did. I was doing very well!My heart was slowing down, the feeling of impending doom was subsiding...and then of course the boss walks by and says something snarky like "Thanks for logging off of Facebook while I walked by just now", which got my blood boiling all over again. He was kidding, of course, but I was in NO mood for his shenanigans.

Today, I am tired and groggy because i've had no caffeine. I have the WORST headache ever....because i've had no caffeine. Its like a friggin hangover. I will never...EVER....do that to myself ever again. Until the next time I do it, of course....

Ugh. Epic. Life. Fail.

Slackin'.......

2010-07-19T16:27:00.004-04:00

Damn!

Its been days since my last post! I'm really not allowed to do that ever again. Not only do you folks have nothing to read, but I also get laaaaaazzzzzyyyyy. I've been a busy little bee and haven't had time to write anything. I've also been busy writing a blog post that will probably NEVER see that light of day because a) I dont really want to answer the questions that will come from reading it and b) its more just for me so I can vent freely.

Another reason I havent been able to post is because I was waiting for the right time. I guess I can say something now that the core members of my family know what's going on. My grandmother has to have open heart surgery. It was jarring news to hear at first, I will admit. How I got through the whole night without bursting into tears is beyond me. I have to say I'm quite proud of myself and how I handled the whole thing when my parents told me. I just kinda said "Ooooh.....ok then." I felt the tears welling up, but for some reason I resisted. Maybe subconsciously I realized that crying wouldn't help the situation? Maybe i'm finally gaining that inner strength that all the women in my family seem to possess? Instead I asked questions. Why? Where? When? How? We still dont have answer to the "when" yet. It might be 2 or 3 months down the line. Right now we're just playing the waiting game.

Even Sunday when I went over my grandparents house, I was surprised I held it together. But it's as I mentioned just a second ago. The women in my family seem to be tremendously strong in the face of adversity. I was amazed at my grandmother's continued ability to keep on laughing. It made me feel better about the whole thing. I'm very lucky to have been surrounded by such strong female figures growing up. For some god-awful reason though, I can't seem to handle an ounce of stress without having a panic attack. I'm wondering if it's something that comes with age. You just learn how to handle things, i guess? I hope one day I can be as strong as them.

I love my nana (and my papa too, of course). I dont want anything bad to happen to her. As much as I hate the thought of the doctors stopping her heart to perform surgery, I know deep down that she will be alright. I find peace in knowing that the doctors aren't rushing the procedure along and that it will be done at MGH. If you're going to have ANYTHING done medically, the best place to have it be done is at MGH. But the B.I. is pretty awesome too.....:)

Now that i've thoroughly depressed you, here's a video of a baby eating a watermelon in the cutest way possible.

I promise...a more upbeat post tomorrow!!

Why I love #4

2010-07-13T19:15:00.000-04:00

The subject of today's edition of the "Why I Love" series is something I hold near and dear to my heart and ALWAYS will. This may be the hardest blog I've ever tried to write, just because it's hard to describe my feelings. Hmmmm....let's see...where to begin? Today, July 13th, marks the release of the 9th studio album by Korn, entitled "Korn III: Remember Who You Are". And that is why today, I will be explaining to you all why I love Korn.

In my head, this band can do no wrong. Even though their last two albums were quite different than what most of us fans were used to, I still love them regardless. I owe them my life, basically. Without their music helping me through countless situations, I would not be who I am today. I'd probably still be stuck in my little shell, afraid of the world around me. When I was younger and all else failed, and I felt like noone understood me, I always had Korn to turn to. And I still do, to this day. For every situation i've gone through in my life and will go through for the rest of my days, there is a Korn song that helps me through it.

It is hard to describe the mental connection Jonathan Davis has with his fans, because if you don't feel it then you never will, and its hard for an outsider to grasp why we love him so much. I will try and describe it as best I can though. He is my voice. He is the head "freak", really. For any kid whose ever felt a little bit different, or out of place or made to feel inadequate, JD is hope. Hope that they are not alone. It is because of his openness and candid writing style that the fans can relate. Even though i'm not an awkward teen anymore, the man STILL speaks to me and moves me in a way like no other. His voice is soothing, and his words stay with me. Watching him grow from the drug-addicted booze hound he was when the band first started to the sober, hard-working musician that he is now, has been fascinating. While he spent years helping me grow, he grew himself.

Although, I kinda feel a little bad singling out JD. Each member of the band brings their own unique flavor and story to the table.

Two of the original members of the band, Head and David, are no longer playing with them. David left for the simple reason of "taking a break to spend time with his family". That break has lasted about 4 years now. Noone knows what David is doing or where he is, really. All I know is, I wish the best for him and whatever he does and hope that one day he'll come back to us and keep on rockin'. For now, we have Ray Luzier as his replacement. And we loves him. He is spectacular, and totally rocks our head off :) .

Head, however, is a different story completely. My heart broke the day I heard the news. Head's departure took a toll on the band and fans because of how unexpected it was....and because of the reasoning behind it. Head found Jesus. He felt he could no longer be part of the band and walk in the light of God at the same time. He was battling with his drug and alcohol addiction, and ended up ultimately replacing it with another addiction: Christianity. Thats how I feel, anyway. Replacing one addiction with another isn't technically recovering from the addiction, you're just filling the void with something else (but that's a whole different blog post entirely). Head actually wrote a book about his time with the band and his eventual decision to convert. I have no desire to read this book whatsoever. For a while there was a war of words between JD and Head and the rest of the members of the band, which have since waned. I've forgiven Head for leaving and wish him the best, but I will never understand his departure because....

....Fieldy (their amazingly talented bassist) has ALSO found God. And guess what? He ALSO wrote a book, (which I did read and reccomend to everyone because its so fantastic) but he didn't feel the need to get all self-righteous about it and leave the band...just saying.......Moving on!

James Shaffer, or Munky as he's known to the fans, is just plain awesome. One of the greatest guitarists out there today. He really has stepped up to the plate ALOT since Head left. He almost had to since he is now filling the space the was once occupied by TWO guitarists. There isnt too much else I can say about him. He's the rather "quiet" member of the band. Except when he's drunk....because then he's just funny. Arent we all, though?

All of the members combined (even Ray their newest addition) create a kick ass sound. The distinct sound that is Korn. In 2 weeks, im going to see them live for the 8th time. The show NEVER gets old. It's kinda like a mini-therapy session, where I can go and scream and bang my head and not care what anyone thinks.

That's why I love this band. Korn runs through my veins. They're a part of my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Paul......

2010-07-12T16:08:00.003-04:00

Is it just me or does anybody else have an irrational fear of octopii? That fear has grown by LEAPS AND BOUNDS because of the octopus in the above image!! He succesfully predicted the outcome of EIGHT World Cup matches. If it was just one, i'd be ok. But eight??Does anybody else find this disturbing?? Cephalopods around the world are now PLOTTING world domination! And I bet Paul the Psychic Octopus is their leader!! Someone needs to take that fucker out....like, ASAP!!

I hate EVERYTHING about them and I dont really understand why!! I've never had a negative encounter with an octopus but I still have this fear that one day an octopus is gonna stick itself to me and eat my face off...which could NEVER happen unless I was UNDERWATER! THIS right here is what i'm taking about!! They just creep me out! I'm thinking that if I make a LIST of the things I hate, then it might make sense:

-Maybe its because they have 8 tentacles? I hate spiders as well and those have 8 legs. I guess there could be a connection there? Could it be that i'm an octo-phobe?

-Maybe it has to do with the suckers ON the tentacles. Just the thought of one of those things getting stuck on me makes me wig out!! It's probably all slimy and gross and most likely leaves the worst bruise you've ever had!!

-Maybe it has to do with the fact that I can't see their mouth, or BEAK as it's called. And they shoot ink FROM said beak. WTF, asshole? Dont spray me with your ink from your imaginary mouth! I don't have ink to spray back at you, so that just isn't fair!

-Maybe it has SOMETHING to do with the fact that they can be all sneaky-like and take out a god-damn shark?! A shark!! One of the most dangerous predators in the ocean!! Good thing that shark died or else he'd never be able to show his face around the other sharks ever again!!

- I'm guessing it probably also has something to do their uncanny ability to disappear and reappear whenever the fuck they please. Some find that fascinating and neato, but not me! I see through your little charade, octopus!! Stop being a sneaky bastard!

-They have no BONES! NONE WHATSOEVER!! Making it possible for them to slide through tubes as small as a QUARTER in diameter. What kind of shenanigans is that?? So you're telling me that an octopus could POTENTIALLY slide its way through somebody's plumbing and come up through the drain in my bathtub?? Fuck that.....Octopii need to STAY down in their deep water abyss and leave my bath time alone!! I have this strange feeling if I poked an octopus in its bulbous head it would just implode in on itself!!!

I think that pretty much sums up WHY I hate cephalopods....Makes sense, right?

200???

2010-07-11T10:50:00.001-04:00

What??

Post #200?? Wow! Go me!! Just in case my newer readers didn't know, I've been writing this blog off and on for the past two years or so. When I first started, I would go through patterns where I'd post a lot for a few weeks and then go idle because I either a) I was out of ideas or b) I didn't think anyone was paying attention. But now that I have the FB page and people commenting actively, I am more inspired than ever to KEEP posting! So thank you all for helping me out and giving me your feedback! I truly have some of the bestest friends ever!

So what am I going to make a big milestone post like this all about? I actually found inspiration for this post in the most unlikely of places: Peaches Geldof's Twitter feed. I'm not a fan of Peaches. Automatically your next question should be "Well then why do you follow her on twitter?" That's easy! I follow her because I'm curious what a mediocre-looking British socialite has to offer that is fascinating enough to snag the MAN OF MY DREAM's attention. So far, I haven't figured out the appeal yet. ANYWAY! Her tweet said this:

"If you could have a dinner party with three guests, dead or alive, who would you choose?"

I've seen and heard this question asked before. Although, generally, it's never THREE dinner guests, it's just one. That's why I found this particulat tweet so interesting. I've never gotten the option of picking 3 before. Thats kinda hard and required a lot of thought and contemplation. There's ALOT of people I'd like to have dinner with. There are so many interesting people that have come and gone from this world that I admire. I think i finaly narrowed it down though. Here are my choices:

#1 Marilyn Monroe -

This shouldn't come as a shock to ANYONE who knows me. Even just for the chance to see her up close. Marilyn Monroe peaked at a time when Photoshop and airbrushing really didnt exist. So she was just THAT beautiful, and wasn't airbrushed to shit like Megan Fox and Britney Spears are today. I'd also love to put the "Marilyn Monroe was fat" rumor to sleep. She's certainly "fat" by today's standards, but she was more curvy then anything. Sorry ladies, there is a difference between fat and sloppy and curvyand sexy. Her official dressmaker claims her measurements were 36-22-35, so I imagine Marilyn Monroe was the latter of the two, I believe. My only wonder about choosing Marilyn Monroe would be, can I ask her anything I want? Since she IS dead, would I be able to ask her questions ABOUT her death, or would I have to treat it like she is alive since she would TECHNICALLY have to be? That's my only concern about having dinner with Marilyn Monroe.

#2 Ankhnaten, the Heretic Pharoah of Egypt -

Right now, everyone who reads this is going "Uhmm.....what?". Normally when one makes a list like this, the mind automatically thinks of celebrities and notable public figures, even family members count! But I thought, if i'm gonna do this, i'm gonna do it RIGHT. For all of you out there who know NOTHING about this balls-y egyptian pharoah, i'll give you some background: Ankhnaten ruled Egypt for 17 years. His original name was Amenhotep IV. Why did he change his name, you ask? Because during his reign as pharoah, he abandoned the traditional egyptian practice (at the time) of polytheism and introduced worship of the Aten, a singular diety represented by the sun disc in inscriptions and wall reliefs. He changed his name to Ankhnaten as a way of honoring his new deity. He built a whole new capital city, primarily for the worship of his God. After his death, normalcy returned to Egypt and polytheism resumed. Many of the statues and temples created during his reign were ultimately destroyed and defaced, as he was then considered "the Heretic Pharoah". Now...why do I want to dine with this man? Because that is fucking incredible. He turned a WHOLE country on its ear, just for the worship of his new God. He had the balls to say 'NO, I dont wanna worship Ra anymore. My God is better!" And the people went with it. Of course after he died, they switched it right back. He must've been QUITE the stubborn brat to get what he wanted. I could learn something from him!! My main question for him would be ".....why? why would you do that?" and "how??". I am really impressed by Ankhnaten. I applaud his efforts to do something different. Even if he failed when he died. Fun Fact: Most people have NEVER heard of Ankhnaten, because they're more concered with his wife and son, Nefertiti and Tutankhamen. BUUUUUUT, Nefertiti is not Tutankhamen's mother. She is his aunt. The Egyptian's were a big fan of inbreeding.....

And last but certainly not least #3 - Elizabeth Bathory:

Yup, I feel the need to throw some batshit crazy in there. This is another one of those choices that should come as no shock to anyone, as I myself am, batshit crazy. But im a SPECIAL kind of crazy...Bathory was beyond words crazy. Some background on Bathory for those who don't know: She was a 16th century Hungarian countess believed to be one of the very first serial killers ever recorded in history. Although she was only convicted for the murders of 80 girls, it is believed she is responsible for the deaths of more than 600. 600!!! OMFG! Supposedly, one of her favorite things to do was bathe in the blood of virgins. Why? Because she believed it would keep her young and beautiful forever, of course. Seriously, check this shit out when you get a chance. But despite how notorious and shocking her actions were, she still fascinates the hell out of me. Her story is very similar to that of Madame Delphine LaLaurie of New Orleans. Why would I want to dine with a crazy person, you ask? Because i'm completely crazy about crazy people. Understanding why they do the things they do. Crazy people can do almost ANYTHING they want, and have it be ok, just because they're a looney toon! They can yell and scream and talk to a wall all they want, and people just ignore them, saying "oh that person must be crazy". I would love to sit back, sip some red wine and just ask her questions. Just to see what kind of fucked up answers she'd give. I'd even take notes.

So what do you guys think of my crew of dinner guests? It would be interesting considering Ankhnaten and Bathory wouldnt be able to speak a lick of english. But at the little fantasy dinner table in my head, they have NO trouble communicating whatsoever. So now that i've BORED you to tears (dont lie, i know you're bored!) , I need to ask, how about you? Who would you like to have dinner with, given the opportunity? You can pick ANYBODY you want! Its not as easy as you think ;).

The Seriousness of Social Networking....

2010-07-07T16:38:00.003-04:00

I'm gonna be completely honest with you. I have NO idea how to start this blog. It's too hot for me to be witty. I know it's in a interesting topic, and I know it is likely to get some interesting responses, it's just hard to get the ball rolling.

I guess i'll start by stating a simple fact. Nearly everyone I know (meaning friends AND family) has a Facebook profile. I am not kidding you. My parents...and even my grandparents, are all connected....via Facebook. Most people would say that is a curse and that they feel bad for me. Who really wants their parents to see all the things they do on a daily basis? Call me crazy, but I actually do! I may be patting myself on the back a little too much here, but I like to think I am a pretty awesome person all around. Why wouldn't I want my family to see what they created and are responsible for raising? I have no real regrets about anything I post or say, because that's how I was feeling at the time. I'm veering slightly off topic here, so let me get back to the point real quick.

Everyone is connected to everyone. I think that is an AMAZING thing. Here are a few of my favorite examples: Right now, I have a cousin living on the Cape who works for the Mass Audobon Society (Hi Edith!!). I might not have known that if we weren't both on Facebook. At best, I would've learned about it at Christmas time when its already over. About a week ago or so, an old friend from high school was posting up to the minute updates about his wife being labor and giving birth to their child. I haven't seen Will in YEARS and i've never met his wife once, but I was still very excited for the birth of his child! Just because of his posts! Two of my favorite coworkers left my department over the last month or so. While it is certainly sad that I don't get to Zofeen and Lynn everyday anymore, I know that they're on my Facebook. So if I want to know how they're doing, I can talk to them over FB chat, or write on their wall, or just send them a message!

I love reading peoples status updates and seeing their pictures, especially from my family. Everyone is so busy these days! Facebook is really the only way I get to see any of them anymore! Even though they only live 20 minutes away! I like reading people's comments and different ideas that they feel the need to share with the world, wether they're just updating because they need to vent, or if it's an inspirational quote they just heard. I've reconnected with people that I never thought I'd ever see again! Sometimes I sit back and wonder why I lost touch with some people and others I realize WHY I lost touch with them in the first place. Believe it or not, there's actually some friends I have that I wish I could delete, but I can't because i'm wayyy too nice. I think the coolest thing ever is the fact that the CEO of my hospital has a Facebook, a Twitter account AND he writes his own blog. He's one of the biggest fans of social media i've ever met! Does your CEO have a Facebook, a Twitter page and write his own blog AND still have time to run a big city hospital? I don't think so....Therefore my CEO is so much cooler than yours!! Dont believe me? Go read his blog. Its pretty great.

I love how some people use Facebook, and even Twitter and possibly Myspace (is anyone on Myspace anymore?) to market their particular brand, be it a company, band, writing project etc. I myself set up a fan page for this blog. Sure it only has 93 "fans", but I still think its fun. I can use it to promote my pin-up charecter. My husband can use it to promote his comic book. My co-worker Jackie uses it to help promote herself as a DJ. You can use it to start or join a group to raise awareness for a cause, or you can just use a group called "If you're going to talk behind my back, you're in a good position to kiss my ass". I'm not kidding, that is an ACTUAL group someone joined today....ANYWAY.......

As you can see, Facebook is a part of my life. As it is a part of many of yours as well. It has more positive aspects for me then it does negative. The point I'm trying to make here, or really the question I'm trying to answer is: How important of a role does social networking play in your life? I'm looking for serious answers and discussion here. I've laid my cards out on the table and now its your turn. Are you just a creeper who doesnt say anything and just lurks on peoples pages for the photos? Are you an avid poster/commenter like me? Do you have a business that you promote and do you find it works for you? Essentially, why do you use Facebook?

I'm serious. I want answers people!!

Why I love #3!!

2010-07-06T16:55:00.002-04:00

It seems like I'm doing alot of these posts these days!! It's just because i'm a fan of some pretty awesome things that will be happening in the coming weeks and I feel the need to share them with all of you!!

Today's post is all about the one and only, geektastic-ly beautiful, Olivia Munn!!

(note: This is the best pic of Olivia I could find that doesnt involve her being in a bikini....Sorry, male readers!)

Why is Olivia Munn getting the special treatment today? It's because today is the day her book "Suck It, Wonder Woman: The Mis-adventures Of A Hollywood Geek" hits bookshelves at a store near you! Go Olivia!!!

Most people know Olivia as the co-host of G4's 'Attack Of The Show". Over the past year and a half though, her popularity seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. Not only has she graced the covers of Playboy, FHM, and Maxim, but she's also co-starred in the movie "Date Night" with Steve Carell and Tina Fey, AND scored a role in one of the year's most anticipated films to date, "Iron Man 2". In a matter of one year, she managed to jump from #96 on "Maxim's Hot 100" list to #8. Thats pretty damn impressive. In TV news, not only has she recently signed on to be a correspondent on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" , she also recently starred in a pilot for an NBC series called "Perfect Couples" which was picked up for a full season!! The show will begin airing this fall for the 2010-2011 season!!

She is half-Chinese and was predominantly raised in Japan. Did you grow up in Japan? Are you half-chinese? I didnt think so. Therefore, Olivia is automatically cooler than you.

She's also quite the cosplayer! Most of which she's done for AOTS skits and appearances of course, but she's still rather impressive with her costuming choices. At last year's SDCC (or San Diego Comic Con for all you non geeks out there) she underwent a total of 5 costume changes for their LIVE AOTS Comic Con broadcast. Although, I think her male fans will agree, that this is probably their favorite costume of hers. Dont worry ladies, there's a little bit in that video for you , too. Kevin Pereira is quite the hottie!!

She has an amazing sense of humor. Don't believe me? Just search for the trending topic #redhotpooper on Twitter. It should lead you to....an interesting twitter conversation between Olivia and Kevin.

As you can see, Olivia has QUITE alot on her plate. But no matter how busy she gets, she ALWAYS makes time for her fans, and thats why they love her so much. Wether she's letting us know what's happening via her twitter feed, or hosting live chats on her website with her fan club, her fan base always knows what's going on with her. As much as we miss seeing her on AOTS the last few weeks, we all know that what she is doing is to better her situation in the long run! She has worked very hard to get to where she is, and we the fans, are extremely proud of her!!

With all that said, everyone should go out and pick up a copy of Olivia's new book. It should make for an entertaining read. You wont be disappointed :). Viva Olivia!!!

What I Could've Said #5

2010-07-05T17:20:00.003-04:00

Today a doctor came by and asked me if Patient (insert random name here) left yet.

I blinked for a few seconds before saying, "I'm not sure, what exactly did they look like?". After being given the description, I said "No I dont think so". Doctor McSmartyPants then decided to page someone to find out. And that was the end of the exchange.

My "What I Could've Said" response is as simple as this: "I have no idea, It wasnt my turn to watch them. How in the world am I supposed to know WHO that patient is?" OMFG, people!! Think before you ask questions.....

Yeah, i'm in that kind of mood today...

Freedom....For Everyone

2010-07-04T16:28:00.007-04:00

As this Fourth of July weekend comes to a close, I feel compelled to write something about freedom.

Freedom is an interesting concept to me. Its an amazing privilege we have. Some people, I think, abuse that privilege. Some just plain take it for granted because they don't realize how good we have it here. We have rights in this country that other citizens of the world don't have. We have the right to say what we want to say, and believe what we want to believe without fear of persecution. Most will probably read this now and think "Thank you, Captain Obvious! Now, what's your point?" My point is this (FYI, this is me jumping on my liberal soapbox again, you've been warned):

It's amazing how people can use those specific freedoms that we ALL have to make others feel less than significant and less worthy of being free. Just for the simple fact that they have a different political view, or religion or sexual orientation. The best example of this is the debacle surrounding gay marriage. I don't really understand what the big deal is. Why can't two people get married if they're in love? The simple fact that they are denied that....means they aren't fully free. They lack a certain right that straight couples take for granted in abundance. They say that two men or two women getting married "disgraces the sanctity marriage". I'm sorry but, statistics show that these days 50% of all marriages end in divorce. I think thats a larger slap in the face to the "sanctity of marriage" then two people who love each other being allowed to get married. The last time I checked (and this is what I signed up for 8-months ago) a marriage was a life-long commitment between two people. Now it's like, "Hey let's give it a shot for a few years and see what happens". If it's ok for a straight couple to do that, then why not a gay couple?

C'mon, America. We've just elected our first ever African-American president! It's the year 2010! Why can't we legalize gay marriage in all 50 states?

I understand that Independence Day is about celebrating our freedoms as Americans. I understand that people fought and died and are still fighting and dying so we can keep those freedoms. I appreciate everything that those men and women have done and are still doing for this country. But if there are still people in this country who can't enjoy the simple freedom of marriage, then what exactly are we fighting for? That last statement there is MOST LIKELY going to ruffle some feathers. But I don't really care. Because I am an American, and i'm free to express that if i choose.

EVERYONE deserves to be free, don't they?

The Last Airbender....

2010-07-03T15:51:00.006-04:00

...is not as terrible as people are making it out to be.

BUT.....

It wasn't as amazing as we were expecting. Its definitley not up to par with the series.

I feel bad for the cast and crew, because you can tell that they wanted to make the film great. It almost seems like they were trying too hard. My husband and I agree that this movie COULD have been better, if they didn't speed through it the way they did. Fans of the series will be disappointed for that simple of fact alone, and non-fans of the series will come out of it wondering WTF is happening. We wondered if there may be a directors cut release when they put it out on DVD? There isn't a lot of character development at all.

The thing that caught me off guard the most was the blatant mis-pronunciations of the characters names. I have no idea who Ong, Sew-ka and General Eeroh are, but I DO know who Aang, Sokka and General Iroh are. They even said Avatar wrong!!! It had me wondering....does Jim Cameron own the rights to how you SAY Avatar as well??? If Katara and Zuko weren't as easy as they already are to say, I guarantee they would've been butchered as well. M. Night decided to make the film because his son is a huge fan of the series, so it's not like he didn't know how to say the characters names in the first place.

As a fan, I watched the film wondering..."Where did that scene go?", "Why is that there?" and "Why did they cast Aasif Mandvi as Admiral Zhao?". Its because these questions were filling my head so much, that it took away from the enjoyment of the film.

There also wasn't enough Appa and Momo for my taste. The comedic factor (usually provided by Sokka) was all but lost.

Each actor put a lot of heart into their roles (that's what I noticed anyway), so i'm not going to pick on any of the acting jobs. We all knew ( by "we" I mean fans) that having M. Night behind the camera was taking a gamble. But in the end, we got exactly what we expected right? We thought that there's NO WAY he could screw up a story that isn't originally his to begin with. But he did. And that makes me sad. If they make the next two movies (and I hope they do), they just need to slow down and let the stories tell themselves. I understand there is A LOT of information to take in, but in the end it will be worth it. There will be a better understanding of the characters and their natures, and you will have an all around better story to work with.

In closing I would just like to add, that for the 14 seconds she was on screen, I already don't like Princess Azula....Maybe i'm just bitter because I wasn't CAST as her in the first place (nor was I even ASKED!!), but I didn't pick up the glint of crazy in her eye that I generally get from watching the character on the show. I want a do-over. DO OVER, i tell you!!

Pants? Really?

2010-07-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

I really have nothing better to post about today. I havent seen "The Last Airbender" yet to post a review, and there's nothing else really worthwhile going on. So for now, all I can do is rant about my displeasure over Wonder Woman's new.....pants.

Maybe i'm just displeased that they changed it at all, but WTF? Pants? They look like skinny jeans to me! And a little cropped jacket?I'd be inclined to rip that little jacket off if I was in the middle of a fight. I'm not sure I like that. That outfit does NOT scream bad ass crime-fighting chick! Sure, she's got the golden lariat and her gold bracelet things on, but I would not expect THAT Wonder Woman to kick ass. Is she wearing boots? I really can't tell because if she was, it looks like they blend in with her SKINNY JEANS! Although in different angles of the new costume that I found they look like leather pants. Either way, wouldn't hot pants be easier for her to fight in? I do like the red top though, i'll give them that much.

I'm sorry, but if I end up dressing up like Wonder Woman for Halloween (I have SO many different ideas for this year and only 121 days to decide, I think im screwed), I am NOT wearing this piece of crap.

"What I Could've Said" #4

2010-07-01T16:57:00.002-04:00

FINALLY!! Before I started this series of blogs, I had moments like this all the time. But now that iIve been posting these unfortunate situations for the world to read, they seem to have dwindled. Maybe 'cuz word got around? Who knows? I'm just glad that I finally have another one to share with you all!

This wasn't even a verbal exchange involved with this one. It's not even technically that funny to be honest. It's just something that has happened MULTIPLE times and EVERY time I've had the urge to say the same thing. So without further ado, here it goes:

Some of the bathrooms here at the hospital have two sinks in them. In some instances the sinks have their own hand dryers right behind them. Today's particular incident involved one of those bathrooms. I went to wash my hands today and there was another woman washing her hands as well. Nothing out of the ordinary right? The other woman finished before me, shook her hands out in the sink...and then proceeded to dry her hands.......at the hand dryer behind me. I stood there dumbfounded while I finished washing my hands, and then of course I had to use the hand dryer that was initially behind her in the first place. This only boggles my mind because it's happened before. In a DIFFERENT bathroom that's set up the same way. I never say anything when it happens, but I guess what I could've said is:

"Seriously, did you not notice the hand dryer behind/practically NEXT to you? Do you not realize how much time you could've saved yourself by simply turning around and drying your hands on your OWN dryer? Sure its not ALOT of time, but its still easier to just turn about 15 degrees to your RIGHT, instead of walking 4 feet? I'm not complaining, just trying to point how you could've made you're life easier right there. "

So yeah....that's all I got. Can you tell its a slow news day around here?

Why I Love #2......

2010-06-30T12:11:00.009-04:00

Today's post is another installment of the "Why I Love..." series!!

July 1st is a very important day in the life of Jo!!! I've been waiting for this day to come for almost a year now. Why you ask? Well I'll tell you. Today is the day "The Last Airbender" opens in theaters!!! FINALLY!! That's why todays post will be all about why I love "Avatar: The Last Airbender".

“We thought, "There's an air guy along with these water people trapped in a snowy wasteland... and maybe some fire people are pressing down on them..." - Avatar creator Brian Konietzko, talking about the early development stages of the show.

Do you like martial arts? Do you like cartoons? Do you like shows filled with drama, suspense, bertayal, anger, love and even some comedy thrown in there? Then you will enjoy this show and movie!!! Most people I know who have seen the original animated series on Nickelodeon love Avatar! Its hard not to! Sure it's a children's cartoon, but the story, the characters, the action and the BENDING in particular are just spectacular!

What exactly is bending you ask? Its quite simple really. Each of the four nations in the world of Avatar represents a different element. Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each nation has its own "benders" who have the ability to manipulate the element that each nation represents to their own will. Earthbenders bend earth and rocks, Waterbenders can bend water, etc. You get it, right? Good. :).

Picture this if you will: You're a 12 year old boy. You've just come out of a coma-like state. You find out you've missed out on the last 100 years, and now the world is in turmoil and at war and you are the only person who can set it right again. Everyone you knew before you went into your coma-like state, is dead and gone. Genocide of your entire race, basically. And oh yeah, you have 3 months to learn EVERYTHING you need to know to save the world....or else the world is fucked.

Yeah...... sounds shitty, right? That is basically the dilemma plaguing Aang (the protagonist of this story) during his turn as the Avatar. He is the very last of his kind. Hence the name "The Last Airbender." Joining him on his quest to fully become the Avatar, are a young waterbender named Katara and her older brother Sokka. He also has some animal friends helping him out as well (one of the best parts of the series I should add), a 6-legged flying air bison named Appa, and a little lemur named Momo. Seriously, a 6-legged flying air bison may SOUND stupid, but I think its pretty damn cool looking.....

The main antagonist of this story (or moreso the first chapter of the story) is Zuko, the banished prince of the Fire Nation. His job is to find the Avatar for his father, Fire Lord Ozai. He is accompanied on HIS quest, by the Fire Nation Navy and his generally jolly and wise Uncle Iroh. Im not going to tell you why he's banished. If M. Night told his story correctly, you will find out when you see the film.....or rent the series from Netflix.....or just watch it on TV. Its on the Nicktoons channel ALL the time.

Avatar is deeply rooted in Asian influence and mythology. The show includes elements of Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism and Yoga. The different bending styles are taken from 4 different styles of martial arts: Tai Chi, Hung Gar, Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, and Ba Gua. This quote by one of the creators, Bryan Konietzko, describes the series perfectly:

"Mike and I were really interested in other epic 'Legends & Lore' properties, like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but we knew that we wanted to take a different approach to that type of genre. Our love for Japanese anime, Hong Kong action and kung fu cinema, yoga, and Eastern philosophies led us to the initial inspiration for Avatar."

If you can appreciate all those elements put together, then you can appreciate what "The Last Airbender" is all about. So when you're done dry humping your cardboard cutouts of Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson this weekend, put some clothes on and go see "The Last Airbender". It will definetley be worth your while. I leave you now with one of my FAVORITE episodes on Avatar, from Season 1 entitled "Imprisoned". My favorite scene in this episode involves Momo...keep an eye out for it:

And that is why I LOVE "Avatar: The Last Airbender".

Foggy....

2010-06-30T08:20:00.000-04:00

I hate when my brain is foggy.

I'm not foggy today but I think its best to tackle this subject while I can think straight and determine how exactly it makes me feel. That way it hopefully happens less and less. Does anyone else have days like that? I guess in order to decide wether you HAVE days like that or not, I need to explain myself. So here goes...

On a clear day, I'm generally happy. My thoughts and feelings are flowing freely and I'm an open book. I'll gladly tell you anything you want to know and vice versa. It's actually hard to get me to shut up! I'm bursting with ideas. Days like that are usually the ones where I come up with four blog topics in one day and have no idea where they all came from. I'm bouncy and full of life. Because I feel free. I'm focused and attentive. There is no weight on my shoulders holding me down. I'm just my usual self.

When I'm foggy, I don't feel free. I am a prisoner to my own thoughts and emotions. Its usually one thought or one feeling that stews and stews and draws up other thoughts and emotions, which end up snowballing and clouding my brain up so much that I can't think anymore. Thats why I call it foggy, because I can't seem to see through or manuever around it. I can't think beyond what it is that's clouding my judgement in the first place. Its a horrible feeling when I'm trying so hard to focus on something else, to make myself forget, but I can't seem to pull my brain out of the unfortunate place that it's in. Being foggy makes me feel the way Keanu Reeves looks in this picture. That's not very happy at all.

It's good for me to have an outlet like this for foggy days. Even though there are certain things I will never say on this blog, because I know who reads it, it still helps a lot. It clears up the clutter a tad. Not a ton, but enough that I can function. Although, considering I DO know who does and doesnt read this, I could probably be alot more specific about things and noone would know what the hell im talking about, lol.

I didn't even realize how it affected me until last week. I remember the exact moment I gained clarity. It was kind of beautiful actually. Taking that first refreshing breath when I realized everything was alright was wonderful. It made me smile and I was in the best mood for the rest of the night. And for the next few days after that, as well! Of course it didn't last long though. All it takes is one little thing. I wish it didn't happen that way.

i dont think there is witty way for me to end this one, soo.........

I love her but.....

2010-06-29T19:39:00.002-04:00

...i'm curious if there is a Darwin Awards-style equivalent for "Mother Of The Year".

In July's issue of Vanity Fair, Angelina Jolie talks about her children (obviously). Here is the quote:

"Mad's a real intellectual, which I can take no credit for genetically. He's great at school, great at history. He feels like he could be a writer or travel the world and learn about places and things. Zahara's got an extraordinary voice and is just so elegant and well spoken. Shiloh's hysterically funny, one of the goofiest, most playful people you'll meet. Knox and Viv are classic boy and girl. She's really female. And he's really a little dude."

Ehm....a true Brangeloonie knows whats missing from that quote. Poor kid. He's probably too young to even realize though....

The first edition of "Why I Love....."

2010-06-29T08:26:00.001-04:00

I'm starting a new series of posts on this blog entitled "Why I love.......". The point of this series of blogs is to introduce you to some of the things that make little old me smile. Hopefully by giving you a glimpse of them, you can grown to enjoy them too!

The lucky subject of the very first "Why I love....." post is: Tom Hanks!!

Tom Hanks.... is just plain incredible. How can you not LOVE Tom Hanks? If you don't, then we will DEFINETLY have words, mister! Director. Producer. Academy-Award winning actor. He's actually had a total of 4 nominations for "Best Actor" throughout his entire career. He's eco-friendly and seems like an "all-around awesome guy". Most people who read this blog have probably already figured out that my favorite film of his is "Forrest Gump". A few other titles of his to check out that I also enjoy are "A League of Their Own", "Cast Away", "Angels and Demons", "You've got Mail" and of course 'Big":

Recently, Tom has been posting pictures and video on his Twitter account from the set of his new film "Larry Crowne". I really only have a vague idea what the film is about, but because I keep seeing updates about it, i'm really excited about seeing it! It's refreshing to see that an actor in his 50's is using the power of the internet to stay connected with his fans. He also has a YouTube channel, where he posts videos like this:

I want an electric car like Tom Hanks!! That is why I LOVE Tom Hanks!!!!

My Monday/Friday Dilemma....

2010-06-28T08:20:00.000-04:00

I have a confession to make.

I rather enjoy Mondays, and kinda loathe Fridays. One thing to remember while you read this is, yes, I am offically insane.

Why you ask? Its kind of complicated really. As I'm writing this, there is officially less than 6 months to Christmas. When I point that out to someone, they almost always say "Wow, already?? Where did the time go? What a quick year its been!" I think I figured out why it feels like years just fly by...

...Because people are in such a RUSH to get their damn week over with!!!

Seriously,every other person you encounter LOATHES Monday. Since it is Monday, go and ask someone how they are. The answer will most likely be something along the lines of "I'm ok. Its Monday of course, but I'm pretty good". For 90% of the people out there, Monday is the end of the weekend, and that gives people the sads. Poor Monday!! It hurts Mondays feelings when you cast it aside so abruptly like that. I'll tell you why I like Mondays to see if I can maybe change your mind about it.

I like Mondays because when it comes, I realize I have a WHOLE WEEK to do stuff!! Sure there's work for 8 hours, but its true what they say: There are 24 usable hours in everyday. If you get excited about friday and put EVERYTHING off until then... that means you have 2 days to do stuff. I'd much rather have 7 days to do stuff. 7 is more than 2, right? Why do you think movie theaters and restaurants are always packed on weekends? Because EVERYBODY puts it off until the weekend! Go to dinner or a movie on a Tuesday or Wednesday. I guarantee there will be no wait, and the crowds will be considerably smaller.

Friday is just the opposite for me. Its the end of the week. I'm tired, which means I really dont wanna deal with people. Yet I still have to deal with everyone going "Its Friday, YAY!!!" So in order to go with the flow, I also say "Yay, the weekend is here!" but inside, i really could care less.

So instead of getting excited for just ONE day (or 2 1/2 depending on if you count the whole weekend or not), why not enjoy EVERYDAY? Make them all worthwhile! I wonder if we all did that if time would maybe slow down for us.

With that said, Happy Monday! Try and enjoy your week! Take in every moment! So that when Friday does come, you can feel like you've done something :)

Monsters Inc. =/> Our Own Energy Crisis?

2010-06-27T17:15:00.000-04:00

The other day I woke up inspired! Maybe because it was Friday? Maybe because I've been able to think clearly finally over the few days? I don't know, but what I do know is I'm kind of excited about this post.

I had this idea in my head a few weeks ago but could never get it off the ground. Something about that day was different though! So get ready! I'm about to get on my soapbox about.......the oil spill and our energy crisis!! Don't worry, my soapbox is rather high because I'm small. So I won't get TOO crazy/excited about it because I'll fall off and hurt myself...

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were watching "Monsters, Inc." which is probably my favorite of all the Pixar movies (Wall-E is a VERY close second though. Its probably a photo finish between the two). In between laughs, I got to thinking. Now, I'm not too vocal about my thoughts because I'm not confident enough with my words. 90% of the time I over think things and get myself in a world of hurt, but this time I think I hit the nail on the head: The energy crisis facing the citizens of Monstropolis is very similar to the energy crisis that we are facing here in the real world.

Maybe Disney did that on purpose? Is "Monster's Inc." a social commentary on our country's energy situation? I know the movie came out YEARS ago before this oil spill disaster even happened, but we've been dealing with energy issues for a while now, have we not? Or maybe Disney just wanted to make a film about why monsters come out of kids closets at night? Who knows?

First of all, if you haven't SEEN "Monsters, Inc.", get on that ASAP! But i'll give you a run down of the synopsis anyway. Mike and Sulley live in Monstropolis and work at the Monsters, Inc factory. Their job at the factory is to collect screams from children to power their city by going into their rooms via their closet doors and scaring the bejesus out of them. The bejesus, i tell you!! One of their subjects, a little girl that Sulley calls "Boo", escapes into the factory. And of course since monsters believe children are toxic, Mike and Sulley scramble to get Boo BACK in her door. Hilarity ensues. There's going to be enough spoilers in this blog, so if you want to figure out what happens, then keep reading...

It's clearly pointed out in the beginning of the movie that the city is experiencing a "scream shortage" because children are becoming desensitized and as a result, are harder to scare these days. Screams are then converted to energy, which in turn power the cars and homes of Monstropolis. So if there are no screams, naturally there is no energy/power. The citizens of the city don't seem too overly concerned about it. They continue on driving their cars, living their lives, wasting valuable energy, etc. Does anyone see the parallels here? How many people HONESTLY cared about the crisis facing this country BEFORE the oil spill? We cared about how it hurt our wallets,yes, but we didn't care enough about the long term effects it will have on future generations. It's an "out of sight, out of mind" thing. Moving on....

The energy crisis is then overshadowed by the sudden appearance of Boo. Everyone suddenly becomes preoccupied with trying to figure out WHO is responsible for letting Boo in? And WHERE is Boo? And WHAT are we gonna do? And HOW are we going to fix this?? Is this sending up any red flags for anyone? Does anyone else see the similarities between this and real life? Is it just me? Anyway...we're lead to believe Sulley is responsible because he was the one investigating the lone door left out after hours. Along the way, while Mike and Sulley are trying hilariously to hide Boo in their apartment, Mike makes an ass of himself and Boo starts laughing hysterically. Her laughter then sends a SURGE of energy throughout their entire building which leaves Sulley pondering "What was that?" What was that?? Why did that happen? How on earth could a small little thing like Boo create THAT much energy?? We find out as......

......the story continues and its revealed that RANDALL is the one responsible for the door being their after hours (Damn you, Randall!!). Randall seems to have invented a machine that will extract the screams from children against their will, therefore "revolutionizing the scaring industry"! (BTW, I love how they call it an "industry". Like there's more than one scream factory?) Mike and Sully figure out his grand scheme and alert Mr. Waternoose, the CEO of the company, hoping he will put a stop to this madness!! Sadly, they find that Mr. Waternoose himself is in on the whole scheme!!! BASTARDS!!!! WHY? Because, in his own words he'll "kidnap a thousand children before I let this company die!" Hmm....a corrupt CEO? Who does this remind me of? Corrupt and vile oil/energy company CEO's? Mayhaps? Just a thought to keep in the back of your mind.....

After a series of unfortunate events (including Mike and Sulley being BANISHED to the Himalayas for figuring out Randall and Waternoose's grand scheme), Randall and Waternoose get their's when their plan is revealed to the CDA, or Child Detection Agency. With Waternoose arrested they have noone to run the company. That, plus the scream shortage has everyone pondering the fate of Monster's Inc and the city of Monstropolis itself. Mike, who is trying to lighten the mood, makes the comment "but hey, at least we had a few laughs, right?". It's at that exact moment when Sulley has an epiphany. Remembering Boo's incident at the apartment, he realizes that laughter is 10 times more powerful than screams. Sulley then becomes the new CEO of Monsters, Inc. by changing the way they do business. Instead of scaring children, make them laugh! Who would've guessed? An alternate energy source in limitless supply? AMAZING!!!! An alternate energy source that also turns out to be more profitable and efficient in the long run? FUCKING MIND BLOWING!!

Could we at least TRY to give alternative energy a shot? I'm not even going to give Toyota glory for developing the Prius. Instead I'll applaud Nissan for developing the Leaf, which will be America's first mass-produced, all-electric vehicle. This oil spill is the biggest indicator that something's gotta give! When will we ween ourselves off of oil? There are SOOO MANY alternative options out there. Its not like we dont know what they are or HOW to attain them! We have the capability to harness clean energy!!! Wind and solar power, corn oils, electricity! It's there! There doesnt NEED to be an energy crisis. Yet we feel the need to stay commited to what is familiar and what is familiar for us now is oil. Change your way of thinking, America. Here's something to think about: how long will it be before another off shore rig blows?

So there you have it! Thats how I will be viewing "Monsters, Inc" for the rest of my natural born life. And I hope you do too. Dont like it? Fine then, I suggest you read this work of sheer genius before you judge my nice little blog here....

Yeah, its not harmless fun or anything....it's (dun dun DUN) "Hollywood's Satanic Agenda"!!!!......that is how I will leave you tonight :)

WTF???

2010-06-25T18:29:00.002-04:00

The last hour of this day for me has been rather epic and full of win!!

As I was patrolling my lobby today (aka pacing to keep away the boredom), I stopped because I noticed one of our tissue dispensers was empty. I then proceeded to take the empty tissue box out so I could replace it. Before I threw it away though, I noticed there was a little hook sticking out from beneath the cardboard of the box. I tugged at the little hook and what did I find? An earring I lost MONTHS ago!! I didn't know WHAT to think! How the hell did that earring get there? Where was it that it got lodged IN the tissue box?? It made my lil' friday afternoon THAT much better!!

I'm taking this as a sign from the Goddess, that my efforts have not gone unnoticed and that she is there :)! What do you think of my awesome purple nails? They match the B.I. purple LOL!! Is that showing team spirit or a mere coincidence? You decide... (as a side note, please forgive the blurryness!)

That paired with the fact that there was absolutely NO traffic on Storrow Drive on a friday at 5pm which allowed me to catch my train easily, has made for a pleasant commute home!!

I really hope I'm not dreaming right now...because that would be just plain mean!

That's all for now! I've got two new blogs in the works that I'm REALLY excited about! Keep your eyes peeled!!

Tweet of the Day!!

2010-06-24T14:51:00.002-04:00

"DitaVonTeese :Little old lady in drugstore shouting for help with mascara, so I acted as store clerk. It was fun. No one else was helping her!"

If anyone is going to help you with mascara, the only person youWANT helping you is the beautiful Dita Von Teese!! Luckiest old lady ever!! :)

Gaga...

2010-06-24T12:18:00.005-04:00

I read this quote the other day:"When I wake up in the morning, I feel just like any other insecure 24-year-old girl," Lady Gaga tells the July issue of Rolling Stone magazine. "Then I say, 'Bitch, you're Lady Gaga, you get up and walk the walk today.'"

First of all, did ANYONE realize Lady Gaga was only 24?? She's younger than me! WTF?? This post is particularly amusing to me because Michael (my coworker and friend), my boss and I were talking about me being Lady Gaga yesterday.

Anyway, I think that is a REALLY awesome way to live. I wish I could be like her. Now am I saying I wish I looked like a man? No, not in the slightest. I wish I had her confidence to do whatever feels right to her and not care what anyone thinks. I do that to an extent now, but I feel myself hesitating a lot. Is it my age that's making me hesitate? Possibly. If it is, then that sucks. I'd love to walk down the street as Kristy Cupcakes but I don't know how well that would go over. This brings me to a quote from one of my favorite cinematic scenes of all time. It kinda goes hand in hand with what Lady Gaga has to say. Brownie points to whoever can name the movie:

" Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."

I guess what I'm trying to say is I need to decide: Am I Clark Kent or Peter Parker? Am I Kristy Cupcakes wearing a Jo costume everyday? Or am I just Jo who hasn't embraced my inner super hero yet? Lady Gaga knows what she's doing. She's not Stefani Germanotta anymore...she is Gaga. Regardless of what you think of her over-the-top outfits and music....she got your attention, didnt she?

For you.....

2010-06-19T09:55:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the slight interruption in posting. There was serious goings on in the Smith family with my husband's uncle passing away, so I needed to take a little break. But I promise this post will make up for it! I hope anyway...

One of my friends posted something as his Facebook status that moved me:

"Some people make this world a much better place, and don't even know it..."

I could not agree more. I've been struggling to post something similar to this for weeks now because that is so true. So I'm going to write this, not FOR the people who make the world better, but for the people who notice that and are too afraid to say it for whatever reason. I'll try and be your voice because I know how that feels. Doesn't everyone have a person like that in their life? It could be a family member, husband, wife, friend, coworker, anybody. Anybody who moves you enough and makes your day that much better, even if they dont know it. So here goes:

Everday I see you and I smile. I don't think you know just how happy you make me and the people you interact with on a daily basis. I am lucky to have you in my life. You're like yellow roses on a gray day. I appreciate everything you do for me and have done for me in the past. No matter how you are feeling or what kind of day you're having, know this: There is at least ONE person on your side, and always will be. When you say jump, I will always pull out the trampoline and say "How high?". All I want is for you to be happy. Because you deserve to feel the amount of happiness that you bring to others. You inspire me everyday to work harder and be better overall. :)

Είστε ο λόγος που έμαθα ελληνικά :)

Look, see??? The greek learning is going well :). I learn a little more everyday. Oh whats that? You dont know what that says? It's ok. I just wanted to show off my skills at the end there.

I guess thats all....for now....

Curious......

2010-06-16T16:42:00.005-04:00

Since I've been working nights I've been able to go for my nice long walks before work, which i absolutely love. Considering my whole day is over when I get out at 8, its nice to be able to enjoy a little bit of the sunshine. Sometimes I walk down by the Charles and enjoy the peacefulness of the water. Sometimes I walk through the parks and up Newbury Street when I'm in a people-watching mood. But sometimes when I take that route, I take a detour through the Prudential Center and exit out the back to Huntington Ave (if you dont live in Boston or know the layout of the city, this will make absolutely no sense to you, so don't feel bad if youre confused).

Anyway, right across from the Pru is The Christian Science Plaza/Area. I don't know if thats the official name for it but thats what I call it. It is pretty huge and it has a nice fountain and reflecting pool and its nice to walk by. But today I walked closer to the buildings then I normally do and I noticed something strange. Something so strange that it moved me enough to take a picture of it:

If you can't read it clearly it says "The First Church Of Christ, Scientist".

I know there is something wrong with that. Why is their a comma there? That to me, says Christ was a scientist. Is carpentry a science? I am so confused!! Can someone who understands Christian Science explain this to me?

Post I wrote at 530 am .....

2010-06-16T09:50:00.001-04:00

What do I do when I wake up this early? Write a blog apparently.

I most likely won't post this until later, but I might as well use this time wisely because a) I have fresh thoughts in mind and b) its 5:30A.M. AND I AM AWAKE!!

I'm actually up because sadly my husband's uncle passed away and the phone rang. But normally I could fall back to sleep.....not today apparently.

Maybe I'm up so I can watch Moulin Rouge which is on right now. Best Scene Ever: Ewan McGregor singing "Your Song" by Elton John. Melts my heart EVERYTIME. The costumes in this movie are breathtaking. Its so sad that (spoiler alert) Satine dies at the end.

Should I eat breakfast? I don't even know. I think I should.

I'm gonna be so tired when I have to work until 8 O'CLOCK TONIGHT!! Its not even like I can pump myself full of caffeine to get through it. Unless I WANT severe anxiety later. That could work to my advantage actually. I don't know if its worth it though.

Maybe I should work out for 2 hours. But that just seems like overkill. 6 A.M. is a good time to start I guess. But for now I blog.

Is today a good day or a bad day? Usually I can tell a bad day right away because it starts off that way. It did TECHNICALLY start bad, but not for me really. I'm trying to look at the positives of getting up this early. I think it could be a good day. I just need to make it happen!! Who wants to help me turn this day over?

"Love is like oxygen, Love is a many splendored thing, Love lifts us up where we belong, All you need is Love!"- I friggin love this movie so much. My question is why is Satine's room a giant elephant?

Off to work out now? I guess so.....

It's been a couple days....

2010-06-15T18:24:00.003-04:00

I'm sorry!

Did you miss me? I haven't really had much to say over the past few days.

I guess I could update you all on how i'm doing completing my "101 things in 1001 days" list. So far I have done SIX things!! Thats a lot considering I wrote the list about 2 weeks ago or so! 19, 27, 38, 39, 54 & 68 are all done! I'm so proud of me! Im not entirely sure which item I want to tackle next.

I hate when im inspired to write a post but I always lose my focus on it because im working... Not saying my job sucks, im just saying I wish i had more time to write freely when inspiration hits. I had two ideas for new blogs. One was going to outline the parallel's between the energy crisis in Monstropolis (yes the city in "Monsters Inc") and the energy crisis we are facing in the real world, and the other was going to be about finding faults within myself. I had both of them thoroughly thought out!! And then I got to work and totally lost it. Fuckers!!

My blackberry is being a total bitch today. I'm rather annoyed with it. I think I may have to punish it by taking the battery out for a bit.

I've realized I get wayyyyy too excited when my work phone rings. It's never who I think its gonna be...

Yeah...I really have nothing else to say at the moment...Sooooo....Here's a picture of Sir Ian Mckellan in what might possibly be the coolest shirt ever.

Gandalf/Magneto...I totally love you

Bratty.....

2010-06-10T17:49:00.004-04:00

Time for random thoughts that are stewing in my head. Some are directed at random people that I didnt get the chance to say today and some are just me babbling (as usual):

Despite how miserable I was at the end, my time working at the hotel was rather enjoyable. What made it enjoyable were the people, my coworkers. They were my extended family. I am thankful to still have some of those wonderful people in my life currently! Right now one of them is here, in my hospital. As a patient. And it has affected me as much as it would if it was my own brother in here. Seeing someone who is usually as strong as an ox in a hospital bed is a hard thing to do. I am glad he is on the road to recovery though. I'm so happy you're gonna be alright, Daryl.

Random doctor dude is sitting on my desk. Rude!! This is not your desk, sir! But he's nice so I cant stay mad at him....

Today I feel like i've been an annoying brat. I hate that feeling. I just wish someone would tell me if I actually WAS being a brat because I generally overthink things and I could be wrong.

I got another free granola bar today from the church people handing them out on the corner. I thought they were just handing them out to be cool when I got one yesterday but then I looked at the card they gave me along with it and I was like "awwww, i'm not gonna go to your church. I just want your Chewy Granola Bars cuz they're tasty."

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein.....Yeah...this is my life now. Every single day....except for Saturdays and Sundays.

Im finally figuring out the whole "gender" thing when it comes to Greek. I think I get why they do it. Doesnt make it any easier to learn though....

I wonder if you read this blog. Do you read it and laugh? Do you read it and find it bizarre? Just a mere hint that you read it, would be nice.

I realize I get more creative with my words the more I eat my trail mix. Thank you trail mix, for filling me up and curing my writer's block. I think my favorite part is the fake M&M's. I dont know how that passes for chocolate...but man is it terrible....maybe thats why I save them for last.

I realized that this is my favorite Stewie Griffin quote: "Let me guess, you picked out yet another colorful box with a crank that I'm expected to turn and turn until OOP! big shock, a jack pops out and you laugh and the kids laugh and the dog laughs and I die a little inside. " I dont know why that amuses me greatly but it does. Thank you, Seth MacFarlane, for filling my life with laughter :).

I realize now that I knew what today was all along. I realized what today was YESTERDAY. I even told myself yesterday that today would be an interesting day. This is why I need a Prince of Persia dagger. To restart this day.

Dear "My Immortal" by Evanescense: I love you and all, but you can suck my ass right about now.

Sometimes I think my heart is just too big. Meaning I care too much about people who could care less if I lived or died. Well maybe life or death is a bit harsh. I'll say if I was sick...or just didnt show up one day.

I guess that'll do for tonight. I still feel like I have things inside. But i'll stop for now.....

A Special Edition of.....

2010-06-10T13:16:00.003-04:00

...."What I Could've Said"!! brought to you by my friend and coworker, Jackie Mason!!

(pause for applause)

I had my own "what I could've said" encounter today, but Jackie's was far more entertaining for me to come up with a funny response too. So here we go:

Today somebody asked her "Is this the hospital?", and Jackie simply paused for a few seconds and said "Yes."

Now, in my opinion, this is the best "what I couldve said" response: "No....no its not....this is the post office."

That's all for now. Thank you to Jackie, for providing today's funny!!!

Happy Birthdayyyyyy.....

2010-06-09T16:47:00.002-04:00

..Mr. Depp!!

Yeah...its Johnny's birthday. It should be a holiday around these parts! 47 years ago today, the earth was blessed with the birth of John Christopher Depp. Yes, you read that right. The man in that photo there is 47 years old. Granted that picture is probably a few years old now, but he looks the same pretty much. I feel slightly dirty swooning over a man that is almost 50. He's a very youthful 47 though!

I found an awesome video from his 46th birthday last year of him being surprised with a birthday cake by fans and the production of the film he was working on at the time. He was so surprised and thankful for it, but for some reason, i cant copy the code . So here's the link instead. I just love how shy he gets! The man is one of the most loved figures in the world and has played some of the most bizarre charecters ever....yet he still hates being the center of attention. Seriously, if you ever watch Johnny in an interview or on an awards show, he doesnt really know what to do!
If you dont believe me, check this shit out. You can stop when it gets to the Keith Richards part because noone should have to look at that....

Yeah thats the same man who is Captain Jack Sparrow. And Willy Wonka. And Sweeney Todd. And Edward Scissorhands. And Gilbert Grape. And Ed Wood. That is just a small fraction of all the amazing charecters this man has played. I'd like to try and compare him to one of the calssic movie actors of old, but I dont think anyone really compares at all! He truly does his own thing and I think thats why I admire him so much as an actor. For someone like me, who always tries to do their own thing no matter what.

So here's to you, Mr. Depp. I'll raise my glass to you this evening!!

Monday sillyness....

2010-06-07T18:04:00.003-04:00

Today is just silly which is rare for a Monday.

Silly, silly and more silly.

I saw a woman walking towards me today with a piece of toilet paper stuck to her foot. I've never seen this happen in real life before....ever. Thank GOD someone told her before she got to me because I dont think I would have been able to open my mouth without laughing hysterically at the poor woman! I have no self control when it comes to things like that.

On a similar note, I also noticed a woman wearing her shirt inside out. This was around 4pm this afternoon so obviously she was wearing it for quite some time and nobody told her and I certainly didnt want to ruin the fun. So she went on her merry way and I chuckled to myself about her shirt situation.

I just realized I'm wearing a bit of eye makeup and ive been rubbing my eye constantly. That cant look good right about now....

I made a curious observation today. Why are water fountains always conveniently located next to bathrooms? Unless its in the middle of a park somewhere, thats generally where they're situated. Does anybody else find that bizarre and borderline disgusting? Think about that the next time you go get a drink of water from that cleverly placed bathroom fountain.... Watch some asshat is gonna ruin my fun and comment about how it has to do with the plumbing or some shit like that. So just in case, here's a pre-emptive "Thank you, Buzz Killington". Nobody asked for your opinion!

Here's my last dose of silly for this post:
http://www.geekologie.com/2008/11/good_idea_man_submits_drawing.php

That is all.....

Food, family, friends and a festival!!

2010-06-07T08:44:00.000-04:00

Wow!

All I can say is wow. I had such an incredible weekend. Not as great as our DC weekend of course, but still pretty wonderful. Just sitting down here on the couch trying to write this blog and I am pooped!! I just opened a ring pop for an extra blast of sugar to make it to bedtime!!

I'll start by saying that I LOVED my dress I wore for the day! I should've taken a pic WEARING it, but I didn't think of it. But here's the link so you can see what it looked like it at least. Use your imagination!
http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Hellenic+Festival+Dress

On Saturday morning, I went with Jenie and Alex(a.k.a. the best kid ever) to get Alex's picture taken for his birthday! He was soooo adorable during the entire shoot! He's just as photogenic as his Auntie Jo, haha!! After the pictures, we went for a delicious lunch at Legal Sea Foods. It was the first time I'd ever been there( I know, I know), and I enjoyed it thoroughly! My caesar salad and grilled shrimp (appetizer and entree) were fantastic! And they had root beer!! Its rare to find a restaurant that serves that these days! But I didn't want to eat too much because I knew where I was going next.....

Soon after I got home from getting Alex's picture done, I was out and about again and off to the Arlington Greek Festival at my boss's church. I'm not gonna lie when I say I sat in my car for 5 minutes debating wether or not I should go in. I was going into it by myself which is rare for me. Besides going to the occasional movie, I never do things alone. It's something I need to work on. Its easy for me to be charming around people I know, its harder around complete strangers. But I will say that looking like $1 million bucks helped though! I'm proud of myself for actually GOING! I met up with the man (aka my boss) as soon as I got there which surprised me. I figured it would take me a while since the tent was friggin huge! We chatted for a bit before I ventured off by myself for a few so I could a) check the place out and b) let my stomach rest more before I could eat again. I grabbed a beer first to take the edge off (I was still wicked nervous). I drank it in about 15 minutes. That's a feat for me because I NEVER drink beer. But that's besides the point. Of course there was food all over the place and in the back they had vendor tables that sold jewelry and stuffs. There was also kids rides and games in the grassy area outside the tent but I couldn't really check them out because my shoes kept sinking in the mud (stupid heels!!). Once I realized there wasn't much else to do without getting stuck in the mud, I decided it was time to eat. I texted the boss, got my food and he sat with me for almost an hour while I ate my souvlaki plate, which was really nice of him. He was wicked tired though, I could tell. He said he went to bed at 330am and was back at the tent at 830! Crazy man!! But I do admire his commitment to it. He's kind of epic and awesome like that. The food of course was DELISH!! But meat on a stick is rarely bad, lol. I'm surprised I ate as much as I did, considering what I already ate that day at Legals. Two full skewers of meat! All that weight I lost during the week....was put back on in the matter of a day. Shortly after I finished eating I left. I said goodbye to the man and went back home.

As a side note, the church is around the corner from Video Horizons. Dane Cook fans know what I'm talking about. That's where Dane used to work apparently. I saw it and chuckled to myself.

After I got home, we went BACK out to hang out with Bill, Jenie and Alex again! It was greatjust sitting around watching Alex play in the yard and watching the baby in Jenie's belly moving! It was like there was an alien in her tummy! And of course there was more eating. Yup... more food and root beer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all because I LOOOOVE food. There was just a lot of it...

We left their house and went to get....you guessed it....MORE FOOD!!! We went and had ice cream around the corner from our house. It was quite lovely, if not gluttonous. By the time we got home, I was soooo ready for bed. I don't remember falling asleep that night :).

Sunday was a lot looser. I didn't do a ton but I still felt fulfilled!! I went for my walk after breakfast and took my time getting ready.

In the early afternoon, I went to my grandparents house for a delicious lunch (yup, it begins again with the food). Spending sunday at my grandparents house is one of my favorite things in life!! My nana made her famous whoopie pies for dessert and I got to take some home with me! Yay!

As I was about to leave, it started storming so I decided to wait it out so I wouldn't have to drive in it! Its a good thing I did!! What a mess it would've been. It was like a monsoon hit Revere!! I couldn't believe my eyes! I'd never seen anything like it before. After an hour or so, everything calmed down and I went home.

And that pretty much sums up my weekend. Sorry if I was a little long winded there but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything! Hope you all enjoyed that!! :)

That's Sir Jean-Luc Picard to you!!!!

2010-06-04T17:13:00.002-04:00

I can die happy now :). I found this on The Daily What and I am sooooo happy for Patrick Stewart!!

"Patrick Stewart has been upgraded from captain — to knight.

The actor — famous for playing Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation — officially became Sir Patrick Stewart when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.

While Star Trek introduced him to a different group of fans, Stewart is also a widely respected stage actor.

Actor Sir Patrick Stewart is knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during an investiture at Buckingham Palace in London, Wednesday June 2, 2010. The Queen is reported to be a fan of the star, who has enjoyed a 50-year career in movies, TV and the theatre including 16 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The 69-year-old actor discovered the theatre as a child, and said “my heroes were Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Sir Alec Guinness.” Being “in that company is the grandest thing that has professionally happened to me.”

Stewart joined Britain's storied Royal Shakespeare Company in his 20s, and in 2008 was nominated for a Tony award for the leading role in Macbeth."

Adventures in DC: Part 3!!

2010-06-03T17:00:00.006-04:00

Are you ready.........for part 3 of the DC blog?? Well even if you're not, deal with it! Because here it comes...

Saturday was probably the best day of the whole trip! It was filled some of my favorite things : Pam, pandas, orange chicken, kittehs, Inglourious Basterds, and Wii!!!

We spent the whole day with Pam and Alex and we went to the National Zoo to start it off!! Having only ever been to the Stone Zoo in my lifetime, I was wicked excited to go to a REAL zoo with awesome animals. It was huge! There was so much to see and do! Some highlights were:

-a cheetah who was sleepies and lazy:

-Silly gorillas and a baby:

-An impatient (or hungry, or irritated, I couldn't decide which) lioness and her lazy sleeping husband)

-A stalker monkey:

-ELEPHANTS! Which I don't have a pic of sadly (sorry!!)

-Meerkats!

-And the most important of them all: GIANT PANDAS!!!:

The male is Tian Tian and the female is Mei Lan. I don't know which is which, and frankly I don't really care. All I know is that I loves them and I wanted to take them home with me!! They were both indoors for our first visit (yes we stopped by the habitat twice, got a problem with that??). My guess is it was too hot for them to be out. But by the second time we went around, one of them was up and about roaming around outside. Sadly their baby, Tai Shan, was sent back to China about 2 months ago :(. Its part of the deal for having two of their panda's on loan.

When we got done with the zoo, we stopped at the little mall food court near Pam and Alex's place and got our lunch/dinners and went back to their apartment for the rest of the night! We got to meet their awesome kittehs, Tucker and Callie :) and we watched my favoritest movie ever while we were eating, "Inglourious Basterds". I also had orange chicken and rice from Panda Express so I was TOTALLY in my happy place!! I used to not like orange chicken until I had it at my nana's a month or so ago. Random factoid. Deal with it :-p.

After the movie we played on the Wii for the rest of the night!! Mario Kart with 4 players is so much better than just playing alone or even playing with 2 people for that matter. Also, "100 Pin Bowling" on Wii Sports resort is highly entertaining. And lastly, if you insist on doing the "Curling" event on Mario and Sonic At The Winter Games, make sure you have PLENTY of time on your hands, because it takes forever to get through!! I swear it took 20 minutes for all 4 of us to get through the first round, it was ridiculous! Fun of course, but ridiculous.

Sadly, our awesome evening had to come to an end. It was depressing knowing we were going home soon :(. Day 4 post tomorrow....

Snarky bathroom vandals

2010-06-03T16:00:00.002-04:00

As I went to hang up my purse on the little hook on the back of the stall door in the bathroom in North Station (a.k.a. The TD Bank Garden), I noticed this little gem:

In case you cant make out what that says, here ya go:
The upper left hand message says "Jesus Lives."

The lower left hand message says "Jesus is Dead"

The message on the right says "Alive or dead, Jesus does not want you writing on bathroom stalls!"

It made me LOL in the bathroom stall and I felt the need to share.

Resume your normal activity now...

The Made Up Word Of THe Day....

2010-06-03T13:13:00.003-04:00

is orthotometrist....

What kind of crazy amalgam of an orthopaedist and an optometrist is that??? I dont even want to know what that doctor does!! It scares the hell out of me just thinking about it!

So everytime you hear that word today (and I hope you don't) you have to scream like you're on the Pee Wee Herman Show!

"What I Could've Said" - # 3

2010-06-02T16:57:00.003-04:00

While writing part 2 of my DC blog this little incident happened and it couldnt be ignored:

Question: "How do I get back downstairs?"

Actual answer: "You just go right down the stairs over here."

"What I Could've Said" answer: Well, let's think about this for a second...how did you get upstairs in the first place?"

I wouldn't have said it in a snarky tone. It would've been taken that way of course, but I'd mean it more in a problem-solving kind of way. We all learned problem solving in school right? Use your skills, bitches!

D.C. Trip Part 2!!!

2010-06-02T16:12:00.006-04:00

DAY 2: Are you still with me? Just checking. If you missed yesterdays post, check it out and get caught up before you read this one....

Friday morning we were both up relatively early. But that's ok because not only did we get to go down to the awesome breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant, but we also got a head start on the tourists and all that jazz. The hotel breakfast was fantastic! I tried quiche filled with cheesy goodness: I swear it was the greatest thing I've ever eaten. Then again, anything with stretchy cheese is rarely bad!

After breakfast we started out on our trek. Literally, it was a trek. I think in total we walked about 5 miles all day. We got to ride the Metrorail which is better than the T in more ways than one!! First of all they don't allow food or drinks on the Metro, which is a policy I think we should adopt up here. The T is sooooo dirty! Why would you eat on it?? Its just gross and whatever you're eating stinks up the entire train car!! Anyway, moving on. The Metro also rocks because all their trains have carpets. I don't know why that's awesome to me, it just is.

Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetery. As I mentioned in my last post, I enjoy walking through cemeteries very much. If you need to clear your head, I suggest taking a walk through one. There's no noise and you won't be bothered, its perfect.You gotta make sure you're listening to "Dust In The Wind" though, it really enhances the experience (LOL). For some odd reason, I thought Arlington would offer the same peaceful benefits. That was not the case. There was people....and children....everywhere. It was amazing to see. I'm curious if people were there to actually pay respects or just to take pictures. It was amazing to see the different sized crowds at the Kennedy graves. John's was obviously the biggest, Bobby had slightly less and Teddy only had a handful. I'm curious though. What happens when the Kennedy family comes to grieve? Do they clear out the space until they're done? Something to think about!

And of course we stopped at the Tomb of the Unknowns. As honorable as a position as it must be to guard the tombs, I wonder if that soldier was bored. What do you think one thinks about in a position like that? Again, something to think about...

After the cemetary we started the looooong walk across the bridge to the Lincoln Memorial. It was kind of muggy out, but not terrible. It was overcast so the sun wasn't beating down us while we waked which helped a lot!

At the memorial, I mentioned to my husband that this is where they shot the scene in Forrest Gump where Forrest is making the speech and Jenny comes running out into the reflecting pool.....and he didn't know what I was talking about because he doesn't like Forrest Gump. What kind of person doesn't like Forrest Gump?? Anyway...after leaving the memorial, I realized one thing: People who lived in the 1800's were really, really big....;)

From there we saw the Korean War Memorial (which my grandfather proudly served in). Its an extremely haunting memorial. Every statue seemed to have a life of its own. I think it was the most moving out of everything we saw.

Eventually we made it to the Washington Monument! It's further away from the Lincoln Memorial then it seems! I was not amused.....We didn't bother going to the top because we were running low on time and still had the Natural History Museum AND the Air and Space Museum to get through!

I liked the Natural History Museum. It was quite interesting. There were so many things to see there, I dont even know where to start!! Some of the highlights were all the dinosaur bones and fossils (take THAT, Christianity), an exhibit that showcased different skeletons of various animals (even tiny little mice! It was wicked neat!), and of course all the semi-precious stones and gems (which of course included the Hope Diamond). My husband did not know what the Hope Diamond was. Not surprising though I guess. He also didn't know what "Make Way For Ducklings" was......considering he's lived in a suburb of Boston his whole life, that is kind of surprising. There was also this cupcake!! Which was yummy!! And made a huge mess every time I tried to bite it :)

I wasn't overly thrilled with the Air and Space Museum. Dont get me wrong. Aviation and Space Travel are two amazing feats! I enjoyed seeing all the different planes and space capsules they had on display, but the exhibits themselves didn't thrill me. I should also mention that I was starving at this point. Usually when I get hungry, i get irritable and cranky and cant enjoy things until i've been fed. Just in case youre hanging out with me and im angry....feed me. I'll feel better momentarily :).

After a looooooong day of walking, we headed back to the hotel to meet Pam and Alex for dinner! We went to a cute little restaurant where I had the BEST angel hair pasta with chicken and alfredo sauce. They had an option on the menu for either alfredo or parmesan cream sauce. I dont really know what the difference between the two is. Can someone who can cook please explain?? Then we followed up dinner by going to see "Prince of Persia" which was better than I expected! I will say though that, Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) is apparently the MacGyver of Persia. There was a way out of EVERYTHING! And, ladies, this is the only time you are allowed to swoon over Jake Gyllenhaal. I dont want to spoil the film for anyone who hasnt seen it yet, but I think you will all be pleased with it considering its a video game movie. So go see it!

That was the end of the day pretty much. We were pooped by the time we got back to the hotel. We went right to bed so we could rest up for Day 3......

More tomorrow ;)

Our trip to D.C.: Part 1!!!

2010-06-01T16:35:00.003-04:00

Hello hello!!! Is everybody still out there??

Maybe you've noticed (maybe you haven't, and if you haven't then shame on you boss!!) that I haven't blogged in a few days. The reason for that? We went and paid a visit to Pam and Alex in our nation's capital!

I don't even know where to start, it was such an awesome trip! I guess I should start at the beginning on Thursday! We had an estimated 8 hour drive ahead of us, so we wanted to leave at 6am, but I should know by now that when my husband says "6:00" , he really means "645"...

Along the way,I realized a few silly things:
- There is almost always "road work ahead" no matter where you go. We probably would've gotten to DC quicker if we didn't encounter all the damn construction. Ridiculous!!
- I cannot eat pringles while driving on a turn. Its way too distracting.
- My husband and I both made the same Family Guy joke when we drove by the NY School For The Deaf sign.
- Drivers in other states are just as asshole-y as Mass drivers.
- Driving in DC at rush hour is horrible. HORRIBLE!!
- When your directions say "Take a right on Pentagon Access Road"...yes, it means THAT Pentagon. Its not as impressive when you see it from the side.
- Edgar Allen Poe married his cousin. How did I not know that? Sorry cousins, I will never think of you that way...ever.
-My husband likes to interrupt my Greek study time to point out scenic views. That's nice? I'm studying now...
- I have a pretty awesome shuffle on my ipod that makes driving long distances more tolerable and seem shorter!
- A large regular coffee and 20oz pepsi still makes me anxious. Apparently I'm not over it yet...
-My husband thinks Kanye West and Maroon 5 sound alike.

But enough of that sillyness for now...

When we got to the Maryland-ish area, I decided I wanted to knock something of my "101 things to do" list: #38-Visit Edgar Allen Poe's grave!

It was surprisingly easy to get to! And thankfully we were the only ones around which made for a more pleasing visit! Normally when I visit a cemetery I like to go alone so I can take in the serene atmosphere that much more. We got to see the original burial spot in the back:

And the new monument in the front. This is also where is wife/cousin and his mother are buried as well:

If it wasn't so ridiculously hot out that day, it would've been a perfect visit and we probably could've stayed around longer.

Because of that little detour, we ended up getting to our hotel somewhere between 615 and 630. It was such an awesome hotel, and we had a fantastic view from our room. Although when I first looked out, I couldn't see much (my eyes are horrible) and I had to rely on my husband to tell me what was what. Oddly enough, I ended up putting regular visine in my eyes and I was able to see clearly for myself! Isnt that bizarre? I thought it was the greatest thing and I went on about it for 15 minutes (It's the little things in life that make me happy). We could see The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, The Capitol Building, The Potomac River and one side of The Pentagon. This is a pic I took of one of the pictures in our room. At first, I thought it was just some sort of abstract thing. But it's actually the dome of the Capitol Building!

After a bit of a rest, we met up with Pam and Alex and they showed us around their neighborhood in Arlington which was totally fantastic. It almost reminded me a bit of Cambridge. We had dinner and then got Cold Stone and we had a great time catching up!

By the time we got done with ice cream and dinner, we were exhausted and called it a night because we knew we were gonna have a full day of sightseeing the next day...That's all for today, kids!! I don't wanna bore you with too much all at once. Tomorrow, ill tell you all about our day fulll of sightseeing!

Dont roll your eyes, it'll be interesting!! I pinky promise!! :)

Today's edition of "What I could've said, but didn't"...

2010-05-26T16:24:00.004-04:00

Today's story actually kinda hurts because this is something I REALLY need to work on. Speaking my mind is hard! I'm just going to go ahead and post what I wanted to say because it's kinda complicated. This isn't clever or witty. I guess this should be filed under "Something I SHOULD'VE said, but didnt..."

"No I don't believe you, because what proof do I have that you actually will!"

That's exactly how I feel. I shouldve also followed that up with some tears, so you'd know I was serious and not kidding around. But you should never leave for 5 days on an uncomfortable note.

Hmm...

2010-05-25T17:32:00.004-04:00

This is most likely going to be another "mish-mash/make your head essplode" blog full of random thoughts because I cant really put my finger on what I want to blog about today.

My new favorite thing in the world today is http://myexwifesweddingdress.com/. The author of the website is a man by the name of Kevin Cotter. I believe this man is a genius. He started the blog after he and his wife of 12 years split and she refused to take her wedding dress with her when she left. So Kevin decided that the best thing to do would be.....think of 101 uses for his ex's wedding dress. So far he is up to use #22, which is "coffee filter". Other uses so far have been "ice pack", "tablecloth", "grill cover", "yoga mat", and my favorite "dental floss", among other things. I LOVE this idea!! Talk about trying to make the best of a bad situation! What else would a grown man do with a wedding gown? A boring person might say donate the dress, or sell it to a consignment shop so a "less fortunate bride can find her dream gown". I say fuck that! It's so great to see he has a sense of humor to help deal with the mess of a divorce. The best thing about it though, is how he comments that this project isn't about being vindictive or to get "revenge on his evil ex", its his way of coping! I find that inspiring! So kudos to you Kevin Cotter, if you should ever read this craptastic little blog, keep up the great and funny work!

I can't really tell how today has gone. In some ways, it has been a good day, others its been just plain sucky. I'm indifferent about it.

I think the woman who just walked by me looked EXACTLY like The Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland". Crazy red hair thats flying all over the place and wonky eyes and weird teeth. That was bizarre. Hey, wait a minute, didnt I just describe myself? Thats not what I look like is it?

I'm working on greek stuff in between blog blurbs here. I will get this. I refuse to fail. Thank god I have a long ass car ride coming up so I can cram and study up! Working on it makes the time go by faster.

Ewww, I just rubbed my chin and apparently I had lip gloss UNDER my lip for several hours now. Thanks for telling me, everyone.

I hate when people lean over my desk when they ask me a question. Is it really necessary to get that close? I'm just giving you information here, bro, we're not on a date.

I need a new hair cut. Im looking to Zooey Deschanel for inspiration. She's all sorts of pretty and stuffs. Thoughts, everyone?

Anyway...

As a final thought, I hate when I have something awkward to say to someone, but I cant say it because it would just make an awkard friendship even MORE awkward. I didn't realize I could use the word "awkward" in a sentence so many times. I'm gonna use it again just for shits and giggles. Awkward.

The movie poster for "The A-Team"...

2010-05-24T17:29:00.004-04:00

..is hard to look at.

Generally I wouldn't mind looking at a picture of Bradley Cooper, or Liam Neeson for that matter. Those guys are HOT!! Even the guy who plays B.A. (whose name escapes me at the moment) is pretty good looking. But seriously, looking at ONE person's face that close up is difficult, and here there's FOUR of them!! All bunched together in a big group! That is HARD on the eyes!! Not to mention its extremely dark, and the coloration is terrible and it looks gritty and rough. Like if I touch it, ill get a scratch. That's probably what they were going for though considering it IS "The A-Team". Being married to a graphic designer and artist, I have to give the art department for the film an "F" in movie poster design.

And just is WHO is that guy they got to play Murdock? Does anybody know? It's just so random to throw a new face in there....

All that aside though, I think the movie is going to rock something fierce! What are your thoughts, readers?

The first edition of......

2010-05-24T16:22:00.004-04:00

"WHAT I COULD'VE SAID, BUT DIDN'T":

Why, you ask? Because frankly, my brain does not work fast enough sometimes. I'll hear something/do something/have a conversation with someone, and 10 minutes later, my brain reacts with something witty and cute that it cant use, because now it's too late. Expect this to be a regular occurence on the blog, because it happens all the GODDAMN time!! WIthour further ad

Someone asked me if they can go outside to get to the next building. Naturally i said "Of course! Just take a right when you get outside."

And here's the "What I could've said" response:
"No. It's strictly forbidden to go outside once you've stepped foot inside the building."

They wouldn't have found that funny anyway....

A sunday LOL for you....

2010-05-23T18:00:00.004-04:00

I have trouble posting on weekends because there's way too much stuff to do usually, but this was just too good to pass up. This is my grandparent's cat, Smokey. Shaved like this on purpose. No, i'm not kidding....

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The cat's entire body is shaved except his head, part of his tail and little poofs of fur on his feet. Just like a lion.

And here's another one, so you can get the full effect...

It was like the cat knew we were laughing at him because shortly after these photo's were taken he went back into hiding.

Thats all for now.

101 Things To Do In 1001 Days

2010-05-21T18:46:00.006-04:00

A friend of mine (Hi Melissa!!) did this on her blog recently and I thought it would be pretty neat to try it out for myself for two reasons: a) to see if I can even come UP with 101 things to do and b) see if i can actually do it all! 1001 days equals out to roughly just under 3 years. Thats plenty of time to do 101 things, right? Right! I figure since i'm feeling stuck in the mud these days, this might help motivate me! So without further ado.....LET'S DO THIS CRAZY THING! This is in no particular order, btw.

1. Successfully learn Greek (in the process of doing this right now).

2. Get Kristy Cupcakes (my pin-up persona) up to "cult-status" level.

3. Finish at least ONE of my graphic novel ideas.

4. Take a cake decorating class.

5. Visit Cape Cod. (i've lived in New England my whole life and never once been to the Cape!Bizarre, no?)

6. Go to Comic Con in San Diego.

7. Tell everyone I know exactly how I feel about them (I have trouble with this, so this is gonna be a hard one!).

8. Get new glasses! (seriously, my eyes suck and I refuse to wear my glasses outside of my car!)

9. Dye my hair purple (even if its just for a day, goddamn i want PURPLE HAIR!!).

10. Perform in a Burlesque show, which will hopefully lead to MORE opportunities to perform (this kinda goes hand-in-hand with #2).

11. Make a fancy homemade Gingerbread house. Not the kind you get out of the box. The kind you stencil out and make yourself from scratch. I love doing things from scratch.

12. Buy a house.

13. Adopt a kitteh (preferrably a brother and sister duo I can name either Kitara and Sokka, or Azula and Zuko, depending on their coloration).

14. Learn contact juggling. I tried this a year or so ago and I fell off the wagon. I'm determined now though! See? It's on the list, so I HAVE to do it!

15. Go back to Rome. Rome was kick-ass!

16. Learn the secret to fire-eating! Not kidding!! Aren't fire-eaters the coolest people you've ever seen? Who WOULDNT wanna do that???

17. Do a walk for charity. Preferrably the MSPCA Walk For Animals. Animals rock!

18. Volunteer at a cat shelter.

19. Go see the White House (taking care of that next weekend!)

20. Go on a rollercoaster that goes upside down. I hate rollercoasters, but i'll at LEAST try it...maybe...

21. Stop creating unrealistic scenarios in my head that I know will never play out....EVER...in real life. It just hurts my feelings when stuff doesnt go the way I want.

22. Try and give sushi another shot. I had it once and didnt enjoy it...but i can give it another go, i guess)

23. Meet Olivia Munn. Yeah, I put this on my list, wanna fight about it?? Will it ever happen? Probably not, but so help me, i can try! The Munn is my HERO!!!

24. Play DDR on expert. Lame, i know, but ive been playing the game for YEARS now and im still stuck on standard. Something about that shit just aint right!

25. Trace my family's (on both sides) lineage. There are so many unanswered questions i have! Am I actually part Jewish?? And why am i so pale if there's indian in my blood? WTF?

26. Buy an electric car. Will the Nissan Leaf be available soon? I dont remember.

27. Go see panda's (again, fixing that NEXT WEEKEND. I wont cry, I swear to god I wont....)

28. Join a paranormal investigation team! Thats just fitting for me...

29. Go to a NASCAR race. I'm totally a redneck at heart.

30. Hang out with my cousins more. I never see them now that we're all grown up. Its so sads!

31. Go fishing. I havent been fishing in ages! (Fred, one of these days i'll take you up on the fishing trip offers!)

32. Run down the street dressed up like a super hero (Suggestions for who? Olivia Munn has already down Wonder Woman)

33. Go to a NEW YORK GIANTS football game. If im gonna suffer through an NFL game, it will be to support a team that I enjoy rooting for!

34. Have a marathon Harry Potter-movie watching day. I've never watched all 6 movies in a row.

35. Go to and sing at a karaoke night.

36. Go see a roller derby game! Kick-ass chicks on roller skates YAY!

37. Buy a pair of rollerskates!! Roller skates...not roller blades.

38. Visit Edgar Allen Poe's grave.

39. Visit Arlington National Cemetary. I'm thinking our trip to DC next week is really going to knock alot of things off this list :)!

40. Have a past-life regression done.

41. Turn one of my bosses at work into the Chuck Norris of BIDMC. "Chuck Norris wears David Clough pajama's!" I think it will catch on.....

42.Ride every line on the MBTA from beginning to end. Why? Why the hell not! Riding the T is always an entertaining experience.

43. Do a 30-Day Fruit Cleanse. Thats hard to do. I love food too much...

44. Go back to New Orleans. I love that city soooo much. I miss it! I need to go back.

45. Have a marathon viewing of South Park until i've watched every single episode. I can do that because I have all the seasons on DVD :).

46. Go see Lady Gaga in concert.

47. Go see Dita Von Teese perform.

48. Learn how to cook Teppan style

49. Leave a secret in one of the PostSecret books in a bookstore.

50. Send a postcard TO postsecret.com

51. Spend more time with my brother when he gets out of rehab. I didn't realize how much I'd miss him now that he's not around all the time

52. Go to my 10-year High School Reunion (which will happen within the 1001 days).

53. Paint a picture. I haven't done that since....middle school, maybe?

54. Make a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days (DONE, hehehe....)

55. Take a martial arts class.

56. Stop biting my damn tongue! I mean really, what have I got to lose?

57. Ride on the back of a motorcycle.

58. Write out "Thank You" cards from the wedding. Yup, haven't done that yet....

59. Actually climb to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. I almost made it in H.S. but then the guy I had a crush on told me there was nothing up there so I turned right around and went back down before i made it all the way! Crazy 16-year-old me!

60. Buy one of those "Co-Exist" bumper stickers. I really like those....

61......and then turn around and buy a Flying Spaghetti Monster bumper sticker :)

62. Start a website similar to peopleofwalmart.com and call it creaturesofthembta.com

63. Have a fondue party! I have two fondue pots. I must put them to good use!

64. Take horseback riding lessons.

65. Learn another language when i'm done with Greek. Maybe German!

66. Figure out what I have to do to get cast as a victim in one of the Saw movies. That'd be kick-ass.

67. Play Mario Kart without getting angry (that is harder than it sounds)

68. Take a road trip that lasts longer than 8 hours. DC, here we come!!

69. Try Guiness. Dont hate!! I've just never had the opportunity to try it before.

70. Play on the trapeze thing they have at Jordan's furniture. Doesn't that look like a ton of fun?

71. Somehow befriend Michael K., the genius blogger behind dlisted.com. Holy shit, that gay man is hilarious. We could be the bestest of friends.

72. Go see a musical.

73. Dye my hair darker brown. Thats how Dita Von Teese did it! Blonde, to red, to black!

74. Invent some type of new food concoction.

75. Make pizza dough from scratch.

76. Learn to sew for the sole purpose of furthering my career as Kristy Cupcakes. She's gonna need some kick-ass stuffs...

77. Buy a flip-cam. Because I want one.

78. Get another tattoo!!! I can't believe this ended up so far down on the list! I need another one on my left arm to even things out.

79. Get an industrial piercing. Its just so cool looking!

80. Try and get back on a grand jury. I know I have no control over that whatsoever, but hell, that was soooo much fun when i was on it.

81.Go to the Museum of Modern Art. Im still pissed we didnt get to go see the Tim Burton exhibit. Boooooo!

82. Learn to bowl better, lol. Im a terrible bowler.

83. Scan one of my grandmother's old cookbooks so the recipe's dont go missing forever once the book gets too old!

84. Donate blood (depending on my tattooing schedule of course. Priorities, people!)

85. Maybe try yoga or pilates. Anything to help with the anxiety!

86. Smoke out of a hookah so I can pretend I'm the Caterpiller from Alice in Wonderland. Most people reading this while frown upon this...I say fuck you to them!!

87. Do that "Fork in the Eye" trick with coffee creamer at a restaurant. With my luck, i would ACTUALLY poke myself in the eye.

88. Run my own haunted house (when we buy our own place, of course)

89. Go and see the Boston Ballet.

90. Try and win a radio contest!

91. Go through my closet and donate old clothes and shoes I don't wear.

92. Try and do one new photo shoot a month!

93. Watch all the live-action Death Note movies.

94. Try and learn how to read hieroglyphics. Shut up! It can be done!

95. Get into a "popular show". Like True Blood or some shit like that. Im so out of the loop, its not even funny.

96. Kill Heidi Montag (I don't think i'll succeed, but holy hell, the world doesn't need to be subjected to that woman's douchebaggery ANYMORE).

97. I guess I could learn to ACTUALLY swim.

98. Learn to play guitar!

99. Go to a shooting range! I feel the need to shoot things! I'm kinda violent like that...

100. Go to more comic conventions.

And last but certainly not least!!!

101. Work on not being so critical of myself! I'm wayyy too sensitive sometimes.

So that's it!! Sorry, it got kinda lame there near the end. Around #80, I was losing steam! Anyway, hope you enjoyed that, and thanks for sticking with me through the whole thing!! I hope i can do all this!!

This is what i'm talking about...

2010-05-21T17:24:00.003-04:00

When I say Stan Lee's tweets brighten my day, this is what I mean. This is 6 tweets long:

"Attention Brigadiers! Some of you seem to be uncertain about your rank. Let your beloved Generalissimo set your minds at ease-- On 5/17/10 every Brigadier was awarded a battlefield promotion. All who served before that date have advanced to the next highest rank. Those who enlisted in our famed Brigade after 5/17/10 shall be proud Privates until my next magnanimous battlefield promotions. But remember ye this. A noble Private in our glorious Brigade out-ranks all Non-Commissioned Officers in lesser military units. Yet, despite the wonderfulness of us, we Brigadiers strive to remain ever modest, never to flaunt our vast superiority over lesser beings. Now must your Generalissimo take his leave. There are deeds to be done and worlds to be won! Till it be morrow, I bid thee-- Excelsior".

He calls his followers Brigadiers...and he is our Generalissimo....good times!!

Expect a longer blog a little later....pinky-promise.

Sing it with me now....

2010-05-20T09:00:00.003-04:00

"EVERYBODY WAS KUNG FU FIGHTIIIIING......." Sorry, but i just had to go there! Dont get me wrong, it is NOT funny that men are randomly attacking school children in China. But the response IS funny and kind of awesome at the same time! I saw this on Yahoo! and decided to share it with you all! I guarantee you if this kind of thing happened in American schools parents would say "WHAT ARE THE SCHOOLS GOING TO DO TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN?" instead of "Schools should step up security BUT we should get our lazy kids off their asses and teach them some form of self defense." What are your thoughts on this?

Chinese kung fu kids guard against school attacks

By K.J. Kwon K.j. Kwon – 2 hrs 13 mins ago

BEIJING (Reuters) – Parents in Beijing are taking no chances over the safety of their children after a series of attacks on schoolchildren frightened and angered China.

A growing number of parents have turned to self-defense classes for children more used to wielding electronic games than their fists.

Six times since March, angry and apparently deranged men have attacked Chinese schoolchildren with knives and, in one case, a hammer, killing 27 people and injuring more than 80. Officials have vowed to "strike hard" against the problem and schools have added security guards, but many parents think that's not enough.

Admissions to kung fu schools in Beijing have risen by at least 20 percent since April, China state media reported.

At the Changzhen Kongfu school near Beijing's university district, more than a dozen 7- to 12-year-old children were learning martial arts techniques meant to help them escape potential danger.

"There have been many changes recently. Before, only one to two students will come to consult, but since last week, we have received about 30 inquiries," said Zhang Xiaohang, the chief kung fu instructor at the school.

"A lot of parents register their children for the self-defense class as soon as they arrive, without hesitation. Parents are putting much more emphasis on children's safety."

Zhang now teaches about 10 classes per week and instructs more than 60 kids.

For pudgy 12-year-old Deng Zhiheng, the lessons serve two purposes. "I am a little bit fat so I want to lose some weight," he said. "Second of all, there have been many school attacks recently and I want to know how to prevent such attacks. So it is best if I learn these skills."

The class mainly focuses on teaching children how to respond to threats calmly and react quickly. Self-defense techniques emphasize avoiding confrontation and escaping to safety, Zhang said.

Ughh...

2010-05-19T18:50:00.003-04:00

....just....ugh...

Let me try random blogging and see if this works...

I dont feel like working on Greek stuff tonight. I should, because i've been doing real good with it, but i'm not feeling it today. I have trouble with staying motivated about things. The fact that i've stuck with it this long is a miracle. If it was anything else, I would've given up last week when I got kinda frustrated with the grammar. Surprisingly, I worked past the urge to throw my book across the room and kept on going. That's gotta say something, right? I like learning it, it makes me feel smart. Why? Because most people think Greek is hard and i'm actually doing pretty well with it! Except for that whole "throwing the book across the room" part.

FYI, I just had to check my spelling on the word "grammar". Is that bad?

Something smells really good in my lobby. I dont know what it is. It kinda smells like potatoes. But then I wonder...where would that smell be coming from? There's no KFC in the lobby. And if someone DID bring KFC into my lobby and didn't offer me any....that is a sin only punishable by death.

I think downloading Twitter for my Blackberry was the stupidest idea ever. Everytime my phone blinks, I think I have a text....but really I dont really. Its just Neil Gaiman or Wil Wheaton tweeting to their thousands of followers! Damn you, Twitter!! But I do like to have it. Reading tweets by Stan Lee (yes, THAT Stan Lee) when i'm having a particularly bad day amuses me greatly. It takes him about 4 tweets to get one thought out. And he ends every one with "Excelsior!". That word is fun to say. EXCELSIOR!! I should learn to say that in Greek

I feel...stuck. I hate being stuck. It's the kind of stuck like when your feet stick to the ground at the movie theater. I don't technically know WHY i'm stuck, I dont think I WANT to know why i'm stuck and I kinda wish I wasn't. And it doesnt matter where I move my feet, they're just gonna keep getting stuck.

We're going to D.C. next weekend, which is exciting! I get to see Pam! And the giant pandas at the National Zoo! And Obama's house! Maybe a few days away is what i'll need to "un-stick" myself successfully.

It doesnt smell like potatoes in here anymore....

I can't wait to see how the pictures from the shoot with Zofeen came out! It was so much fun! It wasn't the pin-up stuff that i'm used to, but it was still an awesome experience! I do love being in front of the camera. It makes me feel like a rock star. I do not feel like a rock star sitting here at my desk. I need to do more stuff to make me feel like that. I'm having trouble accepting that life is boring. I need excitement, and things to look forward to. And fans. Fans, as in people, not fans that keep you cool. Fans rock....

Are you confused yet? I don't mean to be confusing..just random, plain and simple.

I end this blog with......I swear people get stupider everyday. Thats just my observation.

Setbacks blow....

2010-01-25T07:07:00.003-05:00

I'm so majorly disappointed in myself.

I hate being down on myself. Because when I get depressed....I REALLY get depressed and it takes forever to get motivated and feel like myself again.

Something as simple as excersizing....and I manage to hurt myself in the process, therefore hindering my ability to workout MORE and reach my goal. Just when I was starting to get into a routine, too! It sucks. There's noone to blame but myself of course. Always where shoes when jogging in place, is the lesson to be learned from all of this. How is one supposed to do any sort of cardio with injured feet? And how does one burn a significant amount of calories without doing cardio? Burn more than you consume, right? How much do you burn from just doing strengthening alone?

I know this isn't forever and I'll get better soon and back into the swing of things before I know it. I just hate the idea of pushing my goals back further. I usually hate when people complain about wanting things so bad that they wanted it yesterday. Have patience, I usually think! All good things will come in time is generally my mindset. Unfortunately though, I have become one of those miserable people.I know im not a gigantic fatty or someone who NEEDS to lose weight but it made me feel better about myself.

For the short time I was working out regularly, it felt like everything in my body was starting to work properly. I felt more comfortable. Now I just feel like a disgusting blob again.

In other news...at least im sorta making good on ONE of my resolutions this year. I've read two books this month, "World War Z" and Dracula: The Undead". I was hoping to read one book a week, but "World War Z" took me forever to get through! Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great read, it was just a lot of information to take in. I've heard they're making a movie out of it. Im kind of afraid of how its going to play out as a film. It can only be done as a documentary, and then its not a movie anymore....its a documentary. "Dracula: The Undead" was also very good. The ending, however, sucked. That's all ill say just in case anyone reading this decides to read the book.

Speaking of Dracula, Today marks the beginning of "The Bathory Project". Im just calling it that for now because it basically IS a project. Whatever ends up coming out of it (be it a screenplay, a normal novel or a graphic novel) will be heavily researched, well thought out and interesting (i hope, anyway). Its not going to be done quickly either. I've got 3 books on the Countess that I plan to read and take notes on. Why do I take on so much, you ask? Because the Countess's story needs to be told....correctly.

Of course the first day of the project is here...and I forgot to bring my book and notebook to work. FAIL! Oh well, i'll have all of tonight to work on it.

Thats all for now...off to continue moping.

Try to make me go to rehab.....

2009-12-23T10:47:00.000-05:00

...I said "Yes, Yes, Yes!"

When my mom first asked if i wanted to go to Meridian House for a christmas party to see my brother, I jumped at the chance. I hadnt seen him since before we left, and was really upset that he got locked up while Ron and I were on our honeymoon. It seemed like history was repeating itself since he was arrested in October 2008 while we were in Disney getting engaged. I figured he would be locked up again for a few weeks and then released and sent back to the normal program he was on. I didnt agree with him being locked up even the first time. I've said it once and i'll keep on saying it until it sinks in with our society. He's an addict, not a criminal. Criminals go to jail, addicts go to rehab.

I didn't really know what to expect going in to it. I was scared for my brother. All alone in a new place, with new people. He's even pickier then me when it comes to food. I wondered if he had enough to eat, if he was warm enough. Would he open up enough to let people in who are just trying to help him? I had a strange vision of what I thought a rehab facility should look like. Stark white, extremely sterile, and full of uptight counselors and whacko crackheads. I had thought that we would be ushered into a room where we'd only be able to spend a certain amount of time with George and then have to leave.

Boy was I wrong.

Upon arriving at the house, I was surprised by what I saw. A normal 3-story house, indistinguishable from all the others lining the street. We walked in and were greeted warmly by one of the staff who asked us who we were there to see and sign in. I was amazed that the place felt so warm and inviting! There's a nice hardwood staircase that leads to the next floors, and a sitting area with a TV right when you enter. I immediatley picked up the vibe that this would be a good experience. Happy family members hugging their loved ones they probably haven't seen in a while. My brother came down to greet us as if he knew we were there. Noone told him we had arrived. He was just there. Immediatley I knew he was different. Of course this being only his first week in rehab, i know it will be a long road to recovery, but he was clean. I've seen my brother clean before but not like this. He hadn't had a drink or done any drug in weeks. His eyes were bright and he had gained weight. He wasn't sickly looking and pale anymore. He was MY brother. For the first time in a long time, I felt like we connected.

He showed us around the building. They didnt allow us to go in his room but from the little peek we got, it looked cozy. He has a roommate, who was very nice. After heading down the meandering corridor we arrived at the dining room and kitchen area full of people bustling around and eating and enjoying each others company. We hung out and talked for over 2 hours, with him telling us about his jail experience, all about the house and all the things he's done since beginning his journey there. He'd even tried different foods! He branched out to barbecued chicken, but wouldn't try taco's (which I found funny since I was reluctant to try tacos until recently as well). He was also getting his fill of soda while at the party, because they arent allowed it in any other circumstance. We met his counselor who he'll be meeting with every friday. A very nice, approachable man, easy to talk to. John(his counselor) told us about the different levels of privileges George will have in time. Eventually they are going to help him find a job and get back on Medicare. He told us about the different groups and everything. The amount of structure applied to the house is equal to the amount of freedom they experience as well.

There were two things that stood out about the house though. The first being something my brother mentioned which is that a good majority of the people in the house weren't there because of a court order like he was. They were just there because they put themselves there. They wanted to clean themselves up. So they came to the Meridian House. I thought about how inspiring that was. Especially for someone like my brother, who didn't sign up on his own. It proves that you CAN change and improve yourself, as long as you have the drive and determination and are surrounded by people who love and support your goals! You dont just need a judge to tell you to get clean. The choice is yours and yours alone.

The second was the different walks of life that came into the building. Like I said before, i was expecting a building full of whacko's. I was pleasantly surprised by the people there. Everyone was in good spirits. We were greeted by a "Hello. How are you? Nice to meet you!" a majority of the time. There wasn't a single person I encountered that made me feel unwelcome or unsafe. My favorite person though was an older father who came to visit his son. He was very distinguished looking sporting a 3 piece suit, grey overcoat and red scarf. His wife was just as pristine as he was, and here they were. Visiting their son....in a rehab facility. Proving to me, that it has nothing to do with status or upbringing. Everyone is predisposed to developing an addiction. Some people can get a handle on it before it becomes a problem. Other's cannot and that is sad.

We left the house around 930. We couldve stayed until 10 but I had a long drive ahead of me and had to wake up early the next day. I felt bad leaving him. I wanted to bring him home with us. But then he wouldnt be able to get the help he needs. I am 100% confident that he will succeed with his recovery. He is a good person, he just needs a little guidance. I love my brother and i'm looking forward to going back to visit him again!

Boobs or Blood?

2009-12-18T13:31:00.006-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows im about two things....Burlesque and Horror films.

One of my facebook friends (Hi Randy!!) posted an interesting question as his status today, and this is what he said :

Burlesque V Violence: It seems people would rather their children (for the sake of arguement 18yo) see "Saw", "A Clockwork Orange", "Reseviour Dogs", "Pulp Fiction", etc. and play games like, "Grand Theft Auto", and "Doom" than see a burlesque show. So Why is violence/profanity MORE OK than nudity/sexuality? Or maybe this is a better question: Which should be more a part of healthy adult relationships?"

This is SUCH a great discussion topic!! Reading the responses Randy has gotten so far has been thought-provoking and interesting! The only thing I like more than a good horror film, is a beautifully performed Burlesque show. I decided this would be a great topic for a blog because i could go on for DAYS about each one.

To be completely honest, I think both are neccessary.

I wasn't raised surrounded by violence and sex, yet I'm such a big fan of it now. I was kind of sheltered growing up to be completely honest. I went to church every sunday and prayed every night before meals and bed and look how I turned out. As a child, I was raised with what most people would consider admirable morals and values, yet i STILL steered myself away and surround myself with debauchery and sex as often as possible as an adult. Some people choose to stay on the "golden path" and lead lives wearing blinders. I dont think those people get a true understanding of how life or the world works, if you dont LET some bad influences in! What's considered "sinful" or "evil" surrounds us, and instead of being afraid of it and denouncing it as crude and disgusting, why not try understanding it.

Sex, for example, is a beautiful thing that's a part of everyday life!! Same with nudity! To be completely honest, one of my favorite things in the world is walking around naked. That might be TMI for some people who read this blog, but its true! Its so liberating and freeing! The human body is the most natural thing you could ever teach your children about. Penises, vaginas, testicles and boobs are NOT your enemy. They are parts of the human body that cannot be ignored if we want life to continue. Yet when a woman pulls out her breast to feed her child in public, people FREAK OUT because showing your breasts is considered indecent and "there could be children around!" Earth to Humanity, what do you think breasts are for??? Instead of shying away and shielding your children's eyes, why not try to explain what it is and whats happening! On the other side of things is the reason WHY people think showing your breasts is indecent: the adult entertainment industry. Burlesque, Porn, Strip Clubs, etc, the list goes on. I don't understand why we condemn some of these things in the first place. Don't get me wrong, a burlesque dancer and a stripper are two different things. But these woman (and some men) shouldnt be viewed as vile or disgusting. They're comfortable with their sexuality and embrace their bodies and consider them beautiful! They are strong, confident people who just have a different way of earning their living then you or I. Some people are built to perform, they aren't mean't to work regular 9-5 desk jobs. I think i'm one of those people. One of my favorite examples of a strong, confident, adult entertainer is Jenna Jameson. After reading her book, I had more respect and admiration for her then most female politicians you read about in the news today. She's like the porn industry's equivalent of Donald Trump, only with better hair and hotter! How many people wish they could be a millionaire just from having sex on camera? Jenna is so intelligent. She is an entrepenuer and a great example for woman! It's amazing how taboo sex is in the world YET porn is a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR industry. I'm guessing everyone in America is a closet sex freak, eh?

Next up on the list: Bloody, disgusting VIOLENCE!! What is war? In a nutshell? BLOODY DISGUSTING VIOLENCE!! Like sex, it cant be ignored, because its everywhere. Even if there weren't violent, disgusting movies out there, the news would STILL broadcast images of war. As long as war exists, I see nothing wrong with violent movies, because its inescapable. And games too!! Look at games like "Call of Duty" and "Ghost Recon" and "Medal Of Honor". They're all war based games! I don't think violent movies and video games inspire teenagers to shoot each other. It's up to the parents who allow their children to WATCH those movies and PLAY those games to TEACH them right from wrong, and fiction from reality. My house is filled with scary little toys and horror memorabilia and people wonder what i'm going to do when i have kids. Will i hide them? Or get rid of them? The answer is no. I plan on teaching my children what they are if they ask. I feel if they grow up around them, it wont affect them as much as they get older. Of course, I wouldn't show them the films until I thought they were mature and old enough to understand that what they're seeing isn't real. I'm so tired of people blaming the media for their kids being out of control. You're just a SHITTY parent, so stop pushing the responsibility of teaching your kids right from wrong on the goddamn media! Its up to you to decide what you want to expose your kids too. You just have to expose them to it the correct way. Like I said earlier, i wasn't exposed to ANYTHING like this when I was a kid, yet I love it so much now. I love being on the edge of my seat watching a horror movie wondering what the villains next move will be. I enjoy cheering on the villain. I actuallly got very sad at the end of "the Devils Rejects' because the villains DIED! Without villains, movies would be boring. Without villains, LIFE would be boring.

To SUM UP my blog (i swear i'm almost done, this thing is long enough): I think both sexuality and violence are necessary to maintain a healthy relationship, as long as you are mature and comfortable enough to handle them both. If you're not comfortable with either of those things, i do feel sad for you, but it's not for everyone.

I'll put away my soapbox now.....

Resolutions and Boredom

2009-12-17T11:55:00.004-05:00

2010 is upon us! Wether you like it or not, another 365 days are almost done for and what a quick 365 days it was. Maybe its just me because there was so much wedding planning going on.

I think I'm coming down from a "post-wedding/honeymoom" high. After being busy and living in "wedding mode" for a year, PLUS the amazing honeymoon on top of that, I've realized just how dull my normal life is. Get up, go to work, come home, make dinner, clean house, sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. That's it. I wish I could have a different regime everyday. I'm so not ready to settle down for a quiet home life. There's still so much I need to do!! And so here I am stuck in this rut. So I've come up with a few resolutions for 2010 that I think will help me break free and feel a little better about my situation.

Resolution #1: Ritual Practice More Regularly - Since I've decided who my primary deity will be (which took a lot of thought and reflection), practicing more will bring me piece of mind and spirit. I've slowly but surely been getting things ready for my altar. I have all the pieces...i just need the altar part, lol. I'm hoping with Sekhmet's help, I will grow and become a more confident person. Sekhmet's name means "the one who is powerful", the warrior goddess of Egypt. She is also called "The One Before Whom Evil Trembles", "The Mistress of Dread" and "The Lady of Slaughter". Sure she sounds dangerous, but what I lack, she can help provide in abundance! I need to be able to put my foot down and stand my ground more. I need to be my own warrior goddess. And besides, striking fear into the hearts of those who oppose me sounds like a WIN! I WISH i could do that. I NEED to be able to do that. Because i've been so damn quiet for too long and im done with it. So look out world! Jo and Sekhmet are on the fuckin' warpath!

Resolution #2: Read more!-Plain and simple. I have so many god damn books. Interesting books too! I buy them....with intent to read them...and then they sit there. Often times I'll at least skim through them, picking up some of the important bullet points of the story/information contained within. I just got a book today from a friend of mine that I actually have to read in a timely manner so i can give it back to him! I unfortunately know I have to finish the Twilight series. I can put that off until at LEAST May though since "Eclipse" is coming out innnnn....June? July? I frankly have no idea. But the point is I will try and read more. And please, if you say something like "Hey Jo, i think you should read this book" and I say "No". Dont get all pissy and take it personally. I just have wayyyy too much crap to read momentarily and i dont want to make that list even LONGER.

Resolution #3: FINISH MY GODDAMN GRAPHIC NOVEL!!!-So sad I had to put off finishing it to do wedding stuff. I was on a roll!!! Sadie wouldn't quit giving me ideas, but I had to stop. Once I finish the writing process, it'll be out of my hands and into Ron's so he can draw it and then I can stop worrying about it LOL. Once its done, I can get to work on my "as-yet-untitled" Elizabeth Bathory project. It will most likely be a screenplay that I HOPE to somehow get into the hands of Eli Roth ,the only man sick enough to make a proper Bathory film. I call him the "King of the Bloody Bathtub" (i.e. Hostel 2's scene with Heather Matarazzo, Cabin Fever's leg shaving scene..both filmed in a bathtub of sorts). If not Eli Roth, then Rob Zombie, and the list goes on from there. Resolution #3 actually plays off Resolution #2 alot because the more graphic novels i read, the better mine will turn out in the end.

Resolution #4: Dita von Teese, beware!!!!-Mold my Pin-up/Burlesque persona and build a presence online!! The only reason this isnt Resolution #1 is because I think my ritual practice will play a BIG part in this. Once my confidence levels are built up, posing for a shoot should be a snap! Someone once said that all you need to be a Pin-up Model are pictures and Myspace page. Both of which...I have! I want to believe I'm destined for bigger things then sitting behind a desk twiddling my thumbs. I love dressing up and I love being in front of the camera! After the pin-up workshop, I felt so good about myself!! I've never felt more alive and comfortable with myself then I did after I left that hotel room. Im so excited to be doing another shoot in January. I have some great ideas for it!! I also have ideas for future shoots and things I can do at home,Now that we have the SLR camera, we should be able to get some great shots of our own. I'm also going to be checking out what the Boston Babydolls have to offer for burlesque classes this year. They have a "Burlesque Your Way" starting in January, but its too close to X-mas and the pin-up shoot to do it, so i'll wait until a little later on in the year to tackle it. Until then, i have some other work to do, which brings me too.....

The Final Resolution, Resolution #5: Stay In Shape! Back in August/September, I got sick with a stomach issue and lost a TON of weight...when I had a wedding gown to fit into....and didnt NEED to lose anymore weight! What I wouldn't give to have that stomach problem back now!! Instead though, i have to get back to excersizing. This is particularly hard considering my heart palpitations are still giving me trouble. I didnt have any trouble with Wii fit thankfully, but I did have a little bit of trouble getting back into the swing of things when playing DDR. I know I probably just have to power through it and get over the initial shock of getting my cardio up, but its a scary thing to do when you dont know how your heart is going to react. Of course if i had a REASON for the palps in the first place, i'd be alot happier. But a dozen EKGs, an echocardiogram, and a holter monitor later and STILL no reason for them. I'm still convinced its my thyroid. But anyway, back to the resolution. I'll just start slow for now and work up to more advanced workout regimens. One day at a time. And I guess i'll start....eating.....healthier..... ALTHOUGH I did read an article that encourage eating pasta, cheese and bread while on a diet. Not ALOT, but enough to satisfy my cravings :).

That's it! All FIVE of my resolutions. Is it a little too ambitious? Possibly. But thats what im looking for this year. Anything to break up the monotony that is my life. I have five resolutions, how many do you have?

OUTRAGED!!

2009-12-07T08:46:00.002-05:00

Well not technically "outraged" but really, really, annoyed definetley!!

Why in the world don't they sell PACKS of Yule greeting cards??? And why is it when I FIND packs they cost $40 for a box of twenty! Thats just NOT cool at all, and its unfair!! Winter Solstice was first, bitches!!! I'm so tempted to have Ron draw up a design and print up my own damn Yule cards! Thats just sillyness.

Ok...Rant over.

So Sad :(

2009-12-06T08:49:00.003-05:00

This is a great article from CNN.com about the pressures that many athletes, not just wrestlers, face today. So Sad for Test and Umaga!! I remember way back watching the "wedding" of Stephanie McMahon and Test. And now he's gone. Being a wrestling fan for as long as i can remember, its sad that alot of the young superstars out there now, more than likely wont be able to make a comeback like some of the people that inspired them to get into the business. The days of wrestling 'til your Ric Flairs age are over. Kudos to Emanuella for writing such a awesome piece! I dont think people really understand what wrestlers are asked to do in the ring. Sure its all "fake" and scripted, but all that moving and getting thrown around the ring takes a physical and emotional toll on your body. I personally didnt know that wrestlers dont have health insurance and thats horrible. So, read, enjoy, comment as you like :)

Wrestlers grapple with problems in, out of the ring
By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

December 6, 2009 1:16 a.m. EST

(CNN) -- The death of World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Edward Fatu, who wrestled under the name "Umaga," has sparked discussion in wrestling circles over the rigors of the sport.
Fatu, 36, died Friday of a heart attack in a hospital in Houston, Texas, a family friend confirmed.
Also known as "The Samoan Bulldozer," the 6-foot-4-inch, 350-pound wrestler earned a reputation for executing moves with more ease than one might expect from someone his size, facing off in high-profile bouts with WWE celebrities such as Triple H and Ric Flair.

"He was basically known for being an athletic, big man who carried some extra weight around, but moved very well for a guy his size," said Kevin Eck, an assistant sports editor of the Baltimore Sun who also runs its professional-wrestling blog, Ring Posts. Comments on Eck's blog range from messages of condolences to speculation over whether drugs were involved and the struggles wrestlers grapple with outside of the ring.

"[H]ardly do we realize what do these wrestlers go through.....not that long ago he looked as if he could go on for 20 years in the ring looking as vicious as he was," one post says.
Fatu worked on and off for the WWE for several years before the organization terminated his contract in June for violating the WWE's Wellness Program and refusing to enter rehab, the WWE said on its Web site, without providing specifics. The organization offered its condolences to Fatu's family in a brief statement on its site.

Details of Fatu's death have not been released, but Eck said the death highlights a larger problem of professional wrestlers dying in their 30s and 40s. Fatu's death comes less than nine months after Canadian pro wrestler Andrew Test Martin reportedly died of a drug overdose, and follows a string of high-profile deaths in the past decade, including those of Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. "It's happening a lot more frequently in the sport than it ever did, and it's a huge problem," Eck said. "If this was Major League Baseball and you had guys dropping dead under 40, it would be a much bigger deal -- but because it's wrestling, it flies under the radar."

Though wrestlers today have more support systems available through the WWE and other groups, the rigors of the sport have increased dramatically compared to the days of Capt. Lou Albano, who died this year at 76, Eck said."The expectations for what wrestlers are supposed to look like have evolved. In Albano's day, some were in good shape, some were not, but you didn't see the superhuman physiques like you started seeing in the 80s," he said.

As the industry has gone global, wrestlers also are traveling more and going farther than they did pre-WWE, when wrestlers and promoters worked within limited territories, he said. And the demands in the ring are higher than ever."You could get by with doing less back in the day, you didn't see a lot of high-risk maneuvers. And as it has evolved, so has the need to do more risky-looking stunts, and that's why guys get a lot of bumps and bruises, and you can sort of make the correlation that that leads to more painkillers."

In an interview with CNN after Albano's death, WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman said the organization provides medical assistance and financial guidance through the WWE's Wellness Program to all its wrestlers, even though they are considered independent contractors.
"If they're injured on the job in the ring, we take care of their medical expenses and get them to the best doctors possible," Zimmerman said. "In addition to their physical well-being, we also take them through financial counseling and financial workshops so they know what to do with their money as far as income, earnings and sponsorships. And those are just a few aspects of the program."

To friends and family, Fatu was a devoted family man who was looking forward to spending more time with his children after leaving the WWE."He had his demons, but he found a lot of strength in his family," said family friend and former WWE personality Dawn Marie Psaltis. "He comes from a long line of professional wrestlers and did his family proud."

Psaltis, the founder of Wrestlers Rescue, a support group for aging and retired wrestlers, says Fatu's death highlights the unique struggles that wrestlers face as independent contractors who don't receive the benefits of athletes or professional actors. Like many wrestlers, Fatu did not have health insurance when he died, leaving friends and family scrambling to cover his medical expenses, Psaltis said. "We make above average income, but most of what we make goes toward the expense of being in the business, and health care is a huge expense for a wrestler," Psaltis said.

Psaltis said she started Wrestlers Rescue with the goal of working with insurance companies to create an affordable health care plan for wrestlers. "To find health care that covers wrestlers costs quadruple the price of regular coverage, so a lot of the guys end up going without. They continue to wrestle way past their prime because there's no pension, and because there's no health care, they never prepared for their future health concerns. It's an endless cycle."

But Psaltis and former WWE diva Terri Runnels say camaraderie and the thrill of being in the ring are worth the risks. "Yes, we make good money, but for what we do it's paltry. We are like paupers compared to most other professions, but our pride in entertaining and making sure that when you pay money and come to a show you are absolutely entertained, that's why we do what we do," Runnels said.

W.W.S.D.?

2009-12-05T13:55:00.006-05:00

What is logical?

"Think about it logically..."

"Isn't that logical though?"

"Do people not use logic when they think?"

How many times have you all heard these statements or statements like these in your daily life? A lot, right? People like to think they're smart by using that word. Logic. Logical. Illogical. The only person I trust to have a good sense of logic in this world is Mr. Spock....and he's not even REAL!

There's too many people out there who think that their logic and their way of looking at something is the correct way. Because its just logical, right? Take Health Care Reform for example. BOTH sides of the spectrum think they're right. And if you argue with either side, I guarantee the phrase "But, isn't that logical though? will come up at LEAST once. One person thinksits logical that everyone should be covered and have insurance to insure that they get quality health care to improve their way of life. The other thinks its illogical because it'll cost an absurd amount of money and it will never work, not even THINKING about their fellow man.

To me logical means the most realistic and achievable way of thinking or doing something. Its just amazing that so many people have so many different views of what is achievable and realistic! And this is why we have so many problems in this country! No one can agree on whats logical! I honestly think we should ban this word from everyday use because its pissing me off.

So I'd like to put this out there. Before people start asking what is and isn't logical, think about it this way...W.W.S.D? Or What Would Spock Do?

"Do you like fish sticks?" a.k.a.The Kanye West Method

2009-12-05T13:48:00.006-05:00

I know what you're thinking... "Why is there a picture of that god awful man on your blog, Jo?? Doesn't the world hate Kanye West??" Yes, Kanye is a douchebag, but its necessary considering the nature of this post.

The subject im going to touch on here is confidence. I've had this post brewing in my head ever since the "Gay Fish" episode of South Park. I was chomping at the bit the next day waiting for the CAPS LOCK filled rant on Kanye's blog. And I was shocked by what I read. It wasn't as angry and anti-South Park as I thought it would be. Actually....it wasn't angry at all. It was kinda humbling and helped me understand the psyche of Kanye, why he is the way he is and how I can understand his way of thinking. Its reasons like this that I think im crazy, of course. A normal person would read it and say "Yeah that's nice but you're still a douchebag". Not me though. I say "Yup, I can understand that".

Now before everyone who reads this flies off the handle thinking im defending him, hear me out. The man started off with the mentality of making the world love him. I'm sure its not easy for a new hip hop artist emerging into a community of Eminem's and Snoop Dogg's. How was he gonna do that? Simple. Create an over-the-top air of confidence about you and hope it catches on. And what happened? The world took notice. Some love him, some hate him. But you can't deny the fact that he has built up an ego that is so huge, it cannot be ignored. He made the world believe that he IS that damn good simply by being overly confident in himself and flaunting it. What im trying to get at is this: I don't see anything wrong with wanting people to like you. It is a confidence booster when people DO like you. In order to do that you have to first have that same "Kanye West" mentality. Telling people that you're awesome and that you rock, is good! Because if they don't believe it, then at least you do! And from there you can improve yourself so that they DO believe it!! Once you have the confidence, improving yourself and your image is easy! If I have to be like Kanye West in order to build up my self confidence (which is something im STILL working on to this day) then so be it!

Of course, Kanye West didn't even TRY improving himself and became more and more of a douchebag until the South Park guys put him in his place. I do love those guys. Something fierce.

What a horrible idea!!!

2009-08-26T08:48:00.002-04:00

Ok, ok, ok, I know its BEEN a while. But alot of shit's been going on lately and i'm trying to get things straightened out. I'm hoping if i start blogging again, it will help take my mind off things and everything will be right in my little world again. I just had to post this article. Did we learn nothing from www.wiihaveaproblem.com??? The WiiMote ( no matter how awesome its motion sensor capabilities are) is a DANGEROUS TOOL by itself!! So WHY on earth would one invent a BOWLING BALL??? You know there are jackasses out there who won't use the wrist strap...because they dont use the wrist strap on the NORMAL WiiMote!!! WTF??

From yahoo.com:

by Mike Smith

Plugged In goes hands-on with "dangerous Wii accessory"

August 24 11:50 A.M.
Is this bowling ball controller really the most dangerous Wii accessory so far? So we wondered in a June post. Manufacturer CTA Digital thought we were being a touch premature, and offered to send one along so we get some firsthand experience.

So, we spent the last few days knocking down thousands of virtual pins in Wii Sports, and the verdict's in: we're convinced CTA Digital has made this controller adapter as safe as it can be, but it's still significantly more dangerous than bowling with just the Wiimote.It's not because of any flaw in the design of the ball. If you're nervous of third-party controllers, rest easy: this is a well-planned, well-made offering. You set the Wii remote in the center of the ball, which splits in half like some Indiana Jones prop. MotionPlus adapters will fit, too, and unlike some other controller adapters we’ve tried, the infra-red "eye" on the end of the Wiimote stays uncovered so you can still use the pointer in menus.

The buttons on the Wiimote are accessible as well, thanks to an intricate arrangement of rods that connect buttons on the outside surface of the ball to pins that press the remote's actual buttons. Sounds chintzy, but works beautifully. A set of plastic inserts mean you can customize the size of the fingerholes, but we found the standard size to fit like a glove.

Perhaps most importantly, the device also sports a fetching blue wrist strap -- complete with lock -- although if that puppy comes loose or breaks, you’re going to be in trouble. Fortunately, it's an absolute beast of a strap. You could probably tie it to a rafter and swing from it, Tarzan-style (note: not recommended, kids.) It certainly puts the standard-issue Wii wrist strap to shame, and it's not going to break or slip loose under any reasonable play scenario.

Smartly, the ball slips the "B" button -– which releases the ball in Wii Sports Bowling –- under the middle joint of your pointer finger. After a brief acclimatization process, you'll be slinging out strike after strike. I scored at least as well with the ball as without it. That's surprisingly uncommon for a novelty controller like this.
So why is it dangerous? It's dangerous in the same w
ay any old Wii controller is: if you're crazy enough not to wear the wrist-strap or someone is absent-minded enough to stand too close to you while playing, someone's gonna get beaned, or something's gonna get broken. That's obvious enough, but the bowling ball makes these everyday risks worse for several reasons. One, it's considerably heavier than a Wii controller alone, and as any physicist will tell you, more weight means more momentum, and more momentum means more damage. Second, it's larger and poses a bigger threat to anyone carelessly walking past. Third, you don't have your nice, soft hand wrapped around it: your hand's on the inside, where it can't cushion any blows. It's inherently more dangerous than the standard Wii controller simply due to its weight and size.

Don't let this prevent you from buying it, though, if you think it's a cool idea. Keep it out of reach of the kids, enforce the same old common-sense rules every Wii owner knows, and you're golden. Novelty controllers often feel cheap or gimmicky, but we found the Bowling Ball added enough to Wii Sports to make it an easy recommendation. Just don't blame us -- or CTA Digital -- if you throw it through your TV.

Dear My Brain,

2009-07-28T17:19:00.004-04:00

Dear My Brain,

Would you stop being an asshole now and making me think theirs something wrong with me? It would be greatly appreciated if you'd stop. Because i dont like it! Not one bit! I haven't abused you with drugs or alcohol. Ive been quite the humble host I think up until now. But i'm beginning to grow sick and tired of your shit!

K? Thx. Bai.......

Jo

P.S. The same thing goes for you, thyroid! You can go fuck yourself.....

I think...

2009-07-04T11:27:00.003-04:00

I'm going about this "putting together a routine" thing too much.... overthinking it, almost.

I mean, really, all i have to do is.....do it right.

Full of ideers.......

Sounding Off On.....

2009-07-01T13:08:00.007-04:00

......M. Night Shyamalanalanalan's (spelt wrong on purpose and i'm leaving it that way) film adaptation of "The Last Airbender".

We saw the trailer for this before Transformers. Not much too it, just Aang spinning his staff and airbending. Then there is also a shot of the Fire Nation Navy beginning their attack on the temple Aang is in. Yet it was still so damn exciting!! I had heard they were making a live action "Avatar" but didn't put too much stock into it thinking it didn't have that much of a fan base. But apparently its more popular then I thought. After doing a bit of research on the project after seeing the trailer, I noticed that there are so many people out there that are as excited about it as I am ....and some are even a trifle angry about the casting choices (character ethnicity and whatnot). But that's not really what i'm concerned about.

I'm concerned about the director.

M. Night Shyamalan had a hit on his hands with "The Sixth Sense". Mainly because of the ending. The twist at the end was kinda different for the time. Of course nowadays, that kind of thing is to be expected. M. Night seems to be getting worse and worse about this with every film he makes. I'm quite afraid that Prince Zuko is going to end up being just a mere figment of Aang's imagination because Fire is the element he has the most trouble bending. I really hope he sticks to the story. The show seems to have a pretty loyal fan base, it would be best not to anger them. ESPECIALLY if they plan on making the movie into a franchise of films. From looking at the cast list, it seems that they're only going to be covering Book One in this movie. I honestly don't see how they can go from "Book One" to "Sozin's Comet" in 2 hours. There's too much ground to cover. I'm not sure how much of the story can be left out. Anyway. I'm thinking if Shyamalan sticks with the story it will do well. But please M., don't fuck this up!! Its a fairly easy story to follow, don't make it confusing!!

As for casting, the film already has two rather big(ish) stars on the bill. Jackson Rathbone (who plays Jasper in the Twilight series) and Dev Patel (Jamal from Slumdog Millionaire). Jackson plays Sokka and Dev plays Prince Zuko. Originally it was rumored that Jesse McCartney was tapped to play Zuko, which I personally find appauling. I'm very excited for Dev, I think he'll do well.he also has the martial arts knowledge in his court, being a black belt in Tae Kwon Do (file that under: Things i didn't know about Dev Patel until this week, he earns brownie points for that) As for Jackson....he doesn't really do much in Twlight soooo....I can't really judge. He doesn't remind me of Sokka at all. But who knows? He could be great at it. Actually, if you just switched those two actors, it would make more sense, haha. Another issue i'm having is....if Dev Patel is going to be Zuko...then it makes it virtually IMPOSSIBLE for me to audition for the role of Princess Azula in the next movie!!! WTF? Not fair. Azula , or the HCIC (Head Cunt In Charge) as I call her, is so fucking crazy psychotic, I think I would do well in that role. Especially in the last episode...where she loses her mind because she becomes so power hungry. Noah Ringer, the 12-year old they got to play Aang, seems like a good fit. But whats disheartening is...he basically got the role because of a DVD he sent a in of himself performing Tae Kwon Do (he's also a black belt). SO.......he wasn't chosen because of acting ability? It could be ok though. The "Harry Potter" kids were virtually unknowns who had never acted in big budget productions before and look how well that worked out.

As a final thought, if you couldn't tell, I'll be following the production of this VERY closely until July 2nd, 2010. I'm actually kinda pissed that i have to wait that long! Below ive included a rather cute Avatar fan video, set to "Kung Fu Fighting". It showcases a good amount of the bending and martial arts involved in the series. But for the full effect, you all should check out Avatar if you get Nickelodeon or the Nicktoons Channel. It is a FANTASTIC show, which unfortunately has already ended its run, but its still airing in reruns. Children and adults of all ages can enjoy it.

Oh! And lastly....Ahpa the Bison...and MoMo the Lemur?? Are they going to be involved in this production at all? Ahpa kinda has to be since he's the only mode of transportation for Aang. But MoMo seems expendable....which makes me sad, because MoMo rocks!

An awesome article about Billy Mays!

2009-06-30T08:13:00.002-04:00

From cnn.com:

When Billy Mays shouted it, people believed

By Ashley FantzCNN

(CNN) -- Billy Mays always let you know who you were talking to.

OxiClean pitchman Billy Mays, king of the "yell and sell" technique died Sunday morning at his home in Tampa.

"Billy Mays, here."
The 50-year-old became famous for hawking products like OxiClean ("Powered by the air you breathe!") and Mighty Mendit ("Before you throw it away, let Mighty Mendit save the day!"). You needed more space in your closet, Mays had a special hanger for that. You wanted to hang a picture without putting a hole in your wall, he had some supernatural putty you needed to know about. You had a spill? One word. Zorbeez.

"I'm a pitchman, my business comes from the pitch, nothing else," Mays said recently in an interview with Portfolio. "My voice, my likeness is my livelihood. That's it. I keep it simple. I pick good products."

Mays died Sunday at his home near Tampa, Florida. The Hillsborough County medical examiner Dr. Vernard Adams said Monday that Mays had heart disease. Mays' wife, Deborah Mays, released this statement Monday: "While it provides some closure to learn that heart disease took Billy from us, it certainly doesn't ease the enormous void that his death has created in our lives."

Handsome in a Brawny Towel Guy sort of way, Mays seemed to be as boisterous off camera as he was on, at least in interviews. He once compared his hands to "weapons" for the way they would whip around a product like a fast-dancing showgirl. And even when he didn't feel like cracking a smile, he dug deep. "When I'm up against a wall, that's when Billy Mays performs best," he told a Fortune magazine writer earlier this year while driving his Bentley near his home. At the time, Mays' bum hip was hurting him. He had his hip replaced last year and recently talked about using a special gel insole to help him with the pain -- another product he planned to push. How well does that work? Mays had demonstrated it informally in interviews by wrapping his hand in the insole and whacking it with a hammer.

That was just Mays: A sunshiny attitude and an "I've tried it" believability. Even on Saturday, less than a day before his wife found him dead in their home, Mays was cheerful as he described being conked on the head by falling luggage when his US Airways flight had a rough landing at Tampa International. "I gotta hard head," he said, shrugging. Watch Billy Mays smile and sell »

Mays' success in the $300 billion infomercial industry was his ability to come off sincere, a magical feat for what is, essentially, huckstering, said Marian Salzman, partner at advertising PR giant Porter Novelli. "He was the everyday Burt Reynolds; Burt in a next-door neighbor format," she said. "Burt Reynolds was not approachable, but Billy appealed to the 'Mrs. I Push My Cart in Wal-mart.'

"He was that good looking guy at the end of the cul de sac that you could talk to, and even though you know he was going to talk a lot of nonsense, there was going to be an integrity in there."
Mays often told interviewers of being raised in Pennsylvania, where he played high school football. He left college and began pushing products on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, a vibrant scene a few decades ago.

"There'd be one here, one there, you know, it's just the knife, the slicer, the Vitamix, you know, the Washamatic," Mays told ABC's "Nightline" in April. "And there would be tons of people coming in and you just had to, you know, attack these people, stop them, you know, where they're shopping and tell them the story and sell the product."Perfecting what has been called the "yell 'n sell," Mays traveled around the country, selling various doohickeys and thingamabobs.

He met another salesman, Max Appel, a guru of cleaning products, and the two forged a friendship. In 1996, Appel scored a chance to go on the Home Shopping Network and wanted Mays to appear as the pitchman, according to Fortune. That was the day the wood cleaner Orange Glo was born, a golden road that ended in a $325 million pay day when Appel sold the company to Church & Dwight, the maker of OxiClean. Celebrity was on the horizon. In the late 1980s cable TV was taking off as a marketplace as segments of late night airtime were relatively cheap. There was a science to what would evolve as a cottage industry. Keep the pitches short and bright. Demonstrate, don't describe. Noting the commercials air globally, Mays joked with Portfolio magazine that he speaks 57 languages. Affordability is an international language.
"I feel that the magic number on the infomercial, the two-minute spots, it's kind of hard to get past $20," Mays told Portfolio. "That seems to be the magic number. Or $19.95. The best things in life are free and $19.95."

Mays also knew how to make fun of himself, including in a series of promos for ESPN.
"Billy Mays here for ESPN360.com, the revolutionary tool for watching sports," he shouts, crouching under a desk and pointing to a cable. "The secret is in the Internet connection live sports travel on this wire to the back of your desktop!"Mays had recently starred in a Discovery channel reality show with fellow pitchman Anthony Sullivan, a Briton who has made many think, perhaps at 3 a.m., that purchasing a Smart Chopper is the best move they've made in months.
Sullivan and Mays appeared together in a TV Guide television interview to talk about the show.
"America will realize that Billy doesn't shout all the time," Sullivan said. "He has another volume."

I am beside myself!!

2009-06-28T13:05:00.002-04:00

WTF is going on????? Billy Mays (TV Pitchman extraordinaire) has DIED!!! Who is gunna sell me OxyClean? Who is gunna talk me into buying Mighty Putty? And WHO is gunna teach me how to make PERFECT Big City Sliders EVERY TIME!! WHO, i ask you...WHO???????

No Billy Mays or Michael Jackson....This BLOWS!!!

Never got around to this the other day....

2009-06-28T11:12:00.003-04:00

No matter what he did or didnt do in his personal life....there's no denying the man's talent. I dont think we'll ever see a performer like him again. Rest In Peace, Michael, because God knows you deserve it considering the life you've had to deal with.

On settling down...

2009-06-27T00:03:00.001-04:00

....Of course I want a life with my future husband, and of course I want
children.

But another thing I want is to always be me. I never want to lose my
sense of self. I'm proud of me. I worked too damn hard to get to where I
am now to settle down. Once you begin to think like an older
person....you start to feel old. Hence the reason why I, at 25, don't
feel old at all! Keeping a positive, upbeat, youthful attitude helps A
LOT! I just kinda wish I had come to this conclusion sooner....

Decisions, Decisions.....

2009-06-26T07:31:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking of signing up for an amatuer Burlesque night coming up at the end of July. Its so excting, yet horribly terrifying at the same time.

Im not so much afraid of the actual performing part...but it's the putting something together bit that scares me. What do i wear? What music do i use? Am i doing the moves the right way? Will people enjoy the routine i put together? SO MUCH to think about.

My dream (if i can pull it off) is to do a nerd burlesque act. I've read about people in other states doing it, and i think it would be fantastic...because nerd girls are people too damn it! So I think that doing an act along those lines for the Amateur night would be the best way to go. I have so many great charecter ideas and song ideas but im having trouble linking up said nerd girl charecters with the songs I like. Except one! I think doing a routine as Sally from Nightmare Before Xmas to "Rag Doll" by Aerosmith would be pretty bad ass. I also think dressing like the Silk Spectre DEFINETLY has to happen at some point. My favorite idea, however, would involve me doing a routine to 'Living Dead Girl" by Rob Zombie, because lets face it..that is MY SONG!

Yet I can't figure out for the life of me which charecter would strip to it!!

Maybe ill make "Rag Doll" my default until i figure out what the fuck to do with "Living Dead Girl".

Any of my nerdy friends have any opinions? Suggestions? What nerdy girl charecter would you love to see do burlesque? I'm open to every idea so, bring it on!! :)

My favorite Michael Jackson song is....

2009-06-25T22:23:00.001-04:00

...Man In The Mirror

RIP Michael. You may be gone, but your music is forever!

So Ron says....

2009-06-23T19:46:00.000-04:00

to the man taking our pizza delivery "I'd like to order a bacon
cheeseburger pizza."

Guy taking the order says "Ok"

Ron asks "What kind of cheese comes on that?" (thinking they would use a
different kind for that type of pizza)

Order-take guy says ".....you ordered a pizza, right?"

Lawl...

I don't think....

2009-06-22T20:35:00.001-04:00

I've ever experienced time passing this slowly.

Could seconds tick by an slower? Could this train go any slower?

Le sigh

A quick update to see....

2009-06-22T14:47:00.001-04:00

if email posting works...

If it does, ill be able to post from my phone again....so yay!

So far today, ive had several people ask me if im ok. Not just a casual "Hey, how ya doin?" more like "Are you doing ok? You look so tired." One of my coworkers actually said I have a glazed over look in my eye....

Is it really that obvious?

I am....

2009-06-21T21:35:00.002-04:00

"I am Sekhmet, Mistress of Dread,

My weapon the arrow, my color is red

I am Sekhmet, Queen of Strife, And I come forth with the Ankh of life

I am my Father's most fierce projection, And I bear the sign of divine protection.

For those who dare to call on me, I bring the strength to fight, not flee.

Propitiation must be made, For mine is the healing of the blade,

To sever the useless and the outworn,
To gather the fragments and mend what is torn.

For I am the Great Devourer And I wield the scepter of power, Manifesting in this hour."

I Am Goddess, Dammit!! Hear Me Roar!

Osaka Bang!!

2009-06-21T13:23:00.001-04:00

Dear Mr.....

2009-06-21T13:20:00.002-04:00

Dear Mr. Tom F. Foolery,

I have had quite enough of your shit for one week. So would you mind laying off for, say, a day or so? That'd be fantastic.

Thanks,

Jo

In happier news....

2009-06-20T18:04:00.005-04:00

My baby girl is growing up so fast!!!

No, im not talking about an ACTUAL child. But of course i'm talking about the one and only, OLIVIA MUNN!!! Not only is she on the "Must List" in this weeks EW, but she's also on the COVER of the July/August Issue of Playboy (in a non-nude pictorial which is RARE for Playboy to give a non-nude spread the cover) AND it was announced this week that she will be appearing alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke in "Iron Man 2". BIG EXCITEMENT going on in the Munn camp! I'm extremely excited for her, yet so sad at the same time.

I'm sad because I hate sharing my favorite things. Who KNOWS how much recognition she'll get between Playboy and being in "Iron Man"?? It could be nothing, but I believe she is on the verge of becoming a superstar. With her good looks and personality, how couls she NOT be? And then she wont be "our" Olivia anymore. "Our" meaning the nerd community. Everyone is gonna want a slice of the Munn Pie! ! (Haha, i made a funny, get it? Munn....pie...Olivia loves pie....forget it...) And dont even get me started on the Haislip! Once Olivia explodes onto the Hollywood scene, she'll leave AOTS...making room for Alison to come sache' ing right in. Then i'll never be able to watch AOTS again...because Alison will NEVER fill Olivia's shoes...no matter how hard she tries.
The dynamic between Kevin and Olivia is unmatched. I would much rather see someone like Chris Hardwick or Blair Butler take over her spot. But this is a whole lot of speculating on my part. She could just stay Olivia, and I would be perfectly fine with that.

But anyway, Kudos to you, Ms. Munn. You continue to inspire me to be a hot geeky chick every single day!! What.Up!!!!