DOS-feratu!! Ha!!

Weekend recap:

I went out on Friday night with "the girls" to see Bridget Jones's Diary. Again. And it was as good the second time as it had been the first. The element of surprise was gone, but it's written well enough that you still feel for the character, even when you know what's going to happen. Anyway, it was also nice to hang out with most of my friends at the same time. Generally, I tend to interact with my friends one-on-one, so few of my friends really know one another. It's good to know that they all like one another.

Saturday I got to test drive an Alfa Romeo and a 2000 Miata for a friend who was looking to get a nice little car, but wasn't really comfortable with a stick-shift just yet. As someone who will probably never own a really nice car, it was fun to toodle around in someone else's convertible. My friend ended up getting the Miata, and I drove it home for him. My confidence in my ability to drive has been restored.

Then I went to a great party, where everyone wore light-colored t-shirts, and markers were handed out at the door. Despite fears that people would be shy about writing on others, or having others write on them, everything turned out wonderful and much writing ensued.

And yesterday I went to IKEA to get a desk and ended up buying many things, but not a desk. So I get to go back up there tonight to get ... a desk. How much fun is that??*

And, just like last week, I finished off the day with Alien³ and XFiles. This time, though, XFiles was about aliens ... in fact, as we watched Ripley get a CAT scan and saw the alien growing inside her, I thought about how similar it was to Scully's experience, and realized that we had just missed the first 10 minutes of XFiles. Sidenote: I'll be glad when XFiles is over. It was fun while it lasted, but they're having a tough time finishing out the season in an interesting manner.


*Rhetorical question

Random Referrer of the Day:

Captain Internet WebSite, points to my George Bush page. I wish I could read the page.

Oops.

Yesterday's Quote: I didn't take a math test to get this freakin' job. - Mark "Talented Toes" Bakalor.

Today's Quote: We have noses instead of "other" things. - Niklas "Ooga Chaka" Lindstrom.

Hey! It's Arbor Day!! Go plant a tree!

Email moment when I realized that I don't really have any problems:

The weather is great (mostly), I have a good haircut (mostly), and I like my job (mostly). I just went to Ben and Jerry's for a post-lunch snack and was greatly satisfied. Ice cream is good.

I wonder if it's a cycle in my life that when spring hits, everything in my life is going well. If so, I hope everyone has spring phases regularly in their lives too, and they recognize them *while they're happening*.

Update: the email moment that came from telling my father about the above:

Me:It's a strange feeling of contentment. I think people might generate a lot of strife and contention in their lives (consciously or unconsciously) to avoid this feeling, 'cause it's just strange. You keep feeling like you're forgetting something, like something's missing. In reality, it's the same as that feeling you get when you've passed all your tests, turned all your papers in and finally realize that YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL ANY MORE. If people allowed themselves to, they'd find a lot fo joy in this feeling. Or maybe that's just me. I think we all know about my lack of ambition and my general sense of laziness. I just can't muster up the energy to create a situation to be concerned about.

Him: Regarding that aspect of you that others find objectionable... lack of ambition... let me just make this observation:

The sun comes up every day whether you are busy or not. The grass is green and the dew is there for a while but it like the mountains around you, are perennial. They do not care. There were there before us and will be here when we are gone if we don't fuck up royally. If we choose to enjoy and absorb these things, we become part of the world. If we focus on urgencies that are manufactured in our minds or in those of others, we reject our own life. If someone took these things away from us, we would be pissed big time. We take them away from ourselves with great effort and all in the wrong direction.

Stay the way you are. You are an inspiration to your father.

Sent to me by a friend today. This one struck me as true just too many times to ignore. So I had to post it:

You know you are in California if:

-You make over $250,000 a year and still can't afford a house.

-It's sprinkling outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.

-You can't remember... is pot legal?

-You've been to a baby shower for an infant who has two mothers and a sperm donor.

-You can't remember... is pot legal?

-A really great parking space can move you to tears.

-The guy in line at Starbucks, wearing the baseball cap, sunglasses, and looks like George Clooney, IS George Clooney.

-Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.

-Your hairdresser is straight, your plumber is gay, and your Mary Kay rep is a guy in drag.

-It's sprinkling out, and there's a report on every news channel about "THE STORM!”

-Hey... is pot legal?

-Over 85% of the cities, towns, and/or streets start with San, Los, El,La, Santa, De La, De Los or Via.

-Two overcast days in a row drive you mad.

-A family of four owns six vehicles.

-Everyone who lives here knows that hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and snowstorms are way worse than earthquakes, which are, after all, over almost as soon as you realize what's happening.

-Even if the store is across the street, you drive there.

-Yeah, you're sure...? pot is legal.

-And finally, a question:

Q. How many Californians does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A. None. Californians cannot afford to turn on the lights.

Mark and I just worked it out, and it turns out we're in the 21st century.

Imagine that. The 21st century. Where are the phasers and the transporters??

I'd like to thank Dave for the reminder. I forgot I used to enjoy that show.

Party!!

Who you gonna call?? GoatBusters!!

Try their direct line at 867-5309. C'mon, sing it out now!

Thief Steals Car With Baby Inside

Regardless of whether they catch the guy or not, the mother should spend some time in jail thinking about what she did that led to this situation.

Unofficial Word of the Day: Nyah

Meaning: kinda, but not really. Or not really, but yeah.

Niklas is of the opinion that we are going to change the world with this expression. Hmmm.

For some reason, I'm here alone in the office after 9 a.m.. The good thing about this, though, is that I can listen to whatever I want without feeling like I'm forcing my musical tastes on everyone else. At the moment, I'm listening to Pink Floyd's Division Bell, and I found that their website has all the lyrics on the album!! Reading, working and grooving. It'll be a good Thursday, I think.

Jessajune pointed to this article, detailing the dilemma some women seem to find themselves in when they watch Bridget Jones's Diary. The article is funny in itself, although I'm not sure this dilemma is as much of a quandry as the author would have us think. Or at least it wasn't for me.

An example:
Hugh's cheek (literal and metaphorical) versus Colin's fathomless eyes? Colin's moral rectitude versus Hugh's voracious-sex face? Colin's pinstripe chic versus Hugh, oh Hugh, in a sky-blue shirt. That's wet.

Well, maybe she has a point after all.

It's truly remarkable. Davezilla posted a three letter entry today and has (up to now) received 153 comments on it. Oops, make that 154.

Go on, say something bizarre.

I have a chiropractic appointment later this afternoon and I'm feeling kinda ambivalent about it. My first appointment with this woman was on Monday, and she spent most of the hour and a half I was with her lecturing me on my posture, my work habits and how I take care of myself. Granted, this is obviously stuff I need to hear on a regular basis, since it has all led to my current condition. But now I'm feeling bad, not just 'cause my neck still hurts, but because I haven't made any of the life-altering changes she suggested I make since Monday. And I know she's going to ask about them. She might not lecture this time, but I'll see what she really wants to say in her eyes, very, very clearly.

I am a bad person.

Fittingly, today's Word of the Day is hobbledehoy \HAH-bul-dee-hoy\, noun: An awkward, gawky young fellow.

I just saw Billy Elliot last night. Good, good movie. If I hadn't had an overenthusiastic pug trying to bite my fingers and chew my hair and basically climb all over me, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more. As it was, though, I thought Jamie Bell did an admirable job of showing the conflict of trying to realize his dreams in a small English mining town, against the wishes of his father and brother. Maybe I'll see it again, when I'm in a dog-free environment :)

I went out with two of my favorite people to see Bon Jovi in concert last night at the San Jose Arena. I had forgotten just how much I liked that band back in the day. You know, when I had two of their tapes (meaning it was pre-1990) and knew the words to all the songs. They played songs that I had forgotten the words to, but I didn't have too much trouble remembering them as the songs went on.

And they're such a fun band! They were having a great time up on stage, the audience was having a good time watching them up there. It was just a good time all around. Jon hurt himself about 5 songs from the end of the show, but the only indication of that was that he was limping around, 'cause there was no lack of enthusiasm, even though he must have been in a lot of pain. And they ended the show with Twist and Shout, which had people on their feet and dancing in the whole arena. It reminded me of Ferris Bueller. I'd see 'em again. No doubt about that.

Yeah, I liked the big-hair bands of the 80's. I still do.

Davezilla has quite a gift for imagery, I tell ya.

Cellulite was oozing through the over-taut fabric openings like Poppin’ Fresh Dough after a really good counter slam.

Thanks for the visual.

Weekend recap:

I got my hair done on Friday night - way too much money and too much time, but it looks great. It'll look even better when I figure out what she did to make it look the way it did when I left the salon that night. Right now, it's just a frizzy mess (as per usual). But I will persevere! And I will hopefully be able to one day tell my hair what I want it to do, and it will obey. (a familiar refrain in my life)

Saturday I went to a party and met a lot of nice, interesting people. I did my "party dork" routine again, though. You know the one - the one where I can't make conversation to save my life, I don't fit in anywhere, and most of the time I look like a wallflower. I seriously doubt any of them will remember me should we ever meet again. But the weather was beautiful, and I had a good time anyway. And we made s'mores. Yum.

Yesterday I allowed a friend to practice driving a stick-shift with my car, went to a movie and finished the evening with Aliens and X-Files. At least X-Files wasn't about aliens this time.

And today I get to visit a chiropractor so that I can check my blind spot when I want to change lanes!! Yippee!!

Go take a look at Jish's delirious, goofy, & absent-minded post. Go now.

The comments are just about as funny as the original post.

Mark's Nickname du Jour*: King of Randomness

(*at the request of JessaJune.

Dave's looking a little goofy these days. I think the end-of-the-semester-crunch is taking a toll on him. Or maybe his leg is infected.

I hope he gets better soon. Or sleeps. Both would be ideal.

I had 17 out of 20 questions correct.
I'm over 40!

Actually, I think I just watch(ed) too much tv. (Thanks, Firda!)

Quote of the Day:

Sometimes a woman's inability to put her clothes together just right is simply a reflection of the idea (recognized on her part or not) that she's her best self when she's not wearing them.

Another cool example of namin' it like it is.

Via Dave

Pointed here by both Dave and Jason.

It's pretty darn cool. None of that one-on-one b.s. you see in American hero films. Although you have to wonder how the figure in question manages to kick so much stick butt with so many, um, obstacles on the floor.

The most interesting piece of news I have to post today:

I bought my first pair of khakis ever while I was in Texas. And today is the first time I've ever worn them outside of my apartment. It's also the first time in well over a month that I've worn something other than jeans to work. I keep getting surprised every time I look down and I don't see denim.

Everyone should have a constant source of surprise like this.

Jish pointed to the cutest picture. Perfect for a rainy, sleepy Friday morning.

Jack Nicholson is one ugly guy.

This time tomorrow my hair is going to be a different color.

I'm not sure how I feel about that.

I'm hard up for a companion to see a chick flick with me tonight.

Mabye it's a sign that I should stay home and finish cleaning my apartment. But I'd much rather go out.

Dinah is my bestest friend.

(Hint: you, too, can be my bestest friend, if you give good neck massages)

Nothin' like naming it for what it is.

From James.

You know, I love KFOG.com, but they're not allowed to play commercials over the internet anymore (darn!), so they play cheesy intermission music instead. Which was cute during the first commercial break. Now it's just annoying.

I think I've mentioned before that I want to come back in my next life as an invertebrate. That wish still stands. Ow.

You know how 'they' say that it gets worse before it gets better?? Well, I'm hoping this applies to my room. In the process of cleaning, it seems I've made a bigger mess than already existed. Than could ever naturally exist, for that matter. I'm hoping I'm at the far end of worse, and that it'll get better from here on out.

I'm tired and I want to go to bed.

I just got to do the "ha ha ha, I don't have to do the testing and you do" dance. I think I should go home while the getting's good.

Go read Mighty Girl's Bali Blog. Now.

If seeing Dinah in her party pants this last weekend wasn't enough to make me want to buy a pair of my own, then Mighty Girl's description has made them a must-have.

I bought leather pants this weekend, and they're fabulous. They make me want to pose instead of standing still. They make me want to take up chain smoking. They make me want to pout out angry lyrics and crawl catlike toward a video camera while underage models writhe seductively in the soft-focus background. Man, nothing screams rock star like wrapping your legs in dead cow.

Thanks to Mark, The Chronicles of George has put the whole office in giggles.

Words cannot describe some of the things he writes down. It's not that he's lazy, it's just that he doesn't understand. George has been working Helpdesk at my company for over a year, and he has learned nothing. No amount of explaining or tutoring or training has helped him. He has no concept of anything. He is a rock.

Not for the faint of heart, The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen. (No really, if it sounds as though it might offend, then it probably will. You have been warned.)

Led here by Heather and Jessajune.

And Niklas is going to eat the entire country of China for lunch.

[insert witty comment here]

In case you were wondering, Mark broke the sun.

Damn locals.

Not much to say today.

[there was something written here, but after posting it, I realized that it didn't say anything witty, important, relevant or otherwise interesting. So, back to the above statement.]

Ah, the dangers of sleeping lightly during the day - bad, disturbing dreams.

This one involved a guy who was supposed to be my dentist, but for some reason he was also doing my nails. I suspect it was to keep me there longer. He had a young boy who did office things for him, who I was sure he abused physically. All I could think of was how in the world I was going to get out of there, but I couldn't think of a way, since it seemed I was in a very vulnerable position (I don't know why, he hadn't started doing the dentist work yet). I wanted to get out of there with the boy, who had been taken away by two big men after breaking something, but I didn't know how to make sure he was ok. When the dentist left, another man came into the office, I think to make sure I didn't do anything I wasn't supposed to. Then a friend of mine showed up unexpectedly to see how I was doing and then didn't want to leave either, since she could sense that all was not right. Btw, she was dressed in this lovely dark green skirt with a floral print, and a white shirt - very old fashioned and all. My friend's appearance seemed to upset my dentist, who had been drinking for a while, and he suddenly got violent and tried to stab my leg with something like a knife ... and that's when I woke up.

I have no idea where most of those elements came from. Maybe I'm afraid of dentists?? Hardly. I know that friend is going to come and watch me get my hair done on Friday, but my hair dresser is the nicest lady imaginable. I don't know.

Maybe I just need to do my nails and all will be well. ::yawn:: no more afternoon naps for me today.

Bleh. I forgot about the telemarketers. I'm going to turn off the ringer on my phone.

Despite my rather enthusiastic horoscope today, sitting on my ass is exactly what I'm doing. I called in sick to finally take care of the allergies, the neck pain and the chronic tiredness. All at once. And it seems to be working.

The allergies aren't bothering me so much today, and I haven't even taken anything for them yet!

The neck pain isn't gone, but I have much more range of motion today than I did yesterday. I still have a long way to go with this one, though. Grr. Neck pain is, um, a pain in the neck.

The exhaustion is going away slowly as well. I went to bed at 5:30 p.m. yesterday and slept almost continously till 9 a.m. this morning, when I woke up to call in sick.

I'm going back to bed now.

::YAAAAWWWWWN::

Random line heard from another conversation, in passing:

"The whole country of Canada is closed??"

Search String of the Day:

celtic art of the squirrel

This can be fun, depending on how easily amused you are. Me, I'm zoning today, so it kept me busy for a whole 5 minutes. I might go back and play with it some more later, depending on how the afternoon goes. ::sigh::

Via Jish, via Julie, via some others. I think 2 levels down is enough, don't you??

Warning: another whiny, self-involved, complaining post ahead. If you value your good mood, you'll skip it.

I don't generally believe in the bad luck supposedly inherent in Mondays, but mine is turning out to be bad in a stereotypical way. I was out much of the weekend, doing the social butterfly thing and today I'm paying for it. In a big way.

I'm tired. Bone tired. Dead tired. Can't keep my eyes open tired.
I'm allergic. Will I ever get to stop taking decongestants??
I can't move my neck. Stress or the way I slept last night, I don't know.

Waaa. Poor me.

Bjoern broke the Internet!!

Damn foreigners.

Courtesy of Adam:

The World's Most Dangerous T-Shirts

The new slogan for today, courtesy of Kim (talking about the evil food):

You should try the cake doughnuts.

Oh. My. God.

Jish mentioned to me this morning that today is both Friday the 13th and Good Friday. Despite the difference in names and supposed meanings, Good Friday is the day Catholics honor as the day Christ was crucified, so I guess it can be considered pretty much a bad day all around, as far as tradition goes. Before non-Catholics think of us as morbid, though, it should be pointed out that Easter is the biggest celebration in the Catholic church, celebrating the day that Christ rose from the dead. And he had to die in order to rise again. At least, that's the way it usually happens.

And that's the Advent lesson for today from your friendly neighborhood lapsed Catholic.

UPDATE: Your friendly neighborhood lapsed Catholic made a major theological mistake. We're coming up on the end of Lent, not Advent. If my mother read this site, she'd be mortified.

Yesterday's horoscope needs to be saved for posterity, so here it is, destined for my archives ...

Your ruling planet hooks up in a groovy way with the Sagittarius Moon today, giving the energies that tinge of crazy circumstance and Freaky happenstance which makes your blood pump and your mind race. The romantic things should start to improve dramatically and with the quickness at this time. Unexpected hook-ups could occur if you've managed to stay on the positive, confident path. Dazzle potential mates with your ability to stretch the shit out of reality while maintaining some level of normalcy about it.

Ah, the first crisis in my "I haven't done my laundry" saga. I have to go to a show tonight, and I haven't a (clean) thing to wear. I might have to do a little creative garment management.

But my hair looks great.

Testing ... testing... 1..2...3... Is anyone there?? am I here???

"I can cope. I'm in a good mood. I have pie."

-- Dinah

Mark kindly made it possible for me to make this picture of me available on my website. How did I ever deserve a friend like Mark??