Everything all of the time.

Hey Kids...Aunt Chrissy Has Become A myspace.com Whore!!

2006-01-11T04:30:00.000-05:00

That's right...instead of blogging here, I have been blogging, rather nonchalantly until recently, on a myspace.com page.

I apologize sincerely to those of you out there who have actually been reading my blog.
By the way, doesn't the word "blog" sound slightly obscene to you? It does to me. Like, "Hey, I blogged my stuff last night".
Or perhaps, "I blogged your sister".
Maybe even, "I blogged about your mom...it was hot".

At any rate, to check out my new shiz, go to www.myspace.com/anathain

I know, seems retarded. It is. It truly is. Meghan (Brad's sister) is the one who turned me onto myspace.com, and as it turned out, a LOT of my coworkers had myspace.com pages as well. I enjoy a much greater return on writing effort there. In fact, I am currently co-authoring a novel (and I hope sincerely that it will go somewhere) with one of my myspace.com correspondents, who is also a coworker and dear friend of mine, Justin Odom.
To read the story, go to www.myspace.com/ogshowtime and read "Second String Quarterback".
The premise we are going for is that of a guy who is always second - the shoulder that bitches cry on, the guy that some hapless girl leans on, the one who winds up left with the check, cheek to the wind, driving home alone. The guy who can't seem to find a decent girl. The guy who looks for something in someone who doesn't possess it, and can't see it in the one who actually has it. The way I see it, there are tons of chick publishing companies out there, reaching for women and their lives, and how they work out. What about men who like to read? What about men who feel left out, left behind, left to pick up their own pieces? It always seemed sexist to me, a bit - oh, a poor guy gets played by a girl - boo fucking hoo. Men do that shit all the time.
Well, not anymore. Not in today's society. I can't tell you how many guys I have met who are just looking for a girl who sees them for who they are - it's a reverse shift in the gender economy. It's there, it's viable, and it happens all the goddamn time. Sure, guys like sex, and look for it. But tons of girls do too, and that's all they want - sex.

Everything chick lit is based on is now happening to men of our cohort as well. The phrase "trifling bitches" comes to mind...I have seen too many of them to count, and they treat decent men just the same as how men in the earlier decades used to treat women - as objects of satisfaction, and nothing more. Men used to be the users, and now women are more and more taking on that role.

Maybe women are entitled to that, who knows? But either way, it hits home with a lot of young men (and women) who have lived these very scenarios. The drama is there, only we are portraying it from the other side of the fence - the side of the fence that has not been much looked at.

I hope to think that Justin trusts me as a contributor because not only am I a woman, but I am a woman who knows how women work, having spent many of my years as one...and he knows how men see these scenarios. It has been a fantastic collaboration so far, even if it only turns out to be an exercise in mental masturbation on both our parts.

Also, please keep in mind that this is a work in progress, and that what we may have put up on the site might not be something we are working on, but only considering for certain chapters.

I will try to keep you all in the loop, but between work, school, and writing...plus the cats, Brad, and paying off bills, it may not be a reality.

Also, to those of you reading, be assured that I have a lawyer, and have properly copyrighted all material. If you steal ANYTHING, you will pay in more than dollars.
Love you all, and mahalo.

Football Season Is Over

2005-09-09T12:31:00.000-05:00

"No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won't hurt."
- The Last Words of Hunter S. Thompson

Musically Inclined

2005-08-23T13:21:00.000-05:00

Well, today is the second anniversary - two years. Seems longer. But not in a bad, "ball and chain" type of way - in a "wow, only two years? seems longer" type of way.

At any rate, I got B a new guitar for his present. This made him feel guilty as I only wanted dinner, so he got me a really cool 2o gigabyte mp3 player from iRiver. I just wasted my entire day playing with this thing and downloading music and pictures onto it, and I still haven't even used up 25% of the memory. Pretty cool, says I.

At any rate, having spent my entire day on Napster, I remembered a movie I saw called Garden State and recalled that there was some good music in that film. So I looked up one of the artists, The Shins, and started listening to their music and was promptly blown away. Especially by the song, "Those to Come". So go listen to it, and tell me what you think. I think, sweet.

Best Fireworks Show Ever Scheduled For Saturday

2005-08-18T23:45:00.000-05:00

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4011107,00.html

Johnny Depp is footing a $2 million dollar cost in order to ensure a proper sendoff for Hunter S. Thompson. So drink a beer and imagine that you are in Woody Creek, CO, seated at a bar built for 400, and watching the remains of a madman blasted into the air by a cannon.

Damn terrorists.

2005-07-08T07:21:00.000-05:00

I have one of those Groundhog Day style alarm clocks. You know, the one that you can set so the first thing you hear in the morning is NPR. I have this alarm clock for one reason, and for one reason only - so that if something like a terrorist bombing happens I will hear about it first thing in the morning.
All the same, I absolutely hate the fact that I had to jump out of bed yesterday morning feeling panic rising in my throat because the first words I heard as I awoke and stretched were "bombings in London this morning".
I literally leapt out of bed and ran to my computer to look up CNN.com. As I read, I was thinking that the word "terrorist" is extremely apt, for that is exactly the feeling that I felt starting to spread in my chest as I read the articles and saw pictures of the wounded being carried out. This is warfare like no other. It is a sneak in the night, an undercover attack, lacking any nobility or honor. It is a slap in the face of any civilized society, but with the slap comes no duel, no gauntlet being thrown. It is as if someone were to punch you in the face and then melt into the night. There is no way to defend yourself, no way to say, "Hey, hang on, can you at least let me bargain for my life, or try to save it?" What hurts me the most about the way that these people operate is that they literally prey on innocent people. How many children were on those subways? How many people were just going to work, or school? How many were just reading their morning papers, or listening to mp3 players, or chatting animatedly about how much they despised their boss? How much pain do these people have to mete out before they are brought to justice?
All of these are questions that I would wager were floating through thousands of minds yesterday. They are questions that I feel will never be answered, at least not satisfactorily. The biggest question that I have is, how can innocent people be held responsible for whatever it is that these terrorists are trying to achieve? If they are upset with our governments, which we elect, the populace is to some extent responsible - but not to the point of death. Yes, something smells rotten in the state of the Middle East, but the normal everyday people of our countries do not decide the policy and procedure of how our governments act. All we can do is elect our leaders and hope for the best. Blowing up innocent people is the most disgusting and peurile way of trying to get a point across that I have ever had the displeasure to witness. These terrorists have a cause they are fighting for, but it is a cause that will never be validated or acknowledged by the civlized people of this planet, for the ends do not justify the means. Innocent blood does not wash away. It leaves stains that cannot be cleansed, a mark that cannot be rubbed away.

Damn heat

2005-06-12T09:35:00.000-05:00

Well, it's officially summer, since it feels like I am swimming every time I set foot out of doors. Also, I am not entirely sure, but I think someone took a crap in our front bushes - it stinks like ass out there since yesterday. B refuses to crawl under and check, so I think I am going to have to force him to do it. I hate getting out the belt and the ball gag, but sometimes you just gotta enforce the rules.

Another thing of interest: myself, and all of the Mosaic employees around the country, were fired via conference call a few weeks back. It was one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. This was the same week in which I had a sinus infection and my dog died, so I was in the mood to see a firing as hilarious.
What I found to be so damn funny was that even though they are firing us all, it's not effective until July 2nd. And to keep everyone from jumping ship immediately to look for more gainful employment, they are withholding our May bonuses until July, to be paid out on the condition that we work through the month. Some people call that blackmail, I call it good clean fun!
Also, since Best Buy just wanted to hire me outright, and immediately, they also met with Best Buy corporate and made a rule that any Best Buy manager who hires a Mosaic employee before July 3rd will be reprimanded and written up. This, to me, is like icing on the cake, because even if I say, hey, screw my bonus, I would rather have a job for the next month that I know will be there the following month that my paltry bonus, it doesn't matter. My Best Buy STILL couldn't hire me until July 3rd. Apparently, they have my name on a list somewhere, and even if I quit Mosaic, if I get hired at Best Buy prior to July 2nd, someone will have to get written up. This just reeks of bullshit to me.
Just like our front bushes.

RIP Foxie Fletcher

2005-05-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

I have been a little incommunicado for the past week - sorry about that. The reason is we had to put my dog to sleep last Thursday, and I'm still a little broken up about it. We'd had her since I was ten - she followed me home from soccer practice one rainy day, and that was it, I was smitten. She was a fantastic dog and a sweetheart to boot. Fifteen years is a good run for a dog, and she was very loved, so I shouldn't be too sad, but still. Putting a beloved pet to sleep is a very heartwrenching experience, and even though it's been a week I still tear up thinking about it. And I don't want to tear up, so that's it. I have a wicked sinus infection and if I keep tearing up it will never get better.

2005-05-25T11:31:00.000-05:00

Star Wars Horoscope for Scorpio

You are a powerful character.
You tend to be possessive and lusty - which explains your greedy nature.
You feel threatened when people try to order you around or control you.
You are prone to suspicion and jealousy - but your resilience and passion get you what you want.

Star wars character you are most like: Han Solo

What is Your Star Wars Horoscope?

2005-05-05T20:17:00.000-05:00

Last week she was in Italy with Tom Cruise. This week she is giving herpetic press conferences. Poor Katie. How the mighty fall.
Posted by Chrissy

Thank God the school year is almost over

2005-05-01T09:25:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I have had time to even think about writing here. End of semester projects and insanity has been consuming all of my time, and I have been on the veritable cusp of losing it for about 3 weeks now. But, last night I went out and got kinda trashed a little and had a blast with some friends, so I blew off some of the steam. Now I have to get ready for work, even though I am running on 9 hours total of sleep for the entire weekend. Should be an interesting day.
Went to Brian and Kim's wedding last night, it was a ton of fun. I got a lot of great pictures, and am going to make a slideshow for them as soon as I have time. After the wedding, we headed out to Mutz downtown and continued the festivities for Meghan's 21st birthday. She looked beautiful, and then she looked wasted. A good time was had by all. Some scuzzy guy in a dirty flannel shirt tried to hit on me and Shiloh, but we just looked at him and said, "Ew!" and ran out of the bar. Probably a blow to his self esteem, but that's what you get for being scuzzy.

I went to TanPro the other day to, well, tan, and there was a wait so I sat down in the lobby. This skank came in a few minutes later wearing a pair of shorts that her ass was falling out of and a halter top that was too small. Once again, I have to reiterate to the general public, if you do not have a body like Courtney Cox, but more like Anna Nicole (pre TrimSpa), then please do not wear clothing like this. You may think you look "all dat", but you don't. Stretch marks are nothing to be ashamed of, but please do not feel that you have to display them to the general public as if they are a badge of honor.
Anyways, I digress.
So she sits down, and starts scratching her head, which is covered in grown-out blond hair with the accompanying brown roots. I see some dandruff and throw up a little in my mouth, especially when I notice that she has a couple of cold sores on her mouth and I can't even begin to imagine where else. She starts talking with a girl sitting next to her, and I started reading the back of my tanning lotion bottle out of boredom. As we wait for our respective turns, an older couple, probably in their sixties, exits the tanning booth area, freshly tanned or whatever. After they leave, Superskank starts guffawing and says loudly, "Ew! Old people shouldn't be allowed to tan! I mean, that's just gross, right?" Blah blah blather blather annoying bitch.
Thank god they called my name, as I was about to just lose it all over the lobby.
As I go up to ask them for a disinfectant bottle and cloth, I muttered, "Well, skanks shouldn't be allowed to tan either."
The girl at the desk looks up at me, her eyebrows up as if to say, "Excuse me?"
I held the bottle up to her and said, "Well, we wouldn't have to use so much of this now, would we?"

Having sufficiently cracked up the TanPro staff, I made sure to double-clean my tanning bed before using. You just never know who was in there before you, do you?

I love Spring. Springy spring spring.

2005-04-05T13:12:00.000-05:00

Today was just such a nice day that I had to go buy some hummus and tabouli.

Driving home from class, listening to the new Weezer song (which, by the way man, is totally sweet) and feelin' good, and thinking, "Man, I wish I had some Mediterranean food right now!"
BAM! There's Monnette's. Sweet.
So I bought the following:
Strawberries (now chopped up and in the fridge and partially eaten)
Trail Mix thingie (pine nuts, almonds, raisins, and something unidentifiable)
Avocados (unripe)
Tomatos (ripe...heh)
Green peppers
Hummus
Tabouli
Pita bread
1 Asian pear (if you have never tried one you are missing out)

I got all this for around 17 bucks, man. Can't beat that. I love Monnette's. Doesn't hurt that they have around 500 amazingly hot young men working there, bending over and stocking vegetables and the such, walking around with zucchinis, etc etc. And they are all super duper nice and willing to help you with whatever.
"Hey, you, hot thing #4 - are these tomatoes ripe?"
"Well, ma'am, I'm not sure...let me just squeeze them for you."

Brad doesn't read my blog.
Men, do not let your wives go vegetable shopping alone! Accompany them AT ALL TIMES! They will be tempted into buying phallic shaped vegetables that they do not need! And more than enough tomatoes! You have been warned!

Ladies, I will see you at Monnette's.

Yet another baptismal update

2005-04-03T07:29:00.000-05:00

Well, the pope has passed on, and yet the baptism is not cancelled as the church said it would be.
Not sure if they just like getting people all in a tizzy the day before their children are supposed to be anointed, but whatever.
Chip & Kristin, I emailed you guys and will be calling this morning as well to make sure I get the message to you.

Baptism Updates

2005-04-01T13:56:00.000-05:00

If the pope dies, the baptism for Xavier is to be cancelled in order for the church to have a Requiem mass.
I think this is pretty stupid, but oh well. I am pretty sure that one dead guy in Italy won't mind some babies being baptized. Especially into his religion. And especially since he will be dead.

Stupid things I see

2005-03-22T14:28:00.000-05:00

So I'm driving home from work, pissed off as usual about having to waste another day trying to convince dumb people to buy even dumber cell phones, and this car cuts me off.
The car was an annoyingly pretty and expensive 2005 Lincoln Town Car. And of course, I'm thinking, "Thanks, jackass."
Then I see this douchebag's bumper sticker.

It said:
"Don't let the car fool you
My real treasure is in heaven."

Oh, ho ho! Really, asshole!? So, you think when you are done being so completely obsessed with material things and lording it over your fellow humans you can just die and start being all buddy-buddy with Christ?
Hey, here's an idea - maybe you and Jesus can play tennis at the Heaven's Gate country club every Sunday, topping the day off with a few mimosas and checking out all of the lady saints down by the pool. Then you and your good buddy Christ can go and find your real treasure - snorting coke off of the backside of a 12 year old Nicaraugan boy's ass. I bet that's what he thinks his eternal reward will be. Like he's just going to stroll up the Pearly Gates, hand Peter his bags and a fiver, and check in.

God, I hate people sometimes. See what working retail does to my mind?

Feeling a little bit better about things.

2005-02-23T17:33:00.000-05:00

Apparently, the family is trying to follow through with the Doctor's wish to have his remains shot out of a cannon.
This article makes me feel a little bit better about how this went down.

2005-02-22T15:30:00.000-05:00

I have to offer a remembrance for this strange monster of a man. This picture is such a father-son moment that when I first saw it I was flooded with a wonder and almost jealousy at how interesting that moment in time must have been. Hunter Stockton Thompson lived life on his own terms and although I did not know him personally, I feel that I have known him through his writings. I own all of his books and have regularly checked ESPN.com for his "Hey Rube" articles. I supported his crusade for Lisl Auman and have followed the case as I can, thanks to him. I truly believe he was one of the last actual American real men left in this country, a cowboy, the zeitgeist of the generation who long for something more than vast commercialism and corruption. As my world moves on my eyes shall see it colored in a different shade for what I have learned from this man, and I shall always remember him for the special risk methodology that flavored his and our world. I don't know where you are, man, but I have a feeling Jesus better duck before he gets hit with a typewriter. Heaven isn't ready for you, and hell wouldn't be hell if you were in it. Mahalo.
Posted by Chrissy

One more reason why I hate 2005 bitterly.

2005-02-21T11:21:00.000-05:00

This is bullshit. I get home from class this morning, and Brad informs me that my favorite writer, Hunter S. Thomspon, has died. Not only that, but he shot himself in the head. Having dealt very closely with suicide before, I am getting those angry feelings again - which is selfish, of course, but after I stopped crying I got really, really pissed off.
I mean, that much talent, and such a great life - why? What the hell? Unless he found out something horrible about his health and just didn't want to go out like that. I mean, I guess the guy has every right to write the ending to his own story, a la Hemingway, but Jesus. What an absolute shock.
I can't even think right now. I have to go.

Yes. Yes! YES!!!!!! Hitchhiker's trailer - and not the one of just the earth exploding. The actual trailer.

2005-02-16T11:21:00.000-05:00

Found on Amazon.com -

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/home.html/002-0039070-1183226

Sorry about the cut and paste - Blogger's hyperlink is on the fritz, and even when I do it manually it's not showing up. Poop.

2005-02-11T13:36:00.000-05:00

This is our cat, Seamus (pronounced Shamus). He likes to jump into the sink while I am brushing my teeth so he can play with the water. He is more like a dog than a cat, actually.
Posted by Chrissy

It all started when we bought the house....

2005-02-11T13:05:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a start to a new year.
So Brad and I closed on our house on December 31st, 2004. Ending the year with a bang, so to speak, right?
Well, starting 1/1/05, nothing but problems, mi amigos!
First, it was our dryer. It broke. So we had to get a new one. We got a new washer too, just for good measure.
The guy delivering them who was supposed to hook them up and haul away the old ones....didn't. He just left the new washer and dryer in the basement with the old ones. So at one point I have two washers and two dryers in my laundry room. And none of them worked. Fantastic.
So I get Keith to come over and hook up the new ones. We spent an entire afternoon working on this, testing for gas leaks and the such. And everything worked! He did a great job. I was happy.
Until the next day when I did a load of laundry, and the water hose on the back of the washer came loose, covering my laundry room floor with about 1/4" of water. Right before I had to be to work. Yay. And as I was trying to hook it back up, the second rinse cycle kicked in, showering me with soapy water as I knelt behind the damn thing trying to fix it.
Then, a week later, Brad comes home to discover a burst water pipe. Hooray! I just love 2005 already! Granted, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been - it runs to something we don't need right now so we just shut it off and will have it repaired later. But still.
Then, around the 20th of January, Brad and I are watching Back To The Future, and suddenly, the room goes dark. I am thinking, "hmmm, power out?"
No.
The TV broke.
I figured this out pretty quickly, as the stereo and DVD player were still running, and the lights worked.
So, we had to go buy a new TV as well.

On the upswing, Brad's birthday was yesterday, and my cat is a completely lovable nutcase, so that's good. Life's not bad, it's just been annoying as of late.
I am just waiting to start hearing strange noises coming from my neighbor's basement and discover that their last name is Klopek....

May is shaping up to be the best month of the year. Period.

2005-01-18T07:22:00.000-05:00

Well, May 2005 is looking to be one of the best months for people like me who are fans of movies and media.

I saw the preview for Hitchhiker on The Life Aquatic trailers. I stopped right in my tracks and stood in the aisle with my jaw open staring at the screen, wondering how on earth this movie was made without me finding out about it somehow.
First and foremost, if neither Ryan Stiles or James Spader is playing Ford Prefect, they better have found a really good unknown:

http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/index.html

And also, Stewie, Brian and the rest of the Griffins are going to be ruling my Sunday nights:

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|92971|1|,00.html

PLus, The Revenge of the Sith comes out in May as well. Thank god my exams will be over by May 6th!

These bumper stickers do not support our troops.

2005-01-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

Holy Crap, it's a New Year

2004-12-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

Well, I managed to pull a 4.0 out of my butt this semester, and I haven't even had a chance to go out and whoop it up or anything yet. This is due to the fact that ANOTHER one of my coworkers just got fired. So yet again Chrissy is saddled with extra responsibility. I just wish extra responsibility came with a pay raise, because 99.9% of the time all it comes with is a swift kick in the groin.

But, to lighten the mood a bit, I do have two days off this week. Which I need to use to send out Christmas cards (which I haven't done yet) and also invitations to our New Year's Eve party. Anyone who plans on drinking better bring a sleeping bag - I am making breakfast extroardinaire the next morning for all of the hangoverees. So there is your incentive to not drink and drive. And if I catch anyone having sex anywhere but out in our garage, I'll get out the taser, you rowdy bastards.

What a morning.

2004-12-07T11:44:00.000-05:00

So...in the space of the past ten minutes, I have spilled both coffee and Diet Coke on my psych book. The stupid thing cost about 90 bucks, so I'm glad I got a chance to make all of the pages stick together the week before finals. It gives me that feeling of closure and totality that I have been looking for all semester.
The photo responsible for this escapade is posted below. I did not create it, I do not own it, but I am reposting it here for your amusement. If anyone knows anything about the source of this pic I am highly interested in finding out where it came from, considering that because of it I am going to have a hard time studying for my psych final.

2004-12-07T11:42:00.000-05:00

This is the photo responsible for me laughing so hard it made me spill two beverages in record time. "PWN3D" is slang for OWNED!
Posted by Chrissy

Santa Claus is Coming To Town

2004-12-07T01:05:00.000-05:00

And if he even tries to watch me while I'm sleeping I'm gonna punch that pervert.
Milk & cookies? Try a restraining order and a doberman pinscher.

Well, one of the idiots I work with got himself fired, so I have been covering his shifts. Which sucks, because I hate working. Probably because I am lazy. See, I like to do things at home. I only like to leave my home to do things like spend time with a select cadre of friends, or to go book shopping. Things I don't like to do include work and school, where I am forced (for my own "betterment") to interact with all sorts of mental deficients and socially inept assholes whom I would not normally piss on to save a set of burning gums.

So you see why working extra hours really chaps my ass. The Genius got fired for using a manager's ID number to get a discount on a TV. Let's think, brainiac - if you keep your job, you will be able to pay full price for that TV next paycheck. And if he had paid in cash, he never would have gotten caught. But the Genius used his debit card, which sends huge red flags through corporate. He deserves to get drawn and quartered.
Not for the TV incident. No, no no. For getting fired and saddling me with his shifts. I will pay anyone with four horses to just let me use them for one hour. It will be worth it - you can watch. I bet the horses would get a kick out of it, too!
Nothing like good old fashioned public execution to get the Christmas spirit moving!

Sorry - I probably need some sleep now.

I absolutely hate people.

2004-11-27T23:36:00.000-05:00

Well, the Christmas season is thrust once again upon us, like an overzealous fat great aunt who overstays her welcome and smells a bit rank while smothering you with hugs and pinches.
Working in a Best Buy during this year's celebration of Christ's made-up birthday has been an interesting experience. I actually saw a Chinese woman shove another woman into a display rack. The same Chinese woman also yelled at an 81 year old woman that I was helping because she wanted me to help her first.

How long, O Lord, how long?

My ass!

2004-11-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

Once again I have managed to hurt myself.
A month or so ago, I hurt my eye. I think I posted about it here. Well, that subsided.
So I have to go and fall down a flight of stairs, since there was nothing currently throbbing or aching on my body.
Yesterday was my ONE DAY OFF, and I intended to use it to clean and get caught up on my laundry and homework, and visit Teresa and Xavier. So I start upstairs with the cleaning, since I knew there were some soda cans up there to bring down. Might as well start with the garbage, right?
Well, about four steps down the stairs, my right slipper, which is completely smooth on the bottom, shot out from under me and went flying. I somehow sensed that it would be wiser to pitch my body backwards than to fall head first, and my hands were completely full. So I fling my body backwards, hoping against all hope that maybe I can just sit down on one of the steps and regain composure. In doing so, I see my other slipper fly out from under me and go soaring out into the living room.
Three seconds later I am in a heap at the bottom of the steps. I missed sitting on the step but did manage to snag my tailbone right on the sharp edge of it, for what that's worth. And what it's worth is not being able to sit down normally without being in excrutiating pain.
My only saving grace was that I had decided against bringing the ashtray down. Being covered in ashes and having to clean up all the butts would have only added insult to my ass injury.
So Brad gets home from work, and I sheepishly try to explain to him why I didn't do any of the normal cleaning while trying to avoid him making me go to the hospital.
Which I was successful at, and he even went out and got me some Chinese food to cheer me up.
I did, however, spend yesterday discovering a truly cool website, Mentally Incontinent. I highly suggest you visit there, as the author, Joe Peacock, is an extremely funny and inventive fellow who is writing a book that I urge you to buy.
And that's it for today's edition. If any of you have any ass pillows that I can borrow, I would be grateful, since I have to sit on a hard little wooden stool for three hours in my lab class tomorrow night. Normally my rear just goes to sleep, but I have a feeling it is not going to take a quiet nap tomorrow.

Ooooooooooog.

2004-11-10T15:25:00.000-05:00

I feel absolutely awful today. Not any flu, or cold, or even a hangover.
Ladies, you know what I am talking about.
Once in a while, the "monthly" just makes you feel horrible. Like, your joints ache like you have arthritis, and you're really, really tired, and your stomach hurts whenever you eat something. I don't know what triggers it, but man I feel like shit today.
I'm going to try to take some Advil so I can sit through my 3 hour lab tonight.
Oooog.

In other news, Teresa and Frank are expecting their new bundle o' joy this friday.
So if you have any spare time in the afternoon or evening, swing by St. Charles to say hi to the newest addition of the Carnicom family. I'm bringing macadamia cookies, so there's another incentive for you.
Man, I feel like I need a Percoset or something.

Hmmmmm.......

2004-10-28T18:21:00.000-05:00

Let's see....
Took a test today....check.
Received 18 billion phone calls from politicians on my machine....check.
Napped on the couch with my kitten....check.
Read some of The Stand....check.

None of this matters because I am out of beer. Check with me later to see if I am in a better mood. It is highly likely that I shall be. Since I do not have to be at work until 5 tomorrow, Thursdays are like my Saturdays, and Brad won't be home till one AM.
Live it up, sinners!!!!
(Meaning, drink some Bud Light and play the Sims 2)

I mean, come on. What the hell else am I going to do? The laundry?

What do you call 25 guys watching the World Series? The Yankees!

2004-10-28T01:28:00.000-05:00

Well, Boston won the world series. The four horsemen are unavailable for comment.
It only took the moon turning to blood.
Seriously, though, couldn't be happier. Good job, guys. I'll be sad to see you all get picked up in a frenzy by other teams.
Also, updated the look of the blog here a bit, and added a new link to a new page I am starting. I didn't want to post all of the crap on this page, so I figured I would just create a new one for my little experiment.
I've always had these little deja vu sensations, as we all do, except I can usually pinpoint the time around when I dreamed what happened, which is a little freaky. I was in Best Buy last weekend, and a lady walked up to me and before she opened her mouth I asked her if she was looking to get a cell phone for her son. She and I were both a little surprised, since her son was back looking at movies and wasn't with her. Then her son came over and I swear I had seen him before, and I remembered a dream I had right after starting this job about a month and a half ago, and that's where I remembered the kid from. She bought a phone from me for him, which spooked me, as I am not a very good salesman. The best use of a cell phone in my opinion is as a blunt instrument with which you can hit someone else talking on a cell phone.
But I digress.
At any rate, I am going to start tracking my dreams, just to see if I'm full of shit or not, which is the more likely explanation. Or I've fried out my neurons, or I need a vacation. Either way, the results will be published on the other page, not here, as I have too much stuff to put here anyway.
Like about how much crow the Yankees are eating tonight. With a side of sour grapes.

It's my birthday, bitches!

2004-10-26T17:49:00.000-05:00

I got a computer game, and the Weezer DVD and new Weezer Blue album. Plus fifty bucks, and the laptop from my dad.
I should turn 25 more often - I made out with some crazy shizzle, yo.

Is this going to open the 7th seal? Is the end nigh?

2004-10-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

Hmmm....a little freaky. Observe:

Boston comes back from 0-3
Against the Yankees
In game 7
In the House that Ruth built
At the stroke of midnight
In the 100th World Series
And now there is going to be a total lunar eclipse during game 4.

And if the Sox don't win it in game 4, they could take it all the way to game 7, at Fenway, on Halloween, and supposedly Stephen King would be in the crowd.

Keep your eye out for zombies and earthquakes, folks. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Holy Crap!

2004-10-21T21:37:00.000-05:00

So I get home from class last night after making a friendly wager with a classmate on whether or not the Sox were going to mop the field with the Yanks.
If the Yanks won, I had to wear a Yankees bandanna around school today.
If the Sox won, she had to wear my Red Sox hat.

Man, was she pissed when she saw me running towards her today, waving my Sox hat triumphantly in the air. It looked good on her.

If the Sox win the Series, I am so going to be drunk for three days. My only problem is that I don't have cable, so I am reduced to trying to find people who are watching the game and try to snooker in to watch it. I lucked out last night - Pat was over here practicing with Brad so I stole his keys and went and watched it in sweet solitude at his place. Well, almost solitude. Me and a sixer of Bud Light do good companions make.
What the fuck was up with them putting Pedro in for an inning??!?!?!? Did NOBODY remember game 7 last year?! I almost had a freaking coronary when the Yanks started scoring off of him! It was all good, though - Timlin swooped in to shut them back down.
I can't believe that comeback. Man, I still have a shit-eating grin on my face.
I wish I had a better Sox shirt - my only Sox shirt has Garciaparra on it, who, as we all know now plays for the freaking Cubs. I would love to have a Damon, Lowe, or Schilling shirt right about now.
The sell customized jerseys on the Red Sox web site, so if any of you are thinking about what to get me for my birthday next week, I would really love a customized jersey, but instead of with my name on the back of it, just have it say "Ruth".

Welcome to Rocktober

2004-10-16T12:10:00.000-05:00

Well, Brad and I got our laptops today. They are sweet - they have DVD and CDRW drives in them. And they match. I am stoked to walk into class on tuesday and whip out my sweet new laptop while all the losers are taking notes with pens. Suckers.

In other news, tomorrow is the fateful baby shower at our house for Frank and Teresa. This means that after work tonight I have to go on a major cleaning spree. Thank god I spent all day monday doing hardcore cleaning, so tonight all I have to do is "touch up" cleaning. Because I have a cold, and the last thing someone with a cold wants to do is scrub out a bathtub. Dishes, OK. Bathtub, no.
At any rate, it should be a ton of fun, and I am really looking forward to it. It's nice to throw someone a party, especially when babies are involved.

2004-10-09T00:10:00.000-05:00

OK, I would like to say one thing in my defense. This picture is totally legit. There are actually Icy Hot Stuntaz out there in the world, and apparently their goal is to obtain bling, bandannas, and sweet rides. I mean, look at those sparkles? How is a woman to resist these stuntaz?!? I feel myself drawn to them....especially the one in the middle with the yellow pants. Maybe if I become an acolyte of theirs, I too can have some shiny new bling, and maybe take a ride in one of those pretty cars. Maybe I can get straight balled, I don't know.....the one on the right looks angry. Maybe he had his Stuntaz Rights revoked for not enough attitude, so he is trying to regain membership.
Posted by Chrissy

2004-10-06T00:24:00.000-05:00

God bless you, Rodney Dangerfield. May you rest in peace. You made us laugh. I was hoping that you would pull through, but hey, now you've got a better audience to play to, and maybe they'll give you some respect.
Posted by Chrissy

Not much new on the homefront

2004-09-22T00:21:00.000-05:00

Except that my new job bites ass because I have to work with a 19 year old pretentious asshat who thinks he knows everything about cell phones. Maybe he does, but he doesn't have to be a dick about it. Sheesh. No wonder he can't get laid - all he does is talk about how great Sanyo is.
Cat's doing fine, he's been a bit more rambunctious of late, trying to claw his way into everything. Little does he know he;s getting declawed in three weeks - that should be fun. Not for him, anyways, but it will be funny to see how he tries to claw his way up the curtains with no claws! Bwa ha ha! (And yes, I am having him declawed with the laser declawing, so it won't hurt him nearly as much, so I'm not just being a bitch by laughing at my poor cat.)
We got the new Star Wars DVD's today. They look a lot better, but Han shoots first, dammit. They fixed it so Han and Greedo shoot at the same time now. I still think it speaks volumes about Han's character when in the original he just outright shoots Greedo. I mean, the character is supposed to be a pirate and a smuggler who failed out of the Corellian academy but is still brilliant at being a criminal. Not heartless, but hey, if it's him or Greedo, Han is supposed to make that choice. Not pussy foot around and wait to be shot at.
There's also a bonus disk of extras, and they have a preview of Revenge of the Sith on there, and it does look pretty sweet. It looks like Hayden Christiansen may have actually boned up on his acting skills for this one, and they talk about the transformation of Anakin into Darth Vader. They show some footage from the light saber duel between Anakin and Obi Wan, and lemme tell you this - seeing Ewan McGregor swordfight sets any little lady's heart going pitter patter. The swordfight is by far one of the best I have ever seen, and it was just their practice footage. I am actually getting kind of stoked to see it now - I really want to see how they are going to finish the swordfight, as they only showed about 40 seconds of it, and it looks to be an all-out brawl.

And yes, I am including the Princess Bride in my analysis of swordfights.

Inigo: "You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."
Man in Black: "You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die."

2004-09-22T00:15:00.000-05:00

Canoe group - from left to bottom: Keith, Brian, Shiloh, Jess, Jann, and Frank.
Posted by Chrissy

2004-09-21T23:58:00.000-05:00

Although Hayden Christiansen does look like he got hit in the face with the ugly stick, and his eyes look in two different directions like Admiral Ackbar's, I am still excited to see him turn into one of the most sinister characters in cinematic history. Also, at last check, the lightsaber duel between him and Obi Wan is clocking in at at least 10 minutes. It was supposedly filmed at 20 minutes long, but they edited it down some. George Lucas is quoted as saying that he wants it to be the swordfight that other filmmakers look to on how to do a swordfight, and he wants it to be considered the best duel of all time. Let's hope it lives up to his aspirations and more.
Posted by Chrissy

2004-09-21T23:13:00.000-05:00

Chrissy - up the river, thankfully with paddle.
Posted by Chrissy

New Member of the Boyle Household

2004-09-15T09:52:00.000-05:00

There's a new member of our household, and he is currently trying to bite my left thumb as a type this. He's little and furry and likes to paw at my face. He's 8 weeks old, and he's a kitten on the run. Who just clawed his way up my leg and is pawing at the keyboard, so this will be brief.
Here is his bio:
Name: Seamus
Age: 8 weeks
Likes: Coffee, mashed potatos, licking the condensation off of a can of soda or beer, sitting on Chrissy's shoulder and licking her ear (which he is doing right now and it tickles like nuts), Fancy Feast, and taking big smelly dumps that will clear a room while his owners are trying to eat dinner. Also likes the feather thing on a stick I bought him, and anything with a string on it that he can bat around.
Dislikes: Being left alone, not being involved in everything his owners do, sleeping in the living room, being put down (but that doesn't matter, becuase he just climbs right back up again), boredom, and Pat.

And for those of you out there that are saying, "What does she mean coffee and mashed potatos?" Seriously, this cat loves coffee - whenever I have a cup, if I don't watch him like a hawk, I turn around and he has his whole head in my coffee mug drinking it. And I gave him a tiny taste of mashed potatos on the tip of my finger, and he licked my finger for like 20 minutes, so I'm assuming he liked them.
And the Pat thing? Well, I'm just guessing that he doesn't like Pat, since he can't talk, but if Seamus could talk, he would be talking smack about Pat since Pat hates cats. So there is some sort of rivalry there.

Talk Like A Pirate Day on September 19.....Matey!

2004-09-10T01:21:00.000-05:00

You are The Cap'n!

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.

What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

Genesis spacecraft crashes on reentry, screams of "KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!" heard from mission control center.

2004-09-08T15:02:00.000-05:00

Check it out here.

Stupid Eyeballs

2004-09-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

Seriously, has anyone else ever pulled a muscle in their eye?
I swear, sometimes I just randomly do some stupid shit. My left eye is in so much pain. It feels like eye strain times ten. To look in a direction, I am having to close my eye, adjust my eye to the direction I want it to look, and then open it. This makes taking notes off of an overhead projector a real bitch.
It actually hurt so bad last night that I started crying, which of course made it TEN TIMES WORSE. There's no redness, no burst capillaries, no black eye - it just hurts. A lot.

Why doesn't this shit ever happen to someone like Donald Trump, who can just go out and buy a new frigging eyeball, for chrissakes?
I am rather consistent in my ability to screw up my physical well being. I guess this is just another in a string of bizarre incidences, like the Penicillin Incident. I am guessing I'll get Pan-Asian flu or something next, without even leaving my home. Or a bonespur in my belly button, where there is no bone.

I am going to meet my demise by some bizarre twist of fate, like Poodle Man. Or falling down an open manhole into the jaws of a mutant albino crocodile living in St. Louis.
I knew the Poodle Man, and he hated fucking poodles.
I don't want to go to my lab tonight and spend three hours in the presence of formaldehyde soaked cats while my eyeball feels like it is about to fall out of my face. I took two aspirin, so watch out, cuz I'm gonna call you in the morning.

Jeremiah????

2004-08-30T13:38:00.000-05:00

Chicago Sun Times, August 30, 2004

'Vengeance' swipes cake, eats it, too

A 6-foot-tall, 275-pound bearded man crashed a children's birthday party in Oak Forest, identified himself as "vengeance," then helped himself to a piece of cake, police said.

The incident occurred earlier this month at a home in the 14800 block of South Landings Lane in the south suburb, Deputy Police Chief Nick Sparacino said.

When the owner of the home asked the man who he was, the intruder replied, "I am vengeance. I am the knight. I am Batman." Then the man went into the kitchen, cut a piece of birthday cake, took it into the living room and ate it.

After continued questioning by the homeowner, the man left the house and drove off in a red 1988 Cadillac.

Police haven't found the man yet and want to charge him with criminal trespass.

"I've been on the job 31 years and I've seen a lot of weird stuff, but nothing like this," Sparacino said.

Gayer by the minute

2004-08-24T20:41:00.000-05:00

I spent the past half hour reading back through my posts since I moved back from Boston, and it appears that I have either turned into a Valley Girl, or a homosexual man.
This is evidenced by the fact that the following words have been being utilized over and over again in my recent posts:
1. Really!
2. Awesome!!
3. Wonderful!!!
4. Totally!!!!
5. Yay!!!!!
6. Absolutely!!!!!!!
7. All the fucking exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is just proof that living in the Midwest turns you into either a redneck or a blithering idiot. I feel like Charly.
I started school today at Owens, and as I was about 15 minutes from the end of my Anatomy II class, this skank walks in and sits down next to me. Not only was she an hour late for class, but she only brought one sheet of paper and a dull pencil. And her skanky skank smell, of course. And over-gelled hair and uber-makeup. And high heels, and too-tight top, and nasty 30 year old chicken waddle chin caked with foundation so she looks 29 instead.
So she leans reeeaaal far over, like she's stretching, but of course this lazy bitch is just trying to look at my FIVE PAGES OF FUCKING NOTES. So I lean reeeeeaaaal far forward like I'm trying to get something out of my bookbag, because if this bitch thinks she can just waltz into class 15 minutes before it ends and start filching my shit, she's dead wrong. Or at least she'll be dead wrong with a gel pen stuck in her over-mascara-ed eye.
Seriously, she reminded me of Eminem's girlfriend. You know, the skank who wears that lip-liner shit so it looks like someone pooped on her lips? Like this? She looked like that, except, if possible, uglier.
As a bonus, she was wearing REALLY tight jeans, the kind that girls wear so they have three inches of plumber ass crack and two pounds of flesh hanging out of their jeans. Even if a girl is really, really skinny, those jeans are about as attractive as the bubonic plague. At least to me, but I don't have a penis. Even if I did have a dick, I wouldn't fuck that shit with my own dick. But I digress.
Anyway, the reason I didn't want her copying my notes is because this is the dialogue that would have taken place:
Skank: "Hmmm, I was running late today, do you think I could borrow your notes so I don't fall behind?"
Chrissy: "No, because you're too dumb to understand this class or my notes, you will probably drop the class anyway as soon as you realize that it requires more than plastering makeup on yourself since it is taught by a woman, not some horny dork guy. And I will never see my notes again, and then I'll fall behind. Which I'm not willing to do for your skankified ass, ma'am."
Skank: "I see. Well, would you mind staying after class with me while I copy your notes?" *Bats crusted eyelashes at me* "It sure would be a help!"
Chrissy: "No. I don't have time. I want to drink and smoke cigarettes, which I have earned my time to do by arriving to class promptly. Fuck off and die right, OK?"

Since I did not feel like having this conversation, I just obscured my notes from her view for a solid 30 seconds.
She then, and I am dead serious, stood up in the middle of lecture, loudly announced, "Fuck THIS!" and stormed out.
Without even asking someone to copy notes.
What a bitch!

2004-08-22T11:13:00.000-05:00

Happy anniversary, sweetie. I love you, you big stinky guy.
Posted by Chrissy

2004-08-22T11:11:00.000-05:00

There is the cake that I get to eat some of! Year old cake - hooray!
Posted by Chrissy

Everything's going so well!

2004-08-22T11:00:00.002-05:00

Things are slowly looking up.
I start school for nursing next week.
I got a job. A decent job. I hope it's a decent job, anyways. Part time, to get me through school.
I got an extra $300.00 stipend from Owens for participating in a survey. That covers books. Hooray.
My brother in law finally got an apartment and is moving out of our basement this weekend. My husband and I can now have some "privacy". *Ahem*
Brad starts teaching at Lourdes this week. He is also going to start putting together a band with Pat again, since we will now have full use of our basement.
And it's our one year wedding anniversary tomorrow.

I spent yesterday doing yardwork, and aggravated the pulled muscle in my back. So, every time I laugh, I get a back spasm, and it makes me laugh harder. It's pretty funny, actually.
Alright, I have to run - I have to go over to my mother-in-law's and eat year old cake.
(In case you don't know, some people save the top of their wedding cake so they can eat it a year later on their anniversary. My mother in law is one of those people. So the top of my wedding cake has been in deep freeze since last August and it is thawing as I type so I can choke it down and smile for the camera.)

All your Admiral Ackbar's belong to us.

2004-08-17T09:53:00.000-05:00

2004-08-05T21:30:00.000-05:00

This is the Crapulence Meter, created by Will Schisa, a friend of Brad's from Georgetown. Way to go, Will - pretty funny.
Posted by Chrissy

New links

2004-08-04T13:39:00.000-05:00

Just like the title says, folks, I've added a few new links to the right side of the page there.
----------------->
Enjoy.

Also, I am officially a nursing student now. Celebrated with a few margaritas last night, but after 2 the sugar and acid was giving me big time reflux, so I had to stop and drink diet pepsi instead. I'm such an old hag. But I'll be an old hag with a nursing license, so watch out! Chrissy Ratchett is on her way!

2004-08-02T19:34:00.000-05:00

Here is Beggars Ride, who may or may not be regrouping briefly for a performance at Shamy's Summer Bash in two weeks. So maybe you should go to find out - I know you would hate to miss the reunion of the best band from the last, oh, let's say 4 years. At least in Toledo. And in their own minds.
Posted by Chrissy

2004-08-02T19:30:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of a young boy that Brian took while stationed in Afghanistan. I think he is the only one who isn't actively laughing or cajoling with the soldiers.
Posted by Chrissy

2004-08-02T19:25:00.000-05:00

This is my friend Brian who just got back from Afghanistan. He was over for almost a year, and here he is pictured eating some Korean food with a visiting unit. Welcome home, Brian!
Posted by Chrissy

2004-07-31T13:01:00.000-05:00

This is Tonya with her brand new car. She recently acquired a 2004 Monte Carlo, with my dad's "assistance".

Posted by Yossarian

I hate moving. Jurassic Park Movie Review

2004-07-31T12:21:00.000-05:00

Brad and I are helping Pat move from his run down dump of a house on Western to a new apartment near the Distillery. I keep hearing the theme from "Good Times" playing in my head all day. I hate moving. I am sick of packing shit and moving it from one location to another. I don't begrudge helping Pat at all, but man, I am sick of boxes. I am sick of cleaning shit and putting it into boxes. I am sick of not being able to pay someone else to do it for me.

I watched the film Jurassic Park the other night, which I haven't seen in a while. I must have become more discriminating in my tastes for films, because when I first saw that movie eons ago, I thought it was oh so scary and well done, whereas I was blasting it from one scene to another when I watched it the other night. I mean, the kids in the movie are as annoying as they come - I kept thinking how much more awesome the movie would have been if the kids had gotten eaten by the velociraptors. The best part in the movie is when the evil corporate guy gets eaten right off of the toilet, but he deserved it so it didn't have as much shock value as it could have. If one of the kids had gotten eaten while on the toilet that would have been the best possible way to go. Instead they screwed it up.
Actually, one of the better parts of the movie is when the annoying piece of crap little boy gets blasted off of the fence. I almost peed myself, I was laughing so hard at that.
The only thing that they changed from the book to the film that really, completely pisses me off is that the crusty old guy who created the park is supposed to get eaten, and he doesn't. What the fuck?!?! He totally deserved to get eaten. He was supposed to get eaten by the precompsognathaurs (sp?), which are chicken-sized dinosaurs with anesthetic venom that makes you unable to run away. In the book one of them bites off the old guy's nose while he's awake and can see it, but can't feel it - how awesome is that? But in the pussy movie, the old guy gets away on a helicopter, so he can go and fuck up the world even more. What a piece of shit. He should have been eaten.
And what the hell is with Sam Neill's neckerchief? Throughout the movie he is wearing this gay ass red neckerchief so he can look like even more of a colossal prig than he really is. Actually, no. The neckerchief is what makes him a colossal prig. And Laura Dern's character is such a self righteous bitch that I would have thrown her to the velociraptors myself so that I could make my own escape. And I would have left the chaos theoretician there to die, too. He's annoying, smug and greasy.
So that is my movie review of Jurassic Park. I hope you enjoyed it.

I Heart Radiohead

2004-07-20T20:40:00.000-05:00

My husband is now amused by the fact that I emailed Wil Wheaton and he actually emailed me back. No biggie, I offered him a copy of a Radiohead concert that I have from Mansfield, MA (they sing Creep and it totally rocks) and he emailed me back to say thanks and give me the address to send it to. I also emailed John Ondrasik from Five for Fighting once, and he emailed me back too.
So now Brad thinks I'm a little wierd, because he's all like,
"What are you saying to these people, that they are emailing you back?"
And I'm all like,
"What, I'm not cool enough? Sheesh, you married me!"
And I'm also like,
"Sheesh, they're people. People who like Radiohead. And people who like Radiohead are obviously cooler than other people who like stuff like LFO and shit. So why wouldn't I email people who like Radiohead?"

So if you too like Radiohead and would like to offer me things like signed head shots for my new bar (in my attic) (and even if you work at a Jiffy Lube or something) send me an email at cgfletch@hotmail.com and make me an offer (put Radiohead headshot in the comment line so I know it's not porn or anything). If you can give me a signed headshot of yourself with a backstory then I will send you a copy of my supercool Radiohead concert where they sing Creep with alternate lyrics. But you have to prove you like/love Radiohead somehow.
And don't bitch that I'm not trying to make Wil Wheaton send me a signed headshot - I offered him this stuff before I even thought of this idea, so he's exempt.
This is just to prove to my husband that I am not wierdo who offers things to celebreties randomly.
I mean, I'll offer stuff to anyone randomly. And he should know that about me. He married me.
Ask Chip and Kristen. I randomly tried to give them a Foreman grill a few weeks ago.

City by the Bay

2004-07-12T14:49:00.000-05:00

Well, Brad and I got back from San Francisco today. Now I have bronchitis! I swear, as soon as I have medical insurance, I am getting allergy testing done, because this is about the fourth time I have gotten sick this year with some sort of respiratory ailment. I'm sure being up for 24 hours straight on Friday didn't help matters, though - it was almost gone, and I forgot my antibiotics in Toledo, and it's back with a vengeance. And I'm sure it's a stronger, angrier version this time. *snork*

OK, so back to San Francisco. We spent Friday with Max and got to see Oakland and Berkeley, and meet some of Max's friends. Max is now in Mexico for a two week visit, so I wish him good travel karma.
Brad and I went out there to attend the wedding of Bill and Laura Jordan, which was absolutely lovely. The wedding ceremony was held in Golden Gate Park, in the Rose Garden, with about 75 people in attendance. It was a beautiful day, and a beautiful ceremony. We split a cab with a crazy lady, who was quite nice but a little off, if you know what I mean, and a really sweet Irish couple. The wedding lasted about 15 minutes as it was non-denominational, and we headed back to the hotel.
Now let me tell you a little bit about this hotel. I have never stayed at a hotel with such a nice and courteous staff as this one. They had a complementary breakfast each day in their Skyroom, on the twelfth floor overlooking the bay, and for guests there was also a free complementary happy hour from 4-6 each day. In the Skyroom bar and lounge, there was a worker named Andy who remembered Brad and I each time we walked in and by the time we had sat down he had two Diet Cokes ready for us. And the bartender at the wedding, a nice fellow named Bien, regaled Brad and I with stories of how he visited Toledo once with his cousins and how much fun he had. The porter at the door remembered Brad from when he went out to have a cigarette, and he gave us valuable advice on how to get around the city cheaply, which probably saved us around $50.00 in taxis. So all in all, if you are ever in San Francisco, stay at the Marines Memorial Hotel. We had an absolutely wonderful time.
So now Bill and Laura (who are friends of Brad's from his undergrad days at Georgetown) are honeymooning in Hong Kong and then in Bali. I wish them all of the luck in the world - since they've been dating for nine years, I really think that they will be fine together.
We spent Sunday driving around the city with a couple of Brad's friends from Georgetown, Will and Alan. We went to Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch at a really gross restaurant, but it had a really cool view. We then drove up to Sausalito and went to this absolutely stunning beach. The drive was breathtaking, up and around all of these hills overlooking the ocean. I took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my pants and proceeded to get all wet and muddy from running around in the freezing cold water (again, probably not the best decision since I am sick, but I stand by it). We then drove down to Haight Ashbury, and had some ice cream at a really cool little shop - they mixed the ice cream up right in front of you. Bill and Laura actually only live a few blocks from Haight street - their house is freaking awesome. Then we went down to the actual corner of Haight Ashbury because I was hoping that I could get a picture of the street signs with the Gap sign in the background. That's right, my friends - the legendary Haight Ashbury corner of San Francisco has now been populated not only with a Gap, but also a Starbucks and a McDonalds. Thanks, corporate America, you soulless jackals.
We also drove over the Golden Gate bridge and saw the Full House house and the park that they always played in on the show. So we got the full tour of San Francisco courtesy of Alan and his SUV and driving skillz. I seriously don't think I could handle driving around in that city - too many hills, too much to look at, too many bridges and too much ocean peeping out at you from between buildings. I would crash into something.
So now we're home, I'm still unemployed, and feel like ass. But my weekend in San Fran rocked and I had a great time.
I would also like to point out that Eddy Hwang, wherever you are, you crazy bastard, is now definitively "one of us" (according to Brad, because Eddy never partied much in college). He was the nice young fellow who did the blessing at our wedding and screwed up my name by calling me Christy (sorry to keep bringing it up, Eddy, but I just find it hilarious)? Well, he has finished school completely (so now he's a doctor with a business degree to boot) and he has gone completely nuts, from what I can tell. He's pretty much a teetotaler from what I hear, but after several drinks at the wedding this weekend, he was absolutely the guy that should have had a lampshade on his head. I don't think there was a person that he didn't dance with. I don't think there were many girls he didn't hit on. And I don't think there was much he didn't drink. So next time you have a cold one, raise it in toast to Eddy Hwang, who I am proclaiming the partier of the weekend. I was in awe of him and his partying prowess, actually. I've never seen someone have quite so much fun so quickly. He managed to confuse our entire table before dinner, and he also managed to provide a running commentary to every speech given at the reception. So raise a glass to Eddy, consummate party guy and radiology physician extraordinaire.

And the Maumee River claims another...

2004-07-04T12:41:00.000-05:00

In case any of you missed the 11 o' clock news on Channel 11 last night, let me fill you in on what was a very, very interesting newscast.
First of all, my mother in law's boyfriend was on the news because his truck was swallowed up by the Maumee River. He was trying to pull his boat out of the water on its trailer, and his truck stalled out, got water in it's exhaust pipe, and then just rolled in. He had to climb out the window. It was pretty scary, according to my sister in law, which I could totally see. Apparently, all you could see of the car was the antenna sticking up out of the water. But fire and rescue came, and they wound up getting the truck out. Hopefully his insurance will cover it. The lights were still on when they pulled it out, so that means that water didn't get into the battery, so hopefully that's a good sign. I'm just glad everyone is OK, and not hurt. Except the truck. The truck is pretty hurt.
Also, about 2 minutes later, my good buddy Big Brian Cahill was on for a segment they were doing on veterans. He had a huge welcome home party for his unit at Secor Lanes, and I guess there were Korean, Vietnam, WWII, Gulf War and Afghanistan vets there. So Channel 11 stopped by and interviewed him. By our clock, we figured they must have left Secor Lanes and gone right down to the Maumee River to get John's interview.
So it's been an interesting weekend, to say the least. Happy Birthday, America.

Hip Hop Hooray for Orange!

2004-06-25T11:20:00.000-05:00

I changed the background color of my blog to orange, which is one of my favorite colors. Slowly learning....

I am going out to dinner today with Brad's grandpa for his birthday to some Italian restaurant. Chicken marsala, my favorite. Then the rest of this weekend is going to be spent with finishing unpacking and getting the rest of the house in order. And the laundry. So much laundry. ~sigh~

Well, I guess I should give an account of my move back to the Midwest from Boston. So here goes:
Brad's family got out to Boston first, but they were staying in a timeshare in Rhode Island, so we only saw them two or three times before we left. We wound up NOT going to Foxwoods, so I didn't get to try my hand at blackjack or poker, but I think I will build a nice felt cardtable and start a gambling night once or twice a month at my new house.
We went on a duck tour, and my mom, sister and I went on a whale watching tour, which was unbelievably fun. We went about 30 miles out into the ocean on a huge catamaran, and these fin whales and mickey whales kept coming right up to the side of the boat - and these things were enormous. I was just stunned at the size of these creatures, and pictures are forthcoming. As soon as I have some money to get them developed, I will post them here. I hope I got a few good shots.
So then Brad graduated. Which was fun, but loooong. I was the only one who went to the morning ceremony, and I had such a fun time because on the way out the door at 7am I looked at my raincoat and said, "Naaah, it was warm and sunny out yesterday, I won't need it."

So after spending the morning sitting in the rain freezing my butt off next to two old ladies (who were really quite nice) and in front of a complaining, diamond-encrusted, Gucci-glasses-wearing bitch, I managed to get a few good pictures of Brad graduating from Harvard. I was soaked and starving afterward, so we stopped in at a little cafe where I had the best hamburger I have ever had in my life, and Brad had a cigarette and some fries. Then we met his mom and family at the T-station, and we went to the afternoon ceremony, which was held in a big tent. I thought, "Great, we don't have to sit in the damn rain like I did all morning."

So we sat out in the rain, because it wasn't that big of a tent, and we could only find chairs outside the tent. Which means we also didn't even see Brad graduate, just heard his name get called. But on the upside, it only lasted an hour, as opposed to three and a half hours for the morning ceremony. And I got to see Kofi Annan, albeit on a huge screen and not in person, but I was in Harvard Yard with him, so that made me happy. Eat that, Mr. Montford (high school government teacher).

So far I'm 2 for 2 for Brad's graduations, so I'm happy.
The next day we picked up the Uhaul and started loading it up, which was...amusing. It wasn't NEARLY as bad as it was when we were moving out to Boston, but moving is never fun, and it's even less so when you get into a fight with your husband because you accidentally threw away his guitar slide that was sitting on a windowsill. So honey, I'm sorry, I will buy you a new one, they cost about five bucks and Peeler is right up the road. OK?
So we got the truck loaded, my dad jammed his shoulder but he's OK, and we all had some beers and laughs. The next day we hit the road! I was driving our 12 year old Chevy Lumina which had the coolant light on the whole way, which was fun since we just had the coolant line replaced and I was FLIPPING OUT! We stopped at a hotel about halfway through to sleep and had dinner at a redneck line dancing bar, which pissed my dad off and subsequently made my mom very, very happy. Then the next day, Brad makes the offhand comment, "Hey, your right front tire looks like it might need some air." So, of course, the rest of the 400 miles home my brain is going, "Ohmigod, OHMIGOD, ohmigod, don't go past 60 or the tire will BLOW UP and we will all DIE!"
But the car made it, so now I have a special relationship to the car and feel oddly attached to it, since I have a long and ardent history of having cars break down on me just when I need them to work the most.
So my nerves were shot, but my old friend Bud Light took care of that after we unpacked the truck.
And the rest, they say, is history. I am here, and I need a job. But for the moment I am enjoying relaxing for a bit while a get settled in.
And that's that. Since that is a long post, I am going to go take a shower since I have to go to the BMV today and get my Ohio license. I am going to miss my Massachusett's license - the picture on it was really cute.

Alphabet Soup - a la Chrissy....

2004-06-24T19:44:00.000-05:00

A is for Age: 24
B is for Book reading right now:Between books, really, though I recently finished the Chronicles of Narnia.
C is for Career future: Nursing, which will probably entail cleaning of numerous bodily fluids.
D is for Dad’s name: Steve
E is for Easiest person to talk to: Brad. And then my sister.
F is for Favorite song: Let Down by Radiohead
G is for Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Worms. Definitely worms.
H is for Hometown: Toledo, OH
I is for Instruments: I own a beautiful acoustic guitar that I have no idea how to play.
J is for Job: Currently unemployed, but with my typing skills and willingness to refrain from filing harassment suits, I am sure to be snapped up up by the Toledo job market fairly quickly.
K is for Kids: None. Although Elliott has been here for the past two days, so I'm hoping I can keep him. He's so cute, I want to pinch his cheeks all the time.
L is for Longest car ride ever: From Cheboygan, MI to Atlanta, GA in a car with 6 other people. And the car broke down. Twice.
M is for Mom’s name: Lynda
N is for Number of people you slept with: No habla Inglés, mi amigo. ¿Dónde está el cuarto de baño?
O is for Obsession[s]: Currently, card games, cleaning and unpacking, and watching the Family Guy episodes we have on DVD. Which is all of them. And I watch them over and over.
P is for Phobia[s]: Spiders and social situations pertaining to spiders.
Q is for Quote: "I have a fear of swords from the time that a man stuck one in my ear when I was five and again when I was thirty." - Mort Goldman
R is for Reason to smile: Brad, friends, Elliott, everything in my life right now. Except the earwigs that get in my house. Those make me cry.
S is for Song you sang last: Modest Mouse's "Float On"
T is for Time you wake up: From my nap is around two thirty for milk and cookies and cartoons, and then around 7 or so with Brad because he has to work. Hah!
U is for Unknown fact about me: I'm a huge dork, mainly due to the influence of my husband. And I also have issues with socializing sometimes - crowds make me wig out. I freaked at the Sox game we went to because it was so hot and stuffy and crowded underneath the bleachers.
V is for Vegetable you hate: Brussell sprouts. Nothing you will ever say will convince me to eat another one of those things. I am an adult, capable of making my own decisions, and one of those is that I will never, ever eat another brussel sprout. I am convinced those odious things are from another planet.
W is for Worst habit: Nail biting and being loud and obnoxious.
X is for X-rays you’ve had: Chest, hand, back, and legs. I got hit by a car once. That was fun. Oh, and dental X-rays too.
Y is for Yummy food: Chicken marsala, crab legs, shrimp, sauteed mushrooms
Z is for Zodiac sign: Scorpio

Yay!

2004-06-24T19:13:00.000-05:00

Big thanks to Kristin for helping me with my blog. I have to learn how to do this crap.
Tired again today - watched Elliott again, but this time without a bazillion other people, so it was less intense. Yesterday turned into an impromptu gathering at our new house, so I just rolled with it and had fun, but it made me really tired today. Luckily, the rugrat was a bit subdued, and easily calmed by watching Shrek.

Well, I have to run, but I will post more soon. We have our WiFi up and running now, so I can access this more easily.

Home sweet home...

2004-06-23T17:33:00.000-05:00

Well, we are home now. And exhausted. I babysat Elliott today, and Keith came over around 9:30 to try and fix our doorbell. He showed up with a six pack of "tall boys", which are big, big cans, of Busch Light, tried and failed to fix the doorbell, and sat around and shot the shit for about the next eight hours. Good times. He's coming back over tomorrow morning to try and fix the doorbell again. He is going to bring his doorbell from his house to see if it's the actual doorbell, or the wiring, that is malfunctioning. Right now I have Frank, Elliott, Todd, Brad, Keith and Jessica upstairs. I came down the basement to check my email, but hotmail is telling me the server is busy. Damn Microsoft. Damn them to hell.
I will give everyone a full account of the move once I have access to the internet on my computer - I feel a bit funny journaling on my brother in law's computer. So sionara for now, I will write more later!

Harumph

2004-06-07T07:34:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning, rolled over, and my first thought was, "Who beat me up with a sock full of oranges?"
After spending the entire day yesterday packing, cleaning and scrubbing, I woke up to sore muscles and an even sorer disposition. Oog.
We're supposed to go to Foxwoods today, which is the largest casino in the United States. It's in Connecticut. Brad and I are taking ten dollars each and are going to play the nickel slots and drink our free drinks. I really wish I had enough cash to play some serious poker. I think I am going to start a poker night once we get back to Toledo. When we were in Vegas last summer I drove Brad nuts because every time we sat down at a bar I would start pumping quarters into video poker. I guess it makes me feel like a cool, edgy chick to play poker, or something. I just like the game, and I never knew how to play before we went to Vegas, so now I'm like, "Oooh! Poker! I know how to play that! Lemme play, lemme play!" Sheesh.

We have mostly everything packed, which is good. Tomorrow we are doing a duck tour and then the Sox game, and Wednesday is the whale watching and Legal Sea Foods, and Thursday is the graduation. Friday we pack the Uhaul, and Saturday we get the hell out of dodge.
I'll let you all know when Poker Night is going to be once I get home. I need to get the Blue Lagoon Bar built first, and then the fun will begin.

I'm screwing around with the template on this thing, trying to customize it better. That other template sucked balls, so I am trying to work on this more barebones one, that will let me insert content as I see fit. The other template was a sulky bitch, and wouldn't let me do anything correctly. Or maybe I'm the sulky bitch. Well, someone around here is a sulky bitch, anyway. Maybe it's Brad...

Packing frenzy

2004-06-04T08:05:00.000-05:00

We now have about 3/4 of the apartment officially packed, and today we are off to wash our car. I'm a little ashamed of this fact - we haven't washed our car since we moved here. My rationale is that the car is grey and you can't even tell it's dirty. Brad's rationale is that washing the car is a pain in the ass. So we both have our excuses.
The inlaws get here today. I hope John, Debbie, Meghan and Kim agree with the east coast. At least the weather should be nice!
Well, I have to run as we are off to the self service car wash. Wish me luck! I have an inkling that the car might try to rebel, since at this point it is so dirty it has turned into some kind of savage, jungle-dwelling beast animal. That looks like a '92 Chevy Lumina. See, that's it's camouflage.

Ow.

2004-05-30T15:06:00.000-05:00

Well, we are packing everything up, and our apartment now looks as if Anne Heche went on a drunken spree and trashed the place. There are boxes everywhere, and messes everywhere from stuff being pulled out and sorted.
So, of course, I have to go and slam my foot into one of the boxes and completely fuck up my toe. It's the toe right next to the pinky toe, and man does it look pissed. It's swollen, red and purple, and it hurts like hell. So now I'm limping around the apartment, looking for a little bit of sympathy like a wounded animal. And trying to pack.

Moving on...I am getting excited for our families to get out here to Boston. My dad, sister and I are going to go out on a whale watching tour from the New England Aquarium. I'm also going to a Sox game with the in-laws, which I am stoked for, because I am now a huge Sox fan from living here. It's contagious - you can't live here, especially when they're in the series, and not get caught up in the excitement. They are in first place right now, so it should be an exciting year for them! I hope they get to the series again. The one thing I am not going to miss, however, is trying to get home from work on the subway when a Sox game is going on. It's absolutely insane - thousands of people decked out in red and blue regalia screaming their heads trying to get either to or from Fenway. Which is one of my stops on the ride home from work. But not anymore!!!! Hah!
We are also going to go out to Foxwoods casino. Michael Bolton is playing there next weekend. Yippee. Wish me luck - I am going to try my hand at the blackjack table and see if I can win some cashola. I'm sure, though, that I won't win one red cent, but a girl's gotta try. So say a gambling prayer for me.
Brad graduates on June 10th, so wish us luck on that day too. Harvard is expecting over 30,000 people on campus that day, so it's going to be an experience, to say the least. Brad, me and Debbie are going to try to get to Harvard by 7:30am so Debbie and I can get decent seats up front. I am going to videotape the day and record the insanity for posterity. If it's anything like his Georgetown graduation, it's going to be a bunch of snooty women dressed up in Prada and Gucci oohing and aaahing over their rich sons and daughters and they graduate from a priveleged life to an even more priveleged life. Kofi Annan will be there, though, so that will be fun. He's the keynote speaker.
I'm just glad to be getting the hell out of here before the Democratic National Convention happens next month. Normally, that would be something that I would love to go to, or experience. But since it's been singled out as a target for a biochemical attack, not so much.
I'll try to update this week and keep y'all updated. Peace out, dawgs.

Done with my crappy job and a reaction to penicillin...

2004-05-28T12:08:00.000-05:00

Hooray! Today is my last day at the job from hell, and I am giddy with euphoria and thought of sloshing back some margaritas tonight! Yay!
I am pretty tired, as I had a few beers for Brian last night, since he is heading back from Afghanistan, and he needed people to have some drinks for him. And I always, always support our troops.

Interesting new development. I discovered today that I am allergic to penicillin. What's that you say? How did I discover this? Well, I discovered it through an allergic reaction to it!
My doctor prescribed amoxicillin for the sinus infection that I had about two weeks ago, and I have faithfully been taking it, like a good patient. Except yesterday I noticed that the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet were itching like crazy, and at first I got worried that God figured some things out. Then it got a lot worse, and turned into a rash on my neck and legs, so now I look syphilitic. The rash doesn't itch, it's just gross, because that's what rashes are, they're just gross. And where it itches, there is no rash. It's confusing.
So when all of this started I pulled up the indicators for penicillin, and it said "If you have any of these symptoms call your doctor IMMEDIATELY: severe skin rash, itching, hives ..... SHIT!!!
So I called my doctor's office and talked to a triage nurse. Never having had an allergic reaction to anything before, I had no idea whether I was about to drop dead, or what, and of course one needs to be prepared for something like that.
So the good news is that the symptoms will go away, but I have to take Benadryl now. And no more penicillin.
All of this is completely new to me! I have never, ever been allergic to anything, and in the same year I develop allergies to pollen and penicillin? What the fuck is going on? Is this God's way of balancing out the universe? I think it is. See, I haven't had anything completely, devastatingly shitty happen in about two years, so maybe I'm due for some health issues.

2004-05-24T12:51:00.000-05:00

Petey the Puking Pumpkin

Yes, I know it's May, not October. But I found this picture so amusing that I just couldn't wait so long to post it.

One bad apple spoils the bunch

2004-05-24T09:50:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. Sorry if you want to comment on here, I have switched it so you have to be a registered user now. Some gaywad decided to be a smartass about one of my pictures, so instead of being an open board now I had to change it so you have to be a registered user to post. Ce la vie, some people are just assholes and don't seem to realize that the creator of the blog has the ability to delete anything they want, so posting dumb comments is useless. I guess some people have nothing better to do with their time.

Not an absolute.

2004-05-23T10:43:00.000-05:00

I post to this thing almost every day. I enjoy posting to it. I have never been able to keep anything like a diary. What I would typically do, especially in high school, is go out and buy some very pretty, fancily colored and nicely bound book of blank pages and think, "I am going to keep all of my thoughts and dreams and desires in here so I won't forget them. And this time I will write in it every night like a good girl!" And so I would for about a week, and two years later I'll find the thing under my bed covered with dust bunnies, and I'll read through what I wrote and think about what an idiot I was two years ago. Or, for that matter, last week.

You're smarter today than you were yesterday.
This is, of course, not an absolute. I do know people that this rule does not apply to. In fact, I know people that always, without fail, seem as if they are dumber than they were yesterday. And I would hope that if I am one of those unfortunate people that you would tell me. But at the very least I have stopped wasting money on blank paged books that I won't write in after a week. So I have made at least some progress.

Chinese food

2004-05-21T12:46:00.000-05:00

So I'm at my desk, eating lunch (because we don't have a proper lunch room in my office, we have to eat at our desks), and in walks my mean boss with her boss, the guy above our director. I'd never met him before, but he's one of the high-up "higher-ups". And I'm sitting there eating garlic chicken. (Which, by the way was excellent - my friend Maribeth bought me lunch, and it was really freaking good chinese food.)
So my boss, mean boss, is staring at me, like how dare I eat lunch? What cracks me up is that she never told us she was bringing him around, and she knows we have to eat at our desks. Plus, the funny thing is, the big director guy laughed, apologized for interrupting my lunch, and asked me what I was eating and said it smelled good. I apologized for eating during his visit, and he said it was OK, and actually talked to me for a few minutes, asking me about my move, etc. So as they're leaving mean boss shoots me a look of daggers. What the hell? I was like, "I'll snap you like a twig!" Then I went back to my garlic chicken, but was no longer hungry. So I put it in the fridge for tomorrow. I hate how a mean boss can ruin a good lunch.
On the upside, my fortune was "A good home is happiness" which I think is nice since Brad and I are buying a house in Toledo. Maybe a little foreshadowing? Happiness is no spiders in my home. Oh, and being able to pay for said home. Yeah, hopefully we can do that.
Peace out - I am going to get back to work now.

P.S. I forgot. Our car broke. AGAIN. This time it is wounded and bleeding coolant. So it's in the shop. And FedEx is trying to deliver our boxes, which we need to pack so we can move. So now I have no car, no boxes, and a twitch in my left eye. Ahhh, the old twitch. I haven't seen it since the week before the wedding. Old friends are the ones you miss the most, aren't they?

Enough pictures already!

2004-05-20T15:27:00.000-05:00

So I figured out how to put pictures on my blog, and the results are below. I went a little nuts and added a zillion pictures, some not even relevant to anything like the Olive Garden one. I just like that picture because it has my dad in it. I like my dad.
One week, and I am done with my job, and I am finished with medical billing forever! There is nothing like working in medical claims billing to make you an advocate for socialized medicine. I would rather work at Taco Bell, but the pay wouldn't be nearly as good.
But I could bring home pintos and cheese, and that would make up for it.
Two jobs I will never do again: any desk job, and waiting tables. Both seem to me to just take the will to live right out of you, because you wind up having to kowtow to an endless stream of windbags with asinine demands. Just once, I would like to be the one making the asinine demands. Why, oh why, can't I be the windbag making the asinine demands?!?!

2004-05-20T11:55:00.000-05:00

This is me when I was really little. Little enough to still enjoy digging in the dirt with a soup spoon, and thinking that was the height of entertainment. Hell, I'd rather be doing that right now.

2004-05-20T11:51:00.000-05:00

This is me, my sister and my dad at the Olive Garden, about a year ago. Pre wedding, anyway. Back when my hair was still really long. I am trying to grow it long again. Tonya cut hers off, which is funny, since it was down to her butt.

2004-05-20T11:48:00.000-05:00

Here we are at Doc Watson's. We stopped off for a beer on the way to the reception. From the left that's Tonya, my sister, me, then Meghan, my sister in law, and then Rachael, one of my good buddies.

2004-05-19T22:29:00.000-05:00

Brad, Pat, Frank and Meghan. Brad, grinning cheesily. Pat, trying to crush Meghan with his head. Frank, looking all too serious and concerned. Meghan, not knowing quite where she is. :)

2004-05-19T22:22:00.000-05:00

Me and Brad. One of my all time favorite pictures. This was right before Meghan's prom, which is why Brad is holding a flower. My shoes seem to be glowing for some reason.

2004-05-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

My lovely sister in law Meghan with her cow slippers, which are on her pretty much the entire reception. In our wedding video she is wearing them when she dances with Brad, which is pretty funny. Even our photographer said he had never seen anyone do some of the things quite like our wedding, such as the kilt bridesmaid and the cow slippers. I maintain it's not much of a wedding without those sorts of things.

2004-05-19T22:10:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite pictures from my wedding. This is my mother in law, Debbie, getting down with one of my bridesmaids, Joe. He wore a kilt because he was on my side. And I'm glad he was, because he certainly funkified things a bit, as seen here.

And so it goes....

2004-05-15T17:19:00.000-05:00

Well, I have a prescription for antibiotics but I can't get it filled. My doctor said I have a sinus infection that could turn "rather nasty" as she put it, but she also said it might "just go away". Medical science amazes me.
At any rate, I went to the grocery store to procure my amoxicillin, and the pharmacists were on a "meal break", or at least that's what the sign written in black magic marker taped to the register at the pharmacy counter said.
Mind you, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon. Perhaps it was tea time? Scones and crumpets, maybe? A spot o' Earl Grey? I have no way of knowing. I suspect that it was actually nap time, or maybe smoke-break time. But Brad thinks it was turkey sandwich time, and I can't argue with his logic. Lunch breaks for pharmacists are certainly none of my business, even if I am looking for an antibiotic.

I put the ridiculously oversized picture of Thom in here (below) because he looks so happy, and it's so rare to find a picture of him smiling. It cheers me up because I look at that picture and I think, "Oh, maybe he's waving at ME!" And then Brad catches me waving at the computer and he makes me go lie down for a bit.

2004-05-12T20:04:00.000-05:00

2004-05-11T11:37:00.000-05:00

So I took the Radiohead lyrics off. I don't know why. I just wasn't feeling them with the way they were threaded there. Oh, well. The search goes on.
I had clam chowder for lunch. I have a sinus infection. I only have 13 more days at my job. I am going to apply to a nursing program soon. I will own a house soon. Sometime, in the next couple of years, I will own a couple of babies, too.

Isn't it odd how, in a woman's mind, you can go from clam chowder to babies in 4 sentences?
I never listened to my parents when I was little when they would say things like, "Oh, you'll know what it's like to pay bills soon enough!" and "You don't want to grow up too fast! Grown up life isn't nearly as fun!" And I would laugh and think, "Oh, my grown up life will be fun! I'll show them!"
And show them I didn't. I think the only person who ever got to throw those lines back in their parent's faces is Britney Spears, or someone akin in her multi-millionaire, bling-bling, pop generation-XXX lifestyle.
Whenever I think of the word "contemporary" I always think of Thomas Jefferson, or Samuel Adams. They had contemporaries. Someone like Britney Spears or Paris Hilton shouldn't be allowed to have contemporaries. It cheapens things a bit.
And so ends my thingie for today. You can always tell when I come down with a sinus infection, because my posts don't make any sense.

2004-05-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

I am not sure if I like the Radiohead thing or not. I may remove it. I am still searching for a decent name for my site. One preferably without profanity. Not sure why no profanity. Ok, maybe with profanity.

I was ambushed by a spider at work today. I was walking down the hall carrying a stack of papers in one arm and a cup of coffee in the other, and suddenly I see a spider dangling from it's thread from the ceiling, and it's right in front of me! I think it was using either camoflouge or a cloaking mechanism since I didn't see it until I was right on top of it. Normally, my spidey sense will tell me if there is a spider within a twenty foot radius of me, thus allowing me a sufficient buffer zone to avoid freaking out.
Anyways, the spider landed on my arm, killing any chances of me avoiding embarrassment today. He landed on my coffee arm.
Now, if you know me, you know I am highly arachnophobic. So, a spider on my arm is not a good thing. The worst part was that I was carrying hot coffee in that hand, so I couldn't brush it off or shake my arm in a vigorous freak-out, which would have been my normal reaction.
So I started doing some weird gyrating dance, trying to get the spider to drop off of my arm on its own, perhaps by scaring it away. So I'm going in circles, doing what probably looked like a really bad Elvis impersonation, and my boss comes around the corner. Not my nice boss, but my mean boss.
It was cool, though, because she just started laughing really hard at me. Probably because she had no idea what I was doing, but I am sure it looked amusing.
Helpless, I called out to her, "Help me! I have a spider on my arm!" So she came over, still laughing, and brushed it off of my arm onto the floor, and she said she was going to be nice and not kill it. She kept laughing all the way down the hall.
I am glad that I was able to be a jester for her, since her mom died recently. She is not my favorite person in the world, but everyone needs a good laugh now and then.
So about 15 minutes later I am sitting at my desk working, enjoying my coffee, and a lady who works across the hall from my office comes in.
And on her arm....is the same spider!!!!
So I point it out to her, and she starts doing the same type of dance that I was doing. She managed to get the spider off of her after several gyrations, and stepped on it, thus ending his brave run.
So he is now in a tissue in my trash can. I do have to admire his spunk and creativity, although perhaps he would have been better off crawling up our pants. Now we will never know.

2004-05-02T13:23:00.000-05:00

I updated the title of this page and the little blip off to the side there. It used to be something about other intelligent life (because bacteria on Mars doesn't count) and stuff, but now it should be Radiohead lyrics. Enjoy.

2004-05-02T07:23:00.000-05:00

Today looks to be a lovely day. It's nice outside, and when I awoke at 7:30, I was greeted with the sound of overly loud Spanish singing from the people in the building across from mine. I am not sure why they are outside singing at the tops of their lungs, but they are, and there are about 8 people currently singing. They are singing in Spanish, so I have no idea what they are singing about, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it has something to do with Cinco de Mayo. At any rate, they sound drunk, which is nice. At least they are having fun. I have to go into work on my day off, so I hope they keep singing all day, and hey, Juan, have a Corona for me, for I do not have the luxury of celebrating Cinco de Mayo this year. I tip my hat to you. And I hope no one calls security, because they are being really, really loud, but they are happy, and that is what matters. Ole!
Another nice thing about today is that I am enjoying a cup of coffee that is way too strong. I usually have coffee at work, but since today is Sunday, I run the risk of being the only one there other than the crazy lady (we'll call her Mindy) who comes in every weekend even though she's salaried and doesn't get paid extra for it. Now, this relates to my strong cup of coffee - I swear.
I usually have one cup at work in the mornings. However, I always run the risk of getting caught having my coffee. Caught by whom? Well, caught by Mindy.
You see, Mindy is the "president" of what we call the Coffee Club at work. The idea is that since the hospital that I work at is too cheap to provide coffee for its employees, those who want coffee got together and pay $6.00/month to rent a coffee maker and buy coffee.
Now, I also pay $6.00/month to be in the Water Club at work. That's right, the Water Club. I will wait for you to stop laughing at me before I continue.
So I have to pay if I want to drink water that is not contaminated with whatever carcinogens the city of Boston and its resident terrorist cells feel like tossing into the public water supply on any given day. So I pay it, because I actually was accosted by another woman in my office when I was getting water out of the water fountain down the hall. She grabbed my arm and hissed, "Don't drink that water! That's CITY water!!!!"
I replied, "So what? It's drinkable, isn't it?
Her: "Noooo! That water is TERRIBLE! Join the Water Club! You never know what's in the city water! I would NEVER drink that!"
All the time she was hissing under her breath as if this were a big secret, or something. She reminded me of a gila monster.
So I was scared into paying $6.00/month for drinking water. At least I feel secure. Unless Al Qaeda is working at the Monadnock water company, then I am safe.
Getting back to the coffee problem.
So, me being cheap and all, I joined the Coffee Club over a year ago and paid once, and since then I get a cup of coffee every day. Mindy has never asked me for an additional $6.00 payment, so I feel it is my right to keep getting free coffee until she realizes her error.

It also pissed me off that I was going to bring in my own little 2-cup coffee maker, and this bitch actually brought it up to my boss in a supervisory staff meeting (where I was not in attendance) to complain that I couldn't bring in my coffee maker because there wasn't room in our office or the lunchroom, blah blah blah, everyone would want to bring one in, blah blah blah. I think it would be cheaper if everyone who wanted coffee just BOUGHT a couple of damn 10 cup coffee makers and a can of Maxwell's House, but Mindy wouldn't hear of it.

So I am convinced she is making money off of her coworkers from the whole stupid coffee thing, and I resent that. So I won't pay her a dime.
At any rate, why this bothers me today of all days is that if I go into the office and she is the only other one there, she will definitely notice me fucking around with the coffee machine. So I have to have my coffee before I go into work.
Which is nice, because I can sit here, drink my coffee, and bitch about her. She is only another reason why I am all too happy to be fleeing Massachusetts in a few weeks.
They call the people out here "Massholes". Gee, I wonder why. I was never uptight about coffee until I moved out here, but look at me now, with my panties all in a bunch and complaining on the internet about it. But at least I am caffeinated, and enjoying some very nice singing from across the way. Now I have to go wake Brad up to make him take me to the subway station so I can go spend 8 hours filling out forms and pushing around paperwork for time and a half.
Ole!

2004-05-01T10:39:00.000-05:00

You are an

quiz-taker

Find out what kind of quiz-taker you are

2004-05-01T09:58:00.000-05:00

I was thinking this morning about how I was kicked out of Girl Scouts. Well, not really even Girl Scouts, but Brownies, which is the program for really young go-getter girls who want to be Girl Scouts but aren't old enough to start earning badges or selling cookies.
At any rate, I was in kindergarten when this happened. I was at a Brownie meeting at someone else's house, and I remember that we were all sitting in a circle, singing kumbaya or some such thing.
Now, at every Brownie meeting, someone brings a snack. In my five year old mind, the snacks were just there. I didn't know, nor cared, how they got there, but they were there, at every meeting.
Except at this fateful Brownie meeting, there was no snack.
There was no snack because it had been MY turn to bring the snack, and me being me, and being five years old and from a dysfunctional and rather forgetful family, I had no snack because my mom had forgotten that it was my turn.
One minute I was singing kumbaya and the next minute I developed a lifelong guilt complex that haunts me to this day.
So the den mother dressed me down in front of all of the other girls, and kicked me out of Brownies. So, at five years old, the foundation of perpetually feeling not good enough was laid for me by the Girl Scout organization and one significantly bitchy den mother with a stick up her ass and a chip on her shoulder. You know the type - the Martha Stewart type. Her whole den mother/hosting experience was ruined because I hadn't brought a snack to share, and she made no bones about letting me know this, and letting my mother know this when she picked me up. She then told my mom that I was not welcome back.
My mom's reaction wasn't pretty, or tasteful, but I will not subject you to the gruesome details.
I still cannot believe that I got kicked out of Brownies for that. What a stupid reason.
So, whenever I see people selling Girl Scout cookies, I can't just buy them and think, "Yay! I get cookies AND I am helping a good organization!" No, not me. Whenever someone tries to sell me Girl Scout cookies I am always on the proverbial fence. I feel I should buy Girl Scout cookies, and tons of them, to make up for my Girl Scout failures. And then I think, wait a minute, these people can go screw! They kicked me out! I am a Girl Scout outcast! If she could have, that den mother, I am sure, would have exiled me to a far desert island or some such thing.
The fact that I like Thin Mints doesn't help the situation.

I saw the movie Big Fish last night. I haven't cried like that at a movie since I saw Moulin Rouge. I am starting to associate Ewan McGregor with sobbing. So, if I were you, I wouldn't accompany me to the next Star Wars movie, unless you want to be the unfortunate one sitting next to the girl bawling her eyes out every time Obi Wan Kenobi comes on the screen.

2004-04-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

Today I have the day off of work. Hooray! I love days off. Except today I had dentist's appointment today, which means that I am probably on the Crest Cavity Crusader's shit list right about now. But, on the upside, when the dentist came into the room, the first thing out of her mouth was, "Wow, I love your purse!" So I scored fashion points today, for whoever is keeping score. She said the reason I got a cavity is because I am not using the correct mouthwash. I mean, come on, it's Listerine, for God's sake! But hey, she liked my purse. Go me.

So since Brad has Fridays off of school, we drove around Dorchester and Quincy running various errands in the 85 degree sunshine. It is beautiful outside today. You know, for living in a somewhat squalid, annoying apartment complex, the greenery and view is beautiful. It's right on the ocean, which I guess nicely offsets the mugging and drug dealing that goes on. I can see the ocean when I leave my apartment building, which is a nice way to start anyone's day. But then, I walk by the dumpster, and a lot of mornings there is a little Latino man on a bike out there digging through the dumpster for cans to go turn in for the deposit money. It makes me a little sad, but you actually see a lot of people nicking things out of trash bins around here. One time, when I was walking outside to go to work this past winter, he was out there on his bike, and it was really icy and he slipped and fell down. I think there might have been some dumpster-water sitting there, too. Brad and I both asked him if he was OK, but he seemed more embarrassed than anything, and didn't speak English.

Wherever that guy is, I hope he's OK.
What annoys me is when I see guys in the subway stations downtown in SUITS digging through the bins for cans. I mean, leave them there for my friend to come get. He probably needs them more than you. You have a suit. He has a bike. Do the math.

2004-04-26T12:11:00.000-05:00

OK, it's gone. I might repost it, because it was funny, but I probably won't because it took way too much time. I am honest with myself in acknowledging that no one reads this site but my husband and his sister anyway.

I am looking forward to going home tonight and relaxing. Ahhhh.

2004-04-26T12:06:00.000-05:00

OK, I TRIED to delete that stupid damn quiz thing. If it is gone, then fine. But I just checked my blog after deleting it, and not only is it still there, but it has multiplied!!!!!
It seems every time I try to delete it it reproduces twice, or something. I have checked my settings and the help section and haven't found anything helpful. So for now, I am stuck with a monster post on my blog. I don't have time to spend worrying about it right now. But it pisses me off. I wish I knew more about this blogging thing, but I am as ignorant as the next fellow, and helpless to educate myself. Which is the Great American Excuse, so don't you judge me!

2004-04-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here is what type of industrial solvent I am. I hope this works.

	SOYsolv®: You are made from soybean oil, and are used in a wide range of applications, including asphalt release, mastic removal, and hydrocarbon cleaning. You are biodegradable, and your flash point is >300°F, Pensky-Martens closed cup, and >650°F open cup.
	Find out what kind of industrial solvent you are

2004-04-14T12:10:00.000-05:00

It is unbelievably yucky out today in Boston. It's cloudy, and overcast, and drizzly, but hot? So it's humid, and now my hair is all frizzy like Cameron Diaz's hippy armpits. And I don't like that. So now I have to take ANOTHER shower when I get home, because just thinking about Cameron Diaz's hippy armpits makes me feel so dirty, inside AND out.
Well, my boss has been given the D-date - AKA my Ditch-Date. The date I get the heck out of here and run like a cheetah on smack back to Johio. What am I running from, you ask? Well, her name is Dottie, and I smell death on her. She works down the hall from me and, seriously, I think she is actually the one who gave birth to the Grim Reaper. She probably yells at him, too.

At any rate, I can't WAIT to get back to the midwest and see my family and everyone! The weekend after we move back is Father's Day, and since my dad is being so nice as to help us move I am going to throw him a kickass Father's day Bar-B-Q at our house. Which it's still weird calling it that, because it's Debbie's house, but it will be our house. I get so confused sometimes.

2004-04-07T11:58:00.000-05:00

Hello all. It has been a while since I posted, but since I sincerely doubt that anyone besides my immediate family is even reading this, I'm not too pressed about it.
I have to notify my boss today that I am leaving our little office to move back to Ohio. She is not going to be happy. I feel really guilty, because she is a fantastic supervisor, and she takes a LOT of crap from a lot of people, and I have spent hours on the phone with her at night trying to assuage her fears about our jobs. I feel almost like I am leaving her here to the wild beasts (and oh, if only you knew some of my co-workers - more like co-bastards) to fend for herself, and I just all around feel bad. She's really nice. But, on the upside, she told me that she is going to come visit me in Toledo in November!
I am excited for that - she has never been to the Midwest, and thinks it's all prairies and log cabins or something. She cracks me up.

Hmm, let's see, what else.... My mother in law is the funniest person I have ever met. I just love her to pieces. She calls and yells at her son to go "practice making me a grandbaby!" and then just laughs and laughs. I know, it sounds crazy, but it cracks me up because she is so nice and sweet, and then she'll rip out some cusswords or talk about sex or something and take you completely off guard! She is hilarious, especially for a mental health nurse.

Miss everyone, and I will post more later!

2004-03-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

I got my fortune/personality from my friend Alice, who is Chinese, based on my birth month. So here it is!

OCTOBER:
Loves to chat. (OK, I have a "blog" that is basically me just talking to myself. Chatty doesn't even begin to describe it.)
Loves those who loves them. (Well, pshaw.)
Loves to takes things at the center. (No idea what this means. The center of what? Me? Where is that?)
Inner and physical beauty. (Awww, geez, thanks!)
Loyal and true in Love. (Happy in love = loyalty and truth, in my opinion.)
Gets angry often. (Grrrr.)
Treats friends importantly. (I hope so.)
Always making friends. (Hi! My name is Chrissy! Be my pal!)
Easily hurt but recovers easily. (Ouch! That hurt! Hi, my name is Chrissy. Be my friend!)
Daydreamer. (La la la laaa. Oh, right, I am at work right now.)
Opinionated. (Who you callin' opinionated?)
Does not care of what others think. (Do YOU think so? Please, let me know!)
Emotional. (I cried at a commercial for a camera last night. It's true, I did.)
Decisive.
Strong clairvoyance.
Loves to travel, the arts and literature.
Touchy and easily jealous.
Concerned.
Loves outdoors.
Just and fair.
Spendthrift.
Easily influenced.
Easily loses confidence.
Loves children.

Hey, a fortune is a fortune, and if this fits me then I must be pretty damn great. Except the part about getting angry easily, which is not true - I get annoyed easily, but anger takes a while to build up.
I got bored with trying to be funny halfway through. Maybe one of my things should be "Loses interest easily", or "Never finishes what she starts."
I am on vacation for the next week, so if you don't get an update oh well, I will post again on Monday of next week. I don't have to entertain you, you know. There is other stuff in the world to do.....

2004-03-25T12:21:00.000-05:00

Hello all. Today is Thursday and I have next week off from work - yippee! Brad and I are going to try to go out and actually do some tourist stuff in Boston, since we've been living here forever and have never been downtown.

I am also currently working on a story that I am writing for Leslie. I started this damn story several months ago in response to an email she sent me that said "I'm bored - entertain me." So I set out to write her a little story, and now I am on chapter 7 of the damn thing. I am going to try to finish it during my break next week so it will be out of my head. I hope it turns out OK - it's pretty funny, actually. I will post it here when I am done. Which hopefully won't be too long.

2004-03-24T12:24:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello! I got some good news today. They are re-releasing Monty Python's "Life of Brian" in theaters in April as a "response" to Mel Gibson's movie. They plan on marketing it as a "choice" - Mel or Monty? Python or Passion? Should be funny, to say the least. Either way, you should support it and go see it.
By the by, we got our car fixed - it wasn't the transmission. So big relief there.

That is about it. I hear that my friend Les had an awful date over the weekend with some weirdo who called her at 8:30 am on Monday morning. I mean, you go on a date with someone, and it doesn't go particularly well, so what is your next logical step? Call them at work. Really early. First thing Monday.
I mean, sheesh. Poor gal. I would have probably yelled at the creep. She was tactful and let her voicemail get it.

That's about it for this edition of Chrissy's blog. I should get back to work now.

2004-03-19T12:28:00.000-05:00

Not sure if I posted about this or not. Mine and Brad's car died recently. We think it is the transmission.
So, we are carless. Not fun having to walk everywhere, especially since we just had a storm (or as Boston says, a "Nor'easter!") dump a shitload of snow on us.
Oh, well.

2004-03-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

I got my name analyzed by a couple of different sites. Check it out, yo.

"Your first name of Christine has given you a rather quiet, reserved, serious, studious nature. You have sensitivity and appreciation for the finer and deeper things of life, the beauties of nature, music, art, and literature. The people who mean the most to you are those who can offer you intellectual companionship. It is only when you are among those who understand your deeper nature that you can really be yourself. The experience of having your remarks taken lightly or belittled, particularly during the early years of your life, has caused you to keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself. You do not express yourself spontaneously when conversing with others; hence other people may often regard you as being aloof, and even unfriendly."

CHRISTINE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the Italian root meaning "Tainter of Air"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expression
Christine does things with housecats illegal in 47 states.
Personality
Christine would not be a good candidate to babysit your children.

Natural
Christine has no native instincts for survival.

Emotional
Christine does stupid things to impress people.

Character
Christine tends to get others down.

Physical
Christine has breath that could drop buffalo.

Mental
Christine can be apathetic to a fault.

Motivation
Christine waits for a chance to jump down others' throats.

So I thought that was fun. It is true, I certainly can be apathetic to a fault. However, I am neurotic about brushing and flossing and using mouth wash, so I don't think my breath could really drop a buffalo. Maybe if he sniffed me after a night of drinking. Maybe.
The housecats thing is also true. I do understand that making little kittens sew tennis shoes so I can sell them at a markup IS illegal, but how the hell else am I going to support my raging coke habit?
And I am VERY good with kids. I made a ton of cash off of babysitting. It's easy. Master the art of guilt tripping and deception - most kids aren't that advanced - and you're home free.