wachootalkin'bout, groundhog?

blah. so it's february and it's still cold and it's still gloomy and damn that groundhog and his shadow! in happier news, i've been on my elliptical and i LOVE it. Let's not think about the fact that I bought a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter cups (the bite size kind) and have had a few each day. OR the fact that Mark's dad (as part of an inside joke) bought me a 3 POUND box of cheezits. sigh. Still ... I've been fairly good.

I've also had some pretty bizzare-o dreams lately. One was really freaky and was about a ghost in my house who kept changing my decor and stacking things up around the house, just to prove it's existance. Which, of course, just freaked me out. It was one of those dreams that was SO scary in the dream but sounds lame when you tell it aloud. I also had a dream about Adriana and a purse. Let's just say that she would never have a pink suede handbag from Marshall Field's Spring Fling Clearance Sale (is there such a thing?) ... but she did in my dream! And I pissed her off by writing all over it in permanent marker. WHAT!? I dunno....

I'm excited to report that VLB will be in concert in March! She sings with a chamber choir, Vox Humana, and they will be performing in Royal Oak. I can't wait to see her! I've really got to do some "hanging out" with people soon. I've been basically a home-body the past few weeks, mostly with good reason, but I fear I'm becoming boring. egads. That cannot happen. For starters, I need to have some serious girl time with the chicks. I haven't seen my girls in eons, it feels like. Maybe another dinner party is in order? The pot-luck kind, like I had a couple years ago? That was a smashing success! Everyone brought such wonderful food and having the buffet style setup and the fire going and lots of wine was just delightful. Hmmm. I think I need to consider doing that one again.

Keep an eye on your inboxes, folks. You might be getting a evite from me soon!

Also Sprach Zarathustra softly plays...

*drum roll crescendo* TA DAH! It's here! The Pro-Form 800 is finally in my possession! Sitting at my house, 98% put together and (almost) ready to ride! Too bad my cold is still here and making me feel like utter shit. oh, AND i have a belly ache. But that won't stop me! I can't wait to get outta this place (work) and head home to finish up the last bit of installation and then WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH my cares away! eh... let's hope i feel that wonderfully about it tomorrow.

I also need to make it my routine to cook up good, healthy food - large amounts at a time - at the beginning of my week so that I can just reheat stuff when I get home from work. Part of the reason I never cook for myself, besides hating to cook for just me, is that I don't feel like it. But if I already have a vat of tofu/tempeh grilled up and have already chopped up whatever veggies I may want in advance, then I'm halfway there. It's true that bad habits are hard break. Very easy to fall into, though. I just need a new routine when it comes to eating/working out. And getting up in the morning for work. I'm awful about that.

eep. I probably shouldn't make myself too sore tonight; I have a massage with Angi tomorrow, and I hear she hurts so good like John (Cougar?)Mellencamp. hmmm.....

current music: Putumayo Presents: New Orleans

*cough*

I'm wondering if my house is making me feel worse. I have this cold - and to others I probably don't sound so bad because I'm not really stuffed up in the nose and my cough is a dry kind of cough that just sounds like an average, clear-your-throat sound. But I have a constant tickle that makes me cough and my throat has been aching. And with my house having such dry heat, and me not having a humidifier, I'm sure it's not helping the dull nagging ache. Especially in the mornings, being that I sleep with my mouth wide open. Most unattractive. I'm also extra sleepy; a sure sign of being ill.

This being the case, I haven't really had anything going on. Especially nothing of particular importance or interest to write about in here. I haven't even really gone out of my house except to go to work. Mark has been at his parents house the past couple days (good things brewing in that arena!) and I've just been lazing around like a sloth. It's just as well since I'm so broke these days. But I do think we're going to be venturing out tonight ... an actual bar! I haven't seen the inside of a bar in a looooong time. But, being Sam's birthday on Monday, Ben and she are going to see some bands play tonight at the Lager House and the rest of us kids have been asked to come along. Should be a fun time, if I don't choke on my coughs and the bar stink.

In other "yay!" news, I got my W2's finally and was able to do my taxes in about 10 minutes, for only $15.95 using TaxAct Online. I used them last year and was impressed. I also got my refund back in half the time they said it would take (roughly 5 days), so Mark and I both used it this year. I'm getting a sizable refund and plan to make some payments to loans I'm currently chipping away at. I also plan to pay the remainder of my elliptical machine off and bring the bitch home, finally (i'm so fat). AND I plan to save a bit for our vacation (hopefully) in March. Sigh. I really should take part of it and open a Roth IRA or something, but ... I can't fathom using all the money for "adult" things.

I like to keep a healthy balance of responsible-adult behavior and you-only-live-once-and-you-never-know-when-you'll-die-so-have-fun-now behavior about me. Hell, I could be 65 and wealthy and run off to Jamaica then, after waiting all my life to pay off bills and save money. OR I could go now, when I'm scraping by and have no savings to my name, but at least I'm still able to enjoy life and smoke some weed and have great sex. :)

It's really an easy decision.

los squishy?

In the advent of Stephen's (from The Real OC) cancellation at The Necto, I've been avidly looking up all that I can find on our favorite rich teens. So far I've found, and am not so sure it's real, Lo's journal {ding! ding! order UP!} as well as Deiter's charity run site (this one is real). sigh.

oh, and btw: I scored a 38% on the "How Laguna Beach are you?" Quizie!
What about you?

i officially cannot wait for Laguna Beach 2 now.

Friend: "If you and Stephen ever had babies, they'd be so good looking."
Kristin: "They would, 'cause Stephen's all tan."

sha-sh-sh shake that ass, girl

The past few days have been spent shoveling myself out of my house and driveway, tending to my sick babydoll and trying to eat healthier. Needless to say, it was a less than eventful weekend. I did hang with my mom and aunts on Friday night for Lisa's birthday; we ate at Macaroni Grill (got our desserts paid for!), then we saw Sideways and then hung out at a new Irish pub on that side of town called The Claddagh. Then Saturday came the snow ... and all the parking tickets! I swear, Dearborn police have nothing better to do than to send several cars at a time out to the subdivisions and write people up for being in the way of the snow plow. Funny how AFTER they ticketed us and we moved our cars, they still haven't plowed the spots they couldn't get to in the first place ... It's been 3 days.

But in happier news, I took Mark on a surprise mini-date last night. I had already planned on it, but wasn't sure if we still were gonna go since he hadn't been feeling well. We decided to still go and he was so surprised and excited to find that we were going to see The Grateful Dead Movie that was recently digitally remasterd in High-Definition and released for three days only at the Emagine theater.

The film is basically a night at a Dead show in 1977 somewhere in California with backstage footage and MUCH crowd & fan footage, coupled with some trippy animation. Jerry Garcia was the director. It was great to see a show like that, since I never had the opportunity to go to a show while Jerry was alive. Mark's been to too many to count and misses every minute of it. It was funny, the folks dancing, spinning - "noodle" dancing, if you will - didn't really look too much different from the folks you see at today's "hippie shows." It was an interesting time capsule of a film. And it sure did make me wanna get up in the aisles and boogie.

inaugur...blah blah blah blah... day

Yeah, so technically, it's January 20th following an election year, and so this is Inauguration Day. I don't so much like to refer to it as that since a complete moron and a danger to our nation is being sworn in again. I just don't understand the 51% of the people that actually thought this would be a good idea. I know, I know.... i know all the different reasons someone might have voted that way. Anything from being brainwashed about GWB's take on Iraq to the religious factor down to the i-don't-really-care-and-i-didn't-like-Kerry factor. It just baffles me ... still.

And besides all that, the whole $40+ million going towards this "party" to swear the idiot in just absolutely disgusts me. Never, in any climate of our nation, does that kind of money need to be spent. But especially now, when we are losing money by the second to this war and when the rest of the world is in turmoil over the devastation of the tsunami ... why would someone so arrogantly lavish themselves in celebration this way? What a message. Yep, rest of the world ... you're gonna keep on hating us, aren't you? sigh.

At least I can take comfort in another completely capitalistic gala: the North American Detroit Auto Show. Sad thing is, I work for the industry. Ah well... at least I'm still a struggling peon here, so I have an excuse for staying and needing the money. ::gulp:: right? Anyways ... about 8 of us are about to head out of here, down to Pegasus for lunch and then to the auto show. Should be a good, albeit way too warm, day. (the auto show is always excruciatingly hot). Perhaps I'll have updates about the show later ... unless it's just way too boring. hah - more likely i'll have updates on the mullets and bling i see down there instead. later...

a bit of good luck

As I went through my pile of receipts that I racked up over the long weekend and entered them into my checkbook ledger, I came across my receipt from Whole Foods and realized (a little too late) that the cashier didn't ring up my Hemp Seed Oil, which was $12.99! Here I was pissed because I forgot to give her my $2 off coupon for the hand-soap I bought, but really I saved a lot more. Which is nice, since i's a broke-ass-ho.

Not sure if this will karmically come back to haunt me - but it was a nice treat to find, nonetheless.

making mental notes

For those of you out there interested in seeing the delightful Tori Amos on tv, here is an upcoming list of scheduled appearances. Much thanks to The Dent, as always, for the gads of information it provides (dates and pic).

Letterman -- Tues. Feb. 17th
MSNBC Weekend Today -- Sat. Feb. 19th
Regis & Kelly -- Tues. Feb. 22nd
Last Call w/Carson Daly -- Thurs. Feb. 24th
A&E's Breakfast w/the Arts -- Sun. Feb. 27th
CNBC's Big Idea w/Donny Deutsch -- TBD

Tori-time¹ is fast approaching! There's the new album on Feb. 22nd (although, some of us have a leaked copy), a NYC live interview/show (keeping my fingers crossed that Trent & I will be there!) on Feb. 24th, all kinds of Tori TV, and soon a TOUR! wee! I can't wait ... you think I blab on now? Wait til I'm fully immersed in Toriland again! PLUS, I finally heard the new single, Sleeps With Butterflies, on WDET this afternoon!


¹ Tori-time is the term I'm using to refer to the part of the year when Trent and I go a little off the deep end: talking, emailing, blogging, going to midnight sales, dual attacks on ticketmaster to be sure we're getting tickets to every show possible in the best seats possible, cutting out of work early to go to a meet & greet to get one small glimpse of the Goddess (and some stuff signed), relishing in the afterglow and talking nonstop about other Toriphiles and the show and the cd and ... well, you get the idea.

the last meow

I suppose that 20 years is about nine lives in cat years, right? Well, even so ... another punk/goth/kitsch store bites the dust in Royal Oak. The Cat's Meow will close it's door at the end of this month. It didn't spent all it's 20 years in Royal Oak; it started as a small vintage clothing store in Ann Arbor before opening another store in Madison, WI and then finally coming "home" to Royal Oak in 1996. They outlived others such as Cinderella's Attic and I can only wonder how long stores like Incognito and Noir Leather will last? I only shopped at the Cat's Meow a couple times, but it's kind of like saying goodbye to your youth, in a way...

You can read an article about the closing of Cat's Meow and if you'd like to stop in one last time for farewells and fishnets, they are having something of a wake on January 30th from 1-9pm. (There are also big sales going on!)

downloading hope

After my excited post about the Tsunami Aid: Concert of Hope telethon that was to air on NBC, I went ahead and forgot all about it and missed it all. So as I was hunting around on the internet today, trying to see if I could get some part of it, I found an area where you can download the performances from the evening and the money is still going to the charity. In fact, you pay less than what is donated since the funds are matched! For instance, if you want one specific performance from that evening, you will pay $0.99. But the funds donated for that download will be $1.98! Similarly, you can download the entire event's performances as one album for $13.99 (with $27.98 being donated)!

This seems worthwhile to me ... plus you get a cd out of it! In case you're interested, you can visit the site here.

mlk day the lazy way...

Being that Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we get the day off at work and I generally try to find something humanitarian to do that day. You know, be of service somewhere for something. I had talked with Angi a couple weeks ago about maybe going out to Ann Arbor to recycle our junk that our curbside doesn't accept (we're avid recyclers) and then possibly volunteering somewhere out there. But with her midnight schedule and the fact that I had to reschedule a dentist appointment to that afternoon at 2pm, it didn't work out. So instead I met my mom for lunch at Olga's (one of our favorites!) and then quickly got my filling on at the tooth doctor before heading out to Angi's. We recycled, we ate at Seva (yes, i love eating) and then actually WALKED AROUND in the 0°F weather! But we went to Urban Outfitters and to Acme Mercantile before calling it a night and letting the blood back into our bodies in the warm car.

Earlier in the weekend I was able to hang with Trent (stayed in watched Mean Girls - funny!) and then, accompanied by Trent & Mark, took my 16 year old cousin to see Coach Carter. Pretty good movie - and it made #1 at the box office this weekend.

The rest of the week - between the cold and the fact that I'm broke - is going to be spent INDOORS. I need to stay warm and figure out a way to pay my $430 gas bill! (shhh... I "only" owe half)

swapping stories

I'm so glad that I don't have a headache this morning. I went to bed last night with a wee nagging ache in my skull (probably from not having eaten too much and drinking two strong martini's) but had no energy to get up to pop a few ibuprofen. Thankfully (knock on wood), I'm headache free now! I hadn't planned on drinking last night - Kirsten and I had made plans to hang out and just chat and perhaps catch a movie or something low-key. We both agreed that on Friday's we are usually spent from the hustle & bustle of the week. I planned on meeting her at her house at 8pm and going from there. Plans changed a bit and the boys entered the picture, which was totally cool. Mike ended up being at Kirsten's place and the three of us headed out for dinner at the Inn Season Cafe. We had to wait a little while which was fine because the food there is excellent. It was both Kirsten and Mike's first time and I think they really enjoyed their meals. While we waited, as well as over dinner, Kirsten and I swapped our similar stories with Mike chiming in every now and then. I hope he didn't feel ostracized as we "girl talked!" It was great to share similar thoughts and experiences with Kirsten. We've only hung out "on our own" once before, for shopping. As you can well imagine, it's hard to chat and get to know each other while searching for the perfect top. So this was a nice treat.

We had then talked of either going to a movie or renting one and staying in at Kirsten's. However, Erik & Trent met up with us after dinner and we ended up hanging around K's for a bit before heading off to The Living Room in Berkely for some drinks.

We each picked something for one another to drink and experimented with what ended up in front of us. Erik ordered me a "Nutty" which was a very enjoyable mix of vodka, Frangelico & Bailey's Irish Cream. niiiiiiiiice. I, in turn, ordered him a Vesper - which was straight up gin, vodka and campari, if I remember correctly. YIKES. It was a nice evening, pointing out each other's obvious character traits (Trent's "it's so good, it's SO good," Erik's invisible hair-on-forehead brush, Kirsten's point-then-talk-to-the-hand-she's-done motion, Mike's innumerable faces and gestures...) and discussing good movies. Good friends. Good deal.

Insighful Linguist

In other news, besides that I'm brilliant (har har!), did y'all hear about the awful 100-car pile up that happened here and in Indiana!? It's so awful. Where it happened, on I-96 near Lansing, is RIGHT by my mom's exit for her house! I was worried, but was reassured when I called her and she was safe and sound at home and watching Lost. :) Also, Bob Marley's wife is going to be digging him up soon and re-burying him in Africa - Ethiopia to be exact. "Africa Unite! Cuz we're moving right out of babylon... and we're going to our father's land..." How good and how pleasant it will be indeed, Bob. Rest in peace..... mon.

Addendum: crap! I hope that his grave is still there (and accessible) when Mark & I go to Jamaica in March! How can we go to Jamaica, mon, and not see our brutha from another mutha, the revolutionary Bob Marley? dang.

the new counter-culture

zach braff makes me laff

if i was ever going to steal someone else's new years resolutions, it would have to be these:

My new year's resolutions:
-Forgo all exercise (including walking),
-Learn to smoke (something thin like Capri's),
-Take my loved one's for granted,
-Stop washing my hands after twosies, <---- this one made me pee a little
-Laugh at babies who are late walkers,
-Pull leaves off trees that appear to be flourishing,
-Name the yet to be named voices in my head (something tough like Carl or Kyle)
-Be less kind to bunnies,
-Floss everything but my teeth,
-Travel (but only around my yard and with a light carry-on)
-Stop and smell the Rosens. (They're a wonderful family and absolutely compulsive about showering.)

i should be $250K richer

...because I am the biggest loser for having just watched (and clapped for!) The Biggest Loser on NBC. i'm not even kidding. is there nothing better on tv for me to watch? how do i get sucked into this shit!?

but seriously, did any of you SEE those people? they lost a tremendous amount of weight. we're talking gigantic manboobs GONE, down to actual peck's. ::shudders::

anyways.........

tsunami aid is the new live aid/farm aid

While moping through the day at work, i did find a little glimmer of coolness when i read that my boys, Maroon 5, will be joining the likes of Madonna, Nelly, Mary J. Blige, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and others for a benefit concert to aid in the Tsunami Relief efforts via the American Red Cross. It airs live this Saturday (1/15) at 8pm EST on NBC and sister stations. Visit here for more info.

Using that same link you can see that Virgin Megastore is also helping the effort by launching "100 Acts of Support" which will focus attention on the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh. The proceeds from these shows at all 20 Virgin outlets will benenfit the Music for Relief fund, also through the American Red Cross. Tickets to these Virgin concerts are from $60 to $100.

worst. day. ever.

well, pretty bad anyways. let's start with yesterday. i took the day off to attend a funeral (see previous post) of a 'like family' person. you know those - the kind that aren't really your family, but you've known them since birth and so they pretty much ARE family? right. so he was 90, but like another grandpa (in fact, he was the grandpa of 2 of my cousins). i was okay during the mass, but buckled when my uncle said some last words and broke down crying. Seeing Pat and his family cry was too much - then I saw my mom crying. Dammit if that doesn't make me bawl every time! I lost it. [dried eyes, reapplied mascara while driving w/mom to the funeral home]. What's this we see? Men in uniform? The army honor guard was at the mausoleum saluting the hearse as we all pulled up! Mr. Riley was a WWII vet - so not only did they salute the hearse and the casket as the pall bearers took him in, they also played Taps in the chapel and then removed, folded and presented the flag in a very "pop & lock" type of manner. It was very moving, and i'm not a fan of the military. [reapply mascara again on way to luncheon]. we did end up having a very nice, tear-less, lunch at Hawthorne Valley, which was pleasant. but while i drove to and fro, i noticed that my battery light was flickering but would stop now and then. i made a mental note to have it checked the next day at lunch. so that was yesterday.

which brings us to today: cleaning off the car this morning, letting it heat up, i noticed the lights dimming and the wipers moving very s.. l.. o.. w.. l.. y.. and then ... BOOM. car dies. i had to have jeff & mike come and jump me (whoo, that sounds pervy) and follow me to the auto shop. stress, stress, stress and ... BOOM! a few hours later i'm $265 poorer with a new alternator and battery. SUCK ASS. looks like that Proform 800 will have to wait.

THEN i started my period and got a nice case of the 'my vagina hates me' cramps. let's see how the rest of the day progresses, shall we?

Rest in Peace Mr. Riley

RILEY, THOMAS F
Age 90, WWII Veteran, Staff Sgt. Army/Air Force. Husband of the late Mary "Anita". Dear father of Thomas (Barbara), Rosemary (James) Mondro, Kathleen and Patrick (Lisa). Grandfather of Michael, Hannah and Jimmy. Brother of Edward (Cecelia). Visiting Saturday 5-9 p.m., Scriptures Saturday 7 p.m., Sunday 2-9 p.m. at the Charles Step Funeral Home, 18425 Beech Daly (Between 6-7 Mile). In state Monday 9:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. Mass at St. Sabina Church, 25605 Ann Arbor Trail. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Donations to Cure Autism Now, 5455 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 or American Cancer Society Appreciated.

things don't always go as planned

The Polar Express sold out, so we didn't go to the IMAX Friday night, which actually was a bit of a bummer. After the movie let-down, we went and ate at Chili's and enjoyed a couple yummy margaritas. Deciding we really weren't up for City Club like we thought we were (except for Mark, he's always up for it), we just headed over to Venue, the new Dearborn bar that boasts Blackberry Brandy as their house band. We met up with Candice and Brian. After about 40 minutes and one Captian & Diet (nursed slowly), we realized we really just weren't in a bar mood. Or pretty much anything else, for that matter. So we headed back to Mark's and Trent went home. On the way, we stopped at Blockbuster and rented Garden State, which we didn't watch until this evening. Great movie - ending a little disappointing, yes, but good nonetheless. Earlier today, before kicking back to watch GS, Mark and I ran around town.

• Target - where I took back some things and ended up getting some adorable camel-colored shoes, a jean jacket, a new shower liner, Dazed & Confused DVD, Clueless DVD and toilet paper;
• Westland Mall - ate at Olga's;
• Best Buy - bought the new(ish) Kasey Chambers CD, Wayward Angel;
• And the best errand was going to Dick's Sporting Goods in which I vetoed the Gazelle and decided firmly on the Proform 800 Elliptical Trainer. So much more for the money. I've put down 20% and it's currently sitting in layaway. I have most of the funds for it, I just need to get the rest next weekend. And they only had 2 left in stock, so... But god, who really uses LAYAWAY anymore? I remember being at Wonderland Mall and being at Marianne's and seeing women put all kinds of clothes on layaway. But that was, like, 1986. Now I'm using layaway? Oh well, it'll be worth it.

Finally, we met up with Angi & Tony at the AMC 20 theaters, and saw Meet The Fockers. Pretty funny. Not like the first one, of course, but Dustin Hoffman & Babs made it pretty good. Tomorrow is funeral home day for Mr. Riley. Sad.