normally, not a fan of bees....

But I think I might be able to conquer my fear with the new Tori Amos release of
The Beekeeper. The cover art has been revealed!

THE BEEKEEPER TRACKLISTING:

Parasol

Sweet the Sting

The Power of Orange Knickers

Jamaica Inn

Barons of Suburbia

Sleeps with Butterflies

General Joy

Mother Revolution

Ribbons Undone

Cars and Guitars

Witness

Original Sinsuality

Ireland

The Beekeeper

Martha's Foolish Ginger

Hoochie Woman

Goodbye Pisces

Marys of the Sea

Toast

Another shot of the gorgeous Tori, from her official site:

Politically Correct Holiday Greetings

To go along with the holiday "term" ... heh heh ...

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender- neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all . . .and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2005, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only “AMERICA” in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

chrismahanukwanztice

In an effort to respect everyone this season, I've devised my own word to wish those I encounter well this season.

"Merry Chrismahanukwanztice!"

Maybe this will thwart the bitching?

holiday spirits

Yesterday was a nice, short work day. Came in late (9:30am), left at 12:30pm and headed over to Ciao Ristorante for our annual Holiday lunch with my coworkers. Every year our boss takes us to lunch and gives us the afternoon off. Of course, the afternoon turns to evening and we're still with each other ... drinking.

It's pretty nice, he treats us AND gives us each (15 of us!) a $35 gift card to usually a restaurant or movie theater. This year, it was Max & Erma's. At Ciao, we once again ate like kings and queens. We drank complimentary champagne, nibbled on bread dipped in balsamic vinaigrette & olive oil, ordered our main courses and then dessert - I had cinnamon ice cream with hot fudge. In addition to the champagne, let's not forget about the 3 cosmopolitan's and the Jack & Coke I slurped down. I feel fortunate that I really get along well with the folks I work with and genuinely care about them - even if they get on my nerves on a daily basis. :) The holiday tradition of getting drunk together certainly helps my perception of them, too. har har.

The rest of the night was a bit hazy.... went home and crashed, watched the 3-hour Apprentice and went to sleep.

it makes me sad...

...to think that Steve Perry may never return to Journey again. For some reason I always thought he had some throat problem, but I guess I was just thinking of the Spin Doctors' guy. Steve, apparently, had a hip problem that prevented him from touring and so the rest of the guys chose to move on without him (bastards!). I'm sorry but, there is NO replacing Steve Perry.

I know none of this is new news. And I know it's a little out of the blue. I listened to some Journey tonight. Big Journey fan. Even air guitared along.

"Thank God for Santana breaking up, so Journey could form" - Mark
"Thank God for Steve Perry's hair which is what first drew me to Journey" - Me, in my head.

Journey ... and also The Cars - two highly underrated bands that I reserve for those moments in need of some serious rockin' out and a general feel-good atmosphere.

money does, indeed, buy happiness

Today has been a very boring, mundane day here at work. BUT it all changed when two things happened:

1) Trent and I were IM'ing all day and he mentioned that he redeemed some Charter One (our bank) points and got a $200 credit card/gift card! After discussing the logistics with him, I realized that the phone I really want to buy and the money I really want to spend hanging out with people over the holiday break could be a reality with that little winner of a card! So I redeemed my points and now I will be the lucky recipient of $200 in free cash (in 3-15 days); and

2) Mark called me to tell me that our MEAP checks arrived! $75 dollars for working about 4 or 5 hours for the State proctoring MEAP exams pays off! Especially when you need to pay for new license tabs. Yipes.

So now even though I'm still in this hell-hole that is work, I'm a little bit happier. And it's all due to MONEY. Evil, luscious, scrumptious, rotten MONEY.

"he's suggestive, in a pushy way..."

All I can say is, I don't know where kids come up with some of the things they say. Tonight my night was fun-filled, for sure. First I went out to dinner at Red Robin with Sherri & Kyle. It was great to see them, hang out and really just chat for a while. Kyle is as crazy as usual (in a good way) and says the silliest things. The title of this post is an example. Mind you, he's describing his 1st grade "buddy" at school after I asked him what he's like. He followed that up by saying, "And I don't even know what that means!" We laughed, he kept saying it. I guess it's in some song? I dunno. But I got some good ideas for christmas gifts from him and Sherri was able to give me the yes and no nods secretly, yet not so subtly, from behind the menu.

After eating, doing some Targeting and then chatting back at Sherri's house for hours, I picked up Candice and we headed up to the Dirty where she filled me in on the latest dirt with her. We reminisced about "old times" and told funny Grandparent stories. She's been warned, I WILL be stealing her Grandma's catch phrase and using it as my own. In place of familiar phrases like "it's the cats meow" or "it's the bees knees" I'll be substituting "it's the berries," when the need arises. I can't wait. No free drinks tonight, but heavy discount since the bartender is the brother of Candy's old best friend. Gawd. Drama. Love that girl. :) Now I reek of smoke and have to decide if I'm going to shower now or stick it out till morning. Decisions....

all you gotta do is shake it

That was the quote of the day today at Marycrest Manor, the nursing home we visit frequently throughout the year. By "we," I mean some of us at work who are part of the diversity council and others who aren't but who like to come anyways. Today was our Christmas visit and, as always, it was so very worthwhile. We bring some things that the residents need (new, white socks) and also give a little gift bag with an ornament inside and a card from "the Ford Family." But first we gather with them in the dining hall and sing carols, visit, dance (if the mood strikes), and listen to one of our employees play jazz saxophone and another play bagpipes. It's really a great time at Marycrest. Just seeing the smiles on their faces - and for those less alert, hoping that maybe our visit is lifting their spirit a little, is a good feeling.

Some people's spouses or children were there to visit and got to join in the merriment. One of my coworkers is really the heart & soul of every visit. He's very bubbly and outgoing and always leads us in signing or just gets us going. This year he had a plethora of Santa hats, Elf hats, Mrs. Claus (complete with white braids) hats, Reindeer hats and jingle bells. He passed them out to us and some to the residents - we all got to keep them. :) When he gave the bells to one woman, Katherine, she said "What do i do with this?" and he replied, "All you gotta do is shake it." We all laughed and continued to mock him, using all sorts of variations, of course: "Shake it, Baby" or "Shake what yo momma gave ya" or "shake it like a polaroid, son" ... I think the residents just liked to see us laugh and laugh with us.

We danced with Leo who sang along, singing "LA LA LA LA LA" (in the highest octave you can think of) to every song. Helen kept grabbing at her husband, who was visiting, and hugging him. Joyce tried her hardest to remember all the words, but sometimes we had to help her. ;) And (I shouldn't say this, but...) my favorite: Evelyn. She's 99 and will be 100 on May 8th of 2005. She has MANY stories and each one of them captivate me. Doesn't matter that some of them are far from true (so the director whispers), the fact that she can tell these stories so vividly, amazes me. She's also babysat for all of us at one point or another and loves to tell us how we've grown up into such nice children. She's a riot.

After a day like that, who wants to go back to the dungeon and the least Christmasy place on earth!? Not me. So I didn't. I went home.

Walking in a ghetto wonderland

Driving thru Garden Shitty City tonight, coming from Wasteland Westland Mall and I passed a couple "Homer Simpson as Santa" blowups on the lawn.

People, please. Don't do that. :(

Forget Paris...

I'm mortified. Rumor has it that my darling Adam, lead singer of Maroon 5, has been shacking up with skank Paris Hilton. I heard this morning on the WDRQ morning show (Rachel's Dirt) and also found it on Defamer. I guess I can't blame him ... she's a rich socialite heiress. But c'mon... you can't sing Sunday Morning the next day to a passed out Barbie and her Tinkerbell pooch while shacked up in some hotel room. It's just not the romance that the song portrays.

Whatever - he's still way sexy.

Miracle on Calhoun St.

So, this weekend didn't involve a lot of activity outside of the house, even though that was the plan. Saturday night we were going to go out and hang with some friends at, where else?, the Double Olive. It was one of our friend's birthday's - but after a day of shopping and Mark's cold getting worse, we decided it best to stay in.

Today we got up early but fell in and out of consciousness in the late morning. We were supposed to go to the Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo with A & T, but Mark didn't feel up to the adventure. Had to postpone. Ended up ordering a pizza and while Mark slept and watched football, I cleaned the house. The front half, at least. Still have to do the "deep dive" in the back of the house. Then, we did the ultimate task for two lazy couch-potatoes to undertake, especially on a Sunday: we put the Christmas tree up! AND decorated it! And, I must say, it looks marvelous. Just as we finished the last decoration and scared the kitties away from it for the umpteenth time, Miracle on 34th Street came on TBS. Indeed.

take a look, it's in a book

www.nerdyshirts.com

Marcus feels like poo and i've got the lazy bug again. so far, spending the day doing a whole lot of nothing. Reading, watching random tv, playing with kitties ... not a whole lot more to come. Supposed to be going to the Wild Lights at the Zoo with Angi & Tony. Not sure if that's gonna happen; all depends on Marcus' cold. We'll have to see...

i love sarah.

No, not myself. (Well, I love myself, but...). I recently saw the new Sarah McLachlan video for World On Fire and it's absolutely magnificent. Not only is she beautiful on the outside, but she positively radiates inner beauty. I've always thought this about her through her lyrics and music, but after seeing this video and what she did for so many through this medium (and in the process, taught us how disgustingly expensive it is to shoot a simple vidoe), it's inspiring.

If you haven't yet seen her video, please please please go HERE and check it out.

I wish more people would think - and act - like this.

erik WILL slap you

Last night was pretty chilled. After a loooong day of work I went home and chilled a bit and then went over to Trent & Erik's where, soon after, the three of us went out shopping. We ventured out to Birmingham and when we got to one store in particular (won't mention any stores due to the people i was shopping for reading this blog), the cashier was a total bitch! erik had a discount card for this place and he let me use it for what I was buying and the girl proceeded to give him a hard time. Asking him where he worked and what he did there. He finally told her the truth, that he got the card through a "relative" and he didn't work there at all. Her attitude totally sucked and we bitched all the way to the W.A.B. about her and other rude and disrespectful people that Erik has encountered. Don't give him that attitude, folks. He just might slap you. :)

So we ate, drank and waited a bazillion years for our jukebox picks at the WAB, but had a nice time getting a little saucy. Some of our belly's were a little icky, so we decided to make it an early night after that.

Just getting ready now to go out to 12 Oaks and do some hefty shopping. I should probably take an Aleve now, to fend off any inevitable headaches. :(

i want a parlor in my house

Thursday evening turned out to be a lovely, enchanting and joyful night. I had been hearing about how wonderful the Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village were, but I had yet to experience it myself. Let me tell you, if you have time before Dec. 22nd, go and visit! It's romantic, it's magical, it's educational, it makes you appreciate what people have done through time to get us where we are today. And it takes you out of the hustle & bustle of today and stirs up a respect and admiration for a time much simpler than ours.

Of course there were the homes of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers ... but we also got to step into Noah Webster's home and others who weren't necessarily historically famous. We stepped into 1764 and 1845 and others and all was dimly lit by lantern or candlelight. Some homes had someone in the kitchen, baking real food, while others were relaxing in the parlors. The streets were filled with well-wishers and horse-drawn wagons. There was even an ice rink (for free!) and Model T rides (free again!). Along the way we stopped in a couple shops and got some cookies, chocolate covered nuts/raisins and coffee. And we were able to pet a couple live reindeer just outside of where Santa would come out to Ho! Ho! Ho! every now and then.

Some of the highlights for Mark & I were easily the quaint English (stone) cottage that, once inside, welcomed us with a roaring fire and an Irish quartet playing upbeat Irish traditionals. We crammed inside for a while and took in the glory of the music and overall feeling. There were also random bonfires along the paths where some people dressed in civil war garb stood, playing fifes and drums. The biggest highlight of the night, though, was being able to be there with some of Mark's family. His aunts, uncle and cousin (and his new girl!) met us up there and instantly settled my nerves and fears about seeing them again for the first time since everything ... But they couldn't have been kinder and more welcoming. I was thrilled by their good natures.

Kisses, hugs, small chats with one another and fireworks to complete the event - it was a wonderful night.

cars & guitars sleep with butterflies...

VERY exciting news: some clips of new Tori songs that will be on her new album, The Beekeeper, have leaked out. Thanks to Trent, I have the links if you want to hear the clips:

Go HERE

romeo + juliet

I don't know if it was youth or college-life or just old times gone by. But one of the things I really really miss is driving around on long, scenic routes singing at the top of my lungs with someone.

Nowadays it's different. Now, I still have long drives, but it's through rush-hour traffic and i'm dying to be anywhere but the car. I still sing at the top of my lungs, but it just bounces off the walls and windows and I'm the only one appreciating the fun of it. There's no one there with me, giggling at my silliness or me at theirs (unless the person in the traffic jam next to me finds me amusing).

Before, it was late-night drives with the windows all the way down (even if it was cold) and there was someone sitting in the seat next to me - sometimes even in the back seat - and we'd crank up the volume and just sing wildy, crying over what we thought were our greatest loves. We'd take all the long ways and the backroads. Hines Park, Ford Road (past the suburbs), Gotfredson Rd., Prospect Rd. and all the little side roads in between ... We'd pull over and sit on the gravel and stare at the stars, not worrying about who might be peeking out of the house just down the road. We'd remember that we had to get up early the next morning, but we'd still stop off for a slurpee on the way home and sing just a little bit more.

I miss the wind whipping through my hair, carefree and passionate, just like we were while we sang.

i'm in the mood for mischief

Tonight was a fun night with my boy. After work we headed out to Ann Arbor to go and see Kris Delmhorst at the Ark. We hadn't bought tickets yet, so we needed to get there pretty early since the lines for the Ark can get pretty lengthy at times. First there was an accident on I-96 backing up traffic from Telegraph all the way until about Newburgh! Took a loong time. Then there was a B.B. King concert AND a schoolboard meeting going on downtown Ann Arbor so we literally drove in circles looking for parking. EVERY lot was full! By this time, we were famished - having planned on getting out there & grabbing some food before getting in line - and it was going on 7:30pm.

We decided to skip the concert and go have a nice, warm meal at Seva instead. And we did! Mark was in rare form; all wiggly and bouncy and full of funny Mark-isms. :) "I'm in the mood for mischief" with a shit-eating grin on his face and "damn, feels like i'm getting a hummer" were my two favorites. We must've been sitting above the P.A. or speakers for the comic downstairs in the comedy club, because at one point he was making some sound effect and the floor was vibrating through the wood bench we were sitting on, into our crotches. Mark liked it. Hence, the hummer comment. hah.

After dinner, I was able to use up my birthday gift certificate (from 2003!) from Crazy Wisdom and bought myself a few things. It was a chilly evening and we had left our coats in the car, so walking around Ann Arbor was vetoed and instead we headed home and watched Lost and The Barbara Walters Special that I had taped.

What? She ranked KARL ROVE the most fascinating person of 2004!? Babba Wawwa has something wrong in her head.

Talan is the new Steven.

Spent the night at Trent & Erik's gearing up for the big, uninterrupted Laguna Beach finale. Lounging on the couch, eating pizza, cheese bread & cheezits, we watched the marathon of old LB episodes and endured a new episode of The Real World: Philly where we were "amped" to find out that in an upcoming episode, one of the chicks (Melanie) somehow contracts scabies! ew! They even showed a clip of her with horrendous rash-like marks all over her. ew! ew! ew! How does one get scabies, exactly? Angi?

So the episode came on and we watched as Steven & Kristin said their goodbyes; it was actually pretty cute. Then the others, and their parents, had their cries, goodbyes and moved on. Sigh. LB is "dunzo." Or so we thought! After the show, MTV actually had Kristin on - live - and announced that they will be airing a LAGUNA BEACH 2! We gasped and yay'd. They'll be following the same old gang plus some new seniors. AY, you're in luck. Trent & I vowed to tape the episodes from now on - and you know they'll be showing another LB1 marathon in preparation for LB2. Stoked.

We then continued our incessant sophmoric behavior (sans Erik) in the computer room downloading pics and listening to the cd I made: "You Just Heard ... Songs From the Real O.C." hahahaha.


Lame you say? Oh, no no... Gnarly.

Now I'm off to complete my ridiculous night with a little Maroon 5-on-Leno nightcap.

"somewhere, somehow, somebody must've kicked you around some..."

My lunch hour can be summed up in a few choice words:

Rain.
Tom.
Jackson.

Got in my car and was graced with the sound of "Refugee" by Tom Petty. Love that song, love Tom Petty. After running around in the pouring rain (too bad it wasn't the Weather Girls type of rain), I got back in my car to hear another jewel: Jackson Browne's "Pretender." Love that song, and Jackson Browne has great hair. Who woulda thought 93.9 "easy listening" would have been a blessing in disguise?

"Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the Pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there"