Monday, December 04, 2006

Reason No. 5,379 why I don't cook...

J. and I have been trying to save money… Ok, I’m trying to save money and he’s basically humoring my efforts. So, I tried to be a good girlfriend on Saturday morning and make breakfast instead of going out. That and I was a little strapped for time so this would be quicker. Breakfast is about the only meal I have a shot at NOT screwing up with my limited abilities. So, I was pretty proud of myself. I made scrambled eggs with cheese and fried my first package of bacon. The bacon was done before the eggs so we nibbled on that a bit, both commenting on the strange taste. I thought maybe we’d gotten some sort of flavored bacon or something, but since I was out of my cooking element, I let it go. After eating breakfast I had to get my hair cut so J. and I both left the house at the same time to start our day. When I got back from the hairdresser’s my sister asked me what the expiration date was on the bacon. She insisted that she told me to look at it before I started cooking it but I never heard her say that. Anyway, she said she had just thrown out a package that had the date of October 16th on it, forcing me to hunt through the garbage to find the package I had used…. with an expiration date of October 14th. Neither J. nor I showed any evidence of food poisoning, but I admit, I was kind of concerned! Guess that whole expiration date thing won’t kill you…. yet!

I got my grocery shopping done Friday night (before the big bacon incident) and subsequently passed out. For once, I was the early sleeper on date night! Ha ha… Saturday night was my Christmas party for work and I was surprised to find that I had an absolute blast! I danced the night away in my $24.00 dress and adorable shoes. J. picked me up just in time to stop me from becoming a drunken idiot so the night was relatively perfect. Food was good, drinks were better (thanks to David at the Glen Sanders for those kick ass Amaretto and Diet Cokes) and I passed out in J.’s bed just after midnight. In doing so, I was able to get up the next morning and take a trip to the outlets in Lee, Mass. with my mom. Got a lot of stuff (for myself, from Santa) for Christmas and even came up with a few ideas for gifts. Speaking of which… I have to take J.’s present back because he already has a digital camera with a printer. I knew he had a camera (which, to quote myself, is “Flinstonian”) but I had no idea about the printer. He insists he’s told me that and then used that as an excuse to point out that I don’t listen, which is not entirely true cause the boy talks A LOT! Sometimes you have to tune out! So now I have to come up with something else and all I can think of is getting him tickets to see Evil Dead: The Musical off Broadway. I think he’d really like it, but he said he’d kill me if I spent more than $100 on him for Christmas. The tickets are $71 each, not to mention getting into the city, eating.. and the like. My options are pretty limited at this point but I think I still have a few more days to make a decision! I was just so happy to be done with my Christmas shopping and now I have more to do. Anyway, after getting back from the outlets I was feeling pretty motivated so I did laundry and cleaned the entire house. I don’t know, there’s just something about a clean house that makes me happy.

Trying to motivate myself to go to the gym tonight (it’s really not working out - no pun intended) because I want to go to Target and get my Christmas cards. I also got some information on job opportunities with the State that I’d like to peruse when I get home and as we all know, tonight is the Fall Finale of Heroes. It’s such a can’t miss! Speaking of which, I’ll try my best to get a picture or two from the office Christmas party onto the blog tonight. I don’t recall taking that many, but I’ll see what I can do.

Congratulations

go out to my sister who was named the Coach of the Year for Section II, Class A last night at their banquet for Girl's Soccer. Congratulations to Tre and all the Ichabod Crane players who made the all-star team! Does that mean it's finally OK to get all geared up for the softball season?

Friday, December 01, 2006

Just call it forgetful Friday

When I was buying the adorable shoes I mentioned earlier, I was at DSW, which is right next to the escalators at the mall. As I walked out there was a mother with her child on the down escalator and he sat down on one of the steps and I couldn't help but bust out laughing.. All I could think of was Jason Lee in Mallrats. Let's just say he has some strict ideas when it comes to parenting and escalator respect:

Brodie: Listen, not a year goes by, not a year, that I don't hear about some escalator accident involving some bastard kid which could have easily been avoided had some parent - I don't care which one - but some parent conditioned him to fear and respect that escalator.

Strapped for time

so I'm going to try to give you some little tidbits today....

The divorce between Ahmet Zappa and Selma Blair has been made official. YAY! Another baldie back on the market...

Brady Anderson is investing in an ABA basketball team, the Hollywood Fame, that is being spearheaded by Nick Lachey. (Thanks Toine!)

The O's have signed two RHP: Chad Bradford from the Mets, to a three year deal, and Scott Williamson (spent 2006 with the Cubs and Padres) to a one year deal. Apparently they were turned on by the signing of Baez and this could give us the relatively strong bullpen we've been lacking. Well.. stronger. Then again, it couldn't get much worse than last year. Speaking of last year, the O's also signed free agent Kevin Millar, at least according to him. The O's have yet to make a formal statement. I don't know.. he's certainly not the best player in the world, but I like his attitude and the way he brings a clubhouse together.

What else? Oh yeah.. I bought cute shoes at the mall today (where I also just happened to run into my ex, Jason - my life is WAY too full of strange occurrences, don't you think?) for tomorrow night's Christmas party. I'll try to take pictures but open bar is only from 6 - 7:30 so I'll do what I can. J.'s not going, but he's my DD (Lacey is my hot date... I wonder if she'll put out!?). What more could a girl ask for? One more hour left till the end of the day and I'm ending it in a meeting so I better skedaddle! Have a great weekend and Happy December! Don't forget to start your advent calendars today!!!

Thursday, November 30, 2006

The great state of New York

I’m on the internet (for work purposes) trying to find a map of New York State that has all the counties outlined and listed. Yes… that is what they pay me the big bucks for… or at least that’s what they tell me! Tomorrow we’re actually getting our “holiday gift.” I used to get a pretty decent one (tax free) at my old job but apparently that’s not how it works in the corporate world. Kind of like last week, beggars can’t be choosers so at least it’ll take care of either my car payment or my trip to NYC next Saturday. That pretty much works for me.

Thank God tomorrow is payday because I need to go grocery shopping like you wouldn’t believe. This is my list so far: eggs, cheese, English muffins, soda, granola bars, chips/100 calorie packs, wraps, shredded cheese, yogurt, meat (chicken/turkey), dish detergent, milk, toothpaste, paper towels, laundry detergent, sides (rice, etc.), pantyhose, knee-hi’s, meals, Canadian bacon, pizza, pasta and butter. You probably didn’t really need all that information but I think what a person has in their shopping cart says a lot about them. For example: my list says that I can’t cook worth a damn, but I’m sure as hell gonna try. I really do need to. It does save money and that (and actually working out at the gym more than once a week) is more than likely going to be my New Year’s resolution… Then again, I’m starting it before New Year’s so I guess it’s not really a resolution. I decided to do balance transfers of all my credit cards to one so I only have one payment to make and hopefully I can make it a good sized payment. Then my goal is to NOT use my credit cards unless it’s really necessary. Unfortunately, cute new shoes aren’t a necessary evil (after January 1). If I can’t afford I, I don’t need it. I guess it’s this whole turning 30 and growing up thing.

I got J. his Christmas present last night (and no, not the t-shirts I alluded to yesterday although how f’n funny would those be?). I got him a Kodak digital camera and photo printer bundle. I saw it online for less money, but I figured by the time I paid shipping and handling I might as well just get it here so if he doesn’t like it, he can take it back. I told him to at least pretend he likes it, although he’s not really good at that! I’m sure he’ll like it, it’s just a matter of whether he’ll get a lot of use out of it. That’s all I’m worried about. But that means my Christmas shopping is basically done. My sister and I split my mom’s gift but then my sister decided to get her something extra, so now I feel like I need to also. She’s a pain in my ass (my sister, that is). So I’m kinda done… if I can find something worth getting, I’ll get it. If not, she’ll have to deal with the lovely gift we got her!

The work day is almost over and I’ll be on my way to Sue’s house before dancing. Gotta love it.. Pete will cook me dinner and Sue and I get to have girl time… and a beer before dance class. One night I showed up there reeking of weed and beer.. (the boys were smoking at the house - pot does nothing for me) There’s seven of us total.. they’re probably just happy we show up! Anyway, I managed to get a post in today.. yay me! Tomorrow is payday Friday… life is good. Have a great night.. Don’t forget to watch The Office, and if you want some cheap thrills and to irritate your friends, go to this site (Thanks Toine).

Finally - Britney kept her legs closed for about 12 hours and Eva Longoria got engaged to San Antonio Spurs player Tony Parker.. Guess they got through that "rough patch" ok! Congrats!

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The search is over

I have found J.'s Christmas presents (ok, CJ found them, but it's not like he's going to buy them so I can take full responsibility):

Underwear

I'm not sure who decided it was smart for Hollywood "It" Girls to NOT wear underpants under slutty dresses, but I beg to differ. I do not want to see your (to quote Miranda Bailey) "va-jay-jay." If you want the world to see your snatch, go into porn and make a little money off it. I have this thing where I don't really like male strippers because I don't want to see their junk. I like that little aura of mystery, not knowing what's underneath their boxer briefs. Keep your hoo-ha covered until you find the new Mr. Spears/Hilton/Lohan, etc. Why bother buying the cow when they can get the milk on the internet?

Hump Day

I have not been as good at keeping up on the O's acquisitions, so I will direct you to Rob, who wrote a pretty good blog about it just this morning. Thanks for the help! So.. it looks like the bullpen is shaping up nicely. Left field... someone please sign a GOOD left fielder (had to throw the "good" in there because... well... sometimes the O's get confused).

I've had work to do today. Yay me. Granted one of those tasks is to find a map of New York State that has all the counties listed on it. Yep.. I went BACK to college for this. Because of my lack of motivation, I'm heading out early to go shopping with my mother. I figured it's better to leave early than not show up at all, am I right? I have a "doctor's appointment." This way, if and when I do get sick (as the flu is going around) it won't look quite as sketchy. Oh yes.. I thought this through like you wouldn't believe.

Shit.. I forgot I was posting.. lol.. Not because I was working.. just answering emails. So I'm a slacker, sue me. Over the weekend J. and I decided we were going to cook more, and eat out less. Ok.. well, he's going to cook more and I'm going to watch and try to absorb by osmosis. So, last night I made some potato soup (before you get excited, it was from a mix) and he made lemon pepper chicken. I admit, I didn't realize it would be so easy and taste so good, so I guess the next time I go to the store I should buy some chicken because we have plenty of spices to use on it, thanks to Tre. We didn't do much else but watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special and Law & Order. Sometimes it's pathetic how boring we are. But it's the middle of the week so I don't know what you expect!

I should finish some stuff up before I leave for the day but I hope you all have a wonderful hump day and tomorrow we'll be closer to the end of the week... YAY!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Things you ought to know

1. Clerks II comes out today on DVD.. Run, don't walk to the store if you're a fan of Kevin Smith and his flicks, as I am. If you waited for it to come out on DVD before you saw it, rent it ASAP or Netflix it. It's pretty damn funny and you'll finally know what I mean when I say "pillowpants."

2. The Orioles seem to be signing a whole flock of relief pitchers (at least that's what the rumor mills say). That's nice, but give me a real good starting pitcher in the mix too and then we'll talk.

3. Heroes is the best show of the season. If you haven't seen it yet, the Sci Fi Channel is running a marathon of the shows and you NEED to watch it. Last night's episode was great! It showed what happened six months ago when the heroes were just starting to realize their powers. It answered some questions and set us up for the "fall finale" next week in which "a hero will fall." A gun was shown, but it didn't say if they would die... just fall. I love television advertising.

Question for my minions

I love the word minions. Is it sad that the first place I remember hearing it is on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knows anything regarding the civil service exam in the State of New York. I know nothing of it, but when I was online looking for state jobs last night (because wow! Do they make decent money for not doing much and I hear the benes and retirement are fabulous) it seemed passing the civil service test was a requirement, if not THE requirement. So.. if anyone has any information, let me know.

Great news - Bravo has renewed Kathy Griffin's "My Life on the D-List" for a season containing six hour long episodes. God, I love her! I'm sure it'll be an entertaining season considering she's single again. Bravo has promised more with her, her assistant Jessica (who apparently had a recent dabbling in lesbianism, according to the comedy show I went to a few months back) and her insanely (but not purposefully) hysterical parents. I'm anxiously looking forward to that and my other guilty pleasure "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Have I mentioned how much I love Bravo? I mean seriously.. they will put anything on TV and I adore them for it!

In slightly sad news, Hilary Duff and Joel (or Benji.. whichever) Madden broke up recently. I always found their relationship slightly skeevy with the 8 year age difference, but it seemed to work. What can I say? Even at my advanced age I hold a soft spot in my heart for Hilary. I mean, it's not like my friend Lynn and I spent a saturday afternoon watching "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" or anything like that..... Not at the advanced age of 27 or so... No, that would never happen!

Even though it was designed by Jeffrey

I need this shirt:

Monday, November 27, 2006

In Birthday News

Today is the day that Urkel was born. Jaleel White turns 30 today. Did anyone ever really think Urkel would hit the big 3-0? I thought he'd be 13 forever!

In other news, Pam Anderson and Kid Rock EACH filed for divorce this morning... citing irreconcilable differences (the biggest cop out California law has to offer) and different dates of separation. Guess GQ should take back calling them the "Newlyweds of the Year." 4 weddings and not even four months of marital bliss? Yet another white trash couple I really thought would make it.

So what if it's the offseason?

Harold Baines (1)Albert Belle (2)Dante Bichette (1)Bert Blyleven (10)Bobby Bonilla (1)Scott Brosius (1)Jay Buhner (1)Ken Caminiti (1)Jose Canseco (1)Dave Concepcion (14)Eric Davis (1)Andre Dawson (6)Tony Fernandez (1)Steve Garvey (15)Rich Gossage (8)Tony Gwynn (1)Orel Hershiser (2)Tommy John (13)Wally Joyner (1)Don Mattingly (7)Mark McGwire (1)Jack Morris (8)Dale Murphy (9)Paul O'Neill (1)Dave Parker (11)Jim Rice (13)Cal Ripken (1)Bret Saberhagen (1)Lee Smith (5)Alan Trammell (6)Devon White (1)Bobby Witt (1)

The above listed men are all the nominees for the 2007 induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. No matter what I will be there with bells on because I can’t imagine Cal not getting in on his first try! LOTS of first-timers that might have had a shot, had they not come in the same year as Cal and Tony Gwynn. You have to feel bad for the guys whose names have been on the ballot for quite some time and I would love for this to be the year Don Mattingly gets some love…. but I don’t see it happening. Sorry Donny Baseball.. maybe next year! And Paul O’Neill can sit his whiny ass down too.. this is so NOT your year. I’d say I was sorry to the Yankee fans but I’m not. I mean, how often is an event like this going to happen to an Orioles fan!? No offense, but I’m not going to hold my hand on my ass waiting for Harold Baines to get into the hall, know what I’m saying? We don’t have much coming up so I will start living this now and let it get me through all of 2007! That said, there are a couple of former O’s on the list, but only one that really matters and that is my man Cal.

Speaking of baseball, it seems the O’s have come to terms (pending a physical) with Danys Baez on a three year deal worth 19 million dollars. Baez is a 29 year old reliever who spent last season with the Braves and Dodgers. He did pretty well with Tampa Bay in 2005, earning a spot on the All Star team, so maybe all he needs is the AL East to thrive. God, let’s hope so! Baez is pretty easy on the eyes too.. Hell, if we can't have a good team we can at least have a good looking team, right!? Perhaps that'll be my new venture - a Baltimore Orioles calendar.. topless of course.

If you find a way to put me out of my misery

I'll be your best friend!!!! Yes, it's that first day back at work after a long weekend which always sucks, but in my case, it's super sucking! I'm bored to tears and literally making up work. I've thought about it a lot over the weekend and I think I'm going to actively look for a new job. I don't want to because I feel like a bit of a failure leaving under a year, but I'm really sick of being this miserable. The only time I'm in a good mood is when I'm not here and that's not too often! So, if anyone knows of any great paying paralegal jobs, let me know! lol.. I think it's a pretty dead time for people to be looking for jobs, but this time last year is when I started and just look where it got me! (ok, bad example).

So yeah.. it's "Cyber Monday." OOOOOOhhhh.. scary! I might have decided what I'm getting for J. for Christmas (finally). He hasn't been really good at telling me what he wants and I kind of don't want him to because I'd like there to be a slight element of surprise. Anyway, he has a digital camera but it's bulky and there's no memory card. I guess the pictures just stay on the camera until you get rid of them. Weird, but whatever. So, I found a Kodak digital camera with a docking station that's also a photo printer, which would work out really well considering he doesn't have his own computer. I'm going to give it about another week or so of thinking before I order it... ya know, see if he alludes to something or gives me hints on anything else. I feel bad because I'm not being really good at handing out the hints either. I asked my parents for a new Ipod and other than that, I don't really need anything. I need clothes, but I can't ask him to buy me clothes and a gift certificate is kind of impersonal when it comes to that kind of thing. I did ask him for a hot personal trainer but he didn't seem too gung ho over that idea. I told my sister that if he asks he should get me something I like, that I can't afford.. like a pedicure or massage or something. I'd get a pedicure every god damn week if I could afford to! We'll see how he does. My sister might have something up her sleeve, ya never know. If not, I'm sure whatever he does will be fine. I mean.. who doesn't like getting presents!?

Not much else to report on this end.. I was digging the whole Britney comeback but ever since she's hooked up with Paris Hilton she's hooched herself to the brink. I really think that bitch needs an intervention! Get that girl on the A & E channel, STAT!

Speaking of stat, I watched Thursday's "SUPER-SIZED" episode of Grey's Anatomy the other day. Right now, Christina and Burke are splits-ville and I'm curious to see where their relationship (and Burke's career) are going. And am I the only one that thinks George is being a bit of a douche bag? I mean.. it's very stressful what he's going through but that's when you might want to think about letting bygones be bygones (cause you WERE on a break when she banged McSteamy) and let people take care of you and make sure you're ok. One last thing.. did you not die when Callie almost beat the shit out of Meredith!? Granted, Callie was wrong and ended up not doing it, but I love that she never apologized for it and she would have snapped Meredith like a twig. She's my favorite new addition to the show. Ooh.. one more thing.. how soon do you think it'll be before Karev gets Addison into the sack? She was making all sorts of googly eyes at him. Hell, she might as well bang him too, as she's banged every other hot white guy on the staff.. Hee hee.. I said staff. Ok.. I'm done thinking about hot doctors and juvenile plays on words. Time for lunch.. have a good rest of your afternoon!

Sunday, November 26, 2006

We lost him

Carlos Lee went to the Houston Astros. Guess we're starting over again at the Winter Meetings. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise but if I know my O's, it's probably one hell of a setback!

Thanksgiving went really well. It was really loud, and full of competitions (darts, ping-pong and pool) but it was fun. Food was good, that's for sure. My Aunt Colleen (my great-aunt really) asked if J. was Amish, thanks to his too large for his face goatee. It did lighten the mood a bit. That and the fact that everyone in the family has taken to calling him Curtis, instead of his real name. At least this way they won't slip and call him Jason!

The day after Thanksgiving I did nothing but watch an America's Next Top Model marathon of Season one and went to bowling. I bowled pretty well and won some money but decided to stay home that night to avoid spending any of it. Instead, I cleared out the DVR so all that's left are back episodes of Heroes for Tre to watch.

Saturday I had lunch with my friend Crystal from college and her 6 week old son, Ben. He's an absolute cutie and was very good. He barely made a peep the whole time we were at lunch. It was niced to catch up with her and we decided that YES, we are going to Ireland. Now I just need to get the time off from work, which could be interesting considering it's a school break and I know they don't want to give it to me. At least it gives me motivation to stay at this job.. just long enough to take my trip! Am I really actively looking for something else? No... but if an opportunity comes along I won't pooh-pooh it like I did the last one. Anyway, I spent the night catching up on my Netflix watching.. FINALLY! I watched "The Upside of Anger" which was pretty good. It was the first thing I taped when I got my Tivo set up earlier this year, but I never got to watch it. After that I watched Failure to Launch with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey. It wasn't great, but it was a slightly entertaining way to spend an hour and a half. To round out my night I watched Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. I had never seen it and I have to admit, it was pretty funny. Actually, I find it even funnier now that I know Neil Patrick Harris is gay.

Jason (the knocker upper) made me a copy of the new Chris Daughtry cd. I"m a little upset that I never heard anything about it coming out. I mean, you would think there'd be a little more publicity reagarding its release but there wasn't. I will more than likely still buy the CD (eventually) because I sure do want to see the cover art!!! But anyway, it's actually a pretty good disc. Granted, I'd listen to (and watch) that man sing the phone book so maybe I'm not hte best judge.

I hate to disappoint, but I really didn't take that many pictures from the party or Thanksgiving so I'm afraid there isn't much to show. However, the party was a success and we had a great time. Beer pong was played and lots of alcohol was consumed: Both benchmarks of a great party!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and try not to remember that tomorrow is the start of another work week.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Finalist?

It looks like the O's are still in the running when it comes to acquiring Carlos Lee. Lee would really anchor the outfield and the O's could start him in left, Corey Patterson in center and my boy, Nick Markakis in right. That would certainly be more of a power hitting outfield than we've seen in the past few years for sure! Seems the O's are still in the hunt and are having productive talks with Lee's agent. It seems they're willing to give him a 5-6 year contract while other teams are looking at 3. Let's hope for the best (and that the Phillies and Astro's give up)!

Not what I expected...

Our big “office excursion” was a trip downstairs to 677 Prime for lunch. I was pretty excited because I’ve never been there and I heard their steak is to die for. As I’m thinking about what I’m going to order (we have yet to get a menu), the waiter puts down a bowl of cranberry sauce. Yep… we went to a steakhouse to get a turkey dinner…. the day before Thanksgiving. It was a great meal and beggars can’t be choosers, but wouldn’t you think you’d want something OTHER THAN turkey on the day before Thanksgiving? We did each get an assorted bag of Lindt Truffles though.. THAT was a nice surprise.

Now I’m getting harassed by the entire office because the HB has a distribution going out today and apparently, I could be one of the people that has to stay. FUCK THAT. Seriously… first of all, no one is going to look at this distribution until Monday so why rush everyone around and force them to stay late in order to get it out? Secondly, I already did what I have to do and the way I feel about it is that if no one brings me any work before 3:00, why should I have to ask around to see if I need to stay? If you didn’t need me in the last hour and a half, why would you need me after that? I really can’t wait to crack open that vodka bottle tonight. For a short week it’s sure been full of a pile of shit.

My plan after work is to run to the mall and try to exchange a dress I bought about a month ago. I got this really pretty lace cocktail dress, mainly because it was on sale for $24 when originally it was $69.00. Well, it was a size 14 and didn’t exactly fit, but I got it anyway (you know, the old “I’ll lose weight and fit into it deal”). Well, when I went to bring back the three dresses I ordered that didn’t fit, I found a size 16 in the same dress. So, I’m going back to see if it’s still there and hopefully (without a receipt) they’ll allow me to exchange it. I do have the tags still on the dress and I have my Macy’s credit card statement so I hope that’s enough. If not, I guess I’ll spend some time looking at dresses at Macy’s instead of exchanging one.

That’s all I’ve got. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and I’ll catch ya up over the weekend. All hail Tryptophan!!!!!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Puppet Up!


Last night I was perusing the channels after 11 pm (a rarity for me) and I came upon TBS. Normally they don't have too much on, but there were puppets, so I stopped. Come to find out, it was the premiere of Jim Henson's "Puppet Up" an uncensored improvisational comedy show with puppets. I wasn't able to stay awake to see all of it, but what I did see was pretty funny. I'm a big fan of the musical "Avenue Q," and this is in the same vein. Definitely stop and watch it if you catch it on TV. Right now I think the only channel it's on is TBS, but I'm not sure when it airs. If all else fails, check back next Monday at 11 and see what you find!

Have I mentioned that I hate my job?

Monday was another busy day at work. I had been given an assignment on Friday but I was too busy doing the other one, that I kind of forgot what the one for Monday was. So, I emailed the heinous bitch to ask her to refresh my memory. She then emailed me to ask me to come to her office. That is NEVER a good sign, especially not on a Monday. So, I sit down and she tells me what I’m supposed to do (again, drafting documents) and then busts out the documents I drafted on Friday. She basically tells me that I suck at drafting documents. Um… thanks? Did I really need to come down here to have you tell me that? Anyway, she goes on to say that it’s probably because I’m not given enough of an opportunity to do so and that maybe I need more training. More training? How about SOME training.. that would be fabulous! So yeah… I JUST got back from having the same chat AGAIN.. To which I again stated that I’d never had training and apparently everyone thinks everyone else is training me. I mean, seriously! Some semblance of communication would be great. I spent the afternoon on hold with the Department of State and when I finally got through to a person, I swear she hacked up her entire lung while we were on the phone. I transferred her to my paralegal cohort because I couldn’t take it anymore. She was supposed to call me back and never did until this afternoon. So, the morning was spent talking to her direct supervisor who got me what I needed. He is my new best friend.

Because my day was very “Monday,” I decided to skip the gym in favor of getting some stuff done at home. I actually picked up some of J.’s laundry on my way home. His washer/dryer are pretty slow and he’s been working a lot so I’m pretty sure he’s on his last pair of boxers. Therefore, I told him I’d do some of his laundry for him. I got two pretty good sized loads done so he should be happy. Anyway, when I got home I made some mac and cheese, unloaded the dishwasher and opened my mail. I ended up getting my sister’s Christmas present in the mail, along with the three dresses I’d ordered from Macy’s for my upcoming Christmas party. I subsequently took all three dresses back to Macy’s today. I don’t think the people in my office need to see that much of my boobs. After I got everything done I settled in on the love seat and put in Secretary, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader. Interesting movie. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. I thought it showed the dynamic of such a relationship in a different way and both are insanely good actors. I think I like Maggie Gyllenhaal. I should see more movies she’s in. Anyway, it was worth seeing and if you’re into S & M, this is definitely the film for you! I was going to watch the movie straight through and watch Heroes later, but I had to find out if they Save the Cheerleader (and Save the World - they did... so far)! God, I love that show. It confuses the hell out of me sometimes, but that’s what intrigues me. Next week they’ll go back six months in time so we can see why some things have happened the way they have.

For my Project Runway pals, Tim Gunn is not yet signed on for season four of the insanely popular show. Considering he is one of the key reasons the show is so popular, I’m sure that’s just an oversight. It seems they can’t start shooting at Parsons until the semester is over because Tim is too busy and there’s really not that much room for the contestants in the school. If Tim is not involved I will watch, but I won’t like it. The boys at Project Rungay are now going through the first season of the show, which I didn’t start watching until I got sucked into a marathon near the end. I really need to get the first season. I wonder if I can Netflix that. I never thought of that! Time to do some research!!!

Tomorrow I’ll only be in for a half dayish. We have an “excursion” to go on from noon until two and then we get to leave at 3. Apparently we are supposed to do something in the summer as an office, but it didn’t happen. They’re not telling us what we’re doing but we can’t dress casual. That ruins it for me. I LOVE wearing jeans to work! Anyway, God knows we’re eating somewhere cause we NEVER go without eating around this place, but other than that, I have no idea. After I leave I have to make a cake for our friend, whose birthday is on Wednesday. Tre and I are having people over Wednesday night as we’ve realized we’ve hit that threshold where we’re too old to go out and have a great time on the night before Thanksgiving. I remember I was all psyched to go out last year and it was kind of uneventful. I’m going out and seeing kids I taught bowling to in the Pee Wee Leagues and that’s insanely disconcerting. I’d just as soon stay in with my friends. Hell, now I can play darts and pool at home so why leave!?

Oh yeah.. J. is coming to Thanksgiving dinner. That could be interesting. I don’t know what I’ve said about him, but he’s pretty blunt and says exactly what he thinks. My Aunt Colleen (my grandmother's sister) will be at dinner and I’m curious to see how that dynamic works. She's a handful. I’m pretty sure my mom doesn’t like him so I only hope he’s on his best behavior. Not that my mother has said she doesn’t like him, nor has he done anything to get her not to like him, but it’s a mother thing. My ex moved back into town (engineer, great guy, good money maker) right around the time J. and I got together and I think she thought we’d rekindle our relationship and all would be well. Unfortunately, I don’t have those feelings for him anymore (call me bitter, but not asking me to move down south with him put a bad taste in my mouth). We’re still friends, but that’s it. In all honesty, I haven’t seen him since he got back here, which means I haven’t seen him in a little over four years. Crazy, huh? Anyway, that’s the story and I just hope everything goes smoothly and J. doesn’t make another “bowling isn’t a sport” comment in front of my family. Baby steps.

Hopefully I’ll be able to post tomorrow, but if not, have a great Thanksgiving and I should have some pictures and stories to post over the weekend.

I know I've been neglectful, but

things have been a little busy so I’ll try to give quick snippets of my weekend (and what’s going on in the world - like you care):

Friday - BUSY day at work. I spent the entire day drafting documents (this will come back to haunt me) and got done right at 5:30, giving me barely enough time to go home, eat and change for bowling. I actually bowled really well for the first time this year, breaking the 600 barrier that I’ve always had a mental block about. This was the only week where no money was involved so apparently I just have a complex about bowling for cash. Anyway, after that I went to the grocery store (yep, I’m a loser) and came home having no intentions of doing anything but catching up on my Netflix (as I’ve been talking about for WEEKS). Change in plans… I went to J.’s to drink with him and his buddy. Instead we drank, watched The Omen and J. passed out 10 minutes into the movie. It wasn’t a bad flick.. I think I only snuck in a nap right at the very end!

Saturday - Got up early to make macaroni and cheese for my friend’s mother’s 60th birthday party. It was an insanely busy day but the party was a good time. One of her friends got her a ZingaGram, which everyone found funny but the birthday girl! lol.. It was Sadie the Bag Lady and I admit, I was taken aback when she first walked through the door, but it was pretty entertaining and a good way to end the party. Really didn’t do anything that night. J. came over and we went to dinner. When we came home my sister, Danny and Joey decided it was time to play darts so we shot a couple of games (I won one) and then they went to see Saw III. Their initial idea was The Santa Clause III, but Danny wasn’t having it. So, J. and I watched Dateline. Well, I watched Dateline… he passed out (are you seeing a trend?). Earlier, Dateline had done another “To Catch A Predator” segment, which we all watched in awe. After that they had a special on a hostage situation from 2003 at Case Western Reserve University. I found it pretty interesting. I have this fascination with the hostage crisis at the Munich Olympics so I always find these types of situations really intriguing.

Sunday - I went to the craft fair at Hudson Valley Community College. Craft fairs are NOT my thing. I don’t have that “country” taste at all, but my mom offered me free lunch and a trip to Target so I figured I’d suck it up and go. I didn’t have a terrible time, as I’d expected. I mean, the crafts didn’t interest me, but I could have spent all day sampling the dips. They were GREAT! My mom actually bought me two bags of potato soup (which is my favorite). I got one but then found another that was 10 times better, so she got me both. That’s what moms are for! Anyway, when we got home it was time to put up the Christmas decorations. Normally my sister is a staunch, day after Thanksgiving kind of gal. But, we’re having people over for the holiday and prior so she wanted everything done so people could see them. The lights aren’t up yet, but the tree and all the other decorations are. The house actually looks quite nice. It’s pretty festive! Anyway, that night J. came over and bought three movies: Nacho Libre, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle and The Boondock Saints. I picked the shortest one because I was kind of tired, and that was Nacho Libre. Run, don’t walk, away from this movie! I LOVE Jack Black but this movie was terrible! J. fell asleep and when it was over could not believe that I thought it was that bad. It was kind of like a car accident - you just couldn’t turn away from it.

Well, that was the weekend - I’m pretty bored here today so unless I get swamped, more to come later.