Cat Reality TV

Tune in to Animal Planet tonight at 9 to watch a new TV reality show about the life of cats. It is a cross between a commercial--it will be shown in 3 little segments throughout the programming--and "Survivor"-like reality show. Ten felines, picked from animal shelters nationwide, will live in a New York house to compete for a grand prize, in this instance an executive-level job with Meow Mix cat food. What will they think of next? It's supposed to be tongue in cheek, so it will probably be pretty funny. Check it out!

Drats, Foiled Again!

It seems that every time I get an ingenious idea--something that I could market and make millions so that I never have to work again--it turns out that someone else has already thought of it. My latest idea was putting beds in airplanes like Quantas, which flies long distances to Australia. Check out this pic from the Quantas email newsletter. Bastards!

Evolution of Dance

For the one or two people who haven't seen this "phenomenon" Jud Laipply yet, here's the Evolution of Dance. It's been viewed more than 18 million times on YouTube, so I thought it would be funnier. The beginning is boring but if you can get through that and ignore the fact that it's like 5 minutes long, it's entertaining enough, I guess. I think it's one of those things that you need to be there to fully appreciate. But America seems to love it, according to this USA Today article.

Where Have I Been?

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long. Things have been busy, and with the summer here, it's hard for me to buckle down and make myself stay inside for any length of time. I get home every night and all I want to do, after I walk the dogs, is sit on my balcony and eat, read, and basically enjoy the weather before it becomes the typical humid Washington summer. The thought of sitting in my basement at the computer has become unbearable. I haven't even worked out in forever for the same reason. But here I am at last to say hi to all of you, after it's dark outside and I've decided to come in for the evening.

So what's been going on? Obviously, I'm loving this weather. I used my charcoal grill again recently to make turkey burgers. They came out ok, but I've gotten some tips on how to improve things next time around. The past weekend was busy shopping for my nieces' (2) and sister's birthday gifts, then going to a family party on Sunday.

The job has been busy even though my boss is on vacation. That's been awesome. I have an intern starting in 2 weeks, so I have to get ready for that, which will be both a godsend and a curse.

And the most exciting news of all, Jeffro is moving in with me later this summer. Will wonders never cease?

Do Point

This title is thanks to Jeffro. I finally reached my "do point" this weekend. I have so much crap to do, so much crap in my house that I want to clean up, fix up, etc. that I get sick of hearing myself say I don't have time to get things done. I am the biggest procrastinator, but somehow I finally reached a breaking point this weekend and did some major stuff to improve my house. Here is my list of things I accomplished this weekend.

1. Switched my summer/winter wardrobe, which led to the next item.

2. Packed up and delivered to Goodwill: 1/2 dozen bags of clothes, shoes, etc., and old TV, old printer. Goodwill wouldn't take my computer monitor, so I will have to go to plan B on that and hopefully I can find some organization to take it instead of throwing it away.

3. Made incredible headway on this terribly messy closet in my basement that is the bane of my existence. Actually, my entire basement might be the bane of my existence. So this is a huge step. My plan is to finish the closet by the end of the week, now that there is no more prime time TV for the summer.

4. Purchased and set up stereo in my living room: I got the gift certificate to purchase the stereo back in September. Yes, September.

5. Purchased, set up, and actually used a charcoal grill. I wanted this grill last year and never got around to buying it.

6. Purchased and planted flowers for my yard.

7. Went to the pool. I usually don't go until mid-summer, and I only go about twice a year. The pool opened this weekend and I was there!

8. Gave my smelly dogs baths.

Whew! That's a long list, I'm tired just thinking about it all. And this is in addition to some other regular stuff like grocery shopping, etc. But it felt good to actually make some progress on things that have been hanging over my head forever. Now to make sure I stick to my goal and get the basement in better shape by this weekend.

Taylor Wins Idol

Well, just in case you have been hidden under a rock recently and didn't hear this, Taylor Hicks, the prematurely gray king of the soul patrol, won American Idol tonight, as if that is a big surprise. I am neither happy nor sad, cause the people I really wanted to win got voted off a while ago. I don't think Taylor's true "Idol" material, so it will be interesting to see what he does from here. And whether Katharine winds up getting a contract too.

I'm Back from Limin'

I didn't know that limin' is the expression for just chillin' an' doin' nothin,' mon. I had a great week in St. John and have a pretty good tan to show for it. I missed my dogs like heck though, as much as I complain about them. St. John is lush and gorgeous. Here are my top loves and hates about St. John. (PS--blogger isn't letting me post photos and I'm soooo pissed but I'm posting this anyway cause I've been trying all friggin' night!)

Top 7 Great Things About St. John/Vacation

1. 85 degrees and sunny every day
2. Fabulous water views from the minute I woke up
3. 39 beaches to snorkel
4. Splendore pool and jacuzzi
5. Cool wildlife like iguanas and geckos
6. Sea turtles!
7. Cool friends to share the house

Top 5 Worst Things About St. John/Vacation

1. Steep crazy roads
2. Price of food and drink ($18 for a watermelon!)
3. No country radio stations
4. Iguana pooping in above lovely pool
5. Having to come back to reality

Off to St. John

Well, this will be my last blog entry for about 9 days, as we head to St. John, US Virgin Islands. I am so looking forward to it, except for the early wake up call tomorrow morning to catch a flight at 7. But it will be worth 9 days in tropical paradise. I haven't had a vacation this awesome in years. And as for the mad posting tonight? I haven't posted in forever so the stories have been building up. I wanted to leave you with some fun stuff to look over. Ya'll take care now!

Bye Chris

Well, Chris was sent home from American Idol last night. I was so pissed! It was really shocking, even his jaw hit the floor. I personally think he should have won the whole thing. I don't know if I'll even finish the season out at this point, cause I really don't want any of the other three to win. Maybe Katharine, cause she has real talent, but as much as I love Taylor, he's no Idol and Elliott is just a monkey face.

Bananas!

This crazy story in USA Today tells the stories of squirrel monkeys stealing cell phones.

Dream Job

Ok, here's what I want to do when I grow up. Own a Paw House, a B&B that caters to pet owners in some really cool local. Now to convince Jeffro that it's a great idea. We both hate working, so why not go for a total career change?

The Weekend

Ok, all I did this weekend was shop. Shop, shop, shop and more shopping to get ready for my vacation, which starts this Friday for nine days. Nine days! I can't remember the last time I went away for so long. I bought 2 bathing suits, clothes, shoes, etc. for the trip. I spent way too much money. I really didn't do anything else this weekend at all. I have 3-1/2 days of work left--I get to leave early Tuessday for a doc appt. Then it's off to St. John!

Lovin' the Butterfly

I had a doc appt today--routine check for my thyroid issues--and they routinely draw gallons and gallons of blood, which I hate. Last time I went, the phlebotomist introduced me to the best medical invention--the butterfly syringe. It makes changing tubes much less painful, so I requested it again today. (Side note: a previous phlebotomist, who got fired for being a sadistic maniac, used to change the tubes so violently and shove the needle further into my arm that I thought it might come out the other side. I was very traumatized by the experience.)

Too Busy

This weekend was pretty crazy busy. What great weather! Here's the scoop on weekend activities:

Friday - decided to get the heinous yet necessary vacuuming out of the way cause my place really needed it. Then Jeffro came over and we watched some TV we'd taped earlier in the week.

Saturday - A friend came over for lunch and we went to Cafe Marianna, on the outskirts of Old Town, Alexandria. They have excellent blue corn fried oysters. Then we walked around and did a little touristy shopping. It was a beautiful day to be out and about. I bought a sundress for my upcoming trip to St. John in 2 weeks. That night Jeffro and I went to Galaxy Hut to see Aderbat and The Daybreak Line. They were both pretty good acts.

Sunday - I ran a couple of errands then took a dry run with my neighbor who starts a new job tomorrow. She has to report to her corporate office in Centreville and wanted someone to go with her to get the route down. So we did that then went to lunch at Guapos in Shirlington. Then I ran more errands with Jeffro--we bought snorkels for the trip and went grocery shopping. He helped me to fix my toilet, an easier job than I thought, thank God. I was glad I didn't have to pay anyone to do it. Now I'm off to watch reruns of 2 weeks of Prison Break so I'll be ready for tomorrow's episode. I'm absolutely wiped so I can't wait to go veg out.

Lost Without Lost

I'm going to watch Lost tonight and tape American Idol. Usually I do the opposite, but since Lost wasn't on last week I'm having total withdrawal and have to see it as soon as possible. I'll watch AI right afterwards, though, don't worry. Speaking of Lost, apparently two of its female stars have been arrested for drinking under the influence. One of the stars decided on 5 days in jail over 250 hours of community service. Here's a lovely mug shot and the story about Michelle Rodriguez. As an aside, if stupid little country bumpkin Kelly Picker isn't at least in the bottom three this week I'm going to die. She was horrible last week and didn't even get relegated to the bottom three. I'm sick of her getting away with everything cause America thinks she's just so darned cute.

And Then There Were 3

I found out today that Indiana just passed a law to finally cave in and have daylight savings time. The remaining states that haven't caved yet are obviously Alaska and Hawaii (are they really actually states anyway?), and Arizona. Now we're 3 hours ahead of AZ, but the rest of the year we're only two.

April Showers

Boy was it a rainy weekend. Of course I spent most of it running around, getting soaked, and enjoying very bad frizzy hair.

Friday night Jeffro and I made our bi-monthly pilgrammage to Matuba, our favorite sushi restaurant in Arlington.

Saturday was spent running tons of errands and shopping. I felt like I really got a lot done.

Sunday I spent on Solomon's Island at a restaurant called Stoney's that have some of the best crabcakes around. Then stopped off for a drink at the newly remodeled Tiki Bar. They added this "sandy beach," complete with palm trees where a parking lot used to be. It was a fun time until the ride home. The Wilson Bridge was completely backed up, all the way to exit 7 in MD for those of you who know the area. We took many crazy and scary back roads to get back, but it still took forever to get home. So that really sucked and ended the day badly. I had hoped to get home no later than 7 and it was more like 8:30.

Toastmaster Thursday

I can't believe it's already Thursday, thank God. The week actually went by pretty quickly, probably because my boss was out until today. Every Thursday I go to Toastmasters to improve my shoddy public speaking skills. Last week I was Table Topics Master and got to call on people to give impromptu speeches. I hate giving them, so it was great to dish them out. This week I had to give my second real speech. I just couldn't get my act together, and decided to rewrite the speech last night. I guess I did pretty well, and I even ran over the minimum time, which I didn't do last time. I got good evaluations and comments. I just wish I didn't get so nervous every time. Maybe a real toast, like on the left, would help.

PS

The best part of the weekend was the news from the vet. I forgot to mention I also took the dogs to the vet because this fatty tumor that Pepper has in her neck seemed to be growing and changing and I was really nervous. Thank God it had just filled with liquid, and the vet drained it and all is well.

What a Weekend

This was a really crazy weekend. I have been completely exhausted since about Thursday, so Friday night was pretty low key. What made the weekend so crazy was that on top of all the activities listed below, I had to take care of my friend's two dogs. Now most of you know that I already have two dogs, so this was double the amount of work, as I had to walk each group separately. At least the weather was gorgeous, so I really didn't mind being outside that much. I also got to spend a lot of time sitting outside on my porch, and that was really cool.

Saturday Jeffro's mom was in town and we played tourist, going to the National Museum of the American Indian. I hadn't been to there yet. It was just aight for me. The exhibit halls that had actual artifacts like masks, beaded clothing, etc. were pretty cool, but some of the other exhibits were not that great. There is a lot of wasted space in the building. The cafe was pretty neat, you could get food from about 5 different American Indian regions. I had tamales, as recommended by Lady Brett.

That night we went to see a local band, Catfish Honeymoon at Jay's Saloon & Grill in Arlington. One of Jeffro's friends also had his mother in town visiting, so he brought her as well.

Today I spent most of the day cleaning my place, which was a disaster. Tonight we went to my sister's for dinner and it was a pretty fun time. I love spending time with my 6 nieces and nephews, although it can be exhausting, especially when one of them uses you as a playground to climb on all night.

Call Of the Wild?

A woman stopped me the other day when I was walking my dogs and told me that my oldest dog Pepper looked like a wolf. She said a friend of hers had a dog who was illegally part wolf and that Pepper's legs apparently looked like this dog's. Very bizarre. But I guess that would explain Pepper's love of howling.

Bye, Bye Bucky

Finally, finally, finally Bucky got kicked off American Idol. It's hard for me to believe his lack of vocal talent got him farther than talented powerhouse Mandisa.

Weekend Rocks

This weekend started with a bang last night when Jeffro and I went to Jammin' Java to see 4 bands play for the Six Points Festival. First of all, I have to say 4 bands in any evening is at least one band too many. What were they thinking? Things always start and run late, and even having 3 bands in an evening is a lot. So next year the planners need to rethink this concept. It was a great show overall, but by the end I was like, enough with the new bands and changing of sets. Here's my little review of the acts:

Shwa: I'd seen Shwa solo once at Staccato a long time ago. It was fun to see him with a band, and their songs were catchy and melodic. However, as a first opener, they shouldn't have played so long--see above diatribe about too many bands, running late, etc.

Hotspur: Jeffro had included one of their songs on his blog and music mixes, a very mellow beautiful tune called Have You Seen This Girl. However, their live show and rest of their music is quite different. They are very high energy, crazy guys who jump around, make crazy faces, etc. When they first started playing I was just laughing cause it was borderline absurd. However, they won me over with their antics and really cool tunes and in the end I was very entertained--in a good way--by their performance. They kind of reminded me of the band The Darkness (I Believe in a Thing Called Love). They were simply a lot of fun. And they are apparently Jeffro's new favorite band.

Honor by August: I was also familiar with this band, thanks to Jeffro, and I really like their song, Only in Photographs. They are a good band, however, in my opinion their songs sound too much alike (once you've heard Only in Photographs, you've heard it all) and they need to vary things up a little to keep it interesting. Great harmony, by the way, from the bass player.

Junkfood: Last but not by any means least was Junkfood. The lead singer had a really strong voice and they had fantastic, perfect harmonies going on with the drummer and lead guitar singing on most of the songs. I love harmony and thought they were outstanding. Many of their harmonies were reminiscent of Bon Jovi's Jon and Ritchie, or Def Leppard. They definitely had very strong pop singles, which I love. Plus what I loved the most about them was the lead singer and drummer were both chewing gum--that is what I do when I sing or have to give a speech cause my mouth gets too dry otherwise. Very cool to see someone else doing it. I always wonder how people can sing for so long without dying, even if they're drinking a lot of water. Jeffro bought their CD, so I'm going to have to borrow it.

That's it for now. I really need to get in the shower and get my day started. I am going to run errands/shop since it's raining. Tonight is a mellow night given the busy week, probably grocery shopping and watching a movie or something. Tomorrow I'm having brunch with a friend I haven't seen in a while. That's about it for the rest of the weekend.

Weird Coincidence of the Week

I told you in my last post that I was having a very strange week. This about tops it off and gives you some idea of what I'm talking about. This is the most bizarre thing--a woman started working at my office a few weeks ago. I noticed that she has a photo on her desk of her, her husband, and her dog. I stopped yestrday briefly to talk to her and found out that her dog had been in the Alexandria shelter the same time as when I adopted my first dog Pepper and it was the dog I actually had wanted initially but it already had a contract on it--apparently hers. I thought the dog looked familiar in the photo (yes, I know that sounds weird) but never imagined it was the dog I was thinking of. I even described to her where the dog was in the shelter and the time frame and it indeed matched up to when she got her dog, who is also 13 this year. How bizarre is that? I'm so glad he went to a nice home. He was a very engaging dog and looked at everyone when they came in like, "I'm cute, take me home!" He's a little white spitz, like the photo here (sorry so blurry, can't find one that is clear).

Bad Dog Day

This has been a really weird week, all kinds of strange things have been happening that I just don't want to go into too much. But regarding the dogs and the bad dog day, I took my two dogs upstairs to visit with their doggie friends. I hadn't yet walked them for the night, but they had been out in my yard so I figured they'd had their chance to do their thing. Well, apparently I was wrong cause my youngest dog lifted his leg and peed all over my friend's coat. It was draped over a chair and apparently that was really appealing to him. I was sooo mad. She was really nice about it, and remarked that if the coat hadn't been there and he'd peed on the chair instead she would have killed him. But still. This is a 6-year old, fully housetrained, never-has-pee-accidents dog. No reason at all for him to act that way. Her dogs do pee on the floor quite frequently, so maybe going up there made him think he had to join in? Then when we went on our walk quickly thereafter I stepped in his dogshit. Then I spent the last two hours cleaning my house. Time for some much-needed R&R. So who leaves Idol today? I predict bottom three: Taylor, Elliott, Bucky with Elliott going home.

Yes I'm Alive

I know it's been quite a while since my last entry. I'm trying to spend less time in front of my computer at home in order to get some other things done in my life. And to enjoy the warmer weather. What a gorgeous weekend! Here's a little update of what's been going on:

Friday - was an exciting night of grocery shopping with Jeffro. At least the store was empty and this made for one less errand to have to get done over the weekend.

Saturday - I actually worked out in the middle of the day and got some work done cleaning up the basement, which has been the bane of my existence for years. It felt really good. The weather was gorgeous, so the dogs and I spent a good deal of time outside. Jeffro and I had an outing in Georgetown that evening. We walked around and had dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso. Very yummy.

Sunday - Another gorgeous sunny day. The dogs and I headed to the dog park expecting a big crowd, but there was hardly anyone there. Guess people were out enjoying the day in other ways. Then I spent a little time cleaning up my yard getting it ready for the little bit of spring planting that I do. That evening, we went to visit some friends of Jeffro and sat out on the deck and grilled some chicken for dinner. It really felt like a summer party. It was a lovely evening, and we discussed plans for our upcoming vacation to St. John with them--39 days and counting.

Tonight we're going to see Matt Nathanson at Jammin' Java so it will be a pretty late night. Luckily this week should be quiet at work, since it's our board meeting and half the staff will be out of the office.

MY First Day of Spring

Well, today was officially warm enough for me to think spring is really here. I'm so excited for winter to be over. I just hate it. This was the first day I walked at lunch without a coat and didn't wear gloves at all. Plus I left my back door open to get some fresh air inside. My dogs and I had a great walk tonight and lots of people were out and about in the neighborhood.

I have been feeling like crap all week, I just can't wait for it to end. I had my first "water cooler" conversation today. People use that expression for standing around at work shooting the breeze, but I've never actually seen it in real life involving a water cooler. Well, today there were about 4 of us standing literally around the requisite water cooler that has to be provided in order to avoid drinking DC water. The other weird thing about today was the bus ride home. It was a completely new bus with somewhat comfortable bucket-type fabric seats with a hideous print of the Capitol all over it--almost like one of those rented buses. The bus even had new bus smell, if there is such a thing.

So who will be kicked off American Idol tonight? I hate to say it, but I think Lisa's time is up. She's had one too many bad performances lately and was definitely the worst one last night, although everyone kind of sucked. So we'll see if my prediction is correct. It makes me sad. Going into this, she was my favorite.

The Eyes Have It

Apparently lash extensions are the latest Hollywood craze now headed to a salon near you. This is something I would really love, but never really spend $250-$500 plus 90 minutes of time to get, when it only lasts four to six weeks. Guess I'll just stick with tons of mascara, like this photo of myself.

Resources for the Career Challenged

There seems to be a lot of the career blues going around these days. Here are two cool resources for those of you who dream of doing something fun, different, and exciting:

VocationVacations - Want to test drive your dream job before buying? With Vocation Vacations you can pay to spend a few days with someone who works in the field of your dreams. They're even making a TV show out of it, on the Travel Network.

Living Out Your Dreams - Career and Life Coaching and Resources. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Still not interesting enough? Well, then just check out bullshitjob.com. Send them a story about your awful job to try to get it posted, or read about one that is worse than yours. You can even join their newsletter to get some bullshit emailed to you. Be sure to check out their Office Space tribute page.

Weekend End

Well, I'm counting down the minutes until The Next Food Network Star at 9:00. It's been a busy weekend and definitely interesting.

Friday: Jeffro made me dinner and then we hung out and watched tv shows we'd taped during the week.

Saturday: spent most of the day cleaning. Saturday night we went to a party at the Old Dominion Boat Club, and this great band Route 66 was playing. They had the whole place dancing. It was a late Mardi Gras party, complete with hurricanes and king cake. It was a pretty good time.

Sunday: had to do the grocery shopping, but later went to my neighbor's for dinner. Some great sea bass. We watched Must Love Dogs, which was kind of cute in an only-pay-$4-for-a-rental kind of chick flick way. Now as I said, I'm just waiting for the Food Network festivities. And wishing I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. Sigh.

Gone Country?

Michelle Branch has apparently gone country. She is in a new duo called The Wreckers with Jessica Harp. They were on WMZQ this morning, but I missed it, although you can see their performance here. Pretty cool harmonies.

Finally!

American Idol said goodbye tonight to Kevin, the bane of my television existence. It's about 3 weeks overdue, but he's finally off the show. Sorry, Blogger won't let me upload a photo but he's the little dweeby one.

New Reality Show Addiction

I happened to catch the premiere of the Food Network's Who Wants to Be the Next Food Network Star and I love it! The drama, the mishaps, the food! Plus all the Iron Chefs showed up and Rachel Ray in 2 exciting back-to-back episodes. I highly recommend it. Stay tuned every Sunday night at 9 p.m.

You're a Star!

Have you ever wished that you were famous enough to get fan mail? Well, now you can have some delivered to you every day and not have to deal with the paparazzi, thanks to Mark Kaye, host of 99.5's Hot Morning Mess. Go to yourfanmail.com and sign up for the free subscription service to have fan mail emailed to you every day. Talk about a pick me up! Go sign up today.

Polar Bear Triplets

Well, if this isn't just the cutest darned thing I've ever seen. I'm really cranky tonight, but this managed to put a smile on my face. Apparently this is the first time a polar bear has ever had triplets in captivity. However, Yahoo, which is featuring this photo, hasn't attached an article to go with it, so I couldn't tell you where they're located. You'll have to do the research if you're interested. I just wanted to post the cute photo.

Refund!

I finally got around to doing my taxes and I'm so thrilled! I'll be getting $1,000 back from federal and $450 from state. This will be just in time for my vacation to St. John's in May. Yippee!

Weekend Roundup

Well, all in all a good weekend, though too short. Aren't they all? Here's what I did:

Friday: Jeffro and I went to our favorite sushi restaurant, Matuba in Arlington and got caught up on some tv we'd taped during the week. No, I don't have tivo yet, so this will have to do.

Saturday: I had to take the dogs to the vet for their annual physical, shots, etc. A nice $400 down the drain. Then I had to pick up a belated b-day gift for my best friend. That evening friends of mine had a tapas wine with plenty of great food and sangria. These friends have several parties a year, but this was smaller than their usual party, and that made it kind of nice cause you had more time to talk to people. There were a lot of people there from a book club, so I'm thinking about joining it.

Sunday: My goal was to give the dogs a bath, and I was successful! It's quite an undertaking and something we all dread, so this gives me quite a sense of accomplishment, not to mention makes my house more bearable. I went to dinner with my best friend and gave her her birthday gift. We went to Guapo's in Shirlington. Tonight I'm trying to get my taxes started, or perhaps done if I get lucky. We'll see. The dogs had this huge fight, which I had to break up, so I'm pretty mad at the one who started it. He's lucky I didn't kill him. Apparently, if I don't stand in the kitchen and observe the dogs eating, the younger one tries to steal the older one's food and they get into a big fight. This has happened once before but I thought it was just a fluke but I guess not. Tonight was bad and boy I am so pissed at my younger dog. When I got there, they were locked together fighting and looked like they could really hurt each other. Even after I kept yelling at my youngest dog he couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong. Now I'm just ignoring him, which he really hates. He's like a kid. Any attention is better than no attention. He's walking around crying now. This after I'd run into one of my neighbors who is thinking about getting a second dog and asked what I thought and I gave her both the pros and cons. I should have just told her not to do it!

Holly Williams Car Accident

One of my favorite obscure country artists, Holly Williams, daughter of Hank Williams Jr., was in a car accident with her sister while she was on the way to her grandfather's funeral. She's listed in fair condition but broke a lot of bones, including her wrists. Being a guitar and piano player, that's going to really suck.

Idol Chatter

Wednesday night's American Idol was exciting--Ace, Lisa, and Melissa wound up being in the bottom three. I love Ace and Lisa, so I nearly cried when I thought Lisa was getting kicked off. But luckily Melissa got booted off. I think that was definitely the right choice of those three. I can't believe that pee-wee Kevin is still hanging in there and wasn't in the bottom three! What are people thinking?

More on No Worse Airline (NWA)

I heard on the news a couple of nights ago now (blogger has been down and I couldn't post this) that my new favorite (cough) airline, NWA, had difficulties landing at National due to the high winds. Apparently several people had to go to the hospital after a diverted landing at Dulles. Glad that wasn't my flight, although my experience with NWA wasn't that much better with the recent rough winds.

Back from San Diego

Due to delays on NWA--No Worse Airline--our flight got in over an hour late last night, bordering on midnight. By the time I got home and unpacked what was needed for the next day, it was after 1 and I was desperate for sleep, which unfortunately eluded me until after 2 or 3 a.m. I had called work and said I'd be in a bit late so I could catch a few zzzs. I got in to work only about 45 mins late to get lectured that sleeping in after vacation-related flight delays were unacceptable and people had been fired in the past for this obviously horrible act. Blah! Screw them!

Please, I implore all of you not to ever ride on NWA--they have no tv screens at all, no cheesy crappy movie to pass the time. It was 5 hours to San Diego from Detroit with no entertainment. They also didn't serve food worthy of such a long trip--just stupid snack boxes. For a trip that long, couldn't they at least sell one of those really crappy airline sandwiches?

I am totally totally exhausted tonight and need to finish unpacking and get some stuff done around here. The San Diego trip was--well, let's just say that the parts I was anticipating being bad were worse than my expectations. There were some fun times but part of me wishes I had never gone.

Anyway . . . the funniest highlight of the trip was the drunk girl who sat next to me on the plane to Detroit. She was swigging wine from an individual bottle that she'd brought on board with her. She was hilarious and we had the best time cutting up.

The day trips we took to Coronado Island and Balboa Park were really great. See Jeffro's blog for some great pics, as I lost the cable that downloads photos and can't access mine yet.

The wedding itself was an Indian wedding, and it was really interesting. I will say, however, that I think I'm through with Indian food for quite a while.

And I might not be blogging much this week. I just don't feel up to it and need a break. Tomorrow night I will probably have dinner/drinks with my neighbor and Thursday is my drum lesson. So we'll see . . . I am just feeling too tied to my computer and it's taking up entirely too much time so that's why I should end this long post now.

Irony

The funny thing about this trip to San Diego is the weather. It's actually supposed to be nicer here than in CA. We're expecting sunny and 60s and 70s this weekend, San Diego will be rainy and 50s. That really sucks! I was hoping it would be like 30 here and we'd escape to 60+ weather in CA. My back door is actually wide open cause it's so nice today.

Outta Here!

Jeffro and I are headed to San Diego for the weekend for a friend's wedding. It should be a fun time, except the wedding starts at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, with the pre-wedding breakfast at 7 a.m. What are people thinking? For me, a day should never start before 9 a.m. If only the rest of the world agreed. I just wish we could stay out there longer--today and Monday will be travel days, so we only have Saturday during the day (before rehearsal dinner) and a little of Sunday to play tourist.

Plenty to Say

Ok, so today I have a few interesting tidbits for you since I had nothing yesterday.

1. Microsoft is launching a new search engine called Windows Live Search to try to compete better with Google and Yahoo. Personally, I use Microsoft's search quite a bit and like it. The new search engine is available at Live.com and will eventually be used for searches at MSN.com. Some cool new search options: A scroll bar lets users pick how many search results appear; customized sources allow someone who is, for example, seeking information about the Academy Awards to receive answers only from entertainment websites.

2. A new CD-trading website, Lala.com charges users $1 per CD. They have to send a CD to get a CD, which is supposed to prevent anyone from abusing the system by only receiving CDs. Users are instructed to send the original CD, not a copy. Part of the proceeds goes back to the musicians, though I'm not clear how. Users start by listing all their CDs. Then they look at menus of available CDs or through other people's CD collections, clicking on those they'd like to receive.

3. Did you know that food expiration dates are all voluntary? This article explains those confusing dates that apparently mean nothing. Which is good cause I rarely abide by them anyway. I have the worst habit of eating old food. Thank God for my cast iron stomach.

I Have Nothing to Say

It's been a long day . . . I have too much to do and I'm behind in everything. Just don't have any good stories today. But San Diego is only 3 days and counting!

Overwhelmed!

Things are so crazy this week and I'm starting to freak out. Jeffro and I leave Friday for a wedding in San Diego and before I leave I have to:

Get a pedicure (yeah, sandals!)
Buy another dress
Buy moisturizer (running out)
Watch TV shows I taped when I was out of town last week
Finish writing a speech I'm giving for Toastmasters on Thursday
Live through said speech
Go to the dry cleaners
Vacuum my place so it's not a terrible mess when I get back (2 dogs!)

I was so stressed today I finally got around to doing some yoga and boy was that nice. I need to find more peace in my life! At least my boss is out this week, so that is a big help!

Weekend Reshuffle

Well, all my weekend plans are being moved around. I was supposed to go to a birthday party for my niece today but that got moved to tomorrow. I was also supposed to go to the Alexandria St. Paddy's Day Parade today, but it's too windy and I've been fighting off a cold and feeling really worn down all week and I'm not going to go stand outside for hours.

I was supposed to get my haircut with a new hairdresser tomorrow cause my current one disappeared, but then he reappeared and I'm going back to him today instead. In between all that, I need to go shopping for a dress for a wedding in San Diego next week and run some other errands. I've been lazy all morning, but I've got to get my act together to go shopping.

I guess my dogs missed me this week, they absolutely have not let me out of their sight all day and have been following me around like . . . well, like puppy dogs. It's pretty sweet. Tonight I think Jeffro and I will just rent a movie and stay in. I'm just too wiped out to go somewhere and be social.

Overview of My New Haven Trip

Well, besides the problems in the quiet car (see entry below) my trip was a pretty good one. But I am completely exhausted today. I had some pretty eventful cab rides. Here's an overview of the past couple of days:

Tuesday - I left work at 11 not knowing whether there was any traffic to deal with, or security at the train station (ha!) to catch my train at 1. In the cab on the way over--and luckily I'd taken a cab and not taken the metro so I could discover this--I realized that I didn't have my wallet with me. I'd changed bags the night before and forgot to put everything back in my work bag. So I had to go all the way home before heading to the train station. Luckily I live in Arlington so going home wasn't all that far and I was still able to make my train. My cab driver was a hoot--he was 72 years old and telling me about his kids, and how he doesn't want them coming to his house to tell him about their problems. That night I met a work colleague and his wife for dinner. We went to this great restaurant, Union League Cafe right near Yale, and they treated.

Wednesday I had to give a presentation in front of 30 grumpy old men. I was not looking forward to it cause I hate public speaking. But I thought I had a good presentation put together, and a powerpoint display to lean on, so I was feeling more confident than usual. Although I did still wake up at the crack of dawn with knots in my stomach. The meeting started with a lunch, where they served the absolute worst sandwich I've ever had and I couldn't even tell you what was wrong with it. I just knew I couldn't eat it. Afterwards, I got a short driving tour of New Haven, and my colleague drove past the Skull and Bones Society that Bush was member of just so I could say that I saw it.

I caught the 5:18 train home and again had a crazy cab driver who sounded like Sayid on Lost. I shared a cab with some crazy old professor from Lehigh University and the cab driver almost took him to the wrong hotel. The driver was speedily weaving the streets of Crystal City, actually making fun of himself, saying if he took the professor to the wrong hotel the professor could always blame the "damn foreign cab driver who didn't speak any English." It was pretty entertaining.

So total reading material for the trip: I finished reading Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog, which if you're a dog lover is definitely a great read. Absolutely hysterical at times yet definitely a tear-jerker. It was particularly funny for me, since I have my own bad dog and could relate to some of the stories. I also started and finished another smaller book and two magazines.

Quiet Car?

It's amazing to me how rude people are. They were pushing the limits in the quiet car. One guy actually talked on the phone for a few minutes--albeit very very quietly--but he actually sat in his seat talking. There were plenty of other people who either had their phone on vibrate and then left the car to talk, or just outright let it ring as they fled the car to talk. Bastards. It was all very infuriating. Why do people sit in the quiet car if they want to continue to be bothered by their cell phones? Again, people are just rude. I hate technology.

New England Bound

Tomorrow afternoon I'm heading to New Haven, CT for a business meeting. I'm taking the Acela, and excited at the thought of having 4-1/2 hours of peace and reading on the Quiet Car. Plus I get to be out of the office most of tomorrow and Weds, which is great. When I get back, the boss is out for the rest of this week and a good deal of next. So maybe I'll be able to recover my sanity.

My boss gets migraines, and they seem to coincide with her particularly crazy weeks. They seem to also coincide with my severly PMS-ing weeks too, which doesn't help. I'm sure that's more information than anyone wanted to know, so I'll stop there. I won't be back to blogging until Thursday cause I'm traveling tomorrow, in a meeting all day Weds, and getting in late that night.

Sad Passing

Don Knotts died Friday night. That is really sad. I loved him in the Andy Griffith Show and Three's Company.

A Weekend with No Commitments

This hardly ever happens, but I have absolutely no commitments this weekend. Nothing planned, nothing that I "have to do." Well, except clean my really dirty house which I am attacking slowly today. I have already vacuumed, which when you live with 2 dogs, is a huge undertaking. So I'm taking a break now, probably a shower next, then a walk with my dogs. Later I'll finish cleaning and probably have dinner and rent a movie with Jeffro. And tomorrow? More of the same. Nothing. I love it. I think the rest of my weekend are booked up through March, so this is nice.

PS - The one exception to this being nice is my obnoxious dog Opie is having stomach problems and puking on my nicely cleaned floors every now and again.

Stop the Insanity!

Ok, I officially believe my boss is completely insane and I hate her. I am in charge of updating our website. We had to get something up on the home page before Monday, and I didn't have a lot of time to do it this week. So my boss said I could do a temporary fix since I didn't have time. However, she won't let me post anything without looking at a print out of it first, so I printed it out and gave it to her to review. Instead of returning it to me with comments, she goes into the web software and starts making all kinds of crazy, half-assed changes that she then expected me to fix. Who would go into a web page that someone else is working on and start messing around with it? What is up with that? I told her I didn't have time to fix all that and I had to get it published today, so I basically made her undo some of her crazy changes. I was furious. Leave my job alone! Either do it yourself, or leave it to me. She is a micromanaging, obsessive-compulsive person and she is driving me up a friggin wall. I am out of the office 2 days next week and I can't wait!

Results!

Well, tonight is the first American Idol results show. They're kicking off 2 guys and 2 girls, and I can't wait to see who it is. I already have my predictions for the ultimate winner, so it will be cool to see how we get there.

And speaking of results, there's no reason to watch the women's figure skating tonight when I just saw the results online. Knowing who wins really does suck and make it less exciting. I won't reveal it just in case you're gonna watch and you haven't heard yet.

What's Wrong with American Idol

Ok, the ladies performed last night on American Idol. While there were some really talented girls, less than half of the 12 are truly qualified to go on to the next round. So tonight will be the guys. Here's what's wrong with this whole picture.

Here is a sample typical girl:



Here is a sample typical boy:



While I'm sure you guys see nothing wrong with this, it's terribly unfair to us women. All the female contestants are mildly to fairly attractive, while the male contestants are the biggest dorks and dweebs I've ever seen. One is worse than the other. It pisses me off that the guys don't get judged at all on how they look. So there's my little rant for the day.

Another Bad Day at Work

Ok, my dislike of work is growing stronger by the day. I have too much to do, and my boss pops in my office about every 5 minutes giving me more work. It's starting to piss me off. She has all these stupid ideas she wants to share and I just don't care cause I want to get my work done. She usually comes in like 3 times on the same subject before she's done, prefacing each visit with a cheery "Hi!" that makes me want to smack her. Then this morning I got in trouble for something I wrote in an email to her cause she's all worried it made her look bad in case our email records get subpoenaed. And it was nothing even remotely incriminating. Uh . . . can we say paranoid? This is why I no longer blog at work. Then we had this awful conference call where I got more work piled on. All this work has to be done by March 5 and I'm out of the office 2 days next week for business. So how is all of this going to happen?

Space: Truly the Final Frontier

For a truly unique burial experience, your remains (ashes) can be blasted into space for a mere $995 to $5,300. Although I guess that is a bargain--most funerals cost at least that much too. Maybe with all the planned civilian space travel services in the future, you can actually have your family travel with you and have a funeral in space.

Martina McBride

BTW, the Martina McBride show on Friday night was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. She was really on and sounded great. The show was split into two parts. The first part showcased her latest CD, Timeless, which covers old country hits. I liked this better than I thought I would. The second half really livened up when she started performing her hits from the past 10 years. She opened with a butt-kicking "When God-Fearing Women Get the Blues" and ended with this beautiful rendition of "Over the Rainbow." The best part of the show was when someone in the audience asked Martina if her husband was there cause she thought he was hot, and Martina told her that he was taken and she "didn't want to have to kick her ass." It was so funny.

Welcome Back!

Well, everyone, I'm back with DSL and it seems to be just as speedy as cable modem. Although I haven't tried to download any music yet. The installation process was excruciating--the first customer service rep I talked with had no idea to help me and I was about to kill her. I actually had to disconnect with her and try someone else, who knew what they were doing. Whew!

I had a very nice weekend in Jersey. Went out for Chinese, went to my favorite used CD store, Tunes, and bought some new material.

Possible Hiatus

I had a terrible day today and feel the need to share that. Now, on to my post. I'm going to unhook my evil Comcast cable modem tonight and turn it back in. My new Verizon DSL installation kit arrived, so in the next couple of days I will be trying to install and use that instead. Hence, the possible hiatus cause I'm not sure how it will go, although thank God Jeffro is going to help.

Part of the reason I'm not sure how long the hiatus will be is cause I'm really booked up over the next couple of days. Tomorrow night I'm seeing Martina McBride at the Patriot Center. She's promoting her new album, Timeless, which is a set of classic country songs. One half of the show should be devoted to that, the other half to her regular songs. I'm looking forward to it.

Then on Saturday Jeffro and I are headed to his hometown of Exit 5, New Jersey (I know you NJ'ers hate that) to celebrate his mom's birthday. We'll be gone until Sunday and then have Monday to rest up a bit. So everyone have a great weekend if I don't post for a few days and wish me luck on the new internet thing!

Book Addict

If you're a book addict like me and purchase way too many that you only read once then leave sitting on your shelves, check out this book exchange program. I'm thinking about joining!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jeffro and I had a very nice dinner at Little Fountain Cafe in Adams Morgan. The food was outstanding and the restaurant itself was very charming, cozy, and romantic. I highly recommend it. Definitely the best Valentine's dinner evar.

If I Had a Million Dollars

This really cool website was created by a British student to help raise $1 million to pay for his college education. He charged $1 per pixel. Check it out. http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/

Cold Toddy

I think I'm going to buy the Toddy Cold Brew Coffee System that makes low-acid coffee. I've been diagnosed with acid reflux, so I guess it's time to make the switch. I've already gone to low-acid orange juice. This is inexpensive and fairly easy to do, and you can choose any coffee that you want to use. It's gotten great reviews from Time, MSN, The Washington Post, and others.

Michelle Kwan's a Loser

I can't believe that Michelle Kwan quit the Olympics. Why did she bother in the first place? She's too old, she's tried a bunch of times to no avail. Sometimes you just gotta know when to quit and give others a chance. Selfish! That's one spot a young hopeful could have had. And now all the advertisers are upset cause they've already filmed her endorsement commercials.

No More Jaws

Author Peter Benchley just died. Very sad indeed. I actually met him about 10 years ago at a book show. He signed a copy of his newest book at the time, The Beast. I wonder how much it will be worth now?

Winter Wonderland

This is a shot of the little grassy courtyard behind my condo. For once the weather people were somewhat correct in their snow prediction. We wound up getting about 8 inches overnight. It was one of those wet, dense snows that really clings to the tree branches and makes everything look magical. I took my dogs up to the tennis courts today to run around and they had a blast. Then I just hung out with Jeffro and watched Wedding Crashers, which was pretty entertaining, then took a nap afterwards. The snow was a great excuse to have a lazy day, although truth be told, much of it melted and I really could have gone out if I wanted to.

Bread, Milk, and Toilet Paper, Oh My!

Hope you didn't need any of these items because I'm sure there's nothing to be found left in the grocery stores due to the impending threat of a couple of inches of snow. Everyone, panic now!

It's Not Comcastic!

I just made a call to Verizon to sign up for their DSL service, as my promotional plan with Comcast is about to expire and I'm so not paying $42.95 per month after the plan ends. I should have my new installation kit within 3-5 days and will return Comcast's kit this weekend. Hopefully Verizon DSL will be as fast as cable modem, but I guess only time will tell. I did sign up for the faster of the 2 DSL versions that they offer. Bye, bye Comcast. If only there were more TV cable companies around here I'd lose them completely since their customer service is the absolute worst.

The Queen of All Media

Oprah has just crowned herself queen of all media by signing a 3-year radio deal with XM radio to launch a new channel, Oprah and Friends (aw, shucks, ain't that sweet). She's got it all covered now--tv, video, website, books, magazines, and now this.

Airborne Take Me Away

Well, apparently everyone in my office is sick. The boss is still out with the flu and probably will be tomorrow. Another guy called in sick too. My throat is hurting and I'm popping echinacea like crazy so I don't get sick. Three people I know recently have recommended Airborne to ward off sickness, so maybe there's something to it. I did tell people at work today I wasn't feeling well, so perhaps I'm setting myself up to call in sick tomorrow? Time will tell.

Eat Up!

The Washington Post today reported that low fat diets don't work. They don't protect women against heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer or colon cancer. The study was done by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute on 50,000 women so it's pretty darned compelling research. Great, all these years of denying myself down the drain. Why didn't I just get some french fries for lunch like I really wanted to instead of my wonderful "Smart Ones" meal? I think next time I will. Damn.

New Animal Species

Stories about new scientific discoveries amaze me. It just doesn't seem possible that in this day there's anything new to discover. But I guess there is. I saw this article yesterday in USA Today where scientists had discovered a bunch of new species in Indonesia. Isn't this guy on the right cute? I think he's a long-beaked Echidnas according to the article. And the coolest thing was these animals weren't afraid of humans and the scientists were able to handle them. When can I get one as a pet?

What Was Up With Boss Yesterday

Well, today she was out with the flu. My thinking is she wasn't feeling well yesterday and totally went whacko. Unfortunately, though, my throat is feeling a little sore, so I hope I'm not on my way to getting sick too. Echinacea, here I come!

Boss on Crack

I don't know what was up with the boss today. She was completely out of her mind. We had an impromptu meeting where she basically planned out what I should do for our website for the next 6 months. I was like, boy that's great that I don't have any input into this when I'm supposed to be the marketing director. I guess I'm really just the web bitch. Then like an hour later she sends me notes that she had typed up from our meeting. Then we talked about some other project and again like an hour later she brings me these hand-drawn sketches of what she envisions the project to look like. Again, thanks for the chance at creativity. Sometimes I really don't know what the hell I'm supposed to be doing there at a director level and just executing stupid piddly crap.

Way to Start the Morning

This morning one of my dogs (the 12-1/2 year old, Pepper) had some sort of food malfunction. I don't know what the hell happened but one minute I'm putting food down for her, the next minute the food and water bowls are completely flipped in the air and overturned all over the dining room rug. I was like "wha?" and still have no idea how my dog managed to do this. Of course, these things only happen in the morning when you don't have a minute to spare. At least she ate the spilled food and I didn't have to pick it up. But then my other dog (6-year old Opie) got the idea in his head that he too had to eat in the dining room off the floor and kept taking bits of food back there to eat. Dogs are really strange sometimes.

Thanks to Jeffro for the photo.

Weekend Gone Too Fast

After my surprise early dismissal on Friday, Jeffro and I went to have dinner at Naan and Beyond on 23rd Street in Arlington. The food was absolutely wonderful, the service not so great. The samosa appetizer was to die for, as were the entrees. However, we were told the soda machine was not working, so we had to order something else to drink. Our dinner took about 25 mins to come out. Mind you, there was only one other couple in the restaurant. And the dinner came out after the waiter came through the front door, apparently after running some errand. Then somehow the soda we had tried to order earlier magically appeared. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought the check and said we had to pay cash, as the credit card machine was broken. Clearly a lie as later he amended his statement to say he preferred cash. At that point I noticed on the bill that they had charged us for both the soda and the other drink we'd ordered when they told us the soda could not be attained. So I made them take it off the bill, as we wouldn't have ordered the other drink if our first choice had been available. It was all just very bizarre. I later learned by doing some research on the web that they had some health code problems during their last inspection. I think that's the first and last time we'll go there.

Saturday I took a yoga/pilates class with my friend Kin and then we went out for Vietnamese pho. Since it was raining all day, it was perfect day for noodle soup. Today I ran some much-needed errands and then had dinner with my neighbor and watched Sideways while drinking a bottle of pinot noir. Jeffro is occupied with the Super Bowl. I think I'm the only American who just doesn't give a crap and would rather be doing anything else.

Early Dismissal!

We got out at 4 today because the HR person was "burned out and tired." So was I, so I'm glad she shared it with all of us! Happy early weekend!

Vacation All I Ever Wanted

Jeffro and I are going to St. John's in May with some friends. We just bought our tickets today. I'm so excited. A week in the tropics! And we go to San Diego in March for a wedding. I love to travel!

Franklin Covey

I spent all day today at a Franklin Covey 7 Habits of Highly Effective People one-day workshop. It was actually pretty good. The leader, Homero, was excellent. I like stuff like this, particularly when work pays for it and I get out of the office for the day. The weird thing was my boss and a coworker took it with me, so no chance to talk any dirt about my real job with other people there (it was an interactive thing). I got a bunch of cool planning stuff, so I guess somehow I gotta get myself organized. The hard part is you come out all jazzed but then get back into the real world and reform all the old habits you used to have instead of using the 7 new ones. I guess maybe I flunked the seminar?

Female Detectors

My excitement of the day was going to the federal building across the street where you have to walk through a metal detector to get inside and put your bags on a scanner, like an airport. I kept setting the stupid detector off and the guard had to wand me. The funny thing was when I was leaving the building this other girl was saying that she had no belt, nothing metal, etc.--in other words no reason for the detector to go off. Yet she too got wanded. Coincidence? I think not.