oof, i'm an oaf.

i've been such a clumsy oaf lately. first there was the rugburn. then there was my fall while bowling. then my toe started hurting (still hasn't gone away). this time? i fell down the stairs at work. yeah, you heard me. down. the. stairs. i missed a step and slid down about four of them on my shin, so now my right calf is completely bruised up. thankfully i didn't break anything. not that i would have been surprised.

can you handle the answers?

so here are the answers from last week's music quotes. have fun!

1. Take another chance to find a distant sanity and turn your pain in truth. Take another chance to fight a different enemy and try to free it. lacuna coil -- daylight dancer. lacuna coil started the girl singer/death metal background before evanescence ever thought about it. and she's sexy and has a fantastic voice. i've seen them at the mascarade in atlanta and the one in tampa.

2. I've been uptight and made a mess, but I'll clean it up myself, I guess. Oh, the sweet smell of success. traveling wilburys -- handle with care. good stuff.

3.I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry -- what could I do? My baby's love had gone and left my baby blue ... nobody knew ... david bowie -- magic dance. labrynth, people!

4.I can't hear what you're saying, what you're doing to me. Can't you see it would take the jaws of life to pry open your words. dishwalla -- charlie brown's parents. great song off the same album as that blue car song.

5.Late of Pablo Fanques Fair-what a scene Over men and horses hoops and garters
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire! the beatles -- for the benefit of mr. kite

6.Come on baby, now throw me a right to the chin. Don't you stare like you never cared; I know you did You just smiled like a bank teller telling me bleakly, "have a nice life." vegasgustan was right on this one -- ben folds all the way. i almost did zac and sara because i love that song so much too.

7.I'd steal somebody's Cadillac; I'd steal anything I lack. I'd steal all the microphones from all the masters of ceremony ... TMBG -- if i wasn't shy. tmbg is my all-time favorite band. ever. seen 7 times, including driving to asheville in october to see them.

8.I don't want the world, I just want your half. TMBG -- ana ng. great song; this is also my signature on my email.

9.And now I'm all alone, nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Without a home, without a friend, without a face to say hello to. And now the night is here and I can make believe he's here. glomgold's right -- it's from les mis. the song is "on my own," and i sing it all the time. :D

10. She'll never know just how I feel. From out of the shadows she walks like a dream, makes me feel crazy, makes me feel so mean. on the dark side, from eddie and the cruisers. great movie.

11. And all them pin-up girls in that tinsel world never touched me like she can. It took another man's wife in the real world life to make this boy a man. harry chapin -- i wanna learn a love song. how can you go wrong with harry chapin?

12. There was not much more for us to talk about, whatever we had once was gone. So I turned my cab into the driveway, past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns. And she said we must get together, But I knew it'd never be arranged. again, harry chapin -- taxi, this time. good stuff.

13. And every city the whole world 'round will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it will be; we'll set everybody free. randy newman -- political science, off the blast from the past soundtrack. fun song.

14. 'cause we've got plenty of time to grow old and die But when at last your beauty's faded, you'll be glad that I have waited for you. VG right again -- barenaked ladies. seen in orlando years ago; great show.

15. April brings me tiny yellow flowers from the yard; she carries them with her tiny fingers wrapped around each one. She laughs when she picks a white one; she tries to blow away the seeds and then she smiles as she hands me one. this was sorta a trick one -- the song is april and me, by three crosses. i saw them at a christian retreat at lenor rhyne college in '98, and though i'm not into the music anymore i love the song because it's got my name in it.

16. Oh for sure he's always missing, and something is never quite right. Ah, but who would want to listen to you kissing his existence good night. walking man, by james taylor. one of my very favorite songs.

17. So don't lay a fucking finger on her. she's mine and I still want her. If you put your hands upon her you're a goner. kick some ass, by stroke 9. this is on the jay and silent bob strike back soundtrack, and it's really a great song.

18. You want me to think that I'm being used, you want her to think it's over
You can't see it doesn't matter what you do. Buddy, you don't even know her. mike willis is right here. tom petty, all the way. saw him in concert in '99 or 2000. so close i could see the blue of his eyes. sexy as hell.

19. And then she did it ... she stripped me half naked. And told me that her body was sacred. She said I could take it if I danced with her but somehow I knew that she was an Indian giver. bedroom dancing, by day one, off the cruel intentions soundtrack. these are my favorite lyrics from the song.

20. Like the naked leads the blind, I know I'm selfish; I'm unkind.
Sucker love I always find, someone to bruise and leave behind.
All alone in space and time, there's nothing here but what here's mine. also on the cruel intentions soundtrack, this is every you, every me by placebo.

21. The farmer digs a hole and fills it in with boiling oil, hoping to make a dress and from the ground to make it well orangeworker, by for squirrels -- who broke up after an car accident in gainsville killed 3 of their band members

22. The night is beckoning although I have nowhere to go but home.
Feels good to be alone With every turn comes a new frame of mind if I could frame my mind. Where would it hang? eve 6 -- open road song. when i had my maverick, this song would make me drive 110 mph.

23. Go away then, damn you, Go on and do as you please, You ain't gonna see me gettin' down on my knees. I'm undecided, and your heart's been divided, you've been turning my world upside down. mike's right on this one too. i love james taylor.

24. I have searched both far and wide And I've explored the deepest caverns of my mind. To try and find an explanation why I get this funny feeling deep inside. When I think about my life I wanna kiss myself good-bye. sugarhigh, by coyote shivers -- off empire records.

25. They travel in the time of the prophets, on a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun Like lovers and hereos, and the restless part of everyone We're only at home when we're on the run. dreamline, by rush. ahhh, good song.

26. Then the Captain made a pass at the Swiss Miss Girl Tryin' to show her his affection. She screamed for help And when she did ... Mr. Clean came to her protection. trials and tribulations, by the dude of life and phish. funny funny song. who comes up with these things?

27. Bash in my brain, and make me scream with pain, Then kick me once again,
And say we'll never part. I know too well I'm underneath your spell, So, darling, if you smell something burning, it's my heart. Excuse me! masocism tango, by tom lehrer. we've all heard me rave about tom lehrer.

28. With regard to my newborn arachnid kids, there's something we must discuss: perhaps we should sit them down and explain how not to be saved. Perhaps you could help me to demonstrate how your center can keep up its sickening spin. okgo -- hello, treacherous friends. seen twice as the opening band for tmbg. the only opening band that i really liked (frank black sucks in concert, but cornmo' was okay)

29. I'm glad that I'm the one who found you That's why I'm always hangin' around you . 'deed i do as sung by lena horne. beautiful song. i have it on "great ladies of jazz"

30. Don't mind telling you, in my humble fash That you thrill me through, with a tender pash, When you said you care, 'magine my emoshe I swore then and there, permanent devoshe, You made all other men seem blah. 's wonderful, also on the great ladies of jazz album.

31.Sunshine, daydream, walking in the tall trees, going where the wind goes. Blooming like a red rose, breathing more freely, Ride our singin', I'll walk you in the morning sunshine. sugar magnolias, grateful dead. seen april 7, 1995. the same year they tore down tampa stadium and jerry died. this was the song that my best friend (and mother of my goddaughter) went around singing. our hippie names were "daisy" and "rainbow," respectively.

isn't that amazing?

someone googled "synonyms for amazing" and i was the first hit. how amazing is that?

some-bunny wuvs me ... :D

wallowing.

do you ever wallow in the past? i went to my mother's in palm harbor today and she gave me this file she found of letters from high school. these are correspondence from a friend i met on a band trip to indy (she lives in indiana), a girl who went into the army after high school, friends from high school, guys who wrote to me to let me know they liked me after they moved away(yes, there were two) ...

so i'm indulging in memories of high school. a large pile (about an inch thick here) of the letters is correspondence with my friend bill, whose best friend was my senior year boyfriend. after gary and i broke up because he made out with a colorguard girl on the bus to miami, bill and i would talk about how messed up gary was and how to get us back together. it was ... a different time. you'd have to know bill though. he spoke with a highly enunciated speech pattern and worshipped german military. he called gary "der fuhrer." he was a gentleman; he is who i got my extremely perverse sense of humor from.

so i've been trying to decide if i should try to write him a letter and mail it to the last place i know that he lived in hopes of talking to him again. he was such a sweetheart. i also want to write to michele in indiana, and gary's sister (who really was my best friend in high school) and matt, who is in law school at uf right now, and kyle who wrote to tell me that his "crush" was now an infatuation, and david in kansas who said that the reason all the guys like me is that i "have a great personality, a beautiful smile and look totally innocent. you're also very fun to be around. you also are very pretty and have great hair, eyes, ..." (the rest of that sentence was scratched out.)

life was so complicated then, but i knew how to manipulate it. what am i doing now?

I did the song thing.

I was reading VegasGustan's blog, where he put song lyrics of thirty songs and let people guess what they're from. So here's mine:

Some are easy, some are not.

1. Take another chance to find a distant sanity and turn your pain in truth. Take another chance to fight a different enemy and try to free it.

2. I've been uptight and made a mess, but I'll clean it up myself, I guess. Oh, the sweet smell of success.

3.I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry -- what could I do? My baby's love had gone and left my baby blue ... nobody knew ...

4.I can't hear what you're saying, what you're doing to me. Can't you see it would take the jaws of life to pry open your words.

5.Late of Pablo Fanques Fair-what a scene Over men and horses hoops and garters
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!

6.Come on baby, now throw me a right to the chin. Don't you stare like you never cared; I know you did You just smiled like a bank teller telling me bleakly, "have a nice life."

7.I'd steal somebody's Cadillac; I'd steal anything I lack. I'd steal all the microphones from all the masters of ceremony ...

8.I don't want the world, I just want your half.

9.And now I'm all alone, nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Without a home, without a friend, without a face to say hello to. And now the night is here and I can make believe he’s here.

10. She'll never know just how I feel. From out of the shadows she walks like a dream, makes me feel crazy, makes me feel so mean.

11. And all them pin-up girls in that tinsel world never touched me like she can. It took another man's wife in the real world life to make this boy a man.

12. There was not much more for us to talk about, whatever we had once was gone. So I turned my cab into the driveway, past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns. And she said we must get together, But I knew it'd never be arranged.

13. And every city the whole world 'round will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it will be; we'll set everybody free.

14. 'cause we've got plenty of time to grow old and die But when at last your beauty's faded, you’ll be glad that I have waited for you.

15. April brings me tiny yellow flowers from the yard; she carries them with her tiny fingers wrapped around each one. She laughs when she picks a white one; she tries to blow away the seeds and then she smiles as she hands me one.

16. Oh for sure he's always missing, and something is never quite right. Ah, but who would want to listen to you kissing his existence good night.

17. So don't lay a fucking finger on her. she's mine and I still want her. If you put your hands upon her you're a goner.

18. You want me to think that I’m being used, you want her to think it’s over
You can't see it doesn't matter what you do. Buddy, you don't even know her.

19. And then she did it ... she stripped me half naked. And told me that her body was sacred. She said I could take it if I danced with her but somehow I knew that she was an Indian giver.

20. Like the naked leads the blind, I know I'm selfish; I'm unkind.
Sucker love I always find, someone to bruise and leave behind.
All alone in space and time, there's nothing here but what here's mine.

21. The farmer digs a hole and fills it in with boiling oil, hoping to make a dress and from the ground to make it well

22. The night is beckoning although I have nowhere to go but home.
Feels good to be alone With every turn comes a new frame of mind if I could frame my mind. Where would it hang?

23. Go away then, damn you, Go on and do as you please, You ain’t gonna see me gettin' down on my knees. I'm undecided, and your heart's been divided, you've been turning my world upside down.

24. I have searched both far and wide And I've explored the deepest caverns of my mind. To try and find an explanation why I get this funny feeling deep inside. When I think about my life I wanna kiss myself good-bye.

25. They travel in the time of the prophets, on a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun Like lovers and hereos, and the restless part of everyone We're only at home when we're on the run.

26. Then the Captain made a pass at the Swiss Miss Girl Tryin' to show her his affection. She screamed for help And when she did ... Mr. Clean came to her protection.

27. Bash in my brain, and make me scream with pain, Then kick me once again,
And say we'll never part. I know too well I'm underneath your spell, So, darling, if you smell something burning, it's my heart. Excuse me!

28. With regard to my newborn arachnid kids, there's something we must discuss: perhaps we should sit them down and explain how not to be saved. Perhaps you could help me to demonstrate how your center can keep up its sickening spin.

29. I'm glad that I'm the one who found you That's why I'm always hangin' around you .

30. Don't mind telling you, in my humble fash That you thrill me through, with a tender pash, When you said you care, 'magine my emoshe I swore then and there, permanent devoshe, You made all other men seem blah.

31.Sunshine, daydream, walking in the tall trees, going where the wind goes. Blooming like a red rose, breathing more freely, Ride our singin’, I’ll walk you in the morning sunshine.

hair news!

so this is my hair before:

and this is my hair now!

I didn't really mean to take the first pic in black and white, but the color was drab anyhow -- so now it looks like it went from blah to wow! seriously, though, i love my hair. it's much shorter than i expected it to be, but very mature and professional and sexy!

for shizzle.

A Very Long Engagement was excellent. If you do not mind subtitles (and I do not) I would heartily recommend it. My morosely upbeat (or blithely depressed) friend Adrian and I had wonderful Thai food in Carrollwood and meandered down to Hyde Park for the movie. Why is it that I always see someone I know at the little coffee shop down there whenever we go?

An interesting observation, in terms of a when a guy lays it out for a girl who doesn't feel the same: "It was a poker game. I had laid out my hand but she still wanted to play the game."

He didn't say that; he would say the same thing in 600 more words, so I made my own observation based on my knowledge of his woman trouble. The thought is mine, though.
I think I want to write a mini-memoir and call it The Frogs I Kissed. How's the title? Lucas always said, "The first thing you need is a name. Then you'll know what kind of band you've got."

oh!

Every once in awhile I fall in love ... with my cell phone, all over again. I was playing around, and it seems I can check my email and login to yahoo messenger on it! Woohoo! I've found out that I may have to buy a new phone soon because Sprint bought Nextel (but maybe not because I have an i730) and I really don't wanna. I love my phone!

Another thing. I've not had flash on my computer since I bought it a little over two years ago. I've downloaded it over and over, and it never worked. This is a huge problem, because anymore almost any website requires flash. So last week we started using Firefox (before I used the usual I.E. or Firebird, but Firebird never worked properly). And now flash works! Hurrah! So evidently explorer wasn't working either, but I thought it was the flashplayer. Go internet!

It's official -- I'm a gimp.

So I went to the doctor today about my toe, and they still don't have any idea what's wrong. The nurse gave me a referral to a podiatrist, but hopefully it'll be better by the time they make that appointment. Nurse-lady thought it might be gout, but since I'm not a 60-year-old man, she's decided on a second opinion. They're making me ice my foot and take 800mg of Motrin 3 x's a day. That's 12 pills a day, man! Arg!

So I'm home with my foot on this ice pack from my Pyrex Portable :

And watching tv. My foot will not be keeping me from Thai food and A Very Long Engagement with Adrian, which is what my plans are tonight. The nurse told me that my neurological appointment for my headaches is tomorrow, but I never got any paperwork for it so I don't know where. We'll have to see if it can be rescheduled because I can't get my head scanned if I don't know where I'm supposed to be. Are you going to scan my head? If so, are you going to be able to tell me what's wrong with me?

Not the casino.

We won't talk about that outing. Let's just say at least Autumn (birthday girl) did okay.

So I've been looking for a South American painting and I couldn't remember the name of the painting or the artist (googling South American painting castle butt evidently doesn't find it), so I had Christen drop me off the South Tampa Borders yesterday so I could peruse the art books, and I found it:

"The Dream of Malinche" by Ruiz, 1939.

Cool, huh?

Sunday night bowling was cancelled on account of my gimp toe this week. Instead we played Texes Hold 'Em, Guts, Baseball and various other card games. I lost again, but at least we were playing with change this time. We also played Battle of the Sexes -- the card game (chicks rule, boys drool!) and a Movie trivia game which also rocked. I love me some board games.

Christen is watching The Golden Child, which is evidentally the worst Eddie Murphy movie ever. At least, it looks that way to me. I've found out that Audrey Tatou is going to be the female lead in The DaVinci Code opposite Tom Hanks. I think I'm going to have to go see it now, and that bothers me. She's such a good actress, and he's such a great actor. What's wrong with them? Why are they chosing popularity over redeeming qualities?

shed the blood artistic.

We went to see House of Flying Daggers last night. I really liked it. Here's what I like about such movies: In American "war" movies, the blood is everywhere, and the point seems to be all about the bare sex, the different ways people can be stabbed, etc. In this movie, as in most Asian movies I've come across, there's still blood but it's so artistic -- it's a dance. Ahh, so refreshing.

Other movies I've seen in the last few days:

50 First Dates: Actually, it's now my favorite Adam Sandler movie. Now, to those that know me, you know that I don't like him, so that's not saying much. But yes, it was cute.

The Secret Life of Girls: Seeing Eugene Levy in hippie gear was worth watching thie movie. But yes, I am not-so-secretly addicted to teen movies of all shapes and styles, and this is no different. Cute, and I didn't subject Christen to it.

Core: I don't want to talk about it.

Leaving Las Vegas: The only other "Vegas" movie I've seen is Honeymoon in Vegas, and the only thing I remember from that is all the Elvises (Elvii?) falling from the sky. This movie? Way different. But I liked it. I wasn't so happy with the end, though. Maybe it was the lack of Elvii.

Drumline: When I planned on watching this the first time, I accidentally recorded from the HBO Latin channel, so I didn't get to see it. Go ahead, laugh. But my two years in high school spanish did not prepare me for watching Drumline en espanol. So delete and rerecord. Good stuff. It was okay; it reminded me of high school because we performed in the GeorgiaDome twice for BOA (Bands of America) regionals.

What A Girl Wants: Yes, another teen flick, but cute. My 12-year-old sister loves Amanda Bynes, and she's not nearly as annoying as Hillary Duff and not nearly as slutty as Linsay Lohen, so she's okay in my book.

If You Only Knew: can you tell I'm having fun with the new DVR box? The movie wasn't total crap, but it was definitely a "TV" movie, though not entirely a made-for-tv movie. It was okay.

Books I've read in the last few days?

Nein. Nada. Books? What are those? Can I use the DVR with them?

Anywho. I can't figure out if I broke my big toe the other day or if I just bruised the bone really bad, because I can't put any pressure on it (which really screws my plans for wearing my new heels). It's been in pain since Wednesday, but I'm off tomorrow so I'll try to stay off it. I'm goin' to the casino tonight with a few friends. I'm taking $100 with me. I'll let you know how much I come back with. For din-din I had these new rosemary and olive oil triscuits with velveeta cheese and a clementine (and Christen made me Kool Aid). I love deciding for myself what to eat. :D Hurrah!

the first step.

I've made the first step. I made an appointment at a hair salon downtown to get my hair cut and colored. i'm going to do it. my hair is almost past my butt now, and i haven't colored it since before graduation, so it's been more than a year (I graduated in December of 2003). I want my hair somewhere past my shoulders and a natural looking red -- like Julianne Moore color.

I'm so nervous.

did someone say lemming?

So I got this quiz from L, and I'm of course going to fill it out because that's exactly what I live for -- wasting time until I can find something else to do. And Christen is watching a terrible movie called Core so there's really nothing else to do. Onwards!

Name three things you are wearing right now:
1. USF sweatshirt (College of Education, even though I was only in it for 1 semester)
2. tan capri pants
3. froggie socks with froggie heads on the back

Name 3 of your favorite bands/artists:
1. They Might Be Giants
2. James Taylor
3. Tom Lehrer

Name 3 of your favorite songs:
1. Walking Man (James Taylor)
2. '39 (Queen)
3. Birdhouse in Your Soul (TMBG)

Name 3 things you want to do in the next 12 months:
1. edit for someone for money.
2. find an engagement ring under my pillow.
3. cure my writer's block/have my own room for writing.

Name 3 things you want in a relationship:
1. Comic Relief
2. Intellectual Stimulation
3. "Other" Stimulation

Name two truths and one lie:
1. I love my Natty light. *ahem* *cough*
2. I love cheese.
3. I'm lactose intolerant.

Name 3 physical things in a love interest that appeal to you:
1. an opinion.
2. a penetrating look (if possible that look should include glasses).
3. humor

Name 3 things you just can't do:
1. whistle.
2. dance in front of people.
3. be seen in a bathing suit.

Name 3 of your favorite hobbies:
1. buying good books in musty old shops.
2. losing myself in said good books from musty old shops.
3. finding errors in published materials.

Name 3 things you want to do right now:
1. quit my job.
2. make cookies.
3. sleep.

Name 3 careers you are considering:
1. editor.
2. writer.
3. student.

Name 3 places you want to go on vacation:
1. Ireland
2. anywhere I can comfortably sleep in a tent
3. Charleston (that's where I always go on vacation)

Name 3 kids names:
1. Etta Abigail
2. Benjamen Jacob
3. Isabelle Anne

Name 3 things you want to do before you die:
1. write a book.
2. have a family.
3. read all the books in my library.

Name 3 other people who have to take this quiz right now:
1. MooCow because he may get bored enough to do stupid things like this.
2. Ivan because he just will.
3. Jordan because he just won't.

going to the mattresses.

High score: 146

Low score: 110

I won both those games (on the low games evidently everyone else was having crappy games too) but lost all the ones in between. What happened that will make you laugh, though, is that I fell. Like fell, fell. Like, knees first and sliding into the gutter.

So okay, now that you've had your laugh, here's what happened: I went to the bathroom to change my shirt (I can't bowl in long sleeves and it’s been freaking cold lately). On the way back, I must have stepped in some water, because I went to bowl and instead of sliding my feet planted and I went knees first into the lane, turned on my back and slid into the gutter. I heard all the boys from Idlewild Baptist that were bowling next to us go, "Oh, shit!" and one of them helped me up as I was crying hysterically. Christen was MIA, but he took care of me afterward. He was watching the tv.

Monday I went home early because I couldn't stand on my legs (and I can't stand on my hands, at least not for more than a moment). So it was a day of doing nothing, watching movies on my five million movie channels and setting Drumline to tape on the DVR. We watched American Wedding, and besides wanting to kill Stiffler the whole time, it was cute. Christen had/has a thing for Alyson Hannigan (but more of the Buffy version than the Pie version).

Books I've read in the past two days:

Stranger than Fiction by Chuck Palhniuk: The opening essay is about a stage orgy, and kinda took me aback (despite enjoying my reading) and I was curious/ wondering if the rest of the book would be the same subject matter. It wasn't. But it was still quite good, especially his portrait of Juliette Louis.
Sidebar: When I type Juliette, spell check tells me that an alternate spelling is oubliette. Take that, Labrynth!

Blackbird by Jennifer Lauck: Very interesting and endearing "Life was rough but I made it through because of my family" memoir. The girl went through horrific things, but in the end, everything turned out alright. How sweet. But of course if it didn't turn out alright, there wouldn't have been a memoir, and then where would we be? Anywho, it was good in spite of itself, and I'll read the sequel (Still Waters, in case you want to read the sequel too).

Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale, Jr.: I didn't expect to like this, because I really liked the movie and was afraid that it would make me not like the movie. But if you don't really think of the movie as a real story and more like how The Terminal was "loosely based" on that guy in the French airport, you'll enjoy this book. I did. There was much more information on how he really lived and what drove him to do the things he did, but I still felt it sugar-coated his life on the run. But maybe that's just me – maybe his life on the run really was sugar-coated, who knows?

Next book to read: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers (the dude who started McSweeney's). I'll let you know how it is!

Movies seen in the past two days:

American Wedding: Cute, but still not better than the first. Anything is a step up from the second one, though, and if you can ignore Seann William Scott it is significantly better.

The Godfather: I know, I know … I'm really behind on seeing this. You know how when everyone tells you what you're missing by not seeing something that is supposed to be wonderful and you just don't feel like seeing it? Yeah, so I wasn't going to watch it ever. But lately it seems like a lot of the things I read or watch (like Vowell's Take the Cannoli) has references, so I decided to check out what I was missing. Pretty good, but I don't know if it's worth staying up till 3am to finish.

so i've been less than prolific this past week. but i did get that cleaning done the other night -- it took 4 hours. not too bad, since the place sparkled afterward, and i finished before christen got home so he was dazzled by how clean the apartment was (actually, his exact words were, "honey, i would have helped you with the tree." :P dork.) my sister spent the night last night so she could come with me to shea's birthday dinner since i didn't want to go by myself. we got her a bottle of biltmore estate riesling and a gift certificate to dsw (shoe mecca). kyle and her mother bought these toasting flutes for her (they're amazing in real life) for the wedding. this morning jamie and i went to the bridal store to see shea's dress (also gorgeous), and went shopping at international plaza for awhile.

i've nothing more to say. oi.

this is for moocoo. i got it in an email from my crazy aunt and thought of him. 

feeling ambitious.

so a short post right now.

i'm feeling ambitious, so i'm going to try to take down the tree and reorient my living room (hallelujah), clean the kitchen, reorganize my cds and books, clean the bathroom, hang the clean laundry and organize my closet. in three hours.

wish me luck.

i wouldn't be a geek unless i posted it too

and we all know what a geek i am for geek tests.
being exactly 1/3 geek is pretty nift.

33.33333% Geek -- Total Geek


+ Geekish Tendencies................................>09%
++ Geek.......................................................>15%
+++ Total Geek..........................................>25%
++++ Major Geek.......................................>35%
+++++ Super Geek.....................................>45%
++++++ Extreme Geek..............................>55%
+++++++ Geek God....................................>65%
+++++++! Dysfunctional Geek..................>75%

high score last night: 159.

other scores: 111, 138, 159, 139, 111, 138.

i didn't do too badly. i think this week we are going to get our balls. i want to know the difference in polyester and urathane, and what works the best before i buy, but the dudes at sports authority really don't know anything. anyone out there know?

books i've read in the last two days:

hoot by carl hiaasen: i didn't realize this was a children's book until after i started it (reading the whole dust jacket instead of just the first paragraph does wonders) but it was still a well-written and cute book. very moralistic for children. good stuff.

take the cannoli by sarah vowell: this was a great book, and she is such a great writer. if i could handle her voice i'd be obsessed with her, i think. the only problem i had with the book was the way it changed courses so drastically. i know vowell separated the parts, but the middle (postcards) where she talked about different places seemed far out of place and not nearly as amusing as the first and last sections.

84, charing cross road by helene hanff: such a charming book, it made me yearn for a penpal and a bookstore that i felt as close to as she did. of course, i have several that i frequent, but none like that. when i was in high school i collected penpals: illinois, south carolina, north carolina -- i had them everywhere. but as people have grown up they've grown out of writing real letters, and i miss that so much. L recommended this to me, and i thought it was delightful. L, if i knew your address instead of your email, i'd be writing you letters instead of emails even though you live on the other side of town.

no witty titles.

I have rug burn.

On my knees.

No, i didn't get it the way you think i got it, but perhaps the way i did get it is just as amusing for you.

Okay, so you've sucked me into it (what is it with these damn sexual references?).

When i come home from work, one of the most important things for me to do is strip. i take my uniform off. get that wretched thing away from me. then i check my email. i may have checked it 20 minutes ago at work, but i'm checking it again. then i'm checking my blogroll, to see what you people have to say (again, i may have checked 20 minutes ago but it doesn't matter). after all this i will get dressed in normal, non-work-related clothing (okay, so maybe it's just a tank top and pajama bottoms) and think about dinner.

so yesterday i had followed this sequence and was sitting on the living room floor responding to a journal in my underwear and a key turns in the lock. it was 5:43, and christen wasn't supposed to get off work until 6. i freaked. i abandoned the laptop, crawling for the bedroom as fast as my knees would take me. i hid in the doorway (still unclothed, it didn't occur to me to cover myself in case it really was someone other than christen) and watched the person on the other side of the door emerge. it was christen.

he got off early, got a haircut, and came home to me.

So now my knees have rug burn.

I should start getting dressed before taking my place on the floor with my laptop.

if only they had asked about books...

a new post in a new template

so i tried a new template today, but the problem is that it's not written for blogger so i had to take the template and fiddle with it for the last two hours so that it was readable. not so easy for those such as me who don't know much html and have to teach it to ourselves on the fly. i still have two problems.

1.) the comments on yesterday's post "more of the same" won't show up and therefore i can't access the comments page of that post, and

2.)also in the comments (but the other posts with comments, such as in "i swear i'm not a whiny bitch") the comments show up but there's no space between the separate comments so it ends up just a block and is very difficult to read. if anyone has suggestions, i would greatly appreciate it.

we had a lovely day today, despite my waking up in a terrible mood. i picked fights all morning and burst into tears at the credit union. after that, though, i was much better and we did a good deal of shopping. i found my mecca of shoe stores: dsw. shea tells me about this place all the time and i hadn't had a chance (or much need) to stop in, but woohoo! i went today and bought 4 pairs of shoes that would cost me more than $300 dollars but i spent about $100. also bought: garden state, 84, charing cross road by helen something or other, take the cannoli by sarah vowell, and stranger than fiction by chuck palahniuk. good stuff. it was a great day, and i got to follow it up with dinner at mimi's so i could have a wonderful broccoli and cheddar quiche. mm, mmm, good.

the change to the title of this blog is because i keep feeling like i can't find a name that illustrates me. book lust is the name of a book i came across at b&n today, and i think it fits. so book lust i shall be.

i have nothing more, being that i spent so much time on the template today. i can't think anymore. off to read. yay!

hey look! i'm the chick from andre!

Deb


Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
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don't shea and kyle look so sweet? this is from their engagement dinner at macaroni grill (shea's brother is to the left) 

more of the same.

movies watched in the past two days:

napoleon dynamite. interesting; the first half kinda dragged by, but the second half was hilarious. and he's such a good dancer! the audio commentary was friggin' funny too, and i only watch them if the actors are talking (like LOTR and kevin smith movies) because they have a much funnier outlook than the damn writer/producer/director -- and what do i care about them?

king arthur. i don't generally like the "epic film," but it was pretty good. i guess. i saw through it without hurling fake blood, so i guess that's good.

the stepford wives. i had no preconceptions about this film, and i really have no postconceptions either. it was pretty decent, though predictable.

books read in the past two days:

the secret life of bees. amazing. fabulous. here -- let me consult the dictionary for more synonyms: aces, amazing, astonishing, astounding, bang-up, best, breathtaking, cool, crack, dilly, doozie, extravagant, fab, fantastic, fictitious, first class, gone, greatest, groovy, immense, in spades, inconceivable, incredible, legendary, marvelous, mind-blowing, out-of-this-world, outrageous, peachy, phenomenal, primo, prodigious, rad, remarkable, spectacular, striking, stupendous, super, superb, terrific, top drawer, tops, turn-on, unbelievable, unreal, wicked, wondrous.

so there.

now on to hoot by carl hiaasen, which is about florida, and looks to be pretty good because florida is, as he says, "an armpit compared to montana."

or so i've been told.

shea's engagement ring. 

i swear i'm not a whiny bitch.

I AM 43% EMO! Hmm.. I should stop listening to Dashboard Confessional.... enough said... Now that I stopped looking at my shoes, I know how the real world looks. Take the EMO test at Fuali.com

visions of nastiness.

so i'm sick today. i feel like shit, but i had strawberries and water for late breakfast and haven't yet thrown them up, so i may be getting better. i had to call out this morning, and i didn't have the MOD's phone number so i called justin by 2-way and informed him i wouldn't be there. felt like shit, but i couldn't do anything about it. i'm going back to bed soon, but right now i'm at that point where i've slept all i can but i don't have the energy to do anything but lay here. i watched happy gilmore because i've never seen it (though i don't care for adam sandler, i've seen all his movies except little nicky) and it was alright. i liked tin cup and caddyshack better, in terms of golf movies.

so high score last night was 143. i got it twice. i also got a 127, 114, 107 and 87. that 87, though, i tied with christen so all is well. i think i only won one game, the first 143. we cut the night short when i wasn't feeling well and they were tired. thursday i think chris and i are getting our bowling balls, and the boys want to see blade trinity (gag me now) (did i really just say that???) so shea and i are going shopping and possibly to see a very long engagement or spanglish (i know i know, an adam sandler movie, but i'm trying to see what others see, i swear!)

well, back to bed and the secret life of bees, which i bought ages ago and never read. i did finally finish notes from a small island, and have to say that i love bill bryson (thank you moocow for the suggestion). i would have finished it earlier but it ended up being the book i had in my car for lunch breaks and stop lights.

toodles!

i had to cut through an ostrich field!

so i saw sideways today at hyde park. it was really quite good. made me wish i was a wine girl. the british waiter at flemings kept trying to get me to try some, but i've never much liked any that i've tried. i cook with it (there's one called barefoot something or other that i usually get because it has a footprint on the bottle and it looked pretty nifty) but i've never cared for anything else.
but i went with adrian, who i rarely see anymore, so that was good.
and i have nothing else.

told ya i was a debutant! ha!

I AM 9% WHITE TRASH! I, my friend, have class. I am so not white trash. . I am more than likely Democrat, and my place is neat, and there is a good chance I may never drink wine from a box. Take the WHITE TRASH test at Fuali.com

'twas a brilliant night ...

... of beer and pizza and a riviting game of triopoly.

i'm taking it back to go! the game store tomorrow because there were so many typos and cards for places that didn't exist on the board that it was ridiculous. pennsylvania ave. on the board was pennsylvania blvd. on the travel cards, there were three philadelphia cards that weren't on the board at all and travel cards telling you to go there, broad street was spelled brioad st. on the board (but correctly on its corresponding card) ... it was amazing. the funny thing is, when i bought it the lady there said all the boards had been recalled for errors and the new ones had been remade. i do hope this was one of the old ones by accident, because if this is the newly edited ones, i think i may be of help to them.

anyhow, shea and kyle and shea's brother came over to play, and they brought mama's pizza. first top 5 list of 2005: favorite things from favorite restaurants (not chain) in tampa:

1) mama's breadsticks from mama's pizza (dale mabry blvd.)

2) the calamari from fleming's steakhouse (international plaza)

3) queso dip at vallarta's mexican restaurant (busch & 56th)

4) pan sobau from the coqui bakery (puerto rican bakery on waters & manhattan)

5) sweet & sour chicken from lin garden (busch & 56th)

and there are plenty of other things i like eating from other places, but i think these are my top. i think. i'll comment with more when i think of them.

who, me?

I AM 69% EVIL GENIUS! Evil courses through my blood. Lies and deceit motivate my evil deeds. Crushing the weaklings and idiots that do nothing but interfere in my doings. Take the EVIL GENIUS test at Fuali.com

happy new year!

well, it may be a new year but it's the same old life.

and my butt hurts cuz i have diarrhea. hmm.

for new year's we did the same thing we always do for new year's: dinner and a movie. woohoo! anyhow, it was dinner at logan's and saw the aviator which was unnecessarily long, but pretty good. i didn't agree with the last scene from a consistancy/editing standpoint, but christen tried to make the argument for the reasons why it was done that way. arg. i usually have a problem with something, especially when the director's style is such that i think they sacrifice truth for personal style. anywho, the rest of the movie is fine, so i can get over it.

i think there are finally people moving in upstairs. today's a fine day to do it. i hope they don't knock the pictures off my wall like the cleaning ladies and the carpet people and other random people did.

anywho, i have nothing else. happy new year.