Music jeopardy

Introducing a new weekly feature on my blog, bad guesses made by my co-worker as to who the artist playing on my iPod is. I've taken to writing them down because some of them are down right hilarious. And you all benefit from it. : )

So here was last week's guess.

Introducing "Desert Rose" by Clay Aiken!


Real Artist:


P.S. Aiken is in the spell check dictonary. Things I never wanted to know....

For a good time, get yourself down to Idlewild

Wow, what an amazing movie. I loved the music the acting and the costumes were to die for. If you hadn't considered going to see this movie, reconsider, please.

I hadn't heard much about this movie until Zipper started talking about it. Then I started seeing the trailers and thought to myself - Yeah, I have to see this one in the theater. Big Boi and Andre 3000 are amazingly talented performers. They can sing, rap, write music, act and if you stay for the credits, (recommended) you get to see Andre 3000 tap dance too. Macy Grey turns in a great performance as a caberet singer believe it or not, I didn't even recognize Ben Vereen and Terrence Howard plays an amazing villian as usual. There is even a cameo by Patti LaBelle.

Its a really good time. I haven't enjoyed a movie that much in a long time. Check it out. (Sorry T3 - rated R)

I Did it!

Yes, I faxed my first job application over to the university today. I really want this graduate Assistantship. It pays crap but the hours are better and the experience and connections I would make would be phenomenal.

Fingers crossed please.

Okay, what is up with blogger? Half of my toolbar is gone. WTF?

Yummy!

Have you seen those really cute commercials on TV for Pepsi Jazz? Well, I was super excited because:

A) I'm a Pepsi girl. and

B) The Pepsi Jazz are Diet Pepsi - I generally only drink diet sodas.

They have two flavors, Strawberries and Creame (No, thank you) and Black Cherry - French Vanilla (Yes Please!). I've been looking for a 20 oz. bottle of the stuff to try to no avail.

Until today.

Today I had the chance to purchase and try the Black Cherry - French Vanilla Pepsi Jazz and I like it. Some might say that it is a artificial tasting cherry/vanilla flavor but hey, I'm the girl who likes the banana flavored runts and the 'good in a disgusting kind of way' as Ms. D is fond of saying, treat below:

Oh Boy!

I'm havin' corn for dinner!

The 'rents picked some up at the local farmer's market and they are going to have the pot bubbling by the time I get home. Oh Boy!



I don't know if it is more sad or pathetic that having corn on the cob for dinner is a total highlight for me on a Friday night. I'm being a little silly with this entry but seriously, I'm looking forward to the corn.

This is getting redonkulous

Okay, I was actually in a good mood today when I walked into the building. I was yesterday too. It never fails though. Less than an hour into my day, I'm in a foul mood. And actually not for the same reason that I was cranky yesterday. A whole different thing.

I really have to stop complaining and do something about getting a better job. That's it, I am going to spend one night a week applying for jobs. If I don't put myself out there, how can anything change? I hope to apply to at least two jobs a week until I get a better job. As long as I have the chance of getting benefits and part time work so I can concentrate on school, I'll take an hourly pay cut. I've survived on little to no money before.

I actually received two emails this week for Teaching assistantships on campus. I emailed back on one of them asking them to review the application I turned in with the application for school, the other one I need to read up on and put together the application and cover letter. I think that one also requires letter of reference or at least references... Job hunting, as Ms. S can attest, is hard work. But how can I continue to complain about something if I am not willing to make a change.

As Ghandi says, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Not really what he meant but you get the sentiment.

Pointy knives and hot coals

I don't consider myself a violent person but seriously, I want to hurt the person who shares my cubicle. I thought perhaps he is just young but no, he's stupid.

I want to hurt him. A lot. Just so he will shut the fuck up.

Sigh

While I am never bored, since "only boring people get bored", I have found myself to be "entertainment challenged" as of late. And that is with a day's worth of work to do.





P.S. Gingerstep - I swear I will get to posting something about my surgery. I have even started writing it, I just haven't had time to finish it....

Ten, ten shopping days, ah ah ah

Yes, that's my really bad Count impression.

Just a little reminder about my B-day.

Carry on.

AUGGHHHH!

Damn Budgets! There is a class I have to take before I enter my program and I just found out that the section that I really wanted to be in, which would work better for my work schedule, is cancelled.

Don't they know that the world revolves around me?

Too Early

It is way too early to be at work. I've been here since 7:30.

PCs

So I pass this place called PC's Bar and Grill on the way to work each morning. I noticed today that the marquee says they have Grumpy Hour.

Grumpy Hour. Instead of Happy Hour. That cracks me up.

If I hadn't actually been inside the place, which looks like you'll catch an STD from the toilet seat, I would so be there.

Alas, the place is major skanky. But at least they have a sense of humor.

Speechless

Today, the person I share a cubicle with said, "Oh I love that song. Debbie Gibson is a good singer."

I had my iPod on shuffle. The song playing at the time was "Giving Him Something He can Feel" by En Vogue.

Doh!

Green thoughts

I've had this post written for a while but kept forgetting to grab the digital camera and download the second photo. Finally remembered last night.

I’m not a hardcore environmentalist who rides a bicycle everywhere or looks for only organic fruits and vegetables to eat, but I do check out a candidates stand on environmental issues when voting and I do recycle as much as possible. We only have one planet and we need to take care of it. I am also concerned about the amount of deforestation that is taking place in the world.

The reason I bring this up is a prime example in my own backyard, so to speak. The corporate complex I work in has been under construction for, oh about a year now. Some of the upgrades have been rerouting and upgrading the sewer system, widening entrances, and putting in a new power sub-station. I know the rent on the building we are in is very pricey for the space we are getting, so in a way, it is nice to see the management company actually put money back into improving the property. My company actually shares a building with the management company, we have half the bottom floor and all of the second, they have the top floor of our building. There are a couple conference rooms in the other half of the first floor.

I digress. The most recent big project which is affecting our ‘campus’ is the creation of a parking structure. It is badly needed. The parking stalls were small, not clearly marked and there were just not enough of them to go around, especially with the amount of SUVs in the parking lot. There were a lot of little trees planted through out the parking lot, which while too small to provide much shade, did provide a touch of green in an other wise ma-made environment. The project is scheduled to take 9 months. They started tearing up the asphalt about two weeks ago. Here is where they currently are on the project.

Our office had windows that face this Eastern parking lot which is being torn up. One day, I stood and watched as the bulldozers worked across the lot. I saw them carrying several buckets full of green groundcover over to a dumpster and pile it in. It was at this point, about a week ago that it occurred to me, “They are going to cut down and throw away all of those little trees in the parking lot, aren’t they?”

This thought made me very sad. What a waste of perfectly healthy trees. We need every leafy bit of green possible to combat the pollution that is created in the valley. These poor defenseless trees may not be very big but they were green, living things. They are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Stupid construction project.

So imagine my surprise as I was walking from the overflow parking lot across the campus to my building and saw this sight:

Yes, I am happy to report that I was wrong. The construction company did not chop all these trees down and consign them to the garbage. They were actually placed in wooden planters and I think you can see from the picture, some of them are being replanted along the newly re-topped parking lot to the West of the parking lot they were originally in. This made me so happy that I borrowed a digital camera and took the above pictures for this blog entry.

Ah, it is nice to be wrong once in a while. Especially about the killing of trees. Finally, a reason to smile on my way to work each day.

Breathe easy, plant a tree.

Weekend fun

Well, I had a very nice weekend, I hope you all did too. On Saturday, I got up around 9:30 and cleaned around the house since I had invited Meesh, T3 and JI over for a day of swimming and hanging out. Yeah, we didn’t swim but we still had a good time. JI was delayed due to a family emergency, so T3, Meesh and I spent a lovely afternoon together. The girls arrived noonish and hadn’t eaten, so as soon as dad got back from Trader Joe’s, we had a little lunch feast. We had four types of Hummus – regular, garlic, eggplant and roasted tomato (my fave) – with Akmak crackers, mini wheat pitas, several types of cheese and three types of quiche – spinach, artichoke and mushroom (frozen – please, do you think I cook?).

Afterwards we sat around and visited before heading over to Golden Spoon for frozen yogurt. So good! Meesh had cookies ‘n cream, T3 had St. Patrick’s mint and Just Chocolate and I had classic coffee. After finishing our treat, we headed over to Beverly’s fabrics to check out all the stuff they had and make fun of all the funny fabrics. We spent the entire time laughing.

We returned to mi casa and while T3 flipped though magazines looking for a new hairstyle, Meesh and I power napped for a good 20 minutes or so. Yup, passed right out. And apparently, we both twitch in our sleep. Meesh her feet and me my big toes. T3 thought it was hilarious. After that, we checked out some stuff online, Meesh went shopping in my closet and became to proud new owner of two tops and a pair of shoes. We hung out talking until 7 when we headed into the Valley to visit JI at her place.

That was a success, JI is a very good hostess. We decided that Meesh and JI had been separated at birth, played with the ‘kids’ a dashund named Ted and a dingo look-alike names ‘Evil’ or Eve for short. JI feed us and then we hung out on the patio with her roommate and a couple friends who came over right before we headed out for the day.

Sunday, I headed out to NoHo to meet up with Meesh and her bf. The three of us headed down to Melrose to get a hair cut. It’s an okay cut for me, I wasn’t blown away but I also wasn’t looking for a hat to hide my head right away either. I believe that you should leave a salon or barbershop feeling beautiful. Not my experience but I will go back.

We had lunch at this little place on Fairfax called Eat A Pita. Good Greek food and very decently priced. It had a lovely patio with shaded seating and we even had entertainment with our meal. We had a celebrity sighting. We saw:

Yup, John Malkovich. That's not the entertaining part. The poor guy, he had some crazy on the street standing at the gate and preaching at him for the majority of the time he was there. He looks and sounds exactly like he does on film.

We went to a flea market at the corner of Fairfax and Melrose for a little while and then headed back to NoHo. I returned home from there and had a very nice and relaxing evening doing nothing but staring at the tube.

Good times, good times...

Freaks

I don’t know about the people I work with, I really don’t.

Let me back up here.

When going to the bathroom with a friend, I have been know to continue a conversation we were having while both or one of us are in the stall. I’ve had conversations with people who entered while I was at the sink, they enter the stall and we keep talking. Basically, as long as the conversation starts face to face, it doesn’t bother me that the conversation continues while one or both go about their business, if you know what I mean.

However…

I went to the toity at work this morning and there was already someone in one of the stalls when I entered. We didn’t make any kind of visual contact, although from certain clues outside, I knew who was in there. But she didn’t know who I was. I could have been anyone entering, even a customer. So I enter the stall to go about my business and suddenly, from the stall next to me I hear,

Her: “Don’t you find that when the ad line opens, it makes you want to pee more?”

Me: (Pause) Uh, no.

Her: “Oh. Well, it does me.”

CAUTION, WEIRDOS WORKING.

There is also a sign that is posted on the inside of each stall door that says,

“Ladies Please help maintain the cleanliness of the bathroom & clean up after yourself. Thank you!”

From the day I started working here I have always wondered, “What kind of dirty birdies were leaving what kind of mess to necessitate the posting of that sign inside the stalls?” I wish I had a picture to show you the sign. Its really there, I swear. I’ve always wondered if the men’s bathroom has the same sign addressed to the men.

I love my job...

Monday

I have the gas. But since the person I share the cubicle with has already annoyed me this morning, he is just going to have to suffer.

Friday

I think it is time I start searching for a new job.

Grrrr

I hate my bosses.

Thursday

Phew! I got lunch from the cafe here at work and boy, they give you a lot of food. I'm sleepies!

I have been really busy after work but I promise to sit down and write a real blog soon. Good news, my bro got my new Mac online and I can now blog at home without my mouse jumping as I type!

Last night & today

So this was me last night from about 3 in the afternoon until I woke up this morning. I had a great post, with pictures, planned for last night but all I did was sleep.

Now here I am at work and though I have managed to dull the physical headache which started up again this morning, today is one big mental headache. I need my own cubicle - bad.

That post is coming much later.

Countdown

Jeez, I can’t believe it is August already. Yet I know the calendar is correct and it says August 1^st. August means one thing to me, countdown to my birthday.

Yes, that’s right, shopping days left til my birthday.

Now, it may seam a little weird that I countdown to my birthday like it is some major holiday but I have issues, lord do I have issues. My birthday is one of them. There is this trend among my friends, and please, since most of you read this, don’t take this as a scolding – I am just relaying past events –there is a trend of forgetting my birthday. Yes, that’s right, last year I got exactly two phone calls acknowledging my birthday. Ironically, I had one friend call me a day early but hey, she still remembered so that was awesome. Because I was pretty hurt that I didn’t hear from anyone else, not even a email a day late.

I only brought up how much it hurt me to two of my friends at the time so this may be news to a couple people. This is another of my issues. As opinionated and loudmouth as I can be about women’s issues, I cannot seem to speak up when I am hurt by those around me.

It is still a concept that I struggle with but my therapist says that I have the right to ask for what I want. So here it goes:

I want my actual birthday to be acknowledged by those people who are close to me. The actual day. It doesn’t even have to be in the form of a phone call, a two line email is enough for me. As long as it is sent by 11:59 PM on August 24^. I don’t want a huge party thrown or fancy gifts just a couple simple words. Happy birthday. On the actual day.

So to clear up a common mistake among my friends, let me clarify. My birthday is on August

I feel like a complete ass posting this.