04-29-04
Girlie Movie Night

THE Donut Pudding

Note that Heather has a different outfit on
 It was a total estrogen-o-rama. We rented Love Actually, ate tons of good food, and then we had a clothing exchange (thanks, Meredith) where Heather and I tried on about 5 grocery bags worth of Meredith's hand-me-downs. And can you say Donut Bread Pudding? It's just like bread pudding, but replace the bread with donuts. We also paused the movie about 30 times because one of us would have a story to share. I think we may have started a tradition (although I suggested that next time, we wear our pajamas).
Todd & Julie get married Saturday, and I finally figured out what to get them as a wedding gift. It's the same thing Heather got me last Christmas. I have some work to do.
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04-27-04
Pictures of Me

Hint Hint

Getting fries next door

At Neumo's

Phil was there to register voters
Sunday night we went to Neumo's to see Hint Hint perform an (almost) entirely new song set from their upcoming CD. We saw Jason briefly. The rest of the time Sean and I hung out in Neumo's 2nd story loft area with its red walls and black booths and talked about Most Embarrassing Jr. High School Moments and rollerskating. It was a very telling conversation.
Monday was atrociously Monday, making me want to kick things. It was truly awful.
Heather came over after I got home from work and we had a good time at Central Market, then we came home to make salad and sandwiches and watch Rounders (she brought the DVD). I can think of no better ending for yesterday than lounging on the futon with a plate of food in my lap, staring at the TV.
(Sean had to stay at work until after ten last night so he had a Monday too.)
Jon sent me this link - Seattle fans of Donnie Darko should be happy. Myself included. The director's cut "has quite a bit of added footage and a more complete story line."
Girlie Movie Night. My house. Tomorrow night.
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Heather told a joke

04-25-04
More Weekend Miscellany
First, Sean got his haircut and he's the cutest thing I've ever seen, hence my cornering him in our bathroom to take his picture, only for the shadows the create a Kramer-hair effect. I even tried to lighten the photo levels to show his hair vs. his hair's shadow, to little avail. But just trust me - he's adorable.
 
A truly classic photo of Jalen Pink Belly (one of his many Native American names), as I interrupted him while he was cleaning himself. Sometimes he'll clean himself, then sit up, as pictured, to take a breather, for about 20 minutes. Sitting like this. Like a fat kid staring at a TV or something. I love that cats have no shame.
He would play Nintendo if he could.		   Remember our neighbor Eleanor? She cut her hair off! She stopped by today to bring us eggs from their chickens. She also told me to keep an eye out for her friend's parakeet, who is missing.
Today was the first Six Thumbs softball game of the season, and while I won't mention the score, I will tell you that I met Rhoda, pictured left. Rhoda is one lengthy dog of love. (How could I not grab her cheeks?) I spent most of the game petting the other team's dogs. I think I'll start borrowing dogs to take to the games. It just seems right.
Tonight is Maple Leafs hockey, as they are still in the playoffs, and then we're off to the Hint Hint show.
Hey by the way, Heather and I are planning a Love Actually movie night here at my house if any of you are interested. Some time next week.
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04-24-04
Weekend Blather

Richard Hanano
 Cyndi, the Eagle Eye, sent me this article from the Las Vegas Review Journal with the note "Didn't you hook me up with this guy in high school?"
Yup. I did. And here's what he looked like back then. This picture was taken at VIP Video, which was owned by the Schneiders. I dated their son, Scott, then we broke up, then I became good friends with his older sister, Michele, for years.
Richard was from my ska phase in high school, circa 9th and 10th grade, as was Valerie Smith, pictured with me on the right. Valerie still owes my Dad $140 and an entire collection of original Beatles albums, which she stole from us.
I'm still horribly angry with her.

See my tail?!

Jason
Valerie was trying to get attention from a 20-something rock star who lived in LA, so she somehow managed to steal long distance phone calls by calling an operator and using our phone number for the charges. Apparently this is the only way she, at 15, could get in good graces with a rock star, as she didn't put out. And the rock star? He was the lead singer for a band called ?. Never heard of them? Yeah, nobody did. I don't think they made it past LA.*
The Beatles collection I will never understand. Dad's friend, Donna, let us borrow them. It was an immaculate collection - with original booklets and all. And one day, they were just gone from Valerie's house (I took them over there because she had the record player). She never did tell us if she just stole them, or sold them. Maybe she used the money to fund her bus ride to LA and her VW bug. I'll never know.
Speaking of rock stars, Jason stopped by today to dump his truck in front of our house, because obviously, that's what our house is for. His band, Hint Hint just finished recording their second CD, out now, and will go on tour again in May.
They are playing tomorrow night at Neumo's. Who wants to see Muse with me next week? (Sonya?). I got a "+1" on the guest list.
*Total flashback memory from this story. Those of you who know me, and probably many of you who don't, know that I'm a groupie. Not a Put Out Groupie, of course, but a Pal to the Stars, if you will. While I currently have this status from my cousins being in rock bands, and Jason booking gigs for Seattle clubs, this history actually goes all the way back to Las Vegas with an ex-girlfriend of my Dad's who had many, many Vegas connections, and she was around all through my jr. high and high school days. But I was under close supervision for many of my encounters (although, ahem, not all), and there was little to no physical contact (Cyndi, Greg, shut up) with the rock stars and comedians.
But! There was this girl who went to Hyde Park Jr. High and her name was Jeannie. Jeannie Cho? Chao? I forget. SHE was a groupie. Actually, no, she was a Groupie. She was in 8th or 9th grade and she did put out. In PE class we would all gather around her to hear Tales From the Latest Concert. I believe she was deflowered by a member of Ratt. I'm pretty sure it was Ratt. Or maybe Poison? Were they around in 1983? Okay, my point is, I will always remember the PE class the day after Stryper performed. We all gathered around her in awe. "It totally sucked," she said. "All they did was smoke pot and pray."
Ah the trials of being a groupie for a Christian Metal band.
That picture on the right is Greg, Jonny, and I in 11th grade. I just thought you'd all appreciate the earrings and male eyeliner.
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04-23-04

Ryan Edward's hand in his Daddy's hand

Sarah & Marc & Baby arrive and there's a crowd

Ryan

Beautiful New Mommy

So tiny!!

Future Soccer Player
I'm so happy for Marc and Sarah. I mean, today Marc said "We just stare at him all day." Ryan's under six pounds now, but feeding well. (He has such long arms!)
It was a wonderful visit.
Tonight I was very busy making their gift, and here's a hint of what I made.
It's now almost midnight and we just cleaned up.
Tomorrow Sean has a work meeting (usually his day off) and I will head over to Marc & Sarah's to deliver the goods. The weather couldn't be better. And Sunday is the first day of softball for Six Thumbs!
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Do I look awkward?

04-22-04
I couldn't be more proud of Monica.
She was on CNN.com today! (her picture too!!) Monica is the Environmental Justice Coordinator for the Washington Association of Churches, and a pastor at a church here in Seattle. And she had an environmental bone to pick with George W. Bush. And CNN reported it.
Because of the subject matter, she received pages and pages of hate mail and angry phone calls all day today. I'm sure it will continue.
Oddly, many complained about abortion, although it has nothing to do with Monica's stance on environmental issues. But you see, apparently if you speak out against Bush, then you must be pro-abortion, therefore you're going to burn in Hell.
Hmpf. The cost of fame, I guess.
Monica is also a member of our "Six Arms" group via Noah, whom she is engaged to. And we all happened to be at Six Arms tonight to celebrate her newfound radical fame. She rocks.
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The Ghost of Noah, Me, Monica

04-21-04

JenB, Internet Babe
 Came home today to an Amazon box. No, I haven't ordered anything from Amazon. But JenB did. She went to my wishlist and bought me a book and a heart-shaped LeCreuset ramekin. Because she loves me. And I love her. And I love everyone who I've met through this website.
For instance, I also went to the Blogger Meetup tonight, where Tyd and John brought me their new food processor. They said they don't use it much, and I wanted a food processor, so they gave me theirs.
I also received a mix CD from Sonya of summer bootie-shaking songs. I tried to create a mix for her, but it wasn't perfect, so I turned to Pinder, Man of the Music, for advice, which he gave me.
Got a postcard from Styro (presently off the air) from her trip to Vegas. Got lunch from Heather. Got advice and support from everyone.
The internet just doesn't get any better than this.
While talking to Jeff & Manuel at the Blogger Meetup, I toyed with the idea of another party this summer - kinda like the August Everything Party. I was telling them that the internet has been so good to me, it deserves a party, and they reminded me that I've already done that. A couple times now. But you can never have too many parties, right?
Later tonight Sean & I had dinner at Kolja's so we could meet his sister (visiting from Hamburg Cologne), and some other friends were in attendance. We just got home. I taped West Wing, but I will have to wait until tomorrow to watch it.
Why?
Because Ray asked me to work tomorrow. I usually have Thursdays off. One step closer!

Dinner
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04-20-04
Today's Dog of the Day is brought to you by Tulip, a Bernese Mountain Dog (which is the breed of dog I will have if I am ever capable of having a dog). Tulip was visiting the Coffee Crew Cafe with her Daddy, who explained that she was born with a damaged left eye, hence her lack of a left eye. I wanted to hug her all day.
Be sure to click that link, too, and check out the "galleries" on the right. Great dogs.
Our friends Sarah Rankin and Marc Pevoto had their baby, a boy, on Saturday evening. It was a very swift delivery. Ryan Edward, weighing in at exactly 6 pounds.
On another completely unrelated note, anyone have any recipes they'd like to share? I have hamburger in the freezer, or I can go buy some chicken, or whatever. We're on a tight grocery budget this week and I'm burned out of our regular choices. I considered lasagna, but once you add ricotta and mozzarella, it adds up. I need to meal plan for the week. Lemme know.
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P.S. Wanna print these recipes? They're all here.

04-19-04

Sean was driving and I said Stop! Back up!

What an honor!
 Someday I want my own mosaic head planter. (Tyd?) Maybe a planter with both my and Sean's heads. This bizarre finding was by the Seattle City Light office on 92nd (?) just off Aurora. There's no explanation for the mosaic planterhead. I'd like to know who he is and why they made a mosaic planterhead out of him. It's HUGE!   
And remember how I said Sean's Kia is a Sportage? Then I was wrong, and I said it's a Sephia? I was wrong again. It's a Spectra. Whatever.
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04-18-04
Pour yourself a drink, this is a super-duper long entry
I picked up Joe from his ship Tuesday afternoon at Todd's Shipyard on Harbor Island. I was there with military families, including homemade signs that said "We missed you Daddy!" and balloons and flowers. I was depressed. All I could think about was how difficult the past week had been, with Sean's car taking it's toll on our relationship. After about one and a half hours, I was finally let onto the boat to greet Joe and meet some other shipmates. Joe was all "YEAAH!!! FREEDOM!" and I was all "So my car is parked over here."
On the drive to our house, Joe was telling me stories of his trip, and I was just saying "uh-huh." I was horrible. This was after us being apart for almost six months. Joe could tell something was wrong and I went off and gave him the scoop for about ten minutes without taking a breath.
Once we were back at the house, Joe charged up his truck battery (which took about an hour from my little Honda to his giant truck) and we waited for Sean to come home. And that's where I got worse. Sean was so happy to see Joe, it was as if the past few weeks hadn't happened. He was funny and smiling and joking and I was furious. Instead of being happy that Sean was happy again, I was thinking "Why can't he be this way with me?" I tried to keep reminding myself that he would be just as happy to see me if I had left for six months, but my emotions got in the way of common sense, and I was a total jerk. I hardly spoke. For a couple days.
By the time Thursday rolled around, it all hit the fan.
Sean and I had a big fight that afternoon, when I stood in the living room and yelled at Sean for being horrible for so long, then being this great, fun guy as soon as Joe was here. Before I could even get it all out, Sean walked out the door, and I was left standing in the middle of the living room staring at the chair that Sean had been sitting in. It just made me so mad that money problems and arguments over a car could affect us this much. But it did. And on top of all this, we still had no car, and Sean needed to return Kraig's car back to Kraig, and he needed to buy a car he could afford, and I was working part-time therefore we're broke because of me, and my head was just spinning.
So I went into the bedroom to watch the Apprentice (the last episode).
And at the very moment that Donald's talking to Bill and Kwame, Sean comes home and walks into the bedroom and says "I need a hug" and as we're hugging, Donald says "And so, I have to say, You're Hired!" and I'm in mid-hug craning my neck to watch the TV.
The hug didn't end the fight, that's for sure. I turned off the TV (somebody tell me what happened after Bill got the job and they talked to the cast!) and he said "Look. This isn't working. You have to find a full-time job. It's only fair. It's been too long. You have to talk to Ray and ask for full-time." But it's awkward, because I just asked Ray two weeks ago for me to go full-time, and he said "We'll see" so I don't want to nag him for full-time, I want him to ask me to work full-time. You know?
Then we give each other this ultimatum that I must find full-time work now, even if it means getting another part-time job at the mall or a restaurant, and in exchange, he will ramp up his efforts to find a new job (he doesn't like his job but he's been there for two years, which totally puts him in a bad mood, oh, every night that he gets home from work), and also, he will buy a car that makes sense (Joe later told me that he spoke to Sean about this one).
So now it's late Thursday night, and I'm still crying off and on, even though Sean and I aren't fighting anymore. Joe is at the airport picking up Jean, and I post my little rant (4-15-04), and pretend to go to bed.
Later that night I heard Joe & Jean walk in the door, but I was too depressed to go out and say Hi. I figured I'd just see her tomorrow. They went out on the back patio to finally have a chance to relax and talk.

Wednesday night
The original plan was for Jean to be here when Joe's ship pulled in, then he would get off the ship in full uniform, get down on his knee, and propose. (Hence Estella's comment on 04-13-04) But his ship got in early, so Joe had the ring in his pocket for whenever. We were thinking about decorating a cake for the party Friday night that said "Jean will you marry me?" and the dot of the ? would be the ring. I baked the cake Thursday evening and left it unfrosted, just in case.
Instead, soon after they sat down, Jean said "You look thin, have you lost weight?" and Joe said "Yeah, I'm back down to about 150. Will you still marry me anyway?" (They had been talking of marriage since, oh, as soon as they hooked up last year). So she said "I don't see a ring on this finger" (har har) and he says "Will this do?"
Now, before Joe shipped out, Joe said "Is there anything you want me to get you?" and Jean had asked Joe to find her a pretty opal ring. So she thought he was giving her an opal ring.
She says she opened it, saw a diamond, and closed it.
"Is this what I think it is?"
And he got on his knee and asked her to marry him. On my patio! And I'm laying in my bed pretending to be asleep, and I don't hear a thing. Hmpf.
On Friday I worked and planned to bring something up to Ray, somehow, but Ray rushed out at ten a.m. and was out for the rest of the day. The rant on my site was getting some very nice feedback from everyone (except for Cyndi who says she hears I'm a good prostitute, or something... I think she was trying to make me laugh), and I'm planning a party at my house that night, even though I'm busy at work all day, and there's no way I can leave early. I was a stressball. That morning Heather sent me an e-mail asking me what I recommend from Zao, one of my favorite restaurants, and I write back with this long reply (suggested appetizers and everything) and after I hit send, I think, Heather's a foodie. Why would she ask me what to try at a restaurant? And I know she just left a sympathetic comment on my site, so hmmmm.....
Sure enough, around noon, Todd's on the phone, and he's looking at me saying "Yeah, I won't tell her. Are you bringing enough for all of us?" and I knew Heather was on her way. Sure enough. Heather brought me my favorite meal from Zao, and left her work to get it for me and bring it to me, leaving her NO time for her own lunch. I love the internet. I love the friends I've made.
To make it even more difficult, I go to hug her (I'm not normally a hugger, but this was a thank you/good-bye) and instead of her giving me one of those tap-tap cutesy "Okay buh-bye" hugs, it was one of those enveloping, tight, held hugs that say "If you need to cry, go" and I came very close to losing it. But I maintained (I totally should have cried because I know I would've felt better. I'm one of those people that get sick from holding in my crying too long).
Friday afternoon I got home around six, and was horrified by the state of my house. I was able to finally greet Jean, then admonish Sean for the house looking awful (he was watching hockey), then I promptly switched into party mode. I frosted and decorated the cake, cleaned the kitchen, gave orders to the others, and by seven, the party began.

Aren't I loving? (photo censored)

Jean & Joe "Cut the F**k"

Joe got the "f**k" piece

Part of the crowd

Sean, Jon, Fernanda, appetizers

Dommi on her perch

Sean & I finally feeling better

These guys played hackeysack around the world

Jean & Jalen

The Chalkboard Wall
 Joe had friends from the ship join us. He didn't know (and therefore didn't tell people) that the party was a potluck, but we still had quite a few people who brought food. Plus, as with all parties, we are stocked with beer and wine for the next month (and you guys wonder why we have so many parties). We also had some non-Coast Guard friends of Joe's, plus a couple Six Arms friends, plus Heather and Matthew stopped by towards the end of the night. I think we stayed up until maybe two. It was nice that Joe & Jean explained how they got together to Heather & Matthew. It's such an amazing story, and although it took an hour to tell, his audience was riveted. (Let me just state here that I want the book rights.)
By the end of the night I was wiped out (as you can see). I didn't clean a single dish. By the time I woke up at 11 the next morning, my head was pounding like I had a hangover (and I don't drink). Joe and Jean also slept until about 11.
Sean and I had a big day ahead of us. We had to buy a car.
And here she is. I can't believe Sean bought this thing. As a matter of fact, as soon as Sean sat down to talk to the car dealer, I said "I'm gonna go - call me if you want me to pick you up" and I left. I couldn't handle the pressure, and I did not want to influence his decision in any way. I know I wrote earlier that he was getting a Sportage, but that just shows you how much I can('t) identify cars. It's a Sephia. Whatever.
This is the absolute last thing I would ever picture Sean driving. And the fact that Sean kept saying that this would be a family car had me running in the opposite direction. It's a manual, with no A/C and not much pick-up, and lots of room in the back.
Huh.
Then we left to return Kraig's car.

Sean, the new car, and neighbor Eleanor

Kraig & Kim's kitties

Lovers

Sean, Kraig, the dogs
 I can't tell you how lucky we feel that so many people helped us and offered to help us. We borrowed Kraig's car for weeks, Merideth offered us her car to borrow, Bonnie offered to sell us their old car (in payments! She's never even met me in person!), Maggi offered to sell us her brother's car, tons of people wrote nice things, and in the end, we had a party and bought a 2003 Kia. It ain't over, because we now have a new $150 a month car payment, but really, it's as good a deal as we could hope for. It has a warranty and gets decent gas mileage, and Sean's insurance won't go through the roof. I'm just so relieved, although there's still the full-time job pressure hovering and party dishes

Joe & Jean this morning
to clean up. It's always something, big or small. Jean left this afternoon to go back to Alaska and pack her stuff. Joe leaves late tonight to drive down to Sacramento to fill out paperwork for his new house/new job. Then he picks up his Mom in Vegas, then they drive to Laguna Beach for a family reunion, then Joe comes up just long enough to take care of last minute stuff, and then he moves to Sacramento for good. Jean will join him for the family reunion, then again a few weeks later when she moves to Sacramento. Whew!
*the explanation for the crude cake?
I don't really have one.
I guess it's just the sort of punishment

Yesterday afternoon after Sean bought his car
you get from being friends with me. I said to Sean "Maybe I'll put 'Welcome to Hell'" and he said "No, that's a bit much. Just put 'f**k off' heh heh" (he was totally joking) and I looked at him like he was crazy, and he said "just put j/k after it." So I did.
If you read all of this instead of just skimming the pictures, you're crazy.
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04-16-04
A Little Something to Hold You Over

From IzzlePfaff.com:
This is to me a total summation of all things broken-computery. Imagine meeting a surgeon after he's operated on your kid: "I don't have any idea what happened here." "But is he okay?" "Oh, yeah, he's fine. It was the coolest thing. He was just about to die, but then I put a walnut in his shoe." "What?" "Yeah, I don't know either, but it worked. He's outside playing soccer; you can go pick him up."

From Snowy:
the word is, old orenthal julius is planning on having a show that is a take off of Ashton Kutcher's "Punk'd" 'cept that the tag line after the prank has been played out is "you've been Juiced".
i don't know about you, but if i ever fell prey to a prank masterminded by OJ Simpson and then had him come springing up out of the shrubbery shouting at me that I've been "Juiced" i'm gonna be needing a new pair of grunders right on the spot as mine will undoubtedly be soiled.
Nothing would horrify me more than that particular moment in time.

From Molly:
And also? every time I look at this baby I want to eat it.

(I couldn't agree more)
Party was last night - we still need to clean up. Sean is presently trying to finance a 2003 Kia Sportage. I'll keep you all posted.
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04-15-04
I'm here, but my life is sorta imploding right now. Sean absolutely must buy a car tomorrow, and I absolutely must have a full time job by tomorrow. And tomorrow night is Joe's party at our house.
I hope to be myself again soon.
Thanks for sticking with me.
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04-13-04
Joe's Home

And now it's midnight. So that is all. G'night.
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04-12-04
No car news yet. Sean's Mom offered to co-sign for a loan, but the bank would only offer a 3-year loan at $350 a month, which is impossible.
In better news, Joe's ship hauled ass from Hawaii, so he gets here tomorrow afternoon! We will be playing Settlers again!
Today at JA we welcomed Chris to our crew. Of course this weekend our server was reconfigured so I was royally confused trying to set up her e-mail. I hope her first impression of me wasn't that one.
Tonight we had our book club meeting for "Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs. Highly entertaining. Sean is reading it now. Next up is The Crimson Petal and the White.
I think I'll put away the laundry that's been in the dryer since yesterday.
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(New) Chris, Lauren, Chris, Alison, Marc

04-11-04

Fiddleduds
 This weekend got better after I:
• spoke to my both of my parents, and my grandparents
• washed my car
• went to Central Market and saw a bunch of my old Starbucks customers
• enjoyed another Seattle spring "heat wave" (in the 70's)
• made a whole batch of chocolate pudding, for myself
• made FOUR whole mixed CD's of fun summer music
• received so many nice e-mails from concerned readers
What didn't help my weekend any:
• Fiddlehead ferns - I've been looking for these for years so I could try them. $3 for a handful. They kinda tasted like dirt and.... root. Fiddlesticks.
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04-10-04
Queensryche: Where are they now?
Well, here's one of them.
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04-09-04
The days are getting longer. And it ain't necessarily the time change.
Once the mechanic called to say Sean's car would take $2000+ just to be safe enough to drive, we decided to just have it towed home. I mean, it's not like we can just leave it at the mechanic's for months. Unfortunately. (Anyone know how to put a car up on blocks?)
This has put a major crimp in my & Sean's days. It's bad enough that we have been in a constant struggle just to keep afloat since 2000, it's another to have Bad Things happen to test us further.

The bitch is back
I guess the biggest issue is Sean's desire to get a decent car to replace the Corrado. He had his eye on a 1999 VW Jetta with low mileage at $10k. It's a good price. Unfortunately, it's not a good price for us. Therefore many well-meaning friends and family members have told Sean their opinions, and have recommended he look for a much cheaper car. While that makes the most sense, it's incredibly difficult for us to swallow the fact that Sean buying a $10k car is ridiculous. He's 36 years old and works a full time job. Should it be so ridiculous to consider a $10k car?

Kraig's Car
We are so very lucky that Sean's boss, Kraig, handed over the keys to his car to use as needed. Without that, Sean would be taking the bus for over an hour to his job at Southcenter. But the atmosphere in our home has been.... muted. It's kinda like, If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. It's not like we're mad at each other, it's just that there aren't many nice things to say.
I was one of the people who expressed a cautious opinion about Sean getting the Jetta. But then, if you look at the whole picture, I am the reason why Sean can't afford the Jetta. It's a bit difficult to have an opinion when I make 1/3 of what he does by working part-time. I am the reason why we're broke. And no, I don't want to work part-time. And yes, I have been applying for jobs like crazy. And no, please don't send me ANY MORE job listings from monster.com or craigslist.org. I appreciate it, really I do, but I swear my friends have been sending me job listings for as long as I've known them, and frankly, it's getting pathetic.
How I ended up being a part-time secretary ten years after getting my degree is beyond me. Too much moving around, too much having fun, I don't know. There are so many delicate issues in this, it would take all day to type out. Everyone has a suggestion for us - move out of the house and rent a cheaper place, move back to Indiana, buy the house, wait tables, write a book, have babies, apply here, go back to school for this... it's unending. And everyone means well; I know they do.
But after all of the goals I set for myself so long ago, I swear I'd be satisfied if Sean and I just had decent full-time jobs (not even cool ones, not even motivating ones, not even good-paying ones), and could buy this old house, and could have one or two kids before I go through menopause. All the other details, I no longer care.
And I think that's what's most upsetting. We've been so desperate for so long, I don't even aim high anymore. Those kids on that monster.com commercial? ("I wanna be in middle management!" "I wanna be a yes-man!" "I wanna work long hours for low pay!") That's me.

It's rare that I'm so personal on this site. I pride myself for keeping this page (personally-) rant-free. So if this entry disappears, you'll know why.

(Even the subservient chicken couldn't help me.)

04-08-04
Update!
If you haven't visited the Subservient Chicken yet, please do so now. Tell him to do anything, and he will.
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(thanks, Mike)

04-08-04

Bruce, Kim, (Dominique) Sylvia, Sean
 Last night we had our neighbors over for dinner. Sylvia lives next door to us, and Kim and Bruce live across the street from her. We made our full mexican dinner, of course.
And the poopy cake from the day before? It aged well in a day. It was fine! I guess it just needed to "set".
I missed West Wing for the third week in a row (I'll have a lot of catching up to do this summer). Too many social events on Wednesday nights!
Since we have towing insurance, Sean had his car towed to his mechanic in downtown Seattle - we'll have an estimate tomorrow.
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04-07-04
Stupid, stupid cake.
The oven likes to creep higher and higher as we bake, so I had Sean turn it down about 25 degrees for the last fifteen minutes. Then I didn't hear the timer go off. Then I put the glaze on too soon (while it was still too hot) and the glaze slid off.
Leaving me with a burnt cake that's raw on the inside and a pile of glaze in the center of it.
And yes, I'm eating it. Duh.
Joe called. He's in Hawaii. His ship docks here in Seattle next Wednesday night.
I love this: "He was caught by a state trooper about two hours later on I-5 in north Seattle."
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04-06-04
Some days you should just stay home. And don't touch anything.
Yesterday morning started with me spilling cat food all over the kitchen floor. Instead of sweeping it up and throwing it away, I just left it there and didn't fill the cat food bowls. The cats figured it out.
While the cats were eating off the floor, I made a smoothie. When I opened the freezer, a frozen banana fell to the floor just inches from Dominique, who's skittish already, and she bolted out of the kitchen. Then I accidentally inhaled part of my smoothie and I choked and coughed and coughed until my eyes were watering. Then I did it again twenty seconds later.
When it came time for me to leave work - I couldn't get my car out of the driveway. Sean's using his boss's car for work now, so Kraig's car is parked in front of my car, and there's a low wall behind my car which I can't see in any mirrors. After driving over my front lawn numerous times, I finally had to wake up Sean to move Kraig's car so I could drive forward out of my driveway. I felt so stupid.
At lunch at work, as I was getting out of my car, a big beautiful bumblebee flew into my car and I said "No! No no! I'm leaving!" and it flew directly into my back window, and for some strange reason, it wedged itself into the crevice between my back window and back "dashboard." Then it got stuck. In a panic, I grabbed a sheet of paper and tried to "sweep" it out of the crevice. Instead, I not only wedged it in there further, but I also swiped it's little legs with a crunch. I almost cried. It was still making buzzing noises. So then I tried to smash him with the paper to end the madness, but I couldn't get the wadded-up paper in the crevice enough, so I just tortured it further. It was hopeless.
I left it in my car, dying.
Once at my desk, I considered getting a pen and going back down there to try to swipe it out again, but it was already crunched up pretty bad. I can't tell you how much this pained me.
My karmic saving grace came a couple hours later in the form of a Napoleon Mastiff by the name of Luka. She's a puppy! This guy was walking his dog and I had just gone out to get supplies for work at Office Depot. I pulled over and jumped out of the car and said "Can I please pet your dog?" If only this guy knew just how badly I needed to pet his dog. He said "Okay, but she's a puppy" and sure enough, she had the energy and excitement of a pup even though she's huge. She does that growling purr when she's thrilled and she rolled over for me to scratch her belly, and I was given slimy kisses. I wanted to grab her face and take it with me (and with jowls like hers, I could have gotten to the end of the block!).
Thanks, Luka. I needed that.
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04-05-04
We did our taxes at Kraig & Kim's Saturday night. I forgot my W-2 and rushed home to get it. When I got back, they were exclaiming "You got a $1500 refund coming!" and then Kim said "Okay! Let's see what your taxes do!" and then our refund was whittled down to $200. (That thudding sound is me banging my head against the wall.)
We saw Goodbye Lenin last night. It was good. A bit long, and more of a drama than a comedy (go figure) but I still enjoyed it.
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04-02-04
• Can someone explain to me, in layman's terms, how we have less crime with the time change? And save energy dollars? I mean, there's still the same hours of darkness and light, there's still the same number of criminals, I don't get it. Throw me a bone.
• Baseball season is here again, and so I bid a fond adieu to Jon and Amy. See you next fall.
• Hockey season is ending and I can celebrate having Sean to myself, until hockey season starts up again four weeks later. Okay it's not four weeks but it seems like it. And okay, I don't really have him to myself. In the meantime he will watch Classic Hockey Moments and Stanley Cup videos. And even if it happened 12 years ago, he will still yell SCOOOOOORRE! when there's a goal and I will peel my cats from the ceiling.
• We bought an electric lawn mower 3 years ago and the battery died. Not like no power, but like DIED. And it's over $100 for the new battery. You should see our lawn. Okay, no, you shouldn't.
• Joe has all of his stuff in storage because he goes to Antarctica, you know, and the storage place called me - his storage was broken into and ransacked. I have to go there and try to figure out if anything was stolen, so I had Joe compile a list of valuable items in said storage. Telescope. Drywall tools. Remote control boats. Boys are SO. CUTE.
• So we made this cake tonight. Took about an hour. It was so sweet, Sean and I were making toosweet! scrunchy faces and clamoring for glasses of water. Next time I'll just save myself some time by dumping a box of powdered sugar into a sauce pan until it melts, then drinking it.
• Sean's VW Corrado stopped working today. It hasn't had a second gear in, oh, months, and now we have no idea what's wrong. The car's clock reset itself to zeros. Have you ever seen that? Me neither. It's gonna be bad.
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04-01-04
And so we begin April.
Yesterday I was on the phone with FedEx and the guy asks my name and I say "Dayment. Like Payment with a D." And he says "Okay Ms. Paymend..." and I thought, well, I've been saying that for ten years now, and I guess it's about time someone makes that mistake.
Coriander at Graceland was great, although too late for me these days - they were the third band out of four performing that night, and I was wiped out.
It was nice to see all the work that Shane did to Graceland months ago. I still hadn't seen it. They removed a wall in the front room (and added these wacky chairs!) and removed a bar in the stage room and it makes a huge difference. So huge a difference, in fact, that I felt out of place there, which depressed me. I felt old. And tired.
Yesterday Sally came over with pizza and we watched Casino. I can't tell you how many times I've seen that movie. And that part? Where the guy's head is in a vice? And his eye pops out of his head? Still foul.
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Funny Senators

Coriander and friends at Graceland