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littlebitocd
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| Crafty Like a FOX |
[Mar. 13th, 2009|06:02 pm] |
A couple of weeks ago, Jen & I were discussing the fact that we both like to cross-stitch, but that there aren't very many good patterns in the stores--it's mostly grandma stuff. So I set out to create the most geek-chic cross-stitch pattern in the world.
Here's what I got:
Click to view and download larger sizes
That's right, Dr. Mario. It's meant to be stitched onto black cloth and the final product would look more or less like this:
But here's what makes it extra geeky: the score is "1337" (Bob's suggestion) and the coolest part: if you put that double red pill Mario's holding in just the right spot, every single virus and pill on the screen vanishes. Do you see it?
I made some minor tweaks to the design, to fit to my personal neuroses, mostly just making things balance, but... I also changed Mario. He used to have a stethoscope but...
I know you don't have a lot of pixels to work with, but why is it flesh-colored? And since this is going to the house where Bob lives, I absolutely couldn't have a Mario that was hanging brain. So, he's just in a lab coat. |
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| It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like DELICIOUS! |
[Jan. 12th, 2009|10:29 pm] |
Karen, Jen, Katie & I got together back in late 2007 to spend our afternoon making gingerbread houses and watching holiday movies. (See the 2007 photos.) And it was so much fun we had to bring it back again!
Last year we all made the exact same kit, so it was actually really cool how different our houses turned out, but this year I wanted something entirely different, so I made a choo-choo! It's even got a cow stuck on the cow-catcher!
But the sad part? Karen couldn't come. :( Some dumbass crashed into her and she was busy sorting out the aftermath with insurance and a rental car and the repair shop. But since she told me she was planning to make the neighborhood crack house, I made her this little yummy slum, inspired by Gingerbread Ghetto.
"I hate the homeless... ness problem that plagues our city." --Captain Hammer, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog
But I felt kind of evil for doing it, so I gladly accepted when Katie asked me to make the nativity for her gingerbread church. Look! The magi even have DIFFERENT sprinkle gifts for gummy baby Jesus! And a sour tape blue thingie for Mary!
See the rest of the photos here! and be sure to read Jen's darling tourism review of our little town. Check out the sweet Mail Ninjas! We were trying for British mailboxes, but that's not what they ended up looking like! :)
EPILOGUE: I took the train to my office the week before Christmas. Somebody asked me if they were allowed to eat it. Ew.
FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: Don't eat a gingerbread house, especially not an amateur one. They are handled a LOT and I had no compunction about licking icing off my fingers and going right back to handling the candy. Just think of it as decoration, not food. |
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| Dude, You are NOT Subtle |
[Nov. 15th, 2006|11:46 pm] |
Like, at ALL.
I went out to breakfast this morning with Jen & Gretchen, and our waiter, Dan (Dave?) introduced himself--to my chest. Seriously, "my name is Dan-Dave," right at my boobs. I looked over at Gretchen with my "Did that seriously just happen?" look, to which she responded, "Yeah, he was totally staring at your boobs." What the hell, man? Not on.
I GOT MY CHIP & DIP BOWL BACK!!! And it is the coolest.
Val & I went to ladies' night at the U City Melting Pot tonight.
It's different than the West County one. First, no goodie bag, which is a real shame, because a goodie bag from there would be way better, because the surrounding merchants in West County suck. Also, WC has a completely pre-set menu, while UC just has a pre-set entree and for the other three courses you can choose anything on the menu. So, both good, just different.
It is possible that God doesn't want Val & I to eat at the U City melting pot, because the last two times that we've gone, there has been inclement weather--this time rain threateneing snow, last time massive sleet. But we will not be stopped. We both left completely stuffed, PLUS lunch for tomorrow--despite Valerie's inherent desire to eat every piece of food on the table, even if she know it will make her sick to eat all that food. She's getting better, though.
Our waiter was lacking. He was rushing through everything, and was generally inattentive. We were disappointed in him. |
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| Blog-iversary |
[Nov. 11th, 2006|09:07 pm] |
Hey! So it's been a whole year since I let Jen & Val talk me into starting this blog. I gots no follow up, I'm just sayin'.
Spent the day with Jen (appearances by Bob). We went to another morning movie ($4--can't beat that with a stick!), Stranger Than Fiction this time. It's REALLY good. It's got some really funny moments, but it's very poignant, too.
Then we hit the Mills. Bob & I got shoes (all set for winter shoes now) and Jen got clothes. After a late lunch at Longhorn, we decided to ditch Bob's ass. We had a discussion about whether or not Bob was a huge nerd since he uses words like 5uxx0r5 in real life (or IRL, if you prefer), as if they were actual words. He claims it's ironic and he can do that because he's 1337. I have my doubts.
Tried to pick up our pottery from last weekend, but the freaking place closes at 5 on Saturdays!!! So we'd driven all the way to South County for nothing. And South County is FAR. So as not to waste the trip, we went to the South County mall to get in a little more shopping. |
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| One Fell Swoop |
[Jul. 31st, 2006|01:13 am] |
Okay, so I've been getting some nasty comments about the fact that I haven't updated the blog, well, basically all month. I maintain that it is totally not my fault. Extenuating circumstances, I swear.
Jen: "I'm so sick of seeing 'What's a Nubian?' I see it and I get all pissed off."
That's a paraphrase, but still. Come on! That is an EXCELLENT scene from Chasing Amy! It is not my fault you are not hip enough!
Hooper: And then you got Darth Vader, the blackest brother in the galaxy, Nubian god!
Banky: What's a Nubian?
Hooper: Shut the fuck up!
[Later]
Hooper: What's a Nubian? Bitch, you almost made me laugh.
Banky: You didn't tell me you were gonna yell "Black Rage." I nearly pissed myself.
But, as a peace offering, I'm going to go back and make up as much stuff as I can remember--but as an excuse, I've been very busy at work so I was pretty worn out when I got home at night, and then I had no electricity (which equals no internet).
It's supposed to be 100 for the next three days--that's disgusting.
Dude, Don't You Have Other Tables?
Sunday, 7/30 - After church, Mom & I hit the Mills for a movie & lunch. Monster House was starting just as we got there, so rather than wait an hour & a half for the next show, we just decided to eat after.
Monster House is REALLY GOOD. It may be a little too intense for little kids--the house is a pretty rough monster--but they did a really good job with all the characters and the story is good. I had to stay for the credits because it kept bothering me that I couldn't place the voice they had for the babysitter's boyfriend, Bones (it's Jason Lee, by the way, but I attribute my inability to place it to the fact that he was playing a stoner musician--he was giving off Keanu vibes). If you go see it, there's a couple of scenes right at the beginning of the credits, but there's nothing at the very end--once the screen goes black for the credits, there's nothing more.
Then we went to Tony Roma's for lunch where we had the world's most overly attentive waiter EVER. Sitting down at the table "for a while" is over the line, dude. I am sorry you don't have more tables, find another way to occupy yourself.
Cat Eye Cannoli
Saturday, 7/29 - Lazy chore day. I cleaned out my car, scrubbed down the inside and let the rain take care of the outside. Then did a bunch of laundry. I also went through all my mail and realized that my Disney World trip confirmation had me arriving twice, Katie once, and Beth not at all--and since Beth is arriving separately from Katie & me, I wanted to make especially sure that she was taken care of. So I called the Disney Travel Company to straighten it all out.
I don't know where the guy on the phone was from--it wasn't an Indian accent, but it was definitely thick (I don't think Disney uses any outsourced to India call centers)--but he just kept saying Katie's name all crazy-like. No matter how many times I said "Katie Connolly" he just kept saying "Cat Eye Cannoli." But I was able to get everything straightened out and Beth should get to the hotel easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.
I watched the awesome thunderstorm and hoped and prayed that I wouldn't lose power again. I think it's safe to buy groceries again--and I've lost the 5 pounds I gained living off of canned fruit & McDonald's while I waited for the electricity to come back.
I thought I was going to the Muny, but I was wrong. This was the show I agreed to give up my ticket to in exchange for Mom giving up a ticket for Karen. I did not remember until about 7:15 when I was all, "Well, I guess she's not coming."
So Good! So Good! So Good!
Friday, 7/28 - Today was the last day at work before the office empties out--all the bosses are gone Monday & Tuesday, and two of them are gone into the second week of August--plus a couple of the non-boss people are out next week too. It's gonna be great, I'm going to get so much accomplished.
Then I ended the day with my traditional Katie Connolly drunk-dial. I am the person she calls from the bar. This time she called me when Sweet Caroline was playing and had all of her friends sing it to me in the bar. They're so silly--they don't even sing the right words.
Boston Lyrics // Jelly Rolls Lyrics
Sweet Caroline
Bum, Bum, Bum! // This Song Sucks!
Good times never seemed so good
So Good! So Good! So Good! // Still Sucks! Still Sucks! Still Sucks!
"If they think the song sucks, why do they keep asking us to play it?" --One of the Jelly Rolls guys
I don't think we'll go to Jelly Rolls this trip. Beth doesn't have the nostalgic attachment to it that Katie & I do. She always had to work super early, so she never came out on Tuesdays with us. Plus it's a lot of work to get there. For some reason Disney doesn't seem to have connected the fact that they get low traffic on the boardwalk to the fact that there's no Disney Transportation to it--you have to take the busses from your hotel to any of the parks, then take a bus to one of the Boardwalk hotels. That's not convenient.
Fondue Pots of Deliciousness
Wednesday, 7/26 - Girls Night Out!! Hit the Melting Pot with Jen, Katie & Monika. The Town & Country Melting Pot has been doing this for the last Wednesday of the month since... well, since at least last month, but I don't know when they started it. Girls only, preset menu, door prizes & goodie bags.
Seriously, it's so good. The goodie bags are mostly just ads (and coupons) for other businesses in the plaza, but there was a coupon for free chocolate on a future visit, and that sold me.
Since you don't have to order (preset menu, remember) they're much more efficient than a typical night at the Melting Pot. We sat down and there were already two pots of cheese bubbling on the table--it was a spinach artichoke fondue. It's not on the menu, but it's a variation on the Wisconsin Trio--instead of the blue cheese, they put in some spinach and just a teensy bit of artichoke. Very yummy.
Then there was some fruity salad with strawberries & field greens. The entree was a sampler of sorts--a little bit of tuna, a little bit of chicken, some sirloin, and a couple of veggie raviolis. Katie and Monika turned up their noses at the tuna, so Jen & I shuffled a bit with them--I gave Katie my ravioli in exchange, and Monika took a little bit of everything from Jen in trade.
We finished up with a Rum Coconut chocolate, which I don't remember seeing on the menu, but what I normally look for in a chocolate fondue is whether or not they set it on fire--it's the coolest part--so I may have just overlooked this one in the past.
There are a couple of pictures over on Jen's blog if you want to take a look. New header over at Cracker & Cheese--Jen's glamming it up and making eyes at the camera, and Bob is drinking on the couch.
By the Power of Grayskull - I Have the POWER!!!
Tuesday, 7/25 - Yay!!! The power is back! I can scarcely believe how excited it makes me when I flip a switch or push a button and something happens. After so many days of walking into rooms, and flipping impotent switches by habit, I'm giddy with power.
I came home from work and saw the light I left on in the window. It was like winning a prize. I turned the AC on really high, and turned on lights and noise all over the place--making up for lost time.
An Overnight Stay at the Creve Coeur Sherronaton
Monday, 7/24 - I love Jen & Bob. I do. I love 'em. In expectation of continuing blackout, I packed a bag before I left work because it was just going to be too hot to sleep with no power.
After work I went over to Jen & Bob's for Monday night dinner--it's fun. Jen, Monika & I made a four-course dinner (and Bob helped with the meat-cooking, because that is the man's job). The main course was these steak-bruschetta thingies--it's a thin steak layered with diced tomatoes and yellow peppers with stuffing and some cheese melted on top. Since Jen & Monika did most of the chopping, I did the layering of ingredients when Bob told me the meat was ready.
My cutting skills came into the game with dessert--we made a peach crisp and something like an ambrosia salad? Cherries & bananas & pecans in whipped cream. Threw together a Caesar salad to start and there you go--yeah, that's right, two of the four courses are dessert. What's wrong with that? Nothing, that's what.
After the eating and video games (we watch Bob play Kingdom Hearts) I made my pilgrimage to No-Co to see if I had electricity. Jen offered me a crash pad at their place if I was still powerless--which of course, I was. It's just so depressing. It's just been so many days with nothing. I got a little weepy in the car, but I pulled myself more or less together and met up with the Sherrons et al at the bowling alley where they have their league. I watched for a bit, until Anne asked me to join in and give her company, since she was the only non-leaguer playing.
I got two strikes (and a lot of shit about my technique of throwing the ball incredibly slowly in hopes of getting it to stay straight)! It's effective, I don't care what anybody says--plus I got Anne to do it too, just one time. Jen had an awesome night, she got a 205!!
And If You're Real Good, I'll Make You Feel Good
Saturday, 7/22 - New Haircut! Due to a lack of alternative activities, and a desperate need, I started the day off with a new haircut. It's probably about 5 or 6 inches shorter, and layery. She started the layers a little high, but it'll settle in a week or so.
Tonight was Gypsy at the Muny. I had an accident. I was wearing a pair of rubber soccer slides, and while I was watching the turtles in the pond in front of the Muny, my left shoe exploded.
The glue on the left side of the strap just came completely unstuck, leaving me with one shoe, and one useless piece of rubber. So I walked, half-barefoot, to the Muny. Luckily it had been a cool few days, so the sidewalk wasn't too hot. We got the security guard to let us into the nurse's station in the backstage area so we could get some medical tape to fix up my sad little shoe.
The nurse was really nice, she tried to talk me out of the tape. "Are you sure? It's going to look really hoosier." My response: "You know what looks more hoosier? Walking around with just one shoe."
I told her about the last time I was at the Muny nurse's station--I was 6, almost 7, and the brand new sandals I was wearing were tearing up my toes and giving me blisters, so the nurse set me up with a bunch of bandaids.
She said, "There's no way you remember that!" I said, "The hell I don't! I saw the CATS getting ready!"
Gypsy was a pretty good show, even though there were only a few songs I knew (Let Me Entertain You, Everything's Coming Up Roses). Honestly, the funniest thing about the night was when the strippers did their "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" number and the man in front of us busted out his binoculars for the first time all night--dirty old man.
It seems that most people knew that it was a show about a burlesque star--there were very few kids. I did see one little girl on her dad's shoulders on the way out, but she had flowers and they stopped at the stage gate, so I think her mom was in the show. I don't know if the fact that her mom may have BEEN Gypsy Rose Lee in the show makes it more or less appropriate for her to be there.
CURSES!! Foiled again!
Friday, 7/21 - Went into work today, power had been restored and everything was working again. Arrgh. When we got that storm in the morning I think everyone in the office was half hoping the power would go back down so we could go home again. It was a crazy day catching up on the aftermath of having to implement our disaster plan on Wednesday/Thursday.
I was pretty sure with my weenie electricity, that I'd have no power, so I tried to make plans for after work--Clerks II started today. I tried & tried to find someone to go with me, but in the end, I figured it was better to go alone than try to entertain myself with no electricity in the dark. Katie says that makes me brave, going to a movie by myself. Whatever. I've done it before, I'll do it again. Movies are easy to go by yourself, the only bad part is that there's nobody to talk to about it after.
I was definitely not among a group of fans of the original Clerks movie--I think I was the only one who got excited when Randal wrangled across the counter during the big dance number--yeah, that's right, dance number. I liked it a lot, but could have done without the donkey show scene, but Kevin likes to keep his crude cred high, I think. I'm going to go see it again with a fan.
No Electricity Equals... NO WORK!
Thursday, 7/20 - I got a call around 7 this morning from our COO to tell me that the power was out and the phones were down at work, so I didn't have to come in unless that changed, and to please call the rest of my team to let them know. So, after a few phone calls... Yay! I'm going back to bed! Nah, I was already pretty much awake after all the phone calls, so I called Gretchen and made some plans to hang out with her and Slug, since I hadn't seen them in a few weeks and Slug had just had her monthiversary. Then I put my phone in the car to charge, because I was on low battery and needed to be reachable if they re-opened the office.
When I went out later to head over to Gretchen's... I had a voice mail... from the office... telling me to come in because the power was back. Sigh.
I drove into work and along the drive was a little curious about how all these businesses along the way had no power, but we did. Then I pulled into the parking lot and we did not have power either. Found out the power had gone BACK out and they were calling work off for the day. WOO-HOO!
So I rescheduled with Gretchen & Slug. We hung out a little. Slug was being very good, but once we got to Red Robin, she got pissed off. Slug would NOT settle, not for Gretchen, not for me, but we took turns trying to placate her while the other ate--but once we left the restaurant, she calmed right down. She just seems to HATE Red Robin.
After we ate, we just sat around Gretchen's talking and Slug took a nap on my tummy. It was cute, she just sprawled on me, one arm down either side of me. Plus, I can officially confirm that Slug DOES have eyeballs, she finally showed them to me.
On the way home, I stopped by the gas station to buy some bottled water (since Gretchen had informed me that I was under a boil order, and it's a little hard to boil water when you have an electric range and now power), but when I got home I had power back--yay!!
Well, That Was an Adventure--Drenched a Bit, Were You?
Wednesday, 7/19 - Katie & I had tickets to see Les Miserables at the Fox. We'd both seen it before, but it's such a good show. We decided to meet up after work and get dinner on the Loop before the show.
We decided on Fitz's, and the entrance was FULL of people waiting to be seated--but there was no wait if you sat outside, so we decided to buck up and just ask for ice water right off the bat.
But then, out of the blue, the clouds roll in and it gets dark. The wind picks up and one of the waiters ushers us all inside, where we stand around in whatever space we can find until we can find open tables. Lost power, but just for about 30 seconds. We asked for our check to get on our way, but the computer was down from the storm. We were just about to hand our waitress some money & go when she came up with our check, so we paid and got on the way. There were limbs blowing down the street like tumbleweed.
We made our way down Forest Park Parkway without incident, outside of dodging fallen limbs, and trying to decide the INTENTION of the construction barricades that had been blown out of place.
The rain picked up as we got closer to the theater. We pulled in to park, but the guy we thought was the attendant told us not to worry about the money and just go ahead. Bonus.
We were more or less drenched when we got into the Fox. FYI--the Fox full of wet people has that particular smell of an enclosed amusement park water ride--"It smells like Pirates of the Caribbean in here!" They even opened the disabled accessible bathrooms to the public to let people towel off quicker.
The show was GREAT. Les Mis has such good music. However, I think Cosette is boring, and Marius is a wuss--Eponine shouldn't like him, she's too awesome for him. She should like Enjolras (leader of the students at the barricade) instead--he's way cooler, and he has that awesome vest. They both die of course, but I am pretty sure they hooked up in heaven.
Got home to a severe lack of electricity. Was anybody surprised? Nope.
Company's Coming!
Friday/Saturday, 7/7&8 - Karen came to St. Louis!!
Went to see Wordplay with Katie. It's a documentary about crossword puzzles. I was actually emotionally involved with the outcome of a crossword competition. Plus Jon Stewart is funny in it.
Met up with Karen after and we hit California Pizza Kitchen, then opening night of Pirates of the Caribbean 2. It was good, but I got a stomach ache about halfway through, and that kind of ruined it for me after that. It was still good, but I was distracted.
Then on Saturday we decided that what our weekend really needed was a crafty project. So we headed out to the Wal-Mart for super cheap canvas shoes, red glitter & industrial strength glue. Can you guess what we made? Would it help if I said we went to see Wizard of Oz that night? That's right--our own ruby slippers. We got plenty of positive comments from people. Everybody was jealous. |
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| Hey! There you are! |
[May. 14th, 2006|07:32 pm] |
Yeah. So. A couple Tuesdays ago I had a crying panic attack freak out of sorts. I called up Jen that night and she and Monica came over to calm me down. We did Yoga in the middle of the night. I have awesome friends. If you notice, earlier that day was the last time I posted. I was really upset for a couple of days and lost my will to blog.
The women at my office were really nice, offering support and lunch. Then Katie took me out for a pitcher of margaritas after work.
Let's see, what else has happened...
Picked up my ceramics stuff last Saturday. Art Boy had problems with the kiln, so there was some waiting around time, while everything cooled. I'm getting mixed messages from the cute guy with the girlfriend. Every time I looked at him, he was already watching me, smiling. Oh, well. Never going to see him again anyway. Karen says, "Girlfriend-Shmirlfriend." As soon as Katie gives me a picture of the piece I gave her, I'll post everything I made here.
Sunday I decided that I'm not going to sing with the choir at church anymore. Cantoring just makes me too nervous. I get all shaky and my fingers turn to ice--I'd just rather not.
Tuesday was a Gilmore Girls season finale party at Jen's house. She made delicious lasagna & spinach dip & cake. Mmmmmm... Then we played some Nintendo. Jen kicked ass at Mario Party, of course. Then we played Mario Tennis, Jen & I against Monica and a computer player. There were lots of shouts of "You're glowing!!" and "Oh, damn, right in the cooch." Monica won the practice round, but Jen & were the winners in the end.
Boston Katie & I have been emailing back & forth frantically all week, getting more and more excited about the prospect of our trip in September. Looks like it'll definitely be the three of us from last year (the two of us, plus Beth), with a couple possible cameos from others.
Katie & I went to see "Friends With Money" at Plaza Frontenac. I was really looking forward to it. It was so depressing though. Even Jason Isaacs looking all cute with his short dark hair was totally ruined by the fact that he had an American accent and was an asshole. I was so sad after the movie that I had to get a Hagen Daaz bar. Now THAT was good.
Just spent all weekend with Mom & Grandma in Freeburg for Mother's Day. It was just as fun as it always is, which is to say, not. I mostly read. Even when I try to read other stuff, it comes back to Harry Potter.
From "The DaVinci Code":
"But with all these books written about it, why isn't this theory more widely known?"
"These books can't possibly compete with centuries of established history, especially when that history is endorsed by the ultimate bestseller of all time."
"Don't tell me Harry Potter is actually about the Holy Grail."
"I was referring to the Bible."
"I knew that." That's all for now, I think that mostly brings things up to date. |
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| Rakuuuuuuuuu! |
[Apr. 30th, 2006|12:46 am] |
Today was the last ceramics class ever. Well, for Gretchen and me, at least. I think there might be some people in our class taking the higher level class next fall. We glazed all of our stuff so that we can pick up the finished pieces next weekend. We also did some "Raku" firing. It was cool.
Here's how it works--you start by glazing the piece in one of the special lower heat glazes. Then you get the piece really hot in the kiln. Then it's pulled out and plunged into a trash can of combustible materials (we used newspaper at first, then some stolen straw) and covered. The heated clay ignites the straw and that gets the glaze hot enough to flux.
( It's a team effort: )
And then I came home to a power outage. Stupid wind.
It's been a Jen-tastic sort of week. I already told you about our chocolatey Tuesday (the flourless cake was kind of flavorless, everything else was amazing), but that was just the first Jen day of the week. On Thursday night, Jen took me with her to an Arbonne party, where we all got makeovers. I don't think I would ever actually buy makeup at a party like that--I don't wear it often enough to justify spending that kind of money, I can get what I need at Walgreens--but it's the cleansers and bath stuff that really tempt me. That's my weakness--spa stuff.
On Friday, Jen, Bob & I had a No-Co kind of evening. We made plans to go to the St. Ferdinand fish fry a few weeks ago when Jen mentioned going to a fish fry during lent. I convinced her that the wait would be ridiculous and that I would take her to St. Ferdinand's once lent was over. There was no line at all when we got there. I guess people are still in their post-lent no-more-fish-please stage. Bob was very impressed with the beer on tap. He's planning to bring his friends to the next one, in three weeks, to enjoy the 32oz beers.
Then we followed it up with a round of glow-in-the-dark mini golf at the Mills. I was doing really well at the beginning--winning even--and then it just all went to crap. I got a 5 and a 6 on the back 9. Shameful.
How do you wrap up a No-Co night? Fritz's of course. Where we were served by the least attentive cashier of all time. She wouldn't last a night at Ted Drewes.
And that's not even the end of it. Jen & I are going to Jamestown Mall for dinner, shopping and a $1 movie. We're going to see "Stick It." You would be surprised how many times the phrase, "It's not called gym-nice-tics" came up in our conversation last night.
Time to Pimp Disney: If you're thinking about going to Disney World soon, they've got a really good package right now. You have to book by June 4th and go between 8/13 & 9/30. |
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| Last Day for Wet Clay |
[Apr. 23rd, 2006|07:04 pm] |
Saturday was the next to last day of ceramics, our last chance to make something new so it can be ready to glaze in the last class. Plus it is exactly two months until Gretchen's little Slug is due. It's so crazy to think that one of my friends is about to have a baby.
So I spent almost all of class working on a new pot, and just as class was finishing, one of the handles snapped off. Just totally fell apart. Art Boy managed to salvage it for me before class ended. I'm still not entirely sure it won't just crumble in the kiln. Everybody cross your fingers. But I definitely have three wheel-thrown pots to glaze next week.
Jen thinks we should all take belly-dancing next.
Guess what? I'm a technological marvel. I made a widget. Widgets are tiny little computer programs that perform a small specific function without using many computer resources. So I made one that plays lines from The Princess Bride. It's in the download section of the Princess Bride part of my site.
I watched Mansfield Park today. Just another Jane Austen period movie. It was so-so. I wish somebody would send ME fireworks & doves as a present. Although I would hope he doesn't follow it up by sleeping with the sister of my best guy friend (on whom I harbor a secret crush), you know? That part of it kind of takes the charm off the fireworks. |
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| Damned Punk Kids! |
[Apr. 2nd, 2006|12:14 am] |
So, the other day I get home from grocery shopping, and I go to pull into the not-a-spot in front of the building so I can unload my trunk before I park, since I'll need to make a few trips. Normally when I do this, I even back in, to make it as quick & easy as possible to get the perishables inside and in the fridge. And that way I won't be in anybody else's spot if they should come home while I'm unloading.
Today, there were about 5 teenagers with skateboards, dressed in their I'm-so-misunderstood goth-kid apparel, sitting behind a parked car across the way, in front of the facing building. So I thought, "Oh, I won't back in, since I don't want them to freak out when the car starts coming toward them." Aren't I thoughtful?
So I get out of my car and pop the trunk, and as I'm walking back to start unloading my car one of the boys says, "Hey. You know that's not a parking spot." And I say, "I'm just unloading my groceries." And he says, "Well, it's not a spot." So I said, "Well, I do this all the time, and nobody seems to mind."
I was so ticked off. What the hell does it matter to him and his little skater punk posse where I park? I'm also ticked at myself for offering an explanation. It's none of his business what I do.
Here is a list of better responses:
"It's not a skate park either."
"What's it to you?"
"Oh my god!! Seriously? Thank you SO MUCH. I had NO IDEA! What would I do without you and your brilliant observations?!?"
"Fuck off, douche." Put your witty/scathing banter suggestions in the comments, okay?
But instead I just finished unloading my groceries, moved my car to my spot, went inside to change, then walked to Curves, so I could use my anger in a more productive manner. Then I used my key tag to buy a bottle of water at the Mobil on the walk back.
$2.49/gal is unacceptable. Gas prices are getting up there again.
Also, Jen told me that she cannot see any of the things I'm describing in the Kenny Kaizen picture. So I made it easier. Kenny is green, his hat is red, his water wings are orange, his easter basket is blue, his dog is brown and his soccer ball has spots. He is made of masking tape and is standing on white paper, hence the lack of contrast.
If anybody still can't see it, come over, and I will 'splain it to yo' dumb ass.
I think Art Boy might have a girlfriend. He was telling a story in class today and mentioned that "WE had to take [the dog]". He hadn't been really talking about another person at that point in the story, and the not mentioning who the other part of "WE" is seems like reference to a wife or girlfriend to me. Katie says she's holding out hope for me, that it's a roommate or friend or something. Gretchen says there's no future, because he got up at 7am on a Saturday. Although she thought there was something, because there was actual physical contact this week.
This week we started working on the wheel in ceramics. Art Boy was holding onto my hands to help me center my clay. Gretchen thought this meant something, but I'm pretty sure he did that with at least two other people in the class. Oh, by the way, I SUCK at the wheel. Gretchen is freaking awesome at it. I'm so impressed with her. I tried three separate times and kept screwing it up. But I am determined, I am going to make something on the wheel that doesn't look completely crappy. I can get it centered and opened pretty well, but when I start to pull, I make the sides too thin and the lip too thick and the lip makes the sides collapse, so it gets all wobbly and I get sad. He said he can help me with that. (The wobbly, not the sad.) Jen says I need help "outside of class." Always plotting, that one.
But I finished glazing all the stuff I've made so far, so I'll get that stuff back next week.
More SNL love for STL:
"We rented out the St. Louis Arch and if you don't have an invitation you can't even look at it or you'll get arrested."
--Scarlett Johansson, SNL "My Super Sweet 16" sketch Went to Trivia Night with the Sherrons (the older & younger sets) and Katie. We came as close to winning as you possibly can and not actually win. We tied for first (83 points, woo-hoo!), but lost the tie-breaker. We underestimated ourselves and our estimate of our final score was only 70. Damn our lack of self-confidence!
Daylight Savings Time should never start on April 2. Because if someone tells you about it, you're all skeptical: "Is it really, or are they just screwing with me for April Fools Day?" Because it would be a pretty good prank, you'd show up early for everything, and be all pissed off that people were an hour late to meet you. |
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| Meet Kenny |
[Mar. 29th, 2006|09:14 pm] |
This is Kenny Kaizen. His given name is Kanban Kaizen, but when he came to America he anglocized it. He's a big fan of soccer, but his mom is very overprotective and makes him wear water wings so he won't get hurt--she's not to bright. (I was actually trying to make him a coat, but I couldn't figure out how to attach the sleeves to a vest). He wears a jaunty cap, and has a cute little dog. He's very excited that Easter is so near. See his basket?
It has been brought to my attention that I probably need to elaborate on Kaizen, since most of you who read this were NOT business majors. Kaizen is a Japanese word that means "change for the better" and is a strategy for process improvement. What we're doing is spending three days cloistered in the conference room tearing apart our implementation process and trying to find the places where we can improve it to make it run more efficiently and successfully. It is hard work, but I got a free lunch out of it today. From Provisions. Yummy. Click here if you also want to know what Kanban means.
Did you take the Jeopardy test? Bob and I did. It was freaking hard! Especially since you only get 15 seconds to type each answer. I think I got a lot right, but I also think those were the ones that a lot of people would get right. I'm pissed that I couldn't remember Roberto Clemente's name until the test was over. |
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| I am a Sucker |
[Mar. 19th, 2006|10:24 pm] |
And the little children know it.
I went to go see Kirsten & Mike's new house today with Nicole & Michelle (and Grant, Skylar & McKenna). The twins made me read them every single book in the car (8 or 9 all together I think), in addition to the 4 we read before leaving the house. Then, while we were all playing downstairs, Skylar wanted me to take her back upstairs. I tried to talk her out of needing me to come with her, but she wasn't taking no for an answer--and within a few minutes, ALL the kids were upstairs with me.
I did not know I had these toddler pied piper skillz.
Then I was repeatedly dying for Gavin's amusement (he's quick with that ray gun), and then reading even more books to him (the same one, four times).
I have never used the phrases, "Take turns, okay?" and "Let _____ have a turn" more in my life than I did today. Poor moms.
I also broke two nails in the process, making another dilemma of mine moot (moo--it's like a cow's opinion).
I have been dreading cutting my nails for ceramics. I knew I'd have to, because I've had to fix gouges in my pieces from jabbing them with my nails. But they've been so nice and even. They're not too long and they're nearly all the same length--that never happens for me. So Art Boy and I were comparing fingernails in class yesterday, after I said I didn't want to cut them, and he told me I'd have to, that it would be even worse when we started using the wheel, even showing me the evidence on his nails. But now that I broke a couple playing today, I'm not that attached to them. Cut them all down to nothing.
Cheers to Katie for dropping the digits on a cute boy today. So brave. Way braver than me. |
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| Sketchy |
[Mar. 18th, 2006|10:05 pm] |
I had another ceramics class with Gretchen today. This week we're making "slab pots," which is basically what it sounds like. You roll out a big honking slab of clay, and use that to make something.
I drew some quick sketches of what I've done so far, so everybody can see. Now remember, I'm taking a ceramics class, not a drawing class, so don't be too critical. (Also, you can click the pictures to see them bigger.)
Week 1--Pinch Pots:
Week 2--Coil Pots:
Week 3--Slab Pots:
So, here's the weird thing. Today in class, after we'd made it very (though subtly) clear that Gretchen was not only married, but pregnant, Eric the Instructor--let's call him Art Boy from here out--is TOTALLY all about Gretchen! Asking her about her job and stuff. Gretchen also tried to sneak in a variation of the "Wow, your girlfriend/wife must really love that" comment, but it was SO subtle, that he didn't acknowledge it, and she didn't even realize she'd said it. Although I applaud her acceptance of her role as "married friend" in doing that investigation in my place, so I don't look obvious.
So we still don't know what to make of Art Boy. Maybe he's just trying to get in with my friends. Or how Tim thought I liked Mike at the beginning of Freshman year, when it was only because I thought of Mike as "off the market" and therefore, not intimidating. Whatever. We are befuddled by his behavior.
Gretchen also has check-minuses in class for the next three weeks for deriding KU's performance in the NCAA tournament.
When we got to class, the young girl was already there (should probably get her name, yeah?), and sitting at a different table. I was concerned that we'd scared her and she didn't want to sit too close to us anymore. But she came right over and sat at our end of the table, and talked more than I've heard her talk so far.
Art Boy's name is Eric Schmidt. He does not come up on a Google search. It does not help that the CEO of Google has the same name. He comes up a LOT.
My living room smells like the broccoli I made with my dinner. Yuck. But I'm in the process of making it smell like Cherry Blossom, Lilac, Buttercreme, and Blueberry Crumble. That's every smelly candle I could find. I'm actually kinda starting to get a headache. |
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| Crazy Snake Party |
[Mar. 12th, 2006|10:29 pm] |
I had ceramics again this weekend. We're making "coil pots" Mine came out pretty cool. I'll put pictures of my stuff up when I finally get to take it home. My hands are too covered in clay to use my camera phone during class.
So coil pots are basically when you make something out of coils of clay--like when you made play-doh snakes as a kid, but they have an "extruder" that you just pump, so you don't have to make your own snakes. It's like an industrial Play-Doh Spaghetti Factory.
So, the younger girl in our class (I thought she was about 16 or so, but we saw her get picked up by a mom in a minivan, so Gretchen's thinking 13-14) was making a pot with a GIANT coil, and someone in our class said it looked like a snake she saw once in her yard, so I encouraged her to make a snake pot--because that would be badass. She took it to a whole new level, there were two smaller snakes coming out of the mouth of the large snake, and two more snakes coming up the sides like handles. Which prompted the following conversation:
Eric: That's the craziest snake party I've ever been to.
Me: Wait. Have you been to a lot of snake parties?
Eric: I was in a weird place five years ago.
Gretchen: Kansas? Our instructor (Eric) went to KU. Gretchen is hilarious.
I'm going to have to cut my nails off entirely. I keep gouging into my clay and my nails aren't even that long right now.
Then Gretchen & I met up with Kristin at Dave & Buster's. I haven't seen Kris since Gretchen & Frank's wedding. I'd never been before. We won a total of 373 tickets--which purchased 6 jumbo pixy stix and a frog eraser. That crap is expensive.
That night, Jen and Bob took me (and Kuma) to Fritz's. I had a coke float, it was delicious. Nobody cares if you go to Fritz's in your pajamas. Even if your pajamas include pink pants with monkeys on them.
Did anybody watch SNL last night? I enjoyed the "Two Assholes at a Travel Agency" sketch:
Asshole Girl (AG): I want to go to England
Travel Agent (TA): Okay, England is pretty big. How about Brighton. It's very nice.
AG: I wanna go to Hogwarts.
TA: You can't go to Howarts, it's not a real place.
Asshole Guy: Oh, right. You have to wait until summer, when the wizards are out of school? On Notice: The Channel 5 Weather Team
I understand that they were bad tornadoes in southern Illinois. But let's be honest. With as bad as the weather is, the people in the areas affected probably don't even have power to hear what you have to say. Therefore, it is NOT necessary for you to interrupt every THREE minutes for a completely uninformative on-the-scene interview. Stop it. What most people want to know about the storm is covered by the corner map and scroll. Dead to Me: The Columbia House DVD Club
I preordered Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on February 3rd (I checked in my email). As of today, I still have not received it. They are dead to me now. Meet the Conair Body Benefits Pedicure Massaging Foot Spa. Love.
The Bed Bath & Beyond scam: If you buy something expensive (like a foot spa), also buy something cheap (egg slicer, $2.99), that way you can use two coupons: a 20% off and a $5 off and at least some of the $5 will come off your expensive thing as well as the 20%. Because BB&B will let you use as many coupons as you have items and they accept expired coupons. After a gift card I got for Christmas, the $50 foot spa cost $16. |
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| Artsy-Fartsy |
[Mar. 4th, 2006|11:51 pm] |
Today was my first Ceramics class with Gretchen. We decided we needed to take some kind of class and Gretchen picked this one out. I think it'll be fun. We made pinch pots today. I made one that's a short but wide bowl with little round feet and a flower on the side, and one with little curls coming off the side under little openings. That one has a matching lid.
The lid was giving me fits, because I wanted it to look like it belonged with the bottom part, and I was having trouble making something that seemed similar enough. I was like, "Listen, I consider myself to be borderline OCD, and I'm trying REALLY hard to be okay with the fact that things aren't even." But our instructor was like, "Well, I like it." And Gretchen was like, "Borderline?"
Gretchen thinks he likes me. She said I had him all flustered. He's cute. I may have to look into this. But it's not like you can do the typical little pre-screen things. I can't check to see if he's got a ring, because obviously he wouldn't wear it to teach a ceramics class.
Eileen met up with us after class and we went out for dinner at Max & Erma's. Our waiter had a trainee with him. He was too over the top. I don't know if that's how he always is, or if that was him being "on" for the trainee. I watched "Waiting..." last night (because I love Ryan Reynolds and the rental was free), so maybe I'm just extra in tune to waitstaff right now. When the bill came I wrote our names next to what we were each going to pay for and he was like, "Wow, you guys must have been servers." and we were like, "No." And he was like, "Then you're just awesome."
Which is true.
Back at Gretchen's I got to feel the Slug's foot through Gretchen's tummy. It was cool and creepy at the same time. I told her I want her to call me when her belly button flips out, so I can come over and look at it. Although I do think she's come to peace with the fact that I will call her child Slug after she's born. She also admitted that SHE has, in fact, been smoking the purple crack, because she's already thinking about how soon she could be pregnant again. |
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| Bewitched, Body & Soul |
[Jan. 28th, 2006|12:46 pm] |
Today was Pride & Prejudice day, finally! Jen & I decided to get together, watch 5 hours of Colin Firth being broody & gorgeous, and eat things that were in no way good for us.
On the menu: Soda, Hot Wing Dip, Popcorn, and Cake. I made the dip & popcorn, Jen baked the cake--and it was yum.
Dialogue from the day:
Elizabeth Bennet: You are the last man on earth I could ever be prevailed upon to marry.
Jen: Oooooh!
Kim: Snap!
Jen: Burn! So, while she is still nursing a mad desire for the new Mr. Darcy, she acknowledges that the old version is a much prettier movie, and that Colin Firth does a much better job of showing you that he's slowly falling in love with Elizabeth, you can see it come over him. Plus, Jen kept shouting lines from the new movie that aren't in the old one (or the book), hence the title of today's post.
And, since my father has been demanding it (and Jen has a nice digital camera that she agreed to let me use), I have some pictures of my table top mosaic to share. I'm not entirely done. I still need to polyurethane over the entire thing, but I wanted to wait until the weather would allow me to open windows for several days before I attempted that, so you can still see the matte medium around the squares (the dull bits).
( Piccys! )
And also, just to clarify, I don't have some sort of weird obsessive crush on Rivers Cuomo (link goes to his blog, which is good, you should read it). I just think he's really cool, and since he's going to be near my friend with the stalker tendencies, it seemed appropriate. |
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| Aslan has Returned to Narnia |
[Dec. 4th, 2005|01:47 pm] |
Yesterday, I went to a sneak preview of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. It was good. Long though. Two & a half hours. How do they expect little children to hold it for that long? They stayed pretty true to the original story, as well as I could remember it. Only one significant change that I noticed, and it was particularly weird considering this is a Disney movie: ( SPOILER )
The tiny squares are done! I finished glueing the last of them down last night. I think I'm going to stop with just the squares, because it looks pretty good--just a few layers of polyurethane and I'm finished!! Tours will be starting shortly, tickets are available at Ticketmaster. Or you could just stop by & I'll show it to you. |
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| I Hate the Winter |
[Nov. 17th, 2005|02:24 pm] |
Cold is just stupid if you don't have anybody to snuggle under the covers with. Also, I'm stingy and refuse to turn my thermostat above 60. I didn't take my coat off yesterday until I put on my PJs. I think I may have taken this too far. Plus, cutting out tiny squares inhibits my ability to use my electric blanket. I've also started hotboxing my bathroom. Last night I turned my space heater on high and stood in front of it while I built up shower steam. I waited too long--I had to cold rinse my hair. This morning I made it so hot in my bathroom that it was a relief to go out into the rest of the cold world.
Today I had a can of corn and two pieces of bread for dinner. I need to go to the grocery store.
I'm reaching the final stages of cutting out tiny squares. Samples to enjoy:
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| Tiny Squares |
[Nov. 12th, 2005|02:26 pm] |
Several hundred tiny squares. 827 1"x1" squares, to be exact. I'm working on a project to make a cover for my air hockey table, so now I spend my free time cutting tiny squares out of magazines. See? There are times when it comes in handy to be a little bit OCD. If I wasn't, I'd never have the patience to cut out all these squares, despite the fact that I know it's going to be awesome when it's finished.
Today I took advantage of the kindess of the people at Borders. I read all of Lemony Snicket #12. Took about 4 hours. One very cute line from the book:
"But the three siblings were not born yesterday. Neither were you, unless of course I am wrong, in which case welcome to the world, little baby, and congratulations on learning to read so early in life." It's Katie Connolly's birthday today, she's 26. That's OLD. She is also not answering her phone, so I hope she's out having a good time.
Since Valerie seems to have a need to comment about this blog, there's a link to leave comments now. It's just a guestbook, but it's something, for now at least.
How about another quiz? Tim found this one. What movie nerd are you? We're both Hermione.
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