| 12/31/2005 |
100 THINGS
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Jeni inspired me to write this. I have a feeling that I am underestimating how long it will take to write 100 things that I want to share about myself.
100 Things About Me
1. My full name has 23 letters in it.
2. I am 5'10"/5'11" (depending on the day)
3. I have had every natural color of hair at one point in my life. Born blonde (hold you jokes), turned red, and then stayed brown for the longest time. Now it is slowly becoming dark brown/black. "Transparent/flesh colored" in some places. Damn you genetics!!
4. My favorite sport is tennis.
5. I started fencing within the last few years.
6. I started fencing because a friend and I took a class through Metro Comm. College. I stuck with it after the class.
7. My favorite non-alcoholic beverage is Iced Tea or Dr. Pepper
8. My lucky number is 8.
9. I am a Virgo.
10. I was born in the Year of the Tiger.
11. My nose is slightly crooked.
12. My favorite alcoholic beverage is Hornsby"s or (insert liquor here) Sour.
13. After several (insert liquor here) sours, I"ve been known to sing
14. I unofficially began spelling my name as Cris in the 8th grade (long story)
15. I have a half-brother and a step-sister. I have some other half and step siblings that I"m still trying to figure out how they fit in my life.
16. I've had three vehicles in my life.
17. My first car was an "86 Gray Ford Escort.
18. My second car was a 90-something White Geo Tracker
19. My current car is a '96 Green Jeep Cherokee. I love it!
20. I have been in four weddings and a funeral.
21. I was tested for allergies and found out I was allergic to some degree to 75% of the 150 things the tested me for. Mainly pollens and such.
22. I can quote most of The Goonies and a good portion of The Breakfast Club on a whim.
23. My favorite color is green (if you can't tell from the website)
24. I was a member of the Yearbook Committee & School Paper in High School
25. I was a band geek... a BIG band geek.
26. I play the drums
27. ...tuba
28. ...trombone
29. ...violin (though I don't remember it now tho)
30. ...piano
31. I once stuffed a Freshman into my tuba case
32. My favorite dish is anything Italian. Chicken Parmesan is the standard that I judge Italian restaurants on. If the place can't make a decent chicken parm, then there is something wrong with the place.
33. My favorite dish to make is Pollo Rellano. I'm still trying to perfect it, but I enjoy making it.
34. The strangest thing I've ever eaten was Cheerios in Sprite
35. I am 11 days older than my best friend, Mike.
36. Mike and I have been accused of being cousins.
37. Growing up I had a Beagle named Roscoe
38. I want to get a bulldog someday.
39. My brother, sister, and I all have our birthdays within the same week in September.
40. The three boys my biological father has had (myself included) all have the same middle name.
41. My name means "Bearing Christ"
42. I have been told I'm agnostic
43. One of my best friends is also named Chris.
44. I was known (and to some still am) Big Cris... while he was Little Chris.
45. I think we sing a pretty good version of Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel
46. I was one of seven people named Cris (various spellings and genders) in school
47. I am half Anglo-Saxon, half German.
48. I cried when Jim Henson died.
49. Kermit the Frog singing Rainbow Connection was the first song I taught myself how to play on the piano.
50. Ben Fold's song “Kate” is my latest favorite song to play on the piano.
51. I don't twist open Oreo's
52. I do eat fajitas and soft tacos open face, with a fork, like a salad.
53. I've stolen 3 stop signs (You're welcome, Charity)
54. I have stolen (with the help of my two cohorts) a sand filled pylon only to 'donate' it to the Missouri River.
55. I've driven around the block to finish hearing the rest of my favorite song on the radio.
56. I was a guest DJ on the radio once.
57. I've been on television before, as part of a high school marching band.
58. My favorite song is Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds.
59. I was on the volunteer Rescue Squad in Nebraska City for a year and a half.
60. I am CPR certified
61. I worked at McDonald's for 5 years.
62. I now have a better appreciation for Food Service workers. There is no need to freak out if you fries aren't in your car in less than a minute.
63. I am a poor tipper only because I can't easily do that math.
64. I have tried out for three television shows.
65. ...The Mole (reality game show)
66. ...Real World
67. ...College Jeopardy
68. I was one question away from qualifying for the next level of contestant selection, but I will now ALWAYS remember that Amy Tan wrote the Joy Luck Club
69. I currently work as a Supervisor at a suicide/crisis hotline.
70. This is the longest I've ever worked in one place and I love it.
71. I dabble in photography
72. ...charcoal sketching
73. ...computer aided color rendering
74. I have never broken a bone.
75. I am a confessed pen kleptomaniac.
76. I am secretly addicted to infomercials, they are the comedy show of the shopping world.
77. I shake when I laugh whole-heartedly (Hand me a martini and watch me go!!)
78. At any given time I will have a song stuck in my head.
79. If I ever moved out of Omaha, NE I would love to move to St Louis or Seattle.
80. I was a Psych Major I graduated in 1997 with a B.S. in Psychology (ironic title isn't it?)
81. Before I decided on that I wanted to be a lawyer until I realized I couldn't debate or argue worth shit.
82. I thought about majoring in Broadcast Journalism (radio or television)
83. I have a personalized license plate, SWRDSMN
84. I am a child of the '80s
85. I have been white water rafting
86. I am double jointed
87. I can count to twenty in Spanish
88. I used to be able to count to twenty in German
89. I have been to Germany, but I've never been to Spain
90. I know the alphabet and a little basic sign language
91. I am fascinated by languages
92. I pick up accents very easily
93. Scooby-doo is my favorite cartoon. Scrappy-doo is a bitch and I hate him...
94. I am a registered Democrat.
95. My current favorite television show is Alias.
96. I will own anything that Natalie Merchant puts out on an album!
97. I am afraid of ventriloquist dummies.
98. I can swim, but I can't tread water.
99. My IQ is higher than my bowling average. (Which may or may not say much about anything...)
100. My personal motto is "Life is too serious, to take too seriously." |
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I posted this @ 12/31/2005 10:01:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/30/2005 |
2005 IN REVIEW
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This is something that I've seen a couple places and thought it was kind of intersting to see. You take the first sentence (or two) from the first post from each month over the last year. It is kind of interesting to see how things have changed.... or not changed.
You could do this yoruself, by clicking on the archives, but I'm saving you the trouble.
2005 IN REVIEW
JANUARY - "What a way to start off the new year, but with a sheet of ice covering my Jeep. God bless Nebraska winters!"
FEBRUARY - "There are some DAMN funny commercials out there right now. Even tho I have a DVR at my disposal, I’ll still watch some of the commercials."
MARCH - "I'm sure various people came to my blog hoping for answers to their questions such as: "who is the guy in the dr. pepper mahna mahna commercial?" I'm sorry... but I don't know. But thanks for stopping by!"
APRIL - "The Talented Mr Ripley – (B) Where to begin? That’s probably not a big resounding exclamation of a positive review to come, but hold on. It gets better."
MAY - "There has been a lot that has gone on lately that has me personally feeling like I am old. Wait... perhaps old isn't the right word. What would be the term for when "a lot of time has passed and things have changed right under your nose without you even realizing it happened?" Old? Anyway... "
JUNE - "I am back from my Memorial Day Weekend trip to see my brother's high school graduation."
JULY - "So there is all this attention on Scientology lately because Tom Cruise promotes the philosophy like it's his lately movie, War Of The Worlds. Which in a creepy way it kinda... is rather similar."
AUGUST - "It is said that the average person will have five careers in their lifetime. This has changed from the one job lifestyle that was common twenty-five years ago."
SEPTEMBER - "Open Letter To Labor Day Weekend: You've changed man? What happened to you? You used to be cool. But now? Not so much. "
OCTOBER - "Hello. Just a quick post to let everyone know that I am still alive. Work has picked up considerably. Where I once had time for lunch, my lunch hours are now devoted to collecting spit from kids. I love my job..."
NOVEMBER - "I've been debating about what to say in a post like this for some time. This is my blog and I have the ability to speak freely on it. Yet I was concerned about the risk of seemingly like a bandwagon supporter of any issue. "
DECEMBER - "So let's see. What have I been wanting to write about?" |
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I posted this @ 12/30/2005 01:32:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/29/2005 |
YOU HAD A BAD DAY
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Wow... I've been kind of a downer lately.
Let's see if I can lighten things up with a good ol' fashioned rambling post.
I've watched WAY too much television this last weekend. Having four days off, when I was not visiting with relatives in some way, shape, or form, I was watching television. I think it was around Thanksgiving that I enduring more hours of Law & Order SVU than is typically recommended by the FDA. This holiday it was poker. Poker. Poker. Poker. Any channel that had poker on, I was watching. Celebrity Poker on Bravo. World Series of Poker on FSN. I was all about the poker. Texas Hold 'em to be specific. I even went so far as to download their little poker client from partypoker.net. I'd heard the commercial so much over the course of the last few days that I had it running in my head instead of most songs. I started out with $250 and I'm up to a little over $2000. Too bad it isn't real money. I'm not the gutsy though when it comes to my own actual cash.
When I was visiting my Grandparents over the weekend I took a moment to go on the old cruising route I used to drive. Walking down main street there was a scruffy looking gentleman who was talking to no one (and everyone). He was wearing holiday antlers. I circled the block with camera in hand in an attempt to take a photo. It truly was a hilarious sight. Unfortunately he was gone by the time I'd gone back around.
I was recently at PF Chang's. My love for their steamed peking dumplings knows no limit. The problem is they never give you enough. I could eat a whole plate full of them as an entree. Yet only four come as an appetizer. There is some marketing madness going on.
Anyway... Typically my experiences at PFC have been great. I'd read once that they prefer to open PF Chang's within so many miles of a BMW or other ritzy car dealership in order to attract people with money. Whether it's true or not, the way the serve people usually gives me the impression that they are trying to cater to sophistication. Not that they actually are. I think a lot of it is just in their heads.
Anyway... (See how I ramble?) Our waiter, whom we had named Mary Queen of Scots (for some reason that I can't even recall to explain) was rude. This was a first! Like I alluded too. Typically they bend over backwards to make sure you have a great experience. We've gotten whole plates of free food for having to wait a few extra minutes for an appetizer. This guy couldn't care less about us. He obviously wasn't new. Yet he obviously didn't care either. Between the eye rolling the audible sighing and the general lack of questions of if we needed anything, you could tell.
Now... trust me. I've been there. You've worked several days of long shifts. It's the holidays and you are constantly busy. Maybe you're just having a bad day and the last thing you want to do is wait on other people. I get that. But if you're in a job where you work for tips, I think you'd want to put on at least a smile and trudge through it for the sake of the money you'd make. If not, I might suggest a different line of work.
Our drinks and appetizer came out in a timely fashion. Our drinks were filled in due course. Yet these were things done by other people. All Mary had to do was take our order and stop by to see if we needed anything. Then bring us our check. He did all this. Yet the manner in which he did was snotty.
I love PF Chang's mango ice tea. I've gone so far as to tell a waiter that so they are warned that I'm going to easily suck down 5 or 6 glasses of it before the entree is brought out. With each glass his scoffing or sighing became more audible. And he wasn't even the one filling them. So he was scoffing because he had to tell someone else to fill my glass? Mary could be seen rolling his eyes when other tables asked him for things. When a nearby table asked for a to-go box he brought one and proceeded to shake the plates contents into the box. Typically they 1) use a utensil or 2) do they Box Shake Maneuver in back where you don't see half your meal miss the box completely. I was dreading see the reaction I'd get when I asked for a box. He brought one and walked away, taking our plates and all silverware with it. I used my tea spoon to sluff my sichuan shrimp into my Chinese Secret Box. He tossed a couple fortune cookies on our table and dropped off the check, without a pen to sign the receipt. He was nowhere to be found to ask for a pen. We had one with us, but still... C'mon.
Giving him the benefit of some doubt he got a minimal tip and a suggestion that he not be as aloof with his next table.
I think unless your job is vital to keeping the world going you should automatically have the week off from Christmas to New Years. I know not everyone celebrates Christmas, but I don't think too many are going to balk at a week of vacation.
I've been taking some more photos. Candy seems to be latest thing I'm fond of shooting. I was looking at my 101 List and have been thinking about finally doing the photolog of a day in my life or 26 Things. I wouldn't mind having one of my photos make the Most Interesting page on Flickr. Yet it's not up to me.
I've seen a couple movies that I will probably comment on. Fantastic Four and Dirty Filthy Love. Expect those coming down the pipe.
The weeks almost over!
Happy New Year! |
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I posted this @ 12/29/2005 09:34:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/28/2005 |
CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE
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So how was your weekend? Did you enjoy your Christmas? I hope it was everything you wanted it to be.
The holidays have always been a time of wonder and merriment for me. Though, they certainly have changed over the years. When I was a little kid there was a lot of time spent in the orchestration in getting Santa to appear. A lot of time spent making sure I was asleep or that the myth was believable enough. It was about the time that I was told Santa left by the front door and I went out to follow his footprints in the snow that the truth became clear.
 After that my years were spent making sure that other people enjoyed Christmas as much as I did. My Grandfather was asked to play Santa to the Little Neighbor Girl one year. Her older sister and I had a great time making sure she was in the right spot at the right time to see Santa traipsing their the back yard. Good times.
Christmases have evolved since then. It was about the same time that I realized that the world wasn't a happy place full of sunshine and puppies that I began to be thankful for having people who loved and cared about me. Did I want presents? Well, heck yeah. But it was also about spending a special time with family.
For years when we'd ask my Grandmother what she might want for Christmas, she has always asked for the same thing. Peace in the family. Not that we were a rowdy bunch. Yet honestly, we weren't exactly the Brady's either. Of the three children she raised (me included in that) it's not like any of us have been exactly poster children for the perfect family. There is always something going on. My Grandfather has been up and down in his own health. So just having him around for another year is always a blessing. I think just having a year of peace would be the perfect present for my Grandmother.
Christmas is still about pretending in a way. Parts of it funnier than others. We all pretend that my Grandfather is in good health. We all pretend that my Aunt doesn't smoke. We all pretend my Father hasn't been absent for the last 10 years. We all pretend that I'm not gay.
It's different than denial. It happens around the holidays when all we want is just a peaceful Christmas together. No tantrums. No probing questions. No hard feelings. No resentment. We all get together and put on a brave smiling face and give my Grandmother the gift she asks for every year. Peace. |
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I posted this @ 12/28/2005 01:14:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/23/2005 |
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
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If you've ever been with me to admire the way people decorate their homes for the holidays, then you will know that I am somewhat particular with what I think looks good. My tastes lie at each end of the spectrum. I prefer something simple and tasteful when adorning your abode with lights or I prefer the over the top blow out. So many lights and displays that Las Vegas calls to get tips and techniques.
I think this house falls well beyond the over the top end of the spectrum. It's what you get when your husband work as a lighting engineer at rock concerts.
Make sure your speakers are on and enjoy the show!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! |
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I posted this @ 12/23/2005 07:42:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/22/2005 |
CAMERA ONE
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| While looking for a picture for Mike, I came across some 'old' photos that I'd used on previous incarnations of this website. I've put them up on Flickr. Many of them were taken prior to having a digital camera. So if the quality looks a little grainy, that's why. |
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I posted this @ 12/22/2005 12:03:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/21/2005 |
I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS
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(Subtitled: I'M IN THE MOOD FOR... Meh!)
First of all. Happy First Day of Winter! Happy Yule to you of the Pagan persuasion! Happy Kwanza! Merry Christmas! Happy Hunnukah! To the rest of you... Meh! Or... Feh!
I hate winter. I shouldn't be so harsh and humbuggy, but FEH! I'm tired of being cold all the time. I'm tired of parts of me being chapped simple because the temperature is cold enough to freeze water within seconds.
I like snow. I like the merriment of the holidays. But right now, it's not going to be a white Christmas. It's going to be a cold, somewhat sludgy Christmas. If my amateur meteorological skills are correct, if it's too cold it won't snow. I may be wrong. Either way... Meh! Warm up just a little bit already!
Cars need time to warm up before you drive them. Heavy coats and winter hats and gloves and mufflers and thermal socks needs to be adorned before going anyway. Even someplace simple. Because your breath exhaled makes your nose hairs freeze up so the inside of your nostrils feel like a Triscut.
I wish I could just hibernate at home for a few months. Settle in to a nice snow covered cabin, in front of a fire place, and watch the snow fall. Instead, there is trekking that must be done. Fun trekking I look forward to. It's worth the drive when friends and family are involved. Simple day to day trekking in weather like this is a bitch. Rushing to work because you want to park close to the front door so you don't have to walk as far. Driving amongst all the locals who somehow have forgotten how to drive in bad weather since last winter and now every road is like a Canadian curling lane and your car is a curling stone.
Pushing a shopping cart through parking lot sludge? Feh! Wearing dress pants that get dirty even looking at your car because everything is covered in a crusty layer of dried road mush? Feh! Salt-melt that doesn't melt ice completely enough and gets tracked into the house? Feh!
I don't have kids, but I feel tremendous sympathy for those who do. Those brave parents who not only have to bundle themselves up, but their little kidlings as well. I've known some parents who didn't even bother to unswaddle their children if they weren't going to be in a place for very long because it simple wasn't worth the fight. "Meh!" I say for you and your suffereing.
I know this comes off as completely bah humbug. I own that. If I don't like the weather here I could move. I wouldn't, but I physically could. It's just that time of year where the annual bitching must be done. It must be released into the open so that Christmas joy and happiness can take it's place. And God knows I could use some...
Stay warm! Enjoy the holidays!
Merry Christmas Wal-mart shoppers! |
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I posted this @ 12/21/2005 12:31:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/20/2005 |
I WILL REMEMBER YOU
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Mike and I had an interesting conversation over the weekend about things we remember from our childhoods. Or more correctly put... Things we think we remember remembering.
How trustworthy is a person's memory? Not in an aged/forgetful way. Yet as time goes on, some things take more effort to remember. Your fifth birthday isn't quite as clear as it might have been. Your first day of school might not be as traumatic as you thought it was. Does it matter that you don't remember exactly the last moment you spent with a loved one? Could you write down all the addresses you've lived at? Would you rather forget a specific part of your life if you could?
I've always had a vivid imagination. When I was a young child of five or six, I can remember lying on the kitchen counters and staring at the ceiling. It would upset my Grandmother who 1) thought I was going to roll off and crack open my skull 2) I was on the counter top, where food was placed.
Yet, I would stare at this one particular spot on the ceiling. It sounds a little autistic. Yet I assure you I'm not. I would stare at these two faces in the swirls of paint on the ceiling. My Grandparents and I went to church regularly when I was a child, and I remember thinking that it was the faces of Jesus and Mary. (Joseph didn't make the cut. Sorry, Joe.) I remember feeling like that was how Jesus was keeping a watchful eye on me.
Now at 31 I can't find that face in the ceiling anymore. The ceiling has never been repainted that I can recall. I know the area where it was. Yet, I don't see it there anymore.
A few years back, my Grandmother and I had a conversation where she said that I used to talk about seeing ghosts. Not in a spooky "I'm scared" way. She says I would talk to ghosts. I don't remember doing that. I know I had imaginary friends (siblings, more correctly) when I was a little kid. I explained this to her, asking if that was what she was talking about. She claims it isn't. She said she knew I had imaginary siblings, but that she was referring to something else. Yet, her memory of the time has faded. All she recall is my claims at the time it happened.
Memory is a funny thing. It's crazy what details I can remember about such mundane activities. There is no reason why I need to remember sneaking on to the construction site of the Mexican restaurant by my Grandparents house. Yet I remember playing in there with my friends, as if it was our own personal club house.
I like sitting around and remembering things like that. It makes me feel like the time I spent so far was spent well, because it was worth remembering. |
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I posted this @ 12/20/2005 08:22:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/15/2005 |
MAN, I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN
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I posted this @ 12/15/2005 06:17:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/14/2005 |
MR. BIG
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Mike and I have had this conversation several times. The conclusion we've come to is that I have no sense of how tall a person is. Which is odd, because I do great on those spatial puzzle type tests.
Exhibit A: Hugh Jackman is not a midget. He is just under 6'3". For some reason I think he is the size of a hobbit.
Which brings us to...
Exhibit B: Sean Astin IS a midget. More correctly he is 5'6", which is shorter than me, but for some reason I think he's at least my height.
Uma Thurman falls into this catergory as well. I think she is shorter than she is.
Tom "I'm covered in Body Thetans" Cruise is another one who's height fools me. I've read that in the Mission Impossible films they specifically cast costars who are about his height so as to not call attention to his stature.
I'd be a terrible eye witness.
OFFICER: How tall was the perp?
ME: Um... 4'5"... I think. He was shorter than me.
OFFICER: About how much do you think he weighed?
ME: Oh, about 275. Basically, he was a fireplug in a ski mask.
In the Lord of the Rings movies Sean was paired up with other actors who were of similar height, but then he played a hobbit who is supposed to be short. His height was never really noticed. In the X-Men movies Hugh plays Wolverine whom I've always perceived as a short character.
Now if I was to be standing next to one of these people, then I could obviously tell how tall a person is. Along those same lines... if someone can arrange a meeting with Sean Astin. Christmas is just around the corner. |
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I posted this @ 12/14/2005 07:25:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/13/2005 |
75 BANDS
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The game here is to find the 75 bands in the picture. Some old. Some new. Everything in between. Post your answers in the comments or on your own site and pass it on! Click on the image to view a larger size.
UPDATE
Here is a photo of the answers. When I found this I dind't realize that three bands were cut off from the left side. |
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I posted this @ 12/13/2005 03:22:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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57 CHANNELS AND NOTHING'S ON
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...which is the TV related title I pull off the shelf when I can't think of any other catchy TV related songs that I haven't used 800 times already.
Okay first of all... I am going to spoil some shows. So if you've not seen the latest episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, The Amazing Race, or The Office, then you might want to just skip this post till you do.
Survivor - Overall this season was great. There was just enough happy moments and people to root for to balance out the needless drama and back-stabbing. In the end it was the underdog who won. Danni, the sports announcer from Kansas City, came from behind to win a million dollars.
Let me get a little deep into it. If you've not seen the show this won't mean much to you, but maybe the logic will still be understood. In the Final Four there was Rafe, Danni, Steph, and Lydia. Rafe is well liked and has won several challenges. Danni is well liked and won only one challenge. Steph is competitive, athletic, but hasn't won much. She's also made a lot of enemies in the people who could possibly be the people voting to give her a million dollars. Lydia hasn't won jack shit. She is nice enough, but has skated through the game as the 'provider.' She's no threat. With those four, to me the logical choice would be, get rid of Steph in 4th place. Keep Lydia around because you know she isn't going to win anything so your chances go up. Between Danni & Rafe whoever wins the next immunity should keep Lydia, because rarely are people voted to win the money because they skated by.
What really happened was... Rafe had made a promise to Danni to take her to the Final Three. Danni said she'd take Rafe to the Final Two. Which, in a game of outwitting others means nothing, but Rafe has been pretty moral about how he's played. Moral to a fault. Rafe 'released' Danni from her 'obligation' to take him to the Final Two. When Danni won the challenge and had to choose who to go up against for a million dollars she chose Steph. Obviously. Because she was not well-liked and no one would vote her, assuring Danni the victory. You're there to play and win. Makes sense to me. Yet Rafe and his self-serving sense of moral found it reprehensible that Danni didn't take him to the Final Two like she'd promised to do, from which he released her from. Idiot...
In the end Danni won 6-1 in votes. Yay Danni.
Grey's Anatomy - Izzie is full of holiday cheer, which is making everyone else slightly nauseas. I can get behind the cheer part. Yet her perkiness is weirding me out a little. She's trying to stay positive after having caught Alex, her boyfriend and fellow resident having sex with a nurse. Oops. Everyone else has moved on from this drama and are now pulling to help Alex pass his medical exam. Izzie finally breaks down and cries over it. She's only been holding on to her anger for how long now? Too long...
The Dr Sheppards have been trying to reconcile after Addison Sheppard cheated on Derek Sheppard with Derek's best friend. Oops. Derek in the meantime fell in love with Meredith. Which was all fine and good until we found out that he had a wife and wasn't really divorced yet. Oops. I find myself watching this and conflicted on who to root for. Because basically by rooting for Derek and Meredith to stay together, he'd have to dump his marriage vows and his mattress mouseketeer of a wife. Torn. In the end it doesn't matter. Derek finally tells Addison it's not going to work out. They'd tried counseling and getting back into the 'swing' of things and she just wasn't doing it for him anymore. Don't you know that just as soon as he mentions this, you know that when they come back from hiatus that Meredith is going to have a new boyfriend and Derek will be the third wheel. D'oh!
The Amazing Race - I love this show. I'd love to be on this show. It's got all the fun of a reality show with travel and prizes and excitement, without the crazy bug eating or the weeks of starvation and lack of facilities. Yet, this season has sucked. It's neutered. It has been a 'family edition' which involved children. Young children. But surprisingly to me, it wasn't the children who were irritating to watch. I feared the long hours and rigors of spontaneous travel and difficult challenges would prove too much for an 8-year old. Yet, it was the 8-year old who was the coolest to watch. That was one strong 8-year old.
It was the team of self-proclaimed religious righteous, The Weavers, that were annoying me. When someone tells you they are better than everyone else and will make fun of another family purely because the father is a garbage man. You're losing points in my book. The hook for this family was their husband died in a tragic racing accident. So when the Amazing Race had going to a race track as one of their tasks, it was awkward to watch. At first... When other teams tried to console them and be sympathetic to their obvious pain, they were upset that people were being so mean. Huh?! When you complain that someone has been treating you poorly, yet you find it amusing to throw garbage at passing vehicles of other competitors... who really has the right to be upset.
The Amazing Race ends tonight and I hope they don't win.
The Office - It is the funniest show on TV right now. Well not, right now... unless you are reading this when you should be watching The Office. There is at least one person in the cast of oddball characters that you will recognize from jobs you've had. It is uncomfortably awkward to watch, sometimes. Yet, that is what makes it funny. Because rather than being off-the-wall funny. It is this-happens-in-real-life funny. You know that someone, there is a boss who thinks he knows it all and is clueless as to why he hasn't been promoted to vice president of something. You know there is at least one person in a cube farm worrying that someone is eyeing his lunch in the fridge. You know there is at least one unspoken office romance budding. |
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I posted this @ 12/13/2005 09:06:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/03/2005 |
THE HEAT IS ON
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Also known as "ATTACK OF THE FOOD."
It has been an interesting couple of days for food.
It was decided that yesterday would be Breakfast For Dinner day. Which is perfectly fine for me. Easy to prepare. Easy clean up. No big tasks. Yet between the two of use we couldn't make a proper piece of food if our lives depended on it. And in a way... I guess they did. We, as humans, need food to live.
I broke the first couple of egg yolks. Once I managed to crack them, my over-easy eggs were runny. The pan was first to hot and scorched the hell out of the eggs. Then it wasn't hot enough. The pancakes were sticking to the non-stick skillet. The batter was lumpy and not in a good way. The bacon was... not right. It was low sodium. And you could tell. It was also low flavor.
We should of went to Denny's.
Tonight was chili night. I like chili. Yet, after some gentle goading that real chili is spicy hot and is not just beans and water. We found a recipe for Mexican chili. It was good. It also was spicy in ways that I've never known before.
The chili contained roasted anaheim peppers, jalenpenos, anchos in adobo sauce, beef, mexican oregano, plus you typical chili spicings. One bite and some how the spices had managed to shoot straight up my sinus cavity and I was immediately red in the face. I could feel the top of my head start to sweat.
That's the sign of a good spicy food.
I was dying... I'm pretty sure it was meant to kill most people. If anyone needs a good pest control bait. I know what you can use. All that will be left will be tiny charred remains from spontaneously combusted critters. |
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I posted this @ 12/03/2005 07:35:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/02/2005 |
FEEL GOOD INC.
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This article didn't really make me question if I have Adult ADD. It made me question why more people aren't diagnosed.
Let's take a look at what you can see most people doing in the average day. Driving down the street you can easily spot dozens of people on their cell phones, searching for items on floor or backseat, reapplying make-up, even cutting their hair.
It is not uncommon to have the TV or radio on while cooking at home. For those who have kids, ADD is called parenting. You have to monitor you infant, while doing all the things you'd normally be doing anyway. House cleaning. Grocery shopping. Talking on the phone.
At work you can be bombarded by questions from coworkers, incoming email, phone calls. It never ends.
Is it any wonder more people don't have a diagnosis of Adult ADD?
At my last job, it was a learnable skill. It was crucial. If you had a suicidal caller on the phone, you had to gather necessary identifying information. Relay this information concisely to your supervisor. Win your game of solitare. Try and finish your take-out before it got cold. AND keep the caller from doing something harmful.
Some of what was done was a tension reliever. Being able to read a magazine while talking to a girl who was going through a break-up was a way to make sure you didn't get swept up in their drama. You could keep a level head about the situation on your phone if you had a People magazine giving you the scoop on Jenifer Aniston.
Even those, that hadn't mastered multitasking on calls had mastered being able to switch gears at a moments notice. A 'professional' could be regaling the room with the latest story about her toddler's adventures in potty training, halfway through her story answer a call, talk for ten minutes, hang up, and pick the story right back up where she left off without so much as even skipping a beat. The people listening would usually be just as good at remember when she left off and not need clarification or a recap of any kind.
In today's society it seems like we are almost used to having to juggle more balls at any given time. Many jobs require focus on more than one issue. It's a fact of life. Many people have more to do in just as much or less time than our parents might have had.
In the time that I wrote this entry. Listened to Cyndi Lauper & Sarah McLachlan sign "Time After Time". I ate lunch. Answered a couple emails and chatted with my co-workers. |
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I posted this @ 12/02/2005 10:53:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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| 12/01/2005 |
PLAYING WITH THE QUEEN OF HEARTS
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...which has nothing to do with my post. It's just the song stuck in my head.
So let's see. What have I been wanting to write about?
Well first and foremost. My Grandfather is home from the hospital finally. He was moved from Lincoln to NCity for a short stay. Then finally home. It actually worked out quite well.
I was on my way to visit my Grandmother last Friday. I was going to help her run any errands she needed as well as take her out for dinner. I called and the phone was busy. Not unusual, but not typical either. I called again. Same thing. Maybe she was on the phone with the family in Alabama. I figured I'd just keep calling in order to let her know I was on my way. Sixteen phone calls later, the line was still busy and I was convinced that something tragic had happened.
I show up to find the house in order. I call out her name and she answers. I ask if she knew her line has been busy for the last hour. She had apparently not hung up the phone completely the last time she used it. Which was at some point earlier that morning. Well, her phone issues had been enough to alarm not only myself, but our neighbor came down to check on her because she didn't answer. The hospital was trying to call her. My Grandfather was trying to call her. So the phone about jumped off it's base when it was hung up.
All was fine. The hospital just wanted to let us know that my Grandfather was being released. We brought him home. Got him set up with his new meds. He looked about as good as I've seen him in a long time. I spent the afternoon getting prescriptions filled and grabbing food for us to eat. Not your tradtional Thanksgiving, but a thankful one just the same.
In lighter news... I picked up the new Madonna and Sheryl Crow albums. There are songs on both albums that I can see getting airtime. "Hung Up" and "Jump" are two of my favorites on Confessions On A Dance Floor. The whole album could be played like on continuous dance mix. I'm actually looking forward to hearing what type of mixes people will make as a result of these latest offereings.
Shreyl Crow has a sure hit with "Good Is Good" and "Lifetimes" on her album Wildflower. There are a couple songs which have very similar sounds to her previous albums. One song even starts out with an almost identical guitar riff as "Can't Cry Anymore." It's not bad. It just doesn't seem like a new sounds for Sheryl. Overall it's a good album. It's a very mellow album.
If you've not seen the latest episode of Lost... Just skip the rest of this post right now. I don't want to spoil anything for you.
I'm hooked on Lost. I love it! There has been some talk in various articles and fan forums that the mysteries keep getting deeper. The cast is growing. Yet, nothing is being answered. I can see what some of these complaints are. The mysterious are getting more complex. Yet, it is also getting more intriguing as well.
Last chance to turn away...
Mr Eko seems like a very good counterpart for philisophical Locke. The theme of black and white is again shown when they meet and begin swapping notes. Literally! The film that Eko brought Locke while it didn't shed a whole lot of new light on anything certainly does make you wonder why anyone would cut out a section of the film Locke watched.
I'm glad to see Rose back with her husband, Bernard. No one really expected him to be white. Yet, cheers to Hurley for pointing out the obvious.
I was said to see Shannon go. Even though she was useless to the rest of the group and overall her story wasn't that interesting. She was still a dimension of the show that was enjoyable. You know there is going to be at least one spoil girl who wants everyone to do for her. It was nice to see her learn to do for herself. I just hope they don't need any more French translated.
I feel sorry for Ana-Lucia, but she needs to learn to get along with others better. Seriously. I know she's a big girl and can take care of herself. Yet, c'mon... you're on an island with a bunch of people and there is obviously something hinky going on. It wouldn't hurt not to isolate yourself too much. Hopefully Jack can help her with that. He finally had that drink with her.
Michael! Don't mess with the computer! Dude! You find blast doors and you know that the computer supposedly stops 'something' from happening. Should you really mess with it?
Kate is one of my favorite characters. It was good to see her story play out more this last episode. Though, I think she was losing it. My question is... When Sawyer was chasing a boar it was symbolic of the guy he killed. So is the black horse, that Kate has seen twice now, symbolic of her biological father that she killed? Food for thought. |
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I posted this @ 12/01/2005 11:45:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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