I stayed home from work today. Having taken Nyquil liqui-tabs, I ended up sleeping until 8:30 AM. And I felt worse than yesterday, completely congested and miserable. I can't say I feel any better. I'm fearful that its becoming a sinus infection, since the pressure around my cheeks and nose is bad. Uggghhh! I was gonna make a doctors appt, but Mom talked me out of it. I should have ignored her and did what I initially thought. If it is a sinus infection, drugs are required. It won't simply subside quickly. *sigh* *whine*
So much for Mom and her talk of letting my immune system battle it out. I don't need to be out of work the rest of the week waiting for this to subside. :P
Still sick over here. I have this lovely dry cough now. I seem to recall having this last summer. Hopefully I will not get a secondary infection 3 weeks later like I did last year. Now that really sucked as I recall.
Tabitha has been getting territorial again, batting at Gee when he goes near the food or any place she decides is hers, even if he had been able to claim that spot previously. She's simply being bitchy. Or perhaps catty? LOL. Poor guy.
Back from New York State and now I'm sick. :( Sore throat started this morning and I can't think very coherently either. Finally left work at 2 pm since I was worthless. LOL. It's questionable whether this blog entry will be any better.
But the weekend was fabulous and requires some sort of recap. The weather was good during the day though it did rain during the night both nights. Went wake-boarding on Saturday and managed to get up on the board--though I didn't stay up very long. My first try at it was far better than I would have imagined. [Imagine being on something like a snowboard, but instead you are dragged behind a boat.] The only bad part was I had sooo much trouble getting my feet out of the bindings. Not sure why, but it was quite a production to get my feet released. LOL. Unfortunately Sunday [when Sue joined us for the day :)] the water was too choppy to give it another go. So instead we went swimming in the lake. The water was quite cool at first, but once you got in for awhile it wasn't too bad. [Water temp = 72 degrees F]
I had a great time seeing Noah and Tiff. It's been four years since we had a real visit. That was the summer they first bought the boat and took ownership of the cabin. Since then they've done soooo much to improve the place including redoing the bathroom and the kitchen. And they've become quite the boating duo/wakeboarders. If I didn't live so far away, I'd visit a few times each summer. But with almost a 6 hour drive I can only go up there once or twice each summer at best. In previous years, they too had a 4 hour drive [they lived in Jersey City and worked in NYC until after Sept 11], but now there are a mere 20 minutes away from the cabin, making it easier to coordinate visits there.
There's so much more, but I think I'm running out of steam. I will mention that when I went to leave, one of my tires was flat. Luckily Noah's uncle had an air compressor and we were able to re-flate the tire. And I made it home, despite getting lost in Harrisburg again. [Why can't they sign that area better???] It sucks to be lost at 10:30 pm on a Sunday night all alone when one isn't sure how well the tire is staying inflated! Hehehehe....
Today I got the tire fixed...it had a measly little screw stuck in the tread. :P
Off to eat Ramen and rest some more........
Thankfully the art of parody has been protected. Apparently Mattel, maker of Barbie™, has lost its suit against Universal Music, which alleged infringement of its trademark by the music group Aqua with its song Barbie Girl. I'm glad to see the courts have dismissed the case citing the song is a parody and is protected under the First Amendment. I'm just amazed they even brought up such a suit. Talk about a waste of money. LOL. And a waste of time considering the song hit the charts in 1997.
Jak's View from Vancouver has been keeping a daily log of Palestinian news. In his latest entry he pointed out his aghast at the lack of condemnation at Israel's bombing that killed 14 people. And he's right. Bush's disappointment is not enough of a response.
They used a freeking missile to get one guy! A little overkill, ya think? It killed eight children. It heavily damaged neighboring buildings. And all Israel does it is compare it to the US presence in Afghanistan. And we let them. Disgusting.
Israel has gotten too blood thirsty for my taste. And Bush has his lips too firmly attached to Israel's butt. Pisses me off.
All the progress Clinton made in that area is not but just a vague memory. Pretty damn sad.
My one year anniversary for blogging has come and gone with little fanfare. I meant to make a new layout for this page for the anniversary, but it didn't happen. Just haven't had the time, unfortunately. Maybe I'll get something done with it before the end of the summer.
The plans are set. I'm going to the Finger Lakes region of New York this weekend to meet up with Tiff, Noah, and Sue. I haven't seen Tiff in a couple years, so I'm quite psyched. May mother nature be kind and give us good weather so we can enjoy two days on the lake! :)
Had the worst sub instructor for class tonight. This guy didn't have a clue and had suggested we all do an hour of stretching because stretching is soooo important. Most of the class left before it was over because it was that bad.
Despite having a weinie class, I'm so tired for some odd reason.
I'm finally getting off my ass [well actually I'm sitting on it in front of my computer, LOL] and sending out pics I owe people. Cat pics, people pics, places pics, etc. Catching up on things I should have done months ago but never seemed to find the time. Just gotta make the time I guess...somehow.
Meanwhile the days keep ticking away until my 30th birthday. It's less than 5 months away. Shit...where has the time gone? I surely dunno. ;)
This one girl on the storyboard kills me. Her parodies are sidesplitting. And one of her latest includes a crossover with Highlander--using the characters Amanda and Methos. Yeah...Methos...droolllll.....
Anyhoo....her stories are such a hoot. And frequent enough that I keep looking forward to the next. And written pretty damn good too. It's a shame they can't all be like that. ;)
As for my own story, I should have worked on it tonight, but I didn't. I've been having problems concentrating on anything this week, so I'm not surprised. Maybe I'll dink with it tomorrow when I have a clearer mind.
1. Where were you born? Darby, Pennsylvania.
2. If you still live there, where would you rather move to? If you don't live there, do you want to move back? Why or why not? I have no connection to Darby, PA other than being born there. My first 6 years of my life were spent living in Philly. Then, just 2-3 weeks before my 6th birthday we moved to South Jersey. My parents still live in that same house where I grew up in Jersey. No, I don't want to move back there, just visiting is good enough, LOL. You know the old saying: "You can never truly go home again."
3. Where in the world do you feel the safest? Nowhere. The closest thing might be Canada, LOL.
4. Do you feel you are well-traveled? Yes and No. I have been overseas, but only 3 times [once as a baby]. And there are plenty of states that I've never seen. So there are definitely many places I'd like to visit both here and abroad.
5. Where is the most interesting place you've been? Germany. With all the Schlosses (castles) it was very kewl. Plus I got to be there nearly 4 weeks back when I was 15. Also, I like Toronto, having been there 6 times. It's like NYC but cleaner and no bridge tolls. LOL. This year I did add London, England to the been there list. Was great to see Big Ben, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, etc., but I found the air very dirty there, so that was a big minus. Nothing like having sooty gray snot coming out of one's nose in the evening, LOL.
I think I'd like to try the Carribean next. Or Australia. [That's been a dream of mine since the second grade.]
Another one from the topics blog:
How do you deal with people that annoy you? Do you have a fail safe tactic?
When I find someone really annoys me, I try to avoid them, if possible. If not, I try to remind myself that this person has feelings too, so I try to treat them kindly. Of course, if the annoying person is a some driver on the road, I either try to avoid them or just flick them off if I can't avoid them, LOL.
I did such a good job dealing with an annoying [and so much more] coworker from a previous job, that other people from that workplace still ask me if I keep in touch with her. They really have no clue the depth of hatred that passed between us, LOL.
Looking through the Topics Blog, I picked out a topic to post about tonight.
List 5 of the craziest things you have done while NOT under any influences such as drugs or alcohol.
This is a tough question right now because I don't think anything I've done is all that crazy. Comparatively speaking, of course, to people I've known.
I guess going to Toronto multiple times for fan conventions counts for something. Connected to that, planning a large party for people I didn't know other than on the internet would constitute crazy as well. And bidding over a thousand Canadian dollars for a deleted scene from LFN was definitely crazy, but exhilerating as well, as friends and barely acquaintances were passing me money to keep bidding. And the stinker of it is I should have kept bidding as the girl who I acquiesced to received enough cash from others in attendance that she only paid out of her pocket $200 CA. But I did receive a hug of gratitude from actor Matthew Ferguson for getting the bid that high with the bidding war we were having since it was his charity the auction of the video was benefitting.
Does working in an HIV drug discovery lab count towards crazy? I know the hectic scedule there contributed to a craziness of my life, LOL. Moving to Houston away from family and friends was a bit crazy considering how much humidity negatively effects me.
All right....I'm boring as hell. I can't think of anything crazy that I've done. Can you? [Provided you know me, LOL.]
The fall of the United States as a Global Superpower as detailed by this foreign policy article. Quite fascinating if you have an interest in history and how past events can predict future directions. And the most amusing thing that concludes the article is yet again--it's about the economy, stupid! Ok, not in so many words, but....LOL.
I'm fairly braindead from reading lots of journal articles and abstracts at work today. You know the feeling--the headache, hunger, and dizziness you feel when you've focussed on something far too long. I didn't even bother going to the gym feeling like that, but I went to the grocery store instead. I felt like I was the rude shopper because I was so oblivious to everyone else. But I couldn't help it, LOL. I was so exhausted from all that reading.
One more thing I can place blame on Dubya for: Battered Biotechs Can't Get Past Paralysis at FDA
If the biotech boom goes bust, I could be screwed since I work in that field. If the whole pharmaceutical sector goes bust, many potential new drugs will go with it.
And as it is, FDA hasn't been approving anything--whether the drug works or not.
*sigh*
Yet again we ended up with crappy weather on the weekend after a beautiful week. Where's the justice in that? Yesterday was cloudy, though mild. But today it rained and the humidity was on the rise. :(
Gee appears to be having allergies again. He has another bald patch from him biting the itchy area. So back to the vet he goes. No wonder I can't afford a house! I've spent more on vet bills this year than all the other years combined. *sigh*
I had a good time last night. I wouldn't say great, but definitely good. Danced, at least as well as I can dance, LOL. I only had two glasses of Sangria at the restaurant and a Midori Sours at the club. Perhaps more alcohol would have helped my dancing, but I didn't have much more cash on me since I had to put $15 on my metro card since I only had 20s. *sigh*
Trish and I went downstairs to the other dance floor twice and each time we had guys immediately joining us for the bump and grind. Nothing but a bunch of horny guys, lol. Trish's comment after we left the club was 'geez weren't those guys hard....kept getting poked." I LOLed and agreed, since it was so true.
And then later on the train home Trish announced to our group about all the guys we danced with downstairs being hard, and next thing you know Eric's wife was asking if Eric had been hard, too. I know this lady has issues, and is the real jealous type, but no one did the bump and grind with Eric. We had been talking specifically about the downstairs. All the dancing with Eric had been of the fun, casual type--no pressing of bodies. We only danced with Eric on the 80s floor. And when both Trish and I said we were strictly referring to the downstairs floor, she still acted like we were lying. It was so bizarre. We weren't sure what else to say at 2:30 am. She needs to get a grip. We all feel sorry for Eric having to deal with this crap. If she hadn't had so many health problems, I'm sure he would have ditched her by now. It's sad since he's truly a good guy. And perhaps once upon a time, she was a happier person, but now she is nothing but bitter.
Charlie seemed to be keeping his distance from me. Not sure what to make of that, but oh well. It's best if I don't overanalyze that. I just would have liked for it to have been easy to be casually friendly with him. Later in the evening, he kept saying his brother was coming [that Trish would fall for him immediately], and he kept looking for him in the last 2 hours of the night. I think he wanted to show off how hot his younger brother is. And what a charmer he is. But I can't help wondering if he wouldn't have had a better time dancing rather than watching the entry for his brother.
His brother finally showed up just before 2, but we had to leave soon after since the last Metro train was at 2am. Charlie wanted to try driving us all home, and have us stay til closing at 3 am, but we were all tired and ready to go. Not to mention some folks had another hour to drive once we got to Shady Grove. So we bid Charlie and his brother adieu.
The train ride home was entertaining, other than Eric's wife's comment. There were so many drunken folks doing silly things, it was a hoot. And I made it home to my kitties and my bed by 3 am.
Oh yeah, I'm not sure if I mentioned this read before, but I find Opensewer a great source of current news and critical opinions of current and past events. Actually I think I have mentioned it before, but it has been a long time since I mentioned it last, lol.
We've been having beautiful weather here the last couple days! Thankfully it's supposed to last through the weekend for once. Nothing worse than having beautiful weather all week only to have it be miserable once the weekend arrives.
Going out tonight with coworkers. Haven't been out clubbin' since I don't know when. Let's see if I can manage to pull off the hoochie mama [sp?] look, lol. And more importantly, have fun doing it. :)
I'm not sure what to think of a fanfic author who posts their first story--the first chapter, even, and then proceeds to post responses under that story within minutes, pretending to be different people. Like folks are not going to question why so many new people popped up for one story. And not even a very good one at that. Of course, since I admin this board, I can check IP addresses. And in this case, all three 'newbies' have the same IP as the author.
How needy does a person need to be to do that? I just cannot relate to that kind of neediness. But if the person keeps at it I'll either set the board to show IP addresses or drop her an email asking her to quit it.
*shaking my head in disbelief*
Oh yeah...and why is it I find myself suspicious of anyone who uses 'angel' in some form or another as a nick? More often than not, they tend to be fruitcakes/nutcases. Weird.
Notice that Bush & Co backed down on the issue of the World Court today. That's because we look like the most arrogant yet stupid bastards if we don't agree to follow the rules like everyone else. I still don't know what they were thinking? That every other country in the world should bow down before us [under God] ??? Yeah right....pleeeeasssseee. *rolls eyes*
How are we gonna manage to survive the Bush administration?...we've still got over 2 years to go. *sigh*
How is it that everytime this week I go to blog and the blogger server is down? :(
I can never really recapture what it is I was going to say at that moment. Kinda sucks.
Dubya continues to show what a moron he is. Made some comment yesterday that accounting is not black and white. Like the DJ on the radio said, numbers are the one thing that are black and white. They either add up or they don't lol. Dubya still hasn't learned to keep his mouth shut. Puppet masters Cheney and Bush, Sr. must be ready to smack him upside the head. And we've only seen the tip of the iceburg when it comes to corrupt accounting practices. I'm afraid the stock market may be depressed for years from this mess. Certainly won't help the economy. And neither were those ill-advised tax cuts Bush made last year.
And they said back last fall that it would be impossible to beat Bush in 2004. Looking easier and easier as each day passes. Beside all these Big Business accounting scandals, Bush and his cronies are busy pissing off the rest of the world, including Canada. First off we refused to join the World Court. Then we decided we didn't want to follow the rules they put forth. So then we cried that we were going to pull out all the troops in Bosnia and few other places [not Afghanistan] unless they were made exempt from the rules. [The rules being that any troops could be tried for war crimes by the World Court if they participateed in war atrocities.] And it's no wonder the rest of the world is pissed. We always seem to be the ones that if things don't go our way, we pick up our toys and leave. It's going to take YEARS to fix this mess. All of the progresses Clinton made in his eight years in foreign relations and clearing up the deficit are all ending up in the toilet. Damn freeking shame.
Whatya think? Gore/Clinton 2004? I don't care, he can boink all the interns he wants. It's the economy, stupid. [And in this case, Dubya specifically is 'stupid'].
Michael Jackson is a freak. Nothing new about that. But to cry racism in the music industry for his non-existant career is BS. Maybe record industry execs don't want to promote a guy who has little boys sleeping over at his Neverland Ranch. Ya think?
Yeesh...I think I need to go turn my TV off. I'm not ready to be hearing some guy [Rev Al Sharpton] angrily [loudly] argue with Matt Lauer over this stupidity.
I forgot to mention about the creepy guy that lives my apartment complex. The one who I keep running into a the pool. I think I mentioned him in a previous entry a couple weeks ago.
When Mom and I were in the pool, he took the chair next to our chairs. Seeing him there, I mumbled the word 'fuck' under my breath. I mean there were plenty of unoccupied chairs he could have taken. He probably recognized my towel. [Note to self: Get a new beach towel] I kinda explained to Mom the reason for why I was not pleased. Since it was so hot and I wanted to avoid this guy like the plague, we stayed in the pool. Eventually dude got in the pool. I had my back turned, but my Mom caught sight of him glaring at me. That just reinforced why I wanted to avoid him. He really gives me the creeps.
Taking the opportunity, we got out of the pool and returned to our chairs. Within a minute or two he followed us back and greeted us with a "How are you ladies doing today?" Friendly enough, but the guy is a total loser that doesn't take a hint. I growled back, "fine" barely looking up from my book. My Mom said not a word. I think he may have gotten the idea and said nothing more. As soon as we were dried off and convinced my Dad and brother weren't joining us, we left. Of course Brian and Dad were just getting out the door as we were coming in. Heck, we only waited two hours, lol. Later I asked Mom if she thought I had been too rude to the guy, but she didn't object to how I handled things. I don't think she cared for the cold glare he had shot my way when we were in the pool.
Could I be lucky enough that he'd get a job somewhere else and leave the state? I just don't like having some grudge-bearing guy hanging around every time I decide to go use the pool. *sigh*
I actually was going to go to the pool today, but all the smoke from those forest fires in Quebec travelled down here making it very hazy. Despite getting my bathing suit on [before I knew about the smoke], I decided I better not. Nothing like some smoke to mess with one's respiratory tract. Also, it wasn't that hot, which was strange considering it was in the mid to high nineties all week. Oh well. Cleaned and finished my JD Robb book, Betrayal in Death instead.
I started reading JD Robb last summer. I started mid-series with Vengeance in Death after many of the ladies on a mailing list I'm subbed to recommended her books. After getting hooked with that book, I went back to the beginning and read them in order. One year later, I've finished 12 of her books. Averaging one a month, lol. I can read them quicker than that, but I don't always start reading the next one right away. Or other things take center stage. Or I'm reading something else, like in May when I was reading Jean Auel's latest. So I've only got a few more Robb books to go. Then I'll have to go through my stack of books and start on something else, LOL. I even have a few that folks have leant me that I really should get to sometime this decade. Hehehehe.....
My parents left today after spending 3 days here. We had a nice time, mostly relaxing by the pool, and went to see MIB II which was fun. Just trying to catch up on things aroound here otherwise. Who knew I had so many internet things to do?