Easy peasy

Easiest way to delay 500th post?
Don't post.
he hehheheheeehee.

Sorry, kids, I've got nothing.
Work is kicking my ass this week, and doesn't really allow for play time.

Huh, look at that.

I'm 15 posts away from #500.
Shocked and awed that I'm approaching that number.

What do you want to read about in the big 5 0 0 ?

Ask and you may receive.....

Mish mosh

• When I got to work this morning, something awesome was waiting for me. And I do not mean the Tiffany & Co playing cards I got from my boss.  I received a picture I had begged for. BG's offspring has a knack for photography, and I've fallen in like with many of the pictures he's taken.  So much so that I purchased one. And it's here! And it's fantastic! And I cannot wait to frame it and hang it in my living room. So cool.  It reminds me that if had never started this b.s. I call VFN, I wouldn't have all of you endearing, interesting, fantastic people in my life.  I heart you all, muchly.*
• My weekend working Folk & Roots kicked my ass. I took a personal day yesterday to sleep in, do laundry, get some things in order.  I was lucky enough to spend some time with Sil1x, and also with delightful God-daughter and family.  It was a great, if hot and humid, weekend, and a good day off.  I'm still tired, and my ankle is screaming at me, but whatever.
• Why, yes readers, we are going to ignore the fact I made a slight change last week. **I smile brightly at you**
• I don't understand why every time I'm in a party-party drinking situation (aka Sunday night at F&R), I get chatted up by the hot preppy guys. WTF.  Clearly, they will not be taking me home or asking for my digits, but for some reason I'm the go to girl to chat up. Upon reflection, I realize that this happens to me All The Time.  Again, I have to say, WTF?
• I fear my book club is in danger. The same club that I have kept running for two and 1/2 years so far. I might have to go tough love on the current planner. If she does not plan a meeting soon for the awful crap she made us read, I'm moving on to the next book with no meeting. No one fucks up my book club.  The book, "Jimmie Hendrix turns 80" we started reading in the end of May. It's time for a meeting!!!
• I started physical therapy with my Chiropractor yesterday for my ankle. He's fixed my foot and worked on my knees, so I figured I'd give him a shot at the ankle.  He's got a lot of work cut out for him, as I waited too long to go to him, but he's up to the challenge!! He started yesterday. Of course today my ankle hurts, but it's always that way at first, plus I did a lot of walking for the fest all weekend.  I just want to be better and move on!  He said I have at least 12 appointments ahead of me.  He's the boss!
• I'm obsessed with "Falling Skies".  If you aren't watching it, you should be.  Thanks to TheMarty for making me watch the first few episodes when we were in Michigan.

*Thank you, Mikey, for checking on me this weekend. You don't know how much I appreciate it. You're the best.

Yes, Michigan

Man, I sure would love to tell you all about happy Michigan fun times.
But I'm pretty sure that a detailed recapping is not allowed.
It's a what happens in Michigan stays in Michigan, even when it happens in Indiana kind of thing.
But maybe I can share some highlights without getting removed from the tricycle of awesome.
Let's see:

• The sunrise sampler is truly the best value at Cracker Barrel, so why get anything else?
• The staff at the Steak n' Shake in Elkhart Indiana are not only super-de-duper nice, but also they are all cute as buttons. The kind of people I have to make faces at, just because.
• Seeing a movie when it's just you and your friends is really awesome. Even if the movie was XMen First Class and you wanted to see Transformers 3 but whatever.
• Freedom drinks are delicious.  When you drink them out of a straw, you get knocked on your ass by the very first one, in about 30 seconds.
• Shannon's freedom drink is stronger than anyone else's freedom drink.
• TheMarty prefers that his freedom drink be made with "the good stuff", and not the juice that tastes "like ass".
• When freedom drink is laughed into my lungs, it's not awesome. Nor tasty.
• Shannon's college bound cousin Clare is now the streamers on the tricycle. Because really, what good is tricycle with no streamers?
• Hodor makes a sub-par rescue word. When spoken it only gets a chuckle in response, and no actual rescuing.
• The game Ticket to Ride is super awesome, especially when I win.
• So is Uno, but only when I win.
• Spicy farcle is not, because I never win.
• When the weather man says 30% chance of rain two days in a row, he really means 0% one day and 100% the other. Good luck figuring out which.
• Awesome Chicago storms only happen when I am not in Chicago, apparently.
• Someone I know is nowhere cool enough to be asexual. This is a fact.
• Creepy old men are everywhere. EVERYWHERE
• When playing catch phrase, and the clue is "Von needs one of these......" the answer is NOT "breast implant"

I don't think I can give you anymore than that. 

Thanks for nothing, John Hughes and Winnie Holzman

I've been reading this book. It's a collection of essays inspired by John Hughes films.  I've also been watching My So-Called Life reruns on Sundance.
And I had a revelation.
No wonder I'm fucking single.

John Hughes and Winnie Holzman ruined romance for me at a very young age.  And continue to ruin me.  If I'm flipping through the channels and I come across any John Hughes film (ok, except The Great Outdoors, I don't like that one) I stop and watch and sigh and cry.

And, oh my, My So-Called Life - how much was I like Angela Chase? I think I still AM like Angela Chase.  I do have trouble wrapping my head around Jordan Catalano being the same dude who now has a pink mo-hawk and fronts one of my favorite bands, but whatever. 

I just wanted the MSCL episode where Angela and Ricky go to Jordan's band practice and she thinks the song he is singing he wrote for her.  Double sigh.  I can't tell you how many band practices I went to, just to be in the same building as the boy I liked, and hoped and prayed that the special meaning I inferred from the lyrics were true.  Thankfully, I don't do that anymore.  Yes, I still know a few bands, and I'm sure they do practice somewhere, but I think it would be pretty pathetic of me to hang out there and flip my hair and sigh.  But still - that episode had my stomach turning - in nostalgia and bittersweet ness.

One of the essays I read recently was about Some Kind of Wonderful - which happens to be my favorite John Hughes movie.  I was Watts. In a lot of ways, I AM Watts.  Ok, not thin, and I would never wear my hair that short, but in many other ways.  The essay was all about the high school and college love triangles, or as the song says "You love her, but she loves him, and he loves somebody else, you just can't win".  The essay was pretty black and white - the writer wondering if she had paid attention to the ones that loved her if her life would have been different.  Oh, fuck, this could not have hit closer to home.    And I do wonder, often enough, what could have been if I had been paying better attention back then.

I now realize that my Blane, Keith, Jake Ryan, Jordan Catalano, even my Duckie will never ever exist.  There is no guy who will buy me a cake and pick me up in his Porsche on my birthday.  No one will ever tell me he loves me, always to the aching tune of "If you Leave", no one to, while dyslexic, write a song about his car that I will instead pretend is about me.  And no one to ride his bike past my house on a daily basis.  And for all of these delusions of romance, I still have to blame John and Winnie. 

I need to give it all up.  Ok, maybe not the dream of playing the drums like Watts in the opening credits of SKOW, because that's still pretty awesome, but the rest of it.

It may be time to let a real man, faults and all love me for me, and not the me I think is Angela Chase, or Amanda Jones, or Andi, or even Watts.

Vegas, Baby

It's been another whirlwind in this life of mine.
Last week I was in Vegas for my work's annual meeting.  Much like the losers at the Oscars, my position is the same - I'm just happy to be invited.  It is not common at all in the big huge company I work for that coordinators ever get to go to these things.  I have been to every one since I've been here.
This was the first time since I've started that it hasn't been in New York.  It was a crazy, busy, active, exciting, delightful few days.
Here's some of the highlights:

• Saw my first ever Cirque Du Soleil show - we saw Mystere the first night we were there. Lovely. Weird, but lovely.
• Watched all of my team ride the Big Shot - at the top of the Stratosphere hotel. Too cool.
• Had dinner and drinks at the Foundation Room at the House of Blues compliments of Dan Akroyd. Yep, you read that right - Dan Akroyd. Now, go out and get you some Crystal Head vodka, because it's delicious.
• Had cocktails in the Minus 5 ice bar.
• I drank $120 worth of tequila, but because I am me, and turned on the charm, I got them all for free. Now go out and try you some Don Julio 1842 and Sauza Three Generations. Expensive? Yes, but trust me.
• 113 is truly survivable because it's a 'dry heat'.
• and last but not least I RODE IN A HELICOPTER INTO THE GRAND CANYON. We landed IN the Grand Canyon and had drinks and walked around.
• See above - I rode in a fucking helicopter.

And oh yeah, there was a lot of work stuff going on too....

Today I'm taking care of a sunburn, due to the fact that I rode a float in Chicago's Pride parade yesterday. Another once in a lifetime experience! DANK Haus had a float, and I went along for the ride. Sure, I saw a lot of things in the crowd I wish I had never seen, but wow, what a crazy time.*

So, I live, the ankle continues its slow recovery, and it's back to business as usual.
Kinda.
I'm off to MI with Shannon and TheMarty for the annual rest/recovery/Freedom drinks/4th of July trip.  We leave Wednesday afternoon. Not a moment too soon. We'll be back on the 4th.  So, you may not hear from me until after that, but I'll try.

Stay classy.

*Me? Nope, not a lesbian, I'm straight as they come, but I do support the rights of everyone. And Pride parade is a wonderful celebration of all things awesome, unique and diverse.  I was proud to be there. Like one sign I saw said "Gay for a Day" sure, I'd say that was it.

Full moon crazy

This full moon has got me full on crazy.

Last night, I was just mopey and bummed out for no reason. Then I called Shannon, and we laughed and laughed and laughed.  Then I went to bed mopey and bummed.

Today? I'm all giddy and singing and chair dancing*. And happy, and having a good ole time.

Full moons and Scorpios get along about as well as I do with 2011.

The fight with real shoes continues.  Out of seven pairs of real shoes (aka work/dress shoes) only one has fit on my bad foot so far.  And as of Monday I'll be needing to wear real shoes for the week at our annual sales meeting.  Huh, not going so well.



*Jennifer - chair dancing is NOT lap dancing, it's dancing while seated at the desk, in the chair.