Things I Want To Do:
see a Jimmy Buffett concert every year until he retires/dies
attend a taping of the Craig Ferguson show
collect all books written by Patricia C Wrede, Alison Weir and Robin McKinley
visit all 50 states
successfully make a cheese pie on my own
own and use a hammock
name a my next cat(s)  (Schmendrick and Tzeitel!)
make another book lamp
paint more furniture
buy a Litter Robot
visit every European country
visit Mexico
visit a good sampling of the world's countries
live in New Zealand?
make more friends
lose enough weight that I can look good in short hair again
get a pedicure
learn to crochet
improve my knitting to the point that I can make something other than ass-ugly scarves
time travel
improve the lives of others
learn to cook chicken breast
earn a doctorate
see Garth Brooks in concert
have a fabulously decorated apartment
visit several Caribbean islands
go on a cruise
learn German, Hebrew and Greek
date a Jewish guy
date an engineer
be seriously hit on by another woman
go to a shooting range
visit lots of zoos
observe lots of prairie dogs
have a laundry line
have a compost heap
find a comfortable pair of heels
...
for starters

I'm trying to put together my application for a job in journalism. As such, I've been looking through the editorials that I wrote for the Rambler. I found this one and really laughed at myself. I can't believe that I printed this!

( Silliness )

I just posted this under 'Missed Connections' on Craigslist. Mostly for shits and giggles, but this really did happen!

Title: Drunk Asian guy on Halloween

Hey, you were drunk and carrying around a (presumably) stolen Jack-o-lantern. You were with another drunk guy dressed as a barbarian and a sober woman who seemed to be babysitting the pair of you. You were looking for "Dan's apartment," but you somehow came to the door of that party I was at twice. You gave us your pumpkin on the first visit. On the second visit, I gave it back to you. We later found the pumpkin broken outside.
I was the brunette dressed as a squirrel with a giant tail.
Dude, I wanted to party with you


In other news, GREAT Halloween! I dressed as a squirrel (finally!) and it was awesome. I got oodles of compliments and had fun with my tail!

Ugh, I have to be a human tomorrow and go to work and do homework.

Movies That Have Made Me Cry
Armageddon
Hope Floats
The Fountain
Bolt
P.S., I Love You
Serenity
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
V for Vendetta
Fiddler on the Roof
Rent
My Girl
Cashback
Gone With the Wind
Moulin Rouge
...
There are more, but I can't remember the titles at present.

I am so happy about this conversation that I had via Facebook.


Lindy feels disenchanted, disillusioned, or maybe disenfranchised- but at least not disembodied or disemboweled!
 Alicia

What about disconcerted? Or dispossessed?

 Lindy

No, but maybe a little disheartened.

 Alicia

Aw, I hope, at least, that you aren't discolored?

 Lindy

Not that I've noticed. A little disproportionate, but who isn't?

 Alicia

Don't disparage yourself!

 Lindy

I'm a little disgusted you would think I would. My self-esteem is not up for discussion!

 Alicia

Whoa! What's with the sudden dissension?

 Lindy 

It's been fun, but I have to disengage so I can go finish my homework.

 Alicia

Is this homework writing a dissertation in a disco?

 Lindy

No, it's a dissection of disparate discourses on reception.

 Lindy

And shame on you for distracting me!

 Alicia

You were the one who said you were disembarking the Facebook boat! Only YOU can make it happen! :P

My new favorite site: www.mylifeisaverage.com. It's like the happy version of FML. I can't read FML because I feel genuinely sorry and empathetic for the people who have had bad things happen to them.

My favorite story on MLIA so far is this:
Today, I was talking with my mom, and she told me that when she was young, one of the reasons she wanted to come to the U.S. was because she wanted to see squirrels. if she hadn't come to the US, she wouldn't have married my dad. I owe my existence to Squirrels. MLIA

I just had the following email exchange with my landlord:
---
Anthony,

The washer is working great again. Thanks!

Unfortunately, it seems that the new toilet is leaking from the base.
It's been running much more than it should and tonight I noticed the
water coming from the base. :-/
-Alicia
-----
Ill call the plumber.

Someone put a bent quarter in the slot and it got jammed.  First time ive
seen that!

Plumber should be by over the next few days.
Anthony
--
Sent: Aug 10, 2009 3:03 PM

The toilet has not leaked since you removed that mystery quarter. It's
also stopped running constantly.

Thank you!

-alicia
205 N Busey Apt 3
---
Mystery quarter?

Yes; plumber had an easy fix that will hopefully save me bunches off the water bill.  I was paying 5x every other house and couldnt figure out why!

Anthony
-----

You said, "Someone put a bent quarter in the slot and it got jammed."
I assumed you meant the money kind of quarter?

-a
---
Yes yes.  That had nothing to do with you toilet tho.

:-)
Anthony
---
Oooohhh, the washer. I wondered how a quarter 1) got jammed in my
toilet, and 2) was causing the stupid thing to leak.  This also
explains the random bent quarter that I found in the laundry room.
-a
----

LOL He's not the best communicator and I'm a little silly sometimes.

I've been perusing Wikipedia articles on the various Muppet characters for over an hour now. I was really amused and happy (for example, did you know that Google offers "bork,bork,bork" as a language option? [bork, bork, bork is what the Swedish Chef's language is called]), until now. I just read the page for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. It concludes thus:

Parody

In an episode of Adult Swim's Robot Chicken (Season 1, Episode 4), Dr.Teeth and The Electric Mayhem were in a fake VH1 Behind The Music sketch detailing the band's activities after The Muppet Show. It shows Dr. Teeth earning a living as a piano teacher, and claims that no one has seen Zoot since he was arrested in Japan for possessing a suitcase filled with thirty-seven pounds of hash - which is a parody of the 1980 Paul McCartney marijuana bust. Also, in a fake episode of The Howard Stern Show, Janice reveals that Tommy Lee gave her Hepatitis C and that she only has 5 years to live (referencing similar claims made by actress Pamela Anderson); when Stern ignores her distress and asks if Janice will show him her breasts, she angrily refuses (saying "F**k you, Howard! I'm dying!"). Finally, a possible comeback for the Electric Mayhem--a performance on Star Search--ends in tragedy when Animal has to be put down for a vicious attack on host Ed McMahon. The sketch ends with Floyd sadly stating that a reunion of the Electric Mayhem is albeit impossible without Animal and Zoot, as Dr. Teeth plays a piano duet with Rowlf the Dog and a sickly Janice coughs in the background.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Teeth_and_The_Electric_Mayhem

I am ridiculously put-out by Zoot's, Janice's and Animal's fates. This is one of my favorite bands!

Edit: "In the late 1990's Fozzie Bear was forever immortalized when Mr. T., a popular pop culture icon from the show "The A-Team" had Fozzie's face tattooed on his right Bicep, along with the phrase 'Fozzie pitys the fool!'"  WTF?

The Boat Drunks are playing at the Office II this Saturday. I'll be there. It's a fundraiser for breast cancer research! http://www.eiphc.com/index.html

If you want to go and need a ride, let me know! It can be arranged!

My head still fucking hurts. It took me a full day to figure out why my elbow hurt too. Apparently, I scraped it a little when I fell.

I think I want to start dating again. The trouble is, I have no idea how to do so. I don't know how to meet people outside of school, but I don't want to date another library student.

I have decided that Sunshine can have the side of the couch that he wants. I finally saw the light when Ryon came over to watch a movie the other night. He sat on the "wrong" side of the couch and put his drink on my linen chest next to the couch. It was a great idea and solved my dilemma about where to put my drink with the new arrangement. Thanks, Ryon! I was worried that I would confuse Sunshine again, but he seems quite happy to be back on "his" side of the couch.

Last night, I took approximately 3/4 of an Ambien around midnight. Around 12:30, I was still up, despite feeling unpleasantly drunk. I was sitting at my desk on the exercise ball that I had bought on Saturday and have been using as a desk chair. I lost my balance, rolled backward, hit the floor and banged my head on one of my kitchen chairs. Immediately, I put a hand to my head and discovered a golfball-sized lump there. Because I was already high on Ambien, I decided that I should probably have someone else assess the damage. I called Sara and she came over. She took one look at my head and ran back home to get a bag of frozen green beans to apply to my head. She decided that I probably didn't have a concussion, helped me to bed, got me water and ibuprofen (for in the morning) and turned off my lights for me. I woke up sleepy and headache-y, so I didn't go to class (my prof was very sympathetic). I've had a headache off and on throughout the day. A little bit ago, I went to freezer to get the bag of frozen green beans to apply to my head again. I discovered that the outlet's GFI had tripped AGAIN and that most of my freezer goods were desfrosting. So...I'm emailing my landlord tomorrow (the is the 4th or 5th time it's happened in recent months) and I have to wait a while before I can use my icepack. :(

Things I will definitely not be taking me when I leave this apartment:
my desk
my desk chair
Sunshine's current litter box
most of my lamps

Things I am definitely taking:
my army of squirrels
my books
Mr. Buffett's poster
Sunshine

Why am I making note of this? Because my desk chair is uncomfortable. No other reason. lol

I need:
to go grocery shopping
business clothes
a full-time kick-ass job with benefits by my birthday

I figured out where to put my fan. :) Goodness knows I need it! The heat and humidity the past couple weeks has been AWFUL! Blech!

Worked w/ leather binding today in book binding. It's a pain in the ass! It was hard to properly adhere the board to the leather. Decorating leather (also known as tooling) is a pain in the ass, too. You can't hide mistakes! Such a pain!
I also finished the beer journal I was making for Dad. I decided that one of my books would have a beer decoration on the front and Dad could use it to to record the beers that he tries. He loved the idea, so I also bought self-adhesive tabs (so he could have sections for stouts, ales, etc.) and used rubber stamps to mark the first page with the Ben Franklin quote: "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." I think he will be pleased.

I miss having air conditioning. I love water.

Landlord installed a new toilet today! The other had a broken toilet and was leaking water from the base (which made my whole bathroom floor a puddle. yuck!). If I'm lucky, he'll also replace my shower head and repaint my shower this week, too. Of course, if he repaints my shower, I won't be able to use my shower for a couple days....Fortunately, I live next door to friends, and, failing that, I guess I'll try showering at one of the rec centers. OR! He could paint in on Friday, when I'm going to be gone over night. Hmmm. </stream of consciousness>

I want to rearrange my living room, but I have no idea what to do.

Cake and brownies are awesome. Honey mustard is good too. Mmmm, pickles.

Today, I took out the recycling, vacuumed, washed two loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen a tiny bit and washed 1/5 of my dishes before I got bored with that particular chore.

It's cold today. I'm wearing knee socks. Oh, how I've missed my sexy socks. I don't mind cold weather so long as I can wear my awesome socks!

The landlord said he'd be by yesterday or today. He hasn't shown up. If he doesn't show up this week and his worker doesn't fix my damn window, I will resume calling him every day again, starting next week.

This morning, I finally realized that I had been feeding Sunshine w/ a 1/4 cup scoop. The vet had told me that he should be getting 1 cup of food a day (I had been overfeeding him). I somehow grabbed the 1/4 cup instead of the 1/2 cup measure cup. So, for weeks, my poor kitty was only getting 1/2 cup of food a day (plus treats). No wonder the poor dear was always harassing me for more food! I've corrected my error, so hopefully he'll be a happier (and less bitchy) kitty from here on.

I. Want. ALL OF THESE!!!! http://kamibashi.com/dolls/stringdolls/index.html  I want to have a big damn creepy collection! yes, yes, yes!!

Also, my dresser turned out great, but I'm sore as hell today.

Today, I sanded down my dresser w/ the nifty power sander that my uncle gave me. I even lugged the dresser itself, sans drawers, up the stairs to the porch and back down the stairs to my apartment all by myself. Rawr!

Thus far, I have applied 2 coats of paint to everything. I think the drawers are done. When they are dry, I will install the new hardware. I think the dresser itself will need one more coat of paint. I have paint all my legs and arms and the floor.

Sunshine threw up a little while ago. He's had a bad day. I've made all sorts of scary noises and smells (from the paint!)  while painting and now there's a thunderstorm in the area. Thunder scares the poor dear.

Today has been an odd mix of good and aggravating.

First thing this morning, Sunshine vomitted. Most of you know how I feel about vomit.

Then, the drink I had in my purse leaked on the way to the bus. It leaked through my purse and on to my pants. It was Mountain Dew, which meant my purse, jeans and hands were sticky. Yarg.

Got to class and was able to revise my paper & library floor plan a bit during class. That was good. Then, I turned my paper in during break and I mentioned to Dr. Berger that I was especially proud of the floor plan that I had made. I showed it to him briefly and his response was 'wow!' Yay for that at least. Also, our test/quiz/midterm was open note, open book. Yay for that.

I got home and got 2 bills in the mail. Then, I made my daily phone call to the landlord (I started doing this on Tuesday) to badger him abour repairs that I requested TWO MONTHS AGO. In this message, I told him that I intended to call everyday until these things were done. He sent me a text message in reply saying that he was at a funeral in Chicago, his repair man should have fixed my window screen and he would contact me when he got back (he didn't say when that would be). I'll leave him alone tomorrow, but I plan to resume calling on Monday. I'm not sympathetic that he has a funeral to attend because he should made these repairs WEEKS, if not MONTHS ago.  I emailed him in response to his text to assure that no, his repair man has not made a single damn repair to my place and inform him that I am out of patience.

Also in the mail came an Eddie Izzard disc from Netflix and a package from Amazon. Among my purchases was a book by Tamora Pierce. Unfortunately, it's a different size than all my other Tamora Pierce novels!! I am actually suprised by aggravated I am, but I'm still aggravated. I guess I'll have it to buy it again. All the same, I am looking forward to reading it. I'm in the mood for a novel, but most of my 'to read' stack is either non-fiction or short stories (I'm back to trying to read the Complete Brothers Grimm that I purchased in highschool to celebrate my braces coming off).

My Summer I class is done at noon tomorrow. Yay! I will have 2 weeks to frolic before Summer II starts. I'll be taking 2 courses. One of them will be another 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 2 weeks. The other will meet twice a week for 5 or 6 weeks (or something like that).

You are hereby updated.

Fuck you, Life! I got straight A's despite all the shit you've thrown at me since the semester started. Frustration, death and heartache didn't stop me! I can take anything you can dish out! Bring it on, fucker!

I really love watching Sunshine play with his toys. My floor is perfect for toys that require batting around. It's slick and has weird warps in it that can send a toy in an unexpected direction. It's so much fun when Sunshine get s really in to it and he's running all over the place.

Speaking of my floor, it's even funnier when Sunshine takes off running, but will have to do the Flintstone running-thing first. It's also amusing when he can't get the traction to turn or stop in time and he slides straight in to things. Hahahaha!

Unfortunately, he keeps losing toys. This is a damn small apartment. Where in the hell could they be going? He's lost one of his 2 favorite wobbly toys. I suppose I shall have to buy more and when I finally move, I'll find all his favorite long-lost toys.

Dammit, I have so much love to give and I'm giving it all to the damned cat. I love you, Sunshine! You are so adorable! Yes, you are! Now stop meowing for more food, dammit! I fed you already!