Home Sweet Home

The house is staring to come along very nicely. Its actually feeling more like home everyday. Here is a quick run down room by room:

Living room - We have couches and a recliner, end tables, a lamp and no more watching the TV while its sitting on the floor, we have an entertainment center! I am starting to get pictures together, soon they will be on the walls. Oh! And I even have candles!

Kitchen - Counter tops installed, we finally got our last back splashes after they came in chipped. Appliances are all hooked up, just need a new door wall and we can finish the molding. Oh, and people keep telling me that a table and chairs would be nice. :o)

Bathroom - Fully functioning! Needs some molding, and could use another towel bar. Needs a sill around the window in the shower. Ansel Adams prints ordered, they will look great on the grey walls!

Spare Rooms - They need sills and window treatments, closet doors would be nice too! Mike's is fully organized of course, and mine is a disaster!

Master Bedroom - Needs a closet door and some blinds but other than that, its all good!

There are other little projects that are needed throughout, but nothing that can't wait till the winter boredom sets in. I do find myself to be a bit more of a homebody again. But that's not a bad thing. Having guests over is fun, but I do find myself secretly hoping everything looks great... LOL. I am very happy at home. It's peaceful. I also find myself daydreaming about how the decorations will look come Halloween and Christmas. Well, that's enough for now, I will post pictures once I am not so lazy!

A Walk To Remember

Months ago Gabby and I discussed going camping, just the two of us, some random full moonlit night in the summer. She had gone up to Metamora-Hadley years ago and said that it was far away from everything, yet not to long of a drive, and that there was an amazing meadow that you could walk to. Well, when we started planning this trip it ultimately turned into something entirely different, and it ended up being Ian and I spending a weekend at my cabin. Totally different.

Thanks to an unfortunate event, I have been in a very blue mood. I had previously requested to take Friday as a vacation day for a different trip that was cancelled a while ago. And as the week started to progress I didn't know if I would rather stay at home all weekend feeling sorry for myself, or if I wanted to distract myself with friends and family.

One of the things I thought about doing was going to see a cheesy movie at the Main Art Theater, so when I reminded Gabby of the movie times Thursday morning, she came up with an off the wall suggestion to go camping. She also had Friday off. Hmm... camping. What the hell!

So, Thursday I got out of work, packed a quick bag and we headed off down the road. One quick stop at Meijer for some snacks and beer and we were camping. We got there with enough time to put the tent up, and get a fire started. It was a nice night, just the right temp, fire lies, booze, campfire and good conversation.

At about midnight, Gabby gets this idea to walk up the trail a little ways, maybe we could find that meadow she talked about. Why the heck not? We had a flashlight. We head off down the trail, which was fairly clear and well marked. Not to many bugs out that late, and the moon was nice and bright. We found one trail map posted and it looked like the trail was a big loop, not to bad, we could make it all the way around in a short while maybe. Lets just say, we somehow missed a trail marker, ended up in the meadow, and it took us until about 2 am to get back to our site. We went on one heck of a walk, but it was very memorable, beautiful, and relaxing.

Messages From Dead Friends

So its been about 3 years since a friend of mine, Vanessa, was tragically killed by her husband in a murder/suicide. In the past 3 years, she's probably popped into my mind maybe a half dozen times. However in the past 6 months, Vanessa has been on my mind a lot.

Vanessa grew up in a neighborhood just across from the one I live in currently. I have friends that live just a few roads over, and unfortunately they have been having marriage problems, and have recently filed for divorce. At times, the tension can be quite thick, and I reached out to Google to find an article on Vanessa so that I could share her story with my friends. I think it really meant a lot, put things in a perspective that they hadn't considered. I thanked Vanessa for popping into my mind at just the right time.

Vanessa and I drifted apart through high school, but our paths crossed a few times after graduation. One of the fondest memories I have of her, is from a birthday party at a friends house where we watched the movie 'Clueless' and listened to Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony's "Crossroads". It was a hot song at the time and someone had brought the cassette single and we listened to it over and over. That was way back in like 1994 or something. I know it was before Mikey and I ever met.

That song came on the radio one day and I smiled and looked up to the heavens and told Vanessa hello, and didn't think much of it. Apparently I was missing the message. In the weeks following that, I continued to hear the song randomly. I thought it was quite odd that I would be hearing such and old song so often. But then the randomness of it, wasn't so random any more. I heard the song literally as I was turning into her old hood on Sunday. Ok, "Hi Vanessa!" and I even drove past her old place, it was just to convenient.

I've had a lot on my mind lately and been having trouble dealing with an issue of importance. As I drove home on Monday, I was thinking of my dilemma and was trying to figure out my next move, and wouldn't you know it, "Crossroads" came on the radio. I think I finally figured out the meaning of her message. I had a hard time interpreting it before, but I think she's been looking out for me.

I kinda feel like I had to do all the Jennifer Love Hewitt leg work myself. But in the end it was worth it. Thanks Vanessa!

I Got Looped

Wow! So where do I begin! I have been having crazy weekend after crazy weekend! Last night Gabby, her friend Lisa, and her Aunt Lexi, Neighbor Josh and I all went out to a Limo Crawl that took place in my bubble. It was a continuous loop from JD's Key Club, Muldoons, Bourbon Jakes, Dooley's, Cactus Jacks, and Hamlin Pub. We got started a Dooley's a little late, so we had a few beers, and then headed over to Jacks. Ate some nachos and danced a little there. Got back on the bus and made it to Hamlin Pub and had a few. Josh was quite drunk by this point so we really had to keep an eye on him. We wanted to make sure we were back at Jakes just before the last limo (bus) left, but we found out that we could only get our t-shirts at JD's so we decided to stay there for one round, but the limo (bus) was totally late, something like 45 minutes. We were all standing around outside just at the right time to see some unruly get pepper-sprayed by some cop. Nothing like the burn of pepper spray in the back of your throat. We finally get picked up and they were trying to tell us that we couldn't get a ride back to Dooley's cause it was late, and we were all like "F that! Your bus was late!" So the guy from JD's talked some sense into them since JD's is the one that hosted the whole thing. We finally get going and we stop at Muldoons, let some people off, and when we get to Jakes, the bus driver tells us its the end of the line. We were pissed but thankfully the other limo (bus) showed up and they took us back... But all and all... it was a good time, had some drinks, danced, talked, laughed... what more could you ask for?

Lily Allen, Lafayette Coney, And a Girl Named Jill

Monday started with a really long day at work, I didn't think that day was ever going to end. But thankfully 3:30 finally came and I busted out of work and headed right home to get ready to see Lily Allen with Ian.

We headed out to Detroit at about 5 o'clock making a few random stops along the way for cash, smokes, oil and a Monster energy drink. We got downtown at about 6 o'clock and headed over to Jacoby's for a little pre-show drinking. I had never been to Jacoby's before that, but I will definitely go back the next time I am headed to St. Andrews.

And speaking of St Andrews, it was only my second time to that venue and I have to say its my favorite place to see a show! It's so small, you can get right up front! And let me tell you, Ian was as close to Lily as he could get! We were front and center in no time, fighting off the 15 year old girls around us and the random "12 year old" kid that kept yelling things like "Lily! Rock, Paper, Scissors!" " I love you Lily" "I would let you cheat off me in science!" That kid was great.

Oh I suppose I should also mention the one weird chick we were talking to for a bit, I'm not sure why, other than the fact that she liked Coldplay, I kinda wanted to kick her ass. Beats me, not that I would have even wanted to or tried to, and as it turns out, Ian thinks she would have beatin me silly.

After the show, the drummer tossed his drumsticks out to the audience and this little 15 year old girl reaches over the barricade to pick them both up, and Ian actually helped her, but when she dropped one he swooped it up. She and her stupid gothic boyfriend actually had the never to tell Ian it was hers, and he was like "nope!" They called the security guard over, who pretty much didn't care at all and we took off out of there.

We put the drumstick in my car and headed back over to see if we could meet Lily. There was this one guy out there begging in the parking lot and I told him I was sorry but that I didn't have any cash, and Ian said the same, I couldn't help myself but I looked at him and I was like "Credit has really screwed up your gig, huh?" The man agreed. Anyway, we started talking to some guys putting their gear away, one of which was the keyboard player for Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. He was really cool. We also talked to some guy that was with Lily, and he was pretty cool, we followed him over to her bus and she opened the window and Ian was able to get her autograph, twice. Ian got a million pics, and posted them all on his FB.

After that we were both pretty hungry so Ian led me over to Lafayette Coney, and I gotta say, that was the best coney ever! Really awesome! We weren't ready to head home just yet so we made our way back to Rochester Hills and went to Bourbon Jakes. We hung out there for a bit, but being that it was Monday, they kicked us out early. So we went on over to CJ Mahoney's. Ian was told that he knew one of the bartenders through a mutual friend, and it was just our luck he was there. We hung out with this couple there, a girl named Jill and her husband the Firefighter. I have no idea what time we ever left there, but I know it was way late. We headed over to Rams Horn and got some breakfast... I don't regret taking Tuesday off of work at all!

I really look forward to the next concert I get to see with Ian, or at St. Andrews!

A Letter From A Friend

Every so often, while rummaging around in my things, I come across a letter. This letter was written to me, by my friend Sianne, when she was just days or so from graduating from Avondale High School in 2000. I don't know why I have kept it for as long as I have, or how it has managed to survive. I love this letter so much, that I really wanted to type it out and share it with the rest of you, I really don't think Sianne will mind.

Jenny-
Your world is a vampire - sent to drain. All you wanted to do was
take your boat on the bay, forget your job for just one day, I know! I
wish it didn't have to be so bad. I wont try to argue, or hold it against
you. I know that you're leavin, you must have you're reasons, all I have
to say is "The Aliens Exist!" Oops I did it again - My name is Britney and
I'm a whore! But just remember: Good things come to those who
wait! So don't you cry tonight, there's a heaven above you, so don't you
cry. Its not good when all you want to do is to be sedated. Some day
I'll take you out on a Friday night and I'll wear cologne to get the feelin
right cuz you'd make one hell of a boyfriend!
All I have to say to you now, seriously, is that I'll never forget
you. Your one hell of a friend and I appreciate all you've done for
me. I love you man! Keep control of my brother when I'm gone.
Now that the time is here I actually don't want to leave. I'll even miss
all the people I hate! Always stay the sweet person that you are,
ok? Man, I feel like this is a suicide note or somthing so I'm gonna stop
now!
XO Sianne
Whenever you see, hear, or think about *Tom* remember
me........
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road..... It's something
unpredictable but in the end its right. I hope you had the time of your
life---------------

Thank you Sianne! That letter has always made me smile when I've found and read it... :o)

House Fever

Mikey and I recently decided that with the number of foreclosed homes in the area, we needed to take advantage of the cost savings and try to get a house of our own. We have been blessed with the ability to offer cash, up to a point of course, and so we have been searching for houses in the under 50k group. We've seen a few here and there and nothing has really stood out, of course until one we saw listed on Thursday. We set up and appointment to go see it on Friday, and since I have a lot of vacation time to use, I figured I'd take a half day even. So, Friday, about a half hour before I am supposed to leave, I get a call from Mikey, the house has an accepted offer. Bummer. But, since I already had the time off, I went home.

Mikey and I poked around on the internet for a bit looking at some houses, but then he was going to his mom's to play with his motorcycle. We had the address of a house near his mom's house so he figured he'd stop by to peek in the windows and he'd give me a call. In the meantime, I was bored out of my mind so I stopped by Ian's to chat for a bit. Mikey called and said that the door was actually open on the house, so if I wanted to, I should go over and check it out with him.

It's just a standard ranch, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. It was built in 1980, solid foundation, with a crawl and a 2-car attached garage. It needs some major cleaning up, but besides paint, carpet and some other minor things for appearance, it sounds like a winner! When we got home that afternoon, I looked it back up on the web, the asking price is just right! I don't want to get my hopes up, there could already be an offer on the place, but we did contact our agent and she's gonna put the bid in on Monday. It sounds like the place hasn't been listed for very long, so I am hoping we are the first ones with an offer. Again, I am still trying very hard not to get my hopes up!

Life is a Song

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions.
Pick Your Artist: The Beatles
***
Are you male or female: Another Girl
Describe yourself: I'm A Loser
How do you feel about yourself: Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
Describe where you currently live: Penny Lane
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Blue Jay Way
Your best friend is: Lovely Rita
Your favorite color is: Yellow Submarine
You know that: Happiness is a Warm Gun
What's the weather like: Here Comes the Sun
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
What is life to you: A Hard Day's Night
What is the best advice you have to give: All You Need Is Love
If you could change your name, what would it be: Julia

My Bubble

I do not have a good sense of direction, and because of that, I really hate going places that I am not familiar with. I really hate driving to downtown Detroit. That maze of one way streets, and a cars that don't stop at lights, freaks me out. So, when a school friend convinced me to take a class in Dearborn with her, I hesitantly said ok. The first night of class, I maneuvered the highways, with the google maps in hand and made it an hour and a half early. I waited patiently in class for said school friend to show, and she didn't. In fact, she wasn't even on the roster.

So, since I needed the class I stuck with it, and managed to get myself there and home again one more time without hassle. That is until today.

I have had the pleasure of listening to the radio and never hearing any of the streets on my route mentioned. That is until today.

Today I actually did hear on the radio that there was a truck that had hit an overpass on I-94, and that it was shut down. And I checked Google maps and it looked as if it was outside of my path. I was wrong. As I neared the I-75 and I-94 interchange, I discovered that it was in fact in my way. So I pull off at the first exit I can, and attempt to look at a map and figure out the next best way to get to Michigan Ave. And thanks to the crack whore that insisted on knocking on my window, not once, but four times asking for change, I was forced to drive away and get on I-75 North and wait for my VZNavigator to download to my phone.

The navigator kept insisting that I get off and the next exit and make the first legal U-turn, and mind the congestion ahead. Obviously. I wanted to avoid the congestion. So I had to keep driving back north until it finally gave me a new route.

Through Downtown, and back to the Davison, eventually to 96, where I took that to the Southfield and on to Michigan Ave. It took me an hour and a half, when it normally only takes a half our best. And I got to tour some of the nicest parts of Michigan. I enjoyed every bottomless pothole and random pieces of car laying in the streets. Ugh! I would like a real Navigation system if anyone is listening.

The Red Minivan

For anyone who has commuted to work in Detroit, or any major city for that matter, you may understand the frustration and road rage that has recently entered my life.

On an average day, you wake up at the same time, shower, dress, maybe even eat a little breakfast, but you typically pull out of the drive at approximately the same time everyday, and arrive to work at approximately the same time so much time later. And you may have started to notice that your drive to work is repetitive, you hit the same lights, you see the same buses and trucks, and even a few of the same cars. You know the ones, that guy who has the vanity plate that says “GOATBOY,” there’s that chick that always cuts in front of you two exits early and on some days you feel frisky and don’t let her in, other days you don’t even realize that you’ve slowed to a crawl and its all her fault.

For me, I see “red minivan” as he’s been nicknamed. The problem with Red, is that he’s one of my neighbors, so I start out behind him any time I am running a bit late. I have no problems with this neighbor outside of his unusual driving habits. I have talked to him casually, we even searched for the owner of a dog that had gotten loose. But the problem with Red, is that at least 3 times, he’s pulled out of his driveway, with a front windshield fogged or iced over, and proceeds to drive with his head out his driver’s side window. I think you can see where I am going with this. He drives slow. He swerves. And for crying out loud, when he sees a string of cars gathering behind him, he doesn’t even pull over!

So the first encounter with Red, he pulled out in front of me and I was thinking to myself, what an idiot, but as he continued to drive down the street, even turning on to the next street that I needed to go down to, that’s when I got annoyed, and I gave a little honk. Nothing. So, I figured out I had enough room to pass and just flew around him. I thought it was a one time only situation.

The second time, it was the same scenario, only he was a street ahead of me and I caught up to him as he turned onto the main road. I thought there was no way, how is this guy turning on to the busy main road with his head sticking out the window? And when he swerved into oncoming traffic, I put my foot to the pedal, and passed him on the shoulder. This guy was now endangering so many lives!

Since these two times, if I see him backing out of his drive, I panic and speed up hoping that I can get in front of him, but the crazy thing is that he doesn’t even see me! We had a close one this morning even. I was considering getting him an ice scraper as a present, but now that the ice is gone, and its just fog, I don’t know if I should just give up hope, or buy him a Sham Wow!©

Peace

I can't say that I am a firm believer in astrology, and sure of the whole thing... I suppose everything in hindsight can be matched up to some daily horoscope or mystic reading... But it has been on my mind an awful lot lately. First, when I wanted to kinda understand my friends better, and to try to get a glimpse at some hope down the road. And after that I was drawn back to the "Birthday Book" again. The book is called "The Secret Language of Birthdays" and has appeared in my life time and time again when I have needed guidance. I finally broke down and bought one for myself, which is now sitting in my desk drawer at work so I have to get that home again. But what really got me, was my grandmothers horoscope on the day she passed. You really couldn't ask for anything better than this:

"Suddenly there is wonderment in your heart, and everything you see will excite
you."

I mean, that right there can only fill your heart with peace and comfort. I have always said that if I had a choice between Heaven and doing this crazy thing called Life again, I would immediately get back in line for Life. I still don't know about this whole church thing, but I will believe that everyone gets what they want in the end, what ever it should be.

Of Recent Events

Well, this time around I don't think I have an amazing story to tell, so I will just wrap up whats been up.

I have been sick, as I noted in "Talk about needing a sick day" , so I haven't been working out, but I haven't been eating much either. I am crazy wanting pop again lately. I should probably go to Meijer later and pick up some more Faygo so I can stop drinking so much. I am a little scared to step on the scale today as I don't do so good after a night of drinking.

Speaking of drinking, I had a blast last night! It's always good to see old friends again, last night was well needed. I'm sorry Ian that the night did not include you. We tried. But I also understand why you choose not to go. I laughed so hard yesterday, in fact we all did. I think if someone had been filming us all night with one of those high-speed cameras, we would have been sickened by the about of spit raining down on the chips and salsa. I know, it sounds disgusting, but when we'd laugh it wasn't just a chuckle, it was a shoot beer out of my nose kind of explosion! My abs are actually a bit sore today.

I got out my button making kit yesterday too. Made some great new buttons. I love when I am feeling creative. I needed something to do now that I have finished my homework for class. Only one more night of Intro to Psych and then I have two classes next semester. I sure hope I haven't gotten myself in deep taking two classes. I'm sure it will be fine. I will be taking Finance, and American Political Thought. I am pretty good at the game of school, so I think I will be ok.

Oh, and I ordered my bike jacket yesterday too! It should be here some time in the next week or so. I wanted to get it early so if it doesn't fit I have a chance to return it. That's still kind of funny any way considering its March in Michigan. I have a ways to go before Mikey and I will be on the bike.

“Weird Al” Yankovic – My Favorite Artist

Music Topic: “Weird Al” Yankovic – My Favorite Artist

Intro
“Weird Al” Yankovic is my favorite musician. For as long as I have been alive, there has been “Weird Al.” "Weird Al” is famous for creating parodies of popular songs, his hits include; “Eat It”, “Fat”, “Bedrock Anthem”, “Amish Paradise”, “Smells Like Nirvana”, and his latest hit “White & Nerdy” to name a few. In over 30 years, there isn’t a genre he hasn’t mimicked, a food he hasn’t mentioned, or a sound effect he couldn’t pass up. He’s recorded 17 albums, and recently completed his 1,000th live performance. He has been nominated for 9 Grammy’s and won 3. He also co-wrote and starred in the motion picture “UHF”, as well as two of his own TV shows, “The Weird Al Show” and “AL TV.”

Many musicians find his parodies to be a measure of their success; Chamillionaire, who’s song “Ridin Dirty” became Weird Al’s first Top Ten Hit, “White & Nerdy,” stated, “It’s really an honor when he does that […] Weird Al is not gonna do a parody of your song if you’re not doing it big.”

Brief History/Background
I was a child of the 80’s, and for as long as I can remember, I have had cable television. And that meant, Nickelodeon, MTV and during special offers on the weekends, the Disney Channel. I remember seeing his video’s for “Fat” and “Eat it” and thinking they were the funniest things on TV. My parents bought me “Evan Worse” and I remember listening to it over and over until I knew every word of every song. “Weird Al” faded out of my life when the boys of New Kids on the Block won my heart. It wasn’t long after that, sometime around 6th grade, I started listening to “my own music” and I rediscovered Al and his “Alapalooza” album. I even named my hamster Harvey after Weird Al’s pet hamster on his show, and his own song “Harvey the Wonder Hamster.”

Weird Al faded out a bit, and was replaced in my life with music like Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson, music that “understood me.” But beneath all the dark cloths and make-up, I still had a goofy side, and when I needed a pick me up, Al was there for me.

Adulthood
As silly as it sounds, now that I am an adult I am an even bigger fan. I became best friends with Gabby, who enjoys him just as much as I do, and she has a long time friend that is as just as much of a dork as we are. We once discovered just how big of fans/dorks we are, by being able to sing as many different songs we knew to the other bar patrons enjoyment, I am sure. I also have a very special friend that downloaded for me, the entire “Weird Al” catalogue, and I spent an afternoon adding the top 55 songs to my iPod. Having seen him live twice, I am anticipating his next Detroit show this summer.

The Concert Experience
July 2, 2007
The Place: Downtown Detroit.
The Venue: Outside during the Taste Fest, just after a rainfall.
Free Beer, Close Seats, and an amazing time. When you go out with Gabby, she almost always ends up finding someone she knows. This particular time, she found a friend that happened to be sitting in the "VIP" section.
"How do we get in there?"
"You have to know some one."
"We know you?"
"Yea, but the guy that's getting us in only has so many passes..."
The guy at the gate asks the friend how many, and I am standing a ways behind her and say four, he asks if we are with her, and she says "Well kind of but only if you can get them in" and he invites us right in to free beer and seats so close I could see the sweat dripping off of the multiple latex chins.

Conclusion
"Weird Al" has reoccurred at every moment in my life when I needed to redefine who I was, and really be myself. He has made me to laugh when I needed it most, and he has taught me its alright to be a geek, or the term I prefer, dork. I have already added his Detroit show to my calendar and I know I have at least four friends going with me. Although you may not agree with me, “Weird Al” has been that link to my childhood. Others may have a treasured toy or blankie, I have over 512mb of “Weird Al” music saved to a jump drive in my pocket.

Reference: www.weirdal.com

Talk About Needing A Sick Day

Wednesday I had sushi with Matt at our favorite location, Wow Sushi, and he was still recovering from a cold that knocked him out last week. By the end of class that night I was starting to get the feeling I was coming down with something, my throat was sore, my nose a little stuffy, it wasn't good news.

By the next morning, when I should have been getting ready for work, I was feeling awful, and knowing that this cold had kept a few of my friends home from work for a few days I thought that maybe I could stay home, get some rest and maybe take this thing out before it got any worse. I called in sick to work, slept till about 11 and ate some grapefruit, an orange, really trying to get some good vitamin C in me.

Mikey, being the greatest boyfriend ever, decided to make some homemade chicken noodle soup for me. He had to leave for a little while, so I got the chicken in the pot and got it boiling. When the chicken was done, I pulled it out and started working on cutting up some veggies, starting with my least favorite the onion.

My family loves to tease me about how accident prone I am in the kitchen, I have cut my fingers, burned my hands, and drop endless amounts of food on the floor, for Diesel to come by and gobble up. So there I was, all alone in the house, and I nearly slice the tip of my finger off. I rush to the sink and get it under some water at just the right time to see my mommy pull up. Its funny how we can have situations under control until we see mommy and then break down like little children. Oh yea, I start to cry and she comes in and thankfully she's been studying medical everything, so she goes and gets some gauze and some tape and gets it to stop bleeding long enough for her to look at it and try to determine if I need stitches. Rule of thumb is that if a cut is on your hands, feet or face, you should get stitches cause you move them too much for it to heal right. Thankfully, I am skilled at slicing my fingers, and my knife was nice and sharp so it appeared to be staying closed without assistance.

With a new band aid, my mother then asks, "When was your last tetanus shot?" Good question, I think I was still in high school the last time I ever volunteered my arm for a good needle stick. Which actually, as I think of it, my last tetanus was just before I fell off a ladder onto a box of nails, while I was building the set to the show Fall of the House of Usher, in tenth grade. So my answer was about 10 years ago. She insists that I get a new one. So off the the pediatrician that she works for part-time to get a lousy tetanus shot. And I didn't even get a lollipop.

So now, my arm hurts, my head hurts, my finger kinda hurts, but its actually more annoying with a band aid on it, I can't breath and I am still home sick from work.

Beatlemania

With a broken heart today I went and saw the Classical Mystery Tour at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall. It was an incredible show, I had a blast. It was probably the closest thing I will ever have to attending a real live Beatles show. I did see Ringo live once, and I really enjoyed that as well! I have always loved the Beatles, ever since I was a kid. My favorite album is still the White Album and if I could own every single vinyl I would! I have listened to every song they ever recorded at least a dozen times each, and I have shared a many deep connections with most of them. But I really have to say, seeing them today, with the aching in my heart, I really got a feeling of calmness from them. Each and every song performed seemed to tell me that its all going to be ok. "I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday." In all actuality I long for the day before yesterday, but I am glad that John and Paul understood how I am feeling right now. And then George really made me feel better, by letting me know "its been a long, cold, lonely winter, little darling... Here comes the sun." And even Ringo can get credit too! "I get by with a little help from my friends" Even if those friends are Gabby, Annie and Beer, I know that I will get by, and I know in my heart that things happen for a reason and everything will be fine.

Nobody Reads Me Anyhow...

So... I am feeling a little hurt today, a little betrayed today. And I am guessing no one is going to read this anyway... I think I like to kill my relationships. I must be some kind of weird commitment-phobe when it comes to my friends cause I can't seem to keep them very long and I usually end up being the one that puts her foot in her mouth and ruins everything... I guess... I still can't believe some days that I have been with Mikey for as long as I have... he must be immune to my stupidity... If the people that I really want to read this are reading this, I hope they know I am sorry for any grief I have caused... though I have to say I never wanted anything for myself... if you need a shoulder, I am there... even at 3AM... If you wanted me to tell you everything will be ok, even if you didn't believe it yourself, I'd say it... If ever my actions were taken with some kind of ulterior motives, you were wrong, and I obviously did not communicate them properly. I never told any of your secrets, and I never will. I will step back and allow you all the time and space you need, but please know that I will still be here if you want me back... if days, weeks, months and years pass and I never hear from either of you, I will know I have lost something truly great.

Almost There

For those of you that were not following my myspace blog, I started on a mission to loose weight about, oh who am I kidding, forever ago. But seriously, after my mom had to have back surgery, I decided that I really needed to get my weight in check. I went to Medical Weight Loss Clinic. For those of you not in the metro-Detroit area, its basically the devil at work. You pay lots of money, you eat nothing, but you loose weight. Don't get me wrong, I am loosing weight, and if I had to do over again, I might, but its just bloody expensive! So, basically the idea is that you eat foods from the store, not their foods, and you don't count calories or anything, but you have to eat a certain number of portions of different foods; protein, veggies, carbs, and fruits. Oh yea, and on top of that, you also have to get their drinks/bars which I think is the biggest expense. I am sure the products work, but I kinda feel like the ladies try to guilt you into the whole experience. Like every month the dang things go on sale, yet every time they behave like its never going to happen again. But enough ranting. I started on the program in September, lost 25 pounds by Christmas! It's taken another month but I think I finally got another 5 pounds gone! And I am kicking butt at the gym too! I can definitely feel a change in how I feel and am able to do more. I guess I can't complain. Right now I am doing a little boost, and I think I may already be down 3 pounds, we'll see next week.

Disenchanted in Detroit

It started months ago, when I first started using my Facebook page. I was chatting with a friend whom I found out was getting a divorce, and I was sad about this news. I don't think they had been married long and were still quite young. I just thought it was awful they couldn't get it to work. And then all hell broke loose. After that, I started noticing other friends relationship status' more. I started finding out that people I thought had perfectly good marriages were divorced or going down that road. And I am not one to usually dwell on things, but this really had me wondering. What the Fuck?

I thought back, I remembered that as a child it was beginning to become more common to have two sets of parents. Or at least ones that were split up. My parents didn't divorce until I was about 14, but Mikey's parents called it quits after like 15 years of marriage or something when Mikey was like 6. And all of my friends had a room at Mom's and one at Dad's too. It wasn't weird to ask my mom if I could stay at Crystal's Dads for the weekend.

Is that where it all went wrong? Did our parents finally feel free to divorce and ended the stigma? But worst of all, did our parents new found freedom suddenly instill in us that we can set our expectations higher? That we don't have to work at it, we can quit if we want to?

I have been with Mikey for 12 years. When we got into our early 20's and our friends started getting married, we always got the nudges and nods, and the "You're next!" And we'd laugh cause we just weren't ready. I wanted to be done with school, and we wanted to be sure we had a place of our own. In the last year or so all of our friends that we rented tuxedos for, and bought many a gift for, started splitting up. And now, I am thinking I am so glad we waited. In fact part of me doesn't even want to bother. We have a good thing going, why mess it up with some formal contract. That thought alone is still pretty sad though.

It's about time...

I got my ears pierced for the first time when I was in fifth grade and thankfully for me, the styles had changed from when my mom got hers done. Her ears were pierced smack-dab in the middle of her lobe, I was lucky to get mine down farther with the intention that maybe someday, I would end up with a 100 more piercings.

Well, it wasn't until about eighth grade or so that I thought I would like a second set of holes. I'd just seen this crazy girl I knew, pierce her own eyebrow and thought if she could do that, I can pierce my own ears. And I did. Only after staring at them for a few days I realized that they were uneven and I took them out never to have them again. Or so I thought. If you looked at my ears, you would have thought I had second holes and just never wore earrings in them, the holes never went away in the front. In the back they'd sealed themselves up tight. Randomly, I would attempt to stick an earring through with a bit of pain and no luck.

I am not quite sure what made me want the second set of earrings again, but its been on my mind a lot lately. Could have been my friends getting tattoos, which I don't think I can handle. Who knows, the only thing I know is that I wanted it done. I had considered driving down to the local Clair's a few times, but kept imagining myself crying in front of a bunch of 15 year old emo girls and their mothers, and I just couldn't do it.

Today was a new day, I had no plans, was cruising around with the dog and really didn't have any reason not to. I sat in the parking lot talking to Gabby on the phone for a little while (avoiding the 15 year old emo girl and her mother who'd just walked in). Finally, I walked in (after the emo girl had gone) and asked, "Do you do ear piercing?"
"We sure do! Would you like to take a look at the earrings?"
"I guess so. I want to get my second holes done again. I did them myself 10 years ago and they were uneven, so I'd rather let you correct it."
I chose the simple 3mm white gold balls, figuring they will look the best for the next 6 weeks. I signed a form 4 times, along with initialing by 6 other items, they are apparently afraid of getting sued by some lady who's kids ear falls off. And after they checked my id to ensure that I was really a 26 year old wuss, it was time to hoist myself up into the big chair and get started.

After the girl (who was much younger than me, and had more earrings) washed her hands, she got out new piercing things for the guns, loaded my new earrings into them, and cleaned my ears. It all came down to a count of 1... 2... 3! And I winced less than when the mean nurse steals my blood at the hematologist. I couldn't believe that I had waited so long! I am such a wuss, and I didn't even cry!

I know, I know, you can all leave me comments about how silly I am, and about how I managed to get this much of a story out of one minute spent at the local Claire's with the emo girls, but I am glad I did it!

Spring, Please Hurry!

I am supposed to be writing about 30 of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, but it seems that every time I look a new one up, its all the same stuff. It's getting more and more difficult to come up with creative ways to say so-and-so went to college and then studied human behavior.

Since this is the latest thing on my mind I thought I would post a new blog about the only other thing on my mind... and many other minds... Spring. I simply don't want to wear a coat any more. I want to walk out the door without having to warm my car up first. I want to smell those great new spring smells, you know what I mean? I can't identify them but I know they are there. I don't even mind that the ground will be all squishy at first thanks to all this snow and the inevitable rain. I just want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, and drive around with the windows cracked open just enough. I want to sit on a friends deck, and drink beer and just be happy.

Not to mention, the coming of spring will mean that I will be one more semester closer to finishing my bachelors degree. And I won't be writing about eminent psychologists any more. Considering my entire grade is based on this paper, I should probably get back to it.

The First Blog

Hello! I used to blog on Myspace, but that place is such a dive anymore... A shame really. So, basically I am going to post whatever kind of things are on my mind. I am not planning on this being one of those amazing blogs that get picked up by major newsfeeds or anything like that, but, I would like to expand on my writing and I am hoping this can be the outlet.

So, who am I? I am 26, living in Rochester Hills, MI with my boyfriend, kid sister and mom. I bought the house about 4 years ago thinking it would be a good investment, thank you economy. I enjoy the outdoors, except when its cold, which is a good half of the time when you live in Michigan. Mikey, the BF, and I like to go for motorcyle rides, and fishing and hunting. I love to have bonfires, though city limits prevent the good ones. I have a fantastic doggie, Diesel, that I love to take for walks. He's so handsom! In the summer we take him swimming in Lake St. Clair, and in the winter he loves to go up state and run in the snow. When I am with my friends I love to drink, sing karaoke, play disc golf, and shoot zombies. I prefer to be called a dork, as geek and nerd imply some kind of intelligence, and even though I know a good deal of useless information, I cannot be called a genius.

I have a talent for writing. I know I do. I just really don't know what to do with it... and maybe you don't agree, but wait till you read some more... I am really going to work on my stories.

I guess that's all for now...