My blog is my primary posting place, because I like it best. However, I just took a weirdo survey-thing that came from my livejournal friends page. If you're curious enough to want to read it, you can go there and see.
posted by Beth at 4:35:00 AM
Monday, December 29, 2003
I'm bored. What annoys me is that I'm only bored, because it's right after Christmas. If this were any other Monday, I wouldn't care. Something about the time after Christmas just sucks for me. I know there are things I could be doing. I guess I'll go work on those.
posted by Beth at 6:21:00 PM
Eck. HBO documentaries are really bad for my sense of well-being. Yesterday was HATE.COM and today was Middle School Confessions. This was some weird little Samuel L. Jackson-hosted thing that interviewed kids between the ages of 11 and 14 and their parents about sex, cutting class, depression, violence, and alcohol. All the kids were obnoxious little snotfaces, and the whole thing really reinforced my feelings on never wanting kids. Anyway, a lot of it really disgusted me. I was really grossed out by the 12 and 13 year old girls who were saying things like, "I'm a virgin, but my mouth isn't. Tee hee," but a part of the segment on violence really got me. They were talking about this one kid in particular who picked fights with everyone, and everyone viewed him as an outcast. And I don't condone picking fights, nor do I think it's a good idea to proudly wave your stupid confederate flag, but the part that really really upset me was when they showed the other kids. There were about six of them, and they were sitting in a group talking about why they hate this kid. And none of them said anything about how he picks fights or has a confederate flag. They all said, "he smells" and "his clothes are from Wal-Mart. He should wear nice clothes. We wear Abercrombe. And our shoes cost $130" and then they all started showing off how nice their shoes were. And I just can't stand how they showed these kids like they were the freaking good example. Just because these kids aren't being disruptive doesn't mean that they're A-OK. Put me in that climate, and I think I'd pick fights, too. I think most people would. I just hate hate hate how this problem is totally overlooked. I can't even talk about it anymore, it makes me mad. {g}
posted by Beth at 3:44:00 AM
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Okay, update update. Here's some of the junk that I was talking about posting earlier. Like I say, the longer I wait, the more things seem to decline in importance.
Sunday: I went to the mall (which was a zoo) to buy my mom a Christmas present at Sears. I ended up getting her a fancy cordless drill. She's hard to shop for and she likes tools, so that's what's up with that. After that, my uncle and I went to the calendar kiosk to look for the Queer Eye calendar. My uncle bought it for me as part of my present from him, and it went on to be My Favorite Christmas Present. {g}
Monday: I worked and then went back to the mall to buy the last two presents I needed to get. The mall was even worse that day. Yeah, I don't have much else to say about Monday. {g}
Tuesday: After work, Nathan, my uncle, and I went to the movies to see Elf. I'd seen previews for it in the summer, and I admit I picked on it a whole lot. What eventually made me want to see it was having it be recommended to me by about six different people. I really, really liked it. I think I might buy it, and I think it could easily become a part of my standard Christmas viewing lineup. It was happy and fun and cute.
Wednesday: That was my last day of work. Working on Christmas Eve wasn't so bad. My hours were from 8 to 1. If they were later in the day, then I think I would've cared more. Anyway, for it being my last day, it wasn't as nice as I'd hoped it would be. There was actually very little to be done in the backroom, so I spent the whole five hours doing what was pretty much busy-work all by myself. All of the standing made my back and feet hurt more than usual, too. At the end of the day, I gave my razorblade (for opening boxes) back to my boss-man (who is Canadian! {g}) and told him that I really liked working there. It was really kind of sad and unceremonious. I had imagined it to be a greater moment. Also, the day was kind of a letdown in that the people I liked best weren't working at that time, so I didn't get to say goodbye to them. After that, I clocked out and gave back my nametag and my discount card. I should have been able to keep that until the end of the pay period, I say, but it was my own fault for asking, "do I give this back now?" There were things I liked about the job and things I didn't like about it, and I guess I'll miss it. Everybody was nice to me, and I'll probably miss that the most. On the other hand, I like having a little vacation for the sleeping and books and videogames. Now I'm a jerk without a job. Har har.
In the afternoon, Nathan and I ran an errand for my uncle and picked up some things for Christmas dinner at the grocery store and liquor store. We got out of there relatively quickly and unscathed. After that, I finished wrapping presents. This year, I really fell behind on everything. Then we waited for people to come over. See, normally on Christmas Eve, the majority of my family comes to my house to eat and exchange presents, then they come back on Christmas Day and we have a big dinner. People have started coming over later and later, so this year, I was flaking out that no one would come, and I'd feel sad. But at 8, the Jack Benny Christmas special came on and that cheered me up, and then people started coming over and all was well.
Thursday: I got up really early, for me anyway, at 11-something. I opened up my presents and they were all great and lovely and fun. I got a lot of the videogames and books I'd asked for and some nice clothes and chocolates and other things. Then I went to Craig's to drop off presents and chat. Craig lives next door and yet I never see him. It bites A Lot. {g} Dinner was pretty good, although I wished we had turkey instead of just a lot of ham. It was fun talking with Mark and Alyssa, whom I also never see. I need to remedy that, but I don't have the nerve to call ever. Eck. Nathan and I watched that World Idol thing, for lack of anything better to do and because I'm an American Idol-loving freak. {g} I forgot how much Simon Cowell can really annoy me. My favorite singer was the girl who won the contest in the Arab countries. She was the only one who sang a song in her native language, and afterward, he said, "I can't tell you whether or not I like that." Holy shit, you don't know if you like something unless you understand the words? Jesus Christ, that pisses me off. Especially because, after that, he told some other guy that conforming was bad and about how he should stick to his roots. Grrrrr. What an ass. I think I only like his judging in the preliminary stuff.
Christmas was really nice for me this year. I still kind of wish it wasn't over. It's not Christmas I like so much as it's Christmastime that I like. I kind of wish I didn't feel so hurried and that I would have had more time to savor it, if that makes sense. I barely got to watch any of my Christmas tapes and that's a big part of my little tradition.
Friday: Nathan and I drove to Jersey City to park the car and take the PATH to NYC where we called erin, so we could meet up with her later on. First, we went to the Sanrio store, which was a total zoo. It was kind of disappointing in that they seemed to have more Hello Kitty stuff than usual and the majority of merchandise is Hello Kitty stuff anyway. All I bought was a Sweet Coron pencil box, but I guess it's better that I hold onto my money. Then we went to Books of Wonder so Nathan could buy some of those crazy Oz books, and he did. erin and Matt met us there. I hadn't seen Matt in about three years, so it was really cool to see him again. I think I only saw erin three times this year, and that is just retarded. {g} We ate at Chat and Chew. I'd never been there before. I liked it. The macaroni and cheese was really good, even though everyone probably thinks I didn't like it. My cheeseburger was also really good, and my cole slaw was just weird. {g} After that, we went to Irving Plaza for the big TMBG show. Corn Mo was the opener. I'm having a hard time describing him. erin said he was "Meat Loaf with an accordion." That's pretty much right, but unlike Meat Loaf, who has epic songs, Corn Mo had weird, long and really fast-paced, epic monologs in between (and once, during) the songs. {g} There's not much else I can say about him. You'd have to see him to understand. {g} They Might Be Giants was, as usual, super awesome. I think it was my first time ever hearing "Metal Detector" and "Dirt Bike" live, so the rest of the show was just gravy or whatever. I am perhaps misusing that expression. {g} I love "Stalk of Wheat," it's my favorite of the newest songs I've heard lately. This show reminded me a lot of a couple years ago, when I'd take the bus up to NYC for every TMBG show and to see erin and Co. I had missed that a whole lot, so it was kind of great and wildly sentimental for me, because I'm crazy or just crazily sentimental. After that, we left in kind of a hurry, which was too bad. But we got home okay at about a quarter after three. Yesterday made me switch back into, "I want to live in the NYC-area" mode.
Saturday/Today: I caught up on sleep, and then my uncle, Nathan, and I used a Red Lobster gift certificate that Nathan had gotten for his birthday from his mother. I had more shrimp than a person should have. Then I came home and wasted time on something or other, after watching the DVD that came with Tori Amos's newest CD, which was a present from my mom. I was looking at the On-Demand listings and making mental notes to come back and watch certain movies, when I came across a listing for that HBO documentary HATE.COM. It's about people who put up racist or other hate websites and some things that have happened because of them. It's not that new. Someone was telling me about it awhile back, and since I finally saw it listed, I watched it. It was the frickin' scariest thing I've seen in a long time. You should go watch it, too. I find it hard to believe that some people are that evil.
There you go, a weekful of updates crammed into one post.
posted by Beth at 3:12:00 AM
Saturday, December 27, 2003
I see commercials for those Sonic drive-in restaurants on TV a lot. As someone who likes to try cheeseburgers from everyplace in the world, I just went to their site to see where the closest one was. It's in Virginia. Isn't it a waste of money to advertise in the Philadelphia market, then? I looked at their site, and now I want a cream pie milkshake. Hmph.
I have lots and lots to say about this past week, so make sure I do it, okay? Sometimes I'll feel that way, and then so much time will pass that I won't bother writing, because things won't seem so important anymore. Now I have to go get dinner, but later I hope to write about Christmas and TMBG and New York and lots of other things. Bwoop bwoop.
posted by Beth at 6:56:00 PM
Thursday, December 25, 2003
What the hell? {g} I was just guessing, I swear. {g}
You are a DEFINTE Aaron Carter fan!!! You know almost everything about him!
I'm gonna look for it tomorrow! I have to go to the mall anyway. THEY'DBETTERHAVEIT!
posted by Beth at 2:09:00 AM
I am listening to Dr. Demento's Christmas album. I think "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" is a really cute song. It makes me want to march around and wave a Christmassy flag or some such craziness. On the other hand, I do not like having "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" on the CD. I have weirdo issues with that song. When I was little, I loved it and thought it was like the funniest and bestest song. I have this memory of me and my cousin Johnny jumping on the bed and singing it. After my own grandma died, the song was wrecked for me forever. She died of emphysema and asthma, not of reindeer-related troubles, but I just lost my enthusiasm for the song about a grandma who died. I like this CD, though. The dogs barking "Jingle Bells" (which is still way better than Barbra's version, yessiree) makes Dewey think that there are dogs inside my computer speakers. Is funny. I like Dr. Demento. There are a lot of other funny things on this CD, yo.
Um, yeah, so here's an interesting news item. Christmas Eve is my very last day of work. I only found this out yesterday. I went to look at the schedule for New Year's week, and I wasn't on there. I asked why, and they said, "Temporary employment ends around that time." Well, the thing is, no one ever told me that I was only hired as seasonal employment. I swear, they did not. Then I picked up my check, and there was a letter attached that said, "thank you temporary employee. You are helpful to us at Christmastime, blah blah blah, get out." My wretched defeatist attitude keeps telling me that they thought I was such a terrible worker that I got bumped down to temporary work, so that they could get rid of me. Another possibility (that doesn't involve me insulting and hating myself) is that when I filled out the application, I said I was willing to be hired temporarily or permanently, and they just chose temporary, because of the holiday rush. I really don't remember what I put on the application. I filled it out before my birthday, after all. At any rate, I have only three days left of work with this store. I'm more than a little disappointed. I was just starting to get used to things and feel comfortable. Not only that, but looking for a new job sucks eggs. On Monday, I have an interview on a computer (how annoying that will be) at another store. I'd originally filled out their application before my birthday as well. I set up that interview on Friday, and the manager-lady kind of irritated me. I told her that I worked at a store for a month and that I was hired temporarily and will need new work very soon. She asked, "So you worked their for a little while, and they didn't hire you permanently? They usually do that." No they do not. If you are hired to work for Christmastime, then of course they don't ask you to stay. They don't need you anymore after that. Jeezorama. I think the store hired somewhere in the area of 30 extra people for holiday work. Why would they need them in January? That's the slowest time of the year. Feh. I could use a little vacation anyway. Otherwise I'd miss not having a Christmas vacation for spending all my time sleeping and reading and playing videogames and watching DVDs. But I guess I thought my First Job Ever would have lasted longer than one month, y'know? Wish me luck that I find something else, my babies.
In new kitten-related news, well, I still need to take pictures of him and stuff. He's really snuggly and affectionate, and he and David get along well and play together. I think David teaches him things. {g} He still hides behind the couch an awful lot, because the dogs can't get to him that way, and it's his hidey-hole. Dewey still drives him crazy, but he's not mean, just curious and enthusiastic. Gypsy is the worst one, for some reason. She's a bully. She corners him and won't leave him alone at all. At least Wally seems to be getting used to things. He's a really sweet cat. He's kind of the opposite of the way David was as a kitten. David would bite and claw and not hold still for long. Wally has claws, but he never uses them, and he'll let you pet him for as long as you want. I like 'im. For the first time in the nine-and-a-half years that we've had David, today he crawled into my bed and slept underneath the covers next to me. Dewey and Gypsy were both sleeping in my bed at the time, too. I wonder why he finally did that after this much time. I was both touched and honored.
Last thing: I am no fan of Cheech and Chong (although I kind of prefer them separately...), but this is on the afore mentioned Dr. Demento Christmas album, and I think it's really funny. You will hate it, probably. {g}
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, too.
posted by Beth at 1:22:00 AM
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Hmm, so far David hasn't been openly mean to Wally, just interested but cautious. That's quite understandable, and I'm fortunate that they aren't fighting. Wally seems to want to be David's friend, but he's being careful not to make David mad. As for me, I'm happy to have a new kitten, but David is making me feel bad about it. He doesn't want me to pick him up or pet him (in the past week, before today, he'd been really snuggly and everything). Now he won't even eat cat treats, whereas he usually tried to take the whole bag out of my hands. I know he'll eventually adjust, but I he gets over this really quickly. He sucks for trying to make me feel bad. {g}
posted by Beth at 10:13:00 PM
I got a new cat!!!!!
Yes! Today we adopted him from Petsmart. His name is Wally and he's about eight months old. He looks almost exactly like David. He's really nice. He lets me hold him and he doesn't fuss or scratch at the dog and cat. David is a little wary of him, but he hasn't hissed at him or anything. He sniffs him and watches him from a couple feet away. Dewey is trying to force Wally to play with him. Gypsy won't meet him until tonight, when she and Harry come home. I wanted a cat named Wally so much, since last year, and this one was already named Wally, so it was meant to be. ^_^ We saw him at Petsmart last week, actually. That was on Wally Cox's birthday (Wally Cox is my very favorite guy from the old Hollywood Squares, the good Hollywood Squares), so it was extra meant to be. Pictures are sure to come, but they'll probably turn out badly, since the cats are so dark that the pictures always look like a black blob with bright green alien eyes. I will still try! {g}
You might say to me, "While I apprecite your attempt to holiday up your blog, some of those colors are hard to read." And then I might say, "Yes, I know, I know. Trouble is, I had some better colors picked out on Photoshop, but it kept informing me that they weren't "web friendly." I tested it out, and it turns out that Photoshop is not a liar. Just look do your best to read it."
Our tree is nowhere near being up. It's still in a box upstairs, which saddens me greatly. Also, I haven't watched a single Christmas tape yet. At least I've been listening to Christmas music since Thanksgiving.
Here's a comment I wrote on Tavie's blog that I might as well post here, too:
The other day, I caught the tail-end of a Christmas Carol-themed episode of The Jetsons. I've always enjoyed The Flintstones, but never ever have I enjoyed The Jetsons. Everything always seemed too damn easy for them. That is irrelevant. {g} Anyway, ultimately, Mr. Spacely only decided to be generous with the Jetsons, because he found that, if he wasn't, they'd sue his ass and take his money and he'd be po'. Isn't that weird? I didn't know that the Jetsons were litigious people (but I'm not surprised). {g} Anyway, I just think it's totally wacky that Mr. Spacely only changed his ways after that. Even though Astro was dead or something. Even Scrooge McDuck felt guilt about the possible passing of Tiny Tim. I guess Mr. Spacely is the bigger asshole? Hmm. {g} This should probably be on my own blog. Perhaps it will go there also.
posted by Beth at 2:47:00 AM
Check this! I added a new link over on the right. Her name is Beth, and she, too, likes Ben Folds amd TMBG. I like those qualities in a person. {g}
posted by Beth at 12:31:00 AM
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
On the radio, the other day, I heard the crappiest version in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE of Jingle Bells. I didn't know who was singing it, but I supposed that it was Barbra Streisand, who happens to be a crazy bitch, but that's not important at this time. {g} Well, I just thought to look it up and see if I was right, and I am. You should go listen to an audio clip on Amazon. It's horrible. HORRIBLE. You know what's both better and more classy? That dogs barking Jingle Bells thing. {g}
posted by Beth at 9:45:00 PM
I just watched part of some show on VH1 about how Victoria and David Beckham (or Posh and Becks, if you prefer) spend shitloads of money on everything. I think that if I bought a $20000 corset to wear under an $80000 wedding dress, I'd feel like crap, because some families don't even make $20000 in a year. She always was my least favorite Spice Girl.
I just tried running disk cleanup, and it kept freezing and shooting the CPU Usage up to 100%, but I have remedied the problem, and now all is well.
Yesterday, I got to volunteer for the first time since I started working, because it was the first Tuesday where I wasn't scheduled to come in and work. I was glad, even if I did come in late, because I wanted to sleep. I'd missed doing it. I find something calming in spending two hours matching invoice numbers on invoices and check stubs and making sure addresses are correct.
Right now, I'm quite pleased. This evening, my uncle and I took David to the vet. David is nine-and-a-half years old, and the last time he'd been to the vet was when he was about four months old. Last year, when Sam and Kit died, I made up my mind that I need to be better about getting the animals checkups. Right, so anyway, David hadn't been to the vet since he was a tiny baby, and tonight I spent part of what was my first paycheck in getting him looked at. Since he's never left the house since his last vet visit (which was to a different vet), I was afraid that he'd get really scared and get sick or try to run off or do some other bad thing, but he was really good. The vet and her assistant really liked him, too. They said that he's healthy and his teeth are clean (which is great, because I never brush his teeth. He's an all around clean cat, though). He got rabies shots and some other kind of shot, but I forget which. Also, the vet said that he probably has sinus problems, because he most likely had some kind of upper respiratory infection or virus as a baby. I think that's probably true, and I think he probably got it from when he spent that week at the stupid animal shelter, before we could take him home. We got some pills to give him, and if those work out, then she'll give us some antihistamines for him. My cat is healthy. I am a good owner, who paid for his bill all by myself. Yay, wee! Now I must look into getting another cat. {g}
posted by Beth at 9:33:00 PM
Thursday, December 04, 2003
1. Last night, Nick at Nite was to show their Christmas special at 11, and I set up my VCR to tape it. I turn the TV on at 11:35 to check on it (the special is an hour long) and see that Roseanne came on at 11 and 11:30. What gives? How am I to see Ted Danson read a story now?
2. Speaking of Christmas specials, I watched part of the tree-lighting thing on NBC with the musical acts. I saw only the second half of it, and, no offense, but Jessica Simpson and her husband's songs suck and why the urine are they singing them on a holiday special? Wasn't Jessica Simpson's song something about "feeling beautiful" and "wearing only a t-shirt" or something similar? Yahoo, Christmas! Now, here's the tragic (in more ways than one) part. After those two clowns finished up, Harry Connick Jr. who is awesome, came out and sang "Frosty the Snowman." That part is good, BUT at that exact point, our affiliate did a split screen, breaking news thing about a church catching on fire. Now, I am super sorry that a church was on fire, but I kind of wish that, if it *had* to happen, why couldn't it start to burn a little earlier to put a downer on Jessica Simpson's performance? You understand that I'm not evil, right? I did like Kelly Clarkson's rendition of "O Holy Night," I thought it was delivered nicely and respectfully, as it is the granddaddy of all Christmas songs. And I'm not even religious, I just love Christmas.
3. I get paid tomorrow. Bling, bling. Here's a question: If I work a six hour day, does that entitle me to a 30 minute lunchbreak or just a 15 minute break?
4. I tried to make an appointment at the vet for David, but the call wouldn't go through. I tried more than one phone, and both would call other numbers, yet I couldn't get through to the vet's office. No ringing, no busy signal, no "your call did not go through" message from an operator. I'd punch in the numbers, and it would just be quiet on the other end. That has never happened in my life.
5. I wish I were someone who wouldn't get totally worked up about things that don't apply to me. Earlier, a 14 year old cousin of mine said that if she gets clothes for her birthday, she doesn't want "prep clothes," but instead would prefer black shirts or t-shirts of bands like Linkin Park, Korn, and some crappy "punk" bands, because she now fancies herself as such. Not only are those shirts $20 apiece, but I wouldn't want to be seen buying one. {g} Anyway, the part that makes me mad, is that while I was never close to her, I'm angered (but not surprised) that she's buying into the shitty high school politics of preps, punks, jocks, etc. I hate that so much. I'm so glad that high school is far behind me. I can't stand people who feel like they need to find themselves by labeling themselves and labeling others and living by it, because ultimately, they just lose themselves. Yes, I am profound. Shut up. ;p
6. Today I found that if I want to join the accounting program next fall, I need to take calculus this summer. I'm not happy about that. I knew calculus was required, but I was hoping to take it in the fall with the other classes. I don't remember any of it, and I'm afraid that learning fifteen weeks of it in five weeks will be really hard for me, and I might do poorly. I wanted to take an accounting or business class this summer to try to get a feel for it, but it looks like I'm stuck with this instead. Oh well, I shall do it.
7. And I went and saved the best for last, like I'm Vanessa Williams. In the mail today, I got my special collector's edition Zelda game. I subscribed to Nintendo Power just so I could get it. It's a GameCube disc that contains The Legend of Zelda, The Adventures of Link, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask. It's such a great thing, I love it. So far, I only played a little of the original Legend of Zelda, and they didn't change a thing, all of the sounds, graphics, and poor translations are just as they should be. It's a tough game, and I'm out of practice, and it's even tougher on a GameCube controller, so I died a couple times already, and I have only one piece of Triforce.
posted by Beth at 10:28:00 PM
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
People need to shut up about those Hilton girls. They're famous, but they're, I don't know, fake celebrities.
posted by Beth at 7:38:00 PM
You're Jai! As the Culture Vulture, you hope your charm and personality are able to rub off on some of the victims. You use all aspects of your professional training and skills as a performer plus your social charisma to coach the men on everything from mixing 'n mingling in a social setting, to conversation skills, and to being at ease on the dance floor.
You'd think I'd have looked up Queer Eye quizzes months ago, huh?
Kyan Douglas, grooming guru, is your twin! You're both fun and upbeat. Chances are you're the "nurturer" among your friends. Snaps for you ... and your hair!
While I have love for Kyan, I am well aware that I'm least like him.
posted by Beth at 6:42:00 PM
Saturday, November 29, 2003
Now Playing: Rufus Wainwright -- Want One
Haha, I'm only on the first track so far, but I appreciate the little musical nod to Ravel's Bolero. I love things that are grand. {g}
Pet peeve #568 of mine: People who think that if you drink diet soda, you must be on a diet. Bite me. It isn't always true. I say this, because I heard this dude today bitching about how diet cola is the devil. He said, "it doesn't quench my thirst. I can drink it, and I'm still thirsty." Yeah, um, you lie, mister. And the kid he was talking to said, "Does it even work?" Work? Well, it works in the sense that is has fewer calories. I think the kid thought that maybe drinking it would cause the loss of weight, which is nuts. Then the guy, who wasn't even talking to me, mind you, further annoyed my pants off by saying, "I can't stand the people who go to a buffet, load up on food, and then put artificial sweetener in their coffee." Arrr! I could go in so many directions with that. I might say that they do it because they think it tastes better. I drink Diet Coke everyday, because I think it tastes better. Regular Coke is okay in small doses, but it makes my teeth feel weird. Or I might say that we cut down where we can. People are dumb. I eat whatever I want all the time, I drink Diet Coke everyday, and I look foxy. Two out of three are true. {g}
Thanksgiving was pleasant. At most, I think there were 23 people here, which was a fairly good turnout for a family dinner. I talked to Alyssa and Mark, and I'd seem very little of either of them this year, so that was cool. Alyssa's taken some accounting classes, and she seemed to think it was a good idea for me to go back to school and major in it. I like Thanksgiving. Now it is Christmastime, and I like Christmastime a whole lot. In fact, I just tired my jaw out by playing the clarinet for about 75 minutes. I really haven't picked it up much at all in the last six months, which is why my mouth got tired, but I kept on keepin' on or whatever. I played only Christmas songs to help myself feel all Christmasy.
I haven't been online much this week, and the reason for that is because I now have a job. Isn't that weird? My orientation was this past Sunday, and my first day of work was Monday. Today was my fourth day of work. I'm all paranoid, so I won't say where, but I will say that I work at a store. I chose a backroom position. The good part of this is that I do not have to deal with customers at all. I don't think that at any point, I'll ever be forced to do cashiering. I don't want to be a cashier, but I kind of feel like I should learn to use a cash register. The bad part is that some days the job is really tiring. On Monday and Tuesday, my entire day consisted of lugging boxes up a very tall ladder, and that's not something I'm accustomed to. I was really scared at first, but then I got used to it and then I got tired. Yesterday I slashed boxes open with a razorblade (and yes I was afraid I'd cut myself, but no, I didn't do it), and today I scanned a million little items. I don't mind it, but I do sometimes hate getting up early for it. I'm not used to that. I'm also very sorry that it's going to cause me to miss volunteering twice. I'm 24, and this is my first real job. I'm so old to be having a first job, sheesh. But this is a job I could get, and that's mostly good enough. Now, hopefully, I'll be able to buy Christmas presents, and take my cat to the vet, and pay back the money I owe and then put away a little money to use to enroll in a summer accounting class.
posted by Beth at 10:50:00 PM
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Happy Thanksgiving, dudes.
I mean to write more, but will I ever feel like it?
posted by Beth at 1:51:00 PM
Saturday, November 22, 2003
Guess what I got in the mail today. This scarf! Erika made it. She makes other fine products as well, but they are apparently all sold out. It's very soft and pretty. I shall wear it, when I go out from now on. :) Nathan bought it for me, because I have no bread, but I will soon pay his ass back for it.
I had really wanted to learn to crochet (like Erika) or knit (like Tavie), and they both learned, and I didn't, and now they both make things all the damn time, and all I do is waste space. Boo-ah.
Well, not entirely. Today I did such things as take a drug test and get an application from school, so that I might go back there next year.
posted by Beth at 7:24:00 PM
This afternoon, I woke up after having the weirdest dream. It started out with me relaxing in the kitchen in the chair/bathtub (but I was not nude in the kitchen!) I fashioned out of our oven. Then I left the house to do my favorite thing in the whole wide world. Crawling around in circles in the leaves near my Aunt Helen's house. She lives next door (in real life and in the dream), so it was easy to get to. I had this little round path that wound around some trees and sometimes it went around her whole house and sometimes not. The change was not noticeable in the dream. So I'd crawl around in circles on my hands and knees in the dream. Everyday. For hours. Until it got dark outside. It was the best thing I could possibly do with my whole life. It gave me serenity and purpose, and it was like a hobby and an addiction. I'd think, "I'll just crawl around one more time. No, two more times! I'll stop after this, I swear!" I mean, I just loved it. Dorothea came over, and I tried to explain to her that crawling around was the best thing in the world. She even obliged me by crawling around five or six times. She said it was okay, but I think she was totally lying about it. I don't think she saw in it what I saw. That was pretty much the entire dream. When I woke up, I felt really empty and sad that, in real life, I didn't have a little crawl trail or anything that I enjoyed that much in my life. Weird. This might have been the most fulfilling dream I've ever had in my life.
posted by Beth at 7:15:00 PM
My birthday was fun. I got some nice presents, and I do love presents. {g} Last night, Uncle John, Nathan, and I went to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and then we went to Atlantic City. Uncle John gambled and lost, while Nathan and I walked from the Showboat to the Boardwalk Hall for the Elton John show. I'd never been to a venue that size in my whole life. The Boardwalk Hall is where the Atlantic City hockey games and boxing matches are held and where the Miss America pageant either was or is still held. We were almost as far away as we could possibly be, but at least we were in the center. We were maybe five rows from the absolute last row, and I kind of thought it was funny that people behind us were saying, "These seats are pretty good!" because as soon as we'd found our seats and sat down, I said, "These seats suck!" {g} But that's okay. I mean, I couldn't afford better seats, and I was just glad to be there. There was a screen, but it was pretty small (considering the size of the whole place) and the lights made it hard to see anyway. What I did like about the venue was the stadium seating. I like when there's no possibility that someone's head will be in your way.
Anyway, Elton John is super awesome. {g} The setlist contained mostly hits, but I was expecting that. My favorites were probably "Funeral For a Friend" with "Love Lies Bleeding," "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues," "Take Me to the Pilot," "Harmony," "I Want Love"... Okay, I am naming too many songs. Instead, I will say that if I could strike any two songs from the setlist, they would have been "Candle in the Wind" and "Crocodile Rock." I may love Elton John, but I am no lover of those songs. {g} Actually, I might have liked them better, if they were maybe less known, you know? But those songs easily received the biggest response from the audience. People even held up lighters during "Candle in the Wind" which was bizarre, yet cool to see.
I want to continue my point that at every concert I see, people are insane. The guy who sat next me, for instance. He was there with his wife and a little girl, who was maybe eight or nine years old. The little girl was obviously really excited to be there. She had a little sign with her, and she was wearing a weird silver hat and crazy sunglasses. I briefly talked to the guy about how boxing matches and hockey games are usually at the place, and he seemed nice enough. But anyway, the show begins and it is excellent and everything. Eventually, Elton plays "Rocket Man," so what does this guy do? He whips out his cell phone and calls his brother. (?!) And he says, "Yeah, he's playing 'Rocket Man' right now. Can you hear it? He's still playing it. 'I think it's gonna be a long, long time.'" I thought that was totally crazy. Later on, Elton played "Tiny Dancer" and the guy called his brother again! What? Also, the dude was playing air piano, which is so super corny, I can't even put it into words. {g} I wish I could remember which song that was during. Maybe it was "Bennie and the Jets"? Also, near the end of the show, during the second encore part, when people were applauding, and everyone had left the stage, the guy said, rather loudly, "Oh, the show's over. Let's go!" and he took his wife and kid and left. But he was such a total liar. I felt all bad, because he made the little girl leave, before hearing "Your Song," which was the last part. He's like those people who think they're beating the traffic, except that I don't think there was a bad traffic situation at all.
But I am nuts for talking so much about that guy. He didn't even ruin the show for me, I just thought he was kind of laughable, and that's why I mention it. The show was really good. I'd wanted to see an Elton John concert since I was 14, and I finally got to, and on my birthday, no less. Whee!
Before the show, I bought a not-so-great $5 keychain, and after the show I bought a $15 mug with the same design. If I don't buy souvenirs, I will collapse from illness, I swear. People were selling bootleg t-shirts outside, and I very nearly bought one on the way out.
The show was 2 hours and 35 minutes long, and we weren't supposed to meet my uncle til midnight, but we got out at about 10:45. He came down there to meet us, and we went back up to the Showboat to meet him, and we missed each other somehow. After we regrouped, I gambled a little. I put $10 in a Wheel of Fortune machine and lost it. Then Uncle John gave me another $10, and I immediately got to spin the wheel and got 150 quarters. I gambled a little more, and eventually I gave him his $10 back, got my own $10 back, and came out $17 ahead, which just about makes up for what I spent at the concert.
It was fun. My birthday was rad. I got rad giftos. I had a rad dinner and saw a rad show. I won a little bit of money. I am 24 years old now. Rad, yo. {g}
posted by Beth at 6:50:00 PM
Saturday, November 15, 2003
The dictionary.com word of the day for my birthday is...
extraneous \ek-STRAY-nee-uhs\, adjective:
1. Coming from or existing on the outside.
2. Introduced from an outside source.
3. Not essential or intrinsic; foreign.
4. Not pertinent to the matter at hand; irrelevant.
I'll bet that's relevant to me in some way. {g}
For my first birthday ever, my mom didn't make me a birthday cake. She bought me a cheesecake. Weird.
posted by Beth at 2:00:00 PM
It's my birthday!!!!1
That means I can do anything, so I'm gonna talk about what I did today and bitch a whole lot, because of my glass-is-half-empty mentality.
Today was supposed to be an exciting day of eating and seeing TMBG and Rasputina and Belle and Sebastian. I did indeed eat and see those people, but lots of things went wrong.
Nathan bought me pre-birthday dinner at Friday's, and that part was tasty and not wrong. Tonight, TMBG had an in-store at Borders for the new book, and then they were to sign stuff. That was supposed to start at 7. Also, we had tickets for Belle and Sebastian with opener Rasputina, and that was to start at 8. The bookstore was like 60 blocks away from the venue, so the plan was to jump onto the subway and take it all the way to the end of the line, which is a block from the venue. We checked and found out that the one time that we need to take the subway someplace, it turns out that part of it is out of service. It would end at 56th, and then there'd be a shuttle to 69th. The bus is a lot slower than the subway, so I got worried. We did a lot of running around (and I got tired, as I am quite out of shape) and trying to figure out the closest subway stop to the Borders.
Now for a craptastic breakdown of stuff.
5:30 We go inside Borders and see that quite a bit of people are there. We sit down, like everyone else is doing. For like an hour, I had to sit there and listen to the annoying guy in front of me with dirty clothes try to force the little baby girl with him to love TMBG and to have a favorite song (and she's two, so how is she going to articulate why "I Am a Grocery Bag" is so great?). Oh and the BEST (by which I mean WORST) part is that this guy is sitting on the floor and his butt crack is out, and I try to look away, but I occasionally see it. Eww, yo.
6:40 Flans comes out and instructs all of us hippies to stand up for the show, so the people in the back (and there was quite a showing) can get closer. Everyone listens, but I gotta say I think it's a bad idea, because standing up pretty much wrecked everyone's view. The little kids were allowed to come to the front, but not all of them did.
7:03 The show starts, and it's pretty awesome and everything. That "Stalk of Wheat" is a neat song, and the Johns were engaging and rad as usual. Flans said "Conshohocken," and I never expected him to say that ever. {g} Probably the funniest part was when they were talking about the upcoming in-stores. They're going to be in Maryland on Sunday, but they couldn't remember the name of the mall. Someone shouted out "White Marsh" or something like that. They couldn't hear what the guy said, and Linnell called it the "white people mall" and Flans said something about Linnell being the controversial one, and Linnell said, "I'm edgy." {g} I took some pictures, but there were so many people in the way that I don't know if they came out at all.
7:40 The show ends, and the signing is supposed to start. People with kids can go to the front, which I agree with. I knew there was no way on earth that I was going to make it to the concert on time. And so many people were waiting, so we had to leave Borders. I was and am really disappointed. I had been looking forward to having them both sign my book and getting to meet them and stuff. And I'd been waiting for an in-store in Philadelphia for the 4+ years I've been a fan, and it's the day before my birthday and everything is all about me. But we had to leave, and I'm sad about that, but I didn't want to miss Rasputina either. So we ran to the subway, and my lung almost fell out of my mouth.
8:05 We were hoping the damn subway would finish its run at 69th Street, because the signs all said that it would until 8. It ended up stopping at 56th, of course, and we had to get on the super slow shuttle, and we eventually got to the Tower Theatre much later than planned.
8:25 We finally get to our seats, which are quite good. I have no idea how much of their set I missed. As much as 25 minutes, I would suppose. The guys right behind us hate Rasputina, and are very noisy about it. :( The remaining 35 minutes of Rasputina's set is very good. They're really great live, and if they'd play a headlining show in Philadelphia, I'd buy tickets right away.
9:00 Rasputina finishes up, and there's an intermission.
9:27 Belle and Sebastian start to play. I realize that I have to come to grips with the fact that every band I like is going to have jerky, obnoxious fans. The guys behind me love Belle and Sebastian very much, and they're very noisy about it. Also, the one guy kicked my seat constantly. Also, a girl two rows behind me kept going "WAAAOOOOOOO!" every 20 or so seconds, like she was set on an alarm. Now, I can put up with the occasional yell, like after a song or when you really like the song the band starts to play, but this girl seriously shrieked every half a minute or so, no matter what was happening on stage. Toward the end, people got up and danced right in front of where we were sitting (we were in the front row, but it was a little tiny side row with only two seats in it). So yeah, people kept coming to dance right in front of us, even though we were sitting down. I kept sticking my feet forward, so some girl would keep stepping on them. It didn't really hurt, and I kind of wanted to remind her of my presence. Not like it mattered to her. But with all that bad crap aside, Belle and Sebastian put on a really, really great show. It was impressive and beautiful and fun and a lot of other positive adjectives. Anyone who has the chance should go see them live. Oh, and in the middle of their set, Rasputina came out and sang Fox in the Snow, and it was super awesome.
11:15 The show ends, and it was a good long show. I am quite certain that we should be able to make the 12:05 bus home. I bought a Rasputina shirt and a Belle and Sebastian poster with the new album cover on it. Then we left the Tower. There were little signs up that said that you could meet Rasputina and everything, and on the way home I kick myself for not doing it. They probably would have signed the shirt I bought, and since I didn't get to meet TMBG, I should have met them, and yet I didn't even check it out, and I have no idea why. I'm an idiot.
The shuttle took forever getting us to 56th. We had to wait for the train to get to 56th Street Station, then once we got on the train, it took awhile before leaving the station. We ended up missing the 12:05 bus out of Philadelphia. The next bus wasn't til 1:50, and that was five minutes late. So I didn't get home til 2:45.
I complain a lot. My evening was fraught with inconvenience. Wah wah wah. The day before my birthday should be better. {/bitching}
On Thursday, our power went out for two hours. That really sucked. Also on that day, Dorothea and I went to the Olive Garden. Then we went back to her house to watch The Exorcist, because she'd never seen it, and because I love it, and I talked it up a whole lot. Thursday was very pleasant aside from the power going out. Oh, and we watched part of that Britney Spears interview, and Britney is a huge trashbox, and I hate her even more than I did before, if that's possible.
Today is MY DAMN 24TH BIRTHDAY (yes, thank you for the kind wishes), I shall go see Elton John in Atlantic City. Bwee!
posted by Beth at 3:55:00 AM
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
One of my Amazon gold box offers was for a $1900 coffee machine (and that was after the discount). Hahaha, Amazon. No wonder I never buy anything in my gold box.
Then another of my gold box items was a camera that was out of stock (presumably because the deal was so good that everyone else got it first), so I couldn't even get it, if I had wanted it (which I didn't).
I started playing Mario Sunshine yesterday. I've only beaten the first two levels. Mario looks silly without his hat. I guess I'd never thought about what he'd look like without it, like it was a permanent fixture or just plain attached to his skull, I don't know.
posted by Beth at 9:18:00 PM
Monday, November 10, 2003
Hmm... okay. Let's try to wrap our heads around this... {g}
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:24 PM]: hey is this beth pierce
Beth J E [2:24 PM]: nope. I am a different Beth
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:24 PM]: where do you live
Beth J E [2:24 PM]: New Jersey
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:25 PM]: do you know richard yator
Beth J E [2:25 PM]: yes. I know everyone in New Jersey. I know 8 million people
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:25 PM]: umm ok
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:25 PM]: and do you know his gf ashley
Beth J E [2:26 PM]: yeah. I'll tell them you say hi
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:26 PM]: nah i don't say hi and i know this is beth pierce too
Beth J E [2:26 PM]: I'm not Beth Pierce, whoever she is
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:26 PM]: just kinda weird...this girl beth i know plays clarinet too...and she used to or still does work at wawa
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:27 PM]: don't you think its weird
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:27 PM]: how ld are you
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:27 PM]: old*
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:28 PM]: well anyway...just let me tell your not good enough for mark...
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:28 PM]: he deserves way better
Beth J E [2:28 PM]: aww, but I love Mark. We are made for each other
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:28 PM]: haha
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:28 PM]: yeah thast cute
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:29 PM]: i'm telling you beth don't let me find out your with him...
Beth J E [2:29 PM]: we are a cute couple, Mark and I
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:29 PM]: yeah couple...
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:29 PM]: good one
Beth J E [2:29 PM]: I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!1
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:29 PM]: lol
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:29 PM]: doubt that
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:29 PM]: i feel sorry for that baby
Beth J E [2:29 PM]: Mark Jr. will be a fine boy
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:29 PM]: lol
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:30 PM]: yeah well i gotta go just want to let ya know...don't let me see you guys together...
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:30 PM]: there might be a little trouble
Beth J E [2:30 PM]: too late. We're going to the Bach social tonight
Beth J E [2:30 PM]: DON'T BE THERE
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:30 PM]: bach social?
Beth J E [2:30 PM]: oh yes
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:31 PM]: yeah ok
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:31 PM]: now i really know your lying
Beth J E [2:31 PM]: my blue ballgown shall impress one and all
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:31 PM]: oh did you find one big enough
Beth J E [2:31 PM]: yes. It's a maternity ballgown
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:32 PM]: haha considering i just saw you the other day and you were already fet...before you were preg
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:32 PM]: fat*
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:32 PM]: sorry hunny i gotta run...
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:32 PM]: just remember what i said
Beth J E [2:33 PM]: okay. I'll tell Mark you say hi
MyBFr8cesYZ400 [2:33 PM]: i just got off the phone with him...i already did say hi
MyBFr8cesYZ400 signed off at 2:33 PM
posted by Beth at 2:36:00 PM
Sunday, November 09, 2003
Today is Craig's birthday. Even though I think he reads this sporadically at best, I will register my wishes here.
It's really depressing, when there are people out there that you'd really love to be friends with, because you have so much in common with them, but no matter what you do, you're never going to be one of the people that matter to them.
These ridiculous sleeping hours have got to stop. Normally, being up at this time of day would mean that I'm up late (which is fine with me), but no. I've been so depressed that I've been sleeping like crazy. I went to sleep before my family went to sleep, and I got up after they all got up for work. I also took a several-hour nap yesterday afternoon. I need a job. That's why I've been feeling so badly. I feel like no one will ever give me a crummy part-time job. Like, I'm not even good enough to be trusted to make minimum wage. Even though I graduated from college, which incidentaly feels like a huge waste. Today I was thinking I might apply at a store and/or a factory. I'm mad that I went to sleep that early, and then I missed talking to Nathan. I'd really wanted to do that, but by the time he called, I was way too tired. I'm normally in a good mood this time of year, right before my birthday, I mean. But now I keep thinking that if I can't get a job before then then I'll never be able to get my mom a Christmas present and stuff like that. I hate this.
posted by Beth at 6:42:00 AM
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Has anybody seen the new Wal-Mart commercial with the gingerbread man tooling around the toy department in a toy truck? I can't really explain, but I think it's hilarious. It's ridiculous, in a way that kind of makes me think that whoever came up with the idea did it as a joke. And the gingerbread man's (Gingy's...? {g}) is just some guy's weird high-pitched voice. But yes, I find it very humorous. {g}
posted by Beth at 8:42:00 PM
There was this commercial, probably from the 80s, for Murphy's Oil Soap. It had these old ladies cleaning up the woodwork in a giant cathedral, and I think organ music was playing. At the end, a voiceover said something like, "If this is what Murphy's Oil Soap can do for this house, think of what it can do for yours." But when I was little, I didn't realize that by "house" they meant "house of God" or "church," so I thought it was a person's house, and I wanted to live there. I also wanted to polish wood. I think that the organ music also persuaded me a lot, because organ music does tricky things to my brain.
I don't know why I just thought of that.
posted by Beth at 8:33:00 PM
Bwoop bwoop! I am back from the dentist and very relieved. The short version of what happened is that, even though the x-rays somehow show nothing, there was an infection, which pushed the root canal tooth upward and made it hurt a lot. The dentist filed down the top of the tooth a little, so it was more in line with the others, so that it wouldn't bump into things and hurt. When I woke up this morning, my cheek was swollen up, and it felt like I was holding marbles in there in between the gum and cheek. The swelling actually made the tooth hurt less. But anyway, the dentist poked a hole in the swelling to drain it and gave me a prescription for penicillin. He also gave us a very good deal, because he is cool, and because he knows I have no insurance. I am quite pleased with the outcome. For the past few days, I'd been fearing that he'd need to chisel open the whole jaw and remove like four teeth or that while he was looking around blood would squirt out all over my paper bib thing. But it was cool, yo. He also called me "the queen of the bizarre bite," and that's pretty accurate, because my bite is weird as hell, and in a bunch of ways. At least my teeth look okay from the front, I guess. They do, right? I hope people don't think I have really bad teeth. {g}
I am so glad nothing was seriously wrong with me and that I didn't have to have my whole face ripped open!
On the way home, I ate Burger King food, and it didn't hurt or anything. Before that, I'd had only a bowl of oatmeal in the past 24 hours. Then I rocked the vote.
Oh, and speaking of teeth, yesterday Colleen told me that Tom Cruise has three front teeth. And it's true! How is it that he's been famous (and known for his smile) for this long and I've not noticed it myself or heard someone else mention it? Look up a picture and see. {g}
posted by Beth at 7:35:00 PM
Monday, November 03, 2003
So my new thing is that I want to go back to school. That part isn't actually new, since I had been upset since last year about finishing school (and so I stayed an extra year). I'm pretty good at school and not much else. And I don't mean going to grad school. I never wanted that. What if they made me write a thesis? I couldn't handle it. No, the new part is that I want to go and get a BS in accounting. Yes, I know that's pretty weird.
Here's why I want to do that. I've been doing an awful lot of online job hunting, and there are just so very few jobs that I am qualified for with my degree (in communication with a specialization in radio/TV/film, haha wee!). I really only came across one job that was relevant to what I studied. I got an interview and then I didn't get the job. Don't get me wrong--there are some jobs, except that they're for really far away, and not only do I not want to move, but it takes money to move, and I have none. On the other hand, I see lots of jobs (and in the area, to boot) for accounting, and accounting seems like something I think I could do and do well. So I'm really interested in this idea of going back to school. I emailed a professor in that department, and she said I'd need about 63 credits to get the degree. And I just talked to someone from admissions, and they're sending me an application. It turns out that I'll have to fill out a transfer application. I think that sucks, because I'll have to pay the stupid fee, and because I'm trying to go back to the same school, so I'm already in their damn records. Painintheass. The soonest I'll be able to go back will be next fall. Unless I get enough money together to take a summer class. I really wish financial aid would be as generous to me as they were all those other years, but I doubt I'll be so lucky. I think I'll have to get loans, and I'm terribly afraid of loans, but I really want to do this.
In the meantime, I applied for a job at where Craig works. I applied a week ago today, and then someone called me back last Wednesday, but I missed the call, because I was at a funeral, so I've been feeling really anxious. I hope I can set up an interview soon, because I need to make money sooooooon. Christmas is coming, and I keep freaking out thinking I won't be able to give anybody anything.
I'm a boxful of pain and nervousness. I'm going to go crazy.
posted by Beth at 1:04:00 PM
So about my tooth. I'm not sure what's wrong with it. It started hurting late Friday night/early Saturday morning. It's not the kind of toothache where I feel pain if something hot or cold or sweet touches it. I can still drink coffee and soda and stuff. It hurts all the time, and it varies between a dull pain and a throbbing. What really hurts it is if anything touches it (the teeth on the top, or food or anything else). If anything bumps up against it even a little bit, I get this horrible pain. I was eating earlier, and I was practically in tears. It's on the bottom left side, and the left side happens to be where I chew food most. The teeth on the right don't come together as well or something, and there aren't as many. Another thing, which is kind of odd, is that the tooth where the pain seems to be coming from is a tooth that should never hurt, because it's had a root canal. I wonder if a wisdom tooth is messing everything up or if there's some kind of problem underneath the gum. Another part that really hurts is the gum between my cheek and that tooth. I wish I could see a dentist right now. And I'm afraid that this is going to cost a fortune, since I have no insurance. {sigh}
I haven't blogged in a long time, I know. I just haven't felt like it, even though I've had things to say.
Right now, I have a horrible toothache, and I don't go to the dentist until 5:30 tomorrow. I don't know what I'll do til then. The pain is driving me crazy.
posted by Beth at 10:46:00 AM
Friday, October 17, 2003
Heh, I can't believe I really sat down and worked this out. It took a lot of flipping around. {g}
Has anybody heard of these videogames called Harvest Moon? There's a whole bunch of them for the Nintendo systems and Playstation. I hardly know anything about them, but I'm really intrigued, so now I want every Harvest Moon game that Nintendo makes.
I can't get into anything gradually. I have to just jump right in. {g}
posted by Beth at 5:09:00 PM
Monday, October 13, 2003
There was just something on the news about a guy breaking out of a maximum security prison in Pennsylvania. How do you do that? Well, all kinds of cartoons and TV shows will tell you that you just need to make a rope out of your bedsheets and climb out the window. That's really how he did it. He also used his mattress to prevent being scraped up by the barbed wire on the fence. It's very comforting to know that this can be done, isn't it?
A couple hours ago I finished watching America's Castles on A&E. I guess it's back on the air now. Maybe it was never off the air, and it just eluded me for years. I like that show. One of the castles they talked about in this episode was the Winchester Mystery House. It's really awesome, and I'd like to go there sometime. Hell, I'd like to see that episode over again from the beginning, so I can see more of the house. It's haunted, they say. Oooooo-oooh. {g}
So I am probably obligated by law to talk about this past Saturday. It started out normally. I got up really late, got dressed, and then my uncle and I went out to dinner. We went to Charlie Brown's Steakhouse (hahahee), which we'd never been to before. It was pretty good. They have good soup. I think most soups are stupid, but I liked this soup a lot. We also had weird chicken spring rolls that were good, but a little spicy; I wasn't expecting southwestern spices on spring rolls, y'know? My dinner was chicken stuffed with pepperjack cheese and spinach. It was tasty, but I was full from the other stuff and I wanted to save room for dessert, so I took most of it home. Then we had banana rum cake, and that was good, so I guess I'd recommend this restaurant. Then we bought a great big pumpkin for $3. I love pumpkins. I just want to put them on endtables and on kitchentables and on other accommodating surfaces.
The more eventful part of the day happened at about 1am. I got an IM from erin (but it was really Tavie, I think and it wasn't really an IM for her, so much as a text message) that said that she, Tavie, Gina, and Stephanie were on their way to Atlantic City, and they asked if I wanted to come. Weeyaywoo!
Here is the bad part. I, apparently, am really crappy at giving directions. Not only did I tell them to take a wrong turn on the way to my house, BUT I got us all turned around and mixed up inside the actual casino AND we went part of the wrong way on the way out of the casino, but I don't know if that was because of me THEN I told Gina to turn the wrong way in the same place that I originally messed up on when they were coming to get me.
I later found out what my error was. I never ever ever take the AC Expressway to Atlantic City, but I frequently take it to go the other direction and to come from the other direction. I never even noticed that the exit stuff from the other direction is, like, elsewhere, because it was never important, and that is how I came to tell Gina to turn the wrong way TWO times at the same place. Judge tenderly of me. {g}
It always kind of scares me to have people see my house for the first time, because I'm afraid they'll think badly of it. I don't want them to, I like my house. I just happen to have constant fears of people judging me or things related to me very harshly. No one said anything or did anything to make me feel that way, I just have the anxiety, you know? But the cool part was showing everyone my dog. He especially liked Tavie, because she let him kiss her, whereas most people pull away. But he loves people so much. And my cat was also seen, and luckily he didn't sneeze on erin or Stephanie. {g}
My poor directions and paranoia aside, the trip was really fun for me. I had a very good time. I wish it weren't raining, so that we could have spent more time on the boardwalk or at other casinos, because there's so much tackiness to be seen. We went to the Showboat, where I got us free parking, which was my big contribution for the evening. {g} And we also went to the Taj Mahal. We ate at a restaurant there, except that I didn't really eat much, because I don't like breakfast and because I had a big dinner (see above). Gina gave me a danish, and it was both good and lemony. But yes, it was a really neat thing for me to go to Atlantic City on a whim and see people I never get to see (and Stephanie whom I'd never met before) and walk around and do stuff and stuff. {g}
Oh another exciting part (for me only) was going into the Wawa with Tavie and erin. I love the Wawa. They have good sandwiches and lots of other things and they're always open. And they have great cappuccino. It's my goal to take anyone who has never been to this area into a Wawa and get them some coffee.
It was Fun. It's always nice to be invited, and it's even better to go. {g}
posted by Beth at 6:36:00 AM
Saturday, October 11, 2003
I hate Angelina Jolie and her mouth.
posted by Beth at 6:08:00 PM
Now Playing: Neko Case "Lady Pilot"
I was thinking that maybe I should attempt to get a job through a staffing service or employment agency, because it would mean less looking around on my part. Is that a bad idea? Is there a massive downside that I don't know about?
After I did my volunteering thing last Tuesday, I had to waste time in the city, so I busied myself, after eating at the Chick-Fil-A, by ambling around the Gallery Mall. When I'm stuck at the mall with no money to spend, I have to steer clear of stores where I'd spend lots of money (CD/DVD stores, bookstores, places with clothing that I might like), so I went to the Dollar Island and to the K-Mart. First, I went to the Dollar Island. That might be the most humorous dollar-store name that I've heard yet. I hate to go to dollarstores, but at the same time, I get annoyed when people mock them too much. I think I mostly hate to go there not because I don't want any of the junk, but because my mom thinks she's some kind of dollarstore expert or something. What I'm saying is that I hate them out of rebellion! Maybe. But I went to Dollar Island, so that while killing time, I could "do right by my mama." They had a lot of Halloween decorations and other not-as-junky-as-I'd-expect things. In fact, Dollar Island ties for first place with the place in Mays Landing for the Classiest Dollarstore Award. I thought I'd impress my mom, so I bought her some Halloween decorations. Yellow leaf garland and a big black and orange cloth bow. When I came home, she seemed really pleased. She even attached the bow to the vase of flowers on our kitchen table. I very nearly bought her a bag of orange plastic knives, forks, and spoons. They were so festive. I might just do that next Tuesday. {g}
So there's a K-Mart as an anchor store at the Gallery Mall; I've known it for years, and it still surprises and even impresses me. Anchor stores are usually reserved for the stuffier likes of Strawbridge's. Let me point out something here: I did not mean that I laugh at K-Mart and refuse to spend money there. Instead, please understand that I'm just more likely to buy stuff at a K-Mart in New Jersey than out-of-state. I'm actually quite pro-K-Mart. I especially like it more than Wal-Mart. Here's but one reason why K-Mart is cooler: K-Mart sells Ben Folds Live with a parental advisory, while Wal-Mart offers only a clean version with lots of bleeps in it. But yeah, I also got pumpkin earrings at K-Mart the other day for a dollar. Anyway, when I go to a store like that, I always look around at CD/movies, seasonal stuff (in this case Halloween and Christmas decorations), and toys. While in the toy section, I saw, get this, a Play-Doh George Foreman Grill. (!!!) I'm not saying it's the best toy ever, but I *am* saying that I really and truly love the fact that it exists. George is even on the damn box! :D You can use the little plastic molds to shape your Play-Doh into little steaks and stuff, then you put it on the grill and it "sizzzzzzzles". Hah! I love that. I love the picture on the box of the little boy cooking. It just filled me up with crazy happiness. Earlier in the day, my brain was clouded with angry thoughts about people I was mad at, but seeing this product washed them away for many hours. Why don't you take a look at it? Admit that it is excellent. The icing on the cake is that it comes in different colors! ^_^
That said, I will now return to my monster job searches. {g}
posted by Beth at 3:51:00 AM
Police discovered last week that Yates had kept the fierce feline and a 5-foot long alligator, named Al, as pets in his fifth-floor apartment in a Harlem housing project.
...
"I realized that this is my calling in life. I'm trying to create a Garden of Eden, something that this world lacks," Yates told KYW-TV in a phone interview from his hospital room.
The guy was attacked by his pet tiger and he told the hospital it was a pit bull. That's craziness. I can't imagine what it must be like, if someone were to break into his apartment and find a tiger and a gator. That's the best theft deterrent ever. It's practically awe-inspiring to me. {g}
posted by Beth at 3:31:00 AM
Monday, October 06, 2003
While having dinner, I was watching (listening to, really) Peter Jennings and his World News Tonight. Of course they were talking about the big recall thing and showing clips of political rallies. Here is a quote from one of them:
"Hasta la vista, car tax." -- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Holy crap! Am I the dumbest for thinking that's the dumbest? Are there people out there who just eat that stuff up? Are there people of voting age out there who eat that stuff up? Don't get me wrong, I thought it was hilarious, but that's (probably) never something that would sway my vote.
Also, here's my advice to you. Never get married! I just had this really scary dream about me flaking out big time on my wedding day. It was mere hours before my wedding that I learned that at the reception, I was going to have to do 12 chin-ups in front of everyone, while wearing the dress and everything! I can't do one. This does not bode well. Matrimony is reverserved for ladies with tremendous upper-body strength. And someone gave me a copy of this thing I was going to have to read in front of everyone, but the ink was so badly smudged that it was unreadable, and I yelled, "well, what I am supposed to do?!" No one answered. So just don't get married. Nothing is worth that kind of anxiety. My dress was really pretty, though.
posted by Beth at 7:24:00 PM
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Reading my old posts makes me cringe.
posted by Beth at 2:31:00 AM
So I actually did get the Elton John tickets. Yay, whee! They're absolutely in the nosebleed section. Not only that, but they're in row P of the nosebleed section. There are worse seats, but not many. Nathan couldn't get through at all on the phone, and I tried the site with two browsers, and I was only able to get two offers. The first one was when they wouldn't let me fill in the price of the tickets I wanted, so the offer was for $85 tickets, so I had to keep looking. I took the second one, which was for the $50 ones. After that, I kept trying (because I like to do that and then see something really good and beat myself up over not waiting. Or I like to throw out a good offer and keep looking and then never find anything nearly as good. This is why TicketMaster is bad for my health). But I couldn't get any more offers after that. I think that maybe the show sold out by then. I guess that's not overly surprising, since Elton isn't playing Madison Square Garden this year and he hasn't played Atlantic City since 1990. I will enjoy the show from afar. At least I did better than all of the people who couldn't get anything at all.
Oh hey, there's going to be a Queer Eye book. It's listed on amazon, but it won't be available til February 2004. I want it now!
posted by Beth at 2:30:00 AM
Saturday, October 04, 2003
Yo yo yo, I have these hairsticks that I got a whole year ago, and I really want to finally learn how to use the damn things. Someone point me in the right direction, okay?
posted by Beth at 5:07:00 AM
In about eight hours is the big attempt to buy Elton John tickets (the cheap $50, faraway seats) on TicketMaster. Throw clumps of good luck at me, okay? It's the Beth's Birthday Concert Gala and everything!
posted by Beth at 1:49:00 AM
Thursday, October 02, 2003
So even though I graduated, I still get the emails from my school newspaper. I'd forgotten about that, and now that the fall semester has started up, I'm getting the emails again. The headlining story for this week (and least week) is about how there's an outbreak of poison mold in one of the dorm buildings. Poison mold? What the hell?
I am listening to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I haven't heard this in awhile. I like it a whole lot. Some songs more than others, but it's good stuff.
posted by Beth at 6:36:00 PM
What's that? Oh, it's a bunch of unrelated numbered items. Oh, okay.
1. I volunteered yesterday, and I did the same old thing. I always do the same thing, so maybe I should stop mentioning it, eh? I still like volunteering, though. At least I like it as long as I'm not working, and I can have one thing to do that's useful to someone other than myself.
2. I got the new Lemony Snicket book, and I haven't opened it yet. It's not that I don't want to--I really do want to. The problem is that I have a library book (Abarat by Clive Barker) that I need to finish, and I haven't been motivated to continue with that, even though I think it's interesting. I really like that Clive Barker is writing children's books. The book jacket says that Clive is gay. I didn't know that. Well, good for you, Clive.
3. Yesterday my uncle bought me a candy apple. I don't really like them, but I ate it tonight so as not to be wasteful and to be in the spirit of autumn. They're okay, I guess, but the apple flavor doesn't seem to "go with" the candy flavor to me. They're also hard to eat.
4. Last night I watched the repeat of Queer Eye. Not the repeat of the first episode at 10 o'clock. The repeat at 8 o'clock which was originally from last week. That episode is simultaneously the most funny and most disturbing episode I've ever seen. Ever since I first saw the commercial for it, I dreaded the part where the guy breaks a really expensive glass. I feel so bad for him, and I like him and his girlfriend more than anyone else on the show that they've helped. Oh, and Ted gets his head cut, and that part freaks me out big time, because you can see the blood on the tissue. But the rest is really funny, and I LOVE the lighted orange coffeetable; I want a million of them. I feel bad that it's already in reruns. It is the bomb.
5. Why does my mom make watery coffee? I've found myself once again drinking Wawa cappuccino again. I like the mocha kind, which has twice as much caffeine in it, that's not why I like it. I like it because of the chocolatey frothy tastiness.
6. I should be applying for jobs I will never attain instead of writing all of this uninteresting garbage, my friends.
7. Tonight for the first time in many months, I practiced my accordion. I don't know why I don't practice more. Laziness, I suppose, but I can't be lazy AND whine about how I'm not good at it. Someone needs to come to my house everyday and kick my ass until I practice at least one musical instrument. And while they're at it, they should force me to do a couple sit-ups or something.
8. You know what word I like a whole lot? Festoon. There's something about that word that makes me want to throw my head back and laugh. I don't know why exactly.
And I will finish on number 9. Last weekend, I festooned (whoa, there it is! Ha!) my room with a string of orange and a string of purple lights that I got at Target a couple years ago. I always put up lights for Christmas and Halloween with the best of intentions, but it always turns out looking kind of trashy, if that makes sense. If you saw it, you'd know what I meant. But yeah, I like having lights, and I don't know how to make them not look like trashiness.
posted by Beth at 5:48:00 AM
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
You know what word is weird? Tincture.
posted by Beth at 12:38:00 AM
I'm in a really bad mood right now. I feel like I hate everybody, and I feel like everyone is having all kinds of fun without me and stuff. I hate that feeling a whole lot. I should sleep, for I have to wake up at 7:45, so that I can volunteer yet again.
posted by Beth at 12:37:00 AM
Saturday, September 27, 2003
I went to a monster mania convention tonight. More on that another day, perhaps.
I am once again frazzled because of concert dates. I was just looking up Rasputina dates, because I like them and have never seen them, and I saw a listing for them as the opener for Belle and Sebastian (I like them, too) in Upper Darby, PA. That sounds great, you know. Anyway the show is on the 14th of November. But that's an important day because I'm pretty sure TMBG was going to do an in-store in Philadelphia that day to promote the upcoming book. I really wish I knew what time that was supposed to be, because I'm flustered about whether I'll be able to make it from the in-store to the other end of the city without missing any of the show.
The Belle and Sebastian tickets are $26, which I consider a fair price because I like the opener and headliner very much. The tickets go on sale in about six hours. I can't even buy them online, though, I don't have enough money in my account, because, hey, someone charged $65 worth of junk to me, and I have yet to get my money back. BLAAAH! What to do?
posted by Beth at 3:47:00 AM
Friday, September 26, 2003
Nathan and I got home from Atlantic City a few hours ago. I'll talk more about that later (maybe), including how I wanted to put the smackdown on people from the Taj Mahal who didn't listen to me.
Anyway, get this, while walking all the way from the Showboat (the last casino) to past the Hilton (the first casino), we saw a poster advertising the Simon and Garfunkel show that's going to be there in November. I like them okay, but I admit that I don't have any of their albums, solo or otherwise, but I thought, "boy, that would be a neat show to catch." On the way back up the boardwalk, we saw a poster that we'd somehow missed the first time. It was advertising the Elton John show that will be taking place ON MY BIRTHDAY. See, you may or may not know that I've been a big fan of his for about ten years and out of all of the touring acts that I really love, he is one that I've never seen live. I was a box of excitement over that. Especially since I got to see Tori Amos for the first time on my birthday last year, so this seemed all too cool.
I got home and looked up prices. Good Elton John tickets are $150. (!) Cheap ones are $50, and you know I like him enough to throw my decent-seat snobbery out the window, but I doubt anyone wants to get me tickets as a present. I guess I'd say I'm more surprised that good seats are $150. I thought maybe they'd cost between $80 and $100 for the best seats. That is, I was surprised about the $150 until I saw that good Simon and Garfunkel seats are $225. I know that that's largely because they haven't toured together in a long time, but jeez, everything is so expensive. So so much money. I think, as a rule, large Atlantic City venues might be more pricey than other cities, because a lot of the high rollers get comps and stuff. Comps are what bring most people back to the casino. The Taj Mahal gave me a $4 comp, you know. {g}
**I want to point out for no good reason that I saw the Kids in the Hall at the Taj Mahal in 2000, and while that was the most convenient KITH show I ever attended, it was at the CRAPPIEST venue in the universe. I hate the Xanadu THeater, and I also hate it's ugly chairs that have no arms and are pushed together so closely that you have no elbowroom.**
Blaaah. The bottom line is that I want to see Elton John on my birthday. {weep}
posted by Beth at 6:56:00 AM
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
My uncle just showed me the newspaper, which has a very favorable review of the new Rufus Wainwright album in it. I didn't even know there was one. It's called Want One and it'll be out on October 7th.
So I really like the voice of the guy in Sugarplastic. He kind of sounds like Andy Partridge and Weird Al all rolled into one. For no good reason, I will tell you that my favorite song on the Powerpuff Girls Heroes and Villains CD is Sugarplastic's Professor Utonium song. Most people like Dressy Bessy's Bubbles song the most, but that will have to be second place for me.
So AOL is sponsoring some kind of Dave Matthews Band benefit concert in Central Park, I think, and they're just pimping the crap out of it. I can't wait til it's over. The welcome screen shows three big news items and it switches through them constantly, and for the past week one of them has ALWAYS been this concert. It isn't that important. The other day, the headline was something like, "Celebrities Prepare for Concert" and the picture was of some little kid standing next to Elmo. (?!) Now I'm not saying Elmo isn't a celebrity, because he is. As a matter of fact, he's an A-list celebrity. What I'm saying is that maybe Elmo is someone who criticizes little babies for not knowing how to use the telephone, but I want to think he digs better music, you know?
Today was a really crappy "if things can go wrong, they will" kind of day. Maybe I shall write about it, and maybe I shan't. Probably the latter.
posted by Beth at 8:37:00 PM
Monday, September 22, 2003
Yesterday I got my bank statement and lo and behold, there were things on there that I did not order. $65 worth of things, to be exact. Hahaha, what a great thing to happen to me. :P I went to the bank today (thank you Sunday hours), and they were quite good about it.
Last night, my uncle and I went to Red Lobster. I had shrimp, scampi and that new citrus shrimp in a bag. Do not get the latter. It tastes like a shrimp cough drop. It's bad news.
Today I saw Suzanne and Chuck for the first time since their wedding. We ate at Friendly's, and my Uncle Bobby was there and he came up to me and said hello. I was surprised. After that we drove around, because they were looking to buy blueberries in the Blueberry Capital of the World, but they were too late in the season. It was pleasant. We're supposed to go to Great Adventure next weekend. I hope it doesn't rain.
For some reason, my computer is being annoying about my Strange Little Girls CD. It's my least favorite Tori Amos album, too, but still. I wanted to rip all of the songs on it into mp3s, but I can't. My burning drive won't play the CD at all; it goes in, spins around a little, then it ejects it. And my super old CD-ROM drive will let me play it on Windows Media Player, and I can get the tracks that way, but I want mp3s not wmas or whatever they're called. Normally I rip mp3s with musicmatch, but it keeps insisting that my E drive is empty, when it really isn't. It's really weird. I guess I could burn all of the tracks to a CD-R and then get them off of there as mp3s, but that would be wastey and annoying. Maybe I will and I'll give the copy to Nathan, since he bought me this CD in the first place. It was only $5 and the only copy they had happened to be my favorite cover. Yay!
posted by Beth at 2:34:00 AM
Saturday, September 20, 2003
I know he isn't a TV dad, but you know whom I'd rather have as a dad than Jason Seaver? Freddy Krueger.
posted by Beth at 3:52:00 AM
Hey dudes. So that hurricane was mostly wind and rain for us. No big deal. I heard that people not too far away lost their power, but we didn't. It did flicker on and off a couple times, which turned my computer off each time. Luckily it didn't wreck it.
Puppy went to the vet, and the vet said he should lose two pounds. I wonder whose fault that is. :P
I have nothing exciting to say. Umm, the peanut butter cup pie at Bob Evans is pretty good and I got a pair of pants tonight. Last night I cut my finger open. Not badly, it didn't even bleed, but it's annoying. I have to wear a (tiny) bandaid on it, because the skin is kind of a flap there, and I don't want to rip out a chunk of it. That was mildly gross. I apologize.
So it is now my cousin Alyssa's birthday. Happy birthday, Alyssa. I really doubt she reads this, although she is welcome to. I saw her maybe once this entire year, even though she lives five minutes away. Oh well, can't help that, I suppose.
Jeez, this is the boringest entry. I will go now. No wait, one more thing. Last night, after I finally watched Conan's 10th anniversary special (I didn't get to tape it the first time around, so I thank Comedy Central for rerunning it), I watched Growing Pains. It was a really weird episode. Carol needed to take a date to a party at her (overly randy) grandparents' house, so she went with a really old guy who wore a bowtie. I missed the beginning, so I don't know how she knew him. Anyway, everyone was really freaked out, because she was at this party telling everyone that the old dude was her boyfriend and all this business. In the end, she came clean and admitted that she just brought him to prove some point that I can't remember. Then Jason said, "no, I know why you *really* brought him," and he said some crap about her being "afraid to love again" or some line of crap, because her boyfriend died or something (I never really followed Growing Pains, so I don't know the details on this). Then Carol insisted that he was wrong, and I thought, "you tell the bastard!" She insisted that he was wrong a few times, then she burst into tears and said he was right. So here's what I hate: I hate that Jason was right. I have hated him ever since I first saw the show, when I was probably six or seven years old, and he always pissed me off big time. Why did they have to make him right about this? Why can't dumbass Jason be wrong? Stupid Jason Seaver. Stupid Alan Thicke. {growl} I would rather have almost ANY other TV dad than him, if I could choose. He would be near the last (there might be someone who's worse, like Tony Danza...). TV dads who are better than Jason Seaver include: Danny Tanner, Carl Winslow, Al Bundy (yes, really), Dan Conner, Archie Bunker (I would rather have a racist bigot of a dad. Doesn't that tell you something? {g}), Howard Cunningham (of course), Gomez Addams (well, he's a great dad), Homer Simpson, Eric Camden (yikes, but still better), Steven Keaton... All of them are better. But it's EASY to be better, which is why probably 97% of TV dads are better. Meh, I'm done with this. {g}
posted by Beth at 3:44:00 AM
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Things of uninterest:
• I am looking forward to Halloween.
• Tonight Harry brought home a box of Halloween Tastykakes. They have orange icing and little ghost, bat, and pumpkin sprinkles. Little things like that make me happy. They are festive. {g} Tastykakes are a regional snack. In the Philadelphia episode of Insomniac, Dave Attell went to the Tastykake factory. If they aren't available in your area, then I feel for you. I must give someone a fresh supply before too long.
• On Monday night, Uncle John bought me a little pumpkin. Pumpkins are fun.
• Dewey has a vet appointment later today. I hope he doesn't cry a lot, because then I'll cry, and the vet doesn't need to see that.
• I have a scratch on my neck from the other night, when I tried to give my cat a sinus pill. Dewey came over to smell him, and David flipped out and kicked me in the neck, like some kind of velociraptor going for my jugular.
• I do not fear the hurricane.
posted by Beth at 6:00:00 AM
I just tried to leave someone a comment, and their commenting thing said I was banned. That's kind of depressing, especially since I don't believe I've did anything bad to that person.
I just made Nathan watch Flowers in the Attic, because it was on cable. It's not a movie I feel very strongly about. It's something I saw when I was pretty young. We rented it because my aunt read the book. Whenever I catch it on TV, I watch it. Sometimes just remembering seeing something from when you're young makes it good enough to watch, if that makes sense in the poor way I worded it.
I have free tickets for Great Adventure. They expire this month and the park is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, and I'd like to use them. The catch is that you must go with me. {g} It seems like everyone doesn't like amusement parks anymore or is too busy or something else. Meh.
posted by Beth at 5:34:00 AM
Sunday, September 14, 2003
Sheesh, I spent the last five hours putting away clothes and straightening up my room. I admit that did a second-rate job, in some aspects, like throwing a bunch of loose junk and some books into bags instead of finding a real place for them. I found my Game Gear, which had a Sonic the Hedgehog game in it, and that distracted me for a little while. I found a postcard from Bridget, from some time when I was without the Internet for a month in the summer (three years ago?) saying that she missed me. I also found a letter from Colleen from some time when I was Internet-less while my computer was being fixed. I really appreciate things like that, even if I don't know what Bridget's up to at all, anymore. I also found things that I had forgotten existed. I'm mostly talking about those little Bug's Life clip-on watch things from McDonalds. I also found a fancy satin bag with four unused bottles of lotion in it from Bath and Body Works. Let me explain that. If you are a girl, you will, no doubt, no what I'm talking about. At Christmastime, when people don't know what to buy me, they usually get me a gift set with things like body wash and lotion and sometimes something else (a candle, bubblebath, a bar of soap, body spray, other smelly girly things). Usually, it's that sun-ripened raspberry stuff from Bath and Body Works. I don't know why I always get raspberry. I never specifically asked for it. No, I'm not complaining! Jeez, mellow out. Anyway, I always use the body wash. I go through that pretty quickly, but I rarely use lotion, and those bottles are pretty big. I talked to some scientists from MIT and they estimated that the amount of time it takes me to finish a bottle of lotion is equal to the amount of time it takes a trashbag to biodegrade. I also have lots of body spray and perfumes that I got in similar ways.
So tonight, really yesterday, mon oncle (that's French) and I went to the mall. We bought a coffee press. I got the idea from Queer Eye and he got the idea from someplace else. We haven't used it yet. Coffee presses are something I don't know about, so I assumed they'd cost like $80. Ours was $10, and the most expensive one was $20. I'm still surprised that they didn't have any at Strawbridge's or Macy's (or Target, which we checked the day before). We ended up getting ours at that Gourmet Chef (that's also French {g}) store. I also almost got some pumpkin butter.
Because he is nice, and because they were on sale, my uncle also bought me a pair of shoes. They looks like this:
This past Wednesday, Nathan and I went to the same place, and I bought myself a pair just like it but orange. I also got a pair of tan and brown ones last July. I feel kind of weird for getting three pairs of sneakers within a two-and-a-half-month span. All Nikes, all nearly the same exact style, but different colors. That's weird, right? And they still have a pair of red ones that I kind of want. And last Tuesday they said that there were no navy/orange ones in my size. Hisss. Don't get me wrong, I've been wearing pretty much only Nike sneakers for ten years, and they're my favorite kind. I think I wrote a post a long time ago about finding seven pairs of them under my bed. I got rid of most of those. Anyway, this year, I had really wanted a pair of Pumas, because they always come in really cool colors. I really liked a green and blue pair and a yellow and black pair, but I never got them. This past July I saw that Nike put out a line of sneakers in a whole bunch of colors, and I thought it was great. So that's how I came to get three pairs that quickly. I'm like Jerry Seinfeld, except that I heard that he has a million pairs of Nikes that are plain white. Hmm, I forget why I was telling that story. The bottom line is that for the second time this week, I got new shoes. They are blue and fun and comfy. Back in high school, I'd never have worn shoes like that. I would have waned plain black. Now I like pretty colors. I have evolved. I talk a lot about uninteresting things.
posted by Beth at 7:18:00 AM
1. My Sloan 7" single came in the mail today. I'm still surprised maplemusic decided to give it to me at all. I haven't gotten a chance to listen to it yet, because it's a lot of trouble to use my record player, which is a piece of crap.
2. I was having a hard time trying to sleep last night, because I'm still sick, so I hardly got any sleep before going to Philadelphia. Anyway, in the middle of the night, I decided to fuss around a little with AM radio stations. I heard Weird Al on one (cool), so I stopped to listen and the station turned out to be Radio Disney (not cool), but it was their New York City affiliate (cool). Then I found an oldies station from Cincinnati. I think that one must be the farthest station I've ever been able to pick up. I dig that kooky ionosphere.
posted by Beth at 3:08:00 AM
Monday, September 08, 2003
Yaaah!! There's a cricket in here!
posted by Beth at 6:40:00 PM
I had some weird dream today about running into erin and Jordan on a street corner and getting into an argument with them. Then I jumped in my car and drove away and crashed the car. (??)
I'm hungry. At least I feel not-as-sick right now. Fortunately, I got a call saying that I can volunteer in the afternoon tomorrow instead of the morning. That means I can get more sleep and not be stranded in Philadelphia for a couple hours.
posted by Beth at 6:31:00 PM
Now playing: a CD full of Tori Amos rarities and B-sides that Nicole was rad enough to send me.
So Nathan and I went up to North Jersey on Saturday for Suzanne and Chuck's wedding. We didn't even get lost. As a matter of fact, we got there at about 11:15, when we needed to get there by noon. The ceremony was held outside of Lambert Castle. And luckily we got to sit in the shade--I had been worrying that I'd get sunburn all over my shoulders and everything. Early on we saw Chuck and then Suzanne's mom who was crying up a storm. She asked me to hold her purse, and I did. She later came back for more tissues. The ceremony was nice, although if it were mine--and I know it wasn't--I'd have wanted something a little less sexist. But otherwise A-OK. Suzanne looked really nice in her dress. Everybody looked nice, the bridesmaids whom I'd met a week ago (except Dorothea, she looked pretty, but I met her when she was a tiny baby {g}) and the ushers whom I didn't know at all. I have a cold, and I was all congested that morning, even though I took medicine in the car. I spent most of the ceremony holding in coughs, which slipped out twice (how appropriate of me to be coughing my head off at the site of a former tuberculosis hospital), and I feared I'd single-handedly wrecked the wedding. Afterward, they told me they didn't even hear me. I feel like people are scrutinizing me at all times. That is bad. I digress. {g} Oh, I was also afraid that I wrecked up the wedding by not throwing my handful of birdseed at the proper time. I can't do anything right. {g} My dress was very pretty and a bunch of people told me so. That is because my mom is all talented at sewing and stuff.
The reception was at some joint called the Russian Hall. Nathan and I shared a table with some guy we didn't talk to who was the boyfriend of a bridesmaid. I have no idea why we were seated alone. Meh. I felt kind of honored that some of the songs the DJ played were from a CD I'd burned for Suzanne (she picked out the songs, and I burned them). The food was pretty good, except that I didn't feel good, so I didn't have much of an appetite.
Earlier this year, Suzanne told me that the centerpieces were going to be little fishbowls with a beta fish in each. I know you can buy them cheaply at any pet store, but I wanted one, and she promised me that I'd get to take home my centerpiece, so September 6th was to be The Day I Got My Fish. We had to play a weird game to see who, at the table, got to take home the centerpiece. As I said, I really wanted it, and I was under the impression that it would be rigged in my favor. But as it happens, I won honorably. I was pleased.
After the wedding, and after Suzanne's mom forced me and Nathan to dance through the latter half of the last song, we went to a nearby mall. I thought it would be very exciting to go to a North Jersey mall. Well, that mall sucked eggs, so we left quickly. I spent the 2+ hour car ride holding the little fishbowl steady. I was afraid that my little fish wouldn't make it. But he got home alright, and I put the bowl on the kitchen table.
Here's where it gets sad. Later that night, Nathan and I watched Star Trek IV (a film about saving sea-life). As soon as it ended, I heard a loud crash in the kitchen, and I knew what it was. Somehow or other, my cat David managed to push the little fishbowl off of the table. I looked at the smashed glass and pebbles on the floor and I heard a little wiggling sound, so I ran and grabbed a mug. Then I looked around and couldn't see any fish. I didn't know what to do, so I woke up my uncle and made him come help me. He cleaned up the water and glass and Nathan held Dewey back so that he couldn't get into any of the broken glass. We never found the fish. I can only assume that while I was getting a cup and calling for help that he ate it. I feel bad. That's such a sad thing to happen to that little fish, and I'd been waiting months to get it, and it didn't even last one night at my house. :(
posted by Beth at 6:10:00 AM
