I've turned!!!!

Oh no, the results aren't good, I've almost turned into a southerner..........

Take the test and see how you rank.......

44% (Yankee). Barely into the Yankee category.

Things that irritate me......

1) The publicity this Jesus movie is getting. So, Mel Gibson made a movie about the last few hours of Jesus' life, we all know how the story ends. There has been controversy about these event since they occurred, why is it everyone is going apeshit about it now? And besides, we all know how the damn thing ends anyway.

2) People who don't answer their cell phones when you call. The phone is obviously there for MY convenience. Bastards!

3) Lines for the bathroom. Also on the same string, when people don't flush.

4) Bad gas!

5) People who have to make a nuisance of themselves to push their floor on the elevator immediately upon boarding. When you're headed to the top floor, it's not that important to hit your floor right away when obviously other stops are required before yours. Also, I hate heavily scented people on the elevator, be it perfume or BO (prefer the former to the latter though).

6) Hearing just the last few bars of one of my favorite songs on the radio.

7) My inability to work all software programs with little to no training.

Ok, so the last one, well, I just felt like there should have been one more item on the list. Anywho, yeah, so if I have to hear one more thing about that damn movie I am going to pull my hair out. I don't know if y'all realize this, but southerners are extremely religious. Within days of starting this job I had a few people ask me what religion I was and where I went to church. Although they haven't been rude about it, I know that the fact that I haven't been born again, or saved by the crazy southern Baptist preacher down the street, they think less of me. Know, with all this movie hullabaloo (is that how you spell that?), religion is being thrown in my face all day long. From the radio to the little old ladies at lunch to the evening news. It's like 9/11 all over again. I just feel like I can't get away from it. I hate it when I'm force fed information I don't really care about. Yeah, I believe in God, yeah, I believe Jesus died for our sins, and yeah, I think I'm going to heaven, but do you honestly think me hearing about this movie all day (and that I should pray for the redemption of my soul) long is going to be a positive thing for me or a negative thing?

Pictures as Promised!

The cousins (Diane, Greggy John and I)


Diane


Greggy John


Dorky Posers


After a few cocktails

Talking on the Phone!!

I'm that person that everyone hates. I have the 45 minute drive home in the afternoon and I just hate making it by myself. I'll call and catch up with people, recount the previous evenings activities, or just make small talk so my drive will seem faster.

On a similar, but not related topic, I talked to Daddy J(eff) on the phone for awhile last night. I know I was telling him stuff that I was going to blog about today, but I can't remember what I even said. Sometimes when I talk things come right out of my mouth, and I don't even realize it. Well, Daddy J reminded me of a Fat Tuesday we celebrated a few years ago. We all lived in Minneapolis at the time. We had gone out to dinner at Old Chicago with Patty Pumpkin Pants, and then, because I was so insistent, we tried to make the rounds at the straight bars in the area. First we went to Lone Tree. We made friends with some guy in there and while Jeff was talking I got his drink order and went to the bar. Whilst I was away, the burly biker Jeff was talking to commented on how nice it was that "his woman" got a drink for him. "His Woman", that kills me. Jeff likes boys, well men, it's that DM that likes 'em younger. Well, we attempted a few more straight bars much to our dismay, the Breeders really can't throw a decent Mardi Gras. So, I finally conceded and we were off to Boy Bar. It was karoke night, we made fun of the regulars, we laughed, made friends with hotties and generally enjoyed ourselves. Much better than the 9PM bedtime I was thankful for last night.

Well, I still can't remember what I was originally going to post about today, so this is it. I hopefully can ask Joy to take a look at the family pics I took so she can fix 'em and I can post them sometime this week. OK, have a great day!

A Weekend In The Country

I went to Austin this last weekend and had a wonderful time. I got to Diane's at about 12:30. The drive was only about 2 1/2 hours, so it was a full hours less than that damn Mapquest told me it would be. I met Diane's husband Tony, who is not only handy, but also a good cook. He was getting some work done outside while Diane and I had lunch and some drinks. It was nice to be around family. We shared about our lives, what's happened since we had seen each other almost 20 years ago. I can't remember the last time we had seen each other, but that does sound about right.

At about 2:30 my Auntie Joyce and Uncle Glenn arrived. I haven't seen them in quite a few years either, so it was a nice treat. Of course I was subjected to those painful questions about when am I going to get married and have kids. Yikes!!!!! NEVER!!!!!!

In another hour my other cousin Greggy John arrived with his wife, Angie. She's a little tiny thing, but I as deducted, could probably drink me under the table. Neighbors stopped by and Diane's friend and her mother came over. It was a regular little party. Everyone made me feel so welcome.

Greggy John and I played horseshoes, drank beer, laughed and we were all subjected to photos taken by Auntie Joyce and yours truly. For dinner we had a wonderful brisquet, potato salad, beans (both kinds) and some bread. It was so wonderfully nice out that we sat at picnic tables and enjoyed the weather. There was music from some concert nearby that created nice background noise. It was wonderful.

After dark, Tony started a bonfire. We sat around chatting, moving our chairs closer to and further from the fire as the temperature allowed. By 9ish everyone moved up to the house and discussion led to an adventure to downtown Austin. After getting lost and finding our way, fighting the crowds (honestly I have never seen so many cowboy hats in one place, not even in Houston), and finding adequate parking, we made our way to Polyesters. It's an 80's music bar. They had a Saturday Night Fever dance floor, drink specials (although not quite as cheap as drinking in Highland), a decent crowd (not enough eye candy for the ladies, but I won't complain) and great music. We wandered, we danced, we sat, we observed, and we drank, boy did we drink. I thought I was a trooper.

We finally made it home at about 2 maybe a little later. Diane and I heated up some left overs, well Diane heated them up as I ate from the smorgasboard. Nothing better then breakfast brisquet! We headed off to bed, and I slept until 11ish. It felt so good. I relaxed until about 2 when I took off for Houston. I was a little sore from the drinking, but not that hung over. It was definitely a 4 star weekend. I had a great time. When I get home tonight I'll post photos. I have to do some slight editing.

Anywho, I will be going back at least one more time before returning to Minneapolis, maybe twice.

Everybody's Working For the Weekend.....

As much as I love the drama in my life, I also like to get away occasionally. This weekend, I am. My cousins whom I haven't seen in several years live in Austin. I called them about a month or so ago and made promises to visit, but things have been hectic, and I haven't had a chance. Well, Diane called last weekend and reminded me that I needed to visit, and this is the weekend. I am going to drive up there all by myself. It'll be me, some of that Diet Coke with Lime (damn I love that stuff), a pack of cigarettes (yeah, that whole quitting thing, it didn't take), and some music that you can sing along to. I am fully prepared for a super fun weekend.

This is how I imagine it:

I am going to be staying with Diane I think, even though Greggy John (he goes by Greg now he said, but it isn't the same) invited me to stay with him. It really doesn't matter as long as I have a dark room, a small radio, and a comfy bed. Anywho, I get to Diane's, we have lunch, grilled something or other, or sandwiches. We go sight-see for the day. They can show me the town. Then we rest, I take a nap and am recharged for some serious fun. It's funny because Greggy John asked me if I was a drinker at all........Of course I am, I'm half German, half Irish.......you think family would know.....just kidding. So we start out with cocktails at home, talk shit about the rest of the family. Then were off to 6th Street, this is where I heard all the action goes down. We laugh, and drink, and laugh some more. Off to bed eventually, and then breakfast in the morning, and back to Houston.

We'll see how it plays out. But, no matter what we do, it'll be nice to see them again, and to be around family.

Tonight, well, it's girls night out. Stephanie and I went out for a couple on Wednesday and after a few we became loud......I think the rest of the bar really got an ear full. We're going to try to repeat the performance. That might result in some interesting stories as well.

OK kiddos, have a great weekend and I'll be talking to you soon.

NRG Makes a Comeback....

So, I hadn't really talked to NRG for several days, and because I was so tied up getting to know someone new I guess I was neglecting some of my duties as a friend. He was nice enough to call and wish me a Happy Valentines Day on Saturday even. I finally got around to calling him back on Tuesday, and I could tell how down he was. We've been talking more frequently now, and that's a good thing. He's the type of person that you can wallow around in your misery with, or you can improve your own mood by trying to improve his. Of course when the latter method is used, massive amounts of alcohol are always in order.

Today is a very difficult day for him, so I volunteered my services as a cheerer upper. The latter method will be in play if plans work out, so Friday's breakfast might call for a little hair of the dog. OK, I'm just kidding about that.

Girl Scout Cookies!!

It's that time of year again when Thin Mints and Samoas are on the brain. I have purchased some of these tasty treats, and am happy to say that I support the girl scout and consume their highly addictive cookies. Every time I think of the Girl Scouts, I always think of that line from the movie The Munsters, when the girl scout comes to the door and the character played by what's her name says, "Are they made with real Girl Scouts?" That cracks me up for some odd reason. So now I'll be thinking of that all day long.

Update!!

Things with Rod and I are OK. Not great, but not bad either. We had drinks together last night, and although it was awkward at first, once I got a few beers in me everything was fine. I was chatting away and it was like we were friends again. I know this all seems odd, since I've only been hanging out with him for a week or so, but you know how it is when you meet someone, and you have an instant connection with them. It happens to me quite a bit, and those are the people in my life that I can't just let go. Although at times I don't communicate that very well, it's always implied. I need to get better at things like that, because it does seem sometimes that I take advantages that I shouldn't.

Special Way of Messing Things Up!!!

Rod and I had a fight. I know, we've been hanging out for two weeks and already I've managed to mess things up. I don't want to bore you with all of the details, but let me give you the overview. We drove up to Bryan/College Station to visit with some of his friends and kill the day. We had a great day, we bowled, I met some of his friends, we talked, had lunch. I at least managed to wait until we were on the way back to Houston to open my mouth.

Now for those of you that know me, you know two things about me, I'm sarcastic, and I can't keep my mouth shut. There is no filter between my brain and my mouth, and sometimes whatever I'm thinking just falls out. It's a special gift I have. It's gotten me into sticky situations before, and probably will again.

Anyway, we're driving back, and we finished the first round. He asked me to grab him a new beer. In what I thought was a joking manner, I asked, "Do you expect me to wait on you hand and foot."

Later on he said that it didn't sound like I was joking, and the thing is, maybe I wasn't. But it was too late. The damage had been done, and he was upset. He didn't want to talk about it at all, but the silence was weighing heavy on me. I asked him to hear me out, he did, but it didn't help matters.

Now, after spending a little over a week hanging out with him, I've come to appreciate his sense of humor and enjoy his company. But, he doesn't want to talk to me, he said, until Monday. I've only slept two hours since this all happened. I don't know if it's the guilt, if it's anger, or if it's insomnia. Probably a combination of all three. One of things that weighs most heavily on my mind is when he asked if I was selfish. I told him that I was. Not as much as I used to be, but I am. I don't want to lie about it.

Anyway, I just had to get if off my chest. Hopefully, I'll be able to sleep tonight, but I don't know if it's going to be possible. There is nothing worse than feeling bad about something you can do absolutely nothing about.

All You Need is Love!!!

As I sat around last night with Joy and Elsa, the topic of the big holiday came up. NO, it's not almost St. Patty's Day, or even Easter, or even President's Day, it's the dreaded holiday centered around heart shaped candies, whispered words of love and affection, and the disgusting thought of how to make it through the day without throwing up and this Hallmark inflicted celebration of LOVE!!!!!!

I asked Elsa what her and her man were going to do. "I don't know, maybe have a picnic in front of the fireplace if my roommate isn't going to be around." Then she told me she wasn't buying him anything big because he just got a job and he doesn't have enough money to really get her anything. Fair enough.

Then it was Joy's turn to share. Dinner and a movie, if he doesn't back out because there is something good on TV or something. Just jokes, but all kidding aside, what Joy really wants is a visible sign of her love's affections. She wants flowers. Now, she was telling us that Rob doesn't feel that it's necessary to bestow such gifts just because of some holiday, that it was something he could do anytime. Joy's thoughts, "Well, if he did it any other time of the year that would be fine, but he doesn't."

Now, I think that this holiday is a joke. I've never been with anyone on the sacred holiday for lovers. I've spent most years bitching about love, bitter that I can't find a decent man. What about the new guy? Well, it's only been a week. I like him, but I'm not looking for anything to screw up my master plan. Is he going to do anything for me, surprise me with dinner, shower me with gifts of jewels, I think not. What am I going to do for him? Well, I know he has a sweet tooth, so tonight after work or even tomorrow morning, I'm going to the Wal-Mart and I'm going to stock up on chocolate. But only the kinds that I like, just in case my sweet tooth kicks in.

In summary, I think this holiday is bogus, but I want to get something out of it. Like most women (I believe) this is an annually scheduled reminder to all the men out there that on this day, you better produce. It can be in the form of candy, flowers, jewels, or dinner, or for a low maintenance girl like me, you can just show up, but it better be something, because we expect it.

Girls Night Out!

My new friend Elsa and I have already created a Thursday night tradition (for the next two months, anyway). It's Girls Night Out, or if we prefer, Girls Night In. This little event started two weeks ago when we had nothing better to do with our time. I went over to her place, we ordered pizza, and chill-laxed. Last Thursday, my place, still with the pizza, some good conversation, watched a little TV, which was soon followed by a food induced coma. I'll try to break out the camera to get some photos up. This is one of those events that I will definitely miss when I move, but I have to remember that new events will begin once I get back to the Twin Cities.

Size Does Matter!!!

So, remember in that one post where I mentioned that I had gone on a "date" with some guy, whatever his name was. Yeah, great "date". What I didn't mention was that the "date" guy ended up talking to these two other guys at the bar. He waved me over to chat it up, even though I was heading out the door to get a good nights sleep, like all good girls do. Anyway, there was this guy George, he was coming on to me quite strongly, and it wasn't good. I notice his ring, and once again wondered why the hell people got married in the first place. There was this other guy there that I ended up talking to for awhile, Rod. Although at the time I thought he said his name was Rob. Anyway, he asked for my number and I decided why not. First of all, he's attractive. Second, he has straight teeth. And most importantly he was taller than me, by a good few inches in fact. Size does matter, I said to myself. I told him to call me Sunday, that I would have time by then to hang out.

Well, he called on Friday. And we hung out. We went to this place called Rico's which just opened by where we live. Great fajitas. Anyway, my friend Elsa also met us there, to act as a buffer in case I was too drunk when I met him, and didn't size him up quite right. Anyway, we had a great time. I don't know why this is, but I always seem to be most attracted to people that have the personalities where they can talk to anyone. Rod is definitely one of those people. We got to know each other, and it was nice. It was nice being out with someone who I didn't meet via the internet and who wanted to get to know me better after talking with me for only a few minutes in a bar. I've never really been picked up like that before.

So, since Friday, we've had two more meals together, gone to the movies, played video games, watched TV and gone out for cocktails, we even did karoke. Well, I did karoke while Rod cheered me on, even though I sucked. So, we'll see what happens. It's nice to hang out with someone who has a schedule similar to mine. Also, he does know that I am moving back to Minneapolis in April. So, now is not the time to get serious with someone. Anyway, I feel like I'm going on and on, so I'll stop. But, I met a nice guy. Maybe there is hope for me yet!

The Flasher!!

I have picked up a bad personal habit, while at work. There is one lady that I just love to pick on, and she gives, just as good as she gets. I was telling her about the bras my mom ordered for me from Lands' End. I happened to be wearing one and I just gave her a quick peek with the up down flash of my shirt. She thinks I'm crazy. So, today she was telling someone else about the episode, and I decided that she needed to see the new minimizer bra I was sporting for the day.......

Although she claims to have severe retinal damage, I know she only fibs. As she was begging me not to flash her my bras anymore, I said, "Just wait until I get new panties." I can only assume she'll want me to show her those too!!!

Wicked Me!!!

I admittedly have a wicked side. Sometimes I get off on being mean to people, I don't know what it is that gives me that little pleasure, but it feels good, and I shall continue. Last night was my most recent of Ev-eil behavior. Noah, Joy's son, finds it necessary to turn on the light to go up and down the stairs......E V E R Y T I M E!!!! I wasn't feeling so hot last night, a wee bit of hangover to work through yet, and well, I unscrewed the light bulb just enough so the light wouldn't turn on. Now, it wouldn't bother me so much if he turned if off right away, but he forgets (typical child behavior) and it drives me NUTS!!!!! So last night as I closed the door to my room, Noah stood at the bottom of the stairs, and when he flipped the switch, nothing......I giggled inside, just a bit. He was bummed that the light seemed to be burned out, but that was it. It wasn't as if I was out the hurt The Boy, it's just one of those things.

Update!!

Every time I talk to my mom she's all like, "Why haven't you been updating your blog?"
Then I'm all like, "Well, I have nothing to say."
I didn't want to have a bitch blog for the last week. There has not been much of note to share anyway, except.............

My favorite cat died--

The least offensive of the cats had an unfortunate run in with a dog last week. Through his adept sense of timing, he managed to run out the door when I got home from work last week. He was the sweetest of the little furballs from hell. He didn't puke everywhere, he would lay with me to watch TV for hours on end, and he was so cute when he would take a drink out of my glass (afterwards which I immediately took to the sink to wash out). Here is a picture of Brown Cat (may he rest in peace) with Black & White Cat.



I'm Allergic to Something--

I've never had allergies at all, but it seems that something in those new razors with the aloe infused strip that goes all the way around it (I can't for the life of me think of the razor) anyway, I bought the sensitive skin version, and now am suffering from armpit itchy hell. It seems to be getting better some days, but others I'm super itchy. It's driving me nuts...........................arrrrgghhhhhhhhhhhh!

Superbowl Smooperbowl--

I didn't participate in any Superbowl related activities. From what I understand the downtown area was infused with stupid party seekers, and celebrity stalkers. I could have cared less (that is until I heard Brad Pitt was here). But, that beard of a wife of his obviously kept him busy, because he was unable to break away to give me a call. I heard he likes fat chicks........

Diet--

It's not going so well, since I stopped doing it last week. I got sick, and just didn't care anymore what I ate....I needed fruit, something ice creamy cold to ease the pain in my throat, something so infused with carbs and sugar that it would rot my teeth. So, I'm going to read the Atkins book, and then get back on, once I have the whole basis memorized and I don't have to call people and be like, "Now what do I need to do again?"

Dating--

NRG has been super busy and detained as of late, so I have once again found myself trying to be distracted from all of the free time I seem to have. I went out last night with some egotistical, uncommuicative guy last night. It was like meeting some friend at the bar and playing darts all night. I actually was reintroduced to some guy I met the last time I went to this bar, and ended up having a fabulous time, despite my "date". This other guy, who's name I can't remember to save my life, was a hoot, we did shots (Bull Blasters--jag and red bull, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm), played darts, and generally made fools of ourselves for the rest of the bar to enjoy. I didn't make it home until midnight, and I'm really paying for it today. For some odd reason the beer always tastes better when you have to get up super early in the morning.....I think that may be one of Murphy's laws.

Making Friends--

I made a new friend recently as well, her name is Elsa and she's fun. We hang out together quite a bit. She has a 3 year old son, who is just an angel (but give him 3 more years). We met online to, she started chatting with me, and before long I discovered that I went out on a date with her boyfriend back in December. To make a long story short, this guy is a loser, and I'm so glad he never called me, although at the time I was a bit disappointed. But, now Elsa and I are devising ways to get him. I don't know if it will happen, but we have great fun imagining how he's going to find out that Elsa and I know each other.