If You Don't Know Now You Know

Down Time

2007-01-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well I went and saw the Dr. last week because I hurt my ankle on our vacation in November and it is just not getting any better. Well he said he's not sure what is exactly wrong but it's not good and he wants me out of work for 10 days!!! I can't be out of work for that long I'll go nuts. Today was my first true day out and I still did some work from home. I can't let go on my job which I guess in a way is a good thing. I've never really been so connected to a job that time off bothered me. I'm sure I'll be sick of day time tv and my bed (ok maybe not my bed) by the end of my sick stint. I'll have more time to blog that's for sure.

WOW

2006-12-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

I'm back after a long break of not writing. I finished up my masters degree and I am officially finished with school! Work is work and nothing changes. I still love my job and work toward my goals and helping my families everyday. A and I went on vacation and had a blast. I sprained my ankle the second day there and didn't go to the doctor so tomorrow I'm going to see a specialist cause it's not better yet. The holiday is fast approaching and I'm done with shopping and wrapping. I'm back in action and will be posting a lot more now that my life is not so crazy.

My Busy Life has Reduced Me to a Lunatic

2006-11-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

Holy Shit it's been a while since I posted. I've been so busy with work and school I've turned into a lunatic. With my masters looming and our vacation at the end of the month I have been running around like crazy. A and I are still making wedding arrangements and vacation plans. Nothing really exciting has happened over the last few weeks. I had a momentary fit of road rage where I accosted a stranger but quickly recovered. Normally I yell and swear with the occasional flip off thrown in there. Yesterday I was sitting in my car (parked) talking on my cell phone when this woman gets in her brand new mustang and slams her car door into the side of my car. I look at her and she proceeds to ignore what she has just done. Normally I would have yelled at her from my car but I was having a rather difficult day. I got out of my car and proceeded to bang on her window and scream "what the fuck are you doing" I look and there is a nice silver paint smear on my car door. I scratch off the paint and scream at her again "you're lucky you didn't dent my car you fucking bitch." She has become increasingly scared and is panicking in her car. There was a man parked in his truck in front on me waiting for his wife I presume. At this point he is laughing uncontrollably. That woman should have thanked him because he saved her life. If there weren't witnesses I would have kicked her car door. I know this makes me look crazy but I swear I don't usually resort to this kind of temper tantrum. I bet you $20 bucks she will never do that again. A simple acknowledgement that she hit my car would have prevented all of this. To top it off she was like 40 and old enough to know better.

The love of My life.....

2006-10-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

So yesterday marked exactly one year until our wedding day! A sent me flowers at work and we had a great dinner at home together. A wanted to go out to dinner but why waste the money when we already took out pork chops. We watched a movie and relaxed. We were actually in bed by 10 because we've both been so busy with school and work we're completely drained. We're leaving to go on vacation in a month and I can't wait! We both need a vacation to remind us how to relax and step away from the craziness that encompasses our life.

Music to My Ears........

2006-10-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

I was never really big into different types of music until I met A. I mean I like certain kinds of music like angry girl and teenage angst music. I never really had an appreciation for music I don't' think. I didn't start listening to rap until my senior year of high school and even then it took a while. Now if you look at my CD's that's all I've got. Recently I've been listening to a lot of older music from when I was growing up. For instance right now I'm listening to the Butthole Surfers. Remember them? I've been listening to a lot of 80's music redone by punk bands which I think is both entertaining and hilarious. I mean come on a punk version of 99 Red Balloons who could resist? I always listened to Bob Dylan and the Beatles and of course Arbusto's favorite DMB! I however did not quote DMB in my yearbook like the other 250 members of my graduating class. Lisa Loeb is an all time favorite and now I'm listening to a lot of Barenaked Ladies and Dashboard confessionals with some Jack Johnson mixed in there. I forgot how good the music of "my day" was. I'm slowly moving away from rap and doing the mellowy punk thing again. I told some one the other day one of my all time favorite songs was Glycerin by Bush they looked at me like I was nuts. They couldn't believe I listen to Bush. It kind of makes me sad though when at lunch time the radio does the "back in the day" portion and it is my music. Am I old? I've been digging through the old CD's and I'm definitely turning into one of those people who listens to out dated music full blast in their car like it's no big deal.

Socially Accepted

2006-10-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

God what a long weekend or should a say passed two weekends. A and I have been on the run the last few weekends as we have become social butterflies. It's nice to have people want to hang out with us and invite us every where. At the same time it sucks because we almost never decline the offer as it's nice to step away from the adult us. The weekend we went to a college football game and tail gated for 5 hours. Then we went on a haunted hayride which also included drinking. We were going to follow it up with some quality bar time but we reluctantly decided after spending from 10am to 10pm in a drunken state it was time to retire to our bed. I paid for it all day Sunday with my killer migrane. I wasn't hung over it wasn't that kind of headache it was a blinding mess which resulted in me spending most of the day.

Come on I dare you.......

2006-10-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

So.... I'm driving today and there is a squirrel in the middle of the road. I am not one to run over innocent little animals. I will slam on my breaks to save even the littlest of frogs hopping in the rain. It makes me sad when I see dead animals in the road and I'm sure they could have been saved but some stupid friggin' idiot hit them any way. So back to my friend the squirrel. There he is standing in the road facing me with an acorn in his mouth. I wait... he stares... I inch the car forward slightly... he takes a few small hops... I inch again... he hops again with wild determination in his eyes... I coast a little farther.. he runs at the car and then darts into a yard. I stop dumb founded because I think I may have played chicken with a squirrel and won. Is that possible?

Sense of Sanity

2006-10-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

A came back late last wednesday and I have felt better ever since. I was an absolute maniac without him here. I was miserable and felt completely lost. We had a great weekend since the weather was beautiful. We did the traditional weekend in New England bit by visiting local attractions and the cider mill. We went to Oktoberfest yesterday and cleaned the house today. I feel normal again and my baby is home!

Self Reflection

2006-10-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

I am not me
I do not know who I am
I do not like what I am becoming
I am lost....
Inside myself.............................

Still cranky cranky cranky

2006-10-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Today wasn't any better..... I'm still a cranky biotch. I know I am cranky and I know I'm meaning unnecessarily mean to my peers and colleagues and I am fine with that. I put out a general warning today to all that encountered me that I was in "a mood." I took it upon my self today to clean out the fridge on my floor. I preceded to through out everything that I could get my hands on that wasn't mine. I even threw away nasty tupperware containers without a thought. Hey I wasn't about to clean out moldy lunch from ages past to save a stupid dollar container. I know I'm even being cranky on here. A is coming home soon and I promise I will return to "normal" by then........maybe. Until he gets back I'll be in bed wallowing.

Miserable Bitch.......

2006-10-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

For some reason lately I have been going through mood swings like crazy. Sometimes I really think I could be bi-polar. I have been miserable lately and A left for FL this morning for a funeral. His not being here has made me even more miserable. It seemed like nothing went right all day long for me.

I got to Work early to do an early morning transport for one of my clients. Currently her family is homeless and have a lot of other issues going on so I woke up at the crack of dawn to help her run errands and she blew me off. I love it! I woke up extra early and started Work almost an hour early to be given the big F YOU!

I did minimal work today because it is Monday and nobody really does work on Monday. Not having a ton of things to do made me think of being blown off and being alone.

On the way to the bank this afternoon I had the pleasure of experiencing massive amounts of road rage, which comes with the mood swings. I was driving to the bank on a two lane road. The left lane is a turn only lane that lasts for two lights, you have to turn left at one of the two lights. The right lane is the regular traffic lane. So I'm driving along singing at the top my lungs when I see the massive white work van coming into my lane at increasing speeds. I lay on the horn to warn this bastard he's about to side swipe me. He proceeds to yell at me!!! I make a face and let it go. He then attempts to come into my lane again! Hello my car didn't disappear I'm still driving. I lay on the horn again and then he dares to scream "what the fuck are you doing I'm trying to merge" I yell back "apparently you don't know what the horn means so I hope you get this" preceded by me flipping him off. Turns out we were both going to the same place how awkward is that? He didn't dare say anything to me. I should have let the fuck hit me I would have gotten a new paint job and the rest of the week off of work due to trauma sustained from the crash.

I get home and I attempt to make dinner. I bought a chicken cutlet at the store and made rice pilaf. Failed attempt one. I cut up the chicken and dipped it in Blue Cheese dressing failed attempt two. I then drenched it in sauce and cheese to make faux chick parm. Failed attempt number three!!! I hate dinner.

Oh and to top off my mood swinging madness did I mention that A will be gone until Thursday!!! I will be all alone and miserable eating crap dinner until I can recover from my life.

Come one Come all to the Shit Show......

2006-09-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

The last few weekends I have been hanging out with old high school friends and have forgotten how much fun it can be to take a break from being an adult. I don't know what happened in between my senior year of college and being an adult but I forgot how to have fun. I'm not saying that I haven't enjoyed the last year or so but it's definitely nice to change the scenery. We've been going bar hopping and doing happy hour a lot more and it's nice to take that break. I don't always drink so I know it's not the alcohol but I'm sure it doesn't hurt either. Watching drunk people can be just as much fun as being the drunk person. Our night inevitably turn into what we would refer to as a "shit show" and leaves me with stories to talk about until the next shit show commences. Maybe now that I am turning back into a fun sociable semi-alcohol induced adult I will have more to blog about.

Small Realities

2006-09-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well the doctor finally gave me an answer and as far as he's knows I am not dying, I do not have cancer, and I will be able to have children. Apparently the lining of my uterus is going where ever and however it feels the need to. The doctor told me to start my birth control again and this should resume "normality." If my period does not come back then we go back to the drawing board. What that really means is we start a new dose of hormones which will inevitably turn me into a crazy bitch monster. I was a crazy bitch monster last time and I felt like three different people all wrapped in one. I didn't like it and I can only imagine how people who have to deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis. I could stand feeling this way for one day never mind my whole life.

Work picked up this week when my life got threatened and I had to have a personal escort. I knew things like this were bound to happen eventually but it still caught me off guard. I realize I need to aware of my surroundings but in a way I have almost become desensitizing to the threat. I know that sounds horrible but after yesterday the light that I thought surrounded me, protected me, shielded me, died down.

I am alive.........

2006-09-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Wow it really has been a while since I posted! I've been reading all of my regulars but I haven't had any inspiration or anything terribly exciting to say. Work is busy as usual and I've been doing loads and loads of paperwork. It seems like every time I turn around the cases are getting worse and worse.
My health is the same as it has been for the last two months. It seems like everytime I think things are getting better and I finally start feeling "normal" again I start to get sick again. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and maybe just maybe I'll get lucky and I'll get an answer. More than likely the answer will be "we have to run more tests come back in a month." One of these days they'll figure out what is really wrong with me more than likely it will be when they do my autopsy.
We went out drinking on Saturday and it was a shit show. I thought I didn't think I had a lot to drink but apparently I did because after I got in the car to go home (not driving) I don't remember too much of anything after that. We went out with some of my old friends from high school. It's wired how you can not talk to a group a people for years and then pick right back up like you never lost all that time.

Putting a Message on Your Bumper

2006-09-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

I hate when people put stupid bumper stickers on their car. I'll admit when I got my first car it had a ton of bumper stickers on my car. I was 16 it was a mistake and I admit it. I hate when I see the bumper stickers that say: MARRIAGE = then has a man and a women figure! I want to pull up next to them and say congratulations on being a fuckin' fuck but I don't. I hate religion on bumpers Jesus fish, Catholics rock, Jesus loves you and do I, blah blah blah. It's crazy that these bumper stickers go hand and hand you know I hate gays but love Jesus. When I drive behind these people I think about crashing into the back of their car and yelling Jesus didn't love you enough to stop you from getting hit now did he?

On the other hand I stayed home from work today because once again my uterus has decided that we aren't friends again this month. I just want to be healthy for once is that too much to ask?

Long Distance Friends

2006-09-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

So for the longest time I thought myspace was the worst idea ever invented. I mean what does this guy Tom get out of creating the website besides being "friends" with everyone who joins. Myspace gives you the ability to search for people in various ways. When I'm bored I search myspace for people I know to see if they actually have a site. Well I was searching myspace the other day and I came across an old friend of mine who moved away suddenly when I was in 8th grade. I ended up emailing her and she emailed me back and we've been talking. This experience has made me realize that myspace may not be so bad but it's still used for a lot of bad things.
Work has been fine the usually bs. My health is still the same and I will be going to the doctor on 9/11. Not the best day to be sick but hopefully things will turn out in my favor. Maybe just this once I'll be normal. I'd even taken semi normal at this point.

Captain Underpants or The Pee-er Who Cried Wolf

2006-08-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

Growing up I had an aunt who liked to tickle me when I was little. It was more of a torture technique than a fun experience. It was more of a jabbing then a tickling. I used to tell her I had to pee so she would stop. I had to say it about twenty times before she would stop but eventually she would cease and desist. I made the mistake of telling A this and then my defense mechanism was null and void. He would tickle me and I would say stop stop I'm gonna pee. Then when he stopped and I was far enough away from tickle range I would yell psych! Well.... last night he pinned me down because I was annoying him by talking into his nipple like a microphone and he started to tickle me. Well I started to yell "stop stop stop I'm gonna pee" and he didn't stop. So I yelled even more "no really I'm gonna pee I swear to god I'm gonna pee." Well he didn't stop and........... I peed my pants.

Sex and Advertising........

2006-08-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

I made it back from Penn. in one piece. Can I just tell you 18 hours in a car is not really my thing. I have sporadic ADHD and being stuck on interstate 84 in a durango is not a good place for one of these spasms. So I came to learn the only thing in the state is billboards and fields of corn and more billboards. There were two high points in my trip all of the road signs that read CAUTION DUI DRIVERS! and CAN YOU AFFORD IT....DUI? I guess if I lived there I would be forced to drink too. The other high point would be while reading the map I realized there is an Intercourse Penn.! Again that is probably all they have to do there is boink and drink.

In wedding news we have booked a reception hall and a church. We can finally calm down now that the important stuff is done. My classes have started which means I'll be a spaz until I graduate in December. After I get my dipolma I'm gonna set the stage on fire. That's all for now...

God likes Moo La La

2006-08-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

So I've been busy with work and with wedding plans. I think we've got a date set. We're going to book the hall this weekend then it's time to find a church. We're looking to get married on Oct 20, 2007. We haven't settled on a church yet but we have a few narrowed down. Getting married in a church is something we both have agreed on. It's very important to A that we do so. I even made my conformation last two years ago so we could be married in a church. I think it's weird to be married in a church you have to make a "contribution" to the church. A contribution to several hundred dollars. Does god really want us to pay that much money....

On the other hand I have to go to Pennsylvania for work this Friday. It's going to be a day trip. Yup a day trip. (6 hours each way) I'm going to Lancaster which is where the Amish live....can you feel the excitement.

Updates

2006-08-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I've update with more then a few words. Every since the engagement my life has been hectic and a whirl wind of emotions. Work has been the same with very little changes. Everyone has been busy doing their thing or asking me about the wedding. J is moving to a different area which means no more long rants about J and how annoying being around J is. That is unless I too get placed in J's department in the near future.

A proposed to me last Saturday at a family function. He got down on one need in front of 40 of our friends and our parents and asked me to be his wife. His Mother and my Mother knew it was going to happen but everyone else was just as shocked as I was. Ever since that day my life has been filled with wedding magazines, planning, and dollar signs. Nothing about a wedding is cheap including the magazines. It is all very exciting and we are looking at Oct 20 2007 as our date. I couldn't let A have all of the fun so tonight I bought him an engagement gift. He bought me a beautiful ring to signify he wanted to be with me forever and I bought him a Nintendo DS. I know it doesn't seem romantic but he loves it and I love him and that is all that matters.

I went to the doctor today to find out the results of my Cat Scan and was told I probably had a cyst in my ovaries or in my uterus that burst causing all the pain and a slight viral infection. That isn't a good thing but it was better then the news I was expecting to get. As for my mother she is still wheel chair bound and awaiting her prognosis.

That's all the excitement on my end and I'll be sure to update more frequently.

Long Awaited

2006-08-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

I'M ENGAGED!!! Details to come.....

NYC DMB

2006-08-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! We got a killer thunderstorm late Thursday night that knocked out our power. We were supposed to leave for NY but decided to stay home because we were beat and to top it all off I still wasn't feeling well. We made all of these decisions prior to the loss of power. Even after the power went out we managed to entertain ourselves by being stupid. I forget how funny inside jokes can be and how stupid people can get when they are bored. Well we left for NY early Friday morning sans power. When we got there I was quickly reminded how much I hate driving in the city. I think that all of the car horns should be dis-engaged because people beep at anything and everything. Seriously it is necessary to consistently use your horn? We walked around China Town, The Village, SoHo, and various other places entertaining ourselves until E got out of Work. We met up with her and then went out to dinner with A's cousin and his fiance. I drank a little too much sangria and ended up slightly tipsy and dellusional at 4am. Saturday we went to see DMB at Randall's Island and it was awesome. (I know you are jealous Arbusto) We thought it was a day concert but we were mistaken and it was a festival. We ended up waiting 8 hours to see DMB but it was worth it. We were covered in dirt and all gross from laying in the sun all day but I did get a nice tan. I refused to use the porter potties and held my pee for over 12 hours which must be some sort of record. We left Saturday night after the concert because I wanted to sleep in my own bed in the AC because yet again I didn't feel well. We got home at 3am and I immediately passed out.

Needless to say our power did not come on until late Saturday so now we are trying to figure out if the meat in the freezer survived the the outage or if it's bad. We finally did a real grocery shopping and this is what happens. From now on it's back to the good old days of vodka and water in the fridge!

Why You Should Never Lie to Your Mother.. or.... Instant Karma's Effect on Others

2006-08-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

Warning this may become uncomfortably gross and too personal for you to continue reading.... just a friendly warning...

So I had to go to the doctor yesterday to finally find out what my problem is. The last three months my period has been late. The doctor did not wish to see me and swore up and down I was not pregnant because the home test said so. He prescribed me this terrible hormone drug Provera to induce my period swearing if I was indeed pregnant it would not hurt me or the baby. I took it for 4 days and became violently ill. I called the doc back and he told me to discontinue it and if I did not get my period in a week then to resume the meds until I got too sick to take them (brilliant plan) and he'd see me when he got back from VACATION. So a week goes by and "my friend" is no where to be found. I started the meds again and immediately became sick. I made an appointment to see him yesterday as it was his first day back in the office. Well I woke up yesterday and surprise surprise guess who decided to show up. I called him because I was spiking a fever all weekend and had been in huge amounts of incapacitating pain all week. He didn't feel I was really sick enough to be seen. Soooo.... I got in my car and I went to the ER and they thought I was sick enough to schedule me for a CAT Scan today. They also felt the need to call him and bitch him out cause clearly I am not faking. They told me I am not pregnant but can not guarantee I was not pregnant at one time and the meds made me miscarrying leaving a blockage (aka my baby) in my ovary or my tubes. Fabulous! So I go for my scan today and ensure my Mother I do not need her there as A will be accompanying me. I then tell A I do not need him as I am a big girl and can do it on my own. I do not like people to see me this way.

Well my Mother called me and I was in the middle of my scan and did not answer. She got worried because she thought the scan was later in the day and knows that I will not call anyone if I get ill until after I have taken care of the basics myself. I can't really be blamed for this behavior as I learned it from her. She proceeds to call A and becomes frantic when she learns that he is at work and not with me as I had told her. (Keep in mind that despite the fact that I am a grown adult I am an only child) Being my Mother she left work frantically and rushed to the hospital to be by my side for this traumatic experience she believed I was having. By this time I am leaving the hospital because a scan takes all of 30minutes. I begin pulling out of the parking lot to go to CVS and there I find my Mother laying on the side of the road. I was hysterical. Apparently in her quest to be with me she saw me pulling away and in her attempt to flag me down she tore all of the ligaments in her leg. I then spent the rest of the day with her in the ER. I felt terrible and now she is bed ridden and will possibly need surgery. A and I got Yankees tickets for tomorrow's game but he will be going solo as I will be nursing my poor Mother back to health. I am such a terrible daughter.........and this is why you should NEVER lie to your Mother. Apparently instant Karma will not only effect you it will effect the people around you if you have enough of it built up.

**EDIT** I should add in that my Mother is only 42 years old and is fairly young. I did not want to confuse you and have you thinking I am any more horrible and my Mother is in fact 80 years old and I am making her rush to my side.

In the mind..........In the body

2006-07-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted so I thought I should update. There hasn't been too much going on lately. I'm going to the doctor on Monday since he'll be back from vacation and the medication he gave me without seeing me was going to fix everything. Guess what? It didn't fix everything and I have to go see him now a MONTH LATER! I hate when doctors think you don't know your own body. I know when I'm sick and because you don't see it doesn't make me a hypochondriac. That's all that's new and exciting in my life!

Manic Monday

2006-07-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

So it was back to work today and I had no ambition what so ever. I threw on jeans and an over sized tee-shirt aka the most unprofessional attire I could fine. My supervisor should have sent me home but instead she merely stated "nice of you to roll out of bed and put on some shoes." I could have had a come back but I do in fact wear this shirt to bed sometimes so I let it slide. Seeing as how she walks around the office barefoot all day I figured I had one up on her. She didn't really care and I didn't either. It then went on with witty banter and a reference made by her implying my dream job was prostitution. This is my job! I love my supervisor and the fact that if anyone even dare wear the horrendous outfit I had on today they would have been sent home to change.
It was rainy and cloudy all weekend and of course as soon as I opened my eyes this morning the sun was brightly shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I love how GOD plays these evil tricks on me. Not to mention the fact J was up to their old tricks again. I haven't complained about J in a while because their ego has been deflated but J is rearing to go again. Today I ordered out lunch (which I never do) and didn't consult J to see if they would be ordering out lunch. I'm sorry should I have posted an office wide email to all 250 employees stating "I am ordering lunch have you seen J? I wanted to alert J in case my lunch order is not up to par or J would like me to place their order." Then B and I went out for a mid-afternoon coffee and did not include J because we wanted to talk just us. J immediately stormed up to us upon our return and demanded why we didn't offer to pick them up a coffee or invite them. Hello...... we went out alone for a reason. No office gossip is safe with J!
Tomorrow is a new day and I think I'll actually get dressed in professional attire. I think I will also try to push J's buttons slightly for my shear amusement. I am evil!

Laughter is the Best Medicine!

2006-07-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

I realized today that laughter is really good for the soul. Today at work my co-workers and I laughed to the point of tears more then once. It really is the "best medicine." My job is not the easiest of jobs. I work with children who have been beaten and neglected, who have seen no good day, who wish at times they had never been born. It's hard to keep up a persons spirits and that is why I am grateful for my wonderful unit mates and laughter.

The Song Game

2006-07-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

I stole this from Arbusto because it looks like fun. I didn't do so well on his cause he listens to really really wierd music but who am I to judge. Anyway the point is to grab your IPOD put it on shuffle and write down the first lyric of the first twenty-five songs. There can't be any repeats song or artist wise. Your job is to guess the artist and the title! Good Luck. No Google to guess it's cheating!!! The last three songs are artist repeats I put whole albums on my IPOD and could only get 22 artists sorry.

1. Buffalo Solider Dreadlock Rhasta
Erica wins with Bob Marley Buffalo Soldier (duh)

2. I'm missing your bed I never sleep

3. I'm fifteen for a moment caught in between ten and twenty
Arbusto wins it with 100 Years by Five for Fighting
Erica got this also

4. I hear more then I'd like to

5. Hey yo this time it's for my family we ride or die

6. Georgia Georgia We on the grind all the time

7. Until the day I die I'll spill my heart for you
Erica wins with Story of the Year Till the Day I Die

8. House real big, car real big, dick real big, everything real big

9. Don't you know I just can't go to sleep

10. I am talking but you can't quite hear what I say

11. Put the fuckin' mike on

12. Gettin' Gettin' Gettin' some head

13. Shhh the fireman coming

14. Well I'm moving kinda slow down that same old path

15. And if there's someone you can live without then do so

16. If I could I would do all of this again

17. Welcome Back... I see the girls in the club they gettin' wild for me

18. Lalalalala.... Hey Ma I want to scream so loud for you

19. Why is Jadakiss as hard as it gets

20. Don't get mad I me I don't love em' I fuck em'

21. It must be your skin I'm sinkin' in

22. It's hard to wakeup when the shades have been pulled shut

23. Call me out you staid inside

24. Brushfire fairytales itsy bitsy diamond whales
Erica with Jack Johnson -Brushfire Fairy tales

25. Drove downtown in the rain
Erica takes it with Bare Naked Ladies Brian Wilson

Heave Ho

2006-07-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

Sooo my health has become an issue once again. I am having "female" problems again and my obgyn has put me on this crazy medication. I don't know if the pills are messing with my body or my body is telling me something. Needless to say I spent 20 minutes dry heaving in the shower this morning, I threw up while driving in the company car today (by that I mean in my mouth as I didn't want to throw up in the car and I couldn't pull over so I swallowed the throw up), and I've been nauseous/dry heaving all day. The only time I didn't feel sick today was when Linus threw up and I had to clean it up. It's almost like he did it in my honor. If this nonsense continues I'm gonna have to see the doctor again!

Do I Look Like a Fool to You?

2006-07-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

So I was in friggin' court all damn day which pissed me the hell off. Let's start with Lawyers and how I dispise them. I had a lawyer today that wanted to discuss the case with me and I stated that I wouldn't do so without MY lawyer. She stated she just needed clarification well that sent me over the edge because I knew she was trying to sabatoge me. So I said let me clarify things for you MY LAWYER MUST BE PRESENT FOR ME TO TALK TO YOU! Then she tried to pull some crap in court about how I was a big meanie blah blah blah and then I whipped out all of my documentation and laid her out in front of the Judge. I'm not stupid, I'm not unprepared, and I'M NOT TALKING WITHOUT A LAWYER.

Crazy Week Crazy Life

2006-07-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

I hate when my week and my weekend run into the following week. It doesn't seem like I've had a break from work in three weeks because my life has been so crazy. Just when I think I'm caught up at work one of my cases explodes. I had to work until 9pm on Friday night that's 13 hours of working! I had to do a removal that took all damn day and I got a nasty bruise from it. Needless to say I forgot how stupid and petty 16 year old girls can be. I hope I wasn't that bad when I was that age but more then likely I was or even worse for that matter.
I'm sick again as always. Why can't I just be healthy and normal. I called the doctor's and fought with the receptionist about my health and my business until I convinced her I knew what I was talking about. I mean I'm only talking about myself! I hate when doctors make you feel like you are crazy or don't know what you are talking about. I think I know my own body. I feel like I might be sick from work on Friday.......

Nothing Says Independence Like Beer and Babies!

2006-07-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I last posted. Work has been more insane every week. I am super anal about to do lists and make and re-make them throughout the day. I hate leaving them only half completed. However, my job is not a job that will ever leave me with a complete to do list and I know this. Still I strive on a daily basis to leave with zero work for the following day. Today was hard getting back into the swing of things. I had to work on Monday and had Tuesday off leaving me with a second Monday if you will. I struggled through work today after a crazy weekend and a crazy day off. I got a lot of work done tonight so I could go to poker night at T's house and I was semi successful. However, poker night was cut short when we found out K was in labor! K is waiting for her baby girl to be born which may have already happened at this point.
Speaking of baby girls my beautiful god daughter turned one on Sunday. She is such a peanut and a goof ball. She took her first six steps the other day too! I can't believe she is already one it feels like she was just born.
Needless to say I spent the holiday weekend and such celebrating my independence in a drunken' oblivion. Our garage smells like stale beer from endless Beirut games. I hated that smell in college (4 years of stale beer is not roses) but oddly enough walking through the garage today it brought back so many great memories I couldn't help but stop and take a big whiff of old stale Bud.

Comfortable in My Professional Skin

2006-06-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

What a crazy weekend! I don't understand how the weekend can fly by so fast it seems like Friday comes and then it's Monday. A and I have been working out and eating healthy. Sometimes this diet business kills me but for the most part it's really not that bad.
Work has been better but J is still pulling the usual crap. J has "joined" M and I's diet quest but is hating life right now. J is only doing it to fit in and be a part of it because that's how J operates. J is completely miserable and I love every minute of it. Our unit is moving to a different floor this week and we have managed to exclude J from our circle of cubes. It really is a fabulous thing and J is livid that we would pick desks without asking which desk J wanted. I just want to put it out there that J had 12 desks to choose from and mine was the one J wanted. All of the desks are equal some even bigger than mine.
I finally feel comfortable at work. I know a lot of people and can carry on conversations with my colleagues about anything. It's nice to know I can go into the lunch room and have people to eat with. In fact I'm part of the "lunch group." This also drives J crazy because J is unapproachable and no one really likes J all that much.
I should be done ranting about J for a while unless of course something major comes up.

Good News All Around

2006-06-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

So I did it.....I walked into my supervisors office this morning for "the talk"she was very receptive to our issues and understood them completely. We are going to sit down as unit and approach J to discuss this without our supervisor. However, we are going to tell her that we've talked to the supervisor and she is behind the meeting so J doesn't feel personally attacked.
So I went to my Weight Watchers meeting tonight as it has been a full week of my diet and I lost 5 pounds! I was really surprised because all week J has been trying to sabotage me and M's diet. M lost 4 pounds! I held my ground but it is was hard this passed weekend with cookouts, dinner parties, and eating out that was beyond our control. I've been working out and watching every point. My goal is about 20 pounds in three months. I think I can do it despite J's attempt to ruin it.
Here's a great summer snack for those that are watching our weight or just like eating healthy. Tonight I cut up a bunch of fresh fruit (strawberries, peaches, pineapple) and we grilled it. It was a yummy and healthy snack.

See Said The Blind Man But He Really Didn't

2006-06-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

I just don't understand some people. I understand people who need to be in control at all times, people who are insecure and need validation from others or themselves, people who think they know everything, people who can never be left out, people who are needy, and people who are bossy. I don't understand how one person can be all of these things and so much more.
I have a co-worker, lets just call them J, who is all of these things rolled into one very annoying individual. This person is the most annoying person I have ever met and there is no way around it. My unit has addressed the issues we have with this person on many many occasions and they are failing to see it. The hardest thing now is I have to go and talk to my supervisor about how our unit can deal with this in a professional manner because we are all at our wits end. I feel like we are in grade school and are telling the teacher but this is the only logical solution at this point. We can't address with J any other way and we feel as though J will think it is a personal attack and run screaming and crying to our supervisor if we do so. Here are few examples of the things J has been doing:

M and I have started our diet and have been doing really well all week. J is continuously offering us brownies, cookies, pizza, and various other take out on a daily sometimes hourly basis. J is not partaking in the diet and is trying to sabotage it cause J is not part of it. We have politely declined and reminded J we are on a diet. J goes in our desks while we are out of the office and eats all of our diet candy and snacks ect... Without asking.

J reads mail in our in baskets and thumbs through the paper work on our desks. J will violate personal space on level I didn't think possible or read emails and paper work while we are typing.

J will turn the ringer volume on our desk phones down or off while we are away from our desks for even 5 minutes. J will also dig through our desks, purses, etc to turn off the ringer on our cell phones.

J commands to be the one in charge all of the time and is not a good team player. J's ego is too big for our unit.

J will read case or do case work on families that are not J's therefore crossing clear ethical boundaries.

J will call our personal and business cell phones while we are out working and with clients to ask us things like what are you doing for lunch or where are you?

These are just a few of the things J does. J has no seniority or supervisory bearing over us she is equal to the entire unit. We have addressed all of these issues with J but to no avail J does not understand the message we are trying to convey. I'm going to talk to our supervisor tomorrow in hopes that she will have an idea on how to solve this. Your ideas and thoughts are welcome. Wish me luck.

Starting Over..............Again

2006-06-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went back to the dietician yesterday and heard exactly what I thought I was going to hear....maybe you should try to another diet. I love how I sought out professional help and it was the worst experience of my life. Last night I went online and looked up weight watchers meeting and locations near me to start that process all over again. I went into work all set to begin doing the program again and asked one of my unit mates M if she was ready to go to a meeting at lunch. Of course lunch came and went and there was no meeting in our future. Then M stated we would just have to go to the 5:30 meeting instead and that is exactly what we did. There are a lot of people in my office on weight watchers, who have been on weight watchers, and who want to begin it. I'm glad that I'm going to have supports around me helping me to reach my goal. The funny thing is when I got home tonight A was making an exercise board to shame us into working out. He didn't even know that I joined weight watchers today. I'm glad I'm going to have that extra push at home too. I need to lose weight I'm not happy where I'm at now. Hopefully I can reach my goal of 22 pounds in the next 3 months. After 23 I'll set a new goal but I think 8lbs a month isn't too hard of a goal.

Watch Out We're Bikers Now

2006-06-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry the layout of the pictures is so crappy I couldn't get them to stay the way I wanted them to. Let me explain them a little bit. The green bike is A's and the blue one is our friend L's. The rest are pretty explanatory. Of course there is a pic of me in full gear minus my face mask which has yet to be photographed. I look like a white storm trooper which didn't cross my mind when I was trying to match my jacket and helmet like the girl I am. My hair really didn't look that crappy and wild it was windy that day. Me and A try to be tough but alas we are not.

Vacation Oh La La

2006-06-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

This weekend flew by and I had a much need break in NY. We went up state to Albany, Syracuse, Saratoga Springs, and Malta. It was nice but I didn't feel like I was in NY because there was no city. I kept my promise and made sure to drink plenty of alcohol to wash away the week. I played Beirut (beer pong) for the first time in a long time and I called Robin to let her know that I was dominating in her honor. We decided it was like she had no legs and I was playing a basketball tournament in her honor. It made sense when I was telling it to her but it sounds silly now. We went up to Ameracade to see the bike show. I have some really good pics of me in my biker gear that I'll post later when we unpack the camera. I went to the mall while I was there to go on a quick shopping spree. I bought new sneakers and clothes and then I entered the rest of my generation and the nation and bought an IPOD. I finally broke down and bought one. I'm not really as excited as I should probably be and in my mind it just seems like a glorified discman but I'm sure I'll change my mind once I put it to good use. I put in a bunch of play lists tonight with all of my favorite mellow and pump up songs for when I'm stuck at my desk being an adult.

Reverting to a better place........

2006-06-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

This week has been awful. I can't believe I'm actually still alive to blog about it. I spent the entire day at my desk staring at Word. I didn't take lunch or talk to any of my unit mates because there frankly just wasn't enough time to do so. My day was so frantic and I know part of it is me being an over achiever but good god I couldn't wait to get home. Don't get me wrong I love my job but sometimes I miss my old part time job that I could come and go as I please. Being an adult isn't always as fun as I'm lead to believe.
Tomorrow we are going to NY for the weekend. It's a mini vacation if you will. I need a mini vacation or any vacation. I plan on getting super drunk and ridiculous while we are there. If I can't erase this week physically I'm gonna have to go it mentally. I can revert back to my college days for a weekend can't I?

LOSING IT ALL

2006-06-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHHHH I JUST WROTE THIS REALLY LONG MEANINGFUL POST ABOUT HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING I HAVE AND HOW LUCKY I REALLY AM AND I LOST IT. LONG STORY SHORT I AM BLESSED TO HAVE WHAT I HAVE A INCLUDED!

I Just Need to Say...........

2006-06-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

You know what really bothers me.....

I'm sure men don't have this problem but it's with the buttons on pants. I've noticed that all of the pants that I've recently bought have an inside button. What I mean is there is a button on the inside of the waist band that you button before you button and zip the pants as you normally would. This really makes me super mad. I mean are all those buttons really necessary? It is extra security that my pants won't fall off leaving me exposed to the world? What is the true purpose of that button besides making it harder for me to pee?

This individual that I know (name with held) constantly needs reassurance and praise from their co-workers. Not to mention the fact they are a hypocrondriac about everything and everyone. I feel as though they suffer from Munchausen's Syndrome and I'm stick of their melodramatic crap when I am trying to work.

I hate when people come into my cubicle at work and look at my pictures as if I'm not sitting right there. I hate when they read the mail in my inbox "discretely" or openly. I hate when they stand behind me over my shoulder and attempt to read my emails, reports, yada yada yada

I hate that I can't take naps in the middle of the day.

I hate that I park down city and walk three blocks to my building passing 30 homeless people the city has chosen to ignore. I talk to them and acknowledge they too are human despite their appearance and desperation. I hate my coworkers that ignore them and treat them as less of a person because they are homeless and or suffer from mental disabilities. We are all a little crazy.

I hate that I hate so many things and could endlessly blog about them.

I love that I have a place to let it all out free from burden and prejudice.

A family of Sick-os

2006-05-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a much needed three day weekend. Every work week should only be 4 days. We went out on the bike for a 4 hour ride on Monday because it was absolutely gorgeous outside. My butt hurt so bad at the end of the day. I couldn't even walk upstairs to lay down. I ran around all weekend so Monday was a relax day.
We got a scare late Monday night when the shelter we adopted Linus from called to tell us one of their cats tested positive for feline leukemia. I called the vet today and pulled all sorts of strings to get him in for a blood test. They told me he was high risk because he is kind of a fresh cat. Anyway I got him in and left work early and had him tested. He tested negative and came home doing minimal damage to the vet.
A had his wisdom teeth out today and is resting and eating plenty of milkshake. I get to play nurse for him, I'm sure he'd like it more if I wore the outfit but he's going to have to live with sweats and a t-shirt.

Alice in Wonder Land ........or Georgia

2006-05-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

So Alice called me tonight and my entire day got better.... Alice isn't the person I was referencing the other day but she played a significant role in my college life. I forgot how much Alice can make me laugh. We talked about everything and nothing and my life is better.

Without a Trace........

2006-05-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

JUST THINKING:
So I was thinking about growing up and getting older. When this happens friends are lost along the way and it's a really hard thing to do some times and other times it's a natural progression. There are just some people that you never think you'll grow apart from. Then one day you turn around and they are gone. Where did you go and will I ever see you again?

Forgive me I'm in a funk and this just makes it worse. It's really disappointing when people just disapper when you need them the most especially when you've never disappered on them.

Slow Realities

2006-05-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

These last few work days have been the longest days ever. I can't believe how slow things are moving along. I spent the majority of my day in court today just waiting for my case to be heard. The case was a plea and dispo which took all of 5minutes. Of course it was continued and now I'll have to wait another 4 hours in court next month. I am all caught up again which means I'm playing fake typing at work and sharpening all of my pencils until the points are at precision sharpness and I could kill someone with one of them if I really felt the urge to.
On a brighter note end of the semester grades are in and it has been confirmed that I am a total genius. I got straight A's this semester. While I'm tooting my own horn I should mention in the 10 grad classes I have taken I've gotten 8 A's and 2 B's. It is exciting to know that I'm doing well in grad school because the thought of it is so intimidating.
A and I have been riding the bike more. When I refer to the bike I'm talking about his sports bike. I love riding on it because it's like flying and you have to be really aware of your surroundings. Everything is so much more apparent because you are forced to pay attention. I've noticed things in our neighborhood that I never noticed before like houses in the woods. Since we do live in the woods I get scared when we do night rides because I'm always afraid of deer. I get nervous when we're in the car never mind on the bike. Tonight we were about 10 feet from a baby fox which was really cool but about 10 minutes later we zoomed by a deer just hanging out in the woods. Thankfully it ran the other way.
Now that I've rambled for a good amount of time about pretty much everything and nothing I'm off to do even less productive things now that I can.

The Power of Tears

2006-05-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so tired all the time lately. Work hasn't been any different then usual. Just the same old daily drone. I think this is by far this has been the longest week ever. I always used to say growing up I never wanted to sit in a cubicle and be a pencil pusher for the rest of my life. Well... I'd say 25 of my 40 hours are spent pushing the old pencil in my cubicle. I really never thought I'd be a pencil pusher........
Me and A went out to dinner tonight and I had yet another awful experience with eating out. The last few times such things have happened like the wrong meal was delivered to me, half a meal was delivered to me, I chipped a tooth on something hard in my food....and now tonight. We went out and I got fish and chips. I love fish and chips but may never be able to eat them again. I took a bite of my fish and it seemed cold but I thought nothing of it. Then while chewing it the haddock seemed tough so I stuck my finger in the center of my fish and it was RAW! It was so icky and gross. I've given up on eating out. On the way home in the car we had an interesting conversation as always. We were talking about when couples have firsts like the first I love you, the first tears, so on and so on. I mentioned that I had seen him cry on occasion and he promptly stated "My tears are liquid round house kicks to the face!" I asked him if he thought he was Chuck Norris and he then stated "NO Chuck Norris's tears cure cancer!" I should have known.

Charlie Murphey............The Darkness

2006-05-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

We went to see Charlie Murphy last night for those of you who don't know him it's Eddie Murphy's brother. He was so friggin' funny he told about 2 hours of completely inappropriate jokes. It was so wierd when he walked out on stage I was like holy shit it's really him. It was pretty frickin' awesome. My birthday rocked.
So I went out with A again on the motorcycle tonight and it was an experience. I like riding on the bike but tonight was my first night ride ever. It is definately an eye opening experience. I never knew how much I missed when I was in the car.

It's My Birthday!

2006-05-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday and I am so very old. I'm 23 today and I had the best birthday ever! My A loves me so much he bought me an XBox 360 and the new Tomb Raider game. He also got me 24 roses too. My Mommy gave me money money money to go sky diving. The office celebrated and my secretary made me a cake. I got a million birthday messages and presents. It was a great day. Being 23 isn't as fun as 16,18, or 21 but.... I'll take it.

You are not Me

2006-05-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

So the semester is pretty much over. I have a presentation on Thursday but that's no big deal so I'm good. It's weird not doing homework after I get out of work. I haven't had a homework break in two years! That includes the summers. Work has been going good but today one of my cases exploded and I had to really sort shit out. No one understands what it's like to do my job. I tell people I'm tired or I had a long day at work and then they are like yah me too. No you don't understand my long day could never be anything like your long day. It is my job to go into people's home and potentially remove their children at any moment. No one besides those in my field will understand what my "long" day really is or the way I feel when I know I am going to possibly remove children from their parents. Today I had to tell a mother she was incapable of caring for her children and her home was the worst possible location for them to be raised. It hurt her but it hurt me more to say it. My days will always be long but at the end of the day I still love my job. The day I come home unsure of my choices is the day the job may not be for me.

Is that a Light I See at the End of My Educational Tunnel?

2006-05-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

I can't wait until the semester is finally over. I volunteered to write the paper for my group project as I did not have time to do any of the research. Silly Me! The paper isn't finished yet and I've hit (drum roll please....) 71 pages! This paper should be published, framed, set in gold, and given a the Louisa May Alcott award. I'm not exaggerating the immensity of this project. I am not eligible for summer classes thank you Sucky Regina for fucking me over immensely. Needless to say my Masters Degree will be delayed another semester. I guess it's a sign that I need a break since I haven't had one since my junior year. Watch out Summer here I come!
So... I'm going to the dietician this week. I needed to get an referral from my Dr. Who signed it immediately cause he love me. My insurance informed me that I needed the referral for the dietician but they covered gastric bypass. How gay is that! I kindly informed the operator that I was slightly over weight but when I became immensely obese and would qualify for the surgery I'd get back to her. She chuckled... I hope she was not immensely obese.

Peas in a Pod

2006-04-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

Right after I took this picture Baxter attacked Linus and they got in a fight. For the moment they were friends!

Things that Make My Blood Pressure Rise

2006-04-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted as my life has been crazy. The end of the semester is drawing near which means I am scrambling to get all of my work done. Of course Salve isn't offering ANY courses I can take this summer so I am forced to take a break from school since I started senior year. It's a much needed break but finishing up my masters would be an even better thing. So in the last few weeks I have come up with another list of things that "bother" me. I encounter people on a daily basis that annoy the hell out of me for one reason or another. Where I encounter these people will remain a mystery as I do not want to incriminate myself. Some of these people have been given nicknames and others are just who they are.
I'll start with "Stone Face Killa" this person never fucking cracks a smile. It's like if they did smile their entire face would fall off and crumble to the ground. This person fucking stares at me constantly with absolutely no affect. I have managed to get a few, and I mean few, smirks and even once a laugh. This person is so god damn miserable I want to tell them to throw themself off a fucking bridge.
Then there is the high and mighty one or so they think. Now this person has bright orange hair like a clown. I kid you not. They wear clothing the pretty much color coordinates with their hair and then to top it off their shoes and lipstick match. This wouldn't be a problem if they had hair that falls in the color spectrum of normal.
I also have my own personal stalker (not like how I stalk Arbusto). I have never met a more needy person in my entire life! Apparently I am this person's only friend and they feel the need to call me a million times a day and on the weekend. They beg me to hang out with them to no end and through tantrums when I don't. I would like to add in this person is an adult which makes their behavior completely irritating. Anthony refers to this person as my BFF ummm not so much. It's a fatal attraction situation and I'm feeling crowded.
That's all I have for now. I have plenty of gripes to share with all of you but I'll limit them to this one entry unless something really important or riveting occurs.

It's Officially Summer

2006-04-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well it's officially summer now: we lost power for about 2 and a half hours because of the rain storm were were having. Last summer every time we turned around the power was going out. Nothing too exciting has been happening at work and home. Anthony and I went out with a few people on Friday and saw a comedy show at the casino it was pretty funny. On Saturday went went to see Derik and the Fun Bags at a local bar. They're a cover band that was actually really good. They've been around for a while but we've never seen them. We left early because Anthony had a race this morning and we had to get up at 6:30. We drove about 2 hours to find out the race was rained out so we went outlet shopping. It wasn't all that productive of a day. All of that excitement we ended up taking a nap because there was nothing else to do in a house without power.

Happy Easter

2006-04-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

So Easter has come and gone. Easter is my favorite holiday cause I get to paint eggs. I know that I can paint eggs whenever I want but there is just something about Easter. We painted eggs this year with real paint as opposed to the generic food coloring kits we usually buy. We ended up reserving our Friday night for painting eggs. It took us three hours to paint a dozen eggs. It was worth it because they came out really good. I'll post pictures later.
Work has been the same. I'm feeling a little better and as usual the doctors have no real answers for me as to why I feel the way I do. Everyone says I need to slow down but that's pretty much impossible when you work 40 hours a week and go to grad school full time. I know that going out drinking at the end of the week doesn't help my slowing down but hell a girls gotta have fun right?

I Challenge You to a Duel

2006-04-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

So here's a funny story........

I was walking out to the parking lot at work today to get one of the state cars. The parking lot is used to park both employee cars and state cars. It's about 2 1/2 blocks from my office give or take. I have to cross a set of train tracks to get to the lot and walk by about 20 homeless people in the mean time. In addition the lot is used as a bus stop too which means all the local wierdos, homeless people, etc are just hanging out together all day long. So it's about 1 in the afternoon and I'm going to get a car when I hear someone scream: "Oh yea take that!" Normally I would ignore it like I usually do but instead I look and what do I see? Two older homeless people dueling. They were beating the crap out of one another with their canes. They weren't kidding around either they were truly fighting to the death. I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it. That was the highlight of my day.

Spring has Sprung

2006-04-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

Spring is coming! Well this weekend was all rainy but Sunday turned out to be cool and sunny. Today it reached 70 degrees! I've had all the windows open in the house and the sliding door too. It's nice to be able to air out the house and smell the spring air. I can't really complain since winter wasn't really all that bad. It was mostly cold and rainy. We had a few snow storms here and there but nothing too bad. I think all in all there were only two really bad storms. Anthony bought a new sports bike this passed week so he's been out racing the roads. He only has his permit so I can't hop on the back with him but I will soon! We were talking about living in New England this weekend and how much we really enjoy it. I mean we really get all of the seasons. Shortly after we finished our conversation the rain turned to sleet and then to snow about an hour later the sun was out and shining. It was a true depiction of New England life. I'm glad summer is around the corner. Maybe I'll even get to enjoy it this year. Last year I was too sick and tired to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. I go to the doctors tomorrow lets hope he has some good news for me!

Sleepless Beauty.......

2006-04-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend was actually pretty low key for a change. We went out Friday and had a couples dinner with some friends. On Saturday we had dinner with my parents and then headed to Jared's for about an hour or so. I ended up falling asleep on his couch. We were supposed to go out bar hopping again but I haven't been feeling well. Most of you know I had some health problems this passed summer. Well they've come back or they have begun to come back. I've been going to the the doctor and I have an appointment with the endocrinologist this week. Having started a new job it's hard to have to schedule appointments. I don't have any sick or vacation time until August. Suddenly having to go to the doctor's during the middle of the day has proven to be difficult. Needless to say I'm starting to get tired easily again. I want to sleep pretty much all of the time including when I'm at work. So I laid low all weekend trying to rest up but not by choice. I've been in bed all day doing homework and catching up on tv. Hopefully the DR will be able to give me some answers this week. I did however buy a new bag this weekend. I bought a Kate Spade bag today. I love it!

Living on the edge of...........Insanity

2006-04-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

I should be doing homework yet again but this is more fun..... It's funny cause someone asked me how I know people even read the crap I write. I told them I don't but this is a good way to just bitch and moan without imposing it on anyone who doesn't want to hear it. Work has been good and very time consuming. I love my job but Jesus I need to rest. I can't wait until Good Friday cause I'm gonna get paid to sleep in and watch tv all day. I'll make sure DCF gets the most for their money that day.
I got in an argument with our ergonomics (if that's how you spell it) department the other day because they came and tried to rearrange my desk. Apparently the way I sit is not conducive to my work environment and when I get old my back blah blah blah. I kindly explained to them I already have a bad back so leave me the F alone. She pretty much threatened to tell my supervisor on me if I didn't play by her rules. I told her fine and I went and told my supervisor on myself. Play by these rules bitch! She was even bitching about the kind of pens I write with. Umm... you get paid 75 G's to complain about pens. So I politely asked Ms. Ergonom-Bitch what pens I should be using. She told me the fat pens like Dr. Grip or whatever....hmm I have an idea: Why don't I buy a box of fat crayons and use those like I'm four! I told her that since I have opposable thumbs I'd be sticking to my Pentel Extra Fine Point Black Ink Ballpoint. After consuming 45 minutes of my precious time and making my blood pressure rise she left me alone and warned me she'd be back to see me in two weeks. I told her I'd be busy not to bother.
Linus went to the vet today cause the security tag he ate as a snack hadn't yet surfaced. He was x-rayed and his stomach was empty we must have missed it somewhere along the way. I can't say I've been examining his poop the way I should since, well, I don't really enjoy looking at cat crap. He is healthy as a horse or a 10 month old kitten who eats everything from carpet lint to gummy bears and shiny objects. I have a special cat if you know what I mean. If he were a kid he's be riding the short blue bus to school.

My Night and Shining Blogger

2006-04-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

My weekend was crazy once again. I sat the the DMV all morning on Saturday so I could register my car in CT. Once that was done I ran around the state all morning doing my usual weekend errands. We had a party to go to in the afternoon and then went out drinking the rest of the night. I guess if I wanted to really relax I could have skipped the whole going out bar hopping part of my weekend but what fun would that have been? Needless to say I drank a little more then I had thought and on the way home was convinced that Anthony was swerving all over the road. I told him numerous times I thought I should drive since he wasn't doing all that great of a job. Well, as it turns out he was driving fine my eyes were playing tricks on me. But I was still convinced I could have managed to navigate us home! LOL
I had the weirdest dream last night... I dreamed I was trapped in a house with a bunch of other girls and couldn't escape. A psycho killer was holding us all captive so we couldn't get out. It was very traumatic until Arbusto came to save us. However, we were taking pictures and hanging them up and the killer came home and we had to take them done before he realized Arbusto was in the house. I know this is weird but it gets weirder.
I don't know Arbusto and I have never met him. I only know him because I read his blog. I know what he looks like thanks to HNT but I probably couldn't pick him out in a crowd. Is it weird that I'm dreaming about a man I have never met? I'm sure he's going to read this and quickly ban me from his blog and maybe even seeking out a restraining order. I can't say I would blame him.

Too Much Work at Work........

2006-03-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

I have no ambition to do anything after I get home from work. For the last few days I've been sitting at my desk typing and typing and typing. The last thing I want to do when I get home is do homework. Somehow I do find time to type away here. Procrastination gets the best of me. I always have a giant "to do" list when I get to work and by noon I've done 6 things and found 18 more to do. Oh the insanity. Don't get me wrong I still love my job but I am beat at the end of the day. Work has been so hectic I couldn't even email Anthony our grocery list the other day! I've been filing petitions which means I'll be in court soon and there are a whole lot of people who are not happy I've taken their kids. I did my first "removal" the other day. Without going into too much detail the mother deserved it. I know that sounds really harsh but she was honestly placing her kids in real danger. On a brighter note yesterday's post was further confirmed today. I spent my lunch hour again with people I barely know talking about boob jobs and why they are good/bad. Then we talked about piercing and our personal experiences. T(male) was also in on this conversation and participated like it was no big deal. I know a lot of guys that do this and as Arbusto has pointed out to me he'd discuss my period with me any day.
Thanks Arbusto.

Check out Arbusto: http://vivaarbusto.blogspot.com/

Being from Venus Implies Complete Disclosure

2006-03-28T19:33:00.000-08:00

It's funny how girls can meet one another and in 5 minutes be talking about the wierdest things. For example girls have no problem talking about pms, their period, sex, and just about any other personal problem with another female within the first 24 hours of meeting them. I know this is true because I do it and I've been doing for as long as I can remember. This week in the office I was talking to J about stuff of this nature and M our new unit mate was there. In two seconds flat M was like I know what you mean because I (fill in the blank) too. From here the conversation kept going and no one batted an eye. Girls are truly strange creatures.

No Rest for the Weary

2006-03-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

Every weekend I say I'm going to stay home and every weekend I'm off running the roads. By the time Monday rolls around I need a weekend from my weekend. I worked my last shift at my old job this weekend. I've been working two jobs for a while here and there. Not because I need the money but because I couldn't just leave my old client. Anthony and I went to his mother's for dinner this weekend and then we met up with some of my family for drinks afterward. For the first time in my life I was cut off at a bar. I have never ever been cut off by a bartender. The funny thing is I wasn't even close to drunk. I had 2 drinks and 3 shots in about an hour. I was completely fine and woke up this morning without a hangover. The bartender was like you'll be puking in no time you're cut off. I hate to tell you this but I didn't throw up and I've been building up a tolerance for some time so that hang over she promised I'd have... yea that didn't happen either. The whole thing was crazy. We ended up getting home at 3am and we're in bed by like 330. At 730 my phone rang and it was work. It's Sunday and 730! Good thing for them I was able to fall back to sleep. I swear one of these days when I say I'm spending the weekend home in bed I will.

Professional Pause

2006-03-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

Nothing too exciting has happened in lately. Linus still has not produced the security tag that he swallowed on Sunday. Work has been crazy lately and it is only going to get crazier. I understand why it's common nature for people to lie to me about their families. Every family automatically assumes I'm there to remove their children, break up their home, and eventually be the bane of their existence. None of which is true of course. Honestly if DCF showed up at my door I'd tell them to go fuck themselves and slam the door in their face. I however would not tell blatetent obvious lies to my worker. For example I have a women who told me her husband was her neighbor. Hmmm then why is their a picture of your neighbor on your coffee table? And why are you dry humping him in the picture? How stupid do I look? (rhetorical question) It baffles me and pisses me the hell off when people lie to me. It's times like that when I wish I had a professionalism pause button. I could pause "professional Kristi" and then I could bitch slap the liar and unpause the situation. It could work in any scenario really. If anyone knows of a way that I could do this let me know.

2006-03-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

I should be doing homework but I am procrastinating as always. Work has been alright so far but I only have 3 cases. However, that could change at any moment. I've been running around like a mad man trying to stay organized and work these cases out and get them off of my desk. A few weeks ago at the training academy they were having a raffle to support their mentor group. They were raffling off these gourmet baskets so I bought 20 tickets ($20). I put 17 of them in this really nice breakfast basket that had coffee mugs and plates with a bunch of coffees and other breakfast stuff. I put the other 3 in a chocolate basket. I didn't really like the basket all the much but it's chocolate and it doubled my odds. Guess which basket I won. Yup the chocolate basket. Just what I need a giant basket of chocolate to help out with my diet.
Linus has given us yet another run for our money. Last night he ate a security tag out of the garbage. It was one of those little plastic bar codes and it was wrapped in cloth. I saw him carrying it around our bedroom so I jumped up and yelled his name thinking he'd drop it and run like the scaredy cat his is. Instead he swallowed it whole! We had to call our vet at her house. Thank god she's a friend of ours! She said he should be fine but to monitor him to make sure he isn't vomiting constantly. She told us to buy this laxative for him at the pet store and it should work itself out. He is so weird. After he ate the tag he walked around our bedroom trying to eat lint off the carpet. He is so very special!

Look Can be Deceiving

2006-03-15T16:01:00.000-08:00

Yes he's winking and waving at the camera. Who would think behind this cute little bundle of Linus there is a crazy cat.

Linus Update

2006-03-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

So Linus is finally coming around. He is actually coming when I call his name and running around the house more. He still hides under the bed and is scared of every possible noise you can imagine. I'm sure if you could hear a spider sneeze he'd be afraid. In fact I was holding him last week and I picked up a single sheet of notebook paper and it crinkled. Well he proceeded to freak out and claw the crap out of my neck. It's pretty attractive. In addition to his wierdo behavior his favorite activity is playing in the toilet. I don't know why he likes it but now we have to monitor the toilet seat to make sure the lid is closed.

I Am Your Social Worker

2006-03-11T12:28:00.000-08:00

This week has been very much like the last few. Work has been crazy and hectic. I've been in training and in my office all week long. I finally have a desk which I've decorated and organized to the best of my ability. I'm still tired after my long days and I fight to stay awake at night but eventually my body gives way to sleep. I got my first case this week. I had exactly 3 hours to brief the case and meet the family. I had to make physical contact on Thursday no matter what. I eventually got the mother on the phone and it was weird to hear her reaction when I said hello So and So this is Kristilyn Choquette from DCF, I'm the social worker that has been assigned to your case. It was a combination of sadness and relief. She wants help but she doesn't necessarily want it from the department of children and families. I've seen a lot these last few years and I've done a lot of things that make families and strangers mad. I'm a monster in many peoples eyes. How can I rip apart families and take small children from the only world they've ever known. People don't understand that the world they are coming from is riddled with abuse, starvation, neglect, and maltreatment. I am not the real monster. However, despite all of that I still walk away at the end of the day being the villain. I was called a "cold-hearted bitch" last week and a variety of other names. The words don't hurt me and removing children doesn't phase me. I even separated siblings last week into different placements. I walked away fine and feeling comfortable in the fact I knew even though separate and sad they were safe. None of these things bother or taunt me at the end of the day. However my biggest fear is making the wrong decision and having a child die. Knowing deep down I am responsible for the death of that child.

Progressively aging by the second.

2006-03-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

I am absolutely exhausted. It's insane I get home from work and I'm ready for bed as soon as my key is in the lock. In fact driving home is a challenge some days. I shouldn't be this tired I'm young and vibrant. I forgot what it's like to work a forty hour week and be a full time student. Let's not forget I have a house that I have to keep up with too. I shouldn't be this tired. Senior year of college I worked 40 plus hours a week, went to school full time (on campus as opposed to my online classes), and I still managed to party like a rock star when ever I felt the need. Now I'm lucky if I can stay awake until prime time. This weekend I was in bed by 11 every night. Who does that?! I can't even go out partying unless my idea of a party is happy hour at the senior center while playing dollar bingo. I feel bad for Anthony he can't even leave the room for 5 minutes without me passing out for the night. I try so hard to stay awake to the point where I'm fighting sleep. Imagine when you were little and your parents would say "I think some one is tired." and you would say "I'm not tired!" All the while your eyelids are half closed and you can't manage the weight of your own head. I'm that little kid only I'm screaming "LET ME SLEEP, LET ME SLEEP!" This is insanity I say. I hope this week flys by so I can spend my weekend playing Rip Van Winkle.

2006-03-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post. Not much has been happening. The new job has kept me busy running around. I've officially been working for 2 weeks as of last Friday. I have worked a 40 hour week since August. I'm surprised I've made it this far. My weeks have been a combination of training and working in the office. I officially have my own desk now. I went and bought a bunch of stuff for my cubicle this week cause I'm such a dork. I couldn't help it. I've been going out with other workers and doing a lot of transports and visits this last week. Friday I brought a 2 month old baby to see its father in prison. It was the first time he'd seen his son. I also supervised a visit between a mother and her three sons. I got to see what it is like to separate siblings and place them in different homes. I haven't really been taken back by anything I've seen so far. I'm not saying that it won't happen sooner or later. At some point this week I'll start to get cases of my own. I'm a little nervous but I'm sure that I will be fine as long as I stay focused and organized. I'm slowly adjusting to the schedule change and I even woke up at 8am this weekend. I was so mad that I couldn't get back to sleep. As much as I hated waking up that early I got a lot done. Anthony has been helping out around the house a lot lately which has been nice. It makes my weekends more enjoyable and it makes me realize how lucky I am to have him. Let's hope these next few weeks flow as easily as the last.

A Shocking Experience

2006-02-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a short post. I had my ADJ class tonight and they did a taser demonstration. A few months ago a I did a project for another class advocating for the use of tasers to deter criminal activity. Tasers are a non-lethal way of obtaining criminals. Basically two probes are shot from the taser and roughly 20,000 volts of electricity are sent through your body. The shock effects your central nervous system freezing your muscles. It's really a good alternative. Any way.... I volunteered to be tasered. I figured since I advocated for it I should know how it really feels. Well... it f-ing hurts like a mother for all of you who were wondering. I recommend never being placed in a situation where you could be tasered and if you are just give up because it's not worth it.

Jenna's 21!

2006-02-26T19:28:00.000-08:00

So I survived my first full week at DCF. I even made a stalker this week on my brisk three block walk to the office. Apparently I am God's gift to all men blah blah blah. The week went by pretty fast and I met a lot of cool people. I actually was out going and made new friends. I never talk to people first. I'm not really into awkward conversations that end up going no where. But anyway this girl Jenn from my office is really cool. We've known one another for a week and we can already finish on another's sentences. The bad part is they are usually mean and sarcastic. We've already talked about all of the people in our class and have a million inside jokes. Somehow I always manage to make friends with people just as sarcastic and evil as I am. Besides our constant conversations about other people we get along really well. But.. Enough about DCF for now.
Jenna turned 21 on Saturday! I can't believe she's finally 21. We all went out to help her "forget" her birthday. Surprisingly we just got a little tipsy and she didn't puke her brains out. Since she's had the baby she's changed a lot and it's funny to she the responsible adult side of Jenna. We ended up going to Foxwoods because it was Mardi Gras at BB King. We danced for about two hours then we went and gambled away enough money to realize how stupid we were. After that we bar hopped and ended up at a late night diner trying to soak up the alcohol. It was Jenna's night so we pretty much followed her lead.
On another note Linus is coming around more and more every day.

Don't Cry Over Spilt OJ

2006-02-22T16:01:00.000-08:00

This is my first full week with DCF and so far it has been interesting. I've found the whole experience to rather humorous to say the least. I showed up Monday running a few minutes behind because my travel mug mysteriously opened itself up and spill OJ all over my bag and things. What a way to start the day! When I got there the supervisor I was suppose to report to was not in fact my supervisor. She took me and my group on a tour until my manager did show up. The tour was a brisk walk through 5 floors (in 4 inch heels). Then I met my manager who is only going to manage my group for a little while until we get a real supervisor. We were given cubicles without computers or phones. The office is switching around so my desk might not be my desk next time I go to the office. (LOL) From here we were given people to shadow. While we waited to be assigned we were told to explore the computer (on someone else's desk). Our supervisor told us that if the person we were assigned to was done for the day and she was not there to help us to ask someone else if we could help them or shadow them. Needless to say... it was quite the first day. Today I was at the academy all day learning stuff. We played a game based our 22 key targets and my team kicked ass majorly. We were so far ahead of everyone else the instructor stopped the game. The academy wasn't that bad.. I only have to do the drive to the academy 36 times in the next ten months. I'm starting to get used to the hours but I'm exhausted by 6pm. I always wanted a 7-3 kinda job with weekends off but... it's rough getting up with the sun and wanting to go to bed before the sun goes down. These next few weeks are going to be rough but I'm ready.

Father Time is Catching Up!

2006-02-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

This past few weeks have been absolutely insane. I've been so busy trying to close out my old cases and trying to get ready for my new job. I started DCF on Friday. I had an all day training in Hartford. I had to wake up at 5:30 to make sure I would be there on time. I'm not really a waking up early kinda gal. I'm more of the sleep until noon type. Anyway... I spent all day in a room with about 20 other people going over the usual HR type of stuff. You know don't sexually harass anyone blah blah blah. After my long day there I got to do a long drive home. I've come to realize that with the new job comes responsibility. I won't be able to do any of the stupid shit I've been doing. I'll never be able to do late night scavenger hunts, flip cup tourneys, making music videos, and all that other stupid stuff. I went shopping for my adult clothes this weekend. I now own more suits, slacks, heels, and dress shirts then I have ever cared to own.

Yay Linus

2006-02-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

So tonight turned out to be a very different kind of night in our house. For the last week Mr. Linus has been hiding, hissing, and trying to claw our eyes out. I've been looking into a replacement for him. Tonight that foster home emailed me telling me another family was looking into the same cat as us but we had first choice. I told them to let him go to the other family because we were still working with Linus. After I emailed her back I looked at Linus, who was snuggling with me, (I've been doing intensive snuggling interventions with him.) and told him we were keeping him with or without his attitude. He instantly jumped up and started kissing me and running around. I was taken back because up until that moment I was sure he was contemplating my demise. Since then he's been playing (cautiously) with Baxter and eating like a fool. I'm so happy he's coming around! Looks like Linus is officially a Davis!

A Day of Love

2006-02-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

It's Valentine's Day! I can't wait until Anthony gets home so we can celebrate. It sucks that he had to work today and my client cancelled so I've been doing Valentine's homework all day and running errands. I am officially a CT resident now. I went and got my license today. It only cost me over a $100.00. I can't believe how expensive it was. My picture on this one is alot better than my old RI license. I don't look like a complete serial killer. No other big news to report today. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Oh Linus

2006-02-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

So this whole getting Baxter a friend has been tougher than we imagined. Baxter is a little bitter but not a total bully. Linus on the other hand has been a handful. The poor little guy is nervous as can be. He won't come to me or Anthony and up until this morning he wasn't eating or drinking. I understand he is scared but damn this is hard. I want it to work out because he deserves a good home. He clearly misses his old home. We're going to see how he is the rest of the week and if he is the same we're going to bring him back to the shelter. He really is a cutie but he's being a stinker right now.

Things You Probably Didn't Need to Know

2006-02-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I can really develop child-like habits. For example I get food fixations. Sometimes when I find a food that I like I eat large quantities over a long period of time. I'm not talking about junk food or unhealthy foods either I'm talking vegetables and what not. I know that I do this so I have to monitor what I buy at the grocery store. I know what foods trigger this and will allow myself to have them in moderation. Sometimes I find new foods and the cycle begins again. Now you might be thinking why is this a bad thing if it's healthy food? Not all food that is good for you produces good results. Junior year of college a certain roommate (name withheld to protect individual from possible embarrassment) and I ate large quantities of Asparagus for a few weeks. Despite the fact that asparagus is expensive it has another downfall. Consuming too much asparagus makes your urine stink. I know gross. The healthy aspects of it give your urine a nice acetone smell. You pretty much pee nail polish remover. I've also learned that white grape juice is large quantities turns your pee bright green. I love white grape juice so much that I can't even buy it. I used to drink a minimum of 2 gallons of the stuff a week. That is until I started peeing highlighter fluid. My latest conclusion, broccoli not only turns your pee green but it makes it smell too. I've recently been consuming too much broccoli come to find.
This concludes the things you probably didn't need to know portion of my blog!

A New Addition to the Family

2006-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Soo.... Anthony and I are going to add a new addition to our little family. We got Baxter in July and as you all know he is an extremely loving and needy little fellow. However, as much as I love Baxter, there is not enough time in the day to give him the unconditional love in the world to appease him. Now that I'll be working 40 hours a week again there really isn't going to be enough time to spread around. So... back to the addition. We're getting another cat this weekend. We're adopting him from a shelter. Right now he is in a foster home so we are picking him up on Saturday. His name is Linus and he an Orange tabby like our little darling Baxter.
Last week Baxter saw another cat on tv and ran over to it. He kept trying to touch the cat and started rubbing his face on the screen. Even after the cat was gone he stayed there looking for him. We decided it was time to get him a much needed friend. Our suspicion that Baxter needed a friend was confirmed.

I think I'm officially an adult now!

2006-02-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

So it's been a few days since I accepted the job with DCYF. I've had some time to let all the details sink in and I guess this means I'm officially an adult now. I mean technically I've legally been an adult for the last four years but this is different. I went to college so I could have a career, this career. I'm not saying my work at tides isn't a great job or a worthy one. I love Tides and I'll be sad leaving my little guy. But... I haven't worked a 40 hour week in almost six months. This might take some getting used to. Anthony and I have always talked about what we'd like our yearly income to be in five years to ten years. Well, this job will put us in our projected range. It's still a lot to take in. I'll be doing child removal and pretty much telling people they are bad and unfit parents. It's definitely not a job that comes with a big fan base. I'm actually beginning my career, my adult life, I'm jumping without a net.

DCYF Here I Come

2006-01-31T11:12:00.000-08:00

This week is a better week! I got a call today from the State offering me the social worker position. I got it, I got it, I got it. They asked me if I was still interested.........duh! I can't believe I will be a state employee next month! Woohoo. I don't even know what to type I'm still so shocked. Thanks to everyone who kept their fingers and toes and other body parts crossed. I owe all of my references big time. Erica you'll be getting that hot fudge covered steak in no time!

Here's to a Better Week

2006-01-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

So last week was less than exciting. I had one of the worst weeks I could have possibly had in my entire life last week. Actually, I should say I had one of the worst days of my life. It really was one bad day that spilled over into the rest of my week. Who was at the hand of my bad week you ask. Why my MGT560 professor of course. Who else wants to ruin my life? He once again took another personal swing at me and this time succeeded. I withdrew from his class and lost an entire semester and all of my money. He is a complete and total asshole and if I could find him I would hurt him severely. After that I was working and I almost got run over by a run away car. This guy swerved into my lane, over a curb, across a lawn, and implanted his car in someone's house. After that happened I decided to call it a day. I ended my shift early and went home to hide in my bed.
This weekend was a little more exciting. I mean if you consider finding a dead body on your road excitement. Our road was closed for almost twelve hours on Saturday because a body was dumped in a field. Anthony and I went out shopping and the road adjacent to ours was closed off. We came back like seven hours later and it was still closed. I told Anthony I thought it was a crime scenes and he quickly dispelled my idea. He said it was all that ADJ nonsense. Later on our way to a party at like 8 the news was on the road. I was like I bet a body was found in that field. Again I was crazy. Well, Jenna called me the next day and was like: "hey did you see the news?" Then she told me a body was found on my road. I was right not paranoid. I guess this guy suffered blunt force trauma to his head (he was hit with something) and was dumped naked in the field face down. The crazy thing is Anthony and I were talking about how safe our part of Connecticut is the other night. Guess not! There have been like 12 murders in CT since the beginning of the year. That's way too many for me. Looks like I should be a little more careful since bodies are turning up in my neighborhood. Last month across from Jenna's house they found the dead body of a man who was shot point blank in the head. I hope this isn't a pattern
Let's hope I have a better week this week and whatever excitement comes my way isn't in the form of death.

One is the Loneliest Number

2006-01-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

Anthony is in Virginia for a few days this week on business. I haven't spent a night alone since May. I know he has to go for work but I hate having to stay alone. I'm not afraid of being in the house by myself or anything it's just not having anyone to talk to. I guess I should take advantage of the time alone and finish up some over due homework. I'm almost done with my last module for professor jerk. He hasn't graded my paper yet though. I can't hand in this assignment until he grades my paper. I'm sure he'll give me his favorite grade (C). He should just give me my C so I can hand this paper in and get my next fabulous grade. I can't believe all this crap is from a damn elective. I know I'm gonna get a bad final grade and I'm ready to except it.
I had my second interview on Friday for the State. I thought it was going to be one person. Actually the same person that interviewed me the first time. I was wrong. It was a panel of people. They asked me about four pages worth of questions and then I was on my way. I feel like I did fairly well. Who knows though. They said they were going to make their decision within the next two weeks and I would know from there. So now it's the waiting game. I don't think I'm gonna get it though. It's too good to be true and good things usually don't happen to me. Keep your fingers crossed.
Later that night I got home and I had mail. It's odd when I get mail here because I haven't changed my address over yet. I mean I get a few things but the bulk goes to my parent's house. So.. Anthony was like you got mail today. It was junk mail which I normally throw away but I was compelled to open this piece of mail. When I opened it up there was money inside. It was only two dollars but it was real money. I was like sweet and Anthony was jealous. It was a survey from when we adopted Baxter. For taking the time to do the survey they sent me two dollars for my time. I filled it out and emailed it today. Baxter has become my new cash cow. I figured it was a sign that I was coming into money (new job) and if I didn't mail it out bad karma would ensue.

Man Jeans, Ass-Less Chaps, and Smith

2006-01-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

So you might be wondering why the strange title.... well it's just a indicator that despite my old age I still am a wild and crazy kinda gal. A few weeks ago I was at dinner with Jenna, Toby, and Anthony and we were discussing the no shirt, no shoes, no service requirement. Me, being the smart ass that I am, brought up the idea of ass-less chaps. If I went into a place wearing ass-less chaps would I be turned away? Technically I am still wearing pants. In fact there is nothing about pants in the service agreement. Would ass-less chaps be considered a no no. I mean despite the obvious fashion faux pax. So again being me... I asked our waitress if I could wear ass-less chaps and be served. She didn't see why not I mean they are pants (ass-less none the less). She couldn't really comment either way but if it was up to her I would be allowed. I told her I would bring a towel to sit on that I wasn't a complete animal.
Next on the agenda is man jeans. Tonight I was trying on Anthony's pants for pure amusement. Yea I find it funny. He bought new jeans that were way too small for him because they were marked wrong but they looked super hot on me. The butt was too big and gave away the fact that they were men's jeans. I was talking to Robin and she kindly reminded me there is an extremely fine line between wearing your boyfriend's clothes and looking like a lesbian. Good Call! But we have decided that our new code for lesbian will be "she wears man jeans."
Rob and I are big into codes. We like having the power to talk about people right to their face without them knowing. We used to refer to someone's boyfriend as Smith. When she was around we could still talk about how ugly and gross Smith was right in front of her. It really made life easier. Except however when you f-up in front of that person. For example one day he called for her and Robin being the responsible person she is gave her the message. Only she did so like this: "Paula* Smith errrrrr John* called for you this afternoon." * indicates all names have been changed to protect Me and Robin's shallow bitchness. I know this is really wrong and mean but hey at least we're doing it to people's faces. ERRR kind of.

I stole this from Erica who stole it from Annie

2006-01-18T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is completely true and I couldn't stop laughing while I marveled at how true it really is!

Anybody under the age of 16 should not take this quiz. ;D Just 'cuz you were born in '92 doesn't mean you're a 90's kid. It's not like you could remember the original Simpsons.You know you're a 90's kid if...

You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE!"
You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"
You've worn skorts and felt stylish
You yearned to be part of the Baby-Sitters club
You use to love playing with your MY Little Pet Shop
You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!" comes from Stephanie from "Full House"
You remember when it was actually worth getting up earlyon a Saturday to watch cartoons.
You wore a ponytail on the side of your head and had fluffed bangs
You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in kindergarten
You remember reading "Goosebumps"
You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"
You have pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
You remember the craze then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.
You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.
You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates
You never got injured on a Slip 'n' Slide
You wore socks over leggings scrunched down
" Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, all dressed in black, black, black, with silver buttons, buttons, buttons, all down her back, back, back" SHE ASKED HER MOTHER MOTHER MOTHER FOR FIFTY CENTS CENTS CENTS TO SEE THE ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS JUMP OVER THE FENCE THE FENCE THE FENCE"he jumped so high high high he touched the sky sky sky and he didn't come back back back til the forth of july ly ly he jumped so low ow ow he stumbed he's toe oe oe and that's the end end end of the elephants show ow ow
You remember boom boxes vs. cd players
You knew what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare"
You remember Alf, the little brown alien from Melmac and Vicki the Robot from "MY Little Wonder"
You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool
You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"
You played and or collected "Pogs"
You used to pretend to be a MIGHTY MORPHIN Power Ranger and you owned a Skip It
You had at least one GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere
You watched the original Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Ninja Turtles
All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand.(pencils.notebooks.binders.etc.)
You used to wear those stick on earrings, not only on your ears, but at the corners of your eyes.
You remember a time before the WB.
You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
You thought it would be so cool to be Alex Mack.
You know the Macarena by heart...LOL
"Talk to the hand" ... enough said
You thought Brain would finally take over the world

This is my entire childhood..........

Things to Love and Hate

2006-01-15T18:21:00.000-08:00

So I thought instead of writing about my weekend and the usual things I would talk about the things I love and the things I hate. I know that this post is probably as exciting to you as watching paint dry but oh well. Let's start with the lighter things.

The Things I Love:
-A freshly made bed complete with clean sheets
-The smell of snow in the air (yes snow has a smell)
- Thunder and Lightening Storms (the intense ones not small ones)
-Hurricanes
-Summer
-The new car smell
- Roses
-Being scared (the kind of scared you get from rollercoasters etc)
-The smell of the ocean (even though I won't swim in it)
-Knowing things are complete
-Making lists and then rewriting them to make them perfect
-Going to sleep happy
-Being able to sleep in and wake up slowly
-The smell of burnt matches
-About a million other things-

The Things I Hate:
-Bad Driving Conditions
-Feeling overwhelmed
-People who are obsessed with money and whose lives are controlled by it
-Bad drivers
-Telemarketers
-Being cutoff by people in stores (especially when they don't say excuse me) or being cut in line
-Spiders
-Parents who abuse their children in public
-Being cold
-When t.v. shows are interrupted by sports or news or pretty much anything
-People who are always late
-People who litter
-Insomnia
-A messy house
-A zillion and one other things-

Well that's the abbreviated version of all my likes and dislikes. I'm sure one day there will be a part two because there are so many of each to list. I'm off to bed dreaming of snowy nights so I don't have to work tomorrow! I know one of my dislikes was bad weather conditions and being cold but...I wouldn't mind a surprise snow day. :)

Phase Two!

2006-01-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

Alright I know I said I wasn't going to get all excited about the prospect of working for the state but I lied. Today I got a call back from them to go in for phase two of the interview process. The interview I had on Monday was an initial screening interview to make sure I wasn't a wacko. (looks like I fooled them) The interviewer told me if they were interested I would get a call back for another interview. I'm sure it helped that I was cool as a cucumber (I've never understood that saying) during the interview. I used my best interview skills and even remained calm during the writing sample test they gave me. I tried not to make my answers sound to scripted like "I want to be a social worker to save the world. Let's hold hands and skip through the streets saving the less fourtunate." Although I'm sure that would have gained me some points. LOL! Wish me luck or in Robin's case reverse luck.
So my new favorite show is NEXT on MTV. It's this dating show that hooks you in like an info-mericial. There is one dater and 5 dates and the dater can either stay on the date or NEXT them and get a new date. Anyway it's not so much a good show but a funny show. I like the ones where the constants are gay guys because they are hilarious. It's funny to see men get all bitchy about little stuff. Their comments are always so funny like when they get dumped.
Other than next and the prospect of a new job my life is pretty much the same. I'm still procrastinating homework and laying around the house. I've been going to bootcamp religiously and am definitely feeling the burn. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Is That a Light I See?

2006-01-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

I finished my third module for my jerkus professor today. Despite all the effort and procrastination I put into this I'm sure he'll give me a bad grade. He is after all infamous for his grading abilities. I can't wait for this class to end. It could be over by now but due to well me slacking, I am sure I have prolonged it far longer then it should be. I have however done one module twice which means I could be done by now. The last module seems to be a little confusing but I haven't really looked too much into it since I just finished the third one. I still have to proof it and submit it but it is finally done. It was only a 15 page paper but it took me about ten million years to finish it. It shouldn't have since I just finished my ground breaking 55 page final for research methods. I have paper burn out and it will only get worse. Have I mentioned recently that I absolutely hate grad school.
My job interview is tomorrow and surprisingly I am not nervous. I mean it's a pretty big deal but I am very calm about it. I'm not actually counting on getting the job and therefore my hopes are extremely high. Don't get me wrong by any means I would totally love to have this job. In fact it's the opportunity of a life time. But this is the first time I've ever had an interview for a job I don't really remember applying for. LOL. If I don't get this job it won't be the end of the world. I love my current job so if for some reason I don't get it then I will just slep back to my job. I do however realize that I cannot do this job forever and upon my graduation will have to get a better means of employment. I'm only working 25 hours a week. Adults do not work part time jobs. This state job would really be a great boost for my morale and my wallet. Not to mention the fact that it will save me from looking for an adult job come May. Wish me luck cause you can never have too much of it.
Other then the regular shit that goes on in my everyday life the is nothing too great to update. Hopefully after tomorrow I can update about my exciting new job!

Long Days....

2006-01-05T17:57:00.000-08:00

So I'm still procrastinating life. I've been so tired lately because of work and school. I'm spreading myself thin. I wish that actually meant I was getting thinner as I worked. No such luck. I'm officially back to the gym now that I have a minute to breathe I suppose I should exercise. What's a little heavy breathing now and again. My gym is starting a New Years bootcamp. Guess who joined? Yup me again. I'm such a sucker for for punishment. The prize for the "biggest loser" after two months is a trip to the Red Door Spa for the day (oh la la) and 3 month membership to the gym. Three months doesn't sound like a whole hell of a lot but considering what I pay a month to go there it's definitely a perk. I don't care if I actually win, which is odd since I'm extremely competitive by nature, I'm already getting the perks of a kick ass workout. But alas I am exhausted from life and the intense workout I had today.

2006-01-02T15:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've updated this thing. I've been slacking lately when it comes to posting. I've been slacking lately in generally I guess. I still have to write a 15 page paper for one of my classes and have zero pages done. It's amazing how well I have managed to hone he art of procrastination. There are so many other things I could be doing with my time like... sleeping. I have all day tomorrow off which is when I plan to conquer this massive paper. I did all of my housework tonight so I couldn't procrastinate homework with laundry. It's pretty bad when instead of homework I welcome the idea of cleaning. This class is almost over I just need to get my ass in gear. It's self paced so I'm the only thing holding me back as usual. One day I'll manage to stop procrastinating and just get things done. Until then I'll just keep on keepin' on.

Here's to a new year

2005-12-28T12:56:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. All that build up and it only took a day. I got a lot of nice stuff. A new purse and shoes (my pumas to be exact), clothes, and my glasses of course. I got a ton of gift cards to all of my favorite places. I took a bunch of days off of work as a gift to myself. Actually I only took off one but I didn't feel good today so I called out. I've been doing homework all day long to get my last two class out of the way before next semester starts. YUCK!.
I got a call this morning from the State of Connecticut. When Anthony and I first bought our house I sent out a massive amount of resumes to various CT based agencies. Low and behold they like everyone to have masters degree in order to pee in this state. So that's when I got a job closer in RI then the one I already had. My 45 minute trek each way isn't so bad. Anyone, one of my fantastic resumes went to the state to be a social worker. I never really heard either way about the position and quite frankly had forgotten about it since it was about 6 months ago. Well today they called me and I have an interview in about two weeks. I can't believe it. They asked if I was still interested in the position. Hmmm let me think about it am I interested in a state job that pays way more then my job now? Did I mention it is a STATE job! Of course I am interested I will always be interested in a state job. Wish me luck!!

End of the Semester Blues

2005-12-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

It's the end of the semester and you think I'd be excited because it's over. Well, I'm not because unlike all of my other college friends I do not get a Christmas break. I get to work my way through the break straight into next semester. Wow I am so incredibly lame. I can't wait until grad school is over. Which at this point could be when I'm 90. They cancelled one of my class for next semester which wouldn't be a big deal except I need it to graduate! However I did just complete my Research Methods class. This is the online class that my first professor was fired from and a new one was introduced over half way through. I had to write a 25 page research paper on a topic of my choosing. I had all semester to write this paper. Well come due date time my paper was complete after hard work and a ton of procrastination I managed to bang out a 55 page paper. I have never written a 55 page paper in my entire existence. It should have been published as a mini novella or something. Any way I turned it in yesterday and I got my grade today. Now that's service! I got an A-! Maybe I should submit that paper with the grade to my Labor Relations professor who believes I am not at a grad school level. Jerk Face!
This weekend Erica came up to visit us. We also had our first Christmas party. It went very well. I love having all my friends over. I think this party is going to turn into a yearly Christmas party. Despite Anthony's complaints of grocery shopping and the busy happenings that come along with the impending party he also enjoyed the party. The whole busy weekend was worth all the running around.
Another discovery I made this weekend was my new favorite CD. James Blunt is one of my new favorite artists. A few weeks ago he was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and I couldn't believe how much I instantly liked him. He isn't a terribly good live artist but his lyrics are really good. I bought the CD this weekend and was surprised because I've heard his music before on t.v. It's that music that your favorite shows plays in an emotional scene that brings you to tears or makes you feel for the character. If you haven't heard his music and I'm sure you haven't really heard it you should check him out. www.jamesblunt.com

Time flys when you're in love

2005-12-10T18:00:00.000-08:00

On Dec. 8 it was my five year anniversary. I can't believe Anthony and I have been dating for 5 years. It seems like he is the only boyfriend I've ever had and we've been together for way longer then 5 years. Since our anniversary fell in the middle of the week it was hard to celebrate with work and school. We celebrated by having an anniversary weekend. On Friday we decorated our first Christmas tree in our new home. I also decorated the rest of the house. We had a great dinner tonight at home and watch t.v. I got the most beautiful roses on Thursday too. There's no wedding ring yet but there's a lot of talk. I'm just glad we have each other and our house.

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

2005-12-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Last night the news promised a winter wonderland when I woke up. Well the news is never right so I expected the cold tundra of dead grass and barren trees that I see everyday. To my surprise when I woke up there was in fact a winter wonderland on my hands. As much as I am excited about the winter wonderland it put a damper on my day. Anthony and I were suppose to go get our first Christmas tree today and decorate it. It's kind of hard to get a tree when it's all snowy and wet. We're going to have to get out tree next weekend and I'm sure it will be just as great as getting it today would have been.
When Anthony and I moved in to the new house I put my first piggybank ever in our bedroom. I told anthony that we had to put all of our spare change in it every time we had some. I know this sounds like one of those liberty mutual health insurance policy commercials. I told him once it was full we should by something special with it or use it for the house. We thought about using it for our anniversary and for our yearly winter vacation but those didn't seem good enough. Well after months of robbing Anthony of his change and emptying my wallet too the pig is full. We counted it last night and we have $35.79. We decided what better to spend it on then our very first Christmas tree together! So next weekend weather permitting we're going to get our tree.

Gobble Gobble

2005-11-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

**Beautiful Bria**

So we had five Thanksgiving day dinners. Yes count them, 5! I can't believe it myself. I don't even like turkey that's the frightening thing. Turkey is by far my least favorite food. It ranks right up there in the brussel sprout category. We had dinner at anthony's mom's, my mom's, my gram's, and lastly my house. Dinner at my house was this past Saturday. It was nice we had just our friends over and made enough food to serve the town. We'll be eating this years turkey next year and the year after that.
Anthony and I were among the Crazies who went shopping on Friday. We were up and ready to go at 4:00 am. It was insane but totally worth it. The after Thanksgiving shopping is definitely the kick off to the Christmas season.
Jenna came over with my absolutely adorable god daughter. I mean everyone says babies are cute. They are even cuter when you have some sort of emotional attachment to them. However this is not the case for all babies. I mean seriously there are some pretty ugly kids running around out there. I hate when you run into someone who has an really ugly kid. Now most people would feel obligated to say "oh how cute your baby is." Not me I call em' like I see em'. If your kid is ugly there is no way around it. Lying through my teeth is not going to make your little troll any cuter. Bria definitely does not fall into the troll category nor will she ever. You can see for yourself.

The Holidays Approach

2005-11-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

I spent all weekend doing homework with a few moments of freedom here and there. We celebrated Thanksgiving at Anthony's mom's this weekend. She bumped it up because the holidays tend to be busy all around. It was a nice dinner. Anthony's mom loves to play hostess and have multi-course dinners. Of course her dinners are always fancy because the proper hostess wouldn't have a lame dinner party.
Earlier in the day I went and finally got my hair done. Most of you know about twice a year I change my hair in some way because I become bored with it. Last year I went red or should I say cranberry. Then I cut 11 inches off of it bringing my long hair to a shoulder length do. I kept it simple this time. I of course got a trim to keep it healthy looking. I also got a spotlight done with two different blondes. They are only slightly different. I hate when people use a copper blonde and a regular blonde. It makes their hair look tarnished.
Baxter went to the vet this weekend. He was having some difficulties in the house. An overnight at the vet and a small bill later discovered Baxter's issue. He is a brat. That's right a brat. We paid the vet to tell us our cat has an attitude problem. We knew that!
And......as I promised last time things that annoy me. Ricky Martin's new song is on the top of the list. Daddy Yankee and Ricky Martin are not a great duo. Ricky Martin isn't really a great single. Last week in class we talked about the game second life. It's a game where you can literally have a second chance at life. It's hard to explain but losers umm... I mean people actually waste hours and days playing this game. There was a guy on there who was single, 43, and Mark Twain in his second life. Umm hello you are lame in really life don't be lame in your fake second life. I'm also sick of people who are superficial. Seriously everyone grubs it now and then, even you in your Manolo Blahniks. Hmm and lastly on my list of absolute hates....HOMEWORK!!! I've been doing it all weekend.

Humble Pie tastes Like Shit on a Stick

2005-11-15T19:09:00.000-08:00

So my professor conflict has since been resolved. It took a ton of effort on my part. I spoke with my advisor today and bitched and moaned for almost an hour. She assured me this whole fiasco would be resolved one way or another. Well she called me about half and hour later and said: "brace yourself." That can never be good... she then told me the corrections were there. I assured her they were not. Low and behold I checked and there was a sea of red all over my assignment. I assured her it was not there when I lodged my extremely heated complaint. I looked like a complete idiot. This is the unintended playground attack I alluded to in my last post. Well she researched it further and found the comments were inserted three days ago. Alas, I am not an idiot or crazed woman. So what did my advisor suggest I do? She suggest I email my professor and ask for a redo since the comments were late in their arrival. Hence the humble pie. I had to kiss some serious butt... and I did ... and it sucked. Talk about blow to the ego.
Next on my list of ranting things people who don't have lives, superficial people who care about themselves and monetary goods, and various other topics. Stay tuned to hear about this breaking news.

Karma? (Hope not)

2005-11-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

So I drove all the way to work today and my client's mother blew me off. Needless to say this is the third time I have driven a million miles for nothing. I love my job but I hate this part of it. Eventually I will meet my new client and start my job again.
I'm very upset with Salve's grad program right now. My blood pressure goes up every time I think about it. I currently have a professor that has a personal vendetta against me and has resorted to childish games. Needless to say these games are effecting my grade. So I have sought out the help of my advisor and others in an effort to make amends with my professor. However, I think he may just try to beat me up on the playground when I least expect it. That seems to be his preferred method.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

2005-11-09T18:15:00.000-08:00

So I had to drive Anthony's WRX today because my car needed a new belt. I could get in some serious trouble if that was my everyday driver. The fact that I am a bit of a lead foot if you will, would aid in my getting into trouble. The WRX gets up there pretty quickly. My car is fast but not as fast as Anthony's. The WRX is a 5 speed and I forgot how much I miss driving my old Sentra. When I bought my new car I couldn't get it in a 5 speed which is disappointing but I still love it. However, driving Anthony's car today brought back the nostalgia of my old 5 speed. However, now my car is fixed and I must give up Anthony's car and return to my more practical Matrix.
Like I said before the Matrix needed a new belt. When I brought the car in for my last oil change they told me I needed the belt and it would only cost me $350 to fix. Wow what a deal! However, my very intelligent boyfriend could fix it for me. He only charged me $20. (the cost of the belt) Something tells me the dealership wasn't telling me the complete truth.
So my eye doctor told me months ago I needed to start wearing my glasses more because my contacts were causing blood vessels to form in my eyes. This isn't very good. Well I having been putting off getting glasses because, well, they're expensive. I used all of my insurance to get my contacts so the cost of the glasses is an out of pocket expense. I ask my mom to get them for me for Christmas or at least pay for some of them. Of course she said yes because she is my mom and spoils me. Today I went to browse for glasses and ended up buying a new pair. I'm a sucker for sales. I saved a hundred and seventeen dollars how could I pass up a deal like that!

Stressed?

2005-11-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

So I finally went to see the doctor about all the stuff I have been going through. (those of you who know know and those of you who don't, well it's not that important) Anyway, I have to go for another series of tests which requires about 1 million vials of blood. However, the doctor doesn't think my problem lies in a medical mystery. He simply thinks that I am burnt out. How could I be suffering from burnout at 22? Apparently I have too much going on right now and should reconsider my schedule. Well thank you doctor but I have no time to clear my mental plate. In fact I was thinking about going for a second helping of high stress living. But.. this new found burnout has helped me to make a decision. My old job keeps calling me nonstop asking me to pickup extra shifts. Do I sound like I have time for that? Well they called me again today and asked if I wanted to even work there any more since I haven't picked up a shift in months. They have finally seen the light. I am going to call them tomorrow and tell them to take me off their relief list thus... providing me with relief. I guess that is one thing to clean off my mental plate.

Trick or Treat

2005-10-31T17:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight was my first Halloween as an adult. Now that I have my own house it is my turn to be on the giving end of the Halloween tradition. Tonight I stayed at home and passed out candy to an endless supply of trick or treaters. Since we are new in the neighborhood I wasn't sure how many kids we'd actually get tonight but it's a good thing we bought 7 giant bags of candy! Our neighborhood is pretty much a gated community so being new in town didn't effect the masses of sugar crazed children. I sat in the living room and waited for the ghosts, ninja turtles, buzz light years, and princesses to come. Baxter helped to by alerting me of the presence of strangers at the door. He also stood guard and enjoyed the endless attention he was getting because he is a cute kitty after all. It was fun to be on the giving end of the Halloween tradition. We decorated the front yard with spider webs, graves, and bones to make our house extra spooky!

Don't You Just Love A bargain

2005-10-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

So this weekend was full of unexpected and very welcome bargains that came my way. It all started on Friday when I went out to dinner. We went to Outback and I order the Cyclone Pasta. The pasta contained chicken, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and various other ingredients in cream sauce. I started eating my meal and then realized it was missing something but couldn't put my finger on it. Then I realized exactly what I was missing...The CHICKEN. I mean it was only the most important part of the meal. I mentioned it to our waitress and viola my meal was free! I really just wanted the chicken not a free meal but I'll take it. Then on Saturday at kickboxing class our instructor told us our 6 weeks was almost over. I asked her about the fee for continuing on. She explained that normally you had join and it was a membership but the fit club we originally joined would begin again in Jan. Then she said but I could work out a fee if you only wanted to resume Saturday class and not utilize the other class times. Perfect! I some how managed to knock a few hundred bucks off a membership in minutes and got the whole class a bargain! But today took the cake. Today was the first day that Anthony and I have had in a long time that required us to do nothing. We did homework all day then decided to give ourselves a mall break. We had to do some shopping for Anthony's mother's 50th birthday. We got some great deals including 50% off the gifts which turned into larger savings due to their error. Then when buying cds we got one free out of no where. But what really took the cake.....was dinner. We decided to go to Olive Garden for dinner even though I already took out chicken and planned our dinner. Well Anthony was eating his salad and found a dead fly trapped in his lettuce. (GASP) He brought it to the attention of our waitress and viola free dinner again. I mean a free dinner for both of us including dessert. A four course meal for zero dollars. To think we weren't eve going to leave the house! It was a good weekend to say the least.