The Battle for Alpha Dog...

So, I just finished battling my puppy for alpha dog status. She seems to think she is in charge and it is my job to jump at her whims. Lately her whims have been to stay up all night playing and keep me up with her.

After a week of no sleep this has GOT to stop. So in to battle I went.

I pinned her down. She struggled. She stopped and laid there. I still held her pinned. She struggled again. I didn't let go. She laid there. I didn't let go. She struggled... and so it went. A friend of mine who is a dog trainer told me that it's important to hold her long after she stops struggling. If I let her up right after she stops then she is choosing when to get up. If I continue to hold her then I'm choosing when she gets up and exerting my alpha dog status.

So, like the well organized drill sergeant that I am, I set a time limit. She had to go 10 minutes without struggling before I'd let her up. The first go around she lasted a minute and a half. Restart clock. Second time she lasted a minute. Restart clock. This went on for an HOUR. Finally I decided to cut the time down to six minutes. She's just too ADD to lay still for ten minutes. FINALLY she stayed still and laid there until I let her up...

The jury is still out on whether it had any effect or not...

Wish me luck, I have an out of control puppy!!

Best Day Ever..

So, I don't mean to brag, but I have the best friends and family in the WORLD!!

I know, I know, you think yours are better, but you are WRONG....

My birthday was yesterday. I started the day off by coming in to my office which was fully decorated with balloons, streamers, and (for some really ODD reason I can't yet figure out) Dora the Explorer signs and balloons. It was pretty funny.

Last night a group of my local friends and I went out for dinner.

Brief Back story:Now, I don't think I've ever shared anything about my bosses' boss, who we will call Edna, but she thinks she is a fashionista but, well.. she kind of dresses like a 2 year old picked out her clothing. She also happens to have caught on to the poncho fad that was popular about four years ago AND NEVER LET IT GO. She has ponchos in every color, length, design, etc possible. It's kind of like a running joke in our office. End Back story

So, Thursday night Jess, Shiggins and I decide that we want to make a funny so we went to Jo Ann fabric, bought some Asian inspired, kind of hideous, fabric. We cut holes in the middle of them and turned them in to ponchos. We got all fancied up and wore the poncho's out do dinner with our friends for my birthday. It was legin -waitforit- DARY! We were late getting there so we walked in and like nothing, took off our coats and sat down. Ben noticed first and started laughing, then Rex noticed and was laughing so hard I was afraid for his health... (Rex is my boss) and then he dared me to wear it to work next week -- I'm gonna do it! So we had a great time last night.

Today was my party.

Since I did absolutely nothing to celebrate my birthday last year and it sucked, I decided to throw myself a party this year. We had a "Meltdown" theme which meant that everyone had to bring a dish with some sort of melted ingredient. Fun, right? Really just an excuse to make fondue. So my parents and sister came down early and we went to a late lunch then we got things ready for the party. It was a hit and so freaking much fun! The main crew didn't leave until 1:30am -- it had started at 7pm. Ben came dressed in a dress shirt, tie, and overalls in a nod to Barney Stinson on "How I Met Your Mother." Adam and his wife even came -- I was excited they were able to because I don't see or talk to him enough.

Anyway, I got all the dishes done and the trash sacked up so I can sleep in tomorrow -- EXCITING!! But it's almost 4am so I'm off to bed to dream about the best birthday party in a loooooonng time!!

Crazy Dog

So, apparently it snowed last night...
I had heard flurries, but we usually hear that 10 - 15 times before it actually leaves any actual snow on the ground. Boy was I in for a surprise when I went to take Sassy out this morning!

So there was a light covering of snow on the ground. I bundled up and took Sassy out this morning around 6am. She took two steps out onto the front porch and stopped and just stared at the ground. She walked over to the railing and stuck her little head between the rails sniffing at the snow on the edge of the porch. She then turned and looked up at me, her liquid brown eyes clearly demanding "What the heck is going on?!" So I walked to the edge of the porch and tried to get her to go down the steps... she dug in her little feet and would not, for any reason go down those steps. So I walked down the steps and tried to coax her into following me... she just glared at me... I thought she was on the verge of saying, "You've got to be FREAKING kidding me, Mom, I'm not walking in THAT."

So I had to pick her up, carry her down the steps, and set her down in the grass to get her to go potty.

Crazy dog.

Then after I got ready for work we went back out so that I could clear the snow off my car. I used her long lead and tied it to the railing on the front porch. I do this when I'm loading the car to go somewhere so it's not new to her. I tied her to the porch and went down to the car. I kid you not, she plopped her butt down on that top step and just watched me clear off my car. People walked by and she didn't budge.. normally she runs up to everyone who passes, so excited to see other people that her entire butt wags -- not today -- she wasn't budging off that porch...

Crazy dog.

When is helpful too helpful?

So, I FINALLY have some help in my office... my friend Jessica is now the other Assistant Director in the office. It's great because it's nice to have someone I already know is cool and that I get along with. It's also extremely nice to have someone to hang out with who does not work for me. :)

On the other side, it's hard to know the line between helpful and too helpful. Where do I draw the line -- how do I determine what I need to share with her and what she needs to learn on her own?

Back to work....

Well, I've been out from work since last Monday. Why is it so hard to think about going back? I love my job and have been miserable at home alone all week... I guess it's just the daily grind that I hate not my job. Poor Sassy isn't going to like it though.

I don't have a lot going on in my world these days.. the most exciting thing was I keep getting these awful conservative nut job emails from a good friend of mine -- who happens to be a conservative nut job... yeah we don't talk politics much because I want to punch him, but he likes to get me riled up. His latest was apparently in Vermont someone is trying to interpret the constitution as saying it's our DUTY to bear arms and that anyone who chooses not to should have to pay a $500 fee. He is trying to make me argue with him, but the concept is so idiotic that I have nothing to say... THAT is how exciting my life is.

Steph Digest, what?!

So I got a call last night from a staffer. Two residents had just been transported to the hospital for an Overdose.

That's some scary stuff. Well, if that's all the information you have...

So this boy and girl are feeling somewhat ill and are afraid of getting H1N1. They have some of the symptoms but the one they notice is a cough. What do they do? Two honor students?

Well it makes total sense -- they split a bottle of cough medicine. Wait, they split an ENTIRE FAMILY SIZED bottle of cough medicine. Makes sense, right?

They were so out of it that the guy got belligerent with the police because they didn't believe him when he told them he was born in 1999 and that they were at Purdue NOT Indiana State University. They are BOTH students at ISU so why he would think they were at Purdue I have no idea. they never were able to convince him that he wasn't born in 1999.

So they were taken to the hospital. The girl was actually poisoned and was in the hospital for 48 hours, the dude was released the next day. My staffer over heard the guy telling the doctor that they drank the cough medicine and then smoked a jib... (I.e. joint, pot, smoked out, etc).

When my staffer talked to him this morning to follow up he actually said, "Well I learned that taking more medicine doesn't make you well faster."

Duh!

These are our honor students...

Doesn't that frighten you?

Yes I did

So I didn't think I was going to get to go because I didn't think anyone would go with me, but in the end my friend Shiggins came through for me and we went. And boy did I deserve that!

So earlier in the day, just in case, I emailed Frank and asked where he was playing in Anderson. He asked for my number and said he'd find out and call me. Well the whole day goes by and I don't hear and I had asked around and no one wanted to go... of course none of them knew how freakin cool he is so it's understandable.

It was around 4:15 and I was frantically searching for my misplaced keys and in the middle of a mild freak out when Frank texted me with where he was going to be and asked if I was going to be able to make it. I said I'd try but still wasn't sure. So, I'm freaking out because I can't find my keys (i.e. car, apartment, office, campus master key access), have to be at the trike race like 20 minutes ago and my stress level was pretty freakin high... finally I found my keys and headed to trike. My RHA was racing (first time in like 15 years that RHA had a trike team -- the women placed 5th of 12 and the men placed 7th of 15 woot woot!) so I wasn't going to judge, but they were short on a pit judge (don't worry about what that means -- it's pointless unless you ever attend trike) so I had to judge. Crappy day. Anyway, I was asking around and no one wanted to go. Finally I saw Shiggins and asked if she wanted to go and she immediately said "Sure!" Woo hoo!!

Trike was over at 7:15ish. We went home, let Sassy out, changed clothes and got on the road. We got to Anderson around 9:45ish. When we walked in Frank was at the piano with his back to us so I didn't think he saw us, but at his break he made a beeline for us and gave me a huge hug. They had had a rough trip down and he said he saw us come in and immediately felt better knowing a friendly face was in the crowd. Awww!! I know, school girl crush alert! Anyway he hugged me like five times and told me repeatedly that he was glad we were there. Shiggins now has a crush too.. he went out to his car to get me a copy of his new CD and when he was out of ear shot Shig's was like "he's so freaking hot up close!" Which, of course, I knew. :) She's now an obsessed fan and wants to road trip up to Notre Dame this Friday to see him play.

I'm not even that obsessed... I put the kabosh on that -- raving fan I'm ok with... raving lunatic not so much... :)

We ended the night at White Castle.. Yum... Perfect night! :)

Piano Man

So, I'm cruizing through my facebook invitations and see that my pianoman, Frank, has a new CD out and a new website (http://www.troublewithturner.com/). As I'm looking through his new site I see that he is in Anderson, IN -- TONIGHT. Now, that's a two hour and change drive from here, which isn't bad in my book. BUT it's homecoming weekend, which sucks. If it wasn't, I'd totally go. Hell, I may still go -- we'll see how I feel after our Trike race tonight.

Cross your fingers -- that would be the PERFECT end to my week!! :)

Sassy is smarter than I am...

So, my puppy is smarter than me.

She has figured out exactly what will get her treats and keeps doing those things over and over again and I JUST figured out what was going on.

I'm been home with her for five days. All she keeps doing is sleeping and going outside. She hasn't been eating and I've been worried. I'm going to SAY it's because I've been sick but I realized today that she isn't necessarily pottying while we are outside. She just keeps sniffing around and then going back inside. When we get inside she instantly demands a treat so I've been giving it to her.

That's one way.

She has also been stealing stuff lately and running off with it. It's been driving me nuts. First it was my chap stick, then it was the thermometer, then a cup, then my phone, then a book.. it's been driving me CRAZY. Then I realized that each time, to get her to drop the item I've been bribing her with treats instead of chasing her since I wasn't feeling well.

She's a smart little bugger.. and I think she may have more problem solving skills than most of my graduate (and some of my Professional) staff.

I'm hip to her game now, though!! I'm using it to my advantage.. now I'm putting them in her cage -- so she automatically goes there when we come inside.. HA two can play at that game.

Aaarrrggg...

So, I'm sick.

Besides New Years, being sick is the WORST time to be single and live away from your family. I just want to curl up in bed and have someone take care of me, but Sassy can't pour juice or cook soup so I'm screwed. Nor can she let herself out, or bring me medicine. :(

She is really great about curling up right against me under the covers to warm me up and offer comfort, which is really sweet.

So I've been off work for two days already for this stupid flu. I was kind of excited today because I wasn't runnign a fever, but tonight it's back up a little bit. I think i may have to go to the ambucare tomorrow...

Wish me luck!

High Tea...

So I've recently discovered tea.

Yes, I realize that most of the world already knew about tea, but not me. I mean I knew about it but my family was never tea drinkers so I never really had it much. I've been reading a series set in England and decided to adopt their tea custom. In the books they seem to treat tea like Americans treat cigarettes. When they are tired - Tea, when they are hungry - tea, when they are stressed - tea, when they are sad- tea, when they are lonely - tea, when they are happy - tea, when they are bored - tea... sounds good to me, so I'm now a tea drinker.

I haven't quite gotten to the part yet where i actually have High Tea at 4pm, but it's a goal.

I'm also looking for a pretty tea set because I think that would be fun... lol

Maybe I'm regressing to childhood because we always used to try to have tea parties...

Cheaply Stocking a Pantry

So, I'm reading a book called "How to Cook Without a Book" that I think my Aunt Karen got me when I graduated college. Part of it is to keep your pantry constantly stocked and learning a few techniques that you can adapt for different recipes. Now my pantry is KIND of stocked, but I was wondering if anyone knew how to do it cheaply with spices and what not...

Keep in mind I live in Terre Haute, IN, so there are no local co-ops, which would have been the best option.

Any thoughts?

Why is the world full of Douche Bags?

What's all this Roman Polanski business....

The man is convicted of raping a 13 year old girl, flees his sentence, and is finally being extradited back to the US after 30 years?

What the heck?! Why would they wait that long?

Why would they honor him at the academy awards? Why would anyone celebrate a rapist?

I don't care if he does make brilliant movies...

That's like saying Jeffrey Dahmer was a brilliant chef....

Or Charlie Manson was a great motivator...

The man photographed a 13 year old naked and then raped her. AND PEOPLE ARE DEFENDING HIM.. saying that at 74 he's not a threat to society... that it serves no purpose to extradite him...

even the girl (now woman) doesn't want it brought up again...

While I understand her pain.. the man fled his sentence after being convicted of RAPE...

Oh I get it.. if you have money you can do anything and you're above the law? You can rape small children and not face any consequences for that because you moved out of the country? It's just one more way that our society supports rapists and not victims...

Why is the world full of douche bags?

Why now?

Why the HELL not 30 years ago?? It's not like the man has been hiding.. he's still making movies.. hell he's freaking thumbing his nose at our justice system... we've known where he is...

Shoot he should have to turn all of the proceeds from every movie he has made since fleeing the country to that woman and her family.. he should have served time for his CRIME.. not make movies and millions of dollars...

The worst part is that the world seems to support him and think that he shouldn't be extradited... it's absolutely outrageous... going so far as to blame the girl saying she wanted it.. SHE WAS FREAKING 13.. I don't care if she stripped down and crawled on top of him... SHE WAS FREAKING 13

Even in 1974, 13 is still a CHILD...

I hate this world sometimes... why is the world full of idiots??

Rape isn't just a crime against the woman... it's a crime against ALL WOMEN...

Bastard!

Very Flattered

So,my boss keeps pushing me to do two things:

1. Get a Ph.D
2. Publish an article for one of our industry magazines

I currently have no desire for 1. and could do 2. but that's a lot of extra work on top of working for two and teaching a class. But I told him we could co-author next month, the topic? Managing Up: How to Manage Your Boss. If we end up doing it and getting it published I'll post the link.

We are also in the interview process to hire the other assistant director in our office. I'm not the HR person in our office, but I'm learning a lot about what happens. Today I was completely flattered. We were talking about what we needed to do next and I brought up what they did with me last year and he said (and I'm not kidding), "Killer, your process was different because as soon as you applied I knew who I wanted. The rest was just a formality."

So that's always nice to hear, right?

So, watch for article links -- but don't hold your breath. :)

In case you aren't on Facebook...

... You NEED to check this website out..

http://peopleofwalmart.com

...will be the FUNNIEST hour of you life

...well, unless you see yourself -- then you might want to check out http://www.fmylife.com or http://failblog.org

Happy Friday!

UPDATE: She recanted it...

So apparently our chief of police passed on my idea because on the news this morning they were talking about a new type of sanction for the ISU girl who falsified a rape report. They are working with victims assistance to have her volunteer with them. The news said that this type of sentence has never been used before and they are trying something different... DAMN SKIPPY!! Someone actually LISTENED to me!! :)

The article is below:

http://mywabashvalley.com/content/fulltext/?cid=83731

"A deputy prosecutor told us they want Conley to work with actual crime victims in hopes this teaches her a valuable lesson"

It was a good year....

I believe I've mentioned that I moved to Redneckville USA last year when I changed jobs? If I believe I've mentioned the fashion trends that are common here? So clearly Terre Haute is not known for it's sophistication, so when you hear things that, in other places, seem natural, you're a little taken aback..

Today my Director and I went to Walmart to pick up some gift cards for our staff and were waiting while the lady at the service desk swiped and rang up all of our cards (there were 100 so it took a while). While we were standing there, Rex, my boss, busted out laughing incredibly loudly. He pulls me over and said that the guy at the cashier close to us just made a comment about a bottle of wine and say "I think I'll try this, it was a good year." referring, we are assuming, to the vintage of the wine. Now if you aren't a wine drinker you may not really get that.. but the kinds of wine that one would typically care about the vintage are not the kinds of wine sold at WALMART... so the guy was clearly trying to impress someone. So we scoped out the situation... ummm yea the cashier only had about two teeth and a mullet so we aren't sure that she was duly impressed with his comment on the wine's vintage...

We both found it exceedingly funny...

but then we are both somewhat snobs when it comes to wine... well and to Terre Haute townies...

She recanted it..

So I was rather furious this week...

on Tuesday we had a student report that she was raped. She said she had met a guy and hung out with him for a while then invited him back to her room where he raped her. She gave a detailed account to police (and since i read all campus police reports I got to read this one as well) and I was so angry on her behalf and ready to tear this dude limb from limb -- had he not been a non-student who we were unable to locate. Her story was so horrible and reading it I imagined the terror she must have felt and the helplessness of being unable to call out... I teared up a bit for this girl..

Now, most people have no idea what rape really is. I know that people understand it technically and say things like "well he forced himself on her" to explain what it is, but that doesn't even begin to cover what rape is. That statement actually demeans what she goes through by softening the language. The image that pops into your head when someone says that is a million times nicer than the reality of the situation. If you've never experienced it or worked with victims directly after the real experience then you cannot even fathom what someone goes through and how ugly the scene really is-- they do not only violate her body, but they murder a part of her soul. Rape murders the part of her soul that believes in happy endings and human goodness. She'll never get that back. In my book, rape is worse than murder. It's the only crime where the victim's character is called into question, you never hear a victim of robbery questioned about what s/he was wearing and whether or not they were flaunting their money around... the rape victim has to live with that the rest of her life as does her family and anyone else she ever comes in to contact with. At least with murder the victim no longer has to deal with it.

As if that isn't bad enough, she then gets raped again by anyone else she shares her experience with in our society by asking her stupid questions like "well why did you put yourself in that situation?" or "why didn't you yell for help?" or "Why did you dress like that?" as if by doing or not doing those things makes it HER fault that some bastard violated her. Why do we insist on removing the blame from the man? As if the man shouldn't be responsible for controlling his baser instincts? If a man forces a woman it is a CHOICE he makes not an accident. You don't "accidentally" rape someone. If a woman so much as HINTS at not being comfortable with sex or what you are doing, you should back the hell off.. not try to convince her or ignore her when she says things like "I don't know" and certainly if she stays stop or get the F**K off me, I don't care how worked up you are or how freaking far you've already gone.. if she says stop, STOP. No questions, no comments, just stop. It's HER body. It's HER right to decide what happens to it. It doesn't make her a tease. It doesn't make her a bitch. It doesn't make her anything but a woman who deserves the right to choose what happens to her body.

I was reading a program the other day that said "Safer sex" doesn't exist for a woman. If a man wants to have "safer sex" he puts on a condom and it's done, but other than complete abstinence, a woman NEEDS the cooperation of her partner to have safer sex because even the female condom is designed for use with a partner's help. As if being a woman doesn't suck enough, now we are of age sexually and we have to try to persuade a man, a sexually worked up man, to go along with safe sex and/or convince him to stop? thinking about it pisses me off because it's like society tell men they can behave any way they want sexually and it's OK. It's not OK, EVER. This isn't the middle ages where men just take what they want -- it really sucks that we haven't moved that far from those times when it comes to sex. Side note: Did you know that in medieval times when there were walls around villages, if a woman was raped outside the walls the men of her family were allowed to rape the women in the rapist's family in retaliation. If she was raped within the walls she was stoned to death because in theory she should have yelled out for help... have we changes that much? we no longer have visible walls around villages, but don't we still "Stone" women who are raped -- with words now instead of actual stones -- because we say she should have fought harder, dressed more conservatively, or said no louder.... ARRRGGGHH Sometimes I freaking hate this world...

Anyway, stepping off my soapbox -- I get a little worked up when it comes to rape.. I just think this is an illness in our society a disease and it pisses me off..

Back to our student who was raped.. on Friday we get a call from our Chief of police saying that this student recanted her story and was not raped at all. When in fact, she just said she was raped to keep from being caught for cheating on her boyfriend.

Now, if rape pisses me off... false reports of rape pisses me off even further because it damages women EVERYWHERE. For every false report of rape, a rapist gets off Scott free because the people who dealt with the false report are now more skeptical of rape victims. ARRRGGGG!! Which forces our judicial system to endure rape trials where defense attorneys rip apart a real victims character in order to make the jury think it was "another false report" and forget about date rape, you almost can't convict a date rapist these days.. all because of stupid little girls like this one.. DAMN IT

I recommended some restorative justice for this little girl and requested that our judicial office require her to do volunteer work with victims of sexual violence. Let her see the true story of rape and what it does to a woman and learn first hand how truly despicable her false claim is and how damaging it is to women everywhere.

Cross your fingers that they follow my suggestion... if not, I'm a member of the Coalition against Sexual Violence and we may be doing some outreach education... some one on one tutoring, if you will.. :)

Just a cute picture of Sassy

Isn't she the most adorable puppy ever!!

But boy does she take after her mom in the PMS department.. SHEW WEE She's a brat!!

She's a big girl now...

So....

Sassy went in to heat this week.

All I can say is Ewwwwwwwwwww..............

So she's wearing diapers and it's the cutest thing, but she HATES it...

So she's getting fixed ASAFP (As soon as freaking possible).

Man-Dates and Mimosas

So, how many times have YOUR guy friends requested a night of movies and mimosas? Yes, mimosas are a champaign and orange juice cocktail...

Had friends over last night to watch "I love you, Man" and have mimosas and it was two dudes idea.. I LOVE it.. makes me laugh..

I love my friends!!

"Politics is Hollywood for the Ugly"

Thank you Jay Leno, you summed it up nicely.

WTF was what's his nose thinking?! Joe Wilson is an idiot and represents EVERYTHING that is wrong with this country and our youth. How the HELL does a US REPRESENTATIVE heckle the President of the United States? Is he 12? What kind of message does that send? That if you don't agree with someone it's ok to call them names and heckle them in public? On a playground that's called a bully.

Freaking IDIOT!

It chaps my ass that people in public positions fail to recognize their role model status and act accordingly. As a public figure you have the RESPONSIBILITY to act civil AT ALL TIMES. And as an elected official you do not represent your OWN opinions, you represent the opinions of your district. I'm fairly certain that your entire district is now ashamed of your personal outburst Mr. Wilson.

Moron!

I just don't understand....

.... how people do not see the benefit of a public insurance option... We can spend over 4 TRILLION on a useless war over OIL and don't let it bother us at all, but the thought of the government providing something that SHOULD be a fundamental right to every American, such as health care, we piss and moan over how much it may cost... how sad!


Put that way, it kind of makes us look like greedy bastards doesn't it?

Btw: Do you know anyone who doesn't have health coverage? If you lost your job tomorrow, would you have health coverage or would it get yanked away with your JOB? What happens when your doctor diagnoses you with a painful stomach cancer tomorrow? You don't have health care because you cannot afford it... so because you don't make enough money you don't deserve the same care as someone else who's job was not recently made redundant?

Take a moment and think about that... or maybe it's not you, but your son or daughter.. take a moment and think about THAT....

Are you still opposed to a CHEAPER government option??

It's simple economics... if the government provides a product and can control it's cost to the consumer and keeps that cost low everyone else in the market will HAVE to lower their prices as well to remain competitive in the market. See heath care, in this country, is viewed as a necessity good. There are a few insurance provdiers and we HAVE to have to have it in order to remain healthy so they can jack the prices up as high as they want because they control the market -- we, as the consumer, have little say in the matter. They jack up the prices and we will pay because we have no choice. If the government offers a choice they lose their ability to jack up prices because they will then be forced to compete for consumer $$ with the GOVERNMENT.

All the anti-public option advertisements on TV -- I would almost guarantee those ads are paid for by BIG insurance companies who dont' want to compete becaues they are getting fat off of us...

Take part in YOUR world folks.. Stop believing everything you're told by politians and DO YOUR OWN FREAKING RESEARCH...

Well, actually, Officer, sir, we aren't 17... nope, we're 30ish

So I had a fantastic weekend at home. Got to see tons of my sister and Bobbi, which was awesome, and got to hangout with my cousins which hasn't happened in FOREVER. And boy was it ever a good time. I woke up Sunday with a laughter hangover... headache, sides and back hurt from laughing so hard.

See, my cousins are probably two of the funniest people I've ever met in my life. They are the product of two funny parents, so it makes sense. They are the perfect pair. They are twins, Mari and Kari and are perfect compliments to each other. Mari is the type that is up for anything and Kari is the type that is always putting Mari up to stuff.. not that Mari is blameless in the ideas department, but typically they will develop an idea together and Mari will implement it. They've been like that since I used to babysit for them when they were kids. Kari was always the reserved one and Mari was the type who was always putting herself out there. I always had so much fun with them when we were growing up and miss that I don't see them hardly at all any more.

Anyway, so Mari had a party at her house (or Kari had a party at Mari's house -- not sure how that happened) and my sister, Bobbi and I joined them. I'm not going to go into all the details, but to make a long story short, Mari lives across from a city park which closes at dark. The evening involved secret passwords, lesbians, playing on the swings around midnight, a cursed skirt wearer, the police, a frisbee, some hilarious stories that embarrassed me the next day when I had to sit across from our grandmother at lunch, some glamour shots of Mari and her dog, some fond memories from childhood, fart noises, and large quantaties of alcohol... you'll have to do the math. Though I doubt you'll get anywhere close to the truth..

Well, I actually have no PLANS to eat paint chips....

So, I got a call from my landlady yesterday saying she had something she just found out she needed me to sign. She said it was a release on lead based products that might have been used in construction of the house back in the 1800's (who knew my place was that old -- oh yea, I did). She summarized it by saying, "well basically it's to warn you against eating paint chips." to which I replied,

"Well, Carol, considering I'm a reasonably intelligent adult, I doubt I'll get a hankering to eat paint chips any time soon.. but you never know so I'll sign the release"

Totally Appropriate!!

So I ran across this comic this evening and thought it was perfect considering one of my previous posts. :) I LOVE IT.

You know you're tired when...

you fall alseep twice on the way home from work while sitting at stop lights... and you only live six blocks away...

you fall asleep in the middle of typing an email and end up with a line of l's in the middle of it... and don't notice until AFTER you send it...

sitting still for more than five seconds at a time makes your head bob and your neck ache from jerking yourself back awake...

Open Letter

So I got this "Open letter to President Obama" in email today. Now I'm pretty liberal in my thinking.. OK I'm about as liberal as i can be without being a total nut job. yes I do say "total" because I'm sure some of the rightys out there would consider me a nut job.. in fact I know a couple.. :)

So I'm adding my thoughts in red... I just thought this would be a fun exercise. however keep in mind this is just my opinion -- for fun!!

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. We fear that which we don't understand... keep that in mind.. we also, as Americans, fear change of any kind...

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you. Then that is your fault the man has TWO books out and have you ever heard of GOOGLE?? If you know nothing about him it's because you haven't done your research.. the man no longer has a private life.. get off your ass and do some research..

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support. College loans and writing TWO BOOKS... they live off of royalties.. did you not pay attention during the election??

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American. Right because this is a requirement to be a good citizen? Ask my dad.. he can give you plenty of examples of people who did grow up culturally as an American who did spend their formative years in America and are now on HOUSE ARREST... American does not automatically = good... good parenting and a strong family unit typically is the only thing that creates good citizenship.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll. Ummm... are you kidding me? Ronald Regan was an ACTOR... and George W Bush..well do I really need to elaborate??

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core. Again.. GW Bush.. seriously.. the National Guard?? That is why he has ADVISORS... no one is an expert at everything

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others. I do not understand this point. The man has more class in his fingernail than GW had in his entire family... seriously did you ever read about his personal life.. or his alcoholic daughters?

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail. Really? Just because you happen to know someone doesn't mean you believe all the things they believe.. hey the beautiful thing about America is that you can have your own opinions and not everyone has to think alike.. I know people who own guns and I happen to think they are part of the problem with this world... doesn't mean I hate those people or don't associate with them.. we just don't talk about it...

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' crowd and deliver this message abroad. Ummm... who else is there to blame for our screw ups... Mexico?? Canada?

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector. the Government should protect the people... NOT the industry... if we can't do it ourselves it is the government's JOB to do it for us... Besides.. it's worked over there for hundreds of years... we are still a relatively young country in comparison... shoot America is barely a teenager in comparison.. do your teenagers always make the best decisions?? I work at a college... so you don't have to answer that.. I spend my time cleaning up your parenting disasters...

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one. Our heath care system is failing.. heath care is not a privilege for those who can afford it, it should be a fundamental right for anyone who NEEDs it.. If the government provided a cheaper alternative to big business insurance companies it helps EVERYONE.. 1. The big insurance companies would be FORCED to lower their prices in order to compete -- the corner stone of our "sacred" market economy is competition. 2. Small businesses wouldn't have to provide insurance so they could afford to hire more people thus increasing the number of jobs available 3. people who needed medical care could get it -- CHILDREN could get medical attention when they needed it and it wouldn't be reserved for children with parents who could afford it... take a moment and google the list of the happiest countries in the world.. the top 5 all have a government run health care system -- it is a fundamental right.. not a commodity -- heck most of them are socialist countries and are HAPPY with it and their place in the world.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves. Windmills are better for the environment you ass!! If we keep running through our fossil fuels we will eventually RUN OUT or be forced to rely on other countries again as we do now... wind is cheap -- it just happens...

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world. This is a dirty lie.. there is no golden egg... capitalism is not the best system in the world. While it may create the richest rich, it also creates the poorest poor.. it creates a class system and dissatisfaction with life.. the "American dream" is just that, a dream. in this country 20% of the people control 80% of the wealth.. how the hell is that fair? Climb out of your ivory tower and realize that most of the people in this country are barely making it day to day... most live paycheck to paycheck hoping that nothing serious goes wrong because then they are screwed.. the only thing this country does is creates this impossible dream that one day I could possibly make it rich, but it doesn't really work that way.. the average Joe thinks that if he works hard enough he can make it rich.. not so.. you have to invent something extraordinary in order to bust out of the class you were born in.. even with a higher education.. which has become less and less valuable as education has become more widely available.. capitalism is not a golden goose.. it's a lead weight... its only good for those at the top... and creates impossible dreams for everyone else..

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations. I don't know what this means, but if the damn republicans had been paying attention the bank crisis wouldn't have happened... they tend to watch out for their own interests..

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals. Maybe because they are hoping it works.. wild and irresponsible are judgements that no one can make until after they've tried and failed.. YOU don't know if it will work or not... but as in all business you have to spend money to make money..

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people. "Intelligent people" are what got this country into the mess it is in..

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient. Now you're getting personal... I've read or watched all of his speeches and he's never made either claim...

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do. Nothing wrong with keeping an open mind...

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view. Because these people are idiots and will disagree with him simply because it's change and they are old men who hate change.. seriously these dudes don't look at society as a whole, just their wallets and the wallets of their friends.. then they spin everything in a negative way just because it wasn't their idea... come on.. Rush Limbaugh?? the man is a coke head.. and O'Reilly -- the man started on HARD COPY.. a GOSSIP rag.. you can't tell me that as an intelligent adult that you'd actually listen to anything he has to say...

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing. Like I told my grad today.. sometimes you have to be the boss.. if people aren't doing what they need to be doing sometimes you just have to be the boss...

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years. Hopefully because the rest of America will wisen up and stone you for writing such crap...

Lou Pritchett


Note: Lou Pritchett is a former vice president of Procter & Gamble whose career at that company spanned 36 years before his retirement in 1989, and he is the author of the 1995 business book, Stop Paddling & Start Rocking the Boat. = rich dude who probably has more than he could possibly ever need or use but who doesn't want to share with those who really need it... and has probably never experienced poverty or met anyone who has experienced real true poverty... idiot

Mr.. Pritchett confirmed that he was indeed the author of the much-circulated "open letter." “I did write the 'you scare me' letter. I sent it to the NY Times but they never acknowledged or published it. However, it hit the internet and according to the ‘experts’ has had over 500,000 hits.

I hate work politics

So we all hate work politics, but unfortunately it's a necessary evil in most environments. I got hit in the face with it today and almost blew a gasket.

Last week my boss and I were chatting about what I want to do when I finally grow up. He made a joke about me taking his job and I literally laughed in his face and baldly stated that I had no desire to be a Director of Res Life.. that in fact, that's probably one of the last jobs in the world I would take. He flattered me the by telling me that we needed to talk about it further because he thought I should reconsider that. He said that there were tons of people currently in the position who did not have the skills to do it, but that I do have the talent and should use it. While I was immensely flattered by his confidence in me, I absolutely have no desire to be a director of housing/res life. And I carefully laid out my reasoning -- I hate the politics involved.

Let's face it folks, I wasn't made to be a mover and a shaker... I'm too honest for that. Now, to be totally truthful, I can lie like a rug.. I just choose not to... I don't have the patience for BS nor do I have the energy to keep track of lies and gossip. Hence, my extremely slow upward journey.. LOL

At EMU I went nowhere because i refused to play the game. I detest people who make sport of others and because I refused to be a part of that i was shunned by the "popular kids." It's kind of happening here as well. I typically keep my mouth shut and listen, but don't gossip. Since I don't share gossip I'm not really of value in the political sphere... unfortunately in a division that operates more on gossip than skill or fact -- that's a hindrance. I'm too honest and forthright. People, typically, do not have to wonder where they stand with me. You're either an acquaintance, or you're a friend -- hate and dislike take too much energy so there are FEW that fit into the dislike category.. there are a few.. but the number is small.

Unfortunately one of our administrators is at the top of that list, especially after today.

I have spent the last year of my life devoted to creating an innovative, exciting, fun, and educational training program for our department. I have fought (and won) several battles (some of them I drew blood) in order to get to do the training program the way I wanted it done. It's something I've wanted to do for years because I knew it would be amazing and would help not only with Morale, but with retention as well. Unfortunately, prior to my current supervisor no one had enough balls to let me try something new and different. But this year was different. I was able to create a comprehensive, skills based, experiential learning workshop that addressed all of the important skill sets and used a variety of techniques to illustrate and reiterate the programs. It was freaking AWESOME. Morale was up 100% over last year. Staff were happy, peppy, joking, getting to know each other. We actually built a huge staff community where everyone across campus was getting to know each other and having fun in the process.

For the first time in the 10 years I've been involved in in RA training I heard absolutely ZERO complaints about training. In fact, other administrators on campus were pulling me aside to pass on all the good things the student staff were saying about training this year. Today was supposed to be the culmination of the training. we were ending with a graduation ceremony and giving them Residential Life University T-shirts as a completion gift. Kind of their certificate, if you will. As part of the ceremony we had planned to have a motivational speaker.

Well, without going too much into it, the speaker was not who I wanted it to be (because of office politics) and I was assured when this person was forced on me, that he could be peppy and motivational. Unfortunately that was a DIRTY LIE. Not only was he not motivating .. he was DEMOTIVATING and negative. Here I had a staff of peppy, excited college students after a full week of training and he starts lecturing them on how judicial numbers have increased 1000% and that they are warriors in the war for retention. WARRIORS?? Really? we just spent a week telling them they were champions of student success and that their job was to help students succeed for their personal growth and he comes in and calls them warriors for the bottom line. I was so freaking pissed off that I had to leave the room or wring his neck (which would have definitely been a CLM). I was so mad (and it takes a LOT to piss me off that badly) that I had tears in my eyes because I had no other outlet for my anger AND I couldn't show it in front of my staff. So I took a short walk outside and asked my boss to close up the graduation. I don't know that I have ever been so furious in my entire life. This douche bag spent 45 minutes with my staff and they left that room looking tired, drained, and defeated. When he arrived they were laughing, joking, and looking forward to students returning.

When i got back to the office afterward my boss asked me if I was still talking to him...

my response -- "Barely"

the only reason I'm willing to forgive is because I knew he had no choice politically, just like I had no choice... too bad my staff don't know that.. they think I CHOSE to end training like that...

So much for the awesome job at staff morale and retention...

Bastard politics!!

Spontaneous Dance Party = LEGENDARY

So we are now fully into student staff training.. and I have to say that it is amazing. My vision has come to fruition at last and is exactly as I saw it in my head. Tonight was role modeling events and afterward people hung out and had a spontaneous dance party... AWESOME..

That means we have a good atmosphere, trust exists, and relationships are happening!!

YAY!!!

Projectile Puppy Puke...

So it's official -- I'm a parent.

Sassy was sick this weekend. She puked all over the place... including on me.

I was sitting on the couch after just getting out of the shower on Saturday. She crawled onto my lap and snuggled up. I was thinking "awww.. she's so cute... what the heck..!" as she vomited all over me.. no warning gags.. no warning of any kind.. just one minute she's snuggled, the next I'm covered in puppy vomit..

I realized that i can deal with vomit if I need to... and if I don't think too closely about what it is...

BTW-- She's better now

"Haute" Couture.. as in Terre Haute

So I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to start a Terre Haute fashion blog. I mean I know that I'm not the best dresser in town, clearly (read: earlier posts about the ugly shirt), however I'm not Hautian.

Today, no kidding, I saw a woman wearing a royal blue sequined off-the-shoulder tank top with grey sweatpants tucked into ankle boots... And to top it off -- she was sporting a she-mullet or shullet if you will.... I wish I had taken a picture...

Seriously -- I can't make this stuff up...

I'm better now

Shew.. what a week.. feels like Friday and I keep having mini panic attacks (not really), but it's only Wednesday. I'm feeling better about things. Taking it day by day! :)

So I'm off.. to kill a bunch of trees.. yes call me a murderer if you must.. but training must happen and we aren't advanced yet to not need handouts!!

AHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....

Well, today was another beautiful day of getting NOTHING DONE..

this sucks!!

I have a crap ton (my new phrase) to do and can't seem to get any of it done without someone interrupting me or getting more CRAP thrown on..

Today my director met with the President.. who wants us to to plan a bunch of freaking large scale programs for the first two weeks of school.. this information would have been nice TWO MONTHS AGO... now we are going to have a bunch of programs thrown together at the last minute... ON TOP OF THE REST OF THE CRAP I HAVE TO DO... GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...

It's frustrating because I've been working hard to change things and getting road block after road block.. suggested things to be told no.. only two weeks later the idea was suddenly our asst vp's and now we're doing it... it's just frustrating.. especially to get this much work thrown on us three days before training starts... so now we are asking our staff to go from 8am - midnight for three weeks straight without a day off... and our pro staff to go a month and a half straight without time off... GRRR

Ok, now that I've got that out of my system... below is a license plate I saw last night.. it's AWESOME!!!

Movies I liked

So I was asked what movies I've liked recently... here's a run down... in no particular order...

Eagle Eye was pretty good

Bedtime Stories was cute, Role Models was surprisingly decent -- not as raunchy as I expected, Yes Man had a good theme and was decent

Burn After Reading was good, but I don't know if I liked it so much because of the movie and the surprising plot twists or the fact that Brad Pitt randomly gets jacked in the face...

I was forced to watch Momma Mia twice in one night during Girls weekend... not that it isn't a good movie, but twice in one night is too much for almost ANY movie...

I Love You Man, was funny I liked it a lot
Forgetting Sarah Marshall was pretty good too if a little sexually explicit in some places.. but in an extremely pee-your-pants-funny kind of way

He's Just Not That In To You was really good for a chick flick -- not my favorite Genre but every now and then... I AM a girl after all...

The Hangover was FReAKING HILARIOUS, but in a "I know people who that would really happen to" kind of way, not the normal stupid funny-Will Ferrell kind of way...

Penelope was good in that no-sex-no-violence-a-good-message-for-the-kiddies kind of way -- it's not a cartoon.. just a sweet movie

Funny Face was good -- Yes my tastes are eclectic -- I love everything... I had not seen that, but Roman Holiday is still my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie...

but I think my favorite recent movie is Swing Vote.. GREAT movie... every American should have been required to watch it prior to the past election because it really brings home the importance of casting an INFORMED vote... and listening to both sides openly but with caution toward the media and the hype.. but then again.. not the American way to force people to make good decisions or care about their country... still best movie I've seen recently

I don't watch movies that typically win academy awards... mainly because I try to stay away from depressing movies..

those are my thoughts kids.. feel free to share your thoughts and your favorite movies!!

Action Flicks... overall - not a fan

So I went to see Transformers tonight. The second one. I saw the first one a couple of weeks ago on DVD and it was good so i thought, "what the heck, it's only $5."

I realized something tonight...

I'm not a fan of the action flick. Love the suspense flick. Love the comedies. Love t he romantic comedies. Love the dramas. Even love the occasional sci fi.. but not a fan of the pure action flick.

Transformers had great potential ruined by too much attention to the special effects. The fight scenes could have been cut in half and they could have extended the plot, added suspense, and even deepened the romance between the leads... but no, the producers decided to extend the fight scenes instead of the plot.. disappointing. So I realize that I don't care about special effects.. when I was yawning and bored during the fight scenes, you know there's an issue... I need more plot.. I don't mind action.. lots of action if I have to think through it.. but if it's just for show I start getting angry...

And Shia LaBeouf --- not believable as an 18 year old... which is strange because he's really only like 23... but I still didn't believe him as 18... but the again.. as someone who works with 18 year olds on a daily basis I'd have a more critical eye than most...

So give me the action/suspense and I'm happy, but save the fight scenes for someone else...

Slightly Extremely Overwhelmed...

So, have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you couldn't form a coherent thought?

I'm about one step away from that, in fact this blog may be my last thought... for the week.

So my office typically has two assistant directors. I'm the Assistant Director for Staff Development and the other is the Assistant Director for Student Development. Basically that means she/he hires them and I train them. Both positions supervise three full time staff members, who in turn supervise three grads each, who in turn supervise anywhere from 5 - 15 undergraduate students each, who in turn are responsible for anywhere from 30 - 150 college students each. In total, we have approximately 3,000 students who live on campus and between the other Assistant Director and myself we are ultimately responsible to the University Administration for all of them. And my job is to ensure that all of the professional, grad, and student staff are properly trained to deal with any and every issue that may crop up over the course of the year. They typically deal with anything from homesickness, to failing grades, to fires, rape, and unfortunately missing or suicidal students. This is my major responsibility along with supervision (supervision is easy, btw). So, to do this we begin training our professional and grad staff on August 1 and our student staff on the 13th. There are 125 staff members total. This is kind of a big undertaking and something I LOVE doing and have always loved doing it. I love the challenge of developing a program that not only gives the information they need, but provides outlets for them to practice new skills in a safe environment and to actually gain life skills out of the deal. Typically, this is my sole responsibility during this part of the year and it works.

Not this year.

The other assistant director left, so now I'm supervising her staff as well as mine, dealing with all of the day to day stuff that she handled so I could get training together, and basically putting out fires. Now it's all me. I haven't accomplished anything at all this week because every time I try to do something, something else crops up that has to be dealt with right then and there. In the process of this, I have to schedule interviews for that position and lead a search.

I'm so strung out it's not funny. During all of this, we will be opening for the school year and my director will be taking prelims for his PhD the two days prior to opening. There will be about a two week time when i will be completely on my own... I'm not going to lie the stress may bury me...

actually, it won't, I'm fantastic under pressure, but i don't like it... some people say they work better under stress... that's a lie.. no one works better under stress -- they just lack motivation unless the deadline is looming... I hate working under stress, but am very good at it... not my best, but decent. Basically because i know at some point I will come to the realization that there is only so much I can do and the rest will have to wait or fall off... I just haven't yet decided where that boundary lies...

wish me luck.. I enjoy blogging so I'll keep you updated... :)

Pub, how I love thee, let me count the ways....

Now most people would think that pledging their love to a bar precludes substance abuse treatment... for some it may, but let me put it into terms you can understand...

Remember the TV show Cheers? Pub is my Cheers if Cheers was a piano bar with a hot piano player who not only knows my name, but every song I love and plays them all for me when I come to town.. plus he gets excited to see me.. :)

The piano player is Frank.

Three years ago we started going to Pub on Wednesday nights because I had a crush on one of the piano players -- Frank. Now it wasn't really a crush because at the time I knew nothing about him other than he was charismatic and adorable and could play the piano. Over time we got to know him and he really is a cool guy and I became a huge fan. I didn't really expect him to remember me or anything. I mean he sees thousands of girls a week at the bar and 99% of them are better looking, but he did remember me and he began learning the songs I like and learning new Billy Joel songs for me. SO when i go back he's excited to see me and makes me feel really special. This past time was no different...

Erica had called to see when i was coming so she could get a sitter so we could go to Pub. So when I get to town we get ready and head to Pub. Erica and Marty haven't been in a while and it's been since the beginning of April since I've been there... so we weren't even sure if Frank still worked there, but we only go because of him -- the rest of the players suck now all the other good ones left. anyway so we get to Pub and Frank isn't there so we were worried.. but we ordered dinner and waited. Patrick and Ryan were playing (Patrick is former Army but an asshole and Ryan looks 12) but we ask Ryan if Frank is coming and he said that he was on his way.

So we're there for about a half hour when Frank walks in the front door... as he walks through the doors he see us and greets us excitedly and after putting his stuff down comes over and gives hugs. He then goes off to do stuff and says he'll be back. He didn't really come back, but when he got to the piano the first thing he did was say, "Steph, I hope I don't totally butcher this" and then he played Innocent Man by Billy Joel for me. back when I lived up there I told him he should learn it because it's my favorite song -- he did. :) So he proceeds to play all of my favorite songs including billy joel and Pearl Jam songs among others. I had a great night. I always have a great night at pub.

So Thursday I log into my facebook and have a message from Frank apologizing for not coming back to the table... how sweet is that!!

Now, to understand how cool this is to me.. I'm a FAN of his.. he has a CD which I wake up to every day and I listen to it when I get homesick for Ypsi. It's really good. :) So being a Fan, it's totally awesome that he knows who I am... can you imagine someone whom you're a huge fan of who knows your name and whatnot??

So, needless to say one night at Pub while in Michigan for four nights is not enough. I mean we used to go weekly and that was my major stress relief -- Terre Haute has NOTHING like this... so I convince Gundick and Gary to go with me on Friday night because since Erica and Marty have a kid, I know they probably aren't going to want to go again (that's totally reasonable). So I head there with the boys. We get there at about 10pm and Frank is at the piano with his back to us. We sit down and he sees us a bit later and stops what he's saying to say hi. Then when he finished his set he comes over and sits down with us (after hugs and a kiss :) ) . We got to catch up and he's got some great things going on. I'm excited for him and told him that when he made it famous i was telling everyone we were BFFs. He laughed and said ok. :)

So it was a good night. It was a good Pub visit! :)

So, I'm not really obsessed with this guy, but he makes a big deal that we are there and always makes sure to come over and talk to us and catch up like we matter. I'm a fan for life because of that! :)

Of course when Frank leaves Pub will cease to exist to me...

It was a good night...

Back from Vacation

Well, I did it! I finally took a week vacation during a week that the office was open and went somewhere besides my parents house. What exotic destination did I make it to this summer? Well, if you followed my twitter or facebook posts you'd know it wasn't really somewhere exotic, but someplace just as therapeutic to my soul. I went to Ypsi, MI -- my second home. I went to visit Erica, Marty, and Maverick Cooper -- some of the best friends a girl could have. Well, vacation didn't start there.. I need to back up a couple of days.

Friday, July 10th -- Threw a Game night party with Bourbon Slush. MMM.... Only three of my friends showed up (I invited something like 19 people), but I wasn't offended because Ben's brother showed up with three of his friends (Ben's brother is adorable for a child of 25). Since no one was there we decided to go to the St Benedict's Festival and watch a band called "Dave and Ray." They happen to be the same band that my friend from home Tracey was friends with, so i knew who they were. We drank lots of beer -- too much -- so much that Ben was outgoing and actually dancing... Ben doesn't dance. He was actually dancing ON STAGE.. and for an introvert to dance on stage -- well he had a lot of beer. I didn't have that much. It was fun, except the part where Christy's brother's ex-girlfriend turned in to a raving lunatic and I was afraid one of the boys was going to punch her (and if they didn't I would have -- if I had violent tendencies, which I don't so basically I would have verbally lashed her and made her curl up in a ball and cry -- I did neither of these things, I was dancing). Then they conned me into going to the Bally -- ewwww. We weren't there long -- only long enough for Adam to buy me a Heineken -- which I learned that even drunk I do not like Heineken -- tastes what I imagine skunk piss would taste like.

Saturday, July 11th: Hung over from all the beer. Finished laundry for my trip.

Sunday, July 12th: Slept in then drove to the folks with Miss Sassy Pants.

Monday, July 13th and Tuesday, July 14th: Relaxed at the folks.

Wednesday, July 15th: Drove to Michigan -- left Sassy with my parents. Was so good to see Erica and Marty and their adorable Maverick. The only things I really miss in Michigan are Erica, Marty, and Pub 13 (yes it's sad that I miss a bar) but i don't really miss the bar I miss how the people in the bar make me feel and how the live music makes me feel. That was the best darn stress relief. Anyway, got to Erica's and got to play with little Mav for a couple of hours. he's the happiest little guy in the world. I LOVE that kid. He's 7 mos I think and I just adore him. Erica had a sitter for the night so we could go to Pub (as per tradition). Was a blast - more on that in a later post.

Thursday, July 16th: Lunch on campus, visited Barnaby, sat outside, went golfing (More on this in later post too), did some life coaching...

Friday, July 17th: Lunch off campus with Erica and Meredith, read a book and relaxed on patio, dinner with Gundick, saw Gundick's apartment and new puppy, Pub with Gundick and Gary, up all night with Marty trying to get Maverick back to sleep (more on this in a later post)

Saturday, July 18th: Detroit Zoo, relaxing at the homestead and the best damn cheese steak hoagie in the world.

Sunday, July 19th: Drove to my folks for dinner and to pick up Sassy, drove home.

Am now home. I will give more details on my fantastic week later. Suffice to say I had a blast, got to spend tons of time with the Coopers, got several kisses -- some even a bit sloppy -- from my Piano Man, Frank, got to see some good friends, good food, lots of laughter. I am now ready to face training and the month of August!!

I already miss them...

Ooopps I fell...

So, I'm something of a klutz...

In the winter it's kind of a big problem..

In the summer, you wouldn't expect it to be such an issue...

Enter Steph... well, not really enter.. try to enter...

So I fell in Walmart yesterday. Well, to say I fell IN walmart is kind of misleading.. No, when I fall, I do it right.

So it had been raining all day and the genius I am, decided to wear flip flops for my brief trip to the Walmart, right? I'm minding my own business and walk in the door... well I failed to consider the slateish flooring in the Walmart... So I slipped.. half in and half out fo the front door to the food section of walmart...

Leave it to me to find the single most embarassing place to fall down.. and then, because of the flooring I still can't get up. It doesn't cross my mind to take off my shoes.. I'm just trying to get up as quickly as possible, because let's face it.. fat girl falling for no reason in July.. probably the funniest thing you'd ever see... Finally i get up and the walmart greeter comes out to see if I'm ok.. I blow it off but really i probably could have sued because there was no sign or rug or anything...

I'm sore to day.. and couldn't figure out why and then I remembered the humiliating incident in Walmart front door... SIGH..

Fireworks

Call me unAmerican, but I hate fire works. It's not so much the fire works, but the idiots who come with them. Every fourth of July we all get hyped up for this light show and I'll give it to you -- it can be neat, especially when paired with music -- but then the idiots crawl out of the wood work and make me want to go on a rampage... I don't trust any of these idiots and am terrified that they are going to shoot one off and it's going to fly into my house and start a fire. Plus they were outside setting them off until 2am and tonight, it's 11:30 and I have to work tomorrow and theya re still going strong. I want to strangle someone, only there are too many to strangle and my arms would get tired... AHHHH

I'm a little tense tonight... doesn't help that poor sassy is terrified and may have a heart attack if it doesn't stop.

Billy Joel Love Affair

So I'm utter in love with Billy Joel. Yes I know he's old, really old.. well in comparison to my 30 years -- he's double my age, but still... the man has a deep soul and has to be sensitive have you heard his music? The really good stuff, not "Piano Man." Don't get me wrong, Piano Man is a catchy song and clearly made his career, but seriously, it's the same four or five chords over and over again. No, his better songs are scattered throughout -- Vienna, Until the Night, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Innocent Man, She's always a woman, Stellito, She's Got a Way.. those are the good ones.. or a few of them anyway. :)

I fell in love over his songs many many times.. :)

Casinos

So I went to a casino this weekend.

I have always been against gambling. Now, I do know lots of people who do it and enjoy it, but I am not one of these people, nor will I ever be. Maybe because every dime in my life is budgeted for something else or maybe I'm just to cheap, but I just feel guilty wasting money on a slot machine or a poker game when I'm not getting anything, whatsoever, out of it. It's not really entertaining -- all you do is push a button, no strategy, no thinking, just insert money and push button. At least if I'm going out to eat I'm getting a meal, if I'm shopping I'm getting clothes.. i get NOTHING from a casino. It WAS interesting to see the place we went, but I'll not go back.. It's just not my thing.

Now, other people do enjoy it and I don't judge that. If it's entertaining to you, great, it's just not MY thing.

PMS and Fake People

So, I realized that I'm hugely PMSing today when on the way to work my bra strap slid down my arm and I almost came unglued -- cursing my bra, cursing my life, cursing the street signs, cursing the stop light... yea it was a rough morning.

Then one of the grads made a comment that, again, almost set me off for no reason. She made a comment about how much she hated this person because she was "fake."

I hear that a lot "I hate her, she's so fake." You can't hate someone because they are fake, you can hate them because they are a bitch, but you can't hate someone just because they are fake. EVERYBODY is fake. It's a part of freaking life. EVERYONE has someone they have to deal with that they don't like, but have to be nice to anyway. That's being "fake."

When someone says they hate someone for being fake, what they really should say is, "I hate her for being a backstabbing bitch." That's legitimate, but hating people because they are fake is hypocritical because I guarantee that there are moments, days, hell even entire years, when you are fake to other people. Grow up, fake people are a fact of life and hating others takes waaaaayy to much of your energy. Instead of hating people, just choose not to deal with them. When you are forced to, be polite (or fake as you would call it) keep it impersonal, and then when it's over LET IT GO. When you hate people you are giving them way too much control over your emotions. That's what hate is.. letting someone else control your emotions. I don't really hate people, either I like you or I don't deal with you unless I have to. That's just the way it is. It's called BOUNDARIES people.. develop some.

Though I may be emotionally deficient because I get over things really quickly. I have a HOT temper, but it burns out quickly. I'm not going to lie, it's a blessing. As long as I get a chance to express my anger (either to the person or to someone who sympathizes and is going through the same thing) then I tend to get over things fairly quickly. Now if I don't' get that chance to vent/express my anger then it stews.. but that doesn't' happen often. Don't get me wrong, I do get frustrated, but I have the attention span of a gnat (which is why I will never live my dream of being a novelist.. I don't have the attention span) so I forget things quickly. I like it that way!

Sad Day in Hollywood

So, what a sad day in hollywood, eh? Farrah Faucett and Michael Jackson -- same day. We will now observe a moment of silence on their behalf -- please read each dot separately....................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................. thank you.

Who Freaking Cares..

Who freaking cares where the governor was or what he was doing... he's a freaking governor... it's not like the world will fall apart if a governor disappears for a few days..

So he was boinking someone from Argentina... isn't that between him and his wife? I mean seriously, why do I care who he's boinking? It's not like every other politician out there isn't boinking someone besides their wife.. this guy (and a few others) just got caught and the others didn't.

I hate the mainstream media.. vultures... report on something that means something to the world at large.. stop making a big deal out of personal lives. They are all crooked -- what does it matter if this one or that one is screwing around... they are all out for their own best interests...

Why don't they focus on real issues in this world and use their venue for good.. there are tons of people who are homeless, jobless, poor.. focus on these individuals and force the government to consider them when they are making decisions.. instead of their political positioning now that this governor can't be the next republican presidential candidate...

The media has such opportunity to change the world.. but they don't report the real world.. they report the rich world.. it pisses me off... 10% of the world controls 80% of the wealth.. why are they focusing on that 10%.. focus on the other 80% and making the world better for the most amount of people.. not the people who already have more than they need...

We have some important decisions being made for us.. the news should be focusing on that.. the governmental health care option.. let's report the facts on this.. let's help the country learn that in a market economy more competition equals a better deal.. the more providers in the market forces everyone to have reasonable prices or they are gone... think about this.. if the government offered a cheap health care option -- then the other health care providers would be forced to reduce their premiums in order to compete with the cheaper version offered by the government. Then you'd have more choices in what you could afford... and could choose the best one for you -- instead of being forced into the one your work offers at the non-negotiable prices which are already out of control.

Statically, countries that have a government sponsored health care system report at being happier in their lives than Americans.

Think about this: Small businesses are the majority of employers in this country. They are begin run out of business because of health care prices. If the government offered an option, their employees could choose that and then that employer could afford to hire more people because the cost of each employee to that owner has been reduced. This means MORE JOBS -- the same for large employers... (P.S. that wasn't my idea -- I stole it from Howard Dean)

Of course, as a whole, Americans are lazy and uninformed and do deserve what they get, however it sucks that I know what I want and can't get it because Bobby Joe next door can't be bothered to turn off Rock of Love long enough to educate himself about what is going on in the world and is just listing to what the idiots on Fox News are telling him.. IF he even watches any kind of news at all...

*Stepping off soap box -- still a little hot under the collar*

Ugly Shirt Day

So, I'm totally wearing the ugly shirt today and lovin it.. I think I love it because it's the ugly shirt.

Instead of the traveling pants, I should write the ugly shirt saga... (I never saw the traveling pants, so it can't be a rip off, ehh).

New Furniture

So, the other assistant director in my office is leaving at the end of this week to move to another school. Last week we (two of my guy friends and I) helped them load their moving truck. In the process they decided that they didn't want to take their desk or bookshelf and asked if anyone wanted it.

Being the cheap ass that I am, I jumped at it. So I now have a nice new desk and book shelf in my apartment! :) Ben and New Adam did all the moving, I just drove the van we stole after hours for the move. :) (It's not REALLY stealing -- we took it back)

So now I get to move everything in my apartment all around to fit the desk and bookshelf. Actually, just the book shelf, I already had a space for the desk in my enormous kitchen that is currently still lacking a dining room table. :(

The Ugly Shirt Follow Up

I was asked for a picture of the ugly shirt pattern.. here it is!

Enjoy!!

Please notice the paisley, floral, stripes all mixed together. What you cannot see is on the left is a black, white, and tan zebra print. The tan just makes it look like it's dirty -- which is why I noticed the ugliness of the shirt to begin with.. I thought the tan was dirt.

But the colors are nice.. blues and greens... that's all I saw... SIGH.. I need to pay better attention to things.

Voters Rights

So, Friday night I went out with my friend Heather and her husband and some of their friends. By the time I got there they had already had several drinks (I believe they were drinking Long Islands prior to my arrival). Anyway, midway into the evening, Heather's husband Nick, starts talking politics.

Now, as any sane and sober person, I tried to keep my mouth shut. Honestly, I did! However, Nick is so conservative that he is too conservative to consider himself a republican -- he thinks republicans are becoming incredibly liberal. Because of this, he didn't vote in the last election. He liked neither candidate so he did not vote.

Now, if you are not familiar with my politics I will tell you that I'm extremely liberal. In fact, I'm so liberal I'm almost a socialist. Sue me, I think it's the government's job to make the people do what is best for the greater good, not the individual. We don't do this on our own -- we are out for number 1... (which explains the current financial situation) anyway I won't go into it. So during our discussion it came up that Nick didn't vote in our last election because he didn't like Obama, but also hated McCain so he refused to vote. From their interaction, I could tell this was a sore point between Heather and Nick. Heather, of course, subscribing to the idea that if you don't vote in the election then you have no right to bitch about who is in power or what kind of job they are doing.

That is something you hear a lot around election time. If you don't vote you can't bitch. And I imagine, if you know me at all, you'd probably assume that I'd agree with that. You would be wrong, however.

One of the most beautiful things about this country IS our right to bitch about what our government is doing - regardless if we voted or not. This country was founded on the principle that the people should have a voice and should be able to express their opinions about what the government is doing without the fear of retribution or accusations of treason. Other countries (Iran for example?) do not have this fundamental right. So we need to make double sure we value this right. So, my opinion? Bitch away, Nick. If you didn't like any of the candidates then it is 100% your right to bitch about the government, however do more than that.. volunteer for a movement or write a letter to your senator about changing the two party system and campaign funding. The system is failing you so do something about it! Maybe you'll love/hate what's going on so much that you'll vote next time.

I truely believe that everyone should exercise their right to vote, to do otherwise is lazy. Unfortunatley, sometimes it comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils, but that's the way politics work sometimes. You have a voice -- USE IT!