Jumping on the band wagon

lazy? or nothing to say? actually more like GOODBYE.

2005-08-02T09:04:00.000-05:00

I spent the begining parts of last week revamping my website (finally, took me damned long enough). So now that it is up and running, and I am sort of happy with the format, I am officially moving off from here and to my site.

Main website is: http://kirisite.com

Associated new Blog ... it's out there, but no links are going to be provided ... good luck finding me !

Laterz BLOGGER :P

added to my list of nemesis:

2005-07-27T15:02:00.000-05:00

1. Microsoft Excel

It now tops the list. I hate trying to figure out how some retard that used to work here linked tables and graphs in a very non-user friendly and completely stupid way. If someone doesn't know what they are doing, they shouldn't be allowed to touch things. They just make a bigger mess for the rest of us to have to clean up.

Not that I am an expert or anything. Visual Basic! More like Visual Whats-ic? But at least I am knowledgable enough to make something with good links .... eeeeerrrrrrrrrrr ... finding all the original homes for the #REF!'s is going to kill me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yay, i have work to do ...

2005-07-27T11:15:00.000-05:00

So much fun! I actually need to pull together two tables and a letter regarding grant of easements to a number of homeowners. Super-fun-tastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to hide under my desk now :-P

water from the cleanest place on earth

2005-07-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

I was in the store yesterday, minding my business and trying to get a drink, when I was accosted by a sales clerk with a mission!

“I see you are looking at the bottled water. Could I possibly interest you in trying a new product? It is called Iceland Spring, and it comes from Iceland, one of the cleanest places on earth. You really should try it; we are having a special introductory sale.”

“Er, no thank you.” I replied, trying to grab my usual Poland Spring from off the shelf.

“But you really must try it,” insisted the clerk, “there is no other bottled water like it out on the market right now. It’s from Iceland you know.”

“Yes, you mentioned that. I’ve been to Iceland, their water is good.” I commented.

“Well then, you know, so you really should purchase it.”

At this point, I was getting a trifle bit annoyed by the man’s sales pitch. I just wanted to get my water and get out of the store and back to work, and seeing as how I had spent around 250 kronur on similar water in Iceland, I really didn’t want to spend like $4.00 on a bottle of water here.

“And to top it off, we are having a special introductory sale,” the clerk continued, “only $0.79 instead of the regular price.”

At the mention of the word sale, my interest became tweaked. Of course I would rather pay $0.79 for water instead of the $1.09 that I was going to pay for my chosen water. However, I am a water snob, and I really don’t like a lot of bottled waters, so my sense of taste was warring with my thriftiness.

“Did I mention the water was from Iceland, and the Icelanders are among the longest lived people on earth? Scientists think that it has something to do with the water that they drink, see it says it here on the bottle.”

He just wouldn’t quit with the sales pitch. So finally, I turned to him and said, “OK, I will buy a bottle of your Icelandic water. You will take Kronur for this, won’t you?”

The clerk responded, “Uhm, no, I don’t know what that is.”

I retorted, “Well, it’s currency, and it’s from Iceland! You really should take it you know, it is from Iceland.”

Needless to say, my humor was not appreciated by the clerk, and I did walk out of the store with one bottle of Iceland Spring water, which I did have to pay in USD for …

As my friend said last night after I told him the story “Erm, they didn’t want the correct currency for the water?!?!? Scandal!!!!”

In case anyone cares, the water did taste fine, although a bit flat. That is most definitely the last time I go into a fancy pants store to buy anything though!

harry potter and the half blood prince

2005-07-25T15:15:00.000-05:00

It took me a total of 3 days to finish reading the whole book, and I loved every second of it. After allowing things to settle in my brain for a bit, I think I have figured some stuff out. I am going to stick to my guns and say that Snape is still working on the side of the Order of the Phoenix. I don't believe that he is bad. And also, I have the feeling that Draco Malfoy will end up being on the same side as Harry, and against the Dark Lord at the end of the series. These are just my gut feelings ... I don't want to post too much in depth about the book, in case there are some people that haven't finished reading it yet!

Ah yes, and for you HP fans out there, try this out ... I'm a Gryffindor!

be sorted

groan ...................

2005-07-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

Getting home at 2:30 on Sunday night/Monday morning, and then having to get up at 6:00 to come into work is no fun at all. I feel like crap, but it is my own fault, I know, so I shall suffer and take it as my punishment!

Weird thing happened last night - which I shall preface by saying that I have an excellent memory for faces. We were at Whiskey's in Boston, and I saw this guy at the bar that looked a bit familiar. So after a long while of racking my brain to remember where I had seen him before, I realized that he was on a flight with me last month from Boston! He had stood behind me in line for over and hour while we were waiting to check in and was making fun of the Harvard Glee Club that was also on the plane with us the whole time, and then he was sitting across the aisle from me on the whole flight ... and now he probably thinks I am a crazy stalker girl ... I mean, honestly, who remembers stuff like that?!?! Yah, I'm weird, what can I say?

men of the world, rejoice!!

2005-07-22T13:16:00.000-05:00

Today is Friday, and there is NO ONE at work. Everyone is either on holiday or out in the field, and it is quiet and boring here!!

A friend knowing my boredom, pointed me to a website containing the news clipping below:

I laughed my butt off.

I believe it is an actual article taken from an actual news source. Maybe it should come with the warning "Now ladies, don't try this at home!"

methinks someone spends just a bit too much time on instant messenger

2005-07-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

When people start using instant messenger sayings in real life, you know they have a problem. It's one thing to write LOL or OMG or something along those lines when you are on the computer. It is quite another thing to carry them over into your real, every day existance. I mean, just immagine if instead of lauging at your funny joke, your friend turned to you and said "LOL". OK, now that'd be really gay ...

Case in point: driving home on the highway, I saw this car in front of me. I did a double take at the licence plate, and I just had to take a photo to share. I thought it was just way too funny.

As it says on the plate, ROTFL. While I didn't actually do that, I did LOL at if for a few minutes. There was almost even some LMAO action, but no ROTF as I was in my car. See ... GAY! I feel like the biggest loser for just writing the above sentences!!!

and no, I did not almost cause an accident while driving in rush hour bumper to bumper traffic fumbing to get my camera out of my bag, and taking the above photo.

and yes, it is a real photo, not some photoshop or otherwise altered creation!

bah humbug ... new fangled inventions ...

2005-07-22T07:26:00.000-05:00

I have been using the same software for a while to rip copyrighted DVDs. I never really paid a lot of attention to it, I just knew that it worked, and was easy to use! I discovered to my dismay last night around 23:00 that the software doesn't compress the files as much as I'd like, and it also doesn't convert them into AVI files, it saves them as VODs (I think) which is all well and good, at a compression of about 50% from the original, but each file is still around 800MG, when it would be ideal to have them half that size. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. So now I am in the market for a different form of shareware that will do this ... if anyone has any suggestions!!

On a good note, tonight my buddy Garen is playing a show at the Paradise ... it should be interesting to see who shows up, as I have the feeling that there will be some random people there!

that tears it.

2005-07-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

I just heard from the dealer.

$1400 to fix the car.

$1400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF?!?!??!

Needless to say the car will not be getting fixed. It is fine to drive, so long as I don't turn on the HVAC and fan. So hot in the summer, and freezing in the winter. Hopefully I will be able to come up with the money before the winter, and get it fixed, because it's not feasible to drive a car without heat here in the winter, the windows would fog and it'd be dangerous.

It's not like my car is even that old. It is a 1999 with less than 100,000 miles on it for goodness sake!!!!

Jo suggested I drown my sorrows in chocolate. I think I am going to drown them in ice cream instead. Maybe ice cream with some chocolate in it ...

After drowning the sorrows, I am going to call my mechanic (not the VW dealer) and see what he has to say on the subject.

owning a car is a big pain in the neck.

2005-07-21T11:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, my car is in the shop AGAIN. The air conditioning has been on the fritz for the last week and a half. Of course, it's been like over 90F and humid every single day, and I've been dying of the heat. So while it isn't completely necessary for me to get it fixed, because there is nothing wrong with the car itself, it is totally worth for me to get it fixed, mainly so I don't die.

I love my car. It is a great car. I will probably never own another car that isn't a Volkswagon.

But man, owning a car is a huge responsibility in both time and money ...

I knew I should have waited to get a new computer. D'oh!

Now I have more car repairs to pay for on top of all the other financial crap that I have going on right now that I am not going to go into here. Yay!!!

it was so nasty, it made me want to pluck out my own eyes

2005-07-20T14:09:00.000-05:00

Yes, it was that nasty ...

So, I am calmly doing my job, sampling soil vapor monitoring points in a parking lot between my site and a neighboring bar, when I look up to see this girl walking into the bar. All day, I had watched the Willie Nelson, old hobo construction worker types walking in and out of the place, and I think to myself, why is that girl going in there? She is kind of skankily dressed (in a fluffy white miniskirt and a black tank top), and not that attractive, but still, she was probably in her early 30s while all the guys in there had to be pushing 60. Whatever, not my business, right?

I watch the girl open up the door to the restaurant, and then I watch as a wayward gust of wind blew her skirt all the way up. ALL THE WAY UP. She was not wearing any underwear. Yes, I am sure of this, it was not crammed in her but, there was definitely no underwear present.

I will never be clean again ... shudder ...

Oh, and it turns out she is the bartender at this restaurant, because I saw her throught the window behind the bar a little bit later.

But the most important thing is that I will NEVER be clean again ... gah ... my poor abused eyes begged for me to gouge them out, but I didn't oblige because if I had, I wouldn't have been able to drive home, or read the new Harry Potter.

I think I'll live. But I can never go back to that site again. Of course, as soon as I told the guys back at the office, they all were hoping to get sent over there to do the next round of sampling! Sheesh ... men! :)

proof positive ...

2005-07-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

Today in 1969, man first landed on the moon. To commemorate this event, Google has put up some fun interactive maps of the moon landing.

Go to http://moon.google.com/ to view these maps. The best shots are when you zoom in all the way, you have to check it out, it will blow ... your ... mind!!!

i'm bored, but what else is new?

2005-07-18T13:16:00.000-05:00

I am sitting here at work, bored off my rocker, and trying to figure out what ISPs are available in the area of my possible-soon-to-be-new-place-of-residence. I am bummed b/c I am spoiled! I have RCN right now, and it is cheap and uber fast. I get 10MBps dl and 800 KBps ul ... the best I've found for the new place is with Comcast. For an additional $25 a month from what I pay now, I will get the spactacular bandwidth of 4MBps dl and 398 ul. Not even half as fast as before, and more money to boot! Not to mention that I will need to share this bandwidth with my cousin ... hehe ...

Now I am preparing for a fun day of drilling oversite tomorrow. I loves the drilling oversite. NOT!! I haven't drilled at all since long before I left the old company ... wow, since practically last summer, it's been almost a year. It's like riding a bike, right??!! Watch me forget something important, and my boss is going to be down there checking things out ... d'oh!

2005-07-17T17:28:00.000-05:00

I am off to see Batman again, this time with Rosey, Chris, Erin, and Garo. I missed the first 15 minutes of it the first time I saw it, and I really enjoyed the movie, so I think seeing it at the IMAX will be cool.

Heh ... and I conned my dad into buying me a new computer chair yesterday from Sam's Club. Well, I say new, but I really should say that I finally got a chair. Until now I had been using a dining room style chair, that was super uncomfortable. The new chair is awesome, and I can see myself sitting here for hours playing games ... sweeeeeeeeeeet.

Yesterday was the Stargate SG-1 conference. I went with Tom and Jess, and we saw Tony Amandola (who plays Master Bray'tac) and Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson ... sigh ... so cute) speak as well as various costume and trivia contests, not to mention the wonderful memorabilia from all the cool sci-fi tv shows. SO ... MUCH ... FUN!!! I loved it. I wish it were larger. If there is a larger one, I will most definitely be going to it ...

omgwtfbbq??!?!?!!?

2005-07-16T07:02:00.000-05:00

I love my parents. I also can't wait for them to go back to Florida ...

I went to bed last night at the early hour of 1:00 am.

This morning, at 6:30, my father feels the need to come into my room to give me his Sam's Club card, in case I want to go shopping there with my mother later in the day. Uhm ... what? ... no!

Then, at 7:45, my mom decides to come in and talk to me about going to Sam's Club.

What kills me is that they don't f-ing knock on the door, they just walk in.

Now I am just tired, headachey, and really grouchy.

Going to go for a run, then go to my friend's place to get their mail (they are away), then go to the Stargate Convention (**YAY**). No Sam's Club for me ...

decisions, decisions, decisions

2005-07-15T14:13:00.000-05:00

In September, I found out that Apocalyptica and Sigur Rós are playing on the same night. Damn. Can't do both ... I think I am going to Apocalyptica instead, as they are playing at the Paradise, which will be way more fun than the Boston Opera house, where you have to sit in seats and watch what's going on, whereas the Paradise is a tiny club venue, way cooler!

Not to mention that one of my absolute FAVORITE people just saw Apocalyptica like 10 minutes ago, and he spamed his photo blog with many shots of them for me. Thank you and I LOVE YOU
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i stayed up way too late last night

2005-07-14T09:18:00.000-05:00

I set up the new computer! They, for some reason, sent me 2 sets of the same computer speakers, so I gave a set to my brother. I can' t wait until I get out of here today so that I can go home and start loading up software and stuff onto it!! I want to play ... boooo work ... play .........

My boss is out of the office today, so I am going to sneak up to meet some friends from my old company for lunch. I'll probably be gone like 2 hours, but I am hoping that no one will notice! I haven't seen people in a while, so it'll be nice to catch up with them all.

new computer has arrived!

2005-07-13T17:30:00.000-05:00

I got home to lovely boxes that had been delivered by UPS!

My spanky new Dell Dimension 9100 has arrived! YAY!

I am planning to spend the rest of the night sitting here and setting it all up just perfectly ... I can't wait! I shall not be hooking it up to the internet just yet though, as I don't have copies of all the software that I need for the bad boy. I need to get Norton, MS Office, and a few other things from people before I am good to go. Right now, it is a complete blank slate.

I am soooooooooo excited right now, I can't even contain myself .............
Must go unpack boxes and plug in wires!

my life is boring, so i shall talk about it anyways!

2005-07-13T15:13:00.000-05:00

I spent yesterday groundwater sampling. It was a nice day, so I got hot and sweaty and dirty. To top it off, I am working on a wicked bad "redneck" sunburn! It is pretty terrible. Back of the neck and parts of the arms not covered by t-shirt of nitrile gloves. Sigh.

I had to run into the office later in the afternoon (ie worked a 9 hour day, came into the office at 16 wearing my field clothes). My boss then said to me "Nice dress code adherance!". Now I am pretty sure he was kidding, but I still told him to f-off anyways, just on principle. Then I worked in the office until 17:30, went home and worked from 21 to 22, watched Rescue Me, then worked from 23 to 0:30. Yes, I am a corporate bitch and slave to the man, what with my big 15 hour day yesterday, I still got in at 7:30 this morning to try and finish stuff up. What is my problems?!?!?! I get paid salary people, that means NO overtime, and since we have "required business hours" it also means no real leaving early. When will I learn ... the answer to that is most likely NEVER.

I was supposed to meet Eric and Jen for dinner last night, and because of the crappy traffic around the Boston area, I ended up running a few minutes late, so I had them eat without me ... then I spent some money I don't have at Newbury Comics on a new CD, then I had to pee so badly that I stopped over at my brother's house. He and Corey laughed uncontrollably at me for a good 15 minutes, because I ran in the door, threw my stuff down and exlaimed "Can't talk, have to PEE" and ran to the bathroom.

Not to mention that I spent a good $5.00 on sending SMS messages yesterday with a friend, who I am pretty sure was drunk as a skunk and might not remember sending any of them right now!

So yes, it was a pretty amusing day overall.

And the most amusing part of it was that my new computer DID NOT get delivered like it was supposed to be. It is supposedly coming today ... I am holding out hope, even though it has not arrived yet. I am going to try and sneak out early and get home to play with it ... YAYAYAY!

as jo said, it is blog in another language week ... so here's my two cents:

2005-07-08T11:15:00.000-05:00

եթե մենք տունին մեջը կը նստինք եւ բան մը չնենք, աիդ էշէք Հայվան արաբական խենթություներուն կը շահենք:

հետեւաբար ես կը սեմ, ամեն մարդիկ որ կըրնանք, հակիս լոնտոն գնայ եւ ներկայացընէ այդ էշէքներեն որ ինչ որ կը'նենք, մենք պիտի չի վախնանք:

շնորհակալություն:

գիրան ~ բարկացած

as discussed last night at rudy's over mucho guacamole ...

2005-07-08T09:20:00.000-05:00

OK, here is the blog I was talking about last night ... the fake Tom Cruise one! It makes me laugh and laugh with it's ridiculousness.

Funny :)

Also funny, there will soon exist a photo of Jo putting guacamole bowl into her purse! I didn't take it so we shall have to wait until Jen posts it up for us ...

i r a retard

2005-07-08T08:52:00.000-05:00

Yes, today is the 8th of July, and I have FORGOTTEN to pay rent this month. D'oh. I am a complete retard!

My dad came up yesterday, and is visiting for the next 10 days, and I am very happy. I think I managed to convince him to take me to the zoo on Sunday! I also am trying to convince him that he needs to contribute to the new computer fund ... so cross your fingers for me.

i finally bought a new computer ...

2005-07-07T07:47:00.000-05:00

I spent WAY too much money on it last night. But that is ok ... all is good and happy ... and will be better once the new computer arrives!

Here is a pic:

That's not exactly the system I ordered, but it is close enough.

So while all is good in my little, sheltered world, the rest of the world is all going to hell.

(I refrain for the most part from making any political or socio-economic commentary here, because I know that everyone has their own opinions, and what is the point in using this as a soap box for spouting off mine, so I will stick to that rule and say nothing further on this subject except that my thoughts and prayers are with the people of London.)

oh the agony of coming up with a top ten list

2005-07-06T12:33:00.000-05:00

Jen has tagged me to come up with my "Top 10 list of men you'd see me with in the Tabloids if I were a celebrity Super Slut", and while I have never really thought about it, I decided what the heck, I am not doing anything right now anyways, I might as well come up with a list of 10 celebrity men that I find very attractive. So here is mine, in no particular order:

Tom Welling - aka Clark Kent of TVs Smallville. Of course, he used to be a male model, which is a slight negative, but I still think he is just plain good-looking in a clean cut, all-American boy kind of way.

Hugh Jackman - Wolverine ... need I say more? Not to mention that he has a great accent!

Brad Pitt - He is just way too good-looking to be a real person. And while the recent tabloid craziness has detracted from his appeal, I am leaving him on the list because I had a really hard time coming up with 10 names.

Stricken from the list!!

Eric Bana - I have loved him since I first saw him in Black Hawk Down. I can even forgive him for being in the Hulk!

Richard Dean Anderson - he was cute back in the MacGyver days, but now, he is one very good looking older man. Sigh ...

Michael Shanks - Since no one knows who he is, I will explain ... he plays Dr. Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG-1, and is totally one of my top good looking people!

Ewan McGregor - Wow. Need I say more?

Vin Diesel - I don't know what it is about him, because I like big, but I don't like bulky, but he just does it for me in a "I am a big guy and I breathe with my mouth open" sort of way.

Jason Stratham - British actor, he in the Transporter, and a number of other movies (The Italian Job, Cellular, etc.). He's got the look, and the accent ...

Denis Leary - The attitude, the sarcasm, the personality ... I just have always had a thing for him!

* * JUST ADDED * *
Michael Vartan - I can't believe I forgot about him. He is one of my all-time-favorites, and I didn't remember ... thank you Jo for saving me from this terrible mistake. How can you not love this man! He plays Agent Michael Vaughn on Alias, and was also in Never Been Kissed. Sexy ...

So yes, I know that readers will find my list to be slightly irregular; most of the people you don't agree with, don't find attractive, and you probably don't even know who they are for the most part! But it's my list, and I'll pick who I want ... and as my friends are constantly telling me, I do have strange taste in men! And while I don't think my taste is so much strange, I know it's not what everyone else likes!

I needed to get help from my friend Rima to come up with names, too, as I had never really thought about this before, and it took me a long time to come up with 10. So look for a possible guest post from Rima with her top 10 list in the next day or so ...

cpu failure my arse.

2005-07-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

Every time I turn my home computer on, it brings up the message:

"ERROR 810E: CPU failed FRB Level 3, retest via setup or replace CPU"

so I think to myself, wow, this can't be a good thing!

Realizing that the death of said computer appears to be eminant, nay, momentary, I have begun removing files from it at the speed of bandwidth, ftp'ing them to myself. I have also begun browsing for new computers on the Dell website, which I highly recommend for it's user friendlyness.

But before I spend over $1K getting a new computer, I wanted to talk to my brother, who is very good with them, whereas I, not so much good with the computers. I sent him an email detailing my error message and what it meant to me, and I got the following response:

"The CPU failed message is a good thing. That's how the computer lets you know that it's happy."

Methinks I detect a tiny hint of sarcasm in said response :P

random photos of me on the internet!

2005-07-05T13:41:00.000-05:00

So, on Sad Marvin's website, there, amidst the photos of the band, is a photo of me and Rosey from the show at the Paradise back in April. My brother pointed it out to me the other day by saying "Oh, by the way, there is a pic of you and Rosey on the Sad Marvin site, you should check it out, it's a nice pic."

erm ...

At least I am not the poster child for Rock and Roll Speed Dating ... hahaha ... guess which one is my brother and his friend Erin! Yah, they would be the ones on EVERY page.

happy faux monday

2005-07-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

I keep thinking it is Monday, and then realizing that it is actually Tuesday ... sweet.

To top it off, I will be drilling on Friday, which means only 3 days in the office this week! This makes me happy, because if I am not in the office, I don't need to deal with emails saying things like:

"... Also the Table 1 came out way too small, is there any way you can adjust even if it becomes two pages, then resend that to me? I am really bad at excel and don't have the time."

Yes that is a direct quote from the email, typos and all ... sigh ... I work for retards.

fireworks are exploding over my head ...

2005-07-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

I love living 3 miles from the City. It makes getting home fast, easy, cheap, convenient, and a number of other things.

It makes today especially annoying, because I can hear the damned fireworks exploding, but I can't see them. Only a complete tourist or a moron tries to go and watch them, and being neither, I am snug in my house, uploading photos and preparing for bed. However, I can hear the damned things even with the windows shut. I am sure they are spectacular, ooooh, ahhhhh, ooooooh ...

Some of us unfortunate corporate lackies need to work in the morning ... so stfuokithxbye!

On a plus note, BBQ was fantastic, and the first round of pics are uploaded. I managed to take over most of North America in Risk ... and was either about to die horribly or dominate completely when we needed to cut the game short due to the impending fire works display. Heh ... I will go with the dominate, because although it was quite unlikely, it also sounds better!!

happy independence day to one and all ...

2005-07-04T08:38:00.000-05:00

Kiran managed to find some contraband fireworks hidden away ... hehe ... tonight shall be fun, what with the BBQing and the blowing up of things!

What else is there to do on a beautiful July 4th? Other than BBQ, drink, and blow stuff up?!?! I mean, isn't that why my ancestors fought against the British back in the Revolutionary war ... to win us our freedom to blow stuff up whenever we want, and to not have to pay the Queen taxes on what we blow up? Kiran votes YAY.

Yes, I realize that I am refering to myself in the third person. Think what you want, but NO, I am not crazy.

Finally loading up photographs from Jen's 26th birthday. Check them out if you want.

stupid gummi bears, why are you so good?

2005-07-02T13:42:00.000-05:00

Haribo makes a damned good gummi bear. I ate far too many of them while I was in Germany, and brought back many as well, and ate them, too!

Now, I have no more gummi bears ...

but wait, I can order more online! For the low, low price of $7 a pound! Yes, that's right folks, and free shipping to boot, if we order enough ...

So, winging their way to my friend Gregg's house right now is approximately 6 pounds of Haribo gummi bears for us to split ... soon they shall be mine ... soon ... sooooooon ...

h a p p y b i r t h d a y ! ! ! ! ! ! !

2005-07-01T08:26:00.000-05:00

Happy 26th birthday to Jennifer!!

Everyone should head over to her site and drop her Happy Birthday wishes and love ... or else!!

eeeeeeek! they are invading ....

2005-06-30T08:51:00.000-05:00

Half the people in Germany drive these little tiny cars called Smart Cars. I found them to be incredibly cute, and thought, gee, it might be nice to have one of those, if only they weren't so tiny. Driving that back home would be a death sentence what with all the trucks, SUVs, 18 wheelers, pickups, and other huge cars not caring who they run down on the road.

So guess what I saw driving on the highway here! Yes, it was a Smart Car!!!!!

It looked so very tiny and flimsy driving down I-95 during rush hour. It looked like a little toy car. I felt kind of frightened for the lady behind the wheel! But I want to know how she got it into the country, because I know for a fact they don't distribute them here. I done gone and done my research!

I still think they are cute, but after seeing it in action here in the US, I would NEVER get one ... not around here ... land of the free, home of the GIGANTOR SUV and all that ...

who'd have thunk it?

2005-06-29T07:58:00.000-05:00

Not me! But a restaurant called the Naked Fish actually has really good steak tips! I must say a rousing THANK YOU to Jen and Eric for dinner last night. It was lovely fun. Not to mention the fact that it was free, and free food is the best food :)

I got home, did some garbage around the house, and then proceeded to stay up way too late watching Rescue Me with Denis Leary ... because if you know me, you know I freaking LOVE Denis Leary.

I managed to get up early this morning, to try to be at work by 7:30, because I wanted to leave a bit early tonight. Of course, there just happened to be an overturned tractor trailer on the highway mucking things up for everyone. Silly tractor trailer! It had overturned on the ramp, and somehow the top of the truck had come off, spilling boxes all over the grass and down the ramp. The rubbernecking factor was way out of control, slowing traffic to a crawl. I still managed to get in by 7:45, and my boss just walked in now, so all is good!

come one, come all, or i'll be forced to kick your arse!

2005-06-28T12:43:00.000-05:00

My friend Garen's band is playing at the Paradise Lounge on July 22. Clear your calendars ... tix are $10 pay at the door. The doors are technically open at 21:00, but you can always go and hang at the lounge earlier and get food ...

While the music isn't exactly my style, it is fun and mellow, and promises to be a good time! K? K!

my work is full of sp.ed. retards.

2005-06-28T07:46:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is true! They are not too busy right now, and it is pretty dull and boring ...

So I thought, hey, I have to do that Quarterly Monitoring Report that was transitioned over to me to take care of every 3 months, why not work on that. So I open it up, only to find that someone is already in the file, because they asked him to take care of it. Hrm ... if it is my job that I am supposed to do every three months, and I know this, then why are you giving it away to other people? Did you just forget that I take care of it, or do you need two copies of this report written, do you want to see how two different people will say "we sampled three times, and got no results.", or what?!? Not that I care, let him do it, it's fine. It just shows terrible management practices and retards at the helm that can't remember what they asked who to do.

I say WTF ...

New job search, here I come!!

it is sooooooo damned cold!

2005-06-27T13:59:00.000-05:00

Right now, outside, the weather is about 90F. However, inside my office, the air conditioning is broken and refuses to go off. It is about 55F in here. So cold ... brrrrr ... my feet and hands are numb, and I have actually put on some of my outdoor work clothes to keep from freezing to death.

WTF?!?!

I am glad, at least, that it is cold in here, and not hot. If the AC was broken, and it was hot in here, I think I would be forced to go home.

On another note, computer at home is still having CPU issues. It is most definitely time to be getting a new one. I was doing some researching online over the weekend, and I think I've picked out something nice. Now I just have to bide my time a bit until the prices come down and I can get what I want for a decent price.

My old company had an account with Dell and they offered an employee discount, and I am good friends with the IT manager over there, so here's to hoping that I can still get the discount!

... wait for it ... wait for it ... wait for it ...

yesterday: running around like a crazy person --> today: sore legs

2005-06-27T07:43:00.000-05:00

Sigh ... Monday.

I am so tired :(
and
my legs are sore.

I just feel old ... heh ...

Yesterday was Jen's "surprise" bridal shower, and Jo outdid herself with decorations and preparations, it was a smashing success, even though we had NO bridal shower games ... which I was more than happy to skip anyways. The whole thing was quite a success, and I think everyone had a great time. Now it is time to relax ... sigh ... yah right!

so damned hot out ... i hate it here!

2005-06-26T09:23:00.000-05:00

It is so unbelievably hot here right now. Yesterdays high was approximately 95F, and today shall be almost as warm, with temperatures in the low 90s.

Yesterday, sitting around in front of the computer, tv, in the kitchen, whatever I did, I just sweated and sweated. Today, I just went out for a run, made a mile, and sweated like a pig ... which won't stop. Blegh. Unfortunately I have plans today, so I can't hide out in the air conditioned room and play PS2 and watch tv ... boooo for that.

I either need to move to someplace where it doesn't get this warm, or I need to stop going outside. Since I don't think I can stop going outside, I think I'm going to have to move. I hear Antarctica is nice this time of year ...

ask a stupid question ...

2005-06-23T14:18:00.000-05:00

and get this in response:

Why does no one find this funny but me!?!?

not the most boringest meeting ever ...

2005-06-23T11:34:00.000-05:00

I had to go to a presentation on Innovations in Engineering last night in Boston.

Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The two guys that spoke were both engineers living in the Boston area originally from the UK. The first guy was a bit tweeky, and he talked about the "Big Dig"and how they managed to get the tunnels set into place. I had no idea, and it was kind of interesting to hear about. The second guy was a bit ... erm ... flamboyant ... but he also was brilliant, and was working on computer modeling of human behavior in accident situations, like fires in public places and things like that. Cool stuff.

The meeting was at the British Consulate General in Cambridge, and they were right on the Charles and had the most amazing view of the city, unfreaking believable ... most perfect place ever to have a 4th of July party!

So I learned the difference between an Embassy and a Consulate as well ... I guess that's something!

doctors appointment has been rescheduled

2005-06-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

To the 29 of August?!? They had nothing sooner ...

I have already put the date in every single calendar I have so as not to forget it again!

Tonight, I have to go to a meeting at the British Consolate here in Boston ... very fancy ... must go home early from work to change into something "appropriate". Sweet, get to leave at 16!!

But then I have to sit through a 3 hour meeting on the marvels that is the "Big Dig" ... boooo!

I am being "forced" to go by my work, and I am not too happy about it. I was told by three sepparate people that it would be a "very good idea" if I were to cancel my plans and attend, so I did and I am. Hopefully there will be dinner, and I haven't eaten real food yet today, just snacks, way too many snacks!! I have a weakness for salty snack foods and today was a bad day for me ...

hehe ... teh route to my heart is paved with potato chips ... in case anyone is listening out there!

i am a forgetful ninny

2005-06-21T19:37:00.000-05:00

I forgot a very important doctors appointment. It was scheduled for last Friday while I was away ... now I need to reschedule it, and can't go in for about a month. As it was an annual checkup, I guess it isn't a huge deal that I missed it, but still ...

The more I think about it, the better it probably is that I missed the appointment anyways, because I'm sure he would have yelled at me. I know I was going to have to perform for my fun time annual stress test (running on the treadmill attached to an EKG) as well as a bunch of other things, and I hadn't been running in almost a month! He yelled at me last year for not running enough and said my heart rates went up too quickly, but there were no signs of arrythmia (thank goodness), so that is what we are hoping for again this year!!

I got back from holiday and went running on Saturday morning, and only made about half a mile and walked the other 1.5 ... I went again today (after eating Indian food for dinner) and still only made about 3/4 of a mile total ... and nearly booted spicy chicken tikka masala. Hrm ... I thought it was ok to do things an hour after eating, and I waited over an hour and a half, but I guess when you are talking Indian food, maybe waiting a day is more like it! Blegh ... stomach is still not happy with me ...

Season premier of Rescue Me is on tonight ... don't know if I can stay up to watch it, but I am so excited. LOVE Dennis Leary!

thank you to one and all ...

2005-06-20T11:04:00.000-05:00

Firstly, I must thank my dear friends Tanya and Wayne, for putting me up for a week in Germany. Thanks guys!!

Secondly, I must thank my dear friends in Iceland for putting up with me for the time I was there.

Stebbi for hanging out and dinner and everything, even though he wasn't feeling well!

Grétar for letting me into his house which was risky at best ... haha ...

Sindri for being my erstwhile tour guide, BBQ chef, and for still talking to me even though I managed to wake him up EVERY time I called ...

and last, but most especially not least, Pétur, for being my companion, protector, confindant, and so much more ... not to mention my favorite all around dork!!

For those that care, all of the photos are located here!

Much love to all of you!!!

back in the good old us of a

2005-06-18T14:01:00.000-05:00

I'm home! BOOOOOOOO!

There is way too much about the trip to talk about right now. I have picutres to download and thoughts to sort though ...

All I know is that yesterday I left Germany at 14:00 (8:00 Boston time), and my brother picked me up at the airport here in Boston last night at 19:30. From the airport, we went straight to The SkyBar in Somerville to see Alchemilla play. When we got there, they had just started, and the video cameras were rolling. I guess Kat had agreed to undergo some make over for The Style Network, and the show was being filmed.

I had 1/2 of one beer, needed to pee, tried to walk to the bathroom, almost fell through the door and realized, "hrm ... I possibly shouldn't drink the rest of that beer!"

I wasn't drunk so much as I was just all physically freaked out and exhausted from travelling (plus, at this point it was about 20:30 in Boston, or 2:30 the next day in Germany!).

Now I am debating a nap or another attempt at a run ... it is beautiful out right now, but I am just plain tired ... hmmmm ... what to do! One thing is certain, no more computer for a bit! Been here far too long already ...

deutchland oh deutchland ...

2005-06-14T05:02:00.000-05:00

Frankfurt ... where to begin ... I don´t even know ...

So far, not too keen on Germany, but going to the zoo, so all shall be well =)

Too much to write all here ... must sit down and think it out first, so probably will wait until I am home!

velkomin til islands!

2005-06-10T05:19:00.000-05:00

I arrived in Iceland safe and sound this morning, at the ungodly hour of 6:45 local time. No sleep, can´t check into hotel, weather is cold and damp so I didn´t want to go to the Blue Lagoon or anything, and the museum I wanted to go to didn´t open until 10:00, so I nixed that idea and headed into the city.

Good news #1, after a little discussion with my cell phone company this morning, my phone is at long last working. Much to my chagrin, I turned it on upon arrival only to find out that it hadn´t been activated, because someone hadn´t bothered to do it. A very nice man named Derek helped me out, and all is well ... I think ... I can call the US, and I can receive SMS/TXT messages. Other than that, it is too early to try anything, or to tell because there is no one to call at this time of day ... bunch of sleepy heads!

Good news #2 is that my hotel is within a 20 minute walk of the City Center area, so it isn´t a problem to get anywhere.

So after my mini adventure, I decided to kill some time by checking my email (which I had neglected all week).

That has been accomplished. Now, next step is to locate a public restroom! Priority at this moment in time. Onward and upward I go ...

ps - Jen - I´m at 'our' internet cafe at the tourist center right now ;)

leaving tomorrow ...

2005-06-08T17:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the night for finishing up my last minute packing, and all that fun stuff ...

Then, work tomorrow, which will hopefully be a bit less hot and sweaty, as today I seriously wanted to die!

I'm kind of getting a bit nervous, but I am sure that will all work itself out once I am on my way!

Now, off for a run, then shower, then packing, then dinner! Big plans :)

Hasta la vista USA!

i am NOT a star wars freak ...

2005-06-07T21:15:00.000-05:00

teach you I can ...

three more days

2005-06-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

The official count down has begun.

In exactly 74 hours I will be at Logan Airport preparing to board a plane for my holiday!!!!!

I can't wait ...

this is the cold that will never die!!!

2005-06-05T10:19:00.000-05:00

Why won't it go away????

Still not sleeping. Still feel like crap. Just ran 2 miles, can't breathe, feel like a drowning rat because it is terribly hot out and I sweat like a pig!!

I am in the field all week at my lovely EPA Superfund Site with Chris (yay, shall be fun), but it is supposed to be hot and humid all week, and we have to wear tyvek. So now I am off to the store to purchase mass quantities of bottled water so that we won't die from dehydration over the next few days ... maybe we will toss some beer in the cooler too, just in case!!!

Biggest YAY, I am leaving on Thursday for holiday!!! WOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I am 90% packed and ready to go, try not to miss me too much :)

no matter how hard i try, i can't ever seem to win

2005-06-03T12:27:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those days where there is too much to do, and everything seems to go wrong? Still sick, still not sleeping ... then I find out, yay, I'm so far behind that I need to work all weekend just to catch up! Not to mention that, but now I get to manage two new jobs, and one new person who is starting next week. To top it off I get to drill at a new site the day I get back from vacation.

(Insert flagrant use of profanity here)

so much to do, so little time!

2005-06-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

I am looking for information:

What is your favorite Boston area micro-brew? Something that I can find already bottled in a liquor store ...

I already have Dogfish Head Ale ... which I know is my brother's favorite Microbrew. I got the Indian Brown Ale, as I am not really a fan of IPAs.

Of course, there are always the Sam Adams and Harpoons, but I am looking for the obscure favorites! Help please!!

all phlegmy and disgusting ...

2005-06-02T12:30:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is me. Throat is slowly being closed in by quantities of phlegm. Still lacking in the sleep department and my voice keeps coming and going.

If that's not enough, work is making me run all over freaking creation! I was out this morning up in Salem, and now I need to go down to Framingham for oversite. Blah ... maybe I will just go home afterwards instead of coming back to work ...

Not to mention, more birthday madness tonight! Yesterday was Amy's birthday so tonight we are going to Redbones. I doubt I'll make it to the Burren afterwards to see the Swinging Johnsons, but at least I'll make it for dinner, in all my fever induced glory!!!

belief in something does not always make it so.

2005-06-01T17:47:00.000-05:00

Sick am I.

Feel like frelling dren.

Slightly headachey and feeling feverish. Throat getting worse by the nano-second. I can barely swallow :(

I would love to go home and go to bed. But of course, that is not possible, no ... plans have I. Freaking birthday plans ...

WAAAAA!

Speaking of dren ... I miss Farscape ...

I know, I know, quit my whining. Whining completed.

swollen throat indicates ...

2005-06-01T07:09:00.000-05:00

Either something started blooming yesterday that I am allergic to, or I am sick ...

BOOOOO either way!!!!!! Feel like crap, throat is all irritated and post nasally, and I couldn't sleep last night :(

I didn't have to be to work until 10:30 this morning, but I also didn't sleep in ... been up since 6:30 with irritated throat ... that is an added bonus ... off to pharmacy now to purchase medicine.

... tick ... tick ... tick ... tick ... tick ...

2005-05-31T11:55:00.000-05:00

The ticking you hear are the precious seconds of my life being wasted in pointless waiting! Also called "Kiran's most boringest morning ever!"

I showed up at my job site at 7:30, and found my sub contractors all sitting in their trucks. I walked over and asked, "What's going on?" They responded, "We're just waiting for the gravel to be delivered, it should be here at any time."

So I went back to my car to sit and wait, as it was drizzling and cold out.

Around 8:30, the subs went on a coffee run, and we went over to the excavation and stood around.

Around 9:00, the boss showed up and looked at us pretending to find stuff to do. She left after about 1o minutes. Then we went back to sitting in the car.

At 11:00, we called the manager to find out wtf was up with the gravel. He said, "I called them and it's on it's way."

At 11:30, I finally decided to leave, as it was obvious that no gravel was coming. At which point, I passed a gravel truck on it's way down the road. I refused to turn around and just kept on driving.

Tomorrow I get to go and do it all again.

YAY for me :)

definition of me as a loser = it's a lovely sunshiney holiday, and i'm sitting at my office

2005-05-30T12:22:00.000-05:00

Sigh ... I have two reports that I must finish this week, not to mention a Tier II Extension/Transfer submittal, a day of field oversite and a summary report for the three weeks I worked on that job, a File Review, a DEP appointment in Boston, and a GW sampling job to prepare for!!

With luck, I will get everything done before Friday. Then next week will run smoothly, and we will get all our sampling done in four days and be finished, so I can get on a plane Thursday night without having to worry about it.

On a good note, my plans for holiday are all coming together quite nicely. For the first leg of the trip, I have a bunch of fun things to do lined up, and some wonderful people volunteering (and being coerced) as tour guides! I love you all dearly, and I'm not just saying that ;)

For the second part of my trip, so far we are planning to spend a day or two touring around Frankfurt, and then perhaps a trek over to Strasbourg ... I still need to get in touch with the airline about changing my return flight to a later date because the more I think about it, the less sense it makes to rush back home for work. Seriously, who cares?!?!

OK, slacking off accomplished, returning to work ...

salem, massachusetts: home of dead witches, pirate museums, and now only one army surplus store.

2005-05-29T15:06:00.000-05:00

Friday night was interesting ... cooked fajitas, had friends over for supper, hung out and had a good all around time! Language lessons for the night included:

1. poop in Icelandic = kúkur

2. what's your sign in Lithuanian = kokryra tavoz enklas

3. buy me a drink, also in Lithuanian = nuprik man gerima

The later two might come in handy if you are ever in a Lithuanian bar, the first one, not so sure how useful that will ever be!

Saturday I headed up to Salem to meet my friend Amy (who lives there). We proceeded to go to Jerry's Army Navy Surplus store, b/c they were closing, and supposedly having a giant sale, and Kiran needs a new winter jacket! OK, now I remember why I don't ever go to that store. SO EXPENSIVE! It makes sense they are going out of business ... the jacket that I didn't buy the other day marked for $77 was $139 at Jerrys ... GAH!!

But all's well that ends well ... after the shopping fiasco, Amy and I met Elise, Chris, Rayna, and Erin at the Salem Beer Works ...

Watermelon ale had just been brewed and come out the day before, and in the words of Elise "you can't leave a wounded soldier just lying around" .............. nuff said!

monster-in-law sucked ... big surprise there!

2005-05-27T08:32:00.000-05:00

Who would have thought that a movie with Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez in it would suck so much. Uhm, if you can't tell, I was being SARCASTIC, as I figured the movie would be terrible. As I told the gals previously, I wanted to see the movie because of the inclusion of Michael Vartan as the male lead ... no, I am not obsessed ... however, the opening scene of him running on the beach almost made the rest of the crappy movie bearable.

Funniest moment in the movie was when Jane Fonda was being all difficult and bitchy about the wedding, and Jen whispers "just like Dante". I am pretty sure I snorted, I laughed so hard! Of course the merriment had absolutely nothing to do with the movie itself, which made me snicker once or twice, but that's about it. It doesn't even rate a "cute" from me ... it was just plain terrible. JLo sucks, Jane Fonda sucks, the movie sucked!

Perhaps my jaded movie view came from the fact that I was in my car in the rain and traffic from 16:20 until 18:45 ... hrm ... by the time I got to the restaurant to meet the girls I was so frustrated, annoyed, and hungry I was practically shaking!

However, Rudy's delivered a wonderfully tasty burrito treat, as usual, and my calm was somewhat restored after eating supper ... yum ... burrito ...

That tears it, I am making fajitas tonight for dinner.

i stayed up way too late last night watching the season finale of ALIAS!

2005-05-26T12:13:00.000-05:00

It was weird, I sat through the whole show, waiting for the twist that would happen that would make me freak out until the new season starts, and BANG in the last second of the show, it hit us like a Mac truck (well, it could have been some other sort of truck as well), but a truck it was!

GAH! Now I can't wait until next season to find out if they killed off Vaughn. I mean, there has been talk of getting him off the show since he and Jennifer Garner broke up, but I really really really hope they don't kill him off. I would be so sad :(

So yes, the questions we are now left with are:
1. Will Nadia be ok? Will they find a cure?
2. What was Vaughn's big secret?
3. Related to 2, how does Irina know the secret?
4. Are Syd and Vaughn going to be ok (well, we know she'll be ok, but what about him)?

Stupid freaking ALIAS. Why do I have to like you so much ...

If you are a writer for the show (or somehow or other know the story line for next season), and you happen across the post some how, a few spoilers would be most appreciated!! I'll be your best friend!!

doing new things = giant pain in the arse, especially when they include american idol.

2005-05-26T08:34:00.000-05:00

I promised Guðrun that I would vote for Bo for the finals of American Idol, something which I have never done before, and now will never do again!

I figured, how hard can it be, just turn the TV on five minutes before the show ends (House MD was on after, and I was planing to watch that anyways), so I did, and I got the SMS number, and I sent a vote message for Bo to the Idol folks.

Since then, I have been getting countless messages on my stupid phone from them, which is extremely annoying to me! I keep having to reply to get taken off their SMS lists ... ARGH!!! Never again!!!!!!!!

Lesson learned from this experience: Never do favors, no matter how small, for anyone, as they will come around and bite you in the ass (or the cell phone, more technically) ...

Not to mention that one vote can't make a difference, as the other person (the blondie girl) won anyways!

... w ... o ... r ... k ...

2005-05-25T12:53:00.000-05:00

It's been grey and rainy all week, which puts everyone into a funky mood, and makes traffic completely UNBEARABLE, as every single person decides that they need to drive 20 mph on the highway instead of 65 mph.

To top that off, today is my lovely long day at work. I got in at 8:30 this morning, will be working until 21:30 tonight. I have the wonderful position of being low monkey on the totem pole (or whatever you want to call it), so I get to go and present at a scholarship awards reception tonight for my company. Sure, I can bill for the time, but no, I can't leave early the rest of the week.

In the words of management: "Oh, you worked 50 hours this week, what a nice corporate schmuck you are."

In the words of Kiran: "WTF?!?"

Well, I'm off to go run work errands in the rain. Nothing could be better!

gah, how could i have forgotten!

2005-05-24T15:58:00.000-05:00

I finally saw Star Wars last night. As it was filmed in digital, and I am a purist at heart, it had to be seen in digital, so I waited until tix were available at the new(ish) digital theatre in Boston.

I agree with what everyone else has been saying. The dialog and most of the acting was crap, but the rest of it was great! Things I liked: the score was awesome, Obi Wan finally got to have a character/personality, Master Windu definitely kicked some butt, and Yoda ... gotta love Yoda!

OK, and I love Ewan McGregor ... ever since I first saw him in Trainspotting ... and then again in Black Hawk Down ... and the many other movies he's been in (even that vile Moulin Rouge ... sorry, it gave me a headache to watch it) ...

As it was a rainy Monday night, there were no freaks out ... by waiting I missed the fun of all the people dressed as their favorite characters and the associated madness.

I will watch it again, to catch all the little things that I missed the first time around ... but probably on video and not again in the theatre. Well, maybe the IMax, but not a regular theatre! Besides, with all the other cool movies coming out that I need to watch, there simply won't be time to see them all. I may even start going to movies on my own ... we shall see!

wow, i don't know what to do with myself!

2005-05-24T09:39:00.000-05:00

I am actually scheduled to be in teh office for the better part of the next two weeks! Wow ... I don't know if I can handle that much office ...

I shall be thankful for a few days of break from the stink of fuel oil. My clothes, my shoes, my hair, my car, everything stinks ... I managed to get the smell off me at least, but the clothes and car are another story. It's been far to rainy to leave teh windows open and air it out, so I shall have to continue to suffer until teh weather turns brighter. What really sucks is that this stuff is carcinogenic, and every breath I take is probably doing irreperable harm to my health. I never really was all that concerned about this stuff before, but maybe now is the time to begin to think about a new career!

Of course, after my two weeks in the office comes a whole week of federal program groundwater sampling which has it's own stinks involved, and then a much needed and anticipated vacation, but who can complain about that?

and so the birthday month from hell begins ...

2005-05-21T16:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my friend Shamila's birthday ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAMA!!!!!!!

As you can probably tell from the photo, we've known each other for quite a long time! I have her gift sitting in my room for the next time I see her, which will be ... ????? ...

The only problem is that once Shama's birthday rolls around, my birthday month from hell begins. First her, then today is Suzan's birthday, and then Monday is Darrin's birthday ...
... then comes Todd, Tamar, Amy H., Jenn, Elise, Erika, Jen, Alice, Amy L., and Sam, all within the next 4 weeks. That is like a birthday every other day, for those keeping track. My wallet is feeling the pressure now baby!

At least I got all my necessities for my trip already purchased, including all the gifts I promised to bring to people, and a couple of gifts for people I promised not to bring anything for as well ;)

Last night I went out for Suzan's birthday, and I learned that tex-mex and English beer do not go so well together ... tastewise, that is! I probably should have had a margarita, but I'm not so big on the tequilla drinks.

Tonight I am making Darrin take me to the movies for his birthday. He REFUSES to see Star Wars with me (boooo!) so we are planning to see the new Jet Li movie, Unleashed instead. If I can't see Jedi, at least I get to see kick ass marshal arts. Maybe if he's nice, I'll make him buy me snack foods, too ... happy birthday :)

gotta love the ALIAS

2005-05-19T15:41:00.000-05:00

There was a two hour ALIAS on last night. I was under the impression that it was the season finale, but it was not! There is one more episode next week ... yay!!!

It was way too good. I don't want to talk about it, for those of you that have yet to see it ... you know who you be ... but it was just plain awesome. Yes, I fully realize that I am obsessed with this show. I have the first three seasons on DVD, and I have watched all of this fourth season, and I will get the DVDs when they come out, and I can't wait for season 5, and I am über pissed over the rumors that Jennifer Garner is pregnant, as that might delay the release of next season.

Hello Michael Vartan as Agent Vaughn ;)

This picture is not only for me, it is also for Jo!!

This picture is just for me, as in the other TV show I am currently obsessed with:

Yes, I admit it, I watch Smallville. I can't help it, I have a Superman fetish ...

Not to mention that I am thoroughly pissed off at the networks right now, because both Smallville and ALIAS are moving to Thursday night next season, and they will both be on at the same time. GRRRRRR!

Yes. I put too much thought and worry into this. I know. I am a freak. Whatever, get over it :)

my brother, teh world's biggest _________ (fill in the blank please!)

2005-05-18T11:10:00.000-05:00

Chris called me last night and said "Check your email, quick, I sent you pictures!". Said pictures are attatched, below:

Some people might think that curly hair doesn't look good in a mohawk! But it is pretty damned funny if you ask me! I told him he should spike it all teh way out and let the very top be curly but get it up high, instead of just over ...

He is going to Las Vegas today on holiday, and I told him to leave it like that until after he gets back, because it is AWESOME!!!!

And yes ladies, he is single ... hehe ... to obtain permission to speak with him, you must apply through me ...

i am too cute ...

2005-05-17T19:27:00.000-05:00

Awe, look at me :)

.

I got this picture via email last night. It is me sitting at my aunt's kitchen table, obviously enjoying my fine bevarage from Friendly's restaurant!

It made me smile on a day that has been pretty crummy, so I thought I would post it for all to enjoy!

my stupid website was down ...

2005-05-17T07:36:00.000-05:00

... and I didn't even realize it until someone pointed out that my hotlinks weren't working.

I am an idiot. It was down for 2 days. It is now back up ... so anyone that tried to post a comment between Saturday night and now, it didn't work, and I appologize profusely!

The blame lies squarely on myself for being dumb, and Mr. Bill Gates for creating a shitty product that I mistakenly used.

Won't happen again ... all is well in the land of the phants!

i hate conflict.

2005-05-16T15:11:00.000-05:00

I would like for everyone to get along all the time, and never fight. Fighting is just way too much emotional stress ... emotions and energry which could be better spent on something else.

Pooh on fighting!

thanks to grétar, i am now known in iceland as a crossdressing transvestite

2005-05-14T10:21:00.000-05:00

So, now that the world knows about it, it is officially completed. The world's first and only website dedicated to elephant liberation.

Feel free to check out our site: Fr33 teh phants!

It is a work in progress, and I wasn't quite ready to unveil it to the bloggie-world, but this morning, Grétar informed me that he posted the site up on an Icelandic link page ... so, tada! Here you are bloggie world!

(Even those of you that have seen it: check out some of the new comments, what a riot! I am accused of being a sex-starved guy, and a transvestite ... hehe ... although most of those comments stem from teh way the site is written, so I guess they'd be accusing Pétur of these things, not me!! SUCKER!!)

adobe acrobat belongs in the ninth circle of hell!!

2005-05-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

I ... AM ... SO ... ANNOYED ... WITH ... FREAKING ... ADOBE ... RIGHT ... NOW!! It is one of the most unholy creations ever, and believe you me, I know my unholy creations!

This is not what I, or any person, needs on a Friday right before they get to leave for the weekend.

Breathe in ... breathe out ... breathe in ... throw computer out window ... curse a lot ... breathe out. All better :)

why is my coax cable always 3 feet to short?

2005-05-13T08:46:00.000-05:00

That seems to be the story of my life. It's never quite enough to get all the way where it needs to be.

I got home from work last night, and decided to re-wire the upstairs of my apartment, so I finally dragged my computer, desk, etc. back into the extra room (all alone I might add, I left a nice scratch in the floor from pushing the desk, but I hid it under a rug ... shhhhh! don't tell on me!). Then I set it to download a number of things overnight and let it run on it's merry way.

I also got a bit of bad news when my mom got home concerning my aunt ... but while I am sad, I look at it more like things like this are sometimes a blessing. She had been sick for a very long time, and it was hard for everyone, especially her, and now she's not sick any more, and wherever she is, I'm sure it's a better place. Now I am not going to totally wax philosophical here, but I am by no means a nihilist! I do believe in a life-after-death ... I just am not convinced about the heaven/hell Church mumbo-jumbo. In my opinion, the Church is full of a lot of crap a lot of the time, but then again, so is everything else ...

Gonna stop on this now, because I could go on forever ... leaving it at I kind of like Heinlein's view on the whole thing, where everyone gets what they expected/want, but hell, who knows what's out there, I guess I'll just have to wait and find out!

Anyways, to top off my night, I had quite the interesting conversation last night with a friend ... very thought provoking, and I learned some new things. So at least the day ended on a positive note at least!

welcome to the fun-tastic world of professional environmental consulting:

2005-05-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

So today, I got to watch people take down a chimney. Oh so much fun ... at least they let me hang out on the roof for a bit. Do you know how long it takes three guys to remove a chimney brick by brick? Well, I don't know, either as they weren't done when I left for the day. So ... dull ... at least I got to be outside in the sunshine :)

So that is Griff, and he is removing the bricks one at a time with a pneumatic chisel, so as not to damage the roof or the bricks because everything needs to be replaced. Stupid freaking job.

I was so bored off my butt, I took this lovely photo of a hawk flying above me. At least I think it's a hawk. In this pic, it looks more like a black smudge against a really blue sky!

Soon I shall quit this job ... and become a homeless vagabond wandering the streets, begging my friends to let me stay over their homes and use their showers ... I'll even sleep on the doggie bed ...

what do you get when you mix ...

2005-05-11T14:49:00.000-05:00

1. Four friends all bored at their respective jobs (me, John, Rene, and Gus),

2. A photograph of me, acting like a retard:

3. An email chain dealing with funny pictures,

4. A photograph of an actual retard:

5. The mad photoshop skills of a lonely Canadian, and

6. About 10 minutes of free time?

Well, if you mix these things together in the right proportions, you get ... viola:

Yup, that'd be me ... gosh, how'd I get to be so gosh darned perfect?! Hehe ...

why do i let myself feel guilted into buying things?

2005-05-11T08:18:00.000-05:00

Last night, my friend Kim had something called an Arbonne (skin care products) party. I went, just because I hadn't seen Kim or any of the other people there in a while, and I figured it would be nice to hang out.

I forgot that once I get those people in front of me, forcing me to buy things, that I feel guilted into actually spending money. And spend money, I did!! The lady managed to talk me into buying some organic crap face wash stuff with promises that it would help my peeling nose, which nothing has managed to help since I got mild frostbite on it all those years ago.

Ugh ... stupid nose ... stupid frostbite ... stupid expensive pH stabilized face wash ...

You best be worth it!!

i think they're trying to fatten us up for something ...

2005-05-10T10:59:00.000-05:00

Do you remember how Hansel and Gretel were lost in the woods, and they came upon the gingerbread house? The witch in the house gave them all sorts of good treats in order to fatten them up so that she could cook and eat them (well, technically she gave Hansel the treats, and made Gretel work, but bear with me here, I am making a point).

Well, yesterday at work there were free sandwiches at lunch time and then free cake in the afternoon ... with ice cream. Today there is free pizza for lunch, and left over cake ...

I am beginning to wonder what's going on, why there are giving us all this free food, and how soon they are going to try and kill me.

Or am I just paranoid?

i have been brainwashed by the american media machine

2005-05-10T07:45:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is unfortunately true. The TV has completely brainwashed me into purchasing a new cell phone that is "cool".

I was forced into switching my provider (Verizon) through the complete and utter disregard for me as a person by the media syndicate to which I previously belonged. Every single time I wanted anything, they were rude, or messed things up, or didn't give it to me, or made me wait for hours on end on hold ... finally I couldn't take it any more and I changed.

So far, I am liking the new provider (Cingular) as I actually get reception on my phone while at home, which is a novel concept for me. I can actually use my phone while at home ... GASP ... who'd have thunk it!

As for the new phone ... I ended up getting the Motorola RAZR V3, just because the American Media Machine told me it was cool through it's portrayal in a myriad of commercials and TV shows, most notably used by everyone's favorite female super agent, Ms. Sydney Bristow on Alias.

I justified this purchase through the insaine rebate I am supposed to be getting back on the phone ... I'll just keep my fingers crossed until the check arrives ... but I won't hold my breath!

"oh, woe is me" quothe the computer

2005-05-09T19:18:00.000-05:00

So all of a sudden over the weekend, my computer stopped playing *.avi files. Stupid computer ...

The files used to play fine with Windows Media Player, but for some reason, they don't want to work any more. All I get is sound now, no more picture. I can't think of anything that I've done that could make this happen, but now I am wondering if I am having faulty software issues, or if it is a bigger problem. Going to reinstall the media player first, and if this doesn't work, possibly try downloading a DivX player ... hrm ...

Then, finally my bro came over and tried to help me out with my stupid SCSI disfunctional CD drive, which it turns out is fried fried fried, never to return. I have been promised a "new" CD drive from the computer junkyard that is the home of Chris/Joe/Corey.

Serves me right for using an old server as a computer anyways ... I should have just gone out and purchased something new instead of trying to refurbish the old boy. So now I promise to put away $25 a week into the new computer fund, so that in a year, I will have enough money saved to get a new computer!

sometimes, i amuse myself too much ...

2005-05-09T08:15:00.000-05:00

I find myself very funny. Others find me funny. But not everyone ...

I think my sense of humor is just a bit whacked. Take the joke I am currently taking too far ... (details to follow once it has been completed to our satisfaction).

As for the previous post of needing HTML assistance, please meet my new hero:

One of the smartest and coolest people on the entire planet!! To top his heroism, you will have to try very hard ... in fact, it might not be possible at all ...

html coding driving me freaking nuts!!

2005-05-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

I wish I knew what I was doing ...

I am trying to bullshit my way thought something, and it's just not going to work.

If you are an HTML guru, and you want to lend me your brain for a little while, I will be eternally greatful and I can bake you a pie or make you brownies in return for your assistance!

and if that's not enough incentive for you, I'll be your best friend!!

i have a secret ... and i'm not sharing!

2005-05-07T18:54:00.000-05:00

Well, today was very non-productive. I spent the majority of the day at a what I like to call a "nerd-fest", but what was actually titled a Chemical Engineering Symposium at Tufts Universtity. I made it through 6 of the 8 speakers before I couldn't take it any more and had to leave. A few of them were interesting, but a few were just plain terrible ...

But I must say, I love you Jo! Great job organizing, everything was bang-up well done!! Huzzah to you!!

On a sepparate note, my mom flew into town today, well, sort of into town. She called me yesterday afternoon and left me a voice mail saying in a hushed and shaky voice "You need to call me right back as soon as you get this message, it's an emergency." My first thought was that something had happened to my dad, and of course I freaked out and called her right back. Thankfully, my dad is fine. The not happy news is that my դանդիկ Joyce (one of my mother's closest friends, and practically my aunt ... դանդիկ means auntie ... she used to live with us when I was small) had a massive stroke yesterday and is in a coma.

So my mom called me to book her a plane ticket online, and I found her one that was quite reasonable for a one-way ticket purchased the day before a flight! She flew up to Providence this afternoon to spend time with her and the family. Me and my brother are supposed to go and meet her tomorrow ... and I really don't want to go (for selfish, I am disturbed by hospitals and dying people reasons), but I need to not be a selfish baby and just go and be supportive of my mother.

As for the secret ... well ... that's for us to know, and the rest of you to wonder about!!

going away party tonight for tanya ... sniff sniff ...

2005-05-06T12:08:00.000-05:00

Tonight I am going to a farewell party for my good friend Tanya, as she and her husband are leaving for Germany in about 10 days. She is having the party at her house, but it is a BYOB potluck, but pretty much no one signed up on the E-vite to bring anything.

Since I am semi-in-charge (as is usual, due to my wonderful organizational and party-planning skills), I am responsible for bringing whatever else is needed. Right now the back seat of my car is crammed full of margarita mixers and tequilla. I just hope my boss doesn't go out and take a peak, otherwise they might begin to think I am an alcoholic, which is SO not the case.

It stinks, I'm gonna miss Tanya a bunch when she's gone. Well, there's still email and MSN, but it won't be the same :(

So here is a picture of Tanya and her husband Wayne that I had on my computer. No, I did NOT modify the picture in any way. That is really what they both look like. Really, it is!

why are boys so forgetful?

2005-05-06T08:08:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to meet my brother at Best Buy next to his office last night after he got out of work. To make sure he remembered this, I left him a voicemail on his cell phone Wednesday evening, and I sent him an email at work in the morning on Thursday. Yet when I managed to get in touch with him, guess where he was! On his way home ... hehe ... stupid forgetful boy!

We ended up going to Best Buy anyways, and I got my new plug and play USB, but by the time I got home last night, I was way too tired to plug in or play with anything ... zzzzzz ... but I did get him to promise to come over on Sunday to help me do a few things (fix CD drive and move furniture before my mom comes up to visit in a few weeks).

We went to the Watch City Brew House for dinner. The food was good, but a bit pricey. I tried their Moody Street Stout, which is shown below:

A little too much bitter coffee flavor for my tastes, as I am not such a coffee drinker! Maybe the fact that they listed it as a "coffee, chocolate, and nut flavors blended in such a way that with each sip one tastes something different" should have given it away to me. All I tasted was the bitter coffee flavors.

Which reminds me, I need to swing up to the Sam Adams Brewery one of these days to pick up a bottle of Triple Bock to bring with me on my trip, as the brewery is like 10 minutes from my house, and if I can afford it, and if I can find it, it is definitely something from America that deserves to be tried!

but gosh darn it, i wanted to be jesus's sidekick!

2005-05-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

So I was just looking online to find out if Jesus ever had a sidekick, and if so, what his name was ... and Google came up with the following quiz. I however, did not score high enough on the trustworthy scale to be called "Jesus Sidekick" like Stefán, I am only a "Trusty Samurai", which is way cooler anyways!

"Trusty Samurai"
You scored and 89% in Trustworthiness!

You are a very good person who in general believes in the good of others before your own. You'll always have the back of your friends even in extreme situations. You are an honorable person who will stay trustworthy through thick and thin. You are seldom selfish, but are caring enough to compensate for that. You remind people of a Trusty Samurai...following the honor code and staying true to your word...Good Day...Trusty Samurai!

The How Trustworthy Are You? Test

to concert or not to concert, that is the question!

2005-05-05T07:45:00.000-05:00

One of my favoritest bands, Porcupine Tree, is playing the Somerville Theatre on May 18th, and I really want to go ... however, I am slightly conflicted for a number of reasons:

1. Somerville Theatre is not the best place to see a band like this. Who wants to sit down through the entire show, not me!
2. They, for some reason, are now being played on WAAF, which means the crowd could be of the Revere Beach type, and not my scene.
3. Jeff might be there ... gag ... and I might run into him.
4. It's a Wednesday night, and the show doesn't start until late.

On the good side:

1. Tickets are not that expensive (only $27.00).
2. They only come around this area once every few years, and the last time was an awesome show (despite the company I was keeping at the time).
3. I like going to shows by myself, as that way there is no one to annoy me about wanting to leave!
4. The new album is really good, and seeing them live again would cool.

OK, any votes on whether or not I should go? Help!!

can we say bored to tears today at work?!?!

2005-05-04T14:28:00.000-05:00

Since I am so bored, I decided to finally get around to posting pics of delightful Mexican food, for those of you who like to watch others eat like slobs, these are your pictures!

Here is Eric preparing to make love to the remainder of his messy burrito:

Here is Jen, in nacho and taco ecstasy, there is no other word to describe that facial expresion:

Lastly, as if you hadn't already seen enough gratuitous burrito violence, here am I with burrito hanging out of my mouth. I am so charming!

Stupid burrito pictures are making me crave another burrito!! It's a never ending cycle ... they give you tasty Mexican treats smoothered in guacamole and then you are hooked and you need to have more and more. But I shall defy their advances and say no to the burrito longings!

according to this quiz, my inner european and my outer european are almost in synch.

2005-05-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

I got this from Jo, who should be thanked for finding me things to do at work that are not at all work related!

Your Inner European is Irish!

Sprited and boisterous!

You drink everyone under the table.

Who's Your Inner European?

who's the sexy girl in the hardhat?

2005-05-04T07:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, that would be a photo of me at work yesterday ... safety glasses, hard hat, and earplugs, check. Steel toe and shank boots not shown in photo, but still present. Super loud air compressor behind me used to power the even louder jackhammer located on my left. Earplugs did NOT help me at all.

So now everyone gets a glimpse of me at work. I'm so purty :)

i smell like a fuel oil spill

2005-05-03T15:41:00.000-05:00

Oh, gee, I wonder why!? After washing, smell still not gone :(

It was nice and sunny today, and I got to spend half the day outside bailing groundwater wells. Which is great practice for something that I am not going to share in detail here, but that "we in the industry" joke about all the time ...

Here is a picture of a guy bailing a well. You pull up and down on the rope to fill the bailer. Use your immagination to fill in the rest.

Perverts! I know what you're all thinking! For shame!!

The rest of the day was spent in a stinky room listening to people jackhammering concrete. What?!? What?!?! I can't hear you?!?! What?!?!?!

breaking news: american idol fiasco!

2005-05-03T05:07:00.000-05:00

This post is for Jo :)

Many people who are avid watchers of American Idol have been wondering why certain "talented" people (ahem ... Constantine ...) have been voted off the show, while other, really really terrible people, like Scott Savoy, consistantly make it into the top three every week after performing to terrible reviews.

Many believe it may be due to the influence of a website that is encouraging people to vote for the worst performer on American Idol in order to show the world what a scam and stupid hoax it really is. Check out the website at Vote for the Worst to read all about it. I am given to understand that this is just one of many sites out there promoting the same plan ...

Gotta love the unfolding drama!!

OK, so I heard about this on the news and thought I should share ...

holy crap, what a burrito!

2005-05-02T20:15:00.000-05:00

I just ate so much mexican food ... ugh ... I can barely move. Boca Grande is so very good, I love their burritos but they are just way too big ... but so tasty ...

I am too full to eat the pineapple I bought at the store. Do you hear that internet!?!? I am too full to eat pineapple! I never thought that would be possible. Pineapple is one of my top two favorite things to eat ever, followed a close second by pomegranate. I can't help it, I like my fruits complicated and messy, the same as my men ;)

Picutres of burrito and nachos were taken in order to document their enormity. However STILL can't download them from home. This problem will hopefully be fixed before this weekend. If not, the computer is getting chucked right out the window and I will purchase a new one because I love throwing my money away on things I don't really need.

Speaking of, I bought the new Porcupine Tree CD tonight. I listened to most of it, and I like it a lot. It's a bit less trancy and more metal than their earlier CDs, but still very good. That is $11 well spent!

why can't things ever be simple?

2005-05-02T14:23:00.000-05:00

Why is it the only time I ever get a flat tire is in the pitch black middle of the night while it's raining? Also why is it that when I re-filled the tire with air, it is now fine? It leads me to think that someone might have let the air out of the tire in the first place. Why would anyone go and do that?!?!

I also need to go and buy a high speed USB hub for my computer, as I have three USB ports, but they aren't "2.0 high speed ports". Humbug. I can't hook up my camera or other things to the stupid computer until I get one.

I also just had to listen to a two hour "conversation" between a group of people about whether or not they were going to have to peg a chimney in order to excavate under it, as it could possibly be load bearing. Did I mention that none of these people are qualified to make this decision? Did I also mention that they have no idea if this is even necessary? I say get to work, and if it becomes necessary, then discuss it. But who am I to make that call ... I'm only the girl doing the oversite ... grrr ...

Ah well, it could always be worse! At least it was nice out today, and hopefully will be nice for tomorrow as I will be out of the office again :)

stuff i was too tired to remember last night ...

2005-05-01T10:35:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention that I went to the show with Joe and Kat (from Alchemilla) and that's why we chatted with the lead singer from Common Thrill. He got Kat to go up there and sing Radiohead with him, they were awesome together. Great fun was had by all :)

I also forgot to mention that Sad Marvin and Alchemilla are playing a show on Thursday night at Coyote Ugly (crappy bar ... blegh) in Boston for Cinco de Mayo. It is also a benefit for the American Heart Association (well, actually the American Stroke Association, a divistion of the AHA), so it is for an awesome cause. If you live in or around the city of Boston, please show up! Yes, I am getting paid to promote the bands. Joe and Corey pay me by keeping me stocked up with anything I want in burned CDs and DVDs ... sweet deal for me :)

Third thing I forgot to mention is the resolution to my cell phone dilema. By the end of this week, I shall be all set up with my new provider. Cross your fingers for me!

And lastly I forgot to mention that tonight is a new episode of the Family Guy! **YAY** I have decided to stay in and watch nothing but Fox tv tonight ... new Simpons, new Family Guy, and new American Dad. Way too much tv for one night, but I'll somehow manage!

what was that? my ears are ringing!

2005-05-01T01:22:00.000-05:00

We went out to the Lizard Lounge to get dinner and to see Common Thrill, a very cool band that we were introduced to by Emergenza. They are very Radiohead / Porcupine Tree, and are way better live than on CD. I was just listening to the music on their website, and it is a tad bit overproduced ... so much better live! They put on an awesome show, and they were also really cool ... and no I am not biased b/c the singer said I was cute, I really liked them!!

It is way too late right now. Me thinks perchance it might be past me bed time (especially considering I have to be out of the house in 7 hours ... ugh!).

Tomorrow I think I am getting dragged to Rock and Roll Speed Dating ... slight shudder ... and yes that is my brother, the "poster child" of the website, and his friend Erin (who did NOT meet via this event, and are not dating ... false advertising!!!!!!!).

OK, bed time! Goodnight all :)

last night's comedy of errors

2005-04-30T10:06:00.000-05:00

CD drive still not working properly ... I managed to reconnect the wires that had somehow managed to come undone (I suspect an act of terror on the ex-roommates part), but it still won't spin up because I think the drivers are screwed up. This is a job for someone other than me, so I shall have to call in the calvary and get some help.

I never made it to the movie last night, because after talking to my bro and his friends, and ordering a ticket online, it turned out that they were one ticket short and the show was sold out. So it was either go by myself (and hang out with a bunch of strangers) or let my brother go with them using my ticket.

Needless to say, I let my bro go, with the promise that whether or not he hated it, he would take me later this week. AND that he would take me out to dinner tonight and meet up with my friends at Our House. AND that he would help me fix my CD drive. AND that he would buy me a case for my iPod. I think I got the better end of the deal on this one, all for a $10 movie ticket!

So instead, I hung out with another bunch of strangers at this bar called Rock Bottom in the Theatre district. I didn't much like these strangers ... one of them kept elbowing me to get my attention. We shall henceforth call him Zip-code boy, because every time I said the name of a town he quoted the zip code back at me. He was either a retard or high on something. One of the other strangers was wearing a very inappropriate top ... boobs hanging out on the table ... close your mouthes boys! She was actually at the show on Thursday night and voted for that shit band that won whose name escapes me right now .... Sweetfist, that was it. The rest of the strangers I pretty much ignored, except for Eric's friend Shane, I was nice to him ... I can be nice when I want to be!

Other than that it was a grand ole time. I was ignored by the waitress at the restaurant, and the people were crap, so we ran around the Park Plaza hotel, mailed a postcard to Stebbi, ate ice cream. Jen freaked out a random black guy on the street by talking about the boob girl. I also gave a random bum a $1 coin that Eric had saddled me with.

Now I am off to pick up Jo and meet people for wedding related discussions and plannings ...

the critics hate it so it should be really good.

2005-04-29T18:00:00.000-05:00

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy opened today, and we are going to see it late tonight ... yay! This is all Corey has been talking about for weeks, so I'm really glad we managed to get tickets. I mean his band is named after a character in the book for goodness sake! Hurrah for us!!

The best review I saw in the paper gave it 2.5 out of 4 stars, which isn't too bad. If the major critics hate it, it should be a great movie. Stupid know nothing critics ... I say phooey on you. What do you know, nothing, that's what.

Must fix CD drive on computer now, in order to download software that I have been ignoring forever in the hope that CD drive would fix itself. However, as this does not seem to have occured, I shall have to go in now and start taking things apart. Must be fixed so I can actually use my digital camera and iPod at home instead of having to do it at work! Wish me luck ... if you hear the sounds of fire trucks roaring down the street, it probably means I hooked some sort of low voltage wire to DC current and created fire ;)

it takes forever to load, but as promised, here are pictures

2005-04-29T15:16:00.000-05:00

Sorry, had to create the damned thing in Microsoft Word (aka tool of the DEVIL), so it takes for-freaking-ever to load up.

However, I can re-vamp it over the weekend at home in Dreamweaver (much nicer software, less devil-like and evil) so it will be easier to view.

So here are the remaining promised photos, sans the mini-movie as that was beyond even my Microsoft related skills ...

http://kirisite.com/alchemilla.html

a funny thing happened on the way to the show ...

2005-04-29T11:49:00.000-05:00

Last night, we were sitting in the Paradise Lounge waiting for my brother to come with the tickets to get into the show. Someone was in there handing out postcards for the reggae act that was playing there later that night, a guy named Frankie J. So we were goofing around with the Frankie J card ... see pics below:

Eric looking oh so very aloof ...

Kiran ... yes, I am aware that I have a freakishly large toungue, thank you for pointing that out.

Jen ... let's just leave what she's thinking up to the immagination, shall we?

After that, we were just sitting there, and all of a sudden Eric decides to yell out "Frankie J" just as the guy is walking by, so he came over to talk to us, and thought that he recognized Eric as a keyboardist or singer from some other band. He chatted with us for a bit, and then left to go and get ready for his show. My bro showed up about 15 minutes later, and we were all going into the show when we ran into Frankie J again. Of course, he remembered us, and asked where we were going and why we were leaving, so we told him we would be back.

Jen and Eric went home after Alchemilla, but I stayed until the end and went in with a bunch of other friends to see Frankie J for a little while. The show was really awesome! I guess they do it once a month, and I would definitely go back. It was so crazy, we all had a great time.

After the set, Frankie came over to talk to me again, and was asking me what happened to my other friends, and where'd his keyboard buddy go ... Eric, he missed you! Anyways, he said he wanted to get in touch with Eric about laying down some tracks or some such nonsense, and wouldn't let me leave until I gave him Eric's email address ... gulp ... please don't be mad Eric!!