Tank Top Party

Well last night was the tank top party. It was a fucking shit show, and really fun. I drank too much I'm pretty sure, but I tend to do that when I'm having a good time. These last couple days have been a ton of fun, I'm so glad that Katie O came up for the shananigans. Shananigans has been the un-official word I think for the last couple days ...

80's night was epic per usual. It was a particularly good one with the home homie up, also Chelsea came out which was great as usual, I got to see Meerkat for the first time in seemingly forever, and I got to see my little Em too! Reunions abound. Somehow I accumulated a 30 dollar tab at the nightlight which kind angered me, but I guess it was both me and Katie.

Then tank top party was on Friday. Me and miss Katie got there fashionably late because we had to look very cute, and it worked, we looked pretty darn cute ... per usual. There was 80's music all around, we did Whitney (there were shananigans during Whitney that I'm sure Evan would yell at me about if he knew, or maybe he does, who knows. Whitney is sacred). Tons of fun dancing and hanging out, saw some people I hadn't seen in a while, enjoyed watching the boys dance as usual, bummed I missed the nog bong though, but I did get to see a wine bong! Thank goodness for Maxy being out of town so that I got to sleep in a real bed, with real privacy, and not have to worry about people walking through the living room while I'm sleeping. I got to see Drew's pictures from last night, and Katie's and they both were very entertaining. Now I just have to wait and see Gaby's, which I know are going to be way worse thanks to Meerkat taking lots of candids, and pictures of the window to Maxy's room when I was in there, that scared the shit out of me. There were some pretty funny ones of me dancing with ... people. I look cute, other people look creepy, at least in the Drew version of the dancing. I know that Gaby has like six pictures of the same events. So overall the tank top party was a success, wore the good ole summer league jersey from Cashmere basketball, can't beat that, and Owen did my makeup so I looked pretty hot, apparently it did its job ... I'm sad that I won't be seeing my boys now until after break though, I'm just going to sit around and mope on Thursdays when I know I should be at the Nightlight getting elbowed in the face while footloose plays in the background. I may just have to come back up early for the New Year's party, that could be fun.

So now I'm just preparing to go home tomorrow. I'm not so jazzed about driving over the pass thats for sure. I have a bunch of packing to do, probably some laundry, and just in general getting my shit together, I should probably clean too so I don't come back to filth ... we'll see.

Physical Therapy

Today was my first appointment with the physical therapist trainer lady. It went pretty well, it was very business, there was so little small talk and pleasantries I almost felt uncomfortable. I mean she was nice and all, she would comment after the really hard exercises and ask me how they went with a smirk and everything, but it was very business. I think it was because there were like three other people in there trying to do therapy at the same time. The most disturbing part was right when I got there she was evaluating me and talking about what hurt and everything, manipulating my knee and feeling around and everything. She told me to sit on the edge of the table (you've seen those tall training room tables) and bend my knee in and out. My right knee has a slight move off to the side (see previous post), but when I did it with my left knee, you could visibly see it move WAY off to one side, grinding the shit out of my femur. She was like "see, watch that, wow, that's really off to the side". Then she showed me all these charts of the muscle that was weak, she measured my quads because I guess my right one is visibly weaker than the other. My left quad is like half an inch or something smaller than the right, but the muscle is way weaker from "years of knee pain" haha. I tend to wait until something is really bad before I go to the doctor. So in any case I was given like five different exercises that I have to do, two of which are kinda hard and I broke a sweat doing them, the others are not so bad, but it's really hard not to go too deep into them, the movements are so minuscule, but I can really feel them in the muscle. So I have to do this over break, then come back and see her again to re-evaluate everything. I am going to try and be very diligent about this too because it's fucking painful, and I want to get back into running. I'm supposed to stay away from any sort of deep knee bend, especially with resistance, and avoid going down steep hills or stairs (which is impossible, I live on the third floor of my building!) So that is my physical homework for break, which is better than any other homework I'm pretty sure.
(Note: I am not pictured here)

Katie Owen is coming up tonight for 80's and tank top party tomorrow! I'm fucking excited it's silly. Katie, Meerkat, Em, Erin, Chelsea all my homies I never see are going to be out! AHHHH I'm busting Jerry, busting.

I'm not aging gracefully

Well I finally went to the doctor today to get my knee checked out. I have had knee problems for years, like since sophomore year of high school, but I always just put a brace on and sucked it up (read: complained until everyone hated me for it). Well it has gotten so bad recently that I can hardly walk sometimes. So I went into the doctor, had a check-up (they made me take my pants off, so I had to get checked out in my underpants, then walk around the room in my underpants so that they could see how my feet roll around when walking ... embarrassing!). After the whole ordeal I was diagnosed with Patello-Femoral syndrome. Meaning, one of the muscles in my thigh (there are two connected to the patella that control its movement) is stronger than the other, so when it moves my patella around, it pulls harder and throws the whole bit out of whack, making my patella grind against my femur. Pleasant right? The lady just kept going "I know this hurts very badly, I know this is very uncomfortable" damn straight it is! So I got a referral to go to the trainer on campus to get some rehabilitation exercises and then hopefully it should start to get better. The trainer is only there from 8:00-12:00 so I have to wake my butt up early one of these days (probably Thursday) and go over there. I hope it's not painful, and I hope it works!

Coop Troop

Is it just me or is Anderson Cooper kinda beautiful. I do like the oldies ...

yeah

so i once dated this guy. also i met his ex-girlfriend tonight at the bar. we have decided to be friends. why not!??!?!?! we might even start a facebook group called " i once dated _______" it should be monumental. me and three girls i knew all had dated in the same circle. it was funny and gross ahaha. i love them. Should out to angela and jessica!

Charlie

So I'm making an effort to blog again. Not that anyone actually read this, but I like going back and reading old posts. So here is a video that Gaby had me watch today at work, and I giggled ... a lot.



CHARLIE!

Patriots

Ok, so I like the Patriots (New England Football ... roll with me). You will note that a couple posts ago I talked about my love for Wes Welker. Well the game last night had me worried. I had to watch it in pieces since I was at the gym, then at home and making dinner and just in general not sitting down watching it. First of all, almost nothing happened with my boyfriend. I don't even know if he had any catches, he might have in the first half ... I didn't see most of it. I did see him late hit someone, which frankly is ballsy considering that he is a tiny little bloke, only like an inch or two taller than me (we're made for each other). The end of the game though was insane. If it wasn't for all those penalities, that horrible time out that got called by the Raven's sideline, and the intense 35 yards worth of penalties after the life saving Patriot TD at the end, the Pats might not have won that sucker. I guess it's a testimate of how they never gave up, and a good team always has it's head together even when it gets crazy. They didn't do nutty stuff, false start or anything, they just played the game and tried to win .. and they did. The punters though sure had their workouts last night. It was 3rd and out on so many posessions in a row! Their legs are probably sore today. Now I'm just waiting for Sunday for my lovers to play the Steelers, who I also like, but I'm rooting for the Pats, I don't have a boyfriend in Pittsburg.

Cults

I'm fascinated by cults. I don't understand them, I think they are crazy, and it really cements to me just how insane people are and are willing to do anything to belong to something. The most recent cult that I learned about is called The Family International and they are equally crazy. Basically they used to promote the intense sexualization of children. Mostly I think that the leader was a pedophile who wanted a lot of available children at his disposal ... so sad. I read the wikipedia entry which about every paragraph says, "written like a story, not know if it's factual" or some such nonsense like that. Gotta love wiki, "everyone on the Internet can edit it, so you always know you're getting the best possible information" oh Michael Scott.

Anywho, it was nutty. Notable members: my lover Joaquin Phoenix and brother River Phoenix who said it was "ruining lives" (he lost his virginity at age 4 after being in the cult as a child). Also Rose McGowan.

I really am a tiny bit in love with Joaquin Phoenix ...

Avoiding

I have about ten thousand things I should be doing right now, alas I am doing none of them. Here are the things I have to do:

E-mail a group member to remind him to do his homework (I'm the mom of the group sometimes)
Make 3 PowerPoint slides, even this seems like too much work to do right now
Fake four meeting agendas, this will take me no more than 20 minutes, again, no motivation
Write a 5-8 page research proposal. I'm about four pages in, and just can't finish. It's due day after tomorrow
Write one journal entry of 250 words, again, ten minutes, don't wanna do it.
Prepare notecards for my presentation on Thursday
Work on my take-home final (thats not due for over a week, there is plenty of time!)

Looking at the list, it's really not all that much, I just really don't want to do any of it. Plus, it's snowing which means that unless I want to die from all the idiot stick drivers out there I'll be taking the bus everywhere for the next week or until it melts. I swear to god, Bellingham has the worst snow management of any place I've ever been. They don't plow, sand, de-ice NADA! It makes life treacherous when there is only half an inch of snow! Not to mention that I live up a very tiny hill, but once it ices and then freezes over, you can't drive your car up it to save your life. AND the classic parking issues are going on. People steal your spot, don't leave any visitor ones, the management doesn't care and isn't doing anything about it, and the neighbors don't give a shit or respect that we do in fact have assigned parking. It's very frustrating. So in an effort to find my happy place, I have all the candles in the house lit, I'm trying to keep the lights low, the heat on, and I'm wearing a home-made beanie and sweats.

Here is my exciting plan for tomorrow:

Get up quasi early
Go to work for a couple hours, hopefully Evan and Steve will be there to distract me somewhat
Go to the gym for a couple hours. Long hard workouts, with the snow I might have to miss some later on
Come home and work hard on my paper
If nothing is getting accomplished on the paper, go to school and lock myself into a lab, I work better under those circumstances

And now for my early New Year's resolution:
Be much more private (or secretive) about my private life and goings on. It's no one's business but my own, and I'm sharing far to much with the world, even if it's to people that I care about.

Note: This picture is not from Bellingham, it's from somewhere called Grantham.

whoa

long time, no post. i'm busy with school blah blah blah. Mostly I'm just stopping by to profess my love for Wes Welker. Good game tonight fellas, had me a little worried a couple times. A.J. Feeley, you did not play so good in the second half, but you are pretty, and I love you for it. (#83 = boyfriend Wes Welker, #14 = second place boyfriend A.J. Feeley)

more dull than usual

Well my VC shift tonight should be even more uneventful than normal. Shortly before I came out to the VC the camera and sound stopped working. So essentially I am sitting here at a drive-up waiting to answer questions, but anyone who drives up can't see me, hear me, and I can't see or hear them. What's the point? So now I have to rely on the fact that someone is desperate enough to walk over to dispatch, be buzzed into the building and then walk over to where I'm sitting. My guess is that I get no customers tonight. I'm pretty much ok with that. I don't have a lot, but I have some homework that I can do, so I guess I'll be getting ahead in my classes tonight.

Interesting news as of late? I have transitioned to running (more like jogging) on the treadmill at the gym, and away from the eliptical, though I'm sure I will go back to it when my knees start giving me too much trouble. I like it, I feel like I'm actually doing a hard workout and not just watching tv for half an hour. I ran for just over 15 minutes last night after doing the rest of my workout, and then this morning I ran for 25 minutes in lieu of doing other cardio. We will see if this has any impact on my weigh in for the week.

The Sultan Olympics are this weekend. Otherwise known as the Sultan Olys. I have been hearing so much about them over the last couple weeks that I am very excited to actually go and take part. From what I understand there are events such as "tire throw" "white trash relay" and other gems like that. Basically it's a reason to get a keg and drink for a long time (I believe it starts around noon on saturday and goes until everyone passes out or whatever) and make a huge bonfire, which Drew assures me is in fact quite giant. I'm excited, it should be a good time.

Other than that, things are pretty mundane. I'm glad that midterms week is over and it's back to slow paced middle of the quarter. Only a few weeks left!

UPDATE: I did just have a customer ask me where else he could go to the doctor since the health center just closed. I don't him the emergency room and he laughed and said it wasn't that bad. Well if it's not bad enough for the emergency room, it can probably wait until tomorrow morning when the health center opens dude.

sick

Well, I got sick approximately seven hours ago. I woke up today, throat a little sore, blew my nose a couple times, nothing to write home about. Went to work (Evan scared the shit out of me, snuck up behind me and when I turned around I about had a heart attack, I was shaking for ten minutes and my heart rate was out of control ... mean), then I headed off to the gym for a freakishly long workout on the eliptical, even by my standards, came home, talked to Chelsea, got in the shower. Sat on the couch and BAM! Sick. So I laid around like a bum in sweatpants for a while, did some homework and went up to campus to print some stuff. I still didn't feel TOO horribly bad, so on the way home I went and got some orange juice thinking "I'll head this thing off at the pass, get me some Vitamin C!" didn't work. I drank a glass when I got home, settled into the couch for a couple hours and just got increasingly more stuffed up. Just now I sneezed twice in between taking decongestant pills. That's just silly. So now I'm all stuffed up, heading into my busiest week so far in the quarter and I'm a little grumpy about it. Plus I hate working out when I'm sick, but I'm still going to go to the gym! In any event, that is my news for today ... I'm sick. And I really hate whoever made me sick.

sheesh

School is starting to be busy, I don't care for that. So much busy work it seems like. I am not really doing any of substance, just a lot of e-mailing people for credit and doing little worksheets, it's a slice of ridiculous.

The nightlight continues to rule my Thursdays with an iron fist, but I do care for that. Last night I saw about 20 people from my classes, I danced with a guy who is in my small group for one class it was kinda funny. Then we both said, "see this is what group members do, get drunk and dance". I think I might suggest making our group meeting at the nightlight, and/or another bar, maybe thats a tiny bit quieter.

I continued to scam sleeping over at the boys' house. This time though I was not just limited to the extremely broken hide-a-bed (Evan pretty much destroyed what was left of it last night), I got to sleep in Drew's bed because he was not there. Pretty much Drew has the most comfortable bed ever. I slept really late, I usually try to get out of there early in the morning because when it's like and I look all crazy I feel a little bad about how I always sleep over there haha. But I slept really late, I could hear Evan downstairs getting ready for school and I bolted haha.

I'm unsure what I'm thinking of The Office this season. It's still funny, and maybe it's because I'm usually drinking while watching, but it doesn't seem AS funny as it used to. I mean, I would laugh out loud through most of it last season, and still do when I watch it on DVD. This season is funny, but I don't find myself hysterically laughing like before ... we'll see. Also, I'm unsure about the hour long episodes, I think they drag a little bit sometimes. We will see how my opinions change as the year goes on.

Congrats

Well a big congrats goes out to Mr. Tim and Miss Chelsea who are now officially engaged. Clearly it's been in the works for forever, but now there is a ring and a tentative date and many many smiles! Since I've been hearing things like "when we get married ..." "I think this would be best for our wedding" and the like for probably over a year now it's not like didn't think it was going to happen haha. I had the classic "OH MY GOD!!!!!!" reaction when I go the "I got a new piece of jewelry" text on Saturday. I'm very happy for them. It makes me happy to see my friends so happy! That now makes all the roommates that I have had in college have either gotten married or engaged while I was living with them. Robb this weekend tried to convince me I was like cupid .. sadly i didn't introduce any of them. Maybe I'm just good luck? Maybe the boys look at me and go "holy crap, is that whats left out there, I better snag this awesome girl I have!" In any case I'm very happy for all my friends that are engaged and I only feel slightly left out. I'm starting to diet NOW so that I can fit into bridesmaid's dresses and I'm currently looking for dates to some weddings .... so fellas, clear your calendars.

fall

It is fall in Bellingham. This means: rain occasionally, overcast, windy, generally cold, but every once in a while it will be nice and warm. I love fall in Bellingham. If it wasn't for the amazingly temperate and comfortable springs, I would say its my favorite season here. The leaves started changing really early this year, probably towards the end of August, early September, and I love walking through all the bright red, orange and yellow leaves, it's nice. Fall also unfortunately means that school has started and its time to stress myself into oblivion about anything and everything related, or not, to school. My current list of worries:

1. I have to graduate in spring, which means I have to apply for my degree by Dec. 7, I find that terrifying.

2. Week five is going to kick my ass. I have a big project, presentation, or paper due in every single one of my classes that week. Not so fair.

3. My parents are not so excited about my post college tentative ideas for work and or living. They'll come around ... or I'll change my mind, we will see.

4. I am always and forever behind on my work with the lockshop, I just can't seem to get ahead! I do a whole bunch of stuff and then find months worth of work just shoved into some random corner that I need to deal with. I can only do it for four hours a week, and at that rate its never ever going to get done. I should probably talk to someone about that.

5. I'm already behind in my reading, in week three, that might be a record. And its not like I can get away with it, I have pop quizzes in two of my three classes. Awesome.

Overall though I like my classes, I'm having fun in my small groups and everything should work out fine. It's just a matter of time management and making myself do the things that I need to do, before doing the things that I WANT to do. eh hem 80's night.

On the note of 80's night. Last week I walked away with a nice bruise by my eye. How classy. The best part is that no one can remember exactly what happened. Gaby can remember me complaining about it, Rachel has no idea, and everyone else just remembers me saying that I thought I was going to get a black eye. Also I told my mom that I slept on 'the boys' couch, and she called me a whore. It was great. At least she didn't tell me she was going to shoot me in the head like the last time I was home ... I guess that's something.

ps, a hot guy just rolled through the VC and asked me about the gym. I got flustered and gave him horrible information. Then we both just sat there smiling at each other for like ten seconds. It was super awkward. I'm pretty sure he hates me haha.

School is back

School has started again. Luckily I was able to get into all classes for my major and they are pretty interesting. I have:
Comm 398: Research methods (not all that interesting, but the professor is funny and it's a requirement for the major)
Comm 327 Interpersonal comm (a fun class, taught by one of my favorite profs in the department, it's going to be very typical of comm classes, making everyone be friends, and being very social)
Comm 318 Professional comm (probably the most useful class I'm taking, it ends with how to interview and whatnot, shit I actually need to know when finding a job)

It's a full 15 credit load and I'm just exciting that I'm finally making headway in the major. I can potentially graduate on time if I can continue to get into classes I need and plan my crap out right. We will see if that happens. Now life starts to get busy, always doing homework, neglecting reading, and checking blackboard 75 times a day. I like being busy and scheduling my life away, but I'm sure Christmas will be a welcome break. Thats really all thats going on lately. I'm also doing our own version of The Biggest Loser with four other girls from work, so I'm adjusting to eating healthier stuff (which I don't mind at all, I actually like healthy food), and going to the gym which I have been neglecting to do for the last .... year? Work is also slowing down, I'm down to only 15 hours a week in the office and 4 doing Lockshop stuff, we will see how that works out. My goals for this quarter are to get good grades in my classes, not stress as much, still have fun, and make more friends (already two new facebook friends! haha). Also pretty soon I should decide what the hell I want to do with my life post Western. I have an idea in the works for next summer, I just hope that it works out.

Toys

More than 70% of the world’s toys are made in China, most of them in Guangdong province.

I'm 90% sure they are just napping in that last picture. Unless all that lead paint finally got to them ...

Britney Spears

I'll admit it, I'm starting to feel a little sorry for this train wreck. I mean first she married Kevin Federline, clearly a mistake, then she let him knock her up ... twice. Her career totally tanked, everyone made fun of her and how white trash she got. Then they broke up, she was left with two kids, both of which she didn't take care of (fractured skull, almost dropped on the pavement, driving with no car seat etc. etc. etc.). She performed at the VMAs looking drunk or drugged or something, she looked out of it and her 'big comeback' sucked ass. She is all over the place partying and doing drugs, she shaved her head and entered rehab like three times in a week it seems like. Then just this week she got dropped by her new agent (it was brave of him to take her on in the first place), she is still getting crap about her VMA performance, she got ordered to do random drug testing in her ongoing battle for custody with K.Fed, and just today she got charged with felony hit and run for hitting a car and leaving back in August, all of which the paparazzi caught on tape.

Man, when one types it all out like that, it's mildly impressive! Now I do still think she is crazy and is making a bad situation worse by many of her actions, but I'm actually starting to feel a little sorry for her in all her madness. She isn't normal, so she can't do anything without everyone jumping all over her. I'm unsure where this post is headed, because I don't feel sorry enough to stop reading all about her on Perez and then judging her from my cushy little anonymous bubble.

Steve Miller

I have been waiting for most of the summer to attend the Steve Miller concert. Now a little background, I love Steve Miller, as with most of my older music taste (The Eagles, James Taylor, Chicago, The Beach Boys etc) it was nurtured by my parents and how they always had music playing around the house. Steve Miller is no exception. So when my Grandpa read me the names of the bands performing at the fair this year (he gets free tickets and it was my year to choose), I of course jumped on Steve Miller. Last year me and my sister and her friend big Mike went to see the Beach Boys and we got to sit on the infield not all that far back from the stage it was pretty sweet. So here is a recount of the adventure of Steve Miller:

Gaby and I left Bellingham shortly before 5:00 for the concert that was to start at 7:30, now I knew this would be cutting it close, but I was hoping that traffic would not be too bad and we could stop by my Grandpa's house to say hi and thank him for the tickets. Well we got in the car, and of course traffic was horrendous around Everett, then once we took the exit there was insane road construction which sent me on a detour through the Fife High School parking lot where I was almost hit by a 16-year-old driver with no reverse lights on his ancient Honda. So we weave our way around Puyallup until we get to the fair, it is precisely 7:36 when we arrive, we can hear someone performing. So after getting into the wrong lines, going to the bathroom and just generally wandering around lost, we notice that our seats are in the grandstands, not in the infield. The row 9 that I had been bragging about, was in fact, row 9 of the grandstands, probably 100 rows from the stage ... at least I had a good view? So we sit on our metal bench and watch the opener who I swear was playing Steve Miller songs which just confused me, I thought "Steve Miller isn't a black man dressed like Jimi Hendricks who plays guitar with his teeth ... right?". No. Eventually Steve Miller came on. He was amazing. He opened with some classics including my favorite song of all time "True Fine Love", it was great to hear it played live. He went into a blues set for a little over an hour, and brought out the opener Randy Hansen. I will admit, he lost me around hour two, the blues stuff was great, but lets be honest I was there for the greatest hits. Well he closed in amazing fashion with "The Joker" and then during the encore "Serenade", "Jet Airliner", "Swingtown" all the good stuff. Then we drove back up to Bellingham, leaving Puyallup at about 11:00. This was not a smart move on my part. I will admit it, I was doing some hardcore head nodding on the drive, so unsafe, and very very stupid. BUT we got back ok, around 1:30 and I passed out until 7:05 when I had to get up and dressed for work at 7:30. This summer ... lots of being out late and waking up early. I just want to sleep in!

Steve Miller (the older one, like I saw) is pictured. He is, in fact, not a black man dressed like Jimi Hendricks who plays guitar with his teeth.

Aliens

Aliens are sending down poison from the sky!

A fireball fell from the sky and slammed into southern Peru over the weekend, creating a huge crater that emitted a sickeningly smelly gas, local authorities said. More than 600 villagers fell ill, the Peruvian radio network RPP reported Tuesday.
How are they trying to cleverly disguise their efforts? Not by making us glow green of course!

Limache told RPP that the gases emanating from the crater caused nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and stomach pain — so much so that authorities were considering calling a state of emergency. The newspaper La Republica reported that seven policemen became ill and were taken to a hospital.

So there you have it. Our friendly neighbors in the sky are not being so friendly anymore ...

Bus Pass

Well today I bit (is that right?) the bullet and went and picked up my bus pass. Now a little background on why I consider this biting the bullet:

1. The bus pass initiative was passed by only 1800 or so people (out of 13,000 students at WWU) by 80%. They have since said that it was passed by 80%, no, it hasn't.
2. Everyone has to buy the bus pass, it is included in tuition, no matter if you want it or not.
3. It has increased tension in the parking office 10 fold.
4. It has turned parking into the bad guys on several different areas, only a couple points are valid.
5. They are saying 'everyone gets a free bus pass' no they don't.
6. They made a lot of promises that they are not holding true on, late night service and expanded services.
7. The late night shuttle is only good for Western students, people can't just pay a fare, which I don't think is right. And they are using our shuttles, not WTA buses!
8. WTA isn't doing nearly enough even though we are giving them THOUSANDS of dollars.
9. The sustainability people are stuck on their high horse.
10. I didn't wanna go to the library to pick up my card haha.

The whole thing just kinda irks me, not to mention that people are coming into the office trying to buy their passes and we tell them we don't have them, and they get pissed. Really pissed. We literally have three signs posted around the office, one on a window facing the road, one on the front door, and a sandwich board literally right out front of the door and people still walk in and bitch. Really its the other people that piss me off, but oh well. I am getting a discounted pass (compared to last year) so I guess I should be happy. It just sucks for everyone who won't ride the bus!

extras

I recently was introduced to a hilarious show called Extras. It's made by Ricky Gervais the guy who created The Office. It's a British show so it's a different kind of humor, but it's a lot like the office only its about a guy who is a movie and TV extra always trying to get parts and whatnot. That was horrible description, but it's bloody hilarious. It even makes me type in a British accent. Check it out.

the plague

The plague is back! Just as Dwight Schrute predicted:

A woman in Apache County is battling an infection of the plague, and state health officials are warning the public that the disease appears to be on an upward trend in the state and more cases are likely.
The human case is the first reported in the state since 2000, said Craig Levy, vector borne disease program manager with the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Here we go again ...

bank robber

People are getting smarter and smarter these days. Well at least he saved himself a little time, and the enviromentalist in me is glad that he recycled!

A man robbing a bank demanded the money by writing a note on one of his own checks, authorities say.
Not surprisingly, he was caught soon afterward.
Forest Kelly Bissonnette, 27, apparently tried to cover his name on the check, then handed the note to a teller Sept. 5 at the Bank of the West in Englewood, according to authorities.

Hey at least the police were done in time for another round of coffee and donuts before they went home for the night.

bras

Is this news? I could have told you this around age 15!

Whether women are said to be flat-chested or big-busted, ordinary bras fall short when it comes to supporting bouncing breasts, a new study claims.

And during exercise, women's breasts bounce more than previously estimated, moving a vertical distance of up to around eight inches compared with a past maximum measurement of six inches.

The bouncing, in some cases with breasts weighing 20 pounds or more, can prove painful and damaging to the limited natural support system.

Now this part I both believe, and am frightened by:

A pair of D-cup breasts weighs about 15 to 23 pounds.

Well alert the media, boobs are big and bounce when you run ... I think about half the population didn't need a study to tell them that.
Bra Story

Arranged Marriages

The internet has many many weird things on it. Including this crazy website all about arranging marriages and making the men pay a pretty penny!

Marry Our Daughter is an introduction service assisting those following the Biblical tradition of arranging marriages for their Daughters.
We charge a variable fee per listing, depending on the bride price requested and other factors. Potential grooms are not charged. We do not assist in negotiations, we only provide introductions

The girls ranged from 13-17.5 and priced at 3,995 all the way up to 99,995 for a girl who had been on "local billboards" apparently thats something you look for in a child bride. My favorite blurb on the site for the girl pictured above, is here:

Kimberly was raised from birth knowing that her place in life was to be a good wife and mother and she might as well get started on that now. She knows God put her on Earth to serve her husband like it says in the Bible and we’ve made sure she knows exactly how to do that.

She will cost you 20,995. I wonder how parents decide how much to sell their children for?
Children Sales

Police Dog

This just makes me sad, both as an animal lover, and as someone who studies and works with police officers:

A suburban police officer is accused of leaving a police dog in a patrol car for more than 12 hours on a 109-degree day, killing the animal.

The sheriff’s investigation showed Bandit was in Lovejoy’s patrol car from about 9 a.m. to shortly after 10 p.m. Aug. 11. During that time, the investigation found, the officer ran errands, napped and ate out with his wife. Lovejoy later found the dog dead in the car.

It's really kind of disgusting, it's just like the article about the child I posted a while ago!

Note: The dog pictured is not the actual dog 'Bandit'

Full Article

the concert

My Goodness. I'll say it again, my goodness. This show was a-mazing. Now I'm a tiny bit in love with Spoon to begin with, so to see them live in an intimate venue was great.

The unfortunate part was that we somehow got surrounded with really tall boys and I had to jockey around all night to see the band. So worth it. We got there a little after the doors opened, got a drink and scoped out a place to stand for the remainder. Their opener was really good, it was kinda of a soul/funk/rock band out of Texas, the winning part of their set ... horns. Yes they had a trumpet, alto and tenor sax and I loved every second of it. My heart skipped a beat as I fantasized that "maybe if I just stayed with jazz I could play in a band like this ... and meet Spoon". Now clearly a female Trombone player didn't really fit into their whole scheme, but that is besides the point. After their set (of greatness) we stood around for a while longer and eventually Spoon came out.

They played a really good set. A really good, LONG set. It was a 20 song set with a 4 song encore (more on that later). They played through several excellent tracks from their current album (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga) and then several more from my personal favorite album Gimme Fiction. Now, I'm in love with watching guitar players. I love watching how they convulse on stage in fits of musicality. It's good convulsion though, it's like the musical equivalent of when you eat too much Chinese food and then 8 shots of tequila and go puke in a club bathroom. It feels good, and makes other people feel good too. This was far better than that. Far better. Not to mention the fact that I am IN LOVE with the leader singer. I would mother his children today if he asked me too. And it's not the type of love like I've read his favorite movies and think that we are soul mates, it's strictly based on watching and listening to him play, and thinking he's dreamy. I think when he sings he sounds like a brit, and he LOOKS like a brit I think, and after further investigation, increasing my obsession, I found out that he is named Britt. This just makes me giggle. So after watching him convulse (in a good way) on stage, and watching him giggle with his bass player, and bring the horn section from the opener on stage, the set ended. There is always an encore, always at shows. So we sat there, the patient, pumped up, tired and sweaty audience waiting. And waiting. And after what seemed like hours, probably closer to two minutes (a very long time in waiting for the encore time) they came out and played a 4 song encore. Excellent! 24 songs of Spoon loveliness. It was an amazing concert and I'm glad I went.

I'm a little dead today, I got home at around 1:45 and now am at work at 7:30, but I'm ok. I'm still very excited about the whole thing. OH pictured here: my boyfriend, Britt Daniel, close enough to stalk in Portland Oregon.

police

Man alive, I-5 was littered today with police pulling people over. That means that everyone went 3 mph instead of 70 and it took that much longer to get where I was going. I always forget that over holiday weekend the po po comes out in full force trying to pull everyone over. You will be glad to know that I was not one of their victims.

In any case it was a dandy visit with my Grandpa and Mom for the day. Lots of my Grandpa calling everyone fat, taking naps and then eating dinner at 4:00, always good. He did however give me awesome tomatoes from his garden AND my Steve Miller tickets. So I guess I'll let it slide this time. He is one silly old man.

Spoon

Today Rachel called me. Shortly after the "hey what's up", "what are you doing", "i haven't been outside all day today" conversation was over, she invited me to go see Spoon on Wednesday. Spoon the band. Now Spoon was pretty much the biggest draw for me when we went to Sasquatch, and when I missed most of their set I was pretty bummed, so I'm really excited for this. I only discovered them a year or so ago (and by discovered I mean a burned copy of two of their CD's was placed in my hands) and I adore them, especially their album "Gimme Fiction", it's excellent. It it at the Showbox in Seattle which I have never been to, and even with all the taxes and stuff it's only like 22 bucks. I am always surprised when bands that I've heard of and really like either play small venues or have cheap tickets. I guess I always just assume that if I've heard of them they must be a pretty big name, apparently I know more obscure bands than I thought!

In other music related news, AS pop music is ALREADY lining up incredible shows for this year and the school year has not even started. So far on the list that I'm incredibly excited for:
Jimmy Eat World (perhaps my favorite band while in high school)
Presidents of the United States of America (another fave in high school, I was one of about three people who even knew they had more songs than Peaches)
Iron and Wine (a new favorite)
Minus the Bear (they were here last year also, I don't think I'll go again, I have bad associations with them, I was dumped the night of their show! haha)

Kudos to Hunter and Victor, such incredible music these last couple years!

Gay marriage

One small step. How long until the President holds a press conference and makes it void?

A minister married two men outside his Iowa home Friday morning, sealing the state's first legal same-sex wedding. Less than 24 hours earlier, a judge had thrown out Iowa's ban on gay marriage.
The Rev. Mark Stringer declared college students Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan legally wed.
"This is it. We're married. I love you," Fritz told McQuillan after the ceremony on the front lawn of the Unitarian minister's home in Des Moines

and here it goes:

County attorney John Sarcone promised a quick appeal, and he immediately asked Hanson for a stay that would prevent gays and lesbians from getting marriage licenses until the appeal was resolved. A hearing on the stay request is likely next week, said Camilla Taylor, an attorney with Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights organization.

Can't we all just get along?

Drug Scandal

Drug scandals are not just for sports teams anymore:

Stripping away opera's glamour, singers are increasingly speaking out about a more sordid side of their world -- increased drug and alcohol use sparked by relentless pressure to perform often and well.

Most performers continue to avoid the pitfalls of substance abuse and no figures exist documenting the extent of such behavior. But insiders agree that heightened competition, unyielding sponsor demands and the weight of stardom are leading to excesses that invite comparisons of opera to sports tarnished by doping scandals.

doing scandals ... in the opera house

Full Story

beauty queens

She's not doing much to help out the beauty queen stereotype:



She mentions "US Americans" and "the Iraq". Hey, she still came in third runner up! Wouldn't you be pissed if you were fourth runner up and THAT girl beat you?

office drinking

This article first started:

After eight days in a coma and a life- saving liver transplant, Laura Bates was warned that continuing to drink alcohol could kill her.
But the 19-year-old is apparently so caught up in the binge-drinking culture that she has refused to heed medical advice.
Claiming that she would feel 'left out' if she gave up alcohol, the student had her first alcopop a mere two weeks after being released from hospital.

Then followed up with my favorite part:

Last week, it emerged that young women who work in offices are twice as likely to drink themselves to death as the rest of the population and a study last month revealed that teenage girls regularly drink more than boys.

I'm screwed.

smoking

This made me (and other office peeps) giggle:

An iron-lunged pensioner has celebrated her 100th birthday by lighting up her 170,000th cigerette from a candle on her birthday cake.

Winnie Langley started smoking only days after the First World War broke out in June 1914 when she was just seven-years-old - and has got through five a day ever since.

Excellent. I'm starting tomorrow, however I missed those first few days of the Iraq war ....

finding jesus

Why does being a criminal always make you find Jesus? Vick is the just the most recent criminal to claim they have now found Jesus. Am I supposed to forgive you now for killing dogs by throwing them against electric fences and beating them to death with baseball bats?

Interesting point brought up today at work:
Everyone is furious and making a huge media storm about the beating and killing of dogs, but would we be making the same if he was just beating his wife? How many countless players have been arrested and charged with domestic battery, but do they get suspended from the NFL and have their signing bonuses taken away? Not that the media covers ....

Story

spa day

Yesterday I took the day off of work and went to the beauty school with my Mom and her friend Jenny for a spa day. I was hesitant at first because it was at the beauty school, I expected to get my fingernails cut too short and get my face horribly burned or something during my facial but I was totally wrong. We started with pedicures, then facials and manicures. I of course chose the most obnoxious color of nail polish possible. I was very excited to get a really normal looking girl who was very sweet and had possibly the world's longest eyelashes. The pedicure was very good, the feet rubbing superb, and then, the facial. It was quite possibly the best thing that has ever happened to me. I was so relaxed I could have fallen asleep. Later Jenny asked one of the other girls who was the best at facials and she said the girl who I had, and I believe it. The manicure was great too, same color as the toes. So overall it was a superb day, I want to go get a facial everyday for the rest of my life. If you go to the beauty school ask for Danielle, she's amazing, but you have to hurry because she graduates in October ...

colbert

I love Stephen Colbert. I love his show and he cracks me right up. As you may or may not know depending on whether or not you watch the show, he broke his wrist and has started "wristwatch" raising awareness about wrist injuries. He has also made a wristband like the Livestrong ones. Now he is auctioning off his cast:

Stephen Colbert will auction the cast that helped mend his broken left wrist to benefit the Yellow Ribbon Fund.

The cast will be auctioned on eBay after Thursday night's "The Colbert Report," Comedy Central said Wednesday. It has been signed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric, NBC "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams, Fox News "The O'Reilly Factor" host Bill O'Reilly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., NBC "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert and White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.

Who is going to chip in with me?

He also has delicious ice cream.

stray bullet

Mostly I thought this article was interesting because of the last line:

A bullet fired from a police gun range hit a military veteran as he stood outside a car dealership almost a mile away, officials said.
“It felt like someone hit me with a ball bat or like a bird struck me in the side,” said Bill Bolechala, who had served 24 years in the military including a stint in Vietnam without being wounded.

Bolechala, a city councilman from nearby Burns Flat, said he has no ill-will toward the police, who told him they will pay medical bills related to the shooting. He said he has no plans to sue.

No plans to sue? Now thats hardly American, we sue everyone for EVERYTHING!

cute animals

Somehow on my "MyYahoo" I got signed up for cute baby animal pictures. Examples:

segway

What was the crazy thing I got to do today at work you ask? No I didn't watch anyone get tazed, and no we didn't have any eating contests, and no they didn't make me cook anything for the whole office, BUT I did get to ride around in the parking lot on a segway. Yes, they are considering getting them for the officers or enforcement guys to toodle around campus in instead of wasting gas in the trucks. I don't know how anyone could take them serious though on one of those things. They sure are fun though, we all were scooting around the parking lot, some took them off road or into the office, it was a fun time.

I looked at least three times cooler than these fools ... mostly because I didn't wear a helmet, yeah, I'm badass. Oh we took a shit ton of pictures too, I just wish I had one of the officers on it, it was a slice of hilarious. I wish I had the one of me on it too. I'll have to cruise the shared files at work looking for them later ...

science

It's like Maury is coming to real life!

A state forensics scientist who said she tested her husband’s underwear for DNA to determine if he was cheating on her has been fired.

Ann Chamberlain of Okemos testified in a March 7 divorce hearing that she ran the test last September on the underwear of Charles Gordon Jr. Asked by his attorney what she found, she answered: “Another female. It wasn’t me.”

Seriously, at least it wasn't a paternity test ...
Full Story

recap

Ok, a brief recap of the last few days:

Went to Spokane to visit Mel, we hung out with her friend Big Mike a couple times, watched a few movies (stranger than fiction, catch and release, and superbad), and ate out a lot. It was a pretty fun weekend. Then on my way back to Bellingham I took a pit stop in Cashmere and hung out with my parents and Katie Owen for a day. I managed to eat at my two favorite restaurants in the world El Camino Real, and The Wok About Grill, delicious.

Yesterday I get a call at 4:30 from miss Gaby, her question? Wanna go to Canada and play laser tag for Zach's birthday? My answer? Psh yeah! Driving up there was hysterical. We were at the truck crossing, then the other car turned another way, so we tried to follow them but drove five miles down I-5 in the wrong direction, then finally took a wrong turn and crossed in Sumas. It took us a couple hours to get to Langley which is not so far away at all. In any case, once we got there it was reallllly fun. It included: Gaby, Joanna, Me, Tar tar, Meerkat, the Birthday Boy, Derby, Steve and little Doug. We played three games almost in a row and we all got so fucking hot it was unbelievable. Derby soaked his shirt through and everyone else was completely soaked as well. After all was said and done (around 10:30) we just wanted something to drink, so we stopped and the other cars took off to leave our crazy car to get lost, AGAIN! I have never laughed so much in the car at being lost. It was great, no one got pissed or frustrated and we all just laughed and laughed. In any event, good trip and happy birthday to mister Zach!

weekend

Reading that last entry just makes me laugh hysterically. Mostly because all of it is true. One note: tar tar was dancing with some weird chick who ALWAYS finds him at 80's night and I went over and got in between them and she pushed me out of the way. She literally PUSHED me away. That tar tar, fighting them off with a stick! And all he did was just look at me and laugh. Boy oh boy.

I'm headed off to Spokane here in about an hour to spend time with my sister and her troop. I am taking today off of work and also Monday but I will be back at the PKO on Tuesday. I'm a little nervous about driving over there, I have not looked at a single map or mapquested or anything, I'm flying blind. Not the best idea I've ever had.

Ok, gone.

drunk

i'm drunk. i danced with weird dudes and i liked it. tar and tar and meerkat didn't protect me, and zach and steve don't care. josh left us with enough cash to pay for cheeeeesey fries. i'm drunk at three thirty eight. fuck it.

gossip

I'm human, I enjoy a good trash mag every now and then, and yes I will read tmz.com if I see that someone else has on a computer ... I'm only mildly ashamed. I've found a new and delightful source of celebrity gossip crack though. Introducing .... Perez Hilton. He's the devil, he's mean, and I eat that shit up like dinner. Pretty much my favorite part is that he (and by he I mean him and his minions, there is no way he is on there posting 25 times a day by himself) takes pictures of celebrities and then draws on them, it's a slice of hysterical. I've included both a picture of him, and a picture where he has drawn on it. Yeah, I'll admit it, I love the site, and I check it often. (Pictures are Paris Hilton with Perez Hilton, and then a pretty tame picture they have on there of Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen).

PS, I'm in love with Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen

Perez

religious insights from our president

Oh boy. My favorite blog highlighted this article and I couldn't help but do the same. I find this absolutely hysterical and absolutely scary at the same time. Here are some highlights from the article that tickled my fancy, or just pissed me right off:

"I am driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did."

"God bless the people of this part of the world"

"I did denounce it. I de- I denounced it. I denounced interracial dating. I denounced anti-Catholic bigacy... bigotry."

"We say in our country, everybody matters, everybody is precious in the sight of an Almighty." (except those who don't believe in an almighty ....)

"And I just -- I cannot speak strongly enough about how we must collectively get after those who kill in the name of -- in the name of some kind of false religion."
(and clearly he's the one who decides what a "false religion" is)

"It's also important for people to know we never seek to impose our culture or our form of government. We just want to live under those universal values, God-given values"


oh dubya, you make me angry.

new tattoo

I've been itching for a new tattoo for quite some time now (pretty much since the ink on the first one dried) and I think I've found the next design. I've been kicking around lots of ideas in my head, but cruising one of my favorite blogs today I think I've got it. Now I distinctly remember having a conversation with my Mom about how any tattoo that I get has to be deeply personal and really mean something to me, because I don't want nonsense crap on my skin when I'm an old lady (though those could be good stories for the grandkids ... I'll think about it). Now clearly NOTHING is more personal than my ANATOMY!

Anatomy Tattoos

bottled water

I was mocked. I was made fun of for saying this. I was called a hippie liberal environmental weirdo. Ok maybe not. BUT I feel legitimized! Bottled water is bad for the environment and you should try to just drink tap out of a reuseable glass, or nalgene if you are trendy (or camping).

Bottled Water is the Devil

sick

I'm home sick today from work so what better to do than blog. Here is a list of what's been up so far today.

7:05: Woke up so I could call Jason and tell him I'm not coming in. He said, "Sounds good, feel better", he's so heartfelt that J-Kitty.
8:00: Woke up again, put on a disc of Seinfeld to watch in bed. Popped some ibuprofen for the paaaaain in swallowing.
9:45: Woke up because I can so distinctly hear my neighbors having sex through the window.
10:00: Decided to get up for real, mostly because I had to use the bathroom and my Seinfeld episodes were over.

So I have been doing my normal internet checking of the different sites I look at everyday including this one blog that I always look at and found the picture that is above. The blog I read posted about ANOTHER blog that's all about giant things, including food, cook wear, appliances, animal statues, even a huge rubber stamp sculpture. It's actually kinda funny.

Comically Large Things

church

I always knew churches were dangerous places:

A gunman opened fire in the sanctuary of a southwest Missouri church Sunday, killing a pastor and two worshippers and wounding several others, authorities said.
The gunman ordered all the children out of the church before he started shooting and briefly held between 25 to 50 people hostage before surrendering, McCracken said.
DANGER

And clearly Christian Boot Camp is dangerous:

Authorities charged the director of a Christian boot camp and an employee with dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van after she fell behind the group during a morning run.

Charles Eugene Flowers and Stephanie Bassitt of San Antonio-based Love Demonstrated Ministries, a 32-day boot camp for at-risk teens, are accused of tying the girl to the van with a rope June 12 and dragging her, according to an arrest affidavit filed Wednesday.

Flowers, the camp's director, ordered Bassitt to run alongside the girl after she fell behind, according to the affidavit. When the girl stopped running, Bassitt yelled at her and pinned her to the ground while Flowers tied the rope to her, according to the affidavit.

MORE danger

Makes me glad I will never be in either one of those places ...

sore throat

I have a sore throat. It all started a couple days ago when it hurt on the left side of my throat when I swallowed. Then last night and this morning it hurt so bad that I couldn't sleep. So I got up and called my Mommy like any self respecting 21 year old does and tried to get her to help me find a doctor to go to. Well my stupid insurance has a phone number you can call and give your symptoms too and they are supposed to tell you if you need to go see a doctor or not. So I called but their office was closed, so then I just tried to have them help me find a doctor to go to, but they were still closed. I was almost in tears. I had to resort to the phone book trying to find a walk-in clinic in Bellingham to go to. The only one I found was way the hell out on Northwest and didn't accept my brand of insurance. I went anyway. I was pretty convinced that I had strep because it hurt like all hell just to swallow. I waited in the little room for 2o minutes for the doctor, who was not so nice and without even looking in my throat told me that he would "bet a nickel it's not strep". So he ran a strep test even though I'm sure he didn't want to, then looked in my ears and told me to stop using q-tips that I have an ear wax problem in my right ear, but the left is fine, and told me to follow my grandparents instructions of nothing smaller than my elbow in my ear. Thanks, I had never heard that before. Then he felt all along my neck lymph nodes and told me they were "swollen, but nothing impressive". He told me to take ibuprofen and drink tea with lemon and honey. He was in and out in five minutes and after the test came back I really didn't have strep. This is easily the third time I've been to the doctor in my life thinking that I had strep and didn't. I might be a baby who can't handle pain. Then I had to go pay. Now this was the first time that I had been to the doctor and couldn't use my insurance and just had to pay it, and for a whole lot of waiting and kind of a cold doctor I paid 120 bucks! That's insane. Universal health care keeps looking better and better.

yikes

Well 80's night is back! I was extremely excited to have the beloved Nightlight 80's night back this last Thursday. It has a tinge of sadness though because it was miss Emily's last night in town for some four months while she heads off to Washington DC for an internship. I think it's safe to say that we will all be missing her quite a bit. The night was a ton of fun, it was great to have everyone out especially people who are hard to get out (ehem KEELEY), and even those who were not feeling so hot (Meerkat). This does however bring me to the point of my post: Technology and alcohol do not mix ... well.

I'm a drunk dialer, I'm a drunk texter and as anyone knows who reads this blog, I can occasionally be a drunk blogger. Sometimes however all of this backfires. You will say something via text or in a drunk dial that you will regret regret regret the next day. My 80's night had a lot of this involved. The funny thing is, that you can only play off your indiscretions via alcohol to a point, at what point to you own up for your actions and stop blaming booze? Now, I know I wouldn't smoke ciggies if it wasn't for alcohol, but would I still text an ex and tell them I miss them? Or would I tell a friend it's ok to have another drink even though I know they have had enough? It's a tricky little situation and now I find myself dealing with the aftermath of another one of these situations. So when do you ignore the things people do as them "just being drunk", and when do you have to respond and view them as truth supplemented by too many drinks?

I think the Tootie Pop Owl said it best, "the world may never know".

Underwater Advertising

Ever since I found out that Keeley plugged my blog on her blog I feel pressure to have amazing blogs! Even though I'm pretty sure that Keeley is the only one that read this anyway because I've never actually told anyone about it. SO this gave me a giggle:

Out in the Stockholm Archipelago, a half-tonne billboard was anchored to the seabed, five metres below the surface. The billboard carries a message to all divers that they can book a week in the divers' paradise of Hurghada in Egypt through the Ving travel agency.

Madness

snakes

Oh boy. Prosser. I do know a few people from Prosser and I'm from the Eastside so I guess I don't have a ton of room to talk but:

A man was bitten by the decapitated head of a rattlesnake on his property near Prosser.Fifty-three-year-old Danny Anderson and his son saw the five-foot snake Monday evening while feeding horses. They pinned it with a pipe and cut off its head with a shovel.When Anderson reached down to pick it up he says the snake head twisted around and bit his index finger. He says if felt like his hand was in a fire pit.

Yikes