Gravity Works

Not Just a Quantum Leap

2007-12-18T11:03:00.001-05:00

Television Review: Journeyman

It is not often that I would take the time to review a TV show, but today I feel it is important for me to get the word out. NBC strikes again and decides not to pick up the option for another great TV show thus alienating their viewers. I do my best to review movies (and DVDs to come soon), but TV seems like a harder medium to review as my opinion can change from episode to episode and I hate to come off as wishy-washy. That said, with Journeyman's fate apparently sealed, I felt the time for a Lindy-rant had come.

Let me start with the premise. I have been flip with friends in describing it as Quantum Leap meets Early Edition, but it really is so much more than that. This show is about a man, Dan Vassar (Kevin McKidd) who is ripped from the present and sent back "attached" to an individual in the past. The catch is that he has little idea who he is there to help and has no control over when he will jump home or back to the past once again. He has a wife, Katie (Gretchen Egolf), a son, Zach (Charles Henry Wyson) and a good job as a newspaper reporter in San Francisco (and yes folks, this one really seems to be shot in SF, not like the random location shots a Women's Murder Club will give you, so you remember they are supposed to be in San Francisco.

The similarities with past "time traveling shows" are recognizable; Dan has a guide in Livia (Moon Bloodgood) like Sam had Al in Quantum Leap and Dan can use his newspaper resources to research the people he is helping as Gary had the entire newspaper from the future as his resource in Early Edition. As with the other shows, Dan is jumping back and forth to right some wrong and prevent bad things from becoming a reality. There are the same Space-Time-Continuum questions and concerns as with any show - if you change the past, how will it affect your future - but there seems to be a higher-power pulling the strings who prevents a negative aftermath.

This show actually gives us consequences to Dan's actions - things being changed negatively as he tries to serve his own agenda instead of that of the Powers-That-Be. He has made changes that caused his son to become his daughter, and having a psycho child-abuser come into his home, shoot him and take his wife captive. His present-day life continues while he is hopping through time and has jumped at the most inopportune moments – while walking through the farmer’s market with his young son, while getting randy with his wife, and while on an airplane which is mid-flight.

This show twist and turns when you least expect it and keeps us riveted and tuning in weekly. Journeyman is an enjoyable escape - one that provides the accessibility of a cop show/drama while giving us the continuing mystery of Heroes or Lost. They have assembled a quality cast (mostly TV alums from shows like Rome, Roswell and Day Break) who pulls you in and makes you care about what happens to these characters. McKidd’s (and Dan’s) rugged exterior and soft and emotional interior help make this character relatable and the acting believable.

Don’t let this show be cast aside by an impatient Programming department! NBC sends me countless viewer surveys about Heroes and advertising – why not ask me about a show who needs the help? They moved Law & Order: Criminal Intent to USA Network to make room on their lineup (FYI: Against their own ratings juggernaut, ER). Why not move this to USA or Sci-Fi? You own them, these networks don’t have nearly the same amount of original programming, and having those channels get additional traffic, doesn’t hurt your bottom line one bit!

NBC continues to air shows like ER (13 seasons since it's debut) when the show hasn't been good since Mark Greene died. Enough said.

So SAVE JOURNEYMAN! Sign the petition, send the network boxes of Rice-a-Roni, and help us get our beloved show back on the air!

Deflower Power

2007-08-19T21:25:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Superbad

I have to start out this review with a minor disclaimer – I am a woman. Being a female watching this movie means that there are probably some jokes I missed – but for those of you out there who were adolescent males and a little geeky, you will laugh your ass off at this movie even more than I did.

This flick is one long and loving script dedicated to the male anatomy. Don’t get me wrong, it should be honored, but this is one hysterical way to give the appendage screen time without ever showing a live one (it is depicted in other ways). Breasts are so often honored I feel it was about time that a movie reflected how much of a man’s life, and decisions, are driven by their other brains.

Judd Apatow is my new hero. This man can do just about anything these days and it will be a success (as long as it isn’t made for the small screen). While only a producer this time around, he understands what is funny and therefore lets Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg run away with this script (including giving the 2 main characters their own names as an homage to themselves).

Best friends, super-nerds and high school seniors Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) set out on a mission to get rid of their virginity before heading off to different colleges. Clearly having learned about sexual escapades from TV and movies, they dedicate one night to do the deed by getting a couple of chicks drunk at a party and nail 'em. Sorry guys, this ain't Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

In order to get themselves an invite to the cool kids’ party, they promise to provide the alcohol, enter Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a fellow geek who just happens to have recently procured a fake ID. In his infinite wisdom, he chooses the moniker McLovin (no first name) and hilarity ensues.

Mintz-Plasse, a novice to the movie biz, steals the show. He takes this punchline of a name and uses it to full advantage while buying beer while underage, being robbed, cruising with keystone cops and truly having the night of his very young and naïve life. Seth Rogan (Knocked Up) and Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live) do an excellent job playing a couple of bungling cops helping the boys in their coming of age story - there is something so charming about these guys and their ability to turn crazy cops into sympathetic heroes.

While I would love to expound the virtues of some of the gags in this movie, I just don’t want to ruin it for you. Let’s just say that if you are not easily offended and you enjoy laughing at penis jokes, awkward teenage boys and overall mischief, this is the movie for you this summer. As a woman, this gave me more insight into the teenage male and it explained so much about the boys I went to high school with. That’s what I call entertainment.

Do You Believe in Magic?

2007-08-18T21:21:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Stardust

Stardust is a surprise gem in the sea of blockbuster action flicks this summer. Never having read the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman, I went into the theatre with little expectations but with the hope that such an all-star cast would entertain me for a couple of hours. This movie was made for fans of all ages. It has magic, intrigue, sword fights, love, humor and charm.

This is the story of a little town in England called Wall – named for the wall that separates England from a mythical land. Our romantic hero, Tristan, played by Charlie Cox, is in love with the snooty wench Victoria (Sienna Miller) and promises her to retrieve a fallen star to win her hand in marriage. Tristan discovered that his mother is from this mythical land and that he can travel there without having to vest the 95-year old guardian of the wall (played wonderfully by David Kelly).

Tristan happens upon the fallen star, which turns out to be a woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes) who has broken her leg, is in a pissy mood but is in a fancy dress and has an angelic glow to her. Tristan ropes her with a magical chain and their journey begins. Little do they know, but they are being stalked by three witch sisters, headed up by Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer). They need the star’s heart in order to live forever and look hot in the process. But that’s not all; they are also being pursued by a septet of brothers (named Primus through Septimus) who are vying for the thorn by killing each other off and trying to regain the magical ruby which will earn them the title of King. Whew…I think I got it all.

If you are confused, don’t be – there is a lot going on in this movie. It really is not that complex once you are sitting in a dark theatre and have been transported to this enchanted land.

Pfeiffer’s performance is intriguing with her delectably wicked take on a witch who hates being old and wants to live forever. Robert De Niro as Captain Shakespeare takes pride in his pirate with a heart of gold role and portrays both sides with ease and an over the top glee. His character is mean and harsh on the outside, but ends up supplying some much needed aid to the road weary Tristan and Yvaine.

Cox and Danes truly steal the movie with their charm and innocent journey of compassion, love, awakening and discovery. Cox’s Tristan grows from an awkward and lovesick boy into a swash-buckling confident hero who finds his true love in a place he never expected.

This movie took the charm of The Princess Bride, combined it with the epic, sweeping landscapes of The Lord of the Rings and added a dash of adventure to come up with this engaging movie that thrilled me to watch. Take the time, and open your wallets, to enjoy this lovely movie that just keeps on giving.

Ménage à Trois

2007-08-09T11:25:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Rush Hour 3

Rush Hour 3 is the 3rd installment of this East meets West comedy-action flick series. Like the previous two films, this is a combination of buddy cop movie and martial arts action - it's a brilliant scheme to bring in many different viewers, but was lacking in the fire of the first installment.

We open with Chris Tucker, Detective James Carter, directing traffic in downtown LA. Immediately, your brain tries to think back to the 2nd movie and try and remember what happened to bust him down to foot patrol. However, very quickly you forget about the previous movies as Tucker starts singing and dancing to Prince in middle of the street - using his dance moves to direct the cars through the intersection. And almost predictably, he causes an accident - and laughter ensues.

Cut to Jackie Chan, Inspector Lee, who is body man to the Chinese ambassador - again, what was the plot line from the previous movies? Thus begins the problem with this sequel.

Unless you have watched (and rewatched) the previous films, odds are you don't remember all the fine plot points. I don't mind any "third" referencing the previous two, but here it seemed like they were trying to make a point by assuming the audience was made up of diehards.

Brett Ratner, who directed all three of the films, has a very different style of making movies. He isn’t really about style and cinematography, he is about having a blast on the screen – something to entertain the audience and bring them into the party. He does his best to recreate the formula that has been successful in the past movies, but this one lacks in luster. It seems like X-Men: The Last Stand all over again.

This time around we take the party to Paris and the duo is working on bringing down the Triads, a super secret society of Chinese Crime Lords. The boys are marked for death and will do anything to stay alive. They find the one girl (French with a whole lot of cleavage) who holds the answers and then fight to protect her from the evil Triads. They go so far as to interrupt her burlesque show trying to keep her from being killed – and a musical routine breaks out.

That said – I laughed my ass off through the entire movie and so did the rest of the audience. We were laughing so much that we missed some lines – so you had to laugh quickly and turn back to listening intently almost immediately. We even found ourselves giggling long after some of the jokes because Chris Tucker is that good. Sure, he has mellowed as his paycheck has increased over the years, but how can you dislike the goofy, high-pitched antics of him played off the not-always-straight-man, Jackie Chan?

The action was great – an entire fight on the Eiffel Tower, and down the Eiffel Tower? Swords, kicks, flying furniture, breaking glass, leaps, jumps, high flying people, singing, dancing and one very tall Chinese man – this is what I call entertainment, even if most of it is predictable. It certainly isn’t movie making at its best, but it isn’t the worst “3” this summer. There are still a couple of sequels due out this year, but at least this is the last “3” – until next year, I am sure.

Thank goodness Chan and Tucker are so likeable and easy to watch.

Bourne Free

2007-07-31T23:21:00.001-04:00

Movie Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

He's a quiet man and he is on a mission - his name is Jason Bourne. Matt Damon again steps into the shoes of the government assassin with no memory of who he is or was. This series of films has been quite the showcase for Mr. Damon as it allows him to be smart and kick ass at the same time. Based loosely on the book series by the late Robert Ludlum, Paul Greengrass has taken the helm once again to bring the man with nothing left to lose to life (Doug Liman directed the first installment, The Bourne Identity). The Bourne movies have rejuvenated the spy-genre by placing its hero firmly in the real world, with real emotions and replacing high-tech devices with wit and cunning.

Bourne is still being hunted down like a dog by the CIA. No matter how hard they have tried to kill him in the past, he has always been at least one step ahead of the g-men trying to silence their loose end from Operation Treadstone (watch the 1st two movies). This time around, Bourne has their number and isn’t going to give them an inch.

In round three, we meet the head of the black-ops program, Noah Vosen, played skillfully by David Strathairn. As we learn, Blackbriar is the cut-throat black-ops program that is Treadstone's successor or "upgrade." Pam Landy (Joan Allen), who previously was obsessed with catching Bourne, goes a little nutty and starts to question the vigor in which they are willing to take Bourne out. I’m not sure that this turn did the character any justice, however.

We do learn the origins of Jason Bourne. He has been looking for answers for 3 movies now and he finally gets them. Unfortunately, he gets more than he bargained for but at least he can have some peace.

The film moves so fast there's barely time to take a sip of your soda or a bite of popcorn for fear of missing a morsel. There are some excellent fight scenes but the best scene in the entire movie was the chase scene. For those of you thinking about car chases (Ronin still wins that contest), this one takes place on foot. It is like a well-choreographed dance, with Bourne taking the lead. The masterful back and forth between the “good guys” and the “bad guys” just reels you in and keeps you glued to your seat for the rest of the 2-hour flick. There are other chase scenes in the movie – let’s face it, this is a chase movie – but the first one is still my favorite.

I applaud Mr. Greengrass in his seemingly non-stop action between car crashes, leaping from rooftop to rooftop and crashing through windows. I am torn as to which movie of the trilogy is my favorite, but I think the 3rd movie will come in last. Depending on the day of the week, I will pick Identity over The Bourne Supremacy (let’s face it, Franka Potente’s Marie died too soon in the 2nd movie – she gave Bourne a more human and sympathetic character). But tonight, I think I side with Mr. Greengrass.

Who knows if this is truly the last chapter in the Bourne series, especially with a new book recently released by Ludlum’s close friend? If the box office receipts look good and Matt Damon is willing to return, I bet this isn’t the last we have seen of the spy who now knows too much.

Table for One

2007-07-29T04:59:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: No Reservations

As a second helping of culinary films this summer, No Reservations does a fine job setting the stage for a decent foodie chick-flick with just the right amount of chefly ego tossed in for good measure.

Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Kate, a driven heralded chef who happens to be anal retentive in every way. Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin is Kate's niece, Zoe, who unexpectedly moves in after a tragedy takes her mother from her. While Kate steps away from the kitchen to figure out how the hell to care for a 9-year old, her boss brings in a sous chef to help ease the load - enter Nick (Aaron Eckhart), the exact opposite to Kate's orderly and controlling head chef. Nick likes things loose and passionate, including singing to Pavarotti in the kitchen and dancing with the quail dinner special.

Kate is an atypical movie heroine as she is grounded and content with her routines, including her empty apartment and seemingly always empty voicemail box. The addition of a child who refuses to eat Kate's gourmet feasts sends her reeling and looking for answers back in her home away from home - the restaurant kitchen. She quickly learns that you cannot always dress the plate to appease all palates and she has to learn to allow herself to eat on the floor and have pillow fights. Nick finds the recipe to soften her tough exterior and bring fun and joy into her home life with Zoe.

The journey of Kate, Zoe and even Nick was a bit predictable, but a little life was stirred into the tale with Zoe's willingness to step into the kitchen and do a little sautéing of her own. I am a sucker for most culinary movies, even the cheesy and less than stellar ones (like Simply Irresistible).

This mix of Raising Helen meets Baby Boom meets Big Night is the right mix of food, love and learning to adapt to life as it happens. I really did enjoy this movie, but it is understandable if the critics don't get it. This movie isn't flashy, it isn't Oscar-worthy, but it is real - it works as a date movie or just 100 minutes of relaxing entertainment (but maybe bring a Kleenex or two).

One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall!

2007-07-20T14:24:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Transformers

I loved Transformers as a kid (thanks, Hasbro), but was not a die hard fan, so any changes to the original did not really phase me...maybe I am in the minority there.

The premise was the same - vehicles, electronic devices, etc, unfold, their insides coming out, and then reassemble themselves, with speed and agility into giant robots.

This movie was thoroughly enjoyable - especially if you take it for what it is. This was a fun, action-packed movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. After all, this is a Michael Bay film and we all know what to expect when we walk into the theatre. However, this seemed to be a stronger showing for Mr. Bay this time around - but a lot of that may have been due to Steven Speilberg holding the purse strings.

The story is this - the AllSpark (the giver of life in the robot world) was lost in space after the robots divided between good and evil. Falling onto Earth (of course), a handful of these robots traveled all over the galaxy to find this device. Enter the Autobots (good) and the Decepticons (evil). The Autobots want to defend Earth and keep the Allspark from the Decepticons who want to use it to conquer planets.

Our human hero, Sam Witwicky (played skillfully by Shia LeBeouf), is seemingly an innocent bystander when his car - a rusty yellow 1976 Chevy Camaro - Bumblebee, transforms and starts to talk to him through his radio. This was good for some laughs as the car chose the right song lyrics to match what was going through Sam's head at the time. His paramour, Mikaela (Megan Fox), is sucked into the adventure and soon finds that she fits in more with Sam than with the popular clique - much to Sam's delight! The relationship was contrived and somewhat forced for my tastes – maybe this was meant to give a nugget for all the girls forced to see the movie with their men. Otherwise, the character was completely intended to give the guys a drool factor – the girl had some skin showing throughout most of the movie…it’s what they say about men – all they need is cars and women.

Our Autobot hero is Optimus Prime, and he morphs from a big rig, with red/blue flames, and speaks in a booming voice (voiced by Peter Cullen, who originated the character in the cartoon). The rest of his posse is comprised of Bumblebee (who I believe was a girl in the cartoon), Ironhide, Jazz and Ratchett. It was really hard to keep the rest of them straight during the movie, but I’m not sure it mattered.

Most of the charm of this movie is the action of the robots transforming and then fighting each other (sometimes at the very same time). Watching them convert from a car chase to a metal-on-metal death match just leaves you wanting more.

The kids in all of us (especially the boys) were the target audience for this – and that’s why it has been so successful. This was an epic battle of good versus evil with lots of fights, explosions, metal scorpions chasing after military squadrons…all very Michael Bay and all very enjoyable if you aren’t looking for Platoon meets 2001: A Space Odyssey. This was more Aliens meets The Terminator meets War of the Worlds…which is not a bad thing at all.

Pretty Scary in Pink

2007-07-15T01:47:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

With just a week left until the final installment of the Harry Potter book series is to be released, I found myself looking for a quick fix to tide me over. 870 pages condensed into 2 hours and 18 minutes quite brilliantly. Director David Yates does an excellent job creating a Harry Potter movie story that flows with relevance and accuracy…well, mostly.

As Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his cohorts, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) are set to enter their fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they find themselves heavily ensconced in The Order of the Phoenix as they prepare for Lord Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) return to power. Harry is once again reunited with his godfather, Sirius Black (Gary Oldham) and he couldn’t be happier.

This movie is action-packed, even with paring down the original book, but a lot of the scenes are flashes from the 4 previous films. Gone are most of the scenes at Sirius’s house dealing with The Order, but we are still given a glimpse into that piece of the storyline. Harry continues to confide in Sirius and this time around, he is entrusted with most of the secrets of The Order.

This book was notorious for teen angst and a brooding Harry and the movie is no different. The beauty of the abridged version is that he seems to snap out of it a lot sooner. However, we were not denied any of the delicious plot involving the pink yet vicious Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). Her insertion as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor by the paranoid Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy). Her ability to be such a menace over the students and the school is absolutely hair-raising. Her wall of decorative cat plates and her sipping of tea temporarily masks the evil side within. Her pure torture of Harry in detention is as scary to watch as it was to read.

Knowing that Voldemort has returned and being denied the opportunities to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry et al build Dumbledore’s Army and decide to teach themselves how to defend the world against the ultimate evil. Using the Room of Requirement for their lessons, the kids learn everything from Stupefy to Patronus. The addition of Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) is so refreshing and delightful to watch. This young lady was born to play Looney Lovegood, indeed.

As we soon find out, Harry’s connection to the Dark Lord is stronger than ever and they are actually able to read each other’s thoughts and experience each other’s actions. In order to try and stave off the cranial intrusions, Harry finds himself taking Occlumency lessons from none other than Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman). The portrayal of the aspect of the story was absolutely dazzling. Using the footage from previous films and intertwining some new scenes for Snape was a beautiful harmony of images to give much more meaning to these scenes than my own imagination could do.

After being duped by Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs), Harry and part of his army end up at The Ministry of Magic to try and save Sirius and thwart Voldemort’s plans to steal the Prophecy. Honestly, there was a lot of cutting in this part of the book/movie, but it worked nonetheless. From Sirius’ end to the battle between Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and Lord Voldemort, the ending was breath-taking and heart-pounding.

This is not the best of the series, but it is a very close second. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and felt that this put the series back on track. I have resigned myself to the fact that the movies will never be as detailed and full of secondary storylines as the books are and I am okay with that. If you enjoy this series, you will truly enjoy the newest installment of The Boy Who Lived.

My ratings of the Harry movies so far:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Dinner and a Movie

2007-07-09T18:46:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Ratatouille

½

The writer-director is Brad Bird, who made The Incredibles (2004), lets just say...incredible! So my expectations were quite high walking into this new installment from Pixar Animation Studios.

Our hero is a little rat named Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt). He's kind of cute and loveable and has a predilection for all things culinary. He is a man among mice (er, rats) and even walks on his hind legs so as not to walk on the same things he uses to eat - his hands! Now, you may be thinking, ewwww a rat! However, once you get over the swarming of rats in a couple of scenes, you kind of forget his origins and learn to root for the little guy.

Remy understands the intricacies of tastes and flavors; he delights in combining complimentary spices and feels that you are what you eat. He is a natural-born chef without the culinary school degree. His taste buds separate him from the pack and he dreams of working in a real French kitchen. Obviously, he gets his wish (otherwise, why did we pay $9).

Remy's journey takes from fleeing a gun-totin’ Granny to raft being flushed through the sewers under Paris until he finds himself at Gusteau’s – the restaurant of his late-great-mentor. After accidentally tumbling into the kitchen, he runs across a soup in dire need of flavor-correction while trying to mount his escape. Being the gourmet he is, he cannot just walk by and do nothing. Next thing you know, Remy works his magic and not only saves the day, but helps put the restaurant back on the map.

As it turns out, this is somewhat of a buddy movie. Since Remy cannot take credit for the soup himself, Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano) ends up getting the accolades. Linguini and Remy decide that they need each other to get what they want (Linguini gets to keep his job and Remy gets to cook by using him as a puppet). Suddenly, the restaurant is at the top of the must-eat list and our co-chefs are happier than ever. Linguini even ends up with a love interest, Colette (Janeane Garofalo), who is the kitchen’s badass female chef who won’t take any crap from anyone – a nice touch to her story is to tell us how impossible it can be for a woman in a restaurant kitchen!

Unfortunately, to have a movie, you must have peril and conflict…even if this is a kids movie. So enters the Executive Chef, Skinner (Ian Holm), who resents Linguini and his ability to cook and wants nothing more than to use Gusteau’s name to make money in the frozen food business. But wait, that’s not all…we also have a ghoulish looking, embittered restaurant critic, Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole) who looks more like some scary castoff from Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride than something in a Pixar flick. Apparently, his only mission is to make restaurateurs and chefs miserable in their endeavors by giving them crappy reviews.

Overall, the movie is quite good, but fails in trying to stand up to the previous Pixar films. The animation is just as incredible and is more appetizing than ever, but the story is a little flat. I enjoyed watching the triumph of the underdog and it was very smart to give kids the message of “Anyone Can Cook.” The camera work was enticing and the ending was fun and funny at the same time. However, the movie just paled in comparison to my expectations. I will own this movie; I am sure I will end up watching it again and again (after all, I am a movie buff with a culinary degree). I will say, that watching this movie made me want to taste Thomas Keller’s recipe for Ratatouille (and I hate eggplant!!!) – That’s progress.

One other note, for the first time I feel like the ilk of voice talents was a little “bottom of the barrel” in terms of well-known actors. Nothing against the folks who lent their voices, but they were no Tom Hanks, Albert Brooks, Paul Newman, or Owen Wilson. At least John Ratzenberger kept his Pixar streak alive as Mustafa – but honestly I couldn’t tell you who he was in the movie.

So in honor of this movie, I feel I should post my Pixar list in order of most to least favorites:

The Incredibles
Finding Nemo
Toy Story
Cars
Monsters, Inc.
Ratatouille
A Bug’s Life
Toy Story 2

As an honorary mention, Lifted, the short that precedes this film, was cleaver and funny. It is no One Man Band, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is worth taking the time to watch it.

Not Always in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

2007-06-26T23:46:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Live Free or Die Hard
½

Move over Peter Parker - you and Jack Sparrow have been outdone this time around! In the Season of the Sequel, Bruce Willis shows his repetitive cohorts how it is done - Yippie ki yay...

The 4th installment of the Die Hard series (originally started almost 20 years ago) does its level best to combine all the fights, explosions, the wit and the comedy of the first flick while adding a younger flair (sorry Bruno). Put it all together and you have the recipe for one kick ass action movie for the summer of 2007.

John McClane picks up almost where he left off as an NYPD cop who always seems to be the only guy who can stand up to a band of terrorists. This time around, we have the old school cop up against the new age of computers and hackers. As the bad guy says, "you’re a Timex watch in a digital age, John."

Our villain, Thomas Gabriel is played quite convincingly by Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood). Gabriel and his merry band of hacker-terrorists have figured out how to pull off a "Fire Sale" - basically a systematic shutdown of all the United States using our computer dependency against us. What's their motivation..what's their trauma? Who cares? Honestly the reasons why are a bit hokey, but the age-old battle of 1 vs. 100 in order to save the world is a recipe that is still working for Mr. Willis.

What would a Die Hard movie be without a non-cop character for McClane to protect? This time around, Justin Long (none other than Mac, himself) plays the computer-savvy sidekick who inadvertently gives the terrorists some program to help them implement their nefarious plans. He brought in humor, an air of innocence and someone you really wanted to root for in this movie. The casting could have used some work for the smaller roles, but putting Bruce together with Long was the work of a genius. I will say that giving Kevin Smith a small part as a Hacker who lives in his mother’s basement seems somehow fitting, Boba Fett standee and all.

The beauty of this movie is its ability to bring back the heyday of the big, blockbuster action films from the 80's. Where else can you get cars being flung at helicopters because the cop ran out of bullets and options? Not only does this movie respect its original, but they actually play homage to it in a couple of ways - there is even an Agent Johnson – but just one this time.

So for Die Hard #4 – you should be pleasantly surprised. With witty one-liners, explosions, the brutal demise of many bad guys and an evil mastermind all dispatched by John McClane…you’ll feel like you’ve come home once again.

Currently listening :
The Very Best of Elvis Costello
By Elvis Costello

Surf’s Up!

2007-06-25T22:27:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
½

Much more interesting and entertaining that the first installment of the Fantastic Four franchise, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is quite the gem in a sea of sequels this summer. The brilliance of this flick is the intriguing choice to dig into the annals of the Marvel Universe and pluck from it one of the coolest characters and tell his story (in conjunction with The Four, of course). Vocally portrayed by Laurence Fishburne, the Silver Surfer glides onto the big screen with a graceful menace that grabs you early on. I will say, that it was very hard for me NOT to think of The Matrix whenever he spoke (luckily, his lines were sparse).

As for the plot devices and crappy pacing - most of this can be overlooked if you remind yourself that this movie was made to be enjoyed by kids and adults.

What are these plot devices, you ask? Reed Richards and Sue Storm (Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba), a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Woman, keep planning their wedding and it seems to have been postponed a few times. I'm not sure how important this really is when you have to save the world for a living, but I guess the writers are trying to give some character and back story to The Four. Oh, did I mention that Victor Von Doom (the always yummy Julian McMahon) is alive and well and causing havoc once again?

I think my favorite unnecessary plot device ties to Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) a.k.a. The Human Torch. After a run-in with the Silver Surfer, anyone he touches ends up switching powers with him. It allows for some funny moments and adds to the depth (I use this word loosely) to the character.

The main conflict in this movie is truly this: Is the Silver Surfer a villain or a hero? This ties very closely to his introduction into the comic book and is a decent homage to comic fans.

So why is this sequel better than the original movie? This movie is a much more ambitious than the first Fantastic Four, which gives it much more to sustain itself with for 2 hours. The characters are still weak, but the actors appear more at home in their roles the second time around. There is also far more action and less campiness in this movie. Dr. Doom is a much better character in this movie, but he still isn't quite the force to be reckoned with from the comic books. And finally, the special effects are much more robust and breath-taking (check out the Fantastic Four's new ride!)

Overall, I think the movie companies need to take a meeting. Don't skimp on the funding, but don't throw money at a picture just to try and over sell it. You can make a decent comic book movie as long as you stick to storylines that the fans know well enough to enjoy, but not so well that they get pissed off when you don it wrong. Give us action, fun, a little comedy and some backbone in our heroes and we will come to the box office every time!

Currently listening :
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
By Various Artists
Release date: 12:00 AM

Evan Help Us

2007-06-24T07:16:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Evan Almighty
½

In this loosely called sequel, The Office’s Steve Carell stars again as new broadcaster (now a newly elected Congressman) Evan Baxter. If you think back to 2003’s Bruce Almighty, Steve is the guy who stole the show from Jim Carrey in only a few scenes of comic genius.

Now, I will do my best not to get onto my soapbox at all, but here is another movie where they have completely marketed it incorrectly. From previews and commercials, including the stars doing just about every talk show in the last two weeks, you would think this is a laugh-riot comedy. Nope – everybody out of the pool!

Evan is the epitome of waste and an environmental drain – big house, Hummer, hates animals, etc. His focus on work, his appearance, and neglect of his family (his wife Joan is played by Gilmore Girls alum, Lauren Graham) cause him to be the one man who needs divine intervention more than any. Laughably, the man’s campaign slogan was ‘Save the World.’

Enter God (well-played once again by Morgan Freeman) who comes to Evan and says “Son, you must build an Ark.” The few moments of comedy in this flick soon follow as he initially resists this request and ends up having pairs of animals (and God) following him around DC. Once he gives in, the movie turns from trying to be a comedy to its true self, an inspirational biblical flick.

There are a few funny moments still left in the movie – Evan’s hair and beard won’t stop growing and God only allows him to wear Noah-inspired robes. Evan tries to “beat the system,” but even that gets tired after a minute or two.

Fun performances from Ed Helms (The Office, The Daily Show) and Wanda Sykes (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Monster-in-Law) do their best to keep the movie light, but honestly there was no chance this could happen based on the subject matter. At best, this is a movie the kids can watch in Sunday School so they don’t have to read Genesis.

The movie isn’t terrible, but it leaves a lot ($175 million) to be desired. The real live animals (instead of spending less money on CG) couldn’t save this flick from impending doom. My head hurts from the shovel of a message being smacked into my brain: Don’t waste, do Acts of Random Kindness and you can avert being washed away with the next flood. In the immortal words of Bill Cosby: Himself…Riiight!

Currently listening :
Ultra Payloaded
By Perry Farrell's Satellite Party
Release date: 12:00 AM

It Sure as Sh*t Ain't Sad

2007-06-07T07:20:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Ocean’s Thirteen

How refreshing – a sequel that actually stands up to the original. In the season of the sequel (see footnote below), Ocean’s does its due diligence and lives up to the hype. This is the heist movie everyone wanted to see in Ocean’s Twelve, but felt completely let down and dismayed. George Clooney and team are back for round 3 and this time it’s personal.

When Reuben (Elliott Gould) is double-crossed by his new business partner Willie Bank (exquisitely played by Al Pacino), he ends up suffering from a medical nightmare that sucks the life out of him. Enter Danny Ocean and his merry band of thieves* who come to the rescue with an elaborate plan that just might work. All of our old favorites are back, with the delightful addition of Eddie Izzard as the smarmy yet intriguing Roman Nagel.

How do you hit the infamous Willy Bank where it hurts? You turn his fancy new hotel into a complete disaster. This is a huge undertaking and it will take everything they have got up their collective sleeves to make it work – they even have to solicit some help from their old nemesis, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). This movie is about the ultimate heist – how can you lose your shirt in a casino when the house always wins? Leave it to Danny Ocean to execute the perfect revenge in the span of 3 ½ minutes.

This movie is smart, flashy, funny and completely entertaining. It has brought back the glamour and success from Ocean’s Eleven and done it up right. There are some nods to both previous films (most of which a newcomer may miss, but it won’t effect their enjoyment of the movie), including some familiar faces. George and Steven Soderbergh learned their lesson from Twelve and this time around made the movie they should have made before. Honestly, as a woman, I’m perfectly happy watching 2 hours of some of the hottest men in Hollywood – but this movie delivered in many ways that would even make the guys happy.

With some twists, turns (and shakes), a prosthetic nose and a really bad boob job, Thirteen leaves the audience ready for Ocean’s Fourteen! And boy, did they ever leave the door open for that.

The Season of the Sequel:
May: Shrek the Third, Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, 28 Weeks Later
June: Ocean’s Thirteen, Hostel: Part II, Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer, Evan Almighty, Live Free or Die Hard
July: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
August: The Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3, Halloween (the 9th one)
September: Resident Evil: Extinction
October: Saw IV
November: The Punisher 2
December: National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Alien vs. Predator: AVP2

*The rest of the team:
Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt)
Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon)
Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison)
Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle)
Yen (Shaobo Qin)
Virgil Malloy (Casey Affleck)
Turk Malloy (Scott Caan)
Frank Catton (Bernie Mac)
Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner)

Currently listening :
Versions
By Thievery Corporation
Release date: By 16 May, 2006

Drop the Chalupa

2007-06-06T10:37:00.000-04:00

Current mood: amused

Main Entry: cha•lu•pa
Pronunciation: ..chä-'lü-pä, ch&-'lü-p&..
Function: noun
Etymology: Mexican Spanish, from Spanish, boat, skiff, from French chaloupe
Date: 1895
: a fried corn tortilla sometimes shaped like a boat and usually filled with a savory mixture (as of meat, vegetables, or cheese)

So since when is this a catchphrase? I did a little research on the 'net and this is what I found:
1. drop the chalupa

Giving Birth

My ol' lady dropped the chalupa

2. drop the chalupa

to take a big-ass dump, especially after consuming food from Taco Bell

This made me laugh my ass off – seriously. All this ties to a kick ass time we had celebrating Delia's birthday this past weekend. Hanging out at the Gargoylee Mansion with beer, wine, burgers and dogs (and not to mention the red velvet cake provided by yours truly). It was a Hurricane-themed shindig and leave it to Delia to celebrate while there is a tropical depression (his name was Barry, but it would have been more appropriate if it had been named Delia). This is what you get when you are born on the first day of the Atlantic Hurricane season!

Anyway, we had great fun hanging out, swapping dirty jokes, and ultimately pulling out the game Catch Phrase. This was a first for me and while I did well on most of it – I ended up with "Drop the Chalupa" as my catchphrase. How the hell do you describe that one? We got a great laugh out of it – that's all that matters, really. A fun time was had by all.

Now I am back at work – slammed with a million things – and am doing my best to procrastinate. Obviously, this is not the best idea since I am trying to advance at work and should probably be giving a better impression of my work and work ethic. But after much thought, it occurred to me that I should be myself and not over-do it or over-think it. This is me – take me as I am!

Last night, The New Hotness won at trivia again. We were behind the entire game and came through with a come-from-behind-win! I mean seriously – were we the only ones who knew the name of the castle at Disneyland? That's insane! Oh well – it meant $40 for us, so I am not complaining!

So tonight I am headed to the Ocean's Thirteen screening. I cannot wait! Two hours of watching a whole bunch of hotties that I get to drool over – ahhhh, life is so hard!

Currently listening :
How To Save A Life
By The Fray
Release date: By 13 September, 2005

The Bitter Taste of Venom

2007-06-05T14:14:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Spider-Man 3
½

I want to establish first, that I am a fan of this franchise. I enjoyed the first 2 films and went in wanting another dose of the web-flinging hero. What I was missing, was some of my friendly neighborhood Spidey that I have grown to love. But is it really Spidey's fault? I think not - chalk it up to the constant barrage of negative energy from all angles (otherwise known as a weak script trying to hide behind big effects and a lot of cash).

First - Sandman. A giant of a villain who is a bit dusty after being molecularly altered (personally, I think the CGI guys were from The Mummy franchise). Next, this creepy alien goo lands from above and infects its host by intensifying the negative energy - it takes over photographer wanna-be, Eddie Brock, and he becomes Venom.

You just think that is all the villains in this tale...oh no. Next, we have Harry trying to be nuGreen Goblin (Peter killed his father, yada yada) with a lot of the fancy toys his dastardly father left behind. Really, is that all?

But wait...there's more! Next is Mary Jane - now while she is usually the damsel in distress, this time around she is annoyed by Peter and his emotional brick wall, so she gets to while a lot.

Last but not least - the demon within. The goo takes over Spidey and turns him into an anti-hero in a black Spidey suit. Like Tobey Maguire didn't already have enough to do.

Spider-Man 3 isn't bad, but there is too much going on to really be able to get into any one of the storylines going on here.

The focus on the hapless criminal who accidentally is turned into a giant sand creature is misplaced and fleeting. His only mission is to make enough money to help out his sickly daughter - who knows if you are supposed to root for him or against him. And Spidey's battle with Sandman doesn't give you any idea if black-suited Spidey is a bad guy or not.

The new photographer (Topher Grace) is not around long enough for you to enjoy his smarmy ways before he morphs into Venom; this story akin to a Public Service Announcement regarding the dangers of member of the paparazzi.

Harry Osborn is a tough nut to crack. He has little evidence that Spider-Man killed his father - he has one faint memory and from that we are to believe that he is willing to turn his back on his best friend, and kill him just to spite him. Oh, and by the end of the movie, he has experienced a completely 180? I am SO confused.

So a message to Sam Raimi - pick a storyline, pick a villain; pick a real conflict for Mary Jane and Peter. Once you have done this, write your script for Spider-Man 4 and stick with it. Please, don't go way over budget creating special effects, don't create too much story which keeps you from telling a full story that makes sense, and please, bring back the fire, the danger, the romance of the first two flicks. I beg of you - redeem the franchise before it is nothing more than a caricature of its former self!

Currently listening :
The Last Kiss
By Original Soundtrack
Release date: By 08 August, 2006

Just Do It Already!

2007-06-01T10:31:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Knocked Up

...That's what she said! First, let me warn you that this movie is longer than expected and does not fall into the Stupid-Humor category. So if you are a fan of Judd Apatow movies and TV shows, you should truly appreciate this movie in its entirety.

The premise of this flick (if you don't already know), is about a young loser-type Ben who is just as shocked as the audience when he is able to hook-up with the hottie Allison in a very 'productive' one-night stand. In writer-director Judd Apatow's follow-up to The 40 Year-Old Virgin, he writes what he knows and puts together the geeky stoner who refuses to grow up and get a job, with the highly successful and beautiful girl who is used to getting everything she ever wanted.

As usual, Apatow develops his characters incredibly well and gives us such a large and fun cast of supporting characters that the lengthy flick doesn't seem it at all. His ability to build his usual band of freaks (everyone has a connection to Apatow - either family or previous cast members), helps to create this world that you feel you are truly a part of.

The acting in this movie is so good, it is hard to remember they are acting. Let's start with the leads - Katherine Heigl plays our put together leading lady Allison, who shows such familiar emotions, especially when she is staring at Ben's naked butt in her bed and is trying to figure out how she ended up in this situation. Her roller-coaster of emotions, most of which are due to the pregnancy, allow her to help us feel her pain as she is trying to figure out what to do with this guy with the Peter Pan complex.

Next is Seth Rogen, plays the nervous but loveably and goofy Ben. He is so lost and cannot figure out how to get his shit together to be the dad he thinks he wants to be. As the movie goes on, you find yourself wanting to root for him.

One of the best sub-plots is the relationship between Allison's sister, Debbie (played by Leslie Mann) and brother-in-law, Pete (played by Paul Rudd). They steal the screen several times in the movie as their problems are a warning bell to the Allison-Ben budding coupling. Mann, Apatow's wife, is amazing and as the movie progresses, she goes from a complete bitch - who honestly is saying everything we are thinking - to someone who you truly end up loving. One of the best scenes in the movie takes place outside a night club when older Debbie and pregnant Allison are refused entry and she goes postal on the Doorman, played by The Office's Craig Robinson. Talk about brutal honesty being roll-on-the-floor hysterical! And its hard not to love Rudd's portrayal of a guy who just doesn't get the family life he is up to his eyeballs in. I love him in anything he does - why has no one given him his own movie, yet! Honorable mention goes to the real-life daughters of Apatow who play Debbie and Pete's kids. They stole the show once or twice, themselves.

The merry band of freaks that play Ben's friends and housemates is a list of Apatow graduates that keep us entertained throughout the entire movie. Jay Baruchel, from Undeclared, plays Jay, a silly stoner with the worst hair in history. Martin Starr, from Freaks & Geeks, plays Martin, another stoner who agrees not to cut his hair or beard for a year in order to cover his rent. Little did he realize part of the deal was he would have to endure all the jokes about his every-worsening appearance from his buddies? Jonah Hill, plays Jonah, was the boot-guy from Virgin. And finally, Jason Segel plays Jason (aren't these names original?), from Undeclared, Freaks & Geeks and non-Apatow show, How I Met Your Mother. I think he was my favorite!

The laughs are spread out throughout the movie, so even with the serious relationship issues portrayed; you cannot help but laugh along with the reality airing on the big screen. This movie is so much more realistic than Virgin, but only because how many 40-year olds do you know who still have their 'virtue' left in tact?

With the pop culture references ("Matthew Fox — you know what's interesting about him? Absolutely nothing!'') and the off-the-cuff remarks ("Gynecology is a hobby of mine."), you won't want to miss a minute of this sharp and hilarious commentary of such a believable storyline. This movie is truly a breath of fresh air and reminds me why I have so enjoyed just about everything Apatow has put out there.

Currently listening :
Wincing the Night Away
By The Shins
Release date: By 23 January, 2007

It's Not Easy Being King

2007-05-29T11:18:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Shrek the Third
½

Something for everyone, but not as much as the previous films in the franchise. Shrek always delivers with the right amount of fairy tale characters mixed with kid and adult humor.

This time around, Shrek is called upon to play king while his father-in-law, King Harold is ill. Suddenly, Shrek realizes that he is expected to be the heir to the throne of Far, Far Away. Not willing to leave his life of swampiness, he sets out on a journey to find Arty (or Wart for the King Arthur fans) who is the only other living relative. Shrek sets sail with Donkey and Puss in Boots to a prep school to help find the outcast that would be king.

Meanwhile, Princess Fiona bands together her princess buddies to rise up against Prince Charming's coup d'etat. Prince Charming takes an odd turn as a woosy villain for Shrek, by deciding to band together with the other fairy tale villains in order to "win for once." This was kind of a let down as there wasn't a feel of peril for our heroes this time around - the "battle" was anti-climactic.

Honestly, the movie was cute, but just didn't entertain me as much as the previous 2 movies. The kids will love it and there are some jokes for the adults worked in (can you say Abercrombie & Witch?), but the 80 minutes seemed more like 180 - which is never a good sign.

The highlight for me was when I realized that Lancelot (a bully at the prep school) was voiced by none other than hottie John Krasinski (cutie Jim from The Office). I had no idea he was doing a voice, but it was a fun surprise. I can't help that I am such a geek when it comes to voice talent.

Folks, you won't be disappointed in this movie at all if you are looking to escape into a land far, far away for an hour and a half. This delivers, but just not as well as their predecessors.

Currently listening :
A Beautiful Lie
By 30 Seconds to Mars
Release date: By 30 August, 2005

A Pirate's Life for Me

2007-05-28T13:52:00.000-04:00

So I am back to posting movie reviews. While I am WAY behind on seeing movies, I haven't posted reviews about the last dozen I have seen. My bad! So here goes, a whole lot of them. I am starting with the most recent as that one probably interests you all the most! So here goes:

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Now, the irony here is that the last review I posted was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - crazy to think it has been that long since I have posted a review. What's worse is that I actually have seen movies since last July, but didn't make the time to review them. Also, note my new rating system above.

First, let me start by telling you not to believe all the reviews for this movie so far. Those folks have clearly lost sight of the child inside of them because this movie was the perfect ending to a great trilogy!

Now, I will say that Jack Sparrow is not prominent in this movie (how could he be, since he has been trapped in Davy Jones' Locker all year), but honestly the movie was great without him being in every scene.

We picked up a short time after the end of Dead Man's Chest to find our reluctant heroes (Elizabeth, Will, Barbossa and the crew of the Black Pearl) in search of a map to get them to Jack and Davy Jones' Locker. Right off the bat there are some great action scenes, complete with explosions, sword fights and a little gun play. This is just what I was hoping for. Yun-Fat Chow was excellent as Captain Sao Feng, but he was barely in the movie - such a disappointment for me as I absolutely love watching this man on screen. He commanded the scenes he was in, but truly, it was not enough. However, the path of this character really seemed to be laid out to allow Keira Knightley to run away with her part this time around.

In the past, Elizabeth Swann has been a bit whiney and too much the damsel in need of rescuing – c'mon Hollywood, it's 2007 and we want to see women rescuing the men occasionally, no matter what era the movie is set in! Finally, Keira stepped up! She stole the show in a lot of scenes (how many weapons can that tiny girl hide on her person, really!). I was really impressed with her this time around.

Next up – Orlando Bloom. Thank goodness he is pretty! I will say that in this movie, I did not notice his lack of acting as much, but I think I was distracted by the sexual energy just jumping right off the screen from him. He was very much the Dread Pirate Roberts meets Dirk Pitt this time around…yum!

As for the rest of the cast, I think that Bill Nighy as Davy Jones and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa owned the entire film – not to mention all the action and mayhem.

There were twists and turns (some obvious, some not) and a lot of old time pirate history, a nod to the Disneyland ride that started it all, with some mythology thrown in for good measure. Sure, you had to use your brain while watching the movie, but that is what makes it SO great. This wasn't all mindless fighting and action scenes with a little comedy thrown in (hello, Keith Richards), it was a good, all-around, something-for-everyone movie!

So yes, this is a long movie (2 hours and 45 minutes) and is a little slow in parts. However, if you are looking for great action, excellent special effects and a little Jack Sparrow to round it out – this is the movie to see!

Burgers, Beer and a State of Fluxx

2007-04-23T16:13:00.000-04:00

Current mood: content

Two days left until I play "California Girl" for two weeks and I cannot wait! I will miss some things, so I decided to list them as a reminder to myself:

1) Heather and Nick (even when Nick is blocking my path to work with his big-ass truck! Plus with Jennifer having the baby on Friday, I feel like I am missing so much.
2) My trivia buddies
3) Playing trivia (notice, I put my teammates before the actual game - does that mean I only go for my friends?). This includes arguing with Trivia Kelly as well.
4) My place (full control of the remote, a swimming pool right there and people jumping up and down on my ceiling...no wait...)

Anyway, I will have great fun (and will post pictures of the kids as soon as I have some) and I will miss all my friends (except the ones IN California, of course). I will do my best to Blog while I am out there.

So a weekend update - this was a fabulous weekend! My friend Deals had a barbecue and so we all sat outside, hung out, drank (those of us not counting caloric intake) and ate delicious burgers and hot dogs.

We had a lot of fun and the weather was absolutely perfect for it. We just chilled out and laughed and did our best to avoid the subject of work (half of us are at the same company) and then the dirty jokes and stories started and even a sailor would have been blushing! All-in-all, it was a great time for all!

As it started to get dark, the Fluxx cards were pulled out and we could barely keep track of whose turn it was and what the current rules were set to. We played it by ear and had a good laugh or two - after all, that's what really matters, right?

Some friends weren't able to make it (you know who you are) and you were missed. Next time - no excuses! Did I mention I brought two kinds of brownies?!?!

That's all I have for now. I'm just tired thinking about my 7am flight and my having to miss Trivia Tuesday night, but oh well - you take the good with the bad, I guess!

Currently listening :
Hot Fuss By The Killers
Release date: By 15 June, 2004

Two Months Later...

2007-04-20T13:37:00.000-04:00

Current mood: excited

Wow - I suck! It has been two months since my last post and I swore I would do better this year! Time has been non-existant. When I have had the time, writing about myself has been the absolute LAST thing I would think about. So here I go again, trying to promise to do a better job!

So I am sticking to my "healthier" lifestyle and therefore my back is a lot better. I still have issues and pains, but I don't want to end it all just to get through it anymore. Most of the people I work with have been coming up to me and commenting on how great I look - which is really cool. Now, I just need to keep this up!

Work is good - in fact, they are sending me to California for 2 weeks to do some work in So and NoCal in our offices there. Very cool - especially if I get to see some of my friends. Plus, almost two weeks with the niece and nephew - very exciting! Plus my newphew will be 2 years old, and I will be there for it!

Otherwise, things are pretty tame. Nothing too exciting going on, but you should see a lot of posts while I am in Cali!

Snaps for the Fam

2007-02-19T13:45:00.000-05:00

Current mood: cheerful

Saturday was my birthday celebration with my parents where they cook an amazing meal and usually watch a movie together. Yes I know this was a bit early, but my father is a consultant and has been traveling a lot lately. He is off to Rochester, NY for the week and so we needed to do this before he left. The upside is, it leaves me free to play Trivia on Tuesday night with my buddies!

I spent the day working on projects for my parents and doing a little prep work for dinner. For once, they did not torture me by bringing out my presents early and setting them on the table without allowing me to open them. Finally, just before dinner, my mother walked in with a couple of presents for me.

As a side note, I have had one item on my Amazon.com Wish List for a couple of years now, and no one had bothered to get it for me. I just guessed that since it was a high priced item, they opted against it. However, it turns out (I realized at Christmas) no one really uses my Wish List anymore. I think it was a tool for Angie (as I used hers) for Birthdays and Christmas...now I think I use it more as a reminder for myself!

So to get one with the news, I opened my presents. First up was a ThermaPen in Green. Those of you who know my cooking side; this is an instant-read thermometer that is the top of the line. So I was very excited about that! Plus, the green goes with my kitchen decor. Next was the huge box. At first glance, I assumed this was just some china; that seemed reasonable. I took off the paper and was just chatting away with my parents when I let out quite a scream. It turns out, that high priced item was in the box!! It is a Digital Canon SLR 350D. And all that started running through my head was "what can I shoot first?"

I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself. This was huge and quite awesome of my parents to do. No more crappy hand-me-down point and shoot happy-snapping digital camera. This was the REAL DEAL!

Not to worry folks, this does not mean I am stopping with the analog, film and negatives photography...I just couldn't. However, I will be saving a LOT of money and time this way and I cannot wait!

So for dinner, we had a wonderful meal:
Beef Fondue with a Variety of Dipping Sauces
Lemon Spaghetti
Cappuccino Crème Brûlée

It was all scrumptious.

After dinner, my brother called to tell me that he had sent my present, but was unaware we were doing dinner so soon. It turns out, he is sending me a very large memory card for my new camera and it just had not gotten there yet...DAMN! He did, however, offer me my first assignment…his birthday present! I have until March 14th, so I should have plenty of time to scout my location and get just the right shot for him, then frame it and send it.

All-in-all it was a great celebration. Today, it is super quiet at work. Most of my team is off in the Bay Area on business (without me, which is annoying). Now I am wondering why on Earth I am coming in to work tomorrow instead of being stress free....not sure, but I will enjoy the quiet time, for sure!

I still have my "dinner party" next weekend with my friends and I hope everyone can make it. It will be great fun and great food once again!

Currently listening :
Oh No
By OK Go
Release date: By 07 November, 2006

A Superior Bowl?

2007-02-05T12:46:00.000-05:00

Current mood: curious

Monday after the Super Bowl...which means all Football is over until the fall and I find myself somewhat perplexed at last night's show. At least I still have Hockey with Baseball right around the corner.

Don't get me wrong, the football action was pretty good, I am speaking about the pitiful showing of Super Bowl Ads (at a trillon bucks a pop).

The Super Bowl is truly the one showing per year that I actually watch the commercials (my TiVo actually gets somewhat of a vacation). Unfortunately, after 3 1/2 hours of football, I was sorry I didn't skip most of them. This was a pitiful year.

Some of the ads were cleaver, but I am used to getting a hearty laugh out of them, and even a few will give me one of those great laughs where you just cannot stop laughing! Where have all the funny ads gone? And why did these companies spend SO much money for such a poor showing?

Honestly, the two BEST ads were at the very beginning, so a ton of people missed them completely. I even commented that I was concerned that CBS had blown through its best material before the game really got underway (well, the Bears had just scored a TD on a beautiful kick return).

So for those of you who didn't watch, and those of you who watched, but had not really settled in yet, I give you the cream of the crop!

Pet Shop Boys and Rock, Paper, Bud Light

My friends, if you want to see all the ads, MySpace was kind enough to post them: MySpace Super Spots - knock yourselves out! But please post a comment telling me which you liked the best - I have to find out if I am alone in this, or if everyone is on the same page!

Currently playing:
Lumines
Release date: By 15 June, 2006

Has the World Gone Mad?!

2007-01-30T15:56:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting my friends, but it has been a rough week. I just can't seem to catch a break!

First, after posting such a chipper blog last week, I went home, fixed some dinner and ended up almost in the morgue. Grim I know, but I'm here to detail the shit that happens to me.

Somehow I ingested cashews. While some of you may be wondering why that is such a big deal, a lot of you understand (and some have been witness to it). I am allergic to most Tree Nuts, cashews being one of the worst offenders. By the time I realized there was a problem, it was really too late for me to do anything effective. 20 minutes and 2 injections later (epi-pens, for those of you in the know), I was still not improving and had to be rushed to the hospital. Fun, I know.

Next came the IVs and the loading up of the drugs. This is never fun for me and I dread it so much, you practically have to drag me (no kicking and screaming, though, as usually I cannot get any oxygen). After a couple of hours and 4 or 5 different medications, I was finally back in the land of the human. Again, luckily they let me go home (or to my parents' home, anyway).

So here I am at work, trying to will my body into a normal life once again and I am exhausted. I have battle scars and am weary, but I will bounce back once again!

My new gig is going relatively well; just trying to get my feet wet without falling in and drowning completely. My old responsibilities are in the care and protection of great people who have worked for me for quite some time...which really makes it easy to "let it go." In the hands of just about anyone else, I would have a hard time not being involved, but this has been smooth sailing so far.

But today, in my somewhat blasé state, I have been looking around to see what my friends are up to - and let me tell you, some weird things are happening on some friends' profiles. I'm not sure when I became the "Normal One," but suddenly I am feeling a bit boring. Some of you are taking some bizarre turns in your personal lives (and preferences) that are someone foreign to me. One day, you guys can explain it to me. So to my other friends, beware which of my friends you click on...enter at your own risk (and maybe not while in a work environment).

And to continue the theme, I have to say how much I miss my friends who have moved away. I am thankful for email and this crazy place to help keep me tied to those I care about (you know who you are) and am also thankful for those I still have around me. I am sticking to my resolutions and am spending more time with them all!

Tonight, I am taking a page from my past and spending the evening playing Team Trivia with Shannon (OMG, seriously). It is like it is the year 2000 again. And I cannot wait! I also have some tentative plans for hanging out with other friends, and it is the count down begins to the big 3 - 4. (sigh)

Currently reading :
Dark Tort: A Novel of Suspense (Goldy Bear Culinary Mysteries)
By Diane Mott Davidson
Release date: By April, 2006

MIA I Have Been

2007-01-23T15:04:00.000-05:00

Current mood: chipper

SO...to all my friends who have come up to me in the last 2 weeks...I hear you - I am back to blogging! You can all do a little dance now.

I have been told that my last couple of attempts were sorta of down and depressing, so this will be better! It is a happy new year for me and my plan is to stay chipper and upbeat through it all!

First, let's start with the crappy stuff first. Yes, my back is still a serious problem. The docs have no clue what to try next that isn't a complete crap-shoot. Let's not spend all my money in the first 4 weeks of the year, ok? I will suffer - fine. I have done it before, I can do it again.

So what's new with me? Well, there is a laundry list of things, but I will spare you some of the boring things.

1) I have a new job - sort of. I am still at The Link and am still in Strategy, but I have left behind the shackles of Customer Service. Instead, I have been given the entire gambit of Customer Support (believe me, it is something different). To explain, I am managing budget and development for everything that goes through Customer Support. Fun, I know. It actually puts me behind the 8-ball for once and I need to learn how to do something new. The Oracle is not gone, but just laying low for now.

2) New Year's Resolution for 2007: Better Health. So far in 2+ weeks I have actually dropped almost 20 pounds. I feel better, have more energy, and am a lot happier person.

3) Spend more time with friends. I have missed so much the last 10+ years and I have decided NO MORE. It is time to appreciate what I have and enjoy it more. I have some wonderful friends who I just don't spend enough time with and that just is not acceptable. More friends are moving 3000 miles away and I think back on time wasted trying to make schedules meet.

4) Travel more. As you all know, my travel schedule is tied to my family and work. This year, I plan to exercise my new Platinum status on Delta and go visit some of those friends who have moved (or are moving) away. Especially, if I can do this without spending too much money. Simple weekend getaways with friends to the next state would be okay. I miss the road trip. My road trip buddy moved away and I have not yet found a new one.

5) See more movies. 2006 was a bad year for me - I didn't see much of anything in the theatres. It was for a lack of movie screening passes either, but with travel and my back, my heart just wasn't in it. I won't cause widespread shock and awe by telling you how few I saw this year (I used to see 100+); let's just say it was a very small number.

6) Brush the dust of the Xbox 360. I have finally started playing again and had forgotten how much of an escape it was. I am glad I did not waste my hard-earned money on something that would just be another dust-collector in my home.

7) Blog more. 'Nuff said.

I'm about to be 34 and I have decided that this is my year to make some great changes. Spending Saturday night at The Highlander (kickin' it old school) with lots of friends (both old and new), even with the bittersweet theme of friends moving away hanging over my head, was a blessing. I had missed that and did not realize by how much until then.

I have missed you all and I hope this will be a fabulous year for all of you too. Drop me a note - let's hang out soon!

Currently playing :
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Xbox 360)
Release date: By 12 September, 2006

A Sad Day for The Link

2007-01-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

Current mood: depressed

Well folks, this is really quite sad for me to be posting this today. Honestly, I wish I was back blogging for a good reason.

I have been working at my company for 8 years now and in that time I have met and become friends with a lot of people. And the people I have become friends with are all over the company - it never mattered their title or position; my company has always been like that and as long as it remains so, I think I will probably stick around.

This morning, I came into work to a very sad announcement. Our CEO, who has been battling cancer recently, had passed away last night. While he wasn't a close friend, he was a positive influence on me and was always good for a laugh. He will be missed.

In other news, I have friends going through very tough times. One is about to have surgery on her back and is scared it won't help while another is going through a tough time with his family and needs all the love and support he can get.

Meanwhile, I remain in bad shape with my own back and the doctors can't seem to figure it out. However, they don't mind spending all my money to find out what it isn't. Nice, huh?

Anyway, this is a bad back day and a sad emotional day that just seems to get worse and worse as the day goes on. C'est la vie, I guess.

Step By Step

2006-10-31T20:06:00.000-05:00

Current mood: ecstatic

Well folks, I am pretty much moved into my new place! Can you believe it? After having to pay for packers and movers (since my current condition allows for NO physical activities), my checkbook hates me, but my new place is great!

Did I mention that I painted the living room purple?

For those of you that know me - this is completely normal and totally fitting for a Lindy apartment. Yes, yes, you can all come over for a visit as soon as the boxes are unpacked...now, how will I get that accomplished?

I will say that YB was a god-send as usual. He stepped in and helped with the heavy-lifting (literally). Also, D3 offered her handiwork as well, but for whatever reason we passed...big mistake in hindsight.

Anyway, my shit is in a new locale - that's all that matters :)

Next on the list - I have to take a trip. I am making my usual trek to SFO for Thanksgiving week to see the kiddies. However, this will put me one California trip shy of Platinum status on Delta for 2007 - so apparently LA here I come. I have a few friends out there (some who actually might like to see me and some who may have to think of excuses), so it won't be a waste of a long weekend. I mean, only $300 for a weekend trip to LA?! Why not, I say.

Anyway, that's all there is to report! Later all. Have a Happy Halloween!

No I am not dead...

2006-10-24T11:00:00.000-04:00

Current mood: optimistic

...although the rumors are not that far off. So the reason I have been MIA (from the Blog, MySpace, XBox, etc) is that I have been laid up for well over a month - more like 2. I have slipped a disc in my back and have not been in my own home pretty much since my trip back from India.

So as a result - I am moving! Why you may ask? Well, I currently live in a townhouse where you walk in the door and walk up a ton of stairs. Then to go to my office or bedroom, I have to walk up a ton more stairs - not good for the back or the knee. So......

Next week I am moving across the street - well, sort of. Can you call a street in an apartment complex an actual street? Anyway, the new place is practically in the next building over and is about the same size, but without all the stairs! And did I mention the major savings in rent I would be benefitting from as well?

Soon, you should all be hearing from me once again on a more regular basis, I hope. Stay tuned.

Death on a Triscuit

2006-08-24T00:43:00.000-04:00

Current mood: blah

To all my friends (and newly found family here on MySpace):

I am sorry I haven't posted since my illustrious return from Asia, but I have felt like complete shit and didn't want to look at a computer screen any longer than I had to (and that includes TV/XBox). Thanks to the women in my family, I am a migraine sufferer and none of the "new-fangled" miracle cures actually work.

So I am on the mend...shortly you will all be seeing more regular blogging from me once again. Please, please...contain your excitement.

Love y'all!

Safe and Secure?!

2006-08-13T14:05:00.000-04:00

Current mood: groggy

Flight 2: Amsterdam to Atlanta. A KLM flight. Don't you just love the Dutch? Traci and I decided not to go back to the fancy lounge and to just have a seat and kill an hour while we waited for our flight home. Both of us were really anxious to be stateside once again and didn't want to end up in crazy security lines anymore. So we hung out by the McDonald's and tried to make jokes about our experiences of the day so far.

We looked at the clock and decided we should go line up early at the gate to avoid more frustration. In Amsterdam, each gate has an x-ray machine and a metal detector...we knew we were in for a big ol' pain in the arse! We got to the gate and there were maybe 6 or 7 people already waiting. There was no one at the security station, so we all hung back and waited. More and more people began to arrive and some just walked in front of my - like skipping to the head of the class or some crazy crap! Granted, we were not in an organized line, but there was clearly a pecking order for those of us who had been there for a while. This one crazy guy just stepped right in front of me and smacked me with his briefcase!

Finally, some security people showed up and we got to watch for 20 or 30 minutes as they "set-up" for the craziness about to ensue. After a bit, a guy walked up and explained the rules:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to being boarding. Please remove your laptops from your bags, remove your shoes and discard liquids of any kind. Please step forward."

Easier said than done - suddenly there was a mad rush through this small doorway and I think maybe some little kids got knocked around.

I kicked off my shoes, pulled out my laptop (easy access in my snazzy new Timbuk2 Designs Ace Backpack)...but dammit if that ass that had cut me off before, still managed to beat me to the x-ray machine! This means war!

They scanned my bag and shoes and purse (and my person) and I passed with flying colors...almost. Apparently, the chick behind me had a very large water bottle stashed in her bag and they saw it on the scanner...but one of the screeners thought that was my backpack and snatched it up so fast he almost threw it across the room. Luckily, the other screener called him some funny name (ah, the Dutch) and told him he grabbed the wrong bag and so he handed it back to me. I walked to one of the Flight Attendants while stepping back into my shoes and handed her my boarding pass. She said thanks, scanned it, gave me my boarding card and directed me to the chairs...that was it! What?! No hand checks, no pat downs...something fishy is going on here...

Apparently not! The Dutch feel they can see any liquids or gels in the x-ray and therefore do not need to check any further...after everything with my Epi-pens, they let them pass through with just an x-ray...I wa floored!

After about 30 or 45 minutes, they let us onto the plane (yes, the jackass managed to board before me again, evern though Traci and I were first in line). Imagine the look of shock on his face when I walked past him in Business Class and took my seat...ahhh, revenge is sweet!

We had a nice flight; the Flight Attendants were really cool and the food was decent - no India fare for once. I did manage to start to have an allergic reaction to something, so I had to drug up (no shots luckily). Thankfully, the drugs caused me to pass out for 5 or 6 hours - missing the flight almost completely! I managed to actually watch a movie this time and I think I read my book a little.

Once we landed (yes, we got another little blue house), we had to go through Immigration (they always let me pass) and then through Customs (again, they always let me through). However, you then have to recheck your bag (to get it up to the North Terminal Baggage Claim) and go through a security check (x-ray and metal detector). Can you believe, the chick in front of me had a hair product (mousse) in her carry-on bag that Amsterdam didn't catch?! DUH! They didn't really check anything! Needless to say, they confiscated it.

So I managed to escape any more drama. I got my bag upstairs and walked out straight to my limo and then sort of napped on my way home.

I am thrilled to be home once again and sleeping in my own bed. My next trips shouldn't be until October, so I can take it easy for a bit! Thank goodness :)

Dramatic Pause

2006-08-12T10:03:00.000-04:00

Current mood: exhausted

Hello my friends - thanks guys for sending all your good thoughts for my dad - this is why I love you guys :)

My dad is much better - they actually let him go home a day early...but my mom is watching him like a hawk! I had dinner with them when I got home last night (meatloaf and mac n cheese - yum!) - thank god for American home cooking! He is in good spirits and is eating real food - but is resting a lot. He was very happy to watch his Braves win!

So I am off to get my hair cut and something...letting Brenda the hair goddess decide what else to do with me :) But, I have plenty to report about my flying experience thanks to the idiot terrorists.

SO...Thursday was the day - the day that some damn fools were going to blow up airplanes over the Atlantic on their way to US destinations...lucky for me I was flying over the Atlantis to a US destination...that made for security HELL!

Flight 1: Mumbai to Amsterdam. A NorthWest partnered with KLM flight. We got to the airport to the huge masses of people (mind you, we really didn't know what all was going on, just bits and pieces). When checking in, they gave me a sheet of paper that stated: You cannot carry any liquids or gels in your carry-on items - this things MUST be checked. The nice lady at the NWA counter said "you know, toothpaste, hand lotion, contact solution." So I removed the Visine and hand lotion from my purse and quick put them in my suitcase. She told me I would have to consume the bottle of water in my backpack by the time I got to security. I told her that would be no problem, it was like 80 degrees in the airport.

We made our way through Immigration without any problems and proceded to the Business Class Lounge for some more liquid. We passed the crazy security line and decided that we would have a quick drink and then go get in line. An hour passes and we were STILL in that line and it had barely moved. Our flight was going to begin boarding in 20 minutes and there were still 50 people in front of us. NWA ladies were walking around putting carry-on tags on every purse, backpack, laptop bag, etc.

Then, up walks our flight crew. They skipped the line (fine), but we saw all the liquid and gel items they had in their bags as they were discussing how they would be fighting for their toothpastes and lipsticks. Apparently, the rules do not apply to flight crews - they made it through with no problem.

Finally, it was our turn. I put my bags on the belt for x-ray and walked over to get frisked by the militant Indian lady. I walked over to the x-ray and grabbed my bags...but wait! Now you have to get your bags hand-searched. So, I got in that crazy line. By now, our plane was boarding. The line did not move...there were like 2 security guys for a line of 50 people. I happened to glance behind me and saw a table with 3 security guys and only 6 people - quick!

Next was the fun of getting every item I own pulled out of my purse and backpack - then even went through the cash in my wallet! The did not take anything, but stamped my little baggage tags with the big OK and let me go to the plane...YEAH!

We get to the boarding door and the lady says "Business Class only!" This was fine, since we were flying Business. She told us to walk on the jetway, but then see the security guys on the right or left...WHAT?! We have to get hand-searched AGAIN! AGAIN!

I walked up tot he table with 6 guys, all with plastic gloves on. They proceded to ask me 20 questions and again, pull out everything I own. The took my Lip Balm (yes, Angie, the good kind). I was miffed...especially since I knew I had like 6 tubes in my purse...money down the drain thank you. But, he only removed one...he missed checking the other side pocket. But the guy explained that it was a gel (actually no, it is a wax), but fine...take it. Youa re keeping me safe, right?

Next came the backpack and my medical kit. They pulled out every prescription bottle, every snack pack, every, everything. Then, they found my Epi-pens (for those of you who do not know, this is if I injest nuts by mistake and am about to die!). They pulled out the auto-injectors and shook them up and turned them over and then tried to deny me since it was liquid! Now comes the fight...I politely explained that this was emergency medication and that they could NOT take it from me. I tried to explain what it was for, while telling the guy to stop shaking it up and trying to break them open. Finally, they called over the head guy and he gave me the thumbs up.

Finally, I made it to the plane and to a comfy chair and all the water I could drink. However, Traci looked pissed off...not sure why. I gave her a little time to cool off before I walked over to her...she told me they took ALL her lipsticks - about $150 worth. Now understand, this was the 2nd hand search - the 1st one the guy said they were fine to keep! Traci had no way to check them; they just TOOK them. Raw deal...but underneath, you know they have to do this and its to keep us all alive. I respect this, but get some consistency, people!

After an hour delay (just waiting for all the passengers), we took off and headed for Holland! We hung out in the airport, bought fancy chocolates, avoided anything liquid and killed some time before the next flight...

Flight 2: Amsterdam to Atlanta. A KLM flight. To be continued....

Sleepless in Mumbai

2006-08-09T23:23:00.000-04:00

Current mood: worried

Or Bombay for those of you who are not aware.

So day I-don't-know in India and I am ready to be on the way home. This has been a crazy-fast trip and it has completely tuckered me out! We have seen some scary sights here in Mimbai - the poverty, the beggars - it has been eye-opening. Traci seemed much more shocked than I have been, but again, I prepared myself for the very worst...still, it hits home.

I have pictures, but came overseas without a way to download them from my dad's camera (yes, I have NO digital camera of my own). I am old-fashioned...I use film and frame shots with different lens, etc...one day someone will give me a digital back for my Canon and all will be right with the world. Until then, you guys have to wait to see such devastation.

On a sour note, as we were packing up to leave the last call center 6 hours ago, I took the opportunity to spend someone else's money to call home...no one answered...hmmm. So I rang my dad's cell...still nada! Okay, in the world of cell phones, this is odd at 4:30pm on a Wednesday. I called my mom - and she seemed off her game - clearly trying to hide something. Basically, they were at the hospital!

So apparently my dad is somewhat okay - thank god - but he had lost a lot of blood and was close to needing a transfusion. So this happened 8 years ago and due to a heart problem (very minor), he takes blood thinners. Fortunately, that fixes the heart problem...unfortunately, that means that when he bleeds, his blood doesn't clot. This is very dangerous!

Anyway, he is staying in the hospital for a few days and is on clear liquids only. He hopefully will be out of the hospital by the time I am stateside, but I am not 100% convinced. Thank goodness for Traci being over here with me - she gets it and has a way of talking me into not worrying...how does she do that?

So this is most likely my last India post - we are headed to shop after we have breakfast (saris, spices, toy auto-rickshaws, buddahs apparently - this is a Hindu society, not Buddist). Luckily, we have an Indian National taking us on our spree, so we shoudn't have to worry about haggling or getting ripped off...plus, she knows where to go and who to see!

So while you are all sleeping, I will be shopping - my least favorite pasttime ever! Then we can take a nap and head to the airport for Amsterdam and more little Blue Delft houses full if liquor! Then HOME! Damn, I want my bed and my XBox...and my dad, of course!

Indian Summer

2006-08-07T20:15:00.000-04:00

Current mood: complacent

Okay - to mess with all of your heads, it is 5:23am here in Hyderabad, India. Yes, folks, their time zone is 9 1/2 hours ahead of Atlanta - bizarre, huh? I mean, what does the 30 minutes gain you, anyway?

Day 1 here was pretty good. 2, 8+ hour flights in Business Class was not too bad with free booze, and a comfy seat to sleep in. The second flight, I slept the entire flight!

We flew KLM, and they are very nice and very Dutch. As souvenirs, they give out these little Blue Delft houses - wait for it - filled with alcohol! There is Dutch Genever, 35% alcohol, in the houses, which are in fact bottles with wax seal on the chimneys. So now, I have 2 of these things!

We got into India and had to wait an hour for our bags to come out. Then we got to the hotel, checked in and crashed...hard! I think I slept like 12 hours or something crazy like that.

Today was going to the first call center - meeting all the folks, taking pictures, having focus groups and giving a presentation - all in all, it went well. I haven't been outside at day light yet, but pictures to come I promise.

I miss all my peeps in the US and I will be home soon! I need an XBox fix!

I Left My Heart...

2006-08-03T23:52:00.000-04:00

Current mood: awake

Hey friends and strangers...

Sorry for disappearing, but I was in Sunny and 65 San Francisco for a week visiting with the family (niece, 4 3/4; nephew, 15 mos; brother and sis-in-law). It was an amazing time and I think I am more relaxed than I was after my previous weekend of relaxing-yet-not activities.

So the good news is I am back at home...the bad news is I hit the road (the air actually) for India for 6 days. I wish this was a pleasure jaunt, however I am off to do WORK! I cannot complain too much, it gives me an ass-load of SkyMiles. The bad news is that it is 2, 9 1/2 hour flights to get there, but the good news is I will end up flying through Amsterdam both ways (sorry, YB. Wish I could bring you with me (or bring you something back)).

Anyway, I am enjoying a couple of crazy days on solid ground before the culture shock of the next week. I will be posting blogs (and pics, hopefully) from there - so stay tuned!

Currently Listening:
Strange Little Girls
By Tori Amos
Release date: 18 September, 2001

A Snowball's Chance

2006-07-21T10:56:00.000-04:00

Current mood: restless

Well kids, it is official...I have lost my mind. Yes, it is true; I have been swayed by pretty things and am showing that I really am a girly-girl most of the time. I talk big and I can hang with the boys - no problem - but the right man can make me melt if he pushes the right buttons.

So in follow-up to yesterday's post, I received 2 dozen long-stem purple roses (my absolute favorite ever) at work for no apparent reason. The funny thing is that another girl had received flowers from a customer for her help and so my "deliverer," Nabi, figured it was the same. I was a bit confused since it had been a few weeks since I had even talked to a customer, but okay, sure. But there were 2 boxes...

I opened the card and it was sappy, kind of sweet, but completely over the top - which I think was the point. I always appreciate the sentiment; I really do. However, this was going to take a lot of explanation to people here at work. I do my best to not discuss my dating-life here as it usually is disappointing enough not to have to rehash it with work friends. Therefore, most of my friends assume I am married or just private - quite a few seem genuinely surprised that I am single...or so they say :)

Anyway, formerly referred to as Bangs, his nickname is now being changed to Flowers (this is the 2nd time he has done this in 18 months).

I left work (leaving the flowers here as I did not need my entire apartment to smell of roses) and headed home, completely exhausted. I sacked out on my sofa and actually fell asleep until my phone rang at 10pm. It was Flowers. I was going to call him, really I was.

So we had a very nice chat and he said he was really on his way to Atlanta this time and get this, had a place to stay. Wow - was somebody listening? Anyway, he said he wanted to talk to me in person and me, the idiot, told him how to get to my place. WHAT? Yeah, yeah, I know. Did I mention that I had been awakened? I think I wasn't really using my brain yet. Too late now.

I got onto the XBox to kill a couple of hours and then, mid-way through a game with my playmates, my doorbell rang. Here is the bigger problem; some time between when I got off the phone and 2 hours later, I had totally forgotten he was coming - I had changed into my PJs. DAMN! I threw down my headset and went looking for something to throw on. Luckily I found a flannel shirt in my coat closet and I went flying down the stairs. Normally, I would have taken a few minutes to "freshen up" and make sure I looked good. Some days, I am such an airhead.

So I opened the door and damn, did he look good! I completely forgot why our relationship never worked out and suddenly I was all flustered and nervous. It was like this person at my door was someone I had never met in person but had talked to many times on the phone - like some cheesy internet dating deal. My heart was actually pounding. Shit, I was in trouble.

Flowers kissed me - very lightly, nothing too presumptuous. We walked up the stairs (I live in a townhouse) and I apologized for the disaster area that was my apartment. I also apologized that I was in the middle of a game and didn't want to bail on my playmates - he said he wanted to watch me play. So he watched me play for 40 minutes - which had to be completely boring, but he asked me a lot of questions and I answered them like the geek I am. He moved his way to the sofa next to me, but then decided he was tired of watching me shoot people (actually, watching me die a LOT).

I bailed on my playmates (having to answer a question or two as to why) and then gave him the "grand tour" of my place. I asked him to wait a few minutes while I responded to a few emails and then, we got down to the nitty-gritty - THE talk. It went surprisingly well. Thanks to Traci who had been my sounding board yesterday, I knew exactly what I wanted and what I needed to say - I am never that prepared!

Shockingly, he was completely receptive. I was floored, really. I explained that I wasn't in a place to be in a relationship, and certainly NOT a long distance one. I wasn't in a frame of mind to be living with anyone and I could not support him. I was open to him coming to visit some and be good friends (with benefits, let's face it) and that I was willing to let him back into my life in some aspects. Amazingly, he said he was game. Am I sure this is the same guy as the last 10 times we tried to make it work?!

So we shall see. He did end up staying the night (no further details to be shared), and I left him asleep in my place with directions on how to lock up when he leaves (no key was given). And now I am pissed that I have to work today, but he actually has a job interview at a local restaurant. With my luck, he will get a job here and then I have just opened world's biggest can of works ever! What was I thinking?

Oh yeah, I was bring a girl!

Currently listening:
Blurring the Edges
By Meredith Brooks
Release date: By 06 May, 1997

Purple Roses of Midtown

2006-07-20T17:09:00.000-04:00

Current mood: touched

Wow - what a long strange day this has been. Work is work and home is home...the two only bleed because I have so many work friends, but otherwise my home life does not tend to cause any drama at work...until today.

Let me start by showing you this:

So, men know how to show the love...sometimes. A good man is hard to find, but sometimes the "needs work" ones find a way to make you feel good. I just have to say as annoyed as I am (sending this crap to me at work), it was a very sweet gesture and who knows how he may receive his thanks...I'm not sure what message I really want to deliver these days either...

Whatever happened to "friends with benefits?" Since when are the men so emotionally tied to imtimacy that we forget that we are the chicks?

Luckily, since I sit in my corner, the drama at work was minimal. Of course, I did have a few people accept responsibility for this to spare me having to explain it. Thank god for my friends (Todd, Ryan, Mindy).

Anyway, when I am ready to post more, I will. But for now I will just say - Damn, my office smells nice!

Currently listening:
Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
By They Might Be Giants
Release date: By 17 September, 2002

Ad Nauseam

2006-07-19T01:44:00.000-04:00

Current mood: pleased

Definition of: ad nauseam
ad nauseam: So as to disgust or nauseate.

So I hate that this is blog number 4 for the day, but it was a nutty day and I just felt like posting how the day was truly fantastic (really, no sarcasm here).

First, work didn't suck like yesterday. Yesterday they tried to kill us by piping in toxic odors and giving us all the dry heaves and killer migraines...NICE! The day wasn't too bad for work - I got almost everything done I needed to including meeting with the lawyers (always a highlight of my day).

Next, I have awesome friends. The ones I talk to every day never cease to amaze me as to how wonderful they can be and the ones I don't get to talk to very often tend to surprise me with random AIMs/Jabbers/etc. I got to touch base with a very dear friend and found out that he is doing really well. Also, I gave the ex a chance to talk to me for real tonight. After a couple times letting him go to the voicemail, I finally decided to answer it and hear him out...very interesting.

Finally, my fabulous friends, Steev and Gina, welcomed a happy and healthy little boy into the world tonight. I know it sounds totally sappy, but that fills my heart and I just can't express how happy I am for them. I cannot wait to meet Miles and get to know him as he grows up....yeah yeah, I know...move on, Chick!

I didn't get to have too much fun on the ol' XBox tonight - the servers were pretty crappy, but my playmates and I made the best of it. We all decided to call it a day early for once and yet, here I am, posting to my blog. Nice! Anyway, I consider those guys my friends, too - even though I don't know them very well, they tend to get me.

Anyway, I just wanted to share how great this Tuesday was - now if only I could mend fences with those out there who don't want to - or aren't really ready to. Our day will come - I am sure of it. The mere fact that you added me as a friend to your page (and haven't removed me after some nasty emails back and forth), speaks volumes and tells me there is hope. You don't just ditch 12 years (does the last year count?)!

So I am going to bed - alone (for those of you who thought I really caved with my ex). I intend to get a good night's sleep and be happy tomorrow for my brother and sister-in-law who hit 9 years of marriage. WOW!

Ain't life grand sometimes?

Love you all...

Currently listening:
Dizzy up the Girl
By The Goo Goo Dolls
Release date: By 22 September, 1998

And the Oscar for Best New Dad Goes To...

2006-07-19T00:49:00.000-04:00

Current mood: excited

Steev!

Miles Middle-Name-to-be-determined Shultheiss was born tonight
at 8:45pm.

He weighs 7lbs 13oz.

After all that tedious "Being Induced" had gone on for about 24 hours Miles came into the world via emergency C-section!

Mommy and baby are doing just fine (and are sleeping) - and Daddy, as we speak, is collapsing into a deep slumber!

Currently listening:
Beach Boys - The Greatest Hits Vol. 2: 20 More Good Vibrations
By The Beach Boys
Release date: By 21 September, 1999

Gimme a Break!

2006-07-18T17:26:00.000-04:00

Current mood: curious

It has been over 12 hours people...where the hell is this baby?

For those of you who do not know, Steev and Gina (no name masking here) are in labor and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Miles (formerly referred to as Kickass Hellyeah).

Last I heard, we are hoping for this kid to make his appearance around dinner-time. As soon as I know something, I will post an update...but I think this is the most anticpated kid in history.

Push him out, shove him out, way out! --Bill Cosby, Himself

Don't Touch My Dirt

2006-07-17T14:35:00.000-04:00

Current mood: working

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Take 2… Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow once again and I couldn’t be happier! This is what I call entertainment. It isn’t like this was Oscar-material or anything, but I do enjoy going to the movies to be entertained for 2 hours (okay, 2 ½, but who is counting).

This movie was a great escape – a chance to hang up your real life in exchange for a reel one. The sword fights were thrilling and the special effects were amazing. The Davy Jones crew, led by Bill Nighy was an incredible addition (thank god he will be in Part 3 - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End)!

The best part about this movie was that it wasn’t trying to be the first movie – this was a whole new adventure with some of the best aspects of the first. I would have to say that what truly made this movie was the way in which they left us hanging for the next one – wanting more. With an excellent and completely unexpected character showing up at the end, they threw me for a loop! Damn them for making me wait until next Memorial Day!

If you enjoyed Johnny as Jack, you will enjoy this movie. Also, watching Orlando Bloom actually contribute something that wasn’t annoying this time around, was also a treat…it didn’t hurt that his shirt was ripped off him either!

Currently listening:
Out of Exile
By Audioslave
Release date: By 24 May, 2005

So, This is My Life?!

2006-07-17T02:01:00.000-04:00

Current mood: crushed

Big sigh...after a decent weekend of friends and fun, here I sit having just hung up the phone and I feel like crying...it's been a while.

So for the good parts of my weekend...

First, a nice dinner Friday night at my favorite little Italian restaurant here in town with friends. Good food and funny conversations.

Next, my company shelled out the big bucks this year for our company picnic at the Georgia Aquarium. Pretty nifty considering how pricy that place is and that this meant we were indoors (instead of the nasty muggy heat). The food was only so-so, but the comraderie was most excellent. I finally got to meet kids and spouses and it was fun being social and not talking about work for once!!! Except for Hal - who would not manage to keep work at the office and have some fun - shame on you!

Anyway, shocking news was my old boss (who did not come) popped the question to his secret girlfriend (ex-employee) and she said yes! HAH! To the naysayers who told me I was crazy - they are an item! 'Nuf said!

So we had a blast spending 4 hours - most of which was in the Oceans Ballroom which was this big banquet hall with their own windows into the tanks. Very cool. Thank you Garry!

Afterwards, friends and I went to the movies (MindLink and D3) - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - movie review to follow tomorrow.

Sunday was pretty uneventful - I did some catering as usual and had dinner with my mom (my dad is in Orlando on business). I came home and shot up some bad guys (okay, really just my playmates). I turned the damn thing off only after my phone rang...once again...big sigh.

I should have let it go to voicemail...I should have just ignored it and gone to bed. But NO! I'm a glutton for punishment apparently and therefore I answered it. Of course, it was my Ex! Chris has impecable timing. Somehow he always knows when I am thinking about "getting back out there" and he rings me up. Shit!

So here is the deal - this guy has been my on-again-off-again for 13 years (OMG). I love him to death, I really do, but he is just not the guy I am going to spend the rest of my life with. I wish he would just let us be friends and stop making booty calls at 1am. It is so disheartening!

Look, he is a great guy, but he just cannot seem to get his life together. I need someone who (no matter their age) knows what they want, has a decent and steady job, and wants the same things that I want. I want someone who goes after those things he wants most, no matter the cost. I want someone who can take control and see that what he is doing isn't working out for him and have the balls to make a change. I don't want to support anyone (unless someone is going back to school and has a path in life). Chris just doesn't get it - he thinks he has his life all figured out and then he just says or does something to piss it all away...

He wants to meet - he wants to come over and see me and talk. He wants to prove to me how he has changed and that he has a purpose and path and yada yada yada. What do I do? What do I say? Somebody rescue me!

So my friends; my friends who get it and get me and have any advice at all - I will take it! Bring it on, no matter how harsh it may be - give it to me straight! HELP!

Okay, I am going to sleep now and am going to dream about cute men who do not drive me crazy and are far enough away that I won't be getting any booty calls the rest of the night :)

Currently listening:
Hot Fuss
By The Killers
Release date: By 15 June, 2004

Waiting for the Weekend

2006-07-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

Current mood: energetic

I am sitting here after a very long day and cannot figure out just what to do. I have spent my entire day in meetings - from sun-up to sun-down (okay, only 9am-5pm) - and I am fucking exhausted. How on Earth did this day get away from me?

Anyway, I finally hired someone for my open position and it was extremely difficult. I have been in this company SO long and know SO many people, that I ended up interviewing all people I knew really well and that makes it even tougher. No matter what I did, people were going to be disappointed, right? I made a decision I felt best benefit my team and my organization...life sucks sometimes. I wish I could do more, but it was for only one position. So far, people have seemed cool about it.

It occurs to me that I need to make a bold move...take a risk...invite a challenge. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm feeling the urge, the desire, the need. I'm open to suggestions - anyone can suggest anything to me and I don't think it would be too crazy. I feel like it is time for something drastic...

Thoughts anyone?

Currently listening:
Zenyatta Mondatta [Digipak]
By The Police
Release date: By 04 March, 2003

It's Such a Facination

2006-07-11T02:12:00.000-04:00

Current mood: bitchy

Someone explain this to me please! Yes, I am a woman and yes, I play video games on XBox Live...so what is the facination?

Everytime someone sees my name: "Oracle Chick, are you really a chick?" When I say Yes, it is usually followed by some version of how cool that is or how they have never run into a girl before on XBox, etc. Please, I have played with a few chicks so I know I am not the only one.

Then I get the perverted kids - the 15-year-olds who want me to talk dirty to them or some crap when all I want to do is play my game. Please - grow a pair and then maybe we will talk.

Then there are the guys that just happen to be in the same room with me - they hear me speak and suddenly I get a friend invite and a bombardment of voice messages asking for my MySpace info or asking for a private chat...come on! I'm no slut - well...kidding!

I've met some cool ass people (previously referred to as my playmates). I like these guys a lot and I enjoy shooting them...let's face it...being shot by them. I love the banter and would probably get into a whole mess of trouble with them if I lived in the same state - or country. But losers out there - get a life! If you can't pick up a chick at home, you aren't gonna get the girl on XBox either!

As for The Champ, Alaska, Mirk, etc - these guys are a different story altogether. I mean c'mon - they want me! :D

Alrighty, my rant is done. Maybe now these jackasses will stop harassing me for a bit...?

Currently listening:
Live at the Roxy
By Social Distortion
Release date: By 30 June, 1998

It’s a Wonderful TiVo

2006-07-10T12:35:00.000-04:00

Current mood: annoyed

Movie Review: Click

Let me start out by saying that usually, I wouldn’t pay to see this movie in the theatre – I wouldn’t even pay to rent it. However, the only alternative was a chick flick, and I didn’t want to force MindLink into such a predicament. I’m too nice.

So off we went to see an Adam Sandler movie (which are always hit or miss, and sometimes both). This one is pretty simple - guy works too much, but has a good life - hot wife (Kate Beckinsale), a couple of kids, decent house. But somehow, his wife still bitches, his kids still complain and he is miserable working toward that ultimate goal…another job that causes him to work too much.

There are some funny lines and personally, I have always wants to know what was beyond at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Little did we know it was the devil himself giving out free high-tech devices that ruin our lives (nice message, huh?).

Here is the problem – this character doesn’t even use the remote the right way! Come on – I mean look, if you don’t have time to do 2 things at once, then you should use the Pause button. You have a big report to finish, then pause the world, finish the report, press Play and then go to bed and get a full night’s rest. It is SO simple! No, this turkey just skips the weekend and somehow gets the work done?! What? Can I borrow that remote and rewind the movie so maybe it will make sense the second time around?

By the end, this movie turned into a complete sap-fest. He’s dying, he lost the hot wife, the kids have grown up without him and he has alienated his parents. But, like the kid with the snow globe, he wakes up and it was all a dream. Cop out!

Give the remote to a chick who knows how to take advantage of its magical properties and I show you world domination, Fella!

This movie has its moments, but don’t waste your cash or your precious 107 minutes.

Currently listening:
Broken
By Nine Inch Nails
Release date: By 22 September, 1992

Get Your Kicks

2006-07-10T12:10:00.000-04:00

Current Mood: working

Movie Review: Cars

I still love Pixar, but this was one of the weaker pictures they have produced. Dont get me wrong, because I really did enjoy it, but 2 hours is just too long for an animated feature; sad, considering I am usually left wanting more.

This story is about Owen Wilson's Lightning McQueen, a cocky race car who is somewhat of a rookie (understand every person in the movie is a vehicle). He is on his way to California on Route 66, when he gets lost and causes damage in a small town can anyone say Doc Hollywood meets Days of Thunder? Anyway, he is forced to stick around in Radiator Springs in order to repave the road he destroyed. He learns how the little things are important and makes new friends along the way awww, isnt that sweet?!

The point is, this is a good movie for the kids and has plenty of comedy for the adults it just should have been shorter! I did enjoy the VW Beetles representing flies!

I actually enjoyed how this movie made me feel nostalgic. It took a good long look at how we have changed in our lives. We have become a fast-paced society that drives only to get from one place to another. Route 66, a.k.a. The Mother Road, meant something once at a time when our parents would drive through towns and not around them.

Pixar needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new and fresh idea and then make an excellent 90 minute movie about it! Ratatouille should have some promise, especially since it being helmed by Brad Bird.

I loved this movie, but it falls towards the bottom of the Pixar list for me.

Currently listening:
Nighthawks at the Diner
By Tom Waits
Release date: 25 October, 1990

Feeling Naked

2006-07-10T02:06:00.000-04:00

Current mood: tired

So what a very odd week it has been, folks. A lot of things have happened and I just have been too beat to take the time to write anything down. Sorry about that. For some reason I have felt really exposed this week - and not in a good way. But overall, it has been a great week.

I'm not sure where to begin, so I guess I will start in the middle...Wednesday.

An atypical work day only because I hadn't been in the office for 4 days (the beauty of being the boss). I spent all day playing catch up with email and people needing help from "The Oracle," and suddenly it was 545pm. Normally, I would have been annoyed, but fortunately I had the Chick Flick girls to hang out with. So one of my work friends decided she was tired of not getting to see the movies she wants because her husband thinks they are "chick flicks." She figured out a solution and started up a little club, if you will. It is mostly people at EarthLink, with a few former ELNK-ers thrown in for good measure.

We had drinks, some noshes, dished about hotties (and ugly-hotties) and went to see The Devil Wears Prada. Yes, I am behind in movie reviews...stay tuned for a review post. We had a blast! It was a great group of chicks and we can't wait to do it again.

During the day on Wednesday, I happened to score myself some free Black Crowes tickets for Thursday night - so on to Thursday!

Thursday I was wishy-washy. It was rainy and icky outside and I was dead tired. I waffled all day about if I should go to the concert or not. The YB also got free tickets, and I had invited DDD and we were going to make a night of it - except, I was thinking of backing out. Shame on me! I'm not exactly sure why, but I am sure that I wasn't motivated because I was feeling sorry for myself due to some MySpace communications going back and forth with old friends. All of a sudden, I decided fuck everyone. I wanted to go to the concert, so I was going to the concert (it didn't hurt that Gangsta Jules yelled at me that I needed to have some fun).

Anyway, off we went. The concert was at Lakewood and DDD found a nice spot for us to hang out as we waited for The YB to show up. We hung out, we misbehaved (those of you who should know what this means, do); we had a lot of fun! Suddenly, I am exhausted. I managed to make it home and then got sucked into the XBox for a couple of hours...my boys were on and I wanted to enjoy shooting them (and getting shot at). Next thing I knew it was 230 in the morning and if The Champ hadn't spoken up, I think I would have been online all night.

Friday was a typical rat-race kind of day. I worked a LOT. The day just kind of got away from me and it was quite exhausting. I spent half the day trying to track down my HR rep since I need to make an offer to the person I want to hire - but she decided she didn't need to be in her office - ever! I must have walked to her office 8 or 9 times to no avail. So now I am stuck waiting until Monday to make an offer; if I am lucky. So who knows when I will actually have a new hire!

Thank god for the YB who forced me to power down my laptop and walk out the door on Friday at 6pm. I think I would have been there half the night otherwise. I had already worked 30 hours for the week, and it was only 3 days!

I went to dinner with friends and proceeded to get deathly ill and feel like crap. But that didn't stop me from coming home and shooting people on CoD2 all night. I will say that The Champ was in rare form - always entertaining for me. I got out some frustrations and by the time I went to bed (after 3am), I felt much better.

Saturday wasn't too exciting, but it wasn't boring either. However, I was forced to play without The Champ, so luckily Alaska and Mirk were around to keep me laughing.

I know - all if this is very boring. I know you would all rather I post a movie review or something about the MySpace saga from this past week, but I swear that it even more boring to write about.

Let's just say that I don't think anything is resolved and I'm not sure it ever will be. It is sad really, but clearly people have moved on and even when I opened the door, no one was willing to walk through it. I'm not sure why or how this happened, but at least I know she is happy and truly that is all that matters to me. Does this satisfy you all?

On a side note, I will say that (going back to the hotties discussion from Wednesday), I may have to share a new hottie with you all...thank god for World Cup soccer! Meet Gianluigi Buffon! Yummmmmy!

Anyway, I'll post much more interesting things later - like the 3 movie reviews I owe you all. Work is coming up quickly and I need to get to sleep. I will have some good dreams about me being an XBox hussy tonight!

Currently listening:
A Rush of Blood to the Head
By Coldplay
Release date: By 27 August, 2002

I Get Knocked Out

2006-07-04T03:45:00.000-04:00

Current mood: relaxed

So I had a cool dinner with friends and then we watched a movie. I know I fell asleep early on for about 20 minutes, but those catnaps tend to help rejuvinate me so I can play games online for 3 hours.

I got online and wasn't really motivated at first to shoot people, so I played some strategy arcade games and punched some people in DoA4. Then I was ready for a gun fight.

Sometimes it is nice to get your ass kicked - really it is! After a rough beginning online tonight, I found some cool people who enjoyed shooting me a lot. Up until that point, I kept ending up with a bunch of weirdos or people with a lot of rules (see previous post). Anyway, I found a room with a couple of cool guys (both older than me) and next thing I know, all my buddies popped in to join us.

We had fun beating the "old folks," but also got our butts beat just as much. It helped to get out the frustrations of the last few days all in one night. Have I mentioned how much I am enjoying this 4 days off from work? I am so relaxed and laid back at this point, I would prefer not to go back to work ever...gotta find me that Sugar Daddy!

After all was said and done, I think I said goodbye to one friend and made some new ones. It is a shame really, but I think I am used to this by now. People get their panties in a twist for god knows why and just seem to check out. That's fine by me really, to each his own, but just tell me something...anything. I can take it, I'm a grown up (sometimes).

Now back to my stalker - the Freak! So he messages me right when he gets online and I responded...but then nothing. Wow - maybe I would get a night of peace! So I decided to throw him a bone and I invited him in to play (knowing full well he would ditch whatever match he was in and come join mine). Sure enough he did - and he shot me, a LOT! Maybe he got the Oracle Chick out of his system - who knows. He's 28 - he can rebound :)

So no big plans for tomorrow. I had some, but I cancelled them. I am really enjoying not having to be anywhere at a specific time or do anything to make other people happy. And Wednesday is back to work...yawn! Can't I just take off the whole week?

I can't complain - I go back to work and then only have to work 2 full weeks before I head to San Francisco for a very long weekend...I should quite bitching :) But what will I do without my XBox for 6 nights?!

Later peeps - it is time for some shut-eye! Love you all (well, most of you, anyway).

Currently listening:
Recurring Dream: The Very Best Of Crowded House
By Crowded House
Release date: By 23 July, 1996

Freak of the Week

2006-07-03T01:42:00.000-04:00

Current mood: crushed

Let me start by saying that for once, I put down the XBox controller quite early tonight. You should all be quite impressed! Now, let me explain why.

First, the obvious...the guys I prefer to play with got off early and some were not even online. Duh, it's no fun when it is a bunch of kids going "pistols only," or "no sniper rifles!" Bite me, kids! Go to bed, already!

Now let me fill you in on The Freak. I don't know what else to call him at this point, I'm not cruel enough to post his Gamertag up here for all to harass him; however, if he continues to push, he is fair game!

The Freak played in a partial game last night with me, The Champ (as he likes to call himself) and a couple other guys. As usual, I was the only chick in the room, but seriously that is par for the course. For whatever reason, The Champ begged out super early and left us all hanging (This is what happens when boys suffer from PMS). Shortly after that, I went to send someone a voice message and somehow accepted a Friend Invite from The Freak. Oh well, shit happens! I powered down and went to bed with a good movie.

Early this evening, I powered up the XBox and immediately started playing arcade games - something light to try and mellow myself out (more on why in a minute). Next thing you know, I get an Invite to play CoD2 and a text message that says "hey." I respond to the text message with a simple "hey, not now, but I will be on to play CoD2 later on." That should have been it - the brush off...leave me with my arcade games and go shoot some other teenagers for now. I WISH!

Next thing I know, I am in a constant war with this kid wanting my Yahoo ID and pictures. HELLOOOOO - Dude, I don't know you and I haven't even spoken to you in a game - why are you harassing me? Finally, he asked me for a Private Chat.

Now look, normally I would have begged off this completely, but I figured I could give him the smack down and be done...Guess Again! I can hear you all in my head right now - "turn off the sexy phone voice and walk away from the controller." But alas, I ignored you all. Stupid!

The guy is 28 and out in LA, so I think I am well protected from him stalking me or from me going to jail for talking to a 12-year-old. However, he called me a meanie! Can you believe that one...I mean c'mon - are you sure you are 28 years old, son? It took me almost 2 weeks to give The Champ my MySpace info - and him I like! I'm not about to give his annoying punk my information without really talking to him EVER! Boys are stupid - throw rocks at them!

If only he had tried this crap in a game when my playmates (okay, not the best term) could hear - they would have eaten him for breakfast and taunted him to no end...damn, how I'm sorry I missed that.

So to follow up on why I needed mellowing...

Last night was completely f-ed up! I had the most violent dreams I have had in a long time - for a second, I thought I had invaded Angie's brain. She is the one with the crazy, violent dreams that make her nutty - not me.

So I won't go into too much detail here, but let's just say that they were intense and highly, ummm, erotic (also for lack of a better term). I will say that some odd men made appearances, but one obvious one popped up - that's right folks - Pants! How on Earth to I look him square in the face on Wednesday? God only knows.

Anyway, the crazy-ass dreams led to a crazy-ass day and my need to shoot things and be playful with my XBox playmates - yes, Dani, you can call me an XBox Hussy once again. Unfortunately, I got little satisfaction and lots of game Invites from The Freak - it was time to power down and watch a little hot-Aussie-chef on TV until my eyes started to get heavy.

So here I am, posting a blog instead of going to bed. This is me signing off and headed off to bed with another movie - this time with Matthew McConaughey. I figure since he is in town, but I can't have him in my bedroom for real, I'll watch a couple of his movies - especially ones where he is topless!

Later guys and gals!

Currently listening:
Titanic Days
By Kirsty MacColl
Release date: By 21 February, 2006

It's a Blast!

2006-06-30T02:57:00.000-04:00

Current mood: flirty

So I think I may have lost my mind - and my regular sleep patterns. The XBox 360 is like crack (or insert your drug of choice here). I allow myself to spend hours shooting people online for kicks - what the hell? I guess it could be worse, I could really have a drug habit.

So completely unrelated to the Crack-Box, I have started the interview process for the replacement position what was so hastily vacated last Friday. I hate interviewing - I just want to hire the right damn person, already! People tend to talk out their asses or lie and tell me what I want to hear...DUDE! Tell me the truth, dammit!

I'm an honest person, I expect honesty around me (this is probably why I remain single). I don't play games (except on the XBox, apparently) and I just want to get to the f*ing point! Okay - mini-vent complete.

Otherwise, I don't have much to report. I'm happy right now (except for being insanly crazy at work) and I think that is a good thing. I'm feeling bold - I think I may do something rash...Stay Tuned!

Currently listening:
Closer to God
By Nine Inch Nails
Release date: By 19 May, 1994

A Super Leap of Faith

2006-06-28T08:02:00.000-04:00

Current mood: impressed

Movie Review: Superman Returns

Let me start by saying one thing - I am the little sister of a comic-book-hero fan and therefore am one by extension. I don't know the lore like the boys seem to, but I know enough to be dangerous...there is no comparison to Superman-lore here - so deal with it! Also, I am doing my best not to put any major spoilers, but beware one and all!

Where to begin with this review...? It is hard not to mention that is probably the most anticipated summer movie in a couple of years and that there will be a lot of reviews flying around (pardon the pun). So for those of you that truly care, there will be no fluff here - I tend to have very specific expectations when it comes to movies.

The overall feel of this movie was great! This movie played homage to the first two Superman flicks of almost 30 years ago. Brandon Routh did one of the best "impressions" of Christopher Reeve's Clark Kent I think I have ever seen - but when he becomes Superman, I felt a sense of transition...the torch has been passed folks and I really didn't expect to enjoy his take on such an icon. Sure, he could have been better, but c'mon they had Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane! Just about anything could have been more impressive than her flimsy portrayal of this crack-reporter. As for Kevin Spacey, he did an excellent job...most of the time. He took Lex Luthor to some very dark places, but also allowed him to be more of a cartoon in some scenes - there was room for improvement.

As for the movie itself, I was taken back to my formative years and enjoyed 2 hours of nostalgia...that's right folks, I said 2 hours. Yes, this movie is 2 hours and 34 minutes, but the final 30 minutes of this film should be lopped off with a kryptonite scythe. Having pondered this for the last 7 hours, I really think that the final stage of the film was written for all the girls being dragged to the theatre by their "boy-at-heart" mates. Look, I don't mind the forbidden romance - the love lost and gained between Superman and Lois - but please! This seems to be a disease in Hollywood right now - beating a dead horse. Movies can be 2 hours and we, the audience, still get satisfaction.

If you watched all the trailers as I did, you will not be disappointed in the Superman rescues in this film. The airplane scene alone was worth the price of the ticket! As for the hero versus villain scenes - they just were somewhat non-existent. As always, Lex gets foiled in the end, however, where was Superman...oh right, he was overcoming his one weakness to save humanity and could have died (now that would have been an ending!).

To the movie-makers: Thank you for basically ignoring the doppelgänger and the nuclear disarmament bullsh*t that were a complete waste of film stock in the 80's.

I enjoyed this movie - I really did. I think it is well worth the cost of the ticket (and maybe some popcorn) to drag your butts to the movie theatres and enjoy a blast from the past. I did go into this with some low expectations, but Bryan Singer rarely disappoints. Go see this movie, I think you will enjoy yourself (at least for 120 minutes) and at the end, project your own "TO BE CONTINUED..." onto the screen - I think they left that off in the editing room! Just no Superboy please - that would just depress me!

Currently listening:
One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers
By Bob Marley & The Wailers
Release date: By 22 May, 2001

They Call Me...Oracle Chick!

2006-06-19T11:01:00.000-04:00

Current mood: mellow

Yes folks, it is true...I have an XBox 360 now. Commit me to the Geek-funny farm now and get it over with!

So I caved to peer pressure and the electronic pull of technology and went out last Wednesday and bought one of these blasted devices. Sure, they only cost $400, but then you need the extra controller, the rechargable battery for both controllers, a wireless adapter, the plug to recharge the batteries...and of course, GAMES! Luckily, I am only obsessed with 2 games to date.

Also, to my benefit, Mike was willing to come over and set up the whole thing for me like I'm a dumb girl (I like to play that role occasionally). Could I have set it up myself, YES! But, then I would have gotten annoyed and much less likely to play with it for a couple of days.

Mike set it all up while Dani and I chatted. Next thing you know, we have to come up with some sort of online handle for me on this blasted thing and Dani told me I could not use Brently49! Damn her!

So 25 minutes later, we finally settled on Oracle Chick. There were better ideas, but other people had them too because those names were not available. This name took care of 2 things - it announced that I was a girl to all the guys (at Dani's insistence) and it took into account my work persona "The Oracle," which everyone here at EarthLink calls me (mostly because I have been here SO long, I know everything).

After Mike and Dani left, I stayed online and played Call of Duty 2 (I have to get out my frustrations somehow) for a couple of hours. I met some cool guys and had fun getting killed A LOT. There seemed to be a fascination about me being a girl and having an XBox 360 AND playing a WWII game.

Fast forward to Thursday night - I spent a little more time on the damned thing, but still not too much. I think I was on until a little after 1 am, and met more cool guys - and they know who they are!

Now, I have to address a few things here - if I don't Dani will - I am NOT an XBOX slut or 'ho or any other trashy name you can come up with. Guys seem to take anything I say as sexual, so why not play it up, right? I have fun with it and so do they, so who cares...and maybe I can distract them a little :) It isn't like I intend to use my "sexy phone voice" (as Angie dubbed my online/on phone persona) - it just kinda happens!

So while some of my new "friends" are just come-n-goers, others are really cool guys and are quite fun to talk smack with and shoot! Look, the point is thing - I am having fun! Besides, it could be worse...I could be sucked into EverCrack, right?

Anyway, here I am at work, for another hum-drum week of reading, writing and attending meetings. Hopefully, The Oracle will help others as they seek advice and counsel. It's a mellow Monday...but, I'll be back on the XBox flirting with all the boys tonight ;)

Currently listening:
Daniel Powter
By Daniel Powter
Release date: By 11 April, 2006

Peace, Love & Understanding

2006-06-08T11:41:00.000-04:00

Current mood: giggly

What's so funny, you ask? Not so much, but I do have to say that my friends are pretty hysterical. It never fails, no matter what my mood may be, one of my friends is able to get me giggling - that is a gift.

Today was pretty crappy - I felt like I was going to die, but a nice man named Robert worked out all the kinks - literally. I am cursed with bad bones and joints (thanks mom & dad) and my back and neck were killing me. So - I went in for a full body massage and I have never felt SO renewed! Suddenly, I felt like I could run a marathon...okay, maybe not really.

So I went to dinner with the girls - we had a decent meal that had a few kinks in it. Note to self: Mussels are not in season in June! Anyway, we had a blast and Dani and Mindy kept me in stitches - both on the way to dinner at during the meal. What would a gal do without great friends, I ask? Not a clue, but I am glad I don't have to find out.

Anyway, this weekend is the shin-dig for Steev and Gina and their bundle of joy on the way. I am looking forward to seeing all the friends I don't get to see very often - it should be good for some laughs, for sure.

Otherwise, I am planning a trip to San Francisco for July 4th - 4 or 5 days with the kiddies should be good for relaxation and lots of giggles. I just need to get the heck out of dodge for a few days. I need a break from work and a chance to do something I really want to do!

That's all for now - maybe more tomorrow!

'Where are all the good men dead, in the heart or in the head?' -- Debi Newberry, Grosse Pointe Blank

Currently listening:
The Very Best of Elvis Costello
By Elvis Costello
Release date: By 17 April, 2001

Down In It

2006-06-03T01:01:00.000-04:00

Current mood: horny

Wow - how sad it is that the Subject isn't in any way true...just another boring week letting Corporate America suck the life out of me just a little more. At least tonight, I hung out with friends.

So today started out really weird - and actually, it isn't all that weird, just weird for me.

I had PT this morning (still working on my neck) and half way through my appointment, Jen put me on The Rack (usually this torture is left for the end of the session). I came out of the back room post-torture and there was a guy at my table. That's okay, I'll move down a couple of stations - no biggie, right? Well, for some reason, this guy seemed fascinated with me.

It took until the very end of the appointment to realize that he was actually flirting with me (I was thinking he was a stalker or something, albeit a hot one). And honestly, I didn't realize it at all...I had to be hit over the head with it. Anyway, not like he will actually call, but a girl can hope.

Starting out with such wonderful attention, put me in a giddy mood all day. Basically, I dared anyone to dampen my Happy Friday! It made it hard to focus on work, but somehow I managed.

So after work, it was time to hit Ipp's for dinner with friends and do a little shooting on the XBox (I just love blowing away 12 year-olds in WWII Russia and Germany). As with any time spent with Dani and Mike (and this time with Surfmunk, too), I found that our topics of conversation tend to stray from the normal and we ended up discussing who's hot and who's not at work - we pretty much stuck with the who's hot topic.

So I have had a "thing" for one individual at work for years (6, I believe) and I have shamelessly flirted with him all this time. We are good friends and I have always considered it harmless, but today was the day I needed to do some good flirting with him...but I could not seem to track him down. I have to think back, but I believe at this point, Angie would remind me that I nicknamed him "Pants" some years ago. Let's face it, to have a real conversation about someone at work, they have to have a code name. Therefore, from here-on-out, he will be referred to as Pants!

So why Pants, you ask? Well, in our early exposure to him, Pants did some training for the local call center. He would be at the front of the room, wearing sweat pants, which highlighted all the right assets he had. Now these weren't the sweatshirt-all-cotton-material pants - these were the shiny-somewhat-parachute-type-material pants - you always knew when he was walking up behind you!

All the ladies used to swoon (Deals, Peaches, maybe even Shannon know what I mean). Well - as with most things - he has just gotten better with age!

Again, not that I would ever make any move or do anything about it, but this is one of the ones I would often have dreams about and then blush when I would see him in the mornings. I can be SUCH a girl, sometimes!

Anyway, my thoughts have been on Pants today, and it cannot be helped. So with the blond hottie and thoughts of Pants, I was apparently in High-Flirtation-Mode and I didn't even realize it. So for anyone I flirted with today - oops, sorry!

However, to my shock - just an hour ago - Surfmunk told me I flirted with him. I was unintentional - believe me. Not that there is anything wrong with Surfmunk, but it is that whole "fishing in the company pond" deal. I try really hard not to even consider the guys at work (even the hot ones). So sorry - I'm not exactly sure why it happened, but apparently, I am hopeless.

Oh well - I say blame it on the Pants! (I'll have some yummy dreams tonight, I bet!)

Currently listening:
Pretty Hate Machine
By Nine Inch Nails
Release date: By 22 November, 2005

Kickin' it at The Ted

2006-05-29T19:53:00.000-04:00

Current mood: hot

Memorial Day - the 2nd of the 3-day-weekends for 2006. It's the end of May and therefore very hot in the ATL. So why, why, why did I agree to go to a baseball game at 1pm today? Just stupid, I guess.

Here we have the basic problem of wanting to spend time with friends, wanting to go watch my Braves play (and drool over the Baby Braves - just a nickname, folks) but wanting to do it in a cool and air-conditioned environment...great planning, huh?

I cannot complain too much - as we really did have fun. Once the sun passed behind us, we were in the shade and there was a nice breeze some of the time. The problem was that the Braves played like CRAP!

Luckily, I did get to see a friend that I had not seen in a long time (this means you, Yancey!) and I wasn't the only one making a fool of myself yelling at the field (ummm, YB - that means YOU!). Dani toughed it out to spend the time with us all - way to go, chica! I have some great friends and am very lucky.

So here is what I have decided...and some of you may already have figured this out...I'm going to stop stressing about finding "someone." Everytime I figure out that I am going to just focus on living my life, I end up finding someone great to spend time with (as just friends or more). So - here is me ceasing the stressing. Maybe you just have to get your brain out of that place that causes concern and just RELAX!

I have a very busy June in store for me (can it be July now?!), including a trip to India that I really starting to wish I weren't taking. On the positive end, I do get to see my niece and nephew the week before...maybe they can get me through!

As for other thoughts here, I have to say that good friends are great, but great friends are even better. Shannon - you truly made my day today and you make me feel worthy :) If any of you have the pleasure of being friends with someone who speaks so highly of you that you want to be an even better person - that friend is gold. Make sure you live up to their praise - every day!

Did I mention it's 90-degrees in the shade here?!

Currently listening:
Let Love In
By The Goo Goo Dolls
Release date: By 25 April, 2006

Nothing to Lose

2006-05-18T23:30:00.000-04:00

Current mood: rejuvenated

Change...it sucks, but sometimes it can open your eyes to what you are missing in life. Pardon me while I wax profound here - but maybe it isn't me talking.

A lot of things have been changing over the last year - loss of a friend, death of a grandmother, birth of a nephew, and recently, shake ups at work.

It's been a trying time for me - trying to keep my positive outlook, no matter what life throws at me - but I find myself being more emotionally tied to things...I'm not sure this is a bad thing, though.

I guess all you can say is, if I come out still standing, I am a stronger person for all the pain, agony, tough times, etc. Isn't that all that really matters? How do you perform when the chips are down? Do you stay true to yourself while the world falls to crap around you? Are you a better person when you come out the other side?

I would have to say YES to all of the above. While I don't feel that I am as happy about a lot of things that I have been in the past (okay, most have been beyond my control), I think I am still okay - this makes me feel stronger as a human being.

If I have changed, I feel it is for the better. And my newest work challenges haven't made it easy on me, but I feel that I am up to the task. And ultimately, if I am not able to deal with the new environment, then I have a cushy 8-weeks paid vacation/sabbatical waiting for me on the other side.

I could chuck it all and move back to San Francisco - where my heart truly is - but I won't go down without a fight. Besides, I think these challenges may prove to make me more of an asset in any work environment.

Personally, I am not where I thought I would be. I figured I would be some high-falootin' sports photographer in demand and making a decent living (and maybe attending a few fancy celebrity shin-digs) by now, or maybe I would be some world-renowned chef - a must have for any A-List party. Maybe I'll get there someday, but today I feel like I do make a difference where I work and I am respected and sought-out for help. It's my own kind of high-falootin'/world-renowned status, but you wouldn't know it if you talked to me...it's a whole world in my head.

So what's wrong with being in the corporate world - this world I never thought I would be a part of? Nothing! I have made really great friends, some excellent contacts and I am genuinely motivated to get out of bed each morning and go to work. So who cares if someone new comes in and shakes my world up like a snow-globe...Bring it on!

Now, it's time to attack the rest of my life with this attitude! Time to stop pushing the men away and stop flaking on friends. Time to do what I want to do and when I want to do it and to hell with those who make me feel less than worthy! Bite me, you bastards!

Whew...now I feel better!

Currently listening:
Garden State
By Various Artists
Release date: By 10 August, 2004

Welcome to the Madness

2006-05-14T00:47:00.000-04:00

Everyone - I now post on MySpace. For those of you NOT on MySpace, I will continue to post my blogs here as well!

Current mood: lethargic

So here I am, on MySpace. Such an odd place to be, but I guess it was inevitable.

I've had a blog for years, but I just haven't had time to post to it. I'll try and be better and post here now.

My friends and coworkers convinced me to jump on here finally, and I guess I had very little will power, since clearly I caved.

There isn't too much to say about me at this point, except I am pretty loopy at the moment. It has been a rough week that ended in pulled muscles and pinched nerves. Luckily, my doc prescribes the good drugs plus 48 hours minimum of bed rest (okay, those of you preparing to lecture me for sitting at my computer, I have been horizontal since 2am yesterday, so shhhh).

So far, this place is shaping up pretty nicely. I have found some old friends and some news ones - even people from elementary school! We'll see how this goes.

Nothing else to report...I'm off to lalaland for a good 12 hours of sleep in a pseudo-coma.

Happy Birthday, SarahBell!

Currently listening:
Paper Airplanes
By Marc Robillard
Release date: By 10 November, 2005

Sorry for the delay!

2006-05-10T11:02:00.000-04:00

Just a quickie to explain why I have not been posting. I broke my hand in January and it was too hard to type. I am finally back in the groove!

Local Insecurity

2006-01-24T18:38:00.000-05:00

Little did I know that buying a car would not be as easy as I thought...

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, but I have been in New Car Hell and every spare moment has been spent driving to Bumble - aka Gwinnett! My garage has had 5 different cars in it in the past 3 weeks - crazy, eh?

I took my car to Gwinnett to have them install the "extras" that were included in my purchase price and that should have been the end of it, right? They gave me a rental car for a day and I didn't have a care in the world...Then I picked up the car!

The next day (and for a couple of days after that), the newly installed security system was going off at random times for absolutely NO reason! The car was locked up tight in my garage and then suddenly, the horn is going nuts! I had to deal with this all weekend and it was pissing off my neighbors...My doorbell rang a couple of times.

Last Tuesday, my dad swapped cars with me and was going to handle getting the alarm fixed - but alas, Honda had to order a new device...So we had to wait until Friday. So Friday, I was too busy at work, so my dad was nice enough to drive the car to Bumble to have them fix it. It took an hour or so and by Friday night, I had my car back - safe and sound in my garage! After about 5 hours, the alarm started going off...Again! Dammit!

I spent Saturday on the phone, mostly fighting with Honda trying to get them to just take out the damn alarm (honestly, I didn't want it anyway). Well, they refused. I basically told them that they had ONE CHANCE to fix it and then they were either taking out the alarm, or taking the entire car back. I think that got them listening.

Monday night after work, I headed up to Bumble to leave my car - yet again. As soon as I pulled in the service bay, my Service Guy was at my car introducing himself. He made quick work of me and called over my Sales guy and some flunky. The flunky pulled up in a brand new (sticker still on) Element - almost the identical car to mine. They removed the sticker and had me sign some paperwork and the loaner was mine while they figure out their mistake with the alarm.

So we shall see...No word yet on my car, but basically I told them to keep it until they could either figure out what was wrong, or take the damn alarm OUT!

Otherwise, not too much going on at work. My team and I are working really hard trying to get all our initiatives underway. I've been spending the rest of my extra time helping organize a baby shower for a friend at work having triplets! The shower is Friday afternoon, so lucky me gets to work only a half day Thursday to make the cake...Did I mention how awesome my new boss is?

That's it for now, kids! I'll do better and post more often - promise :)

The Nameless Wonder

2006-01-12T11:27:00.000-05:00

So the car is in the shop as we speak, getting his other accessories added to him (Fog Lights, Security System, Honda MusicLink and Floor Mats) and I am stuck with a brand new Mazda 3 in the parking garage downstairs. I feel empty without my new wheels, but it is only for 1 day - I will suffer through!

A few days with the new ride and I still have yet to come up with a suitable name for him...here is a visual for you all (please ignore how crappy the driver looks - it had been a long day).

Hopefully, once my car is in one piece, a name will just come to me...suggestions are still welcomed!

The Pressure of a Name...

2006-01-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

First, a little backstory...

I love my car. I adore my car. My car has taken very good care of me through many crazy nights and long trips (including Atlanta to SF in 2002). I bought it in September 1998 and it was so very appropriate for me seeing as it was Purple. This was my first foray into SUVs as I had been a sedan girl previously. But after years of riding higher in Angie's vehicles (except for the Miata), I knew I wanted this loftier view of the world.

My Jeep, known to his friends as Ingo, went on many road trips, late night Tom Foolery and still managed to get me from home to work or to wherever I was trying to go. I paid him off over a year ago and was really enjoying not having a car payment...then the flood gates opened.

In 2005, I spent what felt like millions of dollars on repairs. No body work or anything, but this was leaking or that needed to be replaced or something or other needed an overhaul...YIKES! And here I was, about to roll over 90,000 miles on my old friend and that means about $1000 worth of service AND I should get the brakes replaced (shoes, drums, whatever). Not the way I wanted to start the new year!

I knew this would be the year to get a new car - I made a deal with my dad when I bought the car (and loved it), that I would not still own it when 100,000 rolled over on the dash. Couple that with the service costs, and that meant it was time. So we started talking cars.

Jeep no longer makes my car (bastards), otherwise this would have been a no-brainer for me. I'm not too keen on the Liberty (really heavy and not enough room inside), but I really like the Grand Cherokee (so would you if you had $28k to drop on a car). So off to Edmunds.com I went.

With the input of every guy at work (no joke), I put together 5 or 6 Compact SUVs to take a look at. I had my favorites, but I wasn't being too vocal about them at this point. Then, up walks my friend Stephanie, who sees that I am not exactly focused on my work. We have a quick chat about cars and I mention the Honda Element, and she pipes up - "Oh, I just bought one of those!" Talk about timing! Stephanie said she would have it at work the next day so I could take a gander.

I LOVE this car! Sitting it Stephanie's Element just sealed the deal. I knew I liked it, I have been interested ever since they released them, but I was never really that fond of the two-toned, plastic trim body I saw around town. Well, they made a change for 2006 - it's called the EX-P (P equals paint). Pretty!

My dad did the leg work for me contacting Internet Car Salesmen to schedule test drives and such and we ended up at Gwinnett Place Honda at 11am yesterday. We met with Joel (the Internet Guy) and we immediately stepped into the Tango Red EX-P I was interested in buying. I tooled around Gwinnett for 20 minutes and put the car to the test. We returned to the dealership and then the fun began (insert sarcastic tone here).

This is why I take my dad car shopping - I don't know how to haggle, and I don't know enough about the process to really be effective. I sit back and listen and throw in my 2 cents when it comes to accessories or the like.

It was a nice experience, but I hate that it takes 5 hours to buy a car. But all said, we got an excellent deal and they took poor Ingo away from me. I almost cried. I know he was just a car, but it is hard when a vehicle treats you right for 7 years and then you just give it away like he were nothing (sniff, sniff).

Enter my new friend, INSERT NAME HERE. That's right, I have yet to come up with a name for my new ride. I am at a loss, really. The last time I was even thinking about a car, I figured I would name him JD (see Scrubs, Tuesdays at 9pm on NBC), but this car is Dark Red, not Scrubs blue.

So HELP! Any suggestions are welcome - in fact, I need some creative ideas to ponder while I roll around town, listening to my iPod or XM Radio (yup, it came with both). Help me out friends - I could really use it. (I'll post a picture in this post later on)!

So welcome to the newest member of the Lindy fleet and I'll just ignore the fact that this means I now have a car payment monthly - ARGH! Everything has a price, right?

Another New Year Begins...

2006-01-03T13:16:00.000-05:00

...and it all feels exactly the same.

It's been good so far - I have been very productive in cleaning up my office in preparation for taxes and getting as much trash out of my house as possible (no, this doesn't include any people). I have plans for the next few weeks that make me smile and an overarching feeling of happiness...not sure where that came from!

I rang in the new year with friends - good friends - and that always makes me smile. I have good people around me at work (I'm working on that for home too) and I just feel like this is my year.

Last year was not so great - the only real highlight being the birth of my nephew (look at him, isn't he a cutie!)

My best friend moved 3000 miles away (see, don't blame her for this as I did the same in 2002) and we seemed to have miscommunicated our way out of an 11+ year friendship. My grandmother has deteriorated and has little will to even get out of bed most days, and my medical problems increased when my asthma (somewhat dormant in the past) has decided to get really bad and cause me lots of pain and stress!

It was a dull year for men - a couple of prospects, but very little follow through on my part. Work was nuts, but at least I got a new boss (and a promotion) who seems to get me and not have major mood swings every 30 minutes.

See what I mean - 2005 was not-so-great. In the interest of fairness, here is Maggie and she always loves me...so no day is ever non-redeemable!

I tried to stick to my resolutions, but I don't think I did a very good job. So this year is different! I have one major resolution and while it may have many sub-parts, it is an overarching strategy that will make the most sense for me:

Stay Happy!

I think this is accomplishable. I am a mostly happy person anyway, but I vow to "pull an Angie" and not let stuff bug me. Let it roll off the back, I say!

Work is work and there is nothing I can do to change most aspects of it. I have a great job, am well-respected, and I enjoy what I do and am usually happy with my accomplishments. I promise to leave work at a reasonable hour and leave work at work!

Go to more movies! I only saw 33 movies in the theatre last year and this is an all-time low for me! I have new movie-going buddies and I intend to see what I can, when I can and not think about how tired I am!

I will go to bed at a reasonable hour (okay, yeah maybe). I'll try on this one, okay, but no promises. I just find that I am happier when I have enough sleep. Ask anyone - they will tell you that a Grumpy Lindy is not a fun Lindy! This also ties into reading more - I love to read, but have not taken the time to unwind at the end of the day and read...but I will!

More Hockey and Baseball! I love them both - I love going to games. I just haven't gone much in recent months. I plan to do this more and with people who enjoy it as much as me :) Do you notice a trend here – basically Spend More Time with Friends!

Overall - this should cover me pretty well. I know I will be traveling a lot (SFO, Pasadena, The Philippines, India), but I won't let this get me down! Life is sweet and too short...and 33 is right around the corner!

Another Apology and a Resolution

2005-12-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

Hello all - if any of you are still out there reading my BLOG. I again am sorry for my lack of posts from November to December. It has been THAT crazy since my "promotion," if you can call it that, and while I am not stressed-out (thank god for Paul), I am overworked, unpaid, and somewhat miserable. This week didn't help either.

So Monday before dawn, I awoke to find I couldn't breathe - Ahhhh, Asthma! I had a rough day all day Monday, especially when Maggie wanted to play with me and I was too winded to do anything. We did manage to watch TV for a bit and play a game she had gotten for Christmas. Otherwise, I lounged and took shallow breaths.

Tuesday morning, I could not be wakened at all - the meds I had taken had pretty much wiped me out and my mom had to really stir me to say goodbye to Maggie (sniff, sniff). Maggie came bounding onto my bed and gave me a big hug and told me goodbye. I was so drained at this point, I managed to sob myself back to sleep for 4 hours. I didn't even go into work - let's face it, work was dead and wouldn't miss me.

So Wednesday, I go to work, still sick, but luckily with a 1pm doctor's appointment. I get a call on my cell and it's Paul - he is sick (stomach issues) and was it okay if he didn't come in? Duh! Not a problem. Then he drops a bombshell on me - I have an appointment for lunch - "Angie's in town" - at 1130am (which I cannot make since I have the doctor at 1pm and should work at least a half a day). He said he understood but to please let people know and apologize for him. No worries! That, I can do.

1030am rolls around and who happens upon my desk, but Kerstin - with Mikey in tow - to remind me about lunch. Now look, I didn't know about it, nor did I arrange for this, but I got a guilt-trip for 45 minutes about not going and I could miss work and do my tasks later...you know, I am directing this at you Kerstin! And Mikey - you didn't help. Then, I start thinking about how someone would probably take it the wrong way if I didn't go, so I caved. I'm not a bitch, and nor do I ever want to be perceived as one...I'm just really fucking busy! Honestly, I'm shocked she agreed to this lunch in the first place - seemed out of characted based on her exit from Georgia.

So I went - and man was it odd. It was like I was having lunch with someone who really didn't want me around - but I tried anyway. People change, I get that, but friendships - true ones - shouldn't change for the worse. Were you ever friends in the first place? Was it all just convenience? Who knows. I have tried and tried, and I feel like no ones cares but me. I'm out of touch and feel guilty about it - but again, does anyone care but me? I may be reading things into this, but some of it was implied (hello, no eye-contact).

So we ate, I paid (for half of the meal, anyway). We chatted about nothing too meaningful and then I had to cut it short - I had to get to the doctor. I couldn't really breathe and was really sick. Turns out, I had a 102-degree fever all through lunch and didn't know it - it should have been a MAJOR clue that I did not order a burger and I was at The Vortex for crying out loud! Dude, doesn't that count for something?

I don't know - I guess it is past mattering. I guess I should be happy I got a Christmas card or something...personally, I had no time to send cards this year, but I did buy gifts (not that I saw someone during the holiday - scheduled - to give them to her). So FedEx will handle it for me.

I got lots of Will and Maggie time and I got do some fun things. I have plans for New Year's and a Poker Night penciled in a few weeks down the road. Life could be worse - don't get me wrong. I don't hate my life, I just hate what has happened to parts of it.

So tomorrow is the end of the year and I can start fresh - right? Isn't that the deal? I promise to BLOG more and take more time for myself. I will learn to delegate more once the people who work for me are ready and will stop working such freakin' long hours and have some fun! A few of you have kept me sane these past few months and for that I thank you - Stephanie has been leading the charge with Paul pulling neck-and-neck (look man, a promise of a hockey game will always make me happy)!

Happy New Year to all - I will try to post once I crawl home Sunday morning - it should be fun for most of you to read!

Return of Kong

2005-12-25T23:57:00.000-05:00

Movie Review: King Kong

Sorry for the lack of posts for so long - life is a bitch right now and I just have NO time! I spend it at work, running errands, or sleeping - Have I mentioned that I have been asleep by like 9 or 930pm nightly for a couple of months? I have been that beat - especially working 12-hour days! The only free time I have, I have been at my parents house helping them, or hanging with one of my friends.

I'll start by saying that it has been a slow movie year for me - mostly because my movie-going buddy moving 3000 miles away and left me to fend for myself most nights. Add in that work has gotten completely insane (I mean, this is my first post for December, after all) and I am now in the position my boss was in only two months ago - how bizarre is that?

Luckily, Leslie keeps me in passes, but I have been too sleepy to attend a lot, but I have found a couple of friends to go with me for entertainment - thank goodness. Well, I missed the Kong screening, but it was okay as I knew my brother and sister-in-law would want to see it for our traditional Christmas movie - I just thought there would be more of us in attendance...but I digress.

So Kong - what can I say? Peter Jackson has done it again! It was a little long, a few parts could have been pared down and would not have damaged the integrity of the picture, but overall it was an instant classic! The V-Rexes versus Kong scenes were absolutely incredible, but a little drawn out.

The acting was incredible - including poor Naomi Watts who had to act the entire movie in front of a Green Screen with people pretending to be the 25-foot gorilla - but you cannot even tell. She seemed to fall in love with the CGI-beast without fail and you felt every single emotion expressed on her face (uh, we had a lot of close-ups of her face since it was kinda hard to have dialog with an ape).

It was truly inspired and I know I will own this one without fail. Add it to the ever-expanding collection now - what's one more flick when you have so many? Maybe I'll have to move into a 3-bedroom place next, huh?

The Long Journey Home

2005-11-29T00:05:00.000-05:00

Alas, I am home once again, but not without happy memories and a desire for the Christmas spirit to bite me in the ass!

Unfortunately, I did not have the best in-air experience. Who said people can take cats and dogs on planes. Now look, they banished bags of peanuts for people with peanut allergies, but more people in the world are allergic to dander (and highly allergic to cats) and therefore the cats and dogs should be banished!

Now look, I love animals - I do! However, I just cannot be around them in closed spaces (and just ask my old boss Clare about me in parks with them). I know some of you have pets you need to transport cross-country, but there are other ways.

Luckily, I had a savior names Reiko - the flight attendant who went to bat - and almost to blows - for allergic folks everywhere. I never complained - my eyes swelled up and I had trouble breathing and just tried to sleep through it all, but this woman (the row in front of me) kept taking her dog out of the carrier and petting her vigorously thus releasing tons of dander into the plane - NICE! The woman next to me also had a problem, but she couldn't see the dog, so she had no idea why.

Finally, the passenger put the dog away and kept it away the rest of the flight, but the damage was done. All I could do was thank the flight attendant for her help and hope I made it to Atlanta still breathing!

So I am home and work is gonna be nuts for a couple of weeks, but then the kiddies will be in town for an entire week! How many days left until Christmas??

Tea for Four

2005-11-26T11:02:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law loves to fill up the days and hours with lots of things to do when the family (mostly the parents) are in town for the week, and this time she suggested a Children's Tea. Sounded interesting, but quite the unknown event for me. But it was an afternoon with the ladies (including the littlest lady, Maggie).

We headed to Palo Alto and went to this little tea shop where we were served by two young ladies, one who was only 9 or 10! We each picked our tea (Maggie got her own tea pot with milk in it) and a plate of goodies for each of us. Maggie ended up with 4 little heart-shaped peanut butter sandwiches that she absolutely adored, while the grown-ups had other tea sandwiches, little quiches, tartlets and the like. We had quite a nice time and Maggie was very well-behaved.

This was too much fun - it seemed like such a relaxing way to sit with the girls and talk (and eat) and just enjoy it. I highly recommend it for anyone who might be interested. Now I just have to find tea rooms here AND a group of ladies that might consider making it a monthly event...I can be SUCH a girl sometimes!

A Tale of Two Turkeys

2005-11-25T00:33:00.000-05:00

Happy Turkey Day, one and all (unless you are in Canada)!

A hearty dinner and some full bellies later...

In my family, we have a tradition of deep-frying the turkey - I may have Thanksgiving in California, but we are from the South! My brother makes quite the spectacle of lowering that bird into the hot fat - but DAYHUM isn't it right tasty!

So in order for there to be enough for all AND for turkey sandwiches all weekend (on homemade bread, of course), we have to also roast a turkey. I am of the mind that when you cannot find the perfect recipe, take the best aspects of several and create your own. Not only do you end up with tasty vittles, but you can call it your own ;)!

So I roasted a turkey over some stuffing (yes, I said over) and it was delicious - I wish you could have been there to partake. I'd post the menu, but why torture you?

So I hope you all had just as happy a Turkey Day as we did - here's to the Christmas feast in our short futures!

A Day at the Cirque

2005-11-24T02:49:00.000-05:00

Theatre Review: Corteo

Corteo, meaning a joyful procession, was just that. This centers around a clown who dreams of his own funeral and is a very light a playful atmosphere. In a carnival-like environment, you really get pulled into the wonderment of it all. Tightrope walkers, jugglers, acrobats, flying bicycles, the works!

The music in this version of Cirque was truly inspirational. It was not intrusive, it flowed well with the feelings portrayed in the work on stage. I highly recommend all Cirque Shows honestly - but I still haven't seen a couple of them.

Saltimbanco
Quidam
Dralion
Alegria
Varekai
Mystere
KA
Corteo
"O" - unseen
La Nouba - unseen
Zumanity - unseen

This one is not my favorite, but it was really amazing and well worth the cost of admission. At least I got to see this one now, instead of waiting a year for it to come to Atlanta!

To Market, To Market

2005-11-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

An entire day at the Ferry Building Market and fancy food for lunch - what could be better? Squash Blossoms, Arugula, Asian Pears, Millions of Peppers, my idea of Eden.

So my family and I spent the day on the Bay shopping for fresh fruits and veggies for our Thanksgiving Dinner. We had a pleasant late lunch, including a sampling of breads, chocolates, fruits, and gelatos. And behold, we found the turkey of all turkeys...A Heritage Bourbon Red Turkey! This is the Porshe of turkeys. My brother and I saw red and jumped at the chance. We ordered ourselves one and walked away patting ourselves on the backs for being so alert as to find them.

These turkeys are more along the lines of the original turkeys in this country and have much more flavor then your regular white, almost tasteless birds. However, the deposit we put down on a 14-pound Red was $50...YIKES! So we changed our minds and decided spending $200 for a turkey was a bit extravagant.

Anyway, no worries, it is the Frank household and we can make an extravagant meal without such a bird...but I do want to try it at some point.

Nothing else exciting to report (not that the above is anything to write home about). Ahhhhh, the Bay Area. Oh, how I miss it!

A Well-Deserved Break

2005-11-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

Vacation at last! A nice long trip to San Francisco with my family to spend a very happy and fruitful week for Thanksgiving.

I'm leaving work here in a couple of hours and look forward to the long plane ride across the country to see my Peanut (nephew) and my Punkin (niece). Nothing is better than taking a week off from work and cooking and eating good food, right?

Now if everyone would just leave me alone until 1pm, then maybe I can waste my last bit of time without interruption!

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

Difficult Times Lie Ahead, Harry

2005-11-15T06:16:00.000-05:00

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Let me preface by saying just this - this is the best Harry Potter movie to date. That said, and sicne many people in the world have NOT seen this yet, there are no spoilers ahead, unless you do NOT read the books.

The Dark Mark has re-emerged and this can mean only one thing - Death Eaters! Not only is this the most dangerous time for Harry due to the return of Voldemort's henchmen, but also because people are conspiring to bring Harry face-to-face with the Dark Lord by entering him in the Triwizard tournament - a Wizardy School triathalon pitting the 3 schools against each other (Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang) for the unlimtate prize, the Triwizard cup.

This is by far, the darkest of the movies so far, but this makes sense since it was the darkest (and longest) of the books so far. But honestly, I felt this was one of the truest adaptations. Look, there was nothing about Hermione liberating House Elves, but it was no great loss.

All the tasks were brought to life brilliantly by Mike Newell. I was on the edge of my seat, chearing Harry on, and found myself holding my breath several times during the 2 hours and 45 minutes of the flick.

This is what sequals and adaptations should be - Hollywood, take note. You must see this movie if you have enjoyed any of the previous films or any of the books. This is the reason I love movies and spend my time in the dark theatres. See this film!

A special "shout out" to Leslie for the pleasant surprise in my mailbox. This was the best pass I have received thus far. Thanks for taking such good care of me and my habits!

Land Ho!

2005-11-11T23:02:00.000-05:00

I finally am home, have napped a bit and now am wide awake! From Manila, to Tokyo, to LA, to Atlanta - lots of sleep, a few meals and several movies later and it is great to be home!

So there is nothing exciting about this trip home except that I am glad it's over. The most exhausting part of my entire trip was my driver from the airport - Robbie. Wow, that guy can talk! I guess it was good that he kept me awake, but seriously, such a name-dropper...and I am nobody so why does he care?

At least the LA airport provided some entertainment in the form of people watching. The fashions (both clothes and hair) were a sight to see, but seeing poor Kirk Cameron being mobbed by teenage girls and old ladies was the icing on the cake. The guy was just trying to get a Latte at Starbucks. Anyway, his travelling companion was an evangelist of some kind handing out million dollar bills with Christian messages on them. Very odd and somewhat surreal.

Personally, I was much more impressed that I saw a soap star I recognized, Becky Herbst. I'm a girl, what can I say :)

I'm just happy to be home for a minute before I head to SFO for Thanksgiving!

McDo's and McDon'ts

2005-11-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

Every country has a different McDonald's menu. While shopping in the mall across from our hotel, Julia said she wanted to go into the restaurant to look at the menu. Little did we know, that such an act would cause such side-splitting laughter for me and Traci.

Introducing the McDo.

Honestly, we had no idea what it was, what was on it, nothing, but the name just sent us into such a fit of laughter, that we had to walk out of the restaurant. Turns out, it is a hamburger with some Honey-Barbecue sauce. Couple that with the McSpaghetti and the Corn-Dipped Ice Cream Cone, and Traci and I would never recover.

I will admit, that most of you needed to be there for this to be so hysterical, but imagine if you will 3 women who were road wearily, sleep deprived and shopping at the equivalent of 11pm in Atlanta. Yeah...we lost it.

The side effects of such an outing were the subsequent conversations about the "McDo Flu," an ailment that apparently causes your ankles to swell, constant laughter and a flightiness that can only be attributed to our crazy gang of CS misfits.

I need sleep!

The Long Road Back Again

2005-11-05T23:00:00.000-05:00

Hello my friends. Sorry it has been so long since I have posted, but many things have been happening at work and my job recently got a lot bigger. I have a new boss (yes, Chester is now my peer) and more responsibility. However, I did get a team of my very own and I couldn't be happier. The catch? Well, two people on the new team have not been in customer service at this company before, and therefore have no knowledge of our customer calls, or systems, our agents. Wow, you are thinking my name should be Unlucky Lindy, right? Nope! I have good folks who are eager to learn and absorb and therefore we are in Manila once again!

After a day and a half of travelling (yuck), here we are in the fancy Shangri-La in Makati City living it up! Today, my good friend, Exx, and his girlfriend, Cathy, took us to the mall - Greenhills. Now Traci, one of my newbies, had not been here before, but had heard all about my pearl shopping experience, and therefore that was the first stop. And boy, did I make a dent...in the checkbook, that is.

Traci bought many things, mostly for family and friends, including a watch for her husband and a bag for her sister...she has to learn to buy for herself too! Julia missed out - she is under the weather (some combo of sinuses and migraine) and she decided to stay in bed (smart thinking). Exx, being ever the host, offered to take her again later in the week.

This being my 3rd stay here, apparently that warranted an upgrade to an Executive Suite (ooooo, fancy). I feel SO special!

I'm not sure what the rest of our day will hold, but it should prove interesting. Stay tuned for more from the Philippines!

4 8 15 16 23 42 = 108!

2005-10-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Television Review: "Lost"

Sorry I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks, but remember that bug I thought I had...well, I still have it and I don't think it is just a bug now. So I have spent the past 2 weeks eating nothing but mashed potatoes, soup and bread...anything else enters my body and I get horribly sick. I'm walking around in a constant state of nausea and have gone days at a time with out consuming anything! Not fun.

So today, after all the water cooler discussions here at work, I decided to turn from the big screen to the small one and talk about the best show on television today - LOST.

I will start by saying that I have been a long time fan of J.J. Abrams - his writing has been incredible for close to 15 years and I remain addicted. From his screen writing for Regarding Henry and Forever Young (we'll just ignore Armageddon), to his breakthrough TV gems of "Felicity" and "Alias", J.J. spins a tale like no other.

After Season One, I thought to myself, they cannot keep this level of effort up for yet another season, can they? But truly, they have. Now, I will preface this by saying that the following are theories, not Spoliers. These are just some revelations my Lost buddies and I have come up with. But let's start with the obvious, but not-so-obvious items.

The Numbers:
These numbers are everywhere. Some people may have missed it, but all throughout Season One, they seemed to pop up all over the place. Dates spoken, times spoked - Mr. Rutherford's time of death, 8:15 - soccer jersey numbers, medicine vials, even the flight number - all have the core 6 numbers in them...until Season Two, this was it for the numbers...now we have a new number - 108. Well this number, duh why didn't we think of this before, is the sum of the mysterious 6 numbers...oooooo, intrigue.

The Tailies:
The 23 survivors from the tail section on the plane. They have dwindled in numbers - why? Most likely, they are being tortured by the Others. Or this mysterious disease has gotten them. My first thought was that this was an Alive scenario, but I have since thought better of it.

The Others:
Are these the Tailies? I think not - I think these are a different set of people hiding on the island. They are the ones who stole Danielle's baby and this is the group where Ethan came from...remember him? The Others like to kidnap children. Did this crash occur just to get Walt?

Walt:
Some sort of "special" kid. He makes things happen on the island by thinking of them - the Polar Bear from the comic book. He appears as an apparition to Shannon and the only discernable word out of his mouth, if I was reading lips right, was "button." So he knows about the button...hmmmmm.

The Button:
Does it or doesn't it? Is it the way to prevent something unspeakable from happening? What might happen if 108 minutes pass and the button isn't pressed?

The Orientation Film:
What is missing? That movie jumped around too much to not have been spliced. I worked in movie theatres too long not to recognize the tell-tale splicing. Something was cut out of that movie...but what? What was too disturbing to show, or what did the first hermit cut out so that Desmond would stick around?

Desmond:
Hermit #2 with amazing healing powers...is he sent from the heavens? I feel like he had something to do with Mrs. Dr. Jack's healed spine and Locke's sudden ability to walk again. And where is he running to and what will happen when he gets there? This is not the last of him...and are his powers tied to Walt's?

Locke:
Why was he in that wheelchair? What happened between his lady friend catching him at his dad's house again and him being unable to walk? Why does he have these survival skills (and all those knives) if he worked at a box company and a toy store? And what is his fascination with certain survivors...Kate, Boone, Claire?

Claire and Charlie & Shannon and Sayid:
Will they or won't they? Will this show ever go there? C'mon, they have been on this island for 40 some odd days - people are getting close - are you telling me there is no action going on here? Even on Survivor, it takes less than 39 days for 2 people to hook up. They have to go there soon - we can only suspend disbelief for so long...

The Hatch:
...And then there were 2. So the Original 42 have a hatch and the 23 Tailies have a hatch (notice the numbers) - what is going on with the hatches? Observation posts? Why do they need such powerful magnets? Well, magnets do mess with navigational systems - this is probably why no one has found the island on purpose...

That's all I can think of at the moment - I may build on these theories more later.

Are you watching this show, too? If so, feel free to respond with your own theories - I would love to read them. If not, why not? What are you afraid of? If you too are sucked into this - check out The Fuselage and Oceanic Airlines...these are some great sites!

Stroke of Luck

2005-10-05T22:14:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: The Greatest Game Ever Played

Yet another Mommy Movie since I was in San Francisco - this is a nice little tradition my sister-in-law and I have. Believe it or not, it is always quite enjoyable!

This week was an interesting choice, but actually a pretty decent movie. Look, if this had not been the chosen movie for the Reel Moms, I probably would not have seen it in the theatres - let's be honest. But I certainly didn't feel like my time was wasted in any way.

So let's discuss the odd and varied carrer of Bill Paxton to start. Believe it or not, he is the director of this flick and I would have to say that he did a very nice job in creating the right mood and atmosphere. He has come a long way from the days of the Fish Heads music video - one of my personal favorites! Honestly, I think this was the most redeeming quality of this movie - the direction and cinematography - it made it worthwhile.

Now, I'm not implying that the acting of the young Shia LaBeouf wasn't good - it was - but I feel like he left something on the table...something was missing here. What he did, he did well, but he still has some work to do on his craft. I don't know what it is, but he always seems the same to me not matter what the emotion - but let's face it, he IS young.

After the movie, we had a nice lunch and headed home. Unfortunately, by the time we got home I was violently ill and ended up flying home ill (thank goodness I had an entire 3 seats to myself to stretch out and sleep). Today sucked as I was still terribly ill - I can't seem to keep anything down...BLECH. Not the way I wanted to end my trip at all!

An Incredible Birthday

2005-10-03T12:39:00.000-04:00

How can it be? How does time fly by so quickly anyway? It seems almost unnatural for Maggie to be 4 years old already. I remember holding her as a baby and watching her take her first steps and hearing her first words...

Now it is 2005 and Maggie and I have long and quite cohesive telephone conversations. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it! Starting with her birthday cake for her 4th birthday party (which was held yesterday). Maggie has known for some time that she wanted an Aunt D chocolate cake and that she wanted The Incredibles in a purple bubble on it..."all of them, Aunt D, even Jack Jack"

Okay, well, let me start by explaining that I am not a great artist - I just cannot draw. Pen and paper is hard enough, but try using an icing bag! So I had been stressing over how I was going to draw 5 superheros in a purple bubble (for those of you who don't know, the "purple bubble," as Maggie likes to call it, is the force field that Violet uses as her super-power). However, I had an epiphany - bakeries have been putting kids' school photos and the like on cakes for a few years now. All I had to do was find a bakery willing to do a scan for me and not have me buy the cake from them...enter Christina, my sister-in-law. She called a local place and they said it was no problem - $12. BOOK IT!

So here is the end result:

I'm happy with it and Maggie was happy with it - what more can I say? All in all it was a great birthday experience for Maggie and she will hopefully remember it always!

The Reincarnation of the Browncoats

2005-09-28T10:08:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Serenity

"JOSS WHEDON IS MY MASTER NOW," so sayeth a T-shirt or two at the screening last night of this fall's most anticipated TV to Big Screen adaptation to hit the theatres - only this time it isn't really an adaptation, but more of an homage, or episodes 12 and 13 some might say. This is on sci-fi western that has been sorely missed on the little screen by fans and those same fans herald its return to multiplexes everywhere!

Universal Studios has been really wise about the release of such an anticipated film – screen it for 6 months to all the fans out there (Browncoats) and let them spread the word – they call that marketing genius.

I do want to state that you do not have to be a fan of the show to enjoy this movie – many members of last night’s audience admittedly had never watched Firefly, and they were some of the most vocal!

This flick has some big surprises while keeping the feel of the TV show. It explained so much, yet opened up many new questions for those of us dying to know. Now if this can do some good box office money and allow us either TV or another movie, I will be a very happy camper!

The Little Lady Vanishes

2005-09-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Flightplan

Good, not great. I have to start by stating this fact (which should be obvious to most). You spend most of this movie trying to figure out if Jodie Foster is crazy or just plain insane. Personally, I was fitting her for a rubber room most of the movie, but I will give her credit for exercising her acting chops quite convincingly.

Now, as for plausibility - Red Eye was better at the mid-air terror plot-wise, but Flightplan was more brilliantly photographed. I was not really on the edge of my seat for this one, but I was not entirely disappointed. Now, the mystery of the plot - I figured out too early. It was not a complete waste of time or money, but you could wait for the Netflix queue for this one and not lose anything.

I would have to say that I would not mind traveling on such a lush airplane on my trips to the Philippines, but at least give me better Flight Attendants. At least for a laugh, you need to check out this article for some entertainment...it makes seeing this movie worthwhile and begs the question - "What is this world coming to?" By all means, compare the impact of 9/11 and a Hollywood movie - that makes sense?!?

Wedding the Dead

2005-09-21T09:02:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

The vision and creativity of Tim Burton never fails to amaze me - and this new stop-motion installment is no different.

Let me preface this review by stating that this movie is NOT for everyone. However, if you are a fan of such gems as Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, this movie should delight you just as much.

This movie is witty and ghoulish, funny and deranged, dark and gothic. This is the Runaway Groom meets Night of the Living Dead version of animation and the irony that ensues is well worth the 90 minutes of entertainment.

The characters - all all-star voice cast – make this story what it is. The Everglots, an aristocratic family who is down on their luck (and funds) have decided to marry off their daughter Victoria to the local nouveaux riche fishmonger couple's son, Victor. After much performance anxiety, Victor runs to the woods to practice his vows. When he places the ring on what appears to be a branch, suddenly he is faced with the Corpse Bride. As it happens, she was murdered on the eve of her wedding and has been waiting for her groom ever since – thus hilarity ensues.

Honestly, this is a love story albeit a bit whacky. Every move is beautifully sculpted and beings both the land of the living and the land of the dead to life! Even the chorus-line of singing and dancing skeletons seems completely normal, yet brilliantly executed.

Take the time, but not the kids…this one is a little too goth for the younger folk.

It's a Wonderful Afterlife

2005-09-19T09:06:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Just Like Heaven

I am a sucker for romantic comedies - ask anyone who knows me. I see most of them and get some form of enjoyment from them, even if they are less than stellar; however this movie is exactly what it needed to be - fun and entertaining and highly recommendable!

Let's start with the ever-fabulous, Reese Witherspoon. I see why she feels this is her favorite of the movies she has made. She is funny and delightful as the crazy cat lady (without a cat) who had no life but her work. Elizabeth finds herself in the same outfit for days having found a hunky man (enter Mark Ruffalo) has moved into her apartment when she thought she still lived there. Unable to forcibly remove him (a funny bit of her running at him and flying out the window was good for some sniggers), she finds herself without a memory of who she is or what she does.

A movie full of twists and turns, most of which you did not see coming, this flick is refreshing and focuses on two very damaged individuals trying to learn to cope with each other as well as themselves.

A fun and humorous supporting cast includes the always enjoyable Donal Logue as the not-so-therapeutic psychologist friend and the forever Napoleon Dynomite-esque Jon Heder who has "the gift" and helps meld the otherworldly and the reality of a spirit who just won't go into the light - and believe me, they both lend plenty of levity and zaniness to this movie to help round it out.

Hardly just a chick-flick, but plenty of scenes to you make think it is, there is fun for the guys as well - especially the well-developed "hot girl" who lives downstairs and likes to dress in workout clothes or nothing at all. Enjoy, boys!

Taking Flight

2005-09-11T12:10:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Red Eye and Valiant

The worst part about migraines in the inability to withstand the daylight. What makes things worse is that my apartment has many windows without curtains (yes, I must remedy this). So instead of suffering at home, I decided I would kill 2 birds with one stone and see some movies. At least it is dark in the theatres, right?

First up, Wes Craven's newest thriller. Now the past few movies from Mr. Craven have not even interested me enough to spend the cash and actually leave my house. This one was different. I really enjoyed it. It was the right balance of terror and was in no way over the top. Nothing seemed predictable, and having such strong characters was refreshing.

Look - it isn't going to win any Oscars, and it certainly isn't a scare-fest like Mr. Craven's previous fare, but it is worth the time and money to get to the theatre to enjoy a good movie. Plus, it was quite nice to see that there is life after reality TV and it took the form of Colby Donaldson playing a secret service agent and doing it wuite well, I might add.

Afterwards, I walked down the hall to see the pigeon-flick called Valiant. Honestly, this was more a mission to determine if this was Maggie-friendly or not, plus it was the only movie that was starting after Red Eye (without having to wait 90 minutes).

Ewan McGregor is cute as a little pigeon who wants to be a war hero. This movie was okay for a G-rated animated flick, but better off as a rental for the kids. It had a couple of funny moments, but nothing like the Pixar films of the past...this is why I can't wait for Cars next year. I basically spent the entire movie trying to place voices instead of really following the plot, but it is all about carrier pigeons during World War II. It was cute, but it also made me happy that kids movies are usually barely 90 minutes long.

This will be a busy week for flicks, so look for more reviews to come.

Maggie and Willie and Molly and May

2005-09-06T10:24:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting about my trip out with the kiddies, but as soon as I got back it was a non-stop barrage of work crap. Also, I decided to make the weekend a long, lazy, but productive one, so I stayed off the computer except to do catering stuff.

So I arrived in SFO late on Saturday night and was completely spent. Maggie and my brother came to the airport to pick me up and as soon as Maggie saw me, she unbuckled her seatbelt and did a little dance in the backseat - she could not wait to give me a big hug! We headed for home and I could not have been happier!

So we walked in the door and a friend of ours was there. She had come over for dinner and to see me, which was cool. I sat down for a bite of home cooking and Maggie pulled up a chair right next to me. She insisted on sitting close while I ate and tell me all about her day. I gave her the presents I brought her and she loved her toy Jeepney. She went to my room and picked out my PJs for the night (blue cloud PJs, just like her) and had me read her a bedtime story.

The weekend was great. We went to a 4-year old birthday party on Sunday and I got to watch Maggie play on the gymnastics equipment. She insisted I take lots of pictures of her and walk around with her.

After the party, we had a nice lunch of homemade pancakes and bacon (Maggie insists I make her pancakes every time I come and visit). Will was very attentive and I finally got my hands on him. He loves to stand on your thighs - it is like he is trying to jump ahead 9 months and start walking! He is SO adorable and I cannot wait until he does even more tricks next month :)

Maggie and I took an afternoon nap and she learned the benefits of an iPod. I got to help pick her up from school each day and spend the evening with her.

The worst (and also best) part of the trip was when she told me she would be disappointed if I left and to please stay. This choked me up a ton! I explained to her that in order for me to come back for her birthday, I had to go home. And after much ado, she decided that was okay. (snif, snif).

Tuesday night, after dinner and Maggie put on her PJs, she and my brother took me to the airport. She insisted on walking me to the door and giving me lots of hugs and kisses before I left. With tears welling in my eyes, I started walking to the people mover and she is standing in the motor lobby waiving and saying Bye, Buh-Bye, Aunt D! I look back, fighting back tears, and see my brother whispering to her. She then says "Bye, bye...have fun storming the castle, Aunt D!". I just started giggling and then she started giggling. It was great.

After a long overnight flight where I couldn't really sleep, I came home to find that I was locked out of my house. My mother had come over to have some furniture moved and she turned the bolt on her way out, thus keeping me from being able to open the front door. After calling my mom and waking her from a dead sleep, she drove to my rescue and let me in my house. I climbed 2 flights of stairs by the hardest (one of those with my 57 pound suitcase) and flopped into bed. I called my boss and explained that my lack of sleep would hinder me from being productive and I was going to sleep instead of going to work. I woke up almost 12 hours later!

So I am back to see my Maggie and Will in 4 weeks for Maggie's big day and I am already counting the days!

Tuxedo Parade

2005-09-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: La Marche de l'empereur (March of the Penguins)

This is the story of annual trek of Emperor penguins as they fight the elements to arrive at their breeding ground. On the surface, I know it sounds riveting, but truly it was.

I was in San Francisco and my sister-in-law and I did our Tuesday trip to the movie theatre for the Mom's Matinee (thanks to Century Theatres) - see previous post for more info: Begin the Bat.

This was a great film for the entire family - despite the death and sex involved! Considering they are penguins, and you don't really see anything (some heavy petting and balls of fur covered in snow), it is a very tame movie. The amazing piece is how these penguins survive and keep their young alive. I was enthralled and had no idea what penguins went through to keep their species alive.

The US version of this film was narrated by none other than, the master himself, Morgan Freeman. His voice was very nurturing and really played well with the film. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested...and even if you aren't, maybe you should be?!

Posts Delayed!

2005-09-05T23:09:00.000-04:00

Hey gang -

So as you can see, I finally got the posts published from my trip. They have been wasting away in a Word doc for too long and after a lazy weekend, I took the time to put them up. I'll post about SFO tomorrow sometime, for sure!

Thanks all for checking in while I was gone, I'm just sorry I didn't have anything up for you to read when you got here...enjoy the multi-post evening :)

--Lindy ;)

Touchdown San Francisco!

2005-08-27T23:24:00.000-04:00

Wahoo - left my boss and coworkers behind for world's cutest almost 4-year old and she was so happy to see me, she unbuckled her carseat and did a little dance in the backseat! Man, is she adorable!

So I am at home (close enough) and happy to be here. My belly is full with a home-cooked meal and I am ready for sleep...but first, I must allow Maggie to pick out my PJs for the evening and a book or two for me to read to her. Then the sleep will come in a nice cozy bed in a temperate climate (did I mention it's 50 degrees here...AHHHH).

Not sure I will have time to write the next couple of days, but I will do my best for a longer post sometime during the week, folks!

Thanks for being patient!

What Day is It, Anyway?

2005-08-27T02:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, I think I am losing my mind. I have no idea what day or time it is, just that we are getting on a plane in a few hours...I think.

So I get a couple hours to sleep (man I hope I can) and then we are going to have dinner and then head for the airport. After a 16-hour flight (I think), I will be in San Francisco and world's most fabulous niece will meet me at the airport...honestly, that's all that matters right now!!

Shopping - what a trip. For $161 US, I left with 3, super nice, strands of pearls. One for my mom for Christmas...SHHHHHH, and the other two for me. Now, this was after I spent 45 minutes helping my boss pick out pearls for this new girlfriend that he won't cop to...MEN!

Anyway, most of the conversations were him asking me how I knew what was good and what wasn't - c'mon, man...I'm a chick! We are raised this way (some of us are, anyway). It was comical and I think I may lord it over him for a while. Then, I had to help him pick out "sparkly shoes" (they are beaded slippers) for a coworker and again, the man was lost. I just hope Jen likes what I picked out!

Then we did the sleazy thing - we met a guy in a parking garage and looked through his pirated DVDs...and they aren't worth a crap, but they are only $1 a piece...a waste of 30 minutes, if you ask me.

Anywho, I'm catching some Z's before dinner and the airport - not sure when I will have time to write again...not that these are even posted yet :)

Pearls Before Swine

2005-08-26T20:40:00.000-04:00

I'm operating on no sleep and am about to embark on a shopping spree. We have the hook up for great pearls and I, for one, am going to take full advantage!

We are heading to a local mall to a friend of a friend who has a booth to sell her jewelry. Plus, I'm sure we will buy a pirated DVD or two on the trip...

I'll fill you in when I get back :)

Are We Done Yet?

2005-08-25T22:47:00.000-04:00

I am SO ready to go home (well, to SFO anyway).

Another rousing success today, but the sleep deprivation is killing me. I am still under the weather and ready for my own bed.

The big boss is gone, and so is my boss' positive attitude. I knew he couldn't hold out forever. I need a vacation from this trip!!!!

One work-night left and it promises to be a short one. Is it Saturday yet???

2 Call Centers Down...1 To Go

2005-08-24T20:48:00.000-04:00

So last night was a success. Not only did the meetings go well, but I think I may have impressed the new grandboss of my abilities. Nice.

However, I am getting sick of all the fish. I am ready for a real meal and one free of fishy smells.

I have nothing in me tonight folks - sorry to say. I gotta get some sleep.

More tomorrow :)

A Trip to Wonderland?

2005-08-23T23:58:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not, I am now back in Manila. After work, we headed to the airport (and frankly, saw a sight that has scarred me for life) and caught a plane back here for days 3, 4, & 5. This was an interesting journey as it was me, Clay, Kevin, my boss, his boss and 2 other VPs (Kyle and Scott). This trip was insane as no one was on their best behavior...how fun!

So let me explain the game that lead to this disturbing bus ride. Jessee (my co-worker) commented the last time we were here that he was looking forward to counting the pee-ers...Cebu is very rural and people (mostly men) often relieve themselves on the side of the roads. Jessee, being the odd duck that he is, likes to count these people for sport. Our boss kept telling Jessee that he would not see as many as 3, however women count as 2 points and anyone taking a dump (pardon my bluntness) would count as 3 points. Jessee insists he has seen a 3-pointer before, but I cannot imagine that to be true...

Well, I spoke too soon. We are driving along and Clay cries out "OH MY GOD" and burries his head in the carseat. Of course, we all turn. And there, leaving up against a tree...well, let your mind do the rest. 3 points! Like I said - SCARRED FOR LIFE!

Enough about bodily functions.

After we checked into the hotel in Makati, some of us were hungry so we went to the buffet at the restaurant called Circles. Well, they had just transitioned from breakfast to lunch, which was a thrill! So we dug in. The boys got alcohol and I stuck with Coke (it is hot enough in this country, I need no alcohol to raise my body temperature at all)!

Well, the madness began. So my boss, has recently stayed in a great mood, which we all have determined means he has a girlfriend. Not sure how that happened, but he has dropped many a hint concerning dates, cooking dinner for someone, etc. I have a theory that this woman works with us, but my team does not buy it one bit. I'm actually determined to confirm my suspicions on this sojourn.

After a scotch or two (including my giving him crap for mixing a single malt with water and ice), he drops her name. Huzzah! I knew it. Victory is mine. Now, while you may not think this is evidence, it isn't. However, after he said her name, Kyle looked right at me and winked - there was my proof! I'm not done, but I know I am on the right track.

After a few more drinks, I found myself falling asleep at the table and decided I should head to my room (where it should be close to 5 degrees by now) and catch some Z's. Apparently, I was not the only one who felt this way as quickly the other 4 followed me out...

So here I sit, awake, looking for something to lull me into sleep...maybe the iPod will do the trick.

Goodnight all!

Only the Goofy Must Rule

2005-08-23T18:04:00.000-04:00

Day 2 in Cebu, Philippines and I got to spend it with my new Senior Veep. Can I just say, he is a crazy man. Trading barbs with his direct reports and making light of just about everything, was so entertaining...it didn't hurt that my boss was a butt of a few jokes. I can get used to this!

So there was a big celebration here this morning - a real live pig roast. Okay, well the pig was really roasted elsewhere, but they hacked up that puppy right outside.

The reps put together a video and did a dance all to celebrate an award they won (plus it didn't hurt that the bog bosses were in town)!

We are about to head for the airport and I have to power down. Later gators!

Just Another Day at the Beach

2005-08-22T20:52:00.000-04:00

So day one has come and gone. It was a long day in the training room teaching the new kids how to do something new. It was nice to show up at the office and have my name on an office door all my own...I feel so special :)

It can be nerve-wracking to stand in front of a bunch of people and try to teach them - I never really thought I had the knack for it. But today was easy as tomorrow comes the harder part.

Tomorrow, the grand-boss arrives and I get to attend all-day, high-level meetings and try to show I am worth my salt. The guy seems cool, but I think this may be the TRUE test for me.

So far the boss has been cool. The tempers have stayed pretty even and I don't want to kill him yet, but stay tuned, folks!

Sleep is coming early tonight!

30 Hours to Anywhere

2005-08-22T00:18:00.000-04:00

So after worlds longest trek - even moreso since I am dying from a sinus infection - scary, but it feels true - and I finally get to the hotel and they put me in a smoking room...I already have a hard enough time breathing.

So they moved me - thank god! After an exhausting trip and a couple of fevers, it's nice to have a comfy bed and air conditioning once again!

My trip was not that exciting except for a run-in with a flight attendant who just kept insisting on putting raw seafood in front of me...it took me 5 tries and then showing my Medic-Alert bracelet to get him to take it away. However, not before me told me not to be hostile! How rude! Life or death, man...

So it is time for sleep...my long week begins with me trying to sleep during the daylight. At least I slept for 10 hours on the plane. Thank goodness for iPods!

More to come...

Missing the Left Coast

2005-08-12T08:26:00.000-04:00

I have been back in Georgia for 15 months and it is about that time that California starts to beckon me home...

Granted, I was pretty much raised in Georgia and all of my friends and half my family is here, but the most important part of my family today is in San Francisco. The main problem is that while I love it here for all it's quirks, I get a lot of benefits from being here - most of all, cost of living. So what is the draw to SFO, you ask?

This is what one would call the sweetest faces of all time! And they are calling to me day and night.

Here is my dilemma...first, these kids are my life...my family. I have discussed with my brother my need for involvement and he is toally on board (it doesn't hurt them to have a babysitter living nearby). What I think it really comes down to is figuring out what works best for me and for them. So there are a couple of choices:

1) Stay here and earn my sabbatical (261 days) and during my sabbatical, go stay in SFO and find a job to move me back out.

2) Stay with EarthLink and find a job in Pasadena (this puts me 4 hours away)

3) Scrap it all and go live like a bum on my brother's couch :)

We'll see. Nothing is going to happen today...or tomorrow. It's just active thoughts in my head. I get pictures and I start to think about how close Maggie and I are and a lot of that has to do with my being around so much early-on. Will doesn't have that I and sincerly hope that Maggie talks to him about me all the time!

Decisions, Decisions

2005-08-11T08:54:00.000-04:00

So this week has been dragging along quite annoyingly and this morning is no different. At least today I get my snazzy new brain (aka Treo 650).

My boss has been particularly rude and cruel and driving me up the fucking wall!

Luckily, yesterday was a short day at work as I had to run some errands to get prepared for the trip to the Philippines. Basically, going to my 2 doctors to get stocked up on my meds and get medical authorizations to carry needles on the planes. No big deal, but time consuming and $40 a pop!

Then, thank god for Vessi, I chopped off my hair! It was over 2 inches too long and I had had no time to get it cut. It was like an enormous weight had been lifted and I feel much better now...and hopefully look better too!

I did get to talk to my sweet Maggie last night when she called me and said she needed helping making Zucchini Boats (stuffed zucchini) and then explained that eventhough she would make them (and she described to me how to scoop out the seeds, spread them out (sauté) and then putting "stuffing" in them), she wouldn't eat the stuffing as it was spicy and meant she would need to drink even more milk than she does already!

Now I ask you, how can your day not improve after such a sweet phone call? It's not possible :)

So here I sit, exhausted with a killer headache, having too much work to do and no time to do it in, completely hating my job, but loving it all the same...and even though it seems that someone is throwing me a lifeline, I will most likely say thanks but no thanks as I have not yet begun to fight and am not really ready for big change.

Sorry to ramble and not make too much sense here...it's been a rough few months!

Nothing Like a Boring Weekend

2005-08-08T08:37:00.000-04:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I detest the phone...ironic really since I work in call centers, but I did do my best to get off the phones rather quickly? I am, however, quite good on the phone, I just hate it. At least if I have to talk on the phone, let it be with someone I want to talk to :)

So this weekend was pretty dull and boring from the outside looking in, but I loved every minute of it. It was laundry, cooking, cleaning, stitching, watching movies and mindless TV and not having to be anywhere at any time...it was fabulous! The OLN is showing Survivor reruns and even though I think I have seen most episodes (okay, except for that crappy season or 2 in the middle), I am sucked right back in. It's much better storing up 8 episodes before you watch...fast forwarding over eating of disgusting creatures and naked Richard Hatch. It makes for a mindless weekend, for sure!

Then, there was an interruption...the phone. ARGH! So much for the silence. Now who would call and ruin my perfectly perfect weekend? An Ex, of course. So it's been enough months that the bad penny has decided to turn up yet again. Now actually, that isn't really fair. He is a really good guy and he cares for me deeply, but each time my phone rings, I know it is him, usually defeated by life and looking for love again and wanting to get back with me.

Don't get me wrong, I care for him very much, but I just am not in love with him...believe me, I wish I was. He has family issues and therefore has grown up all screwed up and I have picked up the pieces enough for anyone in a lifetime. His parents would rather have me as their daughter than him as their son - how f-ed up is that, I ask you?

Anyway, we had a good conversation and I was not too harsh. He asked me to meet him for coffee, which was a repeat of the last time he called me. This time, I said no. Now honestly, I would love to say that it was will-power talking, but I was in grubby shorts and a t-shirt with my hair on top of my head with no particular order to it and absolutely NO makeup on at all...and my legs weren't shaved! My saving grace :)

So we ended up talking for quite a long time as I, for once, had lots of things to catch him up on...people moving out west, crazy turns in my job, a new nephew, etc. He wanted to fill me in on his current cheffing job and how he misses all his old friends. He said nothing about his dad, step mom or mom, but did talk about his sisters (which was nice as I know them all and had been seriously lacking for news). Then it started...why can't we try again?!

It is exhausting to have this conversation every six months, and I seriously considered changing my phone number. I love him; I'm just not in love with him. He will always be young and think that things will just miraculously work out no matter what the problems are. I need more maturity than that (I say this having drooled over 20-somethings in meetings the last 3 weeks). I just need to find him the right woman so he and I can remain friends. Problem being, I can't seem to find a man of my own, so I should probably work on that instead of helping other people's love lives.

Anyway...the hunt continues...without any time for hunting. I'm back at work, putting in my 60-hour weeks and wishing for a vacation or maybe just a little trip to Neverland!

A Basic Lack of Time

2005-08-04T06:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry it has been an entire week, but my time has not been my own for at least that long. Between this major project at work and helping organize and throw my friend Vanessa her baby shower, I really have not sat at a computer for more than 20 minutes at a time in the past 7 days.

In order to stay ahead of the curve, I took Friday off to make a baby shower cake and help my mom with her personal chef tasks for the week. The day was pretty long, but very successful.

Saturday was the shower and it seemed to be a big hit! We had great food, fun activities and great girl-time. Most importantly, the guest of honor seemed to be very happy and after all, that was the main goal of the day :)

Sunday was putting finishing touches on the cooking and deliver the personal chef food to the client. I have the Jeep, so it makes it very easy to deliver. After a very long weekend, I was almost happy to go back to work on Monday...until it was Monday and I was back in all day meetings.

So here it is Thursday morning and I am headed back to work for more meetings (luckily, I think I may get out halfway through the day). I do actually have another job I have been absent from for over 3 weeks. I'm supposed to travel to Manila/Cebu in a couple of weeks and I really do not have the time to spare...not that my boss gives a shit. Apparently, I don't already have enough to do so he keeps giving me more responsibility - not that my 2005 goals reflect ANY of them. I gotta get a new gig. Anything away from the nightmare that is my boss these days.

The bright side of travel to Manila is that it appears we are travelling through San Francisco...Maggie and Will time!!!! I made a pronouncement to my boss last week that said, if we travel through the SFO airport, then I am staying a couple days to see my family...honestly, it is the least he can do and he should NOT make me use vacation time for it...yeah, that won't happen! I'll deal - it will be happy Maggie and Will time and therefore it will be worth a little pain...note - I said little...

Well - I'm off to work and another long day and more exhaustion. I barely have time to breathe these days, much less sit at my desk...and unfortunately, there is not an end in site for 6 months...(sigh)

My Own Lex Luthor...and Other Yummy Men

2005-07-28T06:43:00.000-04:00

So this week has sucked! You have all been privy to my bitching about the hours I am putting in at work, but honestly, I hit 40 hours after I was at work about 90 minutes today...that is sad, even for me. Thank god I took tomorrow off! More about that in a minute...

In all these meetings I am in, I am sitting within view of many hunky and/or cute men. There are men from my own company, and men from a consulting firm. Some speak with accents (and I prefer that they do) and some are just pretty to look at. As Hugh Grant would say, I am this shallow!

The meetings have gone by pretty quickly; it is just the running around from meeting to meeting that really killed me yesterday. I had a 3 hour break from this project so I could meet about another project (outsourcing the last bit of call center folks). This project kills me as it means the end of having a lot of old friends here at work and I feel like I haven't really had the time to let this idea truly sink in. I think when these folks aren't here anymore that I will really dislike this place. It makes me want to cry.

When I went to this other meeting, I wasn't expecting to have Lex Luthor sitting across the table from me. I mean, don't get me wrong, but I have never really been attracted to bald men (expect on the big or small screen), but it was a pleasant surprise. So that meeting was cool and it ended up not being at all stressful as I was worried it might be so I sauntered down to the meeting on my other project, where there were no cute men yesterday…such a disappointment. At least I had some Lex time.

So this morning should prove to be interesting. I have no project meetings and can actually sit at my desk all day and get the work for my real job done. Nice thought, eh?

My boss seems to think that I am invincible and can do the work for 3 or 4 people and not crack under the pressure...the positive feedback I get is great, but I would like to be able to get home before 9pm and actually attend the screenings I have passes for. I would like to have a life outside of work and find someone fun to hang out with and I dunno...date!?

My boss is lucky right now that I don't march in his office and tell him to shove it and walk right out the door. I think about it multiple times daily and if I didn't work with such fabulous people who are sympathetic and see what I go through on a daily basis (plus my countdown clock on my monitor), I would have said some horrible things to him more than once in the last couple of weeks. Having a boss that doesn't trust you in the least is crap - especially when he continues to pile up the work on you and gives you a hard time when his own boss gives you kudos.

Byte me!

Off to work and another day of hell...I need to just walk around and look at the pretty men some more...and find the cute consultants and make them talk to me, just so I can listen! This will help me escape in my own world for a while 

Fred Has Lost His Touch (Movie Spoilers Ahead)

2005-07-25T08:14:00.000-04:00

Hello, my name is Lindy and I am 32 and a Harry Potter addict...deal with it!

Let me fill you in on an interesting set of developments on the local Atlanta radio scene this past weekend. I listen to the morning show on 99X - I enjoy the show quite a bit - most days - but I mostly listen because a friend of mine is on it (Leslie has been previously praised on this blog quite a bit). Anyway, I listen to the show starting at 5:30 each morning until I get into work around 7:00 - sometimes 7:30, sometimes 8:00. Some days when Leslie isn't on, I will tune to NPR instead, depending on how entertaining the show may be.

So Friday, I'm driving into work and listening to the show. Leslie does her news brief and mentions some girl from Kansas or something who was disappointed in the ending of Harry Potter Book 6. 'Nuff said...move on. Not for Freddy Toucher - oh no! He has to start making fun of Harry Potter and this 13-year-old girl from middle-America. Anyway, some jackass caller says he read the book and threw it down at the end he was so upset with the ending. Leslie jumps in and says, don't ruin it! But no, not enough for Fred - before I realize it, he asks "What happens?". I hear 2 words. I can't turn off the radio fast enough - I even swerved the car. I decide to just switch the station, but I can't with the power off.

I turn the radio on soon enough to hear the cast talking about how the adults that read these books are parents of kids, but truly guys, many adults without kids read these because they are so entertaining! So I switch to NPR and let that be that.

I get home and get my mail and there is my Entertainment Weekly with Daniel Radcliffe on the cover. I start flipping through and find disclaimers warning of book spoilers, so I put the magazine under something heavy and move on. I spend all weekend avoiding any media so the ending cannot be ruined. All I know is someone dies, which the author had released a couple of months back. Crisis averted!

Day 4 of Pottergate and I am stupid enough to listen to 99X again this morning. They decide they are going to replay what happened on Friday so Harry Potter fans beware...then he says it...3 little words (and actually, Jimmy may have done that, but I cannot be sure). Before I could switch the channel, they blurt out (clearly on purpose) the 3 words that spoil the ending for me. I yelped as I could not get to the other room to turn off the radio fast enough...assholes!

So since it is ruined (I'm only 1/3 of the way through the book), I continue to listen. 2 blocks from work, Toucher is reading one of the 200+ nastygrams he got over this fiasco and reads "if you want to really piss off listeners, the culprit is..." So NPR it was, and will be until I complete the book.

Look, I do my best to support the station since they do keep me well supplied with movie passes and I only end up paying for half of my yearly flicks, but this time he went too far!

So Fred - let me just throw out a few for you:
The Crying Game - She's a MAN!
The Sixth Sense - Bruce Willis is really dead!
The Usual Suspects - Kevin Spacey is Keyser Soze
Fight Club - Ed Norton is really Tyler Durden!
Psycho - His mother is dead!
Vertigo - She was already dead and was being impersonated by a twin!
Gosford Park - The maid did it!
Presumed Innocent - The wife did it!
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back - Darth Vader is Luke's father!
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi - Luke and Leia are siblings (ewww....they kissed)
Planet of the Apes - It's Earth!
Identity - All the people are in John Cusack's head - he's crazy!
Vanilla Sky - It's a dream!

Divorced White Female Seeks a Box Office Success

2005-07-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Must Love Dogs

I have to say that romantic comedies still get me to the theatre, despite past flops that had me considering otherwise. This movie made me glad that I keep trying, even if my expectations are considerably low.

Let me start by saying that John Cusack still does a great job playing the romantic lead, even if that lead is as oddball as his Jake is. Diane Lane is equally enthralling as someone so vulnerable that she will even throw her rulebook out the window (even I have been there!)

So just a quickie review here - preschool teacher recently divorced is wallowing in self-pity has a family who meddles and a love life that is non-existent. Meanwhile across town, recently divorced boat craftsman seeks Doctor Zhivago loving female who is neurotic and off the wall just like him. Oh yeah - they both Must Log Dogs. Now, ladies and gentlemen, let the fun ensue!

This is a decent date movie with a few laughs and an almost too honest look at what the dating world is like out there, single or divorced. I was sufficiently entertained for close to 2 hours and it didn't feel like close to 2 hours. I wasn't sorry to spend the $7 and see this before most of the world - one less thing to get seen!

Surf's Up!

2005-07-22T06:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a full-day meeting on this major project I mentioned earlier in the week. Not that I mind an entire day away from my email, but now I am just 1 day behind in everything else.

I ended up having to give a presentation on all our tools and systems with no notice...the only positive was that cute boys were trapped in the room with me all day...I enjoy suffering when I am not alone and have something to look at! These meetings seemed productive, only time will tell.

Unfortunately, this meeting identified me as needing to be in today's all day meeting and a half day meeting on Monday (sigh).

Something I didn't mention as part of my movie-going experience on Wednesday was that I finally met some of the crazy people. By that I mean the group of Usual Suspects (US) Angie and I always saw at all the screenings - this is what happens when you don't take a partner in crime with you. So, it's all Angie's fault.

So I get there really early - I had no idea how the crowd and/or traffic would be, so I got there 2 hours before it was going to start - this is not unusual. Anyway, the only other person in line was this guy, Jeff, one of the US's. Since it is just 2 of us in line, the small talk began and it was all downhill from there. Don't get me wrong, Jeff is a nice guy, but it's all just weird. And here I was complaining about taking Ryan with me...again, I blame Angie...and she knows it.

As time dragged on, Jeff introduced me to a few other US's and they were nice enough - I think they thought of me the same Angie and I thought of them. The biggest difference here is they like to sit on the front row of the Stadium section, and I prefer a few rows back (whew).

I really need to find a permanent movie-buddy... one that isn't shopping screenplays in Hollywood. Yeah, yeah...poor pitiful me :)