I Can't Think, So YOU Pay!

I am lollygagging around trying to think of something interesting to post. Since I can't think of anything "interesting" per say, I decided to go with retarded.

-American Idol was ridiculous last night. Hush, I mean more ridiculous than usual. It was Neil Diamond week and I have to say that no one did a bang up job on his songs. I'm not hating on Neil at all. I'm just saying I would have rather heard Diamonds in the Rough than most of what I heard here. I still have a goofy thing for Jason Castro, his pretty eyes, his perfect teeth, and his incredible dreads. However, he is NOT the next American Idol.

-Dancing with the Stars didn't excite me too much this week. I don't really have a doofusy crush on any of the contestants, except maybe Marissa Jaret Winokur. Sadly, the thing I enjoyed most was Cristian de la Fuenta's arm injury. He has bravely agreed to continue on with the show, as even not completing his second dance he beat out that whiny crybaby Shannon Elizabeth. Yay!

Um, let's see...right about now Princess Diva is getting her ultrasound. She is far enough along that they should be able to determine the baby's gender. First, they need to call and tell me that all is well with New Baby. Then they need to tell me if New Baby will have more than enough clothes or some new blue things will be needed. I'm very excited to find out, either way!

Okay, I apologize for this post. At this point in time, it was the best I could do with what I have in my wee brain to work with. That ever happen to you? Give me a call we'll talk about it! - Chip Douglas, Cable Guy

7 Questions About 5 Things Meme, the laura b. Edition.

This is the “5 Things” Meme. I got this one from Tara, best known for her work at Eclectic Spaghetti ;-)

1. What were you doing 5 years ago today?
Um, probably almost exactly the same thing I am doing at the moment. Same job. I did live in a different house though...and we were all five years younger and more... energetic, shall we say?

2. Name 5 snacks that you love:
-Popcorn (salt or seasoning, no butter)
-Ice cream (mint chip, if you're asking...)
-Cashews
-Tim's Sea Salt and Vinegar Kettle Cooked Chips
-Baby carrots with ranch dressing

3. What are 5 things on your ‘To-Do’ list for today/ Or things you’ve already done today:
-Got the kids to school and myself to work
-Did my desk hours
-Read the School Library Journal
-Gathered info. on my ill collegue
-Roamed the blog hills and dales.

4. Name 5 things I would do if I won five million dollars:
-Buy a slightly bigger house, with an adorable guest house for my mom.
-Buy a reliable, but sexy new car.
-Set aside money for the kids' continuing education.
-Do a bit of traveling.
-Give until it felt good.

5. Name 5 bad habits you have:
-Procrastination
-Living in denial
-Avoiding confrontation
-Biting my fingernails
-Comfort eating

6. Name 5 places you’ve lived:
-Phoenix, AZ
-La Puente, CA
-Las Vegas, NV
-Covina, CA
-Glendora, CA

7. Name 5 jobs you’ve had:
-Camp Counselor
-Hostess at a Mexican Restaurant
-Cashier/Stocker at a big chain discount store
-Advertising merchandiser
-Library Tech.

Iffn you wanna play, you know what to do! And know how very much I enjoy getting to know y'all better :-)

Just Another Miscellaneous Monday

My, it was so, so hot here this weekend. Up in the 90's and kind of ickily humid both days. This kicked off fire season in the foothills right above the city where I work. Luckily, it is just burning acreage, although homes were evacuated and schools in the area were shut down today.

Saturday I just hung out a bit with Kick Back Dude and that gang. We went to the park for a while, but it was just too warm for the little ones, even in the shade. After they went home I was able to sit and watch Darjeeling Limited, which I had wanted to see when it was out in theaters, but didn't. I really enjoyed it...I love that Wes Anderson stuff...well, I was slightly less crazy about The Life Aquatic, but the rest have been awesome.

Yesterday (Sunday), Girlie Girl and I went to see Baby Mama with Girlie Girl's grandma. I'm not claiming it was great cinema or anything, but it was really cute. I think Tina Fey and Amy Poehler could be the next movie buddies, doing a few films together to highlight their chemistry...although so many times that formula turns out to be a bad idea after awhile...

Also over the weekend, we finally began preparing our pool for the rapidly approaching summer. It had gotten kind of disgusting, so we went ahead and drained it completely. Then, Secret Agent Man scrubbed it down really good. It is now in the process of refilling and soon we will be able to swim. Yay!

Today I came into work, went to my desk, and was almost immediately seized by my very panicky looking boss, Smiley. Our co-worker, The Drifter, was back in the break room in extreme pain. We ended up calling 9-1-1, because she didn't feel like she could even get to one of our cars so we could take her to the hospital. She'd actually been having some discomfort for a couple of months now, but of course put off attending to it. It is possibly an ulcer, or she had mentioned that it could be her gallbladder. I guess we'll find out soon enough. Smiley went with her to the hospital, because she really has no one. It makes me sad to realize how alone she is and made me newly grateful that no matter how alone I feel sometimes, I am not really. Not at all.

Oh! A new House is finally on again tonight! I have been pathetically excited about the gradual return of my favorite shows. And...I guess that is all the miscellany that's fit to print.

Stuff It!

It is time, once again, for my slightly early Saturday Scavenger Shots post! This week NoRegrets chose our word...STUFFED. I'm forced by my own weirdness to admit that something about that word made my mind go to a couple of odd places...however you will find nothing in my end result to offend delicate sensibilities. I give you.......Georg and Yortuk Fenstrunk! They may look like a pair of STUFFED dawgs, but they are, in reality, two wild and crazy guys!

Thanks for not being STUFFED shirts about this whole wacky adventure in blogging. Be sure to go see who NoRegrets tags for next week!

What Character From "The Office" Are You?

You know you want to know! Don't you? Maybe? Just for fun?

What NBC "The Office" character are you? Your Result: Pam Beesly   You are the person everyone considers a friend, you are sweet and a good listener, but you also creative and love to have fun and are always up for a good practical joke. You work at a job you hate but don't leave because you don't really know what you want out of life. You have spent too much time following the opinions of others and are beginning to learn how to think for yourself. Did I wake up this morning thinking I'd be throwing together a bird funeral? You never can tell what your day here is gonna turn into.
Jim Halpert
Dwight Kurt Schrute
Toby Flenderson
Kelly Kapoor
Michael Scott
Ryan Howard
Angela Martin
What NBC "The Office" character are you? See All Our Quizzes

We Like to Party. We Like, We Like to Party.

Ain’t no party like a Library Challenge 2.0 Task Completion party, cuz a Library…oh, forget it! Anyway, since January library staff has been working on this very elaborate series of exercises designed to familiarize everyone with useful internet tools. I mentioned it briefly here.
A couple of weeks ago, about half the staff managed to successfully complete all their exercises and blog entries in the prescribed time period. The other half of the staff gave up at some point. Us go-getters were treated to a little party today in honor of our accomplishment. There were snacks…everyone’s favorite was the chocolate fountain with banana slices, strawberries and graham crackers for dipping.
We each got this……for a little prize. I guess the odd amount had to do with whatever they had left in their ‘challenge’ fund divided by the number of people who completed the challenge. Tomorrow I’ma be spending $36 at Amazon – woot!
The bummer? I was not the winner of the Grand Prize drawing for $400 to spend at Amazon. But, hey, can’t win ‘em all. I think I spend my luck over at Alien’s Planet, with the trivia and all ;-)
Anyway, you can probably tell that I am feeling less worn down than yesterday. These things do pass and luckily for me, usually pretty quickly. So…what would you buy with $36 to spend?

Crawling Over the Hump

It is Hump Day and this week, at this point, I am on my knees...which isn't as fun as it sounds! haha! I am dragging a$$ the past few days, with no relief in sight! What's a girl to do, but press onward and hope for a sudden infusion of energy... Does anyone have any extra to send my way? If so, have mercy :-)

Here is a picture of me being a Children's Libearian. Have any of you read Serious Farm? It changed my life, man.

Slogans! Get Yer Slogan Here!

Since I brought the room down yesterday and all, here is something fun to do!

Your Slogan Should Be

Laura b.. Hand-built by Robots.

The Slogan Generator

My Pen Pal

When I was 12 years old, I used to read Tiger Beat Magazine. I loved the articles on all the cutest boy idols, but I also enjoyed other features. In one issue, they advertised a pen pal exchange. All you had to do was send in your name and address and they would hook you up with a pen pal! Seemed like a great idea and as it turns out, it really was. A couple of weeks later I received a note in the mail with a name and address on it...my new pen pal was Jill Drew of Allegany, New York. My memories tend towards fuzziness at the best of times and I really can't remember who wrote to who first. All I know is that once we began writing, we were the most devoted of pen pals. I loved hearing about her life all the way across the country. This was, duh, pre-computer age and it was even kind of a bigger, more expensive deal to make long distance phone calls, so it was all about the snail mail for us. It was so exciting to get her letters and to be able to send my thoughts back to her. Like the online friendships of today, perhaps our friendship was both more and less honest than real life, day-to-day relationships. We had no reason not to be very open and honest, but it is sometimes appealing to paint a slightly prettier picture of your life when there isn't going to be any onsite verification :-)
Anyway, we wrote for several years. Through Jr. High and High School. We sent pictures and exchanged our hopes and fears and ideas. By the time we were 18, we began to grow apart a bit. At that time, you could drink at 18 in New York and it seemed to me (judgemental little brat) that Jill was making some poor choices, or maybe simply being an awful show-off. We began writing less often as we moved toward adulthood, but did manage to stay in touch with holiday greetings.
One Christmas I sent out my cards, including one to Jill. At the time I was living in an apartment with my husband and two toddler sons. Jill was still living at her parents home, where I continued to send her these occasional greetings. On this particular Christmas I was surprised when my card elicited a letter sent to me by Jill's mother. In it, she told me that only a couple of months earlier Jill had been killed under very unclear circumstances. Apparently she was drinking with some friends at their apartment, someone brought out a gun, and the story was that Jill had taken it and shot herself. I believe she died almost immediately. Jill's mom felt that Jill wouldn't shot herself and that there was something being hidden, but indicated that the police were treating it as a suicide. It was one of the most horrible things I've ever heard...to think of this happening, under any circumstances, to this girl whom I had shared so much with.
I so appreciated that Jill's mom took the time to write back to me when my card came to their house. Of course, she knew how long we had been pen pals. She was sweet in the letter, telling me she was so glad to know that I had a family around me. I wrote back with sincere condolences. And that was the end of my pen pal days.
Whenever I think of the "lost art" of letter writing, I think of Jill Drew...and in my heart she lives on as a sort of alternate part of me living her parallel life on the other side of the country forever.

Communication Let Me Down.

Do you recognize the song lyric? Probably not, unless you are a dork like me. It is a Spandau Ballet song that has been running through my head today...judge me if you must :-) It is because I am thinking about this week's Saturday Scavenger Shots word, COMMUNICATION. This week's word was chosen by yours truly. COMMUNICATION is important, don't you agree?

I listen to music to know that I am not alone

I read books to know that I am not alone
These are song lyrics too! They are from Shonen Knife - The Perfect World. Music and books are ways of communicating thoughts, feelings, facts, and fancies. The CD photo is one I have used in another Sat. Scav. at one time or another...but that's okay, because I really like music. The book I took this morning after I picked it up off the shelf to use for a photo shoot they are doing here at the library today called "My Favorite Book". The idea is for as many people as possible to be photographed with their favorite book. In truth, I'm not sure I can choose a favorite book. Books are a favorite COMMUNICATION medium of mine and I love many, many, many of them. The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler was what I chose for today, though. No matter how many times I read it, it continues to touch and move me.
Looking back, it bothers me a little that COMMUNICATION, as highlighted in my world, is so one sided....music and books are speaking to me...and I'm not required to speak back. Ah well. Make of it what you will.

For next weeks Saturday Scavenger Shots I am tagging NoRegrets over at Woman with No Regrets. So go on over and find out what she has planned for us!

Thanks for joining me in this form of COMMUNICATION - blogging!

It's Official. I'm Superior.

I was just in my boss' office getting my yearly evaluation. I don't know why, but I felt mildly nervous when she asked if it was a good time to go over my evaluation. I mean, I know she likes me and my work, but sometimes I don't know...I feel like I might be missing something somehow in my work.
There are 22 areas that we are evaluated on and can receive marks of Unsatisfactory, Needs Improvement, Proficient, Meritorious, and Superior. I got Superiors across the board! I felt so proud. Perhaps it is to be expected, as I have been doing basically the same job for the past six years. I better be good at it by now, right? Still, it made me feel good, as did the very positive comments I received. It is amazing how wonderful it feels to be appreciated, even if it is just for doing the job you are paid to do.
I have decided that I am giving myself a gold star today. But not a picture of one to dress up this little entry, cause Blogger ain't playin' like that today. Yo.
Anyway, tell me about your Superiority Complex. What makes you the Superior Beings that I know you all are? Ready, set, brag on yourself!

Scrabble

Because today has been so crazed, I give you...

Pholph's Scrabble Generator My Scrabble© Score is: 8. What is your score? Get it here.

I am rather low. But then I had always suspected as much.

Small Bits Jammed into One Post

I think the post title pretty much says it all.

- It was soooo nice having four days off all in a row. In a stunning stroke of fate, WTG was out of town all four days. I got to spend good quality time with the kids, and most especially with Handsome Lad. Yessssss. I slept in until 8:30 or so each day and it felt like heaven. It was hotter than blazes, though, all four days.

- Handsome Lad is now very into skateboarding. During our long weekend we made many trips to the skate park. I have to qualify this before you picture him zooming around daringly on his board. His favorite thing about skateboarding is apparently standing around and shooting the breeze with other kids, while watching the more daring devils ride. I'm fine with that. Not everyone is a major athlete, but the camaraderie of sports is always cool.

- I usually read fiction. Recently though, I decided I was interested in reading more non-fiction. To that end, I checked out four non-fiction books last Thursday. So far, I have read Bad vs. Worst: The Ultimate Guide to Making Lose - Lose Decisions by Joshua Piven, and Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. I am currently reading Elton: The Biography by David Buckley. Next to be read is The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks, MD. So you can see it is some pretty heavy stuff. Um, well, okay you got me. It isn't terribly taxing stuff, but I am still stepping away from my usual path. I'll try not to break my arm patting myself on the back ;-)

Now a couple of questions:

- I'm not sure how to put this...but if anyone reading has a teenage daughter or I guess even if you don't, what are your thoughts on the use of birth control pills to regulate the cycle?

- Does anyone know what they feed those folks on Dancing with the Stars? I always just assumed they subsisted on whatever they could catch in their mouths from the spray tanning sessions. However, food poisoning seems to run rampant on that set! Or perhaps "food poisoning" is code for something else...drunk? hungover? sprained pelvis?

And there you have it. Small bits jammed into one post. An alternate title might be: What happens when organizational skills go on strike.

Saturday Scavenger Monday. It's Sharp, Baby!

As I was vacationing through the Saturday Scavenger Shots period, I am posting a wee bit late. But hey, it gave me a chance to go through everyone else's blogs and get ideas! As always, you guys rocked it....and thanks to Cricket for choosing this week's word - SHARP.

Here is a picture of Handsome Lad from probably three or four years ago. From the age of four until about third grade or so, he love, love, loved wearing suits. Everyday for any occasion. He spent most of Kindergarten in particular looking like a tiny groom or undertaker...Anyway, the word SHARP made me think of ZZ Top singing, "Every girl's crazy 'bout a SHARP dressed man!"I would have left it at that, but thanks to NoRegrets I must also post my letter opener gift! When I read her post I thought, "I'd like to get a letter opener as a gift." Then I remembered that I actually have! Team C gave this to me a couple of Christmases ago. It is an unusually pretty and fine thing for me to own. It was a good gift...and SHARP enough to open even the most stubborn mail :-)
Thanks for being SHARP and stopping by, even though I am running late (but not running with scissors!) I was tagged by Cricket to choose the next word, so lets see what we can do with COMMUNICATION. Go!

My Long Weekend!

I am having a long weekend! Yay! I won't be round for four whole days and will miss you all :-) But I am excited to have some down time. While I am gone, feel free to enjoy looking at this very cute picture. It may actually be the cutest thing EVER.See you soon. xo

Blasts From Our Pasts

I don't collect old series on dvd or anything like that. I don't have the space, the organizational skills, the moola, although I do sometimes have the desire. Still, I can often catch old favorites on some channel or another, most often by chance. Indulge me while I share a couple of my favorite shows ever. They do age me, it's true. But I'm okay with that.

Kolchak: The Nightstalker
Carl Kolchak (super duper Darren McGavin) was always deeply afraid of the stories he was chasing...you could see it in his face! But he did it anyway, because that's what investigative journalists do. He was da man and I loved this show! I love it to this day. I even watched the remade version with Stuart Townsend in it. It wasn't the same, but I would have totally kept on watching if they hadn't cancelled it.

Emergency
Squad 51, Station 51. When you heard that over the loudspeaker, you knew it was time for the guys to go deal with another emergency situation. They ran lines of ringers lactate and sent readouts to hot nurse Dixie at the hospital. Johnny Gage (Randy Mantooth) and Roy DeSoto (Kevin Tighe) were adorable, but also trustworthy and oozing calm authority. These guys weren't tormented the way they are on medical shows now. They did their jobs and went home to enjoy cups of soup and magazines. My kind of guys.

Quincy, M.E.
Quincy (no first name), as portrayed by Jack Klugman (an awesome actor, BTW) was a man of passion! He cared about his dead people! Also, he appeared to be quite the ladies man. Some days I can catch this at lunchtime and it is always enjoyable. I like Quincy's assistant, Sam (Robert Ito) too. So sensitive, hard working, and cute. Listen to Quincy! When he says something is wrong, it is wrong! Don't worry though, even when you don't listen he preservers.

Thanks for taking another walk down memory lane with me. What are some of your old favorites?

Flood

AlienCG's post today reminded me of one of my all time favorite albums. They Might be Giants "Flood"I actually haven't listened to it in awhile, but it is one I used to have on constant rotation. To me, it is probably one of the most fun and smart musical offerings EVER. No one tackles the tough subjects, like say... racism or regret, quite like TMBG did in 1990.
Please to enjoy this video of the Johns singing Birdhouse in Your Soul. Not to put too fine a point on it, say I'm the only bee in your bonnet. Make a little birdhouse in your soul. You can't tell me that's not deep!

Recent Viewings

I wouldn't go so far as to call these movie reviews, because as I've mentioned many times, I am terrible at articulating why I like or dislike something. Just a brief list of movies I've caught recently. It is brief, not so much because I am being considerate. It is more that I just haven't seen many movies lately! Even now, only one on my little list is one I actually went out to see and that is....
Run Fat Boy Run. I took Girlie Girl and Handsome Lad out with me last weekend to see this movie. We had all really liked Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, two other movies that Simon Pegg was in. This wasn't like those, but it was still quite funny. It also had a sweeter side. It was definitely a good light, fun movie that almost anyone could enjoy. Well worth the trip out ;-)
Alvin and the Chipmunks. Handsome Lad and I were hanging out on Friday evening together and he wanted to watch a movie. We went to one of those Red Boxes they have all over now. This was his choice and I was happy that he picked a cute kid movie because I don't get a chance to see them that often. I knew what I was in for with this one and it was about like I expected. It was actually entertaining in that mild, family friendly way. I kind of like Jason Lee too, so there was that...
Dan in Real Life. This one was my choice when Handsome Lad and I were choosing. I knew it wasn't a wacky Steve Carrell movie, but wanted to see it anyway. I had read somewhere that it had a heart and some genuinely touching moments. I watched it on Sunday and found it quietly pleasurable. Not much to it, but I did like the actors in it and also the sort of corny message about what a gift it is to find love.

And that's all I have for you today. Seen any good movies lately?

Open the Door, Here's All the People!

Welcome to Saturday Scavenger Shots! This week's word, DOORS, was chosen by brand new participant Melissa. She will also be tagging the next person to choose, so please make sure you visit her blog to see what's up.

For your viewing pleasure, I give you...DOORS.
This photo is from a while back. I took it for a Taraday that celebrated taking a picture of a DOORknob :-) This is the DOORknob on the DOOR between my office and this room where we have the copiers, paper, and other stored odds and ends.
I took this picture yesterday when I was sort of reclining on my couch. It is the front DOOR of my house. It was pretty outside, but I was chillin' like a villain inside.
DOORS. What would we do without them? Um, be cold and embarrassed a lot?

Things To Do

Dear, dear laura b.,

Here is a little list of things you need to do. You know, just so you don't forget.

1. Send sympathy/thank you cards to Steve Guttenberg and little Ramiele. (Make sure to mention something specific...Ex. Steve, your smile was...um, infectious! Rami, your hair always looked so, so cute!)

2. Find out how to most effectively keep up with gossip. Perez Hilton? TMZ? Research, l.b., research!

3. Consider ways to con a son into not needing/wanting his iPod anymore. This will be tough, but I am wily when I wanna be. Three sons with iPods, something might give. But no...I'd feel too guilty :-( (sad face me)

4. Check your tivo, missy. Many new shows are returning to the air in the next week or two. Will you and your device be ready?

5. Sat. Scav. Shots is coming...ah, Saturday! Do you have any pictures of doors? If not, can you take some between now and then? I think you know what you have to do....

6. Day off tomorrow. Take care of every single thing that you cannot take care of on work days or weekends. (Who are you kidding?)

7. Post something fascinating on your blog. Sometime soon. Try. Okay?

Okay. xo

My New Best Friend

It's true. I have a new best friend. He's pretty popular, but there are also a lot of people who enjoy hating him. They say he is shallow, bland... there is a great deal of speculation about his sexuality. You know how people enjoy guessing! I admit, he does come off a quite self-absorbed...yet he is compellingly personable as well. He does mention his mom quite a bit and I find that charming. He's a good talker, really keeps conversations rolling, knows how to ask the right questions. I think some people would find it obnoxious that he says, "I love you" to virtually anyone and everyone. It is. But still, who doesn't want to be loved? Even phony love will do in a pinch! He is a hardworking man, with several jobs. It is like, everywhere you look or listen, there he is. I know I am bound to receive negative comments about my new best friend. Yeah, you know him. And in spite of the fact that he is everywhere people hesitate to put in a kind word for him. Jealousy maybe? Don't hate, appreciate! The world is a more gossipy and fun place thanks to my new best friend.....




















It's true. Ryan Seacrest is my new best friend. I love you, Ryan! Tell Ellen K and the interns...oh, and Simon, Paula, and Randy (my dawg) I said 'hi!'

(Note - Apologies all round. It has been a long week so far! - l.b.)

PS - Evil-E has commented about this week's Saturday Scavenger Shots word. It was chosen by Melissa at My Life and it is DOORS, which I think will be lots of fun. Pass it on!

Feeling Quizzical

Yeah, I have been careful all day, what with the whole April Fool's thing going on. Google and Gmail were getting all cute and prankish. The lolcats were out in record numbers. Three year olds were telling me jokes that involved odd noises as the punchline. It just seemed like a Blogthings kind of posting night.

I found this one that seemed so appropriate after yesterday's post. And of course, because Blogthings knows me so well.

You Are Disturbingly Profound

You're contemplative, thoughtful, and very intense. Taking time to figure out the meaning of life is a priority for you. Because you're so introspective, you often react in ways that surprise people. No one can really understand how you are on the inside... and that disturbs them.

Are You Disturbingly Profound or Profoundly Disturbing?

Here is another, because it is a long held belief of mine that we all deserve some kind of super power!

Your Superpower Should Be Manipulating Electricity

You're highly reactive, energetic, and super charged. If the occasion calls for it, you can go from 0 to 60 in a split second. But you don't harness your energy unless you truly need to. And because of this, people are often surprised by what you are capable of. Why you would be a good superhero: You have the stamina to fight enemies for days Your biggest problem as a superhero: As with your normal life, people would continue to underestimate you

What Should Your Superpower Be?

And here is just one more, because ice cream is good. No, ice cream is great.

You Are Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

You are kind, popular, and generous. You tend to be successful at anything you try. A social butterfly, you are great at entertaining a crowd. You are most compatible with strawberry ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

Where are you strawberry? ;-)