Thursday, May 31, 2007

Things that annoy me

I fucking HATE (HATE HATE HATEx infinity) when people
(especially guys, they seem to be prone to doing this)
SNORT IN when they have colds. That fucking gross "I'm
sucking snot and mucus back up into my nasal passages
and consequently, my throat as post-nasal drop" sound.
*shudders* There's this idiot fucking guy behind me
doing that. GET A FUCKING KLEENEX!

Everyone heard about that guy who has XDR TB and who
FLEW trans-Atlantic even after he found out? He was
"scared for his life"? Well, YEAH DUMBASS, even if you
didn't know you had the XDR version of tuberculosis,
what the FUCK were you thinking getting on an airline
putting thousands of people at risk?! What a fucking
asshole. For a lawyer (they've ID'd the guy), he sure
is a goddamn idiot. Seriously, if I were sitting next
to him, I'd sue his ass for all the doctor's charges
I'd be incurring as a result of having to be regularly
tested for TB...

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Little fucker!

Reason eleventy-thousand why I dislike dogs!:

They BITE! For no damn reason!

The neighbors have two little muppet (Shih Tzu?) dogs.
The one they've had the longest is Gizmo and he's just
MEAN. He's got a serious jones for me and I don't know
why. He barks all the damn time at everything. Very
territorial, and now I know, very aggressive. The
other little (new) one is Coco and he's a doll, but
I'm worried he may follow the other's lead.

So, I was outside in the front walkway trimming the
bushes. Neighbor dude is taking the dogs out for a
walk. Gizmo seems to have been getting better at least
about not barking so much in regards to me. Dude and I
exchange the usual pleasantries as he starts walking
by. Coco stopped to sniff at some of the branches I'd
trimmed; I turned to look at him - not abruptly, just
normally. Gizmo, the little shit, was already passed
me but lunged back and fucking nipped me in the calf!
It was so quick and I hardly saw him do it. I wasn't
even sure if he'd clawed me first or if it was his
teeth. Well, it was his teeth. Little fucker. The
neighbor was horrified and scared shitless.

Weird little bite. Bled, but not too much. It's more
like he caused subcutaneous bleeding instead of
outright bleeding. It looks like a bruise. Dogs shots
are up to date - I trust that, but damn. What the fuck
have I ever done to the little beast!

Seriously, if that had been a larger breed dog, I
would have reported it. It's one thing to get nipped
by a little ankle-biter-sized mutt; it's quite another
to get bitten by something that could go for your
throat next. I suppose if the little shit ever does it
again, I'll just punt him into the street (I seriously
could, he's that little).

Goddamn fucking dogs. Nasty brutes.

"Impressive"

Home still from work today. Honestly, I'm getting
bored out of my mind and would rather be at work.

I managed to get in to a doctor yesterday. I went to a
new one (the last regular care doctor was a complete
incompetent bitch). I went to the office at 8am in
hopes they had walk-in hours. No luck. As a new
patient, they were able to find me an open appointment
at 2:30pm. That pretty much killed any misguided ideas
I had of going to class last night. Went back home and
puttered around before taking a nap.

The littlest thing - watering the patio garden pots
for instance - was just exhausting.

Got up and went back to the doctor's for the 2:30. Sat
and waited for half an hour until I got taken in. I
HATE THAT. Why do doctors have you come in at a
certain time when they damn well know they're going to
make you sit for at least 15 minutes or more?! It
pisses me off.

I was coughing when the doctor finally walked in to my
room. He was like "Oh, I can hear that
already...impressive..." Great. So prescribe some
drugs and get me out of here!

Have azythromyocin - same stuff I got when I had my
bronchitis earlier this year. And something else to
quiet the cough (non-narcotic), although I really
don't think whatever-it-is is helping. Still coughing
quite loudly and phlegm-ily. I just hope the
antibiotic does its job and kicks in soon. Had
yesterday's loading dose and today's. I have had
enough of farting about listlessly at home. Although I
have to say, reading about six books since Saturday
has got to be something of a feat. Horatio Hornblower
and Cadfael books up the wazoo.

At least my upper ribs aren't tickling me like they
were the past two days. God, I hate that feeling. I
wanted to claw out my chest and ribs to get rid of
that feeling!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

I don't fucking believe it!

I just got my score results from that horrible history content exam I took in late April. I passed. Seriously, people, this was the worst test and it made the case for how poorly designed most standardized tests are. Children's educational lives should NOT be decided on the basis of crap standardized tests that measure NOTHING accurately.

This so called history test had shitloads of economics and PSYCHOLOGY on it. I flung my hands up in despair more than once while taking the damn thing.

But I PASSED. Unbelieveable. I feel like celebrating and going out to buy historical books at Borders or B&N.

In other news:

Yes, Ticks, that should have been "bed", not bad.

And, I am sick. *cough* I hate being sick anytime, but more so in summer when you'd rather be outside. I just came down with something Thursday evening. I just started coughing out of nowhere at the Target store. I almost panicked. It was that gasping, dry throat cough - the kind I'd had a few months ago where I literally could not lie down at night without immediately coughing (and coughing so hard that my tongue would SWELL). I thought I'd had whooping cough. Jesus, that's the LAST thing I want to have a reoccurence of. Came home early from work yesterday, ate a little something, and then went to bed. I slept somewhat, but woke up around 9pm. I felt worse. Headachey and now my joints were hurting. I could barely totter out of bed. Had an orange (What is it about oranges that taste SO GOOD when you're sick? It really perked me up.), took some advil and tried to go back to sleep. Didn't really manage to do so until I put my eye pillow on my face. Amazing, but the pressure of the lavender in it over my face relieved my headache.

I feel slightly more human today, but still coughing.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Movies: Pan's Labyrinth

Not the film you want to watch right before bed.
 
OMG. I was sobbing at the end of it.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

In the "Oh, no they di'n't!" category:

Wachowski Bros making live action film of Speed Racer. WTF?!
 
I mean...seriously. God, that's going to SUCK. It cold only succeed by admitting to its own campiness.
 
Christina Ricci as Trixie? Matthew Fox as Racer X? Oh LORD.
 
Anyone in Chicago-land remember the oversexed remix of the SpeedRacer theme that B96 put out back in the 90s?

Brit stuff

I went to Borders last night and shopped with my gift card from la madre. What to buy! What to buy! I browsed for two hours and one thing I ended up getting was the Series 3 Inspector Lynley BBC mysteries.
 
Woo! Old school opening credits with the drawn goth characters. Good stuff. I might have caught the show on accident a couple times, but never watched it intentionally. I like it, although the first episode of this series was a bit heavy handed with the men vs female in the police force. I wanted to smack the one sergeant guy upside the head (not Lynley). And then the "she's my cousin" - "SECOND cousin" bit - - ewwwwwy.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Ratatouille (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ratatouille (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This looks hysterical. I saw a commercial for it and it made me laugh. Granted, I detest rats (especially in a kitchen!), but it still looks so damn cute.

So much for daydreams!

Mango Lassi has a ring on the left hand.
 
D'oh!

Monday, May 21, 2007

O may my heart's truth Still be sung On this high hill in a year's turning

Happy Birthday to me. *sigh* Another decade...

It may be May and not October, but the sentiment is
the same. From Dylan Thomas:

It was my thirtieth year to heaven
Woke to my hearing from harbour and neighbour
wood
And the mussel pooled and the heron
Priested shore
The morning beckon
With water praying and call of seagull and rook
And the knock of sailing boats on the webbed wall
Myself to set foot
That second
In the still sleeping town and set forth.

My birthday began with the water-
Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my
name
Above the farms and the white horses
And I rose
In a rainy autumn
And walked abroad in shower of all my days
High tide and the heron dived when I took the
road
Over the border
And the gates
Of the town closed as the town awoke.

A springful of larks in a rolling
Cloud and the roadside bushes brimming with
whistling
Blackbirds and the sun of October
Summery
On the hill's shoulder,
Here were fond climates and sweet singers
suddenly
Come in the morning where I wandered and listened
To the rain wringing
Wind blow cold
In the wood faraway under me.

Pale rain over the dwindling harbour
And over the sea wet church the size of a snail
With its horns through mist and the castle
Brown as owls
But all the gardens
Of spring and summer were blooming in the tall
tales
Beyond the border and under the lark full cloud.
There could I marvel
My birthday
Away but the weather turned around.

It turned away from the blithe country
And down the other air and the blue altered sky
Streamed again a wonder of summer
With apples
Pears and red currants
And I saw in the turning so clearly a child's
Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother
Through the parables
Of sunlight
And the legends of the green chapels

And the twice told fields of infancy
That his tears burned my cheeks and his heart
moved in mine.
These were the woods the river and the sea
Where a boy
In the listening
Summertime of the dead whispered the truth of his
joy
To the trees and the stones and the fish in the
tide.
And the mystery
Sang alive
Still in the water and singing birds.

And there could I marvel my birthday
Away but the weather turned around. And the true
Joy of the long dead child sang burning
In the sun.
It was my thirtieth
Year to heaven stood there then in the summer
noon
Though the town below lay leaved with October
blood.
O may my heart's truth
Still be sung
On this high hill in a year's turning.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Found my outfit for going out!

So my sexy bday outfit bitches. I just got this tonight at the mall for Saturday's festivities. I feel very Espana-esque in this: perfect for a night of drinking sangria and eating tapas at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! in Chicago. I just gotta get that skirt hemmed in. It's too wide at the sides, so it pooches out in the front. I tried to get it hemmed at the mall's tailoring place, but no can do. They're stuffed with stupid prom dresses, damnit! I'm hoping a tailor at a cleaner's by me can do it - the high school right by me already had prom, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

I'm probably going to pay out the nose for a same-day job, but this skirt is a MUST.

051707_17001.jpg



And my espadrilles with red ribbons are going to kick so much ass.

I want five men to ask me out for random meaningless one night flings so I can turn down every single one of them. Why? Because I can!

Mr. Lassi

The hormones are a little out of control today. I had to go run outside and wander around for a little bit because I was getting squirrelly.
 
Let us contrast two situations:
 
A few weeks ago, the comic guy asking me out. An all-around "ugh" experience. I have to admit that one of the first things I'll think about is "do I picture myself with this person in the carnal sense?" The answer was a resounding HELL NO there. And kind of made me gag and want to go into convulsions as well.
 
Mr. Lassi. Sadly, no, he has not asked me out. (I do the 12 year old tactic of steering clear and lusting over my object from afar.) But same question as above? It's like TECHNICOLOR. I get this evil little smirk on my face and then I have to shake my head and refocus on my word processing jobs.
 
Meeeeeow. He's gotta be near 6'5" tall (which is unusual - I've never seen a guy of his background THAT tall and who looks like they could be a linebacker). Plenty to hold onto there *drools, then smacks self on the head*. FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! Pretty words on Microsoft Word! And oh my god, he's got this really deep voice and don't ask me what that makes me think about. I've got tinglies just typing it.
 
Dear God. For my 30th birthday, could I PLEASE GET LAID by a decent guy?!
 
Yeah. Not likely.
 

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

MMmmmm

There is a member of the opposite sex at work who is, I like to say, a tall drink of mango lassi. Draw what information you can from that description.
 
He is just too damn cute.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Grades

Well, I got As in both my spring classes (really, I don't deserve it on the history because I KNOW my last paper was shit). But them's the breaks.
 
Still don't have the History Content Exam results from ICTS yet. *grimaces* That's the 25th.
 
Trying to late register for Summer (which pisses me off - I was dropped and shouldn't have been!) and the phone lines are busy. WHAT FUCKING SCHOOL STILL USES TOUCHTONE REG? That's right! MY idiot school!

Monday, May 14, 2007

Evening

I went to yoga and felt quite rejuvenated. And also
sweaty. Arms dripping, can't hold an arm balance pose
because of the sweat sweaty.

Then came home and fired up the grill. I made an very
tasty steak, thank you very much, with an even tastier
margarita.

I am feeling very comfortable, how 'bout YOU?!

Now, off to take a cool shower because it's warm but
not too warm to warrant turning on the damn AC.

[Blank]-O-Matic 3000, Things That Should Be Invented

I am enjoying a tomato mozzarella salad from Panera for lunch. I love me that combination of tomato/mozza/basil.
 
In my half clandestine gardening experiment, I have planted both basil and tomatoes. I wish I could plant mozzarella. But unfortunately, planting little balls of mozzarella does not result in great big mozzarella plants.
 
In other things I wish existed (chiefly for last week): a detachable uterus. Kind of like the "Detachable Penis" that King Missile sang about back in the 90s. Lorena Bobbit did try to do the whole detachable penis thing, but as we all know, that had some issues.
 
My Detachable Uterus would feature:
 
A convenient front opening door with hidden zipper for easy removal and reinsertion.
Color coded connections for easy re-connection back to Fallopian Tubes and Cervix.
 
Great for when:
  • you don't want to get pregnant,
  • want to be unemotional (wow! now females can easily engage in "this is just no strings attached sex" and engage in hostile corporate take-overs just like men!), and...
  • especially for those weeks when you have cramps so bad all you want to do is drink whiskey, eat expensive chocolates, and bitch-slap every man you see.
 
Using the Detachable Uterus-O-Matic 3000 would thus have side benefits of preventing alcoholism, obesity and random (though surely deserved 99% of the time) violence towards men. Special cleaning solution and washing pouf included if you BUY NOW for only THREE EASY INSTALLMENTS of 49.99!
 
Seriously, if I could have removed my uterus for 3 days last week, it would have been great. Fucking cramps. Oh, and a Flow-Regulator-O-Matic 3000 wouldn't hurt either. It's like either the faucet is GUSHING or driiiiiiiip....driiiiiiiiip....driiiiiiiip. MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND, GIRL-PARTS!
 
In other news: I meant to make one more comment about the History Boys movie in a previous post. To clarify: yes, I really do like the movie (excellent); I was just like "holee shit!" during parts of it. The thing that absolutely fucking cracked me up at the end? The music that played during the credits. I heard the first few words being sung and was like "it's fucking Rufus Wainwright!" Oh Lord. I laughed. How apropos!

On the road to jail time :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

On the road to jail time :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

Dude. People ARE stupid. Jaaaaay-sus.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

History Boys

HOLY MOTHER OF CHRIST.

Watching the DVD of History Boys. With the original
stage cast.

*agog*

So many cute boys, but...

Friday, May 11, 2007

Democrats get in Bush's face :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: World

Democrats get in Bush's face :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: World

OH HELL NO. Bean went WITH Bush? *outraged* That is MY congresswoman. But she will quickly revert to WAS in the next election if this continues. I am going to email her!

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Queen concludes visit with toast, joke - Yahoo! News

Oh, Queenie, WHY did you have dinner with that dressed up ape? Shouldn't Tony's disastrous connection with him have taught you anything?


Queen concludes visit with toast, joke - Yahoo! News

Yes, some 225ish years later, we have our own Mad, Mad, Mad King George.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

How Does My Garden Grow

Well, I took stock of what all I have planted. And just realized I am not doing a good watering thing with the habenero! Damn, at least it's just been the first few days and is correctable.

Here we go. Now I'm wondering: the days mentioned, is that from seed? It must be. In which case, it's not as long since I bought seedlings and transplanted them.

In the front area:
Hardy Azaleas (pink ones called "Mother's Day" from HD) (Perennial, meaning I also have it in the ground, not in a pot/plantar)
Bronze Dutch Clover (P)
Sweet Woodruff (aka Herb of Humility) (P)
Strawberries (4) - Mix of everbearing and seasonal (P)
Lavendar (P)
Poppies (P)
Salvia - Salsa Mix colors (P)
New Guinea Impatiens (P)

Back patio and slightly incognito areas:
Meadow Sage (P)
Fuschia
Combo Annuals - Geraniums and something else
Lavendar (P)
Rosemary (P)
Geranium (P)
Gerbera Daisy (P)
Carnations - King of the Blacks (P)
Emerald n Gold Euonymus (Shrubs, in ground)
Citronella (P)
Caspian Pink Tomatoes
Purple Sage
Greek Oregano
Basil (P)
Parsley
Cucumber - May 7th, 60 Days
Yellow Pear Heirloom Tomatoes - May 7th, 78 Days, hmmm also has some worrying reviews
Cilantro
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes - May 5th, 80 days
Jalapeno - May 5th, 65-75 days
Marion Tomatoes - May 7th, 70-75 days
Pansies
Vinca Vine (P)
Chives (P, actually they spread to the ground from a pot we had a couple years ago! They've gone native!)
4 o'Clocks, Marvel of Peru (P)
Patio Prize Tomatoes - May 7th, 68 days
Pineapple Sage (P)
Quinault Sthttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifrawberries (P)
Yellow Straight Squash - May 7th, 50 days
Silver Edge Thyme (P)
Parsley (P)
Peppermint
Spanish Yellow Onion - May 7th, 120-130 days (WTF! It takes onions that fucking LONG?)
Mr. Stripey Heirloom Tomatoes - May 7th, 80 days, interesting, parts of plants are POISONOUS? What, did I get the puffer fish of the tomato kingdom? Also worrying: seeing some negative reviews of the plant for being too soft/mushy and prone to cracking.
Tomatillos Physalis philadelphica - May 7th, 70 days
Serrano Chiles - May 7th, 80 days
White Spanish Onion - May 7th, 110 days
Habenero - NOTE TO SELF: only water when DRY!
Cantaloupe - May 7th, 75-85 days (I don't think this one's gonna work)

And, YES, I planted in that little horseshoe shaped enclosure in between us and the neighbor to the north. Keep your fingers crossed that my illicit gardening adventure stays seekrit!

I WANT BIG, JUICY FUCKING TOMATOES!

I wish the mom would get an umbrella for the patio table. (OOOh, or this one.) You can't sit out there in the full glare of the sun with no protection without baking. Kind of makes having a patio table pointless, don't you think?

Education Meme

The Cubs are really friggin pissing me off right about now. Stupid friggin Pirates.

Anyway, on to Gonzo's Education Meme!

-----(-)-> What was the name of the teacher that was most influential in your life from grades K through 6?
My answer: Well, two of my favorite teachers that I remember are Mrs. Dunbar (K) - I used to call her Mrs. DUMbar, because I didn't know better. She always used to play the piano for us; she taught us all how to sing Frere Jacques (Brother John, Are you Sleeping? in French). I still remember it. Mrs. Hopkins would be another one; I had her twice, I think for second and for fifth grade. She was such a nice woman and I think she introduced us to a lot of good books, including C.S. Lewis' Narnia books.

-----(-)-> What subject did you favor in high school?
My answer: English, all the way. Come on, I want to BE an English teacher!

-----(-)-> Did you attend a university and if so did you attain a degree?
My answer: Yes (squared). I have a double major in English and Western European Civilization (akin to History) for my B.A. degree. I am seven months away from finishing my Masters degree in Teaching, Secondary Education, Language Arts.

-----(-)-> Do you learn best through books, by watching or hands-on?
My answer: I'm pretty good at all three methods, but I like getting my hands dirty, as it were.

-----(-)-> Has education been an ongoing process for you? How do you feel about that?
My answer: Whenever I haven't been in school (and stressing out over stupid shit), I've been bored out of my mind. It's a survival mechanism. I want to be a teacher so I'm always in school! I'm messed up in the head!

----(-)-> What seven people are you tagging to do this?
My answer: My little blog world is slowly growing. I will ask my mum, Lippy, the Wandering Author, Aly, and Tickersoid.

Poor Wittle Paris

You must be shitting me. WHY are people pitying poor little rich girl Paris? There's a fucking petition on the net for her to be pardoned by Schwarzenegger. WHAT-ever.
 
Bitch broke the law. She should shut her trap and serve her damn time. Slutty bimbo stickfigure vapid blonde heiresses are not above the law. If she were anyone normal (i.e., NOT rich and most likely not white), she would have been tossed in jail ages ago and probably for longer. As someone who lost two friends to a drunk driver (which Paris has one offense for - DUI), I don't think this is a laughing matter.
 
For her to whine that she's been treated unfairly is a crock of shit. She has more money for defense that anyone else and has taken up more court time than a normal person.
 
It's called PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY, bitch.
 
I recommend going to the Paris website and leaving a nice long comment here. You have the vapid responses of her "fans" (Jesus, I hope these people don't procreate) and the fairly erudite responses of those persons, such as myself, who are mocking the hell out of everyone else.
 
Go Forth And Mock!!

Monday, May 07, 2007

Green Thumbs Needed!

Anyone a tomato growing expert? What's the secret to getting monstrous numbers of tomatoes per vine a la this little contraption? I mean, I probably won't buy that, but something similar.

Can I do this growing them in a large pot with the support placed in it???

Morning

The crab apple tree in back of our townhouse row.

050707_07021.jpg

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Another fabulous day in the North Shore

*cough* Not really in regards to "North Shore". The
town the Catholics built is practically the slums
compared to the "real" North Shore, i.e., Lake Forest,
Winnetka, Wilmette, Highland Park, etc., etc., etc.

Interjection: Ha ha, Mags, got your pix message! :)

Let me tell you, peeps, going shopping on Sunday
morning while the Jesusy-people are a'churchin is THE.
BOMB. No lines. No bad parking spaces. No screaming
kids. Oh, the blessed peace and quiet. Of course, you
just have to get up to enjoy it. Usually, I'm sacked
out in bed slightly comatose.

My brother took my mom to church today (What? You
thought *I* was going to do that? My "good
daughterness while the mom is recovering from knee
surgery" does not extend to getting suckered into
going to church with her. No way.) As it was, she
shouldn't have been doing Catholic Calisthenics...she
aggravated her knee doing the whole sit down, stand
up, kneel bullshit. *rolls eyes* She should have just
stayed seated, I'm sure the godman would understand.

Anyway, back to shopping. I went to Garden Fresh and
stocked up on my Fage Greek Yogurt. That's pronounced
"Fah-yeh!" I think I'm going to start calling it
"Fuh-yeh!" (for Fuck Yeah! yogurt). Then....

I went back to Home Depot. Oh evil, evil. I got more
mulch, soil and plants. Holy shit, did I get more
plants. (I had to go back again around 6pm for MORE
mulch though.) I really wanted to buy the Scotch Broom
plant (so pretty!), but I would have had to dig a four
foot hole - NOT happening with my little hand spade
and cultivator! I was outside non-stop from approx
12:30 until 5:30pm gardening. Christ. And then I
showered off the mud and did that other run to HD for
more mulch, came back, and was outside again from 7ish
until 8ish. I hardly ate a thing all day, I was so
focused on getting this shit done. I told my mom that
this was pretty much her mother's day present, a week
early. The back looks fucking awesome, if I do say so
myself. I'll have to take pictures.

On a side note, the neighbor's crabapple tree is in
full blossom. It smelled heavenly and looks like a
cloud of soft snow hovering in the air above the
branches.

So, it's a townhouse, yah? On the north side of our
back patio, there's a bigger area of shrubbery
(totally unkempt by the lackluster association)
between us and one neighbor. Both AC units are tucked
in here as well. Interesting thing: there's quite the
bit of space in the middle of the bushes (they form a
horseshoe bowing away from the ACs and the back
walls). I'm guessing mebbe 4 sq ft? Throw in a few
bags of garden soil (because the soil is SHIT and lots
of clay/rocks when you scratch in with the cultivator
like I did) and it would be the perfect spot for
tomatoes. Totally against association rules I'm
guessing, but they can really kiss my ass right about
now. Shielded from the wind, but still plenty of
sunlight. The neighbor on that side just moved in and
is hardly ever home. I don't think she's been out on
the back patio at all. The only real risk or two: 1)
getting caught by the association nazis 2) if either
of us needs to have AC repairs done this summer. An AC
dude would have to tramp right through that space. I'm
thinking that's a risk I'm willing to take. TOMATO RUN
AT HOME DEPOT TOMORROW! WoOt! I'm going to get more
heirloom varieties because I like the funky lookin'
ones.

When my mom eventually notices the little tomato
plantation to the north and asks me what the hell,
I'll be like "Tomatoes just planted themselves there?
How WEIRD!" With the exception of onions, we totally
have the makings for salsa.

On the outside arch of that same area, I planted a lot
of little things in between whatever type of lillies
that have been there forever. I had to weed the shit
out of that area though, and then make sure to mulch
around my plantings so the weeds can't come back in. I
have six everbearing strawberry plants (Mmm! I hope
they put out little runners. Strawberries typically do,
so I hope to have more plants next year.) About four
yellow neck squash, the same number of cucumbers (why
squash and cukes, two things I hardly ever eat?!), two
jalapenos (one other was planted in a pot), some thyme
(I think, something that will provide ground cover as
well), some utterly fantastic smelling pineapple sage
(I have no idea what to use it for crush it in ice tea! or use in salads and desserts, but it smells so
sweet!), more basil (from seed this time), parsley,
and four o'clocks (Marvel of Peru) from seed. I love four o'clocks. We
used to have them at the old house. Those things seed
like crazy and spread - make good cover. I planted
them right up against the back wall. It should cover
that unsightly area well if they bloom well.

Oh god, I think my face is hot. It was cloudy most of
the day, but I bet the UV rays were still bad. Shit. I
had a hat on the whole time though...I would have
thought it would have covered some of my face!

This is so long-winded now. I'm going to have to make
a list of what all is out there, take pictures, and
then re-post.

P.S. TWA, I was futzing about your journal after reading your catnip comment (thanks). I've got to make a note to check out The Literate Kitten. God, how does she read so much? I mean, I thought I read a lot, but DAMN. (Of course, most of my reading lately has been for graduate school and not a lot of pleasure reading. *le sigh*)

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Ole! Cinco Cinco!

Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaah, bitches! Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
*raises margarita glass*

I slept in late today. I was just too damn exhausted
to get up and do the 7:45 am yoga class. I stuck
around the house for a bit. Today was the first day my
mom could bathe after her surgery. I waited until she
was done to get out of the house just in case she
needed me.

After that, picked up (yet another) pair of biking
sunglasses that I won from last week's M&M Cyclery
Ladies' Night Raffle. Last year, I won the exact same
glasses. I told them that, and I got to switch them
out for a pair that had greenish frames at least. Good
glasses, though.

Went to work for a couple hours (had some time to make
up from oversleeping this week - oops!) and then I
went to Jamaica Gardens North. My mom and I like to
have potted herbs in the summer. Oh god, I go to that
place and it's just...bad. I'm just lucky, I suppose,
that living in a townhouse means we have very limited
space to put this stuff. I got rosemary (a favorite of
mine), oregano, basil (another favorite, especially
for making de-li-cious caprese salad), thyme, lavender
(I tried planting some from seed out front, but it
doesn't appear to be working). I also got a couple
heirloom tomato plants (the first I tried to plant I
think I might have hurt - - oops, we'll see), a
habenero plant, a couple jalapenos, and squash and
something else. Fuck I can't remember what all the
hell I bought. I don't know where the hell I'm going
to stick the peppers and squash! Got one gerbera daisy
and an impatiens. Three bags of potting soil (need
MORE).

Then I made the mistake of trucking off to Home Depot.
Holy fucking Christ, they had a ton of shit. I bought
another lavender plant, catnip (whee! for the
kitties!), two lovely pink plants whose name I cannot
remember but it's something so obvious and if I
weren't drunk off my margarita I could remember... two
bags of mulch (need another) and a couple ground cover
plants. Oh, and even a couple citronella plants! Very
cool. I have those potted out on the back patio. Fuck
off mosquitoes! Ha ha.

Once I got home, I spent a couple hours planting it
all. Our front walkway area looks SO much nicer with
the mulch. Fucking townhouse association is completely
slacking. The bushes haven't been trimmed in AGES and
no mulch in god knows how long. What the fuck do we
pay dues for?! Most of the herbs are planted in pots
on the back patio. I still have a couple more to go.
My back was killing me, but post-margarita we seem to
be doing pretty damn well.

So early Mom's Day gift for my mom with all the
plants.

After I finished doing the whole garden thing, I was
starved. I hadn't really eaten since the morning. I
called and placed a to-go order from On the Border for
steak fajitas. Ole! Tasty! I scarfed those down once I
got back home, along with mi muy bueno margarita.

Aaaaaah! Good day. Now, if it would only be sunny
tomorrow. I want to go on a bike ride down to the
lake.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

cultivating blogships

Thanks to Gonzo, I've discovered a couple interesting blogs. (Well, there are more, but I need to start out small!) I am making an effort to regularly visit and make comments. I've kinda been living in a blog-hole over here.

They shot Old Yeller

Okay, NOW I understand why people are bitchy when they turn down dates half the time. Because if you try to be nice and let 'em down easy, they think if they ask you a couple more times that you'll change your mind.

The answer was NO, is NO, and evermore shall be NO.

GOD FUCKING DAMN I am ANNOYED.

To recap: this guy that works at the comic shop I go to asked me out on Saturday. Because it was so unexpected and I was so flustered, I wound up giving him my number. BAD. BAD. BAD IDEA. Did I mention...bad idea? I have known this guy in only the vaguest sense for a few years and have usually found him annoying. On more than one occasion, I have been downright rude to him because he was just pissing me the hell off. Yap, yap fucking yap.

On Saturday, when I was ambushed, I had said that this week was bad to call me because it is finals week. So what did the dumbass do? Call me on Sunday. When I'm trying to write my fucking papers. That didn't make me feel any better towards him. The whole time I was on the phone with him on Sunday, I kept cringing and thinking over and over "oh my god, I can NOT go on a date with this guy I will fucking DIE." His voice and the way he talks are like nails on a chalkboard to me. He sounds so whiney. AND he thought I was like 24 years old? Excuse me? He's about 1 1/2 years older than me. His last girlfriend was a lot younger, too. I have a healthy skepticism/distrust of men who date girls considerably younger than themselves. I have seen too many bad things. I mean, yes, we women are generally far more mature than guys anyway, but why? Are you looking to be a Svengali and get this pretty young thing to do shit with you that, a few years from now, she'll go WTF was I thinking? He's in his 30s and his main source of employment is clerking at a comic store. And he has no ambition to do anything else (and, yes, he pretty much told me that on the phone). That is so not going to work for me. Working in a comic shop is not a bad thing. But for me? I need a guy with a little more ambition than that. What would be doing? Going out on dates to fucking Taco Bell? I don't fucking think so.

I told him, between school and work, that I did not have time to date. I don't have time to date or to deal with the ancillary bullshit that dating brings with it. AND I certainly don't have time for someone that annoys the shit out of me. Actually, I didn't say the last two sentences, but you get my drift.

He was like "well, if you want to hang out sometime as a break from studying or something..."

I should have nipped it in the bud right there, but goddamn it I didn't. I thought I had gotten my point across well enough with the "I DON'T HAVE TIME."

Fast forward to today. After spending all day in the hospital, I finally went to the comic shop to pick up my stuff (new Buffy out today - excellent, although my eyes got scorched in a couple parts). He wasn't there - thank Christ. Oh, but Charwars was. And Charwars tells me that D (the guy) said to tell me to please call him. WTF? Are we in seventh grade? And WTF again because you don't do that to me. You don't even know me well enough to do that. There was even this bit in there about "not that he wants to come off as desperate, but give him a call." *rolls eyes* Okay, LESSON THE FIRST, if you have to preface yourself with "not that I want to appear desperate", DUDE, you ARE desperate.

That just pissed me off. I didn't even say anything in reply. I'm sure Charwars could tell I was angry.

After that, I went to the gym and spun around on the stationary bike like crazy for forty minutes and was STILL pissed off. I felt sick to my stomach. I had to shut off my cell phone because the battery was down. Thank god.

Cue to when I get home. I plug my phone in to the charger and turn it on. I have a voicemail. I thought maybe it was my friend Jesica because she was supposed to call me back. NOOOOPE. It's D. JESUS FRAKKIN CHRIST. He's on my voicemail. After telling him Saturday this was a bad week for me, he fucking calls once, has his coworker bug me AND FUCKING CALLS ME AGAIN. I wanted to scream. He wanted to take me out to see Spider Man 3. I deleted the voicemail before it was even done. Again, nails on a damn chalkboard. Can't stand his voice.

I found his number in my recent calls list and hit send. After "Hi", I was like "So, I ran into C and he told me that you wanted me to call AND I got your voicemail." Insert some random shit from him blah blah... I launched into "I told you that I didn't have time to date. I don't want to date right now. AND I do not want to date YOU okay?"

He was like "Oh...okaaaaay" in his whiney voice. I had to repeat myself once more just to be sure he got it. Because I think he's living in a bubble similar to the one George Bush is about Iraq. He said "well, just to hang out, you know?" God, I was so exasperated. I told him, "It's about managing expectations. I know what you want - you want to date. I DON'T. Those two are never going to meet in the middle." He's the type of guy that you have to shut down, because that kind will think they have some kind of claim on you if you go out with them once and they think they'll wear you down over time. I don't want to date you and I don't fucking want to hang out with you. (Didn't say that sentence, but god did I want to.)

CLUELESS. Utterly clueless. I gave one more "OK?" and he was like "oh, okaaaaaay, well give me a call sometime..."

*grabs face with hands* GOD, WHAT THE FUCK DO I HAVE TO SAY TO YOU TO GET THAT I DON'T WANT TO DATE YOU AND YOU WILL NEVER GET A CALL FROM ME? (Didn't say that either, but that's what I was thinking.) At that point, I just hung up on him.

If he even tries to call me again, I am going to just...I don't know. I don't know what I'll do, but it sure as hell won't be pretty. Some dumbass footballer tried to stalk me in college and believe you me, he learned to watch his step around me. Him and his whole damn house knew I was not to be fucked with. I haven't had to be that bitchy in years, but I'll do it in a heartbeat if I think I'm going to have trouble.


What is it with guys? Jesica just went on a date with a guy that she met at a bar. She won't be doing that again. During their conversation, the guy was like "Yeah, my sister and friends think I'm an asshole." Great way to sell yourself, numbnuts.

God damn. I'm just so aggravated. This is why I don't date. Too much fucking bullshit. Give me a pair of batteries and high-grade plastic any day over this trumped up asshattery.

I'm going to make myself a stiff margarita.

EDIT: Oh yessss. I love margaritas. I made myself a GOOD one. I feel good. I don't even feel remotely annoyed anymore. Sweet Cuervo waters of Lethe.

Hospitals

So, I spent all of today in the hospital. My mom went
in for knee surgery. She had a cyst removed. It went
well, but god damn is the amount of time in there a
bore.

They make you get in there at 10:30 am, but then her
surgery wasn't even until almost 2pm! So you just sit.
And wait. And sit and wait some more.

Was able to see her in recovery at 4pm and we left
about 4:30pm.

I just hope she'll be able to walk better now. She was
having a tough time.

The doctor? Dr. Collins? Yeah, he was not a bad
looking dude. He was shorter than me, but he looked
like an older Christian Bale. Seriously. The exact
same face. I was like "helloooo, doctor".