i'm back in illinois now. i guess that's good. i'd rather be at home in md, but i don't get to pick what i want all the time.

i have an assortment of questions, some could be considered Rhetorical, that have been rolling around in my increasingly empty head as of late.

shouldn't one, as a grownup, have a vocabulary at ones disposal that doesn't rely on swearing and profanity when one is called upon to speak in a more formal or business-like setting?

should i get perfume and a few smaller things with my xmas money or should i invest in a digital camera?

should i get a new cell phone? the one i have is three years old and gets crappy reception where other people seem not to. the one i like would cost $-.01 after the $100 mail in rebate and approx. $10 more a month for the plan, which would give me like double the anytime minutes plus 1000 mobile to mobile minutes.

why do i feel so crappy when i thought i was pretty much over this cold i had?

why doesn't my sister post more pictures of the cutest babies ever on the web where i can see them more often?

what should i get my mom for her birthday on january 12?

where my bitches at?

well i finally made it home to md for xmas. i'm so glad to be here. the flight was uneventful, and so far the trip has been pretty low key. i went to a bowling tournament (read: "towoonament") my little brother was in. he did okay and it was fun to watch him hang out with other people.

yesterday i hung out at my dad's. it was.

today i get to go up to b'more with mom; we're going to see my sister and her baby twins.. i can't wait! they're walking and saying little words now which they weren't doing whenever i was home last. my sister just moved into her first real house, they bought this one so she's all miss Responsible Homeowner now.

i've spent a lot of time watching cable tv... more than any human should.. it's unnatural.

today i rode another different horse, lucas. he's a real sweetheart and i think he's gonna be the one i want to ride every sunday. we got along really well. it snowed here yesterday, to the surprise of everyone including the newscasters, and so the trail ride this morning was so beautiful. we ride down in the woods along a creek, which today was all snowy and frozen in some parts. it was like a beer commerical.

the rest of the day is reserved for footie pajamas and bad movies... we may rent .... gigli!

ladies and gentlemens, i give you the future of our civilization...

Sexiest Blog Ever

i've added a new link over there in the links section - it's the local newspaper from limerick, ireland. i lived there for four months in college on a study abroad program. i lived with a family in a house, not the hostel down the street where most of the other american kids stayed and got drunk every night because they could. what a rad experience that was.

i ask you, gentle reader,

what could be better than a new set of footie pajamas????

conversely,

what could be worse than bad chinese food??????

i think i had a productive day today.

i cancelled my shitty msn service, i am re-learning minicad and using it to do my groundplan for italian american, i took a 1 1/2 mile walk, and played with my kitty. not bad for stayin up half the night yakkin my guts out.

tomorrow i have a christmas party to go to, then photo call for the carol after which i hope to have a drink. then on saturday i have another party, the cobb party, at which i will definitely have a drink.

yay for computers.

almost just one week before i'm homeward bound!!!!

this sunday i rode bareback!

i got to ride on "big donnie" without a saddle. it was very cool. he is a huge horse, and his back is so wide it was like riding a sofa. i did use a bridle and stuff to steer, but it was really cool not having the saddle. he is a very gentle horse, and we just lumbered all around the ring. i tried to trot a little, but donnie just wasn't into it; he'd go a couple yards and just be done. we didn't go out on the trail because the weather was kinda sucky, but hopefully next sunday we'll be able to.

today i got a new cd burner because my other one finally called it quits. when i bought the pc i also purchased the extended warranty blah blah and now i'm glad for it. i got a kick ass burner now that writes at 52x instead of my old one which wrote at 8x.

italian american is going slow, the guest director seems really cool but since she's in wisconsin we're communicating by email and stuff which slows down the process. it's gonna be a pretty low key show though so i think we'll be fine. i'm working on proof in the meantime, hopefully we'll get a tiny jump on that one.

that's what i got. waitin to go home, just two weeks!!!

yesterday i jumped off a running horse.

jessie and i went back to the park and helped betsy with the horses again. when we took a couple out in the ring to warm up to go riding, my horse went all crazy go nuts... we were trotting and then she decided that she, in fact, was tired of trotting and would much rather go for a full out run. betsy hasn't taught us about galloping yet, so i ended up jumping off the horse since we were then totally out of control. i ended up in the sand and we watched my horse go galloping around the ring with saddle slowly sliding down to one side, and eventually all upside down around her belly. we let her go back up toward the barn and then betsy went and got her. she was fine, i was fine, and sure enough i got back on the horse after betsy saddled her up again. it was the most exciting sunday i've had in a little bit. betsy said the weather change freaks 'em out sometimes and that it wasn't anything i did wrong, just wierd horse mojo day, which happens sometimes.

christmas carol is finally officially open but i haven't been able to find a review for it. when i do i'll post it. i'm pretty happy with the end result but there are still a ton of things i would like to do to really finish it. i won't be able to though, on account of there's two other shows i'm working on now - italian american reconciliation and proof.

speaking of that, i should go to work.

again with the snowflakes!

yesterday was thanksgiving; i went to alan and roger's for dinner. they had quite a spread including smoked salmon and ham along with the requisite turkey and stuffing, etc. i ate too much.

i left there around 9 and rented a couple of movies. i watched one last night and will prolly watch the other tomorrow. last night was angela's ashes.
it was a really good movie. i read the book when it came out a while back and had totally forgotten they'd made a movie until i saw it at hollywood video last night. what a miserable childhood that guy had. my mom always says "never forget how lucky you are" whenever my sister or i bitch about what we haven't got... watching that movie last night really made me feel like a little ungrateful snotball. it was also interesting because i lived in limerick, where the story takes place, for four months in college and i could pick out scenes of places where i had been and seen while i was there. it was very cool.

i have some more painting to do before christmas carol is ready to open tonight, so that's what i'm gonna go do.. i will post pics soon, i swear.

also, i went to the fish store today, and bought two new fish. i got another upside down catfish and a gourami that's blue and orange striped. i found out that this particular fish store does trades for fish.. so i am considering trading in my plecostamus and the bigger of the two red-tailed sharks.

this seems like a weird concept, trading in your pets. on the one hand, i feel like an evil pet owner, like there's some fish union or prevention of cruelty to pet fish society that will secretly know. i am convinced i will secretly feel like a bad mom leaving my kids behind. on the other hand, the big shark is a total bully and the plecostamus shits more than any living creature ever should, filling his corner of the tank up so fast it's disturbing. he's also a bully. i'm hoping that once i trade them, and also my rosy barb finally kicks the bucket, i can steer more towards a community tank instead of the semi-aggressive groove i got goin.

we'll see....

this blog made me giggle.

Lily's Blog

this site is interesting.. a little unnerving, confusing and amusing too.

Ex-Gay Watch: Anything But Straight

yesterday i also managed to make my car payment, vacuum out my fishtank and re-arrange it with some new plants and a new driftwoody rock thing. the fish are muy happy now. i think i saw one frolic!

today i hope to finish christmas carol. otherwise i fear it may kill me if it drags on any longer. thursday is thanksgiving, and i'm going to my friend alan's for turkey etc.

also today - it's snowing.

today has been a great day so far. jessie and i went out to the state park where our friend betsy works and rode horses. betsy is in charge of the horses at lockwood state park. this morning we went out there around 9 am and helped load hay into wagon and then drove all around the pastures throwing it out for the horses to eat. there looked like around 30 horses all together and they followed the wagon to get the hay right away. then we helped feed and water the goats, sheep, swans and a chicken in the other barns up the hill. then we took horses out and rode them all around the trails up in the woods. i learned how to trot and how to saddle the horse after you scrape all the mud off (it's rainy today). we had a blast.

then we went for cheap mexican food - tres tasty. now i'm showered, i've written out all my bills, and am cleaning my apt. so productive!!

1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.

i would like to lose weight, update my portfolio, go home, save some $$ and give up soda.

2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again.

andy, kelly, gretchen, amy, celia

3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.

drink beer again, play an instrument (violin, cello or drums), sew on a sewing machine, autocad, and dance like a real person.

4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).

i'd pay off my student loans, set up my mom for retirement, set up my sister, buy the theater i work for, and travel.

5. List five things you do that help you relax.

listen to music, pet my kitty, play scrabble on the computer at work, watch dvds, and drive around the countryside.

given the choice, i would really rather not be a grownup anymore. my wise, and sage, 29 year old advice to you is to stay in school for as long as you can. if necessary, switch majors often, study things you are not particularly interested in, and get incompletes as often as possible without attracting suspicion. this is the key to happiness.

well, i put a new alternator in my car yesterday. now all my radio stations stay where i put them. tomorrow we have actrons onstage for christmas carol.. i think we'll be ready but it will require a certain amount of "dedication" (read: lack of sleep) on the shop staff's part... ewww...

praise sweet jesus for flannel sheets.

last night i finally saw the matrix for the first time. that's a pretty cool movie. i've seen the fx copied in so many other movies but i gotta say that they're cooler in that movie than in any of the copycats.

we also moved nikki into her new apt last night. i want a new apartment. one that i can paint. i like the one i live in now, but i really wish i could paint. damn!

ballyhoo strikes tonight and xmas carol loads in starting tomorrow. this afternoon i'm going in to paint the scrooge bed before strike so i can be slightly less behind.

right now i'm listening to a bootleg of radiohead doing "cinnamon girl". rock out!

Numenorean


To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
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i'm tragic???

my score was a 95... and when i saw the answers for the ones i'd missed, you can bet i was smackin my head and singing the stupid song.

back on track it seems.. productive meetings and mulled cider fix everything.

trying hard to go to rufus wainwright at the vic on dec. 6th. he is a god, in case you weren't enlightened.
also scoping plane tix for xmas trip home.... can't wait!!

update on the bday - christa sent me a mobile of little tin frogs, very cool :). my mom sent me a check for $29, in addition to the laundry quarters and shopping we did while she was here.

also, the new strokes record is good. get one. and the new rufus wainwright is divine.

halloween was exciting. there were costumes and liquor involved. there are pictures.

yup.

blah blah fucking blah blah blah.

i'm just a person.

"go stymie, it's your birthday!"

why yes. yes it is.

"not a holiday."

i beg to differ. in both the 7th and the 39th circles of hell it certainly is a holiday.. of the patron saint religious kind.

"who's your daddy?"

wayne. wayne's my daddy.


today is my 29th birthday. jessie's gotten me an elvis cd - 2nd to none.. it's chock, seam-splitting full of rokken tunes. most recently, a can of rain-x wipes for my hottie car windshield. i like to rain-x, it helps me see better while i'm careening willy nilly through the streets of rockford. in addition, a surprise birthday cake at our production meeting!

update: i have learned that the last installment of my birthday present will happen over drinks at octane, the bar next door, after photo call... i am on the edge of every seat.

update: the last installment was the board game "cranium". if you haven't played this game, shame on you. *scoldy finger shake* what a good birthday had i.

also, bob (who does our graphics stuff) just gave me a copy of the new rufus wainwright cd. it is fuckin' phenomenal.

tonight i plan to party like it's my birthday... possibly even sip bacardi like it's my birthday. woot!

this is really funny.
Richard & Kitty's World of Sex Euphemisms! (STARMA.COM)

later that same day...

finally made it home. typin on my own personal keyboard in my own personal living room. my cat is next to me, on the floor, in a catnip induced coma. this could be the first time i've actually seen a genuine case of "lolling about".

i just finished watching the west wing. i'm not sure if it was the writing or the direction or what have you, but this episode just didn't sit well with me.
leo mcgarry is being an asshole! or is that just me?

in other news, tomorrow is my birthday! part of me feels like i should be all contemplative and insightful, dispensing some newly imparted wisdom. part of me wants to go get drunk at the gay bar. who's to say, really?

again with the late at work. this time it's because i am helpless to resist access to high speed internet. "hm, stay late at work with the high speed or go home to play 9 games of solitaire while one page loads on my crappy dial up?" tough call.

so here i sit at work. at 7:15 central standard time. i am not drafting; i should be, that's the reason i'm still at work instead of home in my comfy couch with my comfy cat. instead, i'm sitting here in my office that smells like someone else's lunch.

my mom was in this weekend from home. we had a grand time. the plan had been to spend the weekend in chicago, seeing the sights and livin it up country mouse style. it turns out, though, that i was in such a pathetic state when she arrived that we spent the entire weekend at my house in rockford doing my laundry and buying groceries. i haven't had a chance to spend "quality time" at home in so long that i had no meal stuff in the house, just side dishes. we did 8 loads of laundry and there is still a tiny mountain in my closet.

saturday night we spent in a hotel in rosemont, close to o'hare so i wouldn't have to get up early and drive her in. we watched cable, since i'm too poor to afford it myself, and ordered pirates of the carribbean on pay per view. we were the cat's meow, lest you doubt.

now it's back to the grind; can't say i'm too excited, but am certainly in better shape to handle the crap i know is headed down the pike. this weekend is the first i don't have somewhere else to be... i have no earthly idea what to do.

my birthday is thursday, we started celebrating last night though. just to get a jump on things so we're totally ready for the actual day. jessie took me out to dinner at jmk nippons, the bestest and mostest coolest place in town. we saw kill bill later that evening. that is an interesting movie - really a movie of moments if anything - so much gratutious blood that by the end of the movie it looked more like streamers or confetti cannons than gushing blood. as always with the qt movies though, there was some really great music.. i have to dig up that soundtrack. i have to say my favorite characters were lucy liu and her totally unhinged body guard chick. too bad ass. i almost couldn't handle it.

and now i must draft. damn.

i got an email from my sister that says she can't read my blog, only the shout out link shows up on her computer.. does anybody else know about that?

my mom comes to visit tomorrow, and i couldn't be more excited!! i pick her up at 5 at o'hare.. we're gonna spend tomorrow and friday here and head into the city on saturday. i spent this evening cleaning in anticipation.

jessie and i watched the italian job tonight also.. i have to say it was a good movie. i really liked it. i also liked the soundtrack, i'd like to pick that up when if it comes out.
it reminded me of both oceans eleven and the bourne identity, two other movies i like. maybe i'll get them someday when i have $$.

on another note entirely, what should i be for halloween? i don't think i dressed last year.. the year before that alan and i went in military garb as "don't ask" and "don't tell". that was a good time. i have no plans for this year, and no ideas for a costume if i decide to go out.

you know what's good? rufus wainwright. you should check him out if you've not heard his stuff before. i really dig him... i listen to him in the same mood as aimee mann and michael penn, if that makes any sense.


i'm so not in bed right now.

You are StrongBad. You hate everyone, especially
HomeStar. Your e-mails and prank calls are
hilarious. You're my favorite character. You
try to be evil, but sorry, being shirtless with
boxing gloves just isn't scary. Don't worry
what everone else thinks because hey, they are
all "crap for brains".


What HomeStarRunner Character are you? (pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla

what the fuck.

well, this weekend was eventful. i was in a wedding. there will be pictures online somewhere, but they haven't published them yet so be patient. i was a bridesmaid, replete in heels and poofy hair. the two who were married are friends of mine from grad school.. i was there when she first decided she liked him and was unsure whether she should ask him out. i would love to say i was the one who said "of course you should ask him, sieze the moment, live for today, you only live once, what's the worst that could happen, grow a pair. i wasn't the one though, i just said something like "um, i don't know".

anyhow, the wedding was great. except for the two ladybugs that flew down the back of my dress less than thirty seconds after the cermony began. the ceremony only lasted 15 minutes. karen cried during the vows, which they wrote themselves, and the boys slapped a plastic ball and chain on mike's leg before they walked down the aisle at the end. i met lots of mike's friends that i'd only heard about up until then. i got to see other friends that i haven't talked to in a while and i got to feel all grownup and responsible when i held the bag for the dollar dance at the reception. incidentally, i spent the entirety of the reception in my stocking feet 'cause my borrowed heels were hateful. dan was kind enough to go get my sneakers from the car, though, so i wore those for the last half hour or so. there was dancing, and a fish-shaped groom's cake made out of pumpkin fudge with a transparent glaze of green frosting and gigantic red lips. oh, and a pumpkin candy eyeball.

on the way back jessie and i took the long way home. we stopped at a winery, wenona, on the side of the road, and a pumpkin patch stand in that i think was in peru. it was a wonderful day. the sun was out, it was unseasonably warm, and we played the farm animal game all the way home. i think i won, but am not sure. when we finally got home to rockford, we ended up at the park, where we hiked around and took pictures of autumn leaves, which we ended up throwing at each other as we ran willy nilly down the trail.. i love "willy nilly", it's my new thing.

now it's back to the grind, and house cleaning in preparation for the arrival of my mother, who's flying in on thursday. i am totally psyched.

ah swiffer, how i missed thee.....

dennis "the Kooch" kucinich 4 PREZ

i found this mildly amusing.

i realize it's wednesday, but i haven't friday five'd in a while and i'm trying to post that buffy thing off the page so my text box will return to normal. damn you buffy! damn you angel! (though, secretly, i wouldn't kick either one out of bed - i may have already mentioned that).


1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones? i watch football, baseball, hockey and sometimes even *gasp* golf for background noise while i'm working. i'll actually watch football if it's the 'skins or ravens.. or the superbowl, though i think that's a national law.

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes? um, 'skins and ravens, orioles, cubbies, and the rockford icehogs

3. Are there any sports you hate?
curling. how boring can a sport be??

4. Have you ever been to a sports event?
yes, i've been to several baseball games (including a birmingham barons game where i saw micheal jordan suck at baseball back when he tried to be all bo jackson). i've been to many icehogs games, a blackhawks game, a couple of 'skins games, and several other assorted pro games of some type or another

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play? in high school - 4 yrs. of field hockey, 1 track, 4 basketballs, 3 softballs. yes, i have the obligatory letter jacket to prove it. the first couple of years of high school i was also playing little league softball. then i played a year of field hockey at frostburg state. then i started doing theater. it was all down hill after that.

added a new link that's been on my favorites list for ages - asinine poetry. it includes a whole section of george w bush poetry and the whole site is full of great stuff. go check it out.

i finally got everything to work with this new template and so i've published it. i was worried that it might be too dark, but i like it anyway.. the green lettering was originally blue, which was cool, but i changed it. the buffy quizilla thing is also making the middle box way bigger, obscuring the sassy comment that lives in the "about me box".. eventually it will be revealed. there's also a little present when you click your mouse button, it's festive. who doesn't need a little festivity in their day?? i think i'll keep tweaking little stuff.. you have to tell me what you think- are there links i missed? blogs i should add?

in other news, i had to flush a fish the other night. one of my long finned ruby barbs died, he got all white and puffy for a few days and then just sunk to the bottom.. it was sad. now there's just one and since they do better in schools of at least three i feel like i should go get two more... they were only $1.49 in the first place.

last night i also purchased bachelor number two by aimee mann... you should have this record, she's cool.

my sister is buying a house. i'm excited and can't wait to see it. my daddy says now i should buy a house too. i told him someday, but post - rockford = back off. hopefully they'll have this new house by christmas (hint hint = write me you big nerd) and i'll see it and the babies at the same time!!

also, msn dial up sucks giant donkey balls.

new template!! whatchoo think??

i picked out a new blog template tonight, and have been screwin around with it for a bit.. not ready to post it up yet but i like it. i'm changing some colors and moving some links around.. hopefully tomorrow i'll get it all just right.

last night dan took me to see cher in concert at the allstate arena. we had awesome seats and a great time. there were all sorts of people there, moms, grandmas, queens, two fake chers and an elvis. she really put on a great show - it was like being in a huge gay bar and was really fun. i got a refrigerator magnet to commemorate.

this weekend i am in mike and karen's wedding. it will be fun.

tonight i went to borders and bought black house, by stephen king and peter straub, for $7. woot!

Protector


The ULTIMATE personality test
brought to you by Quizilla

tonight at walmart they played the miami vice theme song. i giggled all by myself in the canned soup aisle.

i left work tonight because i was tired of paint.. being covered in it, smelling it, cleaning it. when i got home, they had just painted my hallway. so what does my apt. smell like? paint.

sheesh.

bday countdown: 23 days...

keep your eyes peeled kids.. i feel a new template comin on....

updated my webpage with noises off stuff

janine_vreatt

incidentally, there are only 26 shopping days left until my birthday... just in case you needed to write that down somewhere..... i'm not sayin.. i'm just sayin.

ISTP - "Artisan". Impulsive action. Life should be of impulse
rather than of purpose. Action is an end to itself.
Fearless, craves excitement, master of tools.
5% of the total population.

Take Free Myers-Briggs
Personality Test


last time i took this test i think i was an infp. here's the
percentages from these results:

Introverted (I) 80.65% Extroverted (E) 19.35%
Sensing (S) 55.56% Intuitive (N) 44.44%
Thinking (T) 52.63% Feeling (F) 47.37%
Perceiving (P) 67.74% Judging (J) 32.26%

the answer page has code that you can paste your
results into your blog with, but it screwed my
font all up and i couldn't handle it.

go take it.

i just finished the last episode of buffy's seaon four. i'm ready for season five now, and it doesn't come out until december. i gotta say, i'm way more hooked on the show than i thought i could get. i borrowed seasons 1 - 4 from my sister because i'd caught a couple of episodes on tv late at night and was curious. i'm glad she had them all together so i could just watch them in a straight line and keep the story fresh in my head. the characters are so great! and the writing is too clever. i'm a big new buffy fan. woo!

yeah. i'm going to a wedding in two weeks.. it's my friends karen and mike who are getting married. they met while we were all at isu together, she as a grad, he as an undergrad. i'm excited to go on the one hand, on the other i feel old and single.

really excited about my mom coming to visit; we're spending the weekend in the city so i'm hoping for good weather karma. we're gonna ride the el like dr. green on er (even though he's dead now.. we don't plan to do the dead part, just the el part) and walk across the river on one of the bridges :). those are the things my mom wants to do.. also the magnificent mile, where oprah shops.

i'm also going to see cher with dan on the 13th. i expect lots of drag queen action. i hope i am not disappointed. dan's just moved into a new apt. in oak park and i am excited to see it.

my friend from college, christa, is planning to move to chicago in may. she is very excited. for the past few years she's been living in boulder, co. she's been working at a cable company, makin the $$, but is ready to get back in the show biz, as a stage manager or possibly a company manager. she got her master's in stage management at u of i. she got her bachelor's in drinking at frostburg state, with me. good times, good times.

so, right now my isp is msn. suddenly, it started sucking really bad. it's lasted for about two weeks now and i'm really really tired of rebooting. this morning i signed up for juno's free service... it's kicking the ass of msn! my msn contract is up on 11/20. i'm switching to juno platinum. it's half as much $$ and it's rokken!

just thought i'd share the love there.

there is a new hottie teller working at my bank. she inspires me to be more finacially responsible, checking my balance at the bank instead of by phone. she has an engagement ring, presumably given to her by some boy.... what a waste. oh, the humanity. *sigh*

she'll never know what she's missin.

boy george is a fucking weird ass dude.

jack black rox the muthafukken hizzouse. he is the shiznit, not his biznitch.

buffy has a lot of kissing in it. where's my kissing?

car insurance sux. it should be free.

i actually had a conversation today about growing a giraffe head out of my back.

there is such a thing as too much kool aid.

17 days to cher.

I am Nelson!
Which Simpsons Character are YOU?

you know what's funny? gourmet dog food. that's funny.

my pirate name is bloody anne bonney. arrrrrrgh... what's yours?

What's My Pirate Name?

yesterday was an exciting day.

for lunch i had indian food for the first time. it was interesting.. i had chicken curry and basmatti rice... i liked the chicken okay and the rice was just a little wierd. a tiny bit. the tandoori chicken i tried was also pretty good.

last night there was a fake fire in my building. i was watching the simpsons, the episode where bart's treehouse is burning down.. and as the flames start to engulf the treehouse, the alarm in my building went off. it kept going off and since i'm nosy i decided to check it out. i checked from the basement up and when i opened the door to the fifth floor, the hallway was full of smoke. so i ran back down a floor to my place, put the cat in the carrier and grabbed my wallet, ran down to the car, threw them both in there and went back in to investigate. the super wasn't home so i called his cell and by this time there was another guy who lived on the 5th floor who assured me i wasn't smoking crack, it was all smoke up there.. so after the super said he was on his way i called 911 and then waited outside for them to come. seven fire trucks (including the hook and ladder), an ambulance and a cop car all arrived.. the firemen went in with all their stuff and determined there was no fire. someone had discharged all the fire extinguishers on that floor into the hallway for no reason and it had set off the alarm. so on the one hand, i was all responsible and did the right thing, on the other hand i felt like a jackass for calling 911 for no fire. but chuck, from the 5th floor said if i hadn't called he would've and the firemen all said i did the right thing.

so it was exciting. partly it reminded me of the friends episode when the boys go on the police ride-along and ross thinks he has a near death experience when the car backfires. partly it made me think of the scene in the jerk when steve martin is living in the hotel and goes door to door telling everyone there's a fire because of his conversation with his new dog "stupid" (or "asshole", depending).

tonight is not nearly as exciting, which is fine. tonight i downloaded netscape radio plus and am listening to an entirely alternative 80's channel that is currently playing "gimme the car" by the violent femmes... this is so sweet.

tomorrow is talk like a pirate day.. do your part.. arrrrrrrghhhh

my mom's comin to visit! woo!!

also, the reviewer at the rockford register star had this to say about my set for noises off:

"The set is perfect for the show: lots of doors for people to go in and out and let the audience wonder who will get caught where, so kudos to deafgirl."

go me, go me!

you know what's funny lookin? when a guy flips his ponytail. that's funny lookin.

Talk Like A Pirate Day - Sept. 19

You are The Cap'n!

Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.

What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

last night we watched gone with the wind. i hadn't seen it until now and that was unacceptable to jessie, she put a moratorium on any new movie watching until i sat down with this movie. my not seeing it started out because it's almost 4 hours long. then my college roommate went on this crusade to make me watch it, so i vowed never to watch it out of spite i guess. since jessie wouldn't watch any more movies until i watched this one, i decided to make the sacrifice, for her good mostly, since there are so many good movies that she's never seen. so i took one for the team ;).

it was a good movie. there were some moments that made me laugh, even though i shouldn't have, because they'd been spoofed in movies and tv shows (see shag and the carol burnett show). there were also some really nice moments and pictures that made me marvel at what these moviemakers were able to do with such primitive (at this point) technology. she wants to wear all those hoop skirts and gowns and hats and stuff and i want to be clark gable. surprise surprise.

today we're watching a streetcar named desire because she's never seen the movie, and possibly sunset boulevard, 'cause she hasn't seen that one either. we'd also planned some kind of southern food lunch menu, which will involve cornbread and whatever else people eat in the south (except grits, they are gross), and be washed down with either dr. pepper or iced tea as both are acceptable as "house wines of the south".

in other news, i finally got my bridesmaid's dress for my friend karen's wedding in october. i tried it on wed, and it turns out that i've lost weight since sending in my measurements! yay me!

core one for the non-confrontationals! i have been wondering for some time now how to broach the subject of my loud ass neighbors with my super. we share these neighbors, they're my next doors and his upstairs so i know he knows they're obnoxious. tonight i happened to catch him knocking on their door to give them some paperwork and we chatted (they weren't home). i told him they were really loud, pretty often, and he agreed, and he told me that my other neigbors (who are loud on occasion, but not as often) are moving out at the end of the month.

so, not only did i manage to informally lodge a complaint about my nasty neighbors, there is renewed hope for cool new neighbors!!

work is fine, half day tomorrow, and all day friday off... though on friday i am gonna be watching gone with the wind because jessie's making me. i'm skeptical but have been told i have to like it. we'll see how it goes.

soda makes my teeth hurt.

tonight i lifted a new monitor from work, this one doesn't get all drunk after 5 minutes. i also rearranged my bedroom and set myself up a tv and stuff so i can watch jay leno headlines from my very own bed.

noises off is up and running in previews; it looks good and the crowds are eating it up. still tired from tech, need to grocery shop.

new music interests include morphine (always liked em, never bought a cd) and magnapop.

went to walmart tonight, didn't see anything worth reporting.
the other night though i saw a station wagon with the baby shades on the back windows and the naked lady license plate holder.. an interesting combo, no?

since i blogged last i've had a busy time of it. labor day weekend was great, saturday i had dinner at nippon's and went out for drinks.. had a good time with just water! spent sunday at rehearsal and part of sunday night watchin big bad voodoo daddy play at waterfront right outside of work! they rocked!

monday i went for my first motorcycle ride. dark mark took me out on his 100th anniversary harley fatboy and we hit some back roads outside of town.. i had a helmet on, goggles, and some gloves and a harley denim jacket.. i totally looked like his bitch. we went really fast, passed some cars, and did some hardcore acceleration. it was so rad!! i can't wait 'til i can drive one myself! i spent the rest of monday watchin movies, fallin asleep on the floor, wakin up for more movies and some cheese pizza... good times.

i finally started painting yesterday.. i mixed up what i had and went to work. hopefully my bmi paint order will come in today and i can really get down. tonight i plan to do the floor. this week coming up has definite nightmare potential but i'm trying to stay positive... say a little prayer for me (whenver you wake up, before you put on your makeup).

turns out the monitor i jacked from work is slightly focacta; must trade out with one that doesn't get progressively blurrier as the evening wears on.

jackie has asked me to take a shot at some cover art for her poetry cycle.. i am hyped. i am also 5 episodes into season three of buffy, this show is da bomb yo. neighbors are also still loud as fuck but i realized the other night that my super lives right underneath them. he came upstairs at 4 am friday morning to tell them to keep it down so i think he'll be on my side if i decide to get all activist and complain. rad.

i'm gonna go take a breath.

today i lifted a 16" monitor from work. it's sweet now that jessie screwed around with resolution so it doesn't hurt my eyeballs.

at walmart tonight i spied:

corndog/twinkie making kit.
it's a single tiny vat that you use to make corndogs and twinkies. i had a coronary just looking at it.
who buys these things???

well my car is all fixed now. i got the window tinting matched today and, except for the paperwork, it's all done.

now i'm angry. i'm not angry about my car in particular, or about shitty work situations, or my loud ass neighbors that i ran into in the basement last night while they were drunk.

i'm angry about something and i don't know what it is. i seem to keep shooting my mouth off at work, and gettin all angry, but really i'm not angry about work. i want to break things and cuss a lot and scream things and beat people up. like, if i wouldn't go to jail, i would go out and pick a fight right now. i'm all tense and stuff. this sucks. i bought a dvd to help me feel better but it didn't. i don't feel like drinking, then i'd be all heartburny and angry, then nobody wins.

so now i'm gonna watch a movie, and go to bed. maybe i'm just tired.

my car got broken sometime last night. they shattered my passenger side front window. nothing was stolen, we figure whoever it was got spooked in the middle of their "project". two other cars in the lot also had windows smashed, and one guy's cell phone was taken. my wallet and checkbook were both in the car at the time, but neither was taken. fortunately, an actor at nat also has an auto glass business and he hooked me up so my window is already replaced. tomorrow morning i have an appt. at 8 am to get the tinting done so it matches the rest of the windows again. so it's almost like it never happened. i had a $100 deductible for comprehensive, so everything else will be taken care of by geico. thank god for insurance, otherwise i'd be payin $500 for the window and the tinting by the time i was all done.

between that and my new loud ass neighbors, i hate people again. i had just started likin' 'em again. damn.

i saw a "white power" tattoo on a guy today in walmart. he had his family with him.. which means his little boy probably aspires to, one day, have his very own.

how is it that people who move in next to me have huge stereos. every time.

today i bought ice cream that has tiny chocolate bunnies in it. yum.

i also cleaned house, throwing out three trashbags full of useless crap. felt sooo good.

my southwest egg rolls beckon...

*sigh*.......i had such high hopes for my new neighbors... alas, more yelling. at least this time there don't seem to be children involved.

today i took a technological leap and bought myself an optical mouse. my other mouse used to get stuck for no reason, i cleaned it and it still sassed me. so i kicked it to the curb. this one's still got a cord, but it has a scroll wheel that can be programmed as a third button.. so i set it up as a double click button and have been rockin the web!! for $12!!!!

i also picked up a little cd tower for my computer cd's.. can i get more organized????

i've spent the past two nights and some of today watching back episodes of buffy the vampire slayer. my sister, 'cause she rocks the muthafukken hizzouse, lent me seasons 2, 3, and 4 on dvd. i watched season one while i was home this summer and got totally hooked.. i'm one episode away from finishing season two. it's a fuckin good show yo.

i don't know what else to report... work is fine.. new td (jerry) is a wonder to behold.. he is really gettin some shit done. he drafts on autocad, which i have a copy of but don't know how to use (i learned minicad, the mac platform). he gave me his old manual, since it's the same version, and i plan to get down with the computer drafting at home!! woot!

tonight jessie and i are planning to get drunk, watch movies and order take out. did i mention the drunk part?

our new td is so rad it's like christmas every day. he makes me feel like a lazy ass.

yesterday, i swore i'd never drafted before in my life and had no idea what 'scene design' was.
i had some drinks, then it was better.

your cursor changed when you visited this page. it's 'cause i own your ass and you didn't even know it.

i need a pensieve. real bad.

Alyson Hannigan Gallery 19

new hottie for the list!!!1

my child beating next door neighbors are blasting latin soft rock. if i remembered more spanish from high school, i could sing along it's so loud. they're sposed to be moving out.... won't be a nanosecond too soon.

you know what's fun? wrapping your right wrist in an ace bandage and attempting to do any of the following:

a.) type with any method other than hunt-and-peck
b.) drive a stick shift
c.) switch the buttons on your mouse and use it left-handed

for anyone wondering "why the ace bandage, deafgirl?" it's because my right wrist still hurts (and there is now new-and-improved-swelling-action) and so, in a last ditch effort in the name of self-healing, i've wrapped it and am attempting to use it as little as possible. if it still hurts on monday, i plan to bite the bullet and go to the doctor with my grown up health insurance. if it's carpal tunnel, you'll see me on the news, going ballistic with some kind of automatic weaponry.

yesterday i felt all professional.. i drove into chicago (all by myself, mom!) to take a meeting with my director for noises off. he likes what i've done, and is excited about working with me. how cool is that?

today is not as exciting, i get to go to work and vacuum.

wednesday i went to see pirates of the carribbean... what a cool movie!! i wasn't sure what to expect when i went, but it really turned out to be way better than i thought. it's just a fun movie. it's not all plot development character analysis structure and deep insights, it's cool fx and just a whole lot of fun, in the same way the ride is just sittin in the boat, watchin all the pirates be nasty and fun. i've decided that i'm quitting my job as a scenic designer and becoming a pirate.
who's with me????

shout outs, o shout outs.. wherefore art thou, shout outs?

you know how you learn something new every day? today i learned that i can shuffle when i play mp3 discs in my dvd player!!

over the weekend we went to steppenwolf to see homebody/kabul which is truly a great piece of theatre. it's about afghanistan in 1998, and was written by tony kushner. he also wrote angels in america. don't know if you can hot tix there, but if you can afford it you should go see the show. it's 3 1/2 hrs long but it really flies and there are two intermissions to help. and, ray kurut is in it!

after the show we went across the street to an afghan restaurant, called the kabul house, for dinner. afghan food is weird. i filled up on pitas mostly but gamely tried everything that came out of the kitchen except for the lamb stew and the eggplant. the lamb kebob was good and there was this chicken rice thing that was pretty tasty too. i fly home for a week on sat, aug 2nd, and my brother in law wants to go out for ethiopian..

work is still sucking, we're still searching for an artistic director and a td, and a props master for that matter... i talked to a guy today that faxed his resume in for the td position, and he looks really good. sounded really interested on the phone too, we're hooking back up on thursday for any additional questions/concerns. i really hope he takes the job. he sounds like he really has his shit together and he'll make me be better at my job, as much as i might curse him for it. still working on noises off, it's hard.

in other news, um...... i got some new vans for my feet and a gel wrist rest for my keyboard. my right wrist doesn't feel any better, and i'm really hoping it's not some crazy carpal tunnel action... i don't spend my life behind the keyboard and i'm left handed!?!

that's all i got.

big thunderstorms friday night = lost power all weekend. got all new groceries now. thanks mom.

something's wrong with my wrist, not sure what it is but it's sore and bothersome.

gettin' a new artistic director at some point. gettin new computers at work tomorrow.

readin the harry potter books, finished #2 yesterday, startin on #3 tomorrow.

goin' home for the first week of august.

feeling misanthropic most days. look it up.

this afternoon i killed wasp #3. my sketchbook, weapon of choice among the best of the best, has consequently been dubbed the wasp waster. i have discovered what i believe to be the point of entry and have taken steps to shut the bitches down. since i've weatherstripped the living crap out of the gap in my window, i have managed to successfully thwart the attempts of two other would-be intruders in their dastardly plot to enter my home and sting the almighty bejeezus out of me and my furry cat friend.

in other news, i got no $$. i bought gangs of new york on dvd today anyway, in an awsome display of flagrant disregard for the priciniples of "budget" and "cashflow". also, good call on the sunburn at the gay pride parade. my nose is red. like santa, or the neighborhood drunk.

when i got home from work today there was a wasp in my living room. i freaked out, and then took my sketchbook in hand to put an end to the madness. i ducked and weaved, side stepped and dodged, flailed and swatted... it was cinematic....
eventually it flew behind the blinds and i smashed it against the window. truthfully, i'm surprised i didn't go right through it, and plummet to my death. so then i sprayed it with raid. then, i smushed it with a pencil and then cut it in half with my swiss army knife. then i figured it might be all the way dead. since then, my windows have remained closed as this is the second wasp i've had in the house in the past week.

this weekend i'm headed into the city to be gay with dan. we will have us some fun. and possibly some sunburn.

blogger has a fancy new system... oooooh....

since i updated last things here have been uneventful. i went out for drinks last night and discovered i can no longer hold my liquor as i needed to stop after two drinks. this is sad. it means my glory days 'passed me by', like bruce springsteen said. it's hell to be old. ish.

i did buy the hours on dvd on tuesday night, and watched it last night. if you've not seen this movie yet, shame on you. it's wonderful. i like it more every time i see it. it's a beautiful movie to watch and the performances given by the three women (nicole kidman, julianne moore, and merryl streep) are mind-blowing. it makes me think about a lot of things but i think mostly it's sort of about people discovering what it is to be involved in the lives of other people. it's sort of about how we are all interwoven into with the lives of the people in our little worlds and the responsibilities we have to those people and to ourselves.

still neck deep in assessment.

tonight, def leppard was in town. they got picketed by religious protestors waving giant posters about abortion killing and homosexuals going to hell.... does anyone else not get the connection? i sure didn't. the guy from the ice cream stand and i watched the concert goers arrive and some heckled the protestors, which was tres funny. one guy acutally mooned one of them and mooned/smacked his bare ass at another (there were three altogether). the homosexuals part made me wonder if they'll be back for the cher concert in july, 'cause you just know that's gonna be a whole giant bunch of gay, gay, men. i might have to set up a foldin chair to watch that one.

nothing new to report, just been at work. spent tonight at work, helping run a benefit concert given by miss freeport 2003. scenes fromdrop dead gorgeous kept playing over and over in my head... i smiled to myself a lot. lookin' forward to pride parade at the end of june.. much fun to be had there.


personally - still learning, still thinking; some re-evalution and re-assessment goin' on. i feel like maybe there's some changes percolatin'.

well, it seems that i've been on a self-imposed hiatus lately.. been busy.

yesterday i bought high fidelity, classic cinema. my air conditioner is in, praise jesus. got some new books from the library, which i'm looking forward to reading.

finally got a full size bed, just like a grownup.

saw coldplay at the uic pavilion on june 9th. i can't even express what an awesome experience that was; currently my most favorite band, their stuff is just that good. gods, they are.

went to gatlinburg, tn, for a family reunion of sorts.. played with babies and spent time with my dad's side of the family. played golf for the first time in 15 years (and wasn't half bad), and hot tubbed a bunch. good stuff.

cat is fine, box of water is fine..

as far as work is concerned, i turn to one of my favorite writers, dorothy parker, who once said:
"what fresh hell is this?"

been kind of in a tough spot lately, some days are small and lonely, some days are okay. learning a lot about other people.

more to follow...patience, constant reader.

tech......................................................sucks..............................................



must..................get...........................................boring..................................office job..............................
home at 5.......................................weekends off.....................................sleep.........mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

i just read this in a post in some other random blog, and i thought "my god, what a beautiful poem, i must share". if you think that liking poetry makes me flaky, fuck you, read it anyway. i've left it pretty much the way i found it on the other blog; you'll notice that 'spring' is capitalized here, and that's unusual for e.e. cummings. i left it 'cause that's how i found it. i took a poetry class in college, when i was all into english and stuff, and i hoped i could magically write like this, but of course, i can't. according to my classmates in our weekly critiques, all of my poems were about sex. i stopped writing poetry.
if this poem doesn't move you, you have no soul.


somewhere i have never travelled
by e.e. cummings


somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near


your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose


or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;


nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the colour of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing


(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

my power went out last night for no apparent reason. it was out for around two hours, i'd estimate; i played amish until i fell asleep.

highlights:
- my child abusing neighbor woman knocked on my door to ask if i needed any candles 'cause she had extra in case i was stuck in the dark. mindfuck anyone?
- i discovered that i own more flashlights than should be allowed by law.
- since the only source of noise i had in the apt, that wasn't plugged into the wall, was my walkman i also discovered i have some kick ass music on tape.
- my mexican lottery candle didn't bring me instant millions like i had expected.
- candles and flashlights can make supercool shadows... oh the drama!
- my fish are oblivious to events outside of the tank. and even the ones inside the tank, like when the filter stopped working... although, had they actually noticed, would i know it?
- it's really hard to stay awake when the power's out and you're all by yourself.

other miscellany from the past few days:
- my mom sent me $20 for easter to buy myself an "easter treat"..... i don't know what to buy!!??!! feel free to shout out some suggestions...
- diana krall might be my new goddess
- i'm working at new american again for the summer.. i get to supervise other people.... mmwwwaahhhhaaahahahahahaha
- coldplay, june 9.. hehehehe

hehehehehehehehehehehehe

i have the new radiohead. it's so beautiful, it makes me want to cry.

*snif*

1. What was the first band you saw in concert?
depeche mode

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?
right now, it's a toss up between radiohead and coldplay

3. What's your favorite song?
now that, my friends, is a tough call..... too tough for me.

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
drums, violin or cello

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
i think i might like to meet cher, because she doesn't take shit from anyone.

my sister, as some of you may already know, writes and publishes her own 'zine, called esperanza. it's about being a mama (as she is to the cutest set of twins in the world) and the trials and tribulations involved, and also all the cool stuff that goes along with having babies. she's starting a distro, so that other mama's can get their mamaselves heard. it's called mamas unidas she's working on getting zines together from all over, and will soon be up and running. check the site often, these zines are good stuff.

on the me me front, i got nuthin.

snippets:

i want to kill you in the face you fucking incompetent fucking moron fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tuesday it was 71 and i wore shorts all day; tonight is 5-8 inches of snow by the morning.

haven't seen a broadway show. get over it!

college. can i please go back?

mmmmmmm.... coldplay.

today was my 10 of 12 tech saturday for proposals. we're in really good shape, got lots done over dinner break, so the show looked really good for tonight's first dress; couldn't see anything major to be done for tomorrow's first audience by the time my td left for dinner.... now, even though we couldn't really forsee any tech notes for set, besides little paint ones... wouldn't you expect the technical director to be back after rehearsal for tech notes?

yeah, so would i. we're mistaken.

who's that sexy girl with the coldplay tickets? oh wait... it's me!

steve knuth was in town tuesday with the david copperfield show, and he hooked a bunch of us up with free tix... i thought the show was pretty fucking incredible... like, i wouldn't even begin to know how to start to guess how any of that shit happened. i just couldn't fathom it.

proposals is in really good shape, and i have a white model done for little shop of horrors so that's pretty much in the bag too... wheeeee!

some of you may have noticed that, for the better part of the day today, my blog was not my blog. i'm not sure what happened there, it wasn't anything i did. the posts were my posts, but the template and everything else was in spanish..... hmmmmm.
obviously, it's all "fixed" now, and hopefully it won't happen again.

i think i may go to the coldplay show, we'll see.

today was soooooo nice out. i wore shorts. i walked to work. my legs... are so white. i washed my car. i have all my apt. windows open and it's sposed to be just as nice tomorrow!!

got some paintin' done, got some more to do.. nailed down the design for little shop, it's so rad.

yeah, that's what i got.

coldplay is on tour. they will play the uic pavilion on june 9th. i could be there, in the balcony or mezzanine for $35, and general admission for $37.50.

i am positively aching to see them. i love them.

do i play responsible and skip it because i have no money? or do i say fuck it all and charge tickets?

who would go with me? to ease the irresponsibility guilt trip i would surely put myself on?

to go or not to go... answer the damn question!

you'll notice below that i found another site with a few interesting quizzes... go take some, they're highly amusing.
also, i've added a new link in the side bar to "george w bush" - it's one of the funniest things i've seen on the web.. and i've seen some funny things on the web.

i went to walmart tonight, and here's my question for the evening:
what would possess a person to think that having their dog on their lap while driving the car is an acceptable practice?
what kind of rock are they smoking?????

also, band name: male panties
also also, what up with my font being all fucked up on my last friday five?????

what's your battle cry? |
mewing.net | merchandise!






take the virgin-whore dichotomy quiz.


and go to mewing.net. where we're all studs.

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?
i'm not gonna write it on the blog. so let's say....layin the smack down during the music round at pub quiz after arguing over a band name with an obnoxious team mate.

2. What one person touched your life this week?
people touch my life every day since i'm one of those "little things that count" people. so, too many to write down.

3. How have you helped someone this week?
i was posse; i think i helped.

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?
proposals..... the show, i'm not actually proposing to anyone, you twit.

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?
clean my apartment before tech, and eat during tech (don't fool yourself, that's not necessarily a given).

www.potus.blogspot.com

i laughed my ass right off.

well well well. i've officially decided, i may be too old to rockstar.

i went down to school for mardi gras, some of you witnessed, and i stayed up all night long on saturday. i can't remember the last time i did that, but it was surreal. i wasn't even drunk!!??!! just awake. i did get to nap for 3 hours, intermittently, but boy did i crash on sunday night. it was a good time.

sunday night we watched the oscars and i have to say i was disappointed. steve martin let me down, man, and i think the whole "subdued" campaign just sucked. i can understand that the academy (or whomever) felt like a big celebration might be inappropriate. i saw barbara walters on nightline saying that she had been part of a discussion about whether or not to even hold the oscars this weekend. it's true we're at war, but i think that getting on with everyday life is just as important as supporting our troops and keeping informed about current events. i was also dismayed by the recipients who chose to use their acceptance speech time to spout off political comments. that was the wrong platform for airing those kinds of opinions. i think that night is supposed to be a celebration of art and achievement, not a soapbox. i tune in to see the hideous outfits, the movie stars resplendent in their 80 million dollar gowns with the 90 billion dollar jewelry, all that obnoxiously fabulous excess, who's dating who, and all the red carpet interview fluff that goes with it. people go to the movies to escape the strife and stress of everyday and i don't think it's appropriate to introduce that stress into an event which is created specifically to provide and celebrate that much needed reprieve.

a blog, however, is an appropriate soapbox. and now you're all lathered up... ;).

just screwing around on the web tonight, found a blog by an iraqui guy our age who is living in baghdad. go read it. it's current.

1. If you had the chance to meet someone you've never met, from the past or present, who would it be?
that is a tough question. i think it would've been neat to meet dorothy parker, or zelda fitzgerald or eleanor roosevelt, or i think it would be neat to meet one of my donnelly family members that came here from ireland, so i could ask them why.

2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?
i think i would be a guy in the 13th or 14th century, a knight would be cool; or a guy in 17th century paris.

3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be?
paris, france or london, england

4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?
Idgy Threadgood.

5. If you had to live with having someone else's face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be?
i don't know, reese witherspoon, julianne moore, maura tierney, gwyneth paltrow... any of these would do.

this stupid war has blocked out both the guiding light and er! fuck it!!

on another note, i need some advice i think. the woman who moved into the apt. across the hall from me verbally abuses her
toddler(s) on a regular basis. we share the wall to our respective living rooms. i hear her scream at them all the time, and them screaming full-on little kid screams all the time, the kind which makes me suspect that if she's not beating them, she's at least manhandling them. i've heard her call them (i think there's two) stupid, cocksuckers, bitches and fucks and she screams at them to 'get your ass back in bed'. should i say something to my super?

i'm morally pretzeled.

band name: sugar-free ezra

shout it a couple times in a monster truck guy voice. i think you'll find it works.....

so my weekend was pretty good. friday i picked up jessie and sauber at the airport (yay!). and then jessie and i went into the city to help dan celebrate his birthday.. it was a lot of fun, we went to spin, and kristen was able to come too - we haven't gotten to play together in quite a while so that was great. we stayed out late, and kristen made crepes in the morning in honor of dan's actual b-day, which was saturday. saturday afternoon, jessie and i left dan's and went to the brookfield zoo. we saw monkeys and elephants and tigers and lions and walruses and sea lions and dolphins and other stuff too :). there were lots of kids there, but most of the time i felt like we were at our own personal zoo. the weather was beautiful and we had a great time. then we went to famous dave's for wings, and home for junior's cheesecake and ocean's eleven. it was a great day.

i was just reading some of my most recent posts, and i realized i forgot to mention one of the things jackie and i did was go to a bookstore in chicago called quimby's.. it's in bucktown and they carry her 'zine esperanza. you should go there, it's off the damen stop on the blue line, and they carry 'zines on everything you can think of... 'zines are pretty cool i think, it's an opportunity for anyone who's got something to say be published and heard for like almost no $$. i took her picture holding her zine and we were total cheesy tourists. it was great. she's now thinking about opening her own bookstore back in baltimore.. so exciting!!

1. Do you like talking on the phone? Why or why not?
i don't mind talking on the phone. it really depends on who it is i'm talking to. and for how long, since i can't switch ears like y'all two-workin-eared people - my ear hurts after a while. sometimes it's nice to hear the voice, but it's easier to excuse yourself out of an email.

2. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
ummmmm.......... dan i think.

3. About how many telephones do you have at home?
i have one land line, for online service, and my cell, which is my primary phone.

4. Have you encountered anyone who has really bad phone manners? What happened?
i don't think so, but there is a guy at work who doesn't say "bye" before he hangs up, he just hangs up and that's kind of annoying.

5. Would you rather pick up the phone and call someone or write them an e-mail or a letter? Why or why not?
i think i sort of anwered that in the first question. i'd rather talk to certain people, and email others.

just finished er. why is carter such a raging asshole!!??!???!????

hey. there might be a band name in there... please welcome to the stage.... raging asshole!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my sister was in for the weekend, we had a rad time. we went to spin, gaymart, beatinks, and hollywood mirror. we walked around downtown and got our picture taken in the rain.

work is the same, still busy.

i added a facts link, i felt compelled to make a random facts list, i'm not sure why.. prolly 'cause i get a kick out of reading other people's lists... i don't think i'm that cool, but maybe somebody will find it amusing.

that's all i got.

1. What was the last song you heard?
Parallel or Together - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

2. What were the last two movies you saw?
Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman (at home) and in the theaters - Chicago and The Hours

3. What were the last three things you purchased?
a tray for my watercolors, graphite tracing paper, and illustration board

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
go to gaymart, go to spin, see three musketeers with my sister, and take her back to the airport

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
my sister, my mom, jessie, dan, and bob.

i had figured i would leave these last posts as the most recent for a few days, to see who had what to say. i find that i just can't not blog anymore though, since i'm so excited at the impending arrival of my sister, who flies into o'hare tomorrow. my sister rocks, for those of you who don't know. she has twin baby girls, and publishes a zine about being a riot mama. it's the esperanza link in the sidebar here, that goes to her blog about different zine related stuff. if you want to read a copy, let me know.. jessie's got a copy of the first edition down in normal, and i have the second here, and would be glad to share. while my sister is in town we hope to go to a bookstore in chicago called quimby's as they carry her zine for sale and we think it'd be cool to see her stuff in a town far away from where she lives (which is baltimore).

in other news, there is none.

let me clarify something here:

the issue of whether or not we, as a country, should go to war with iraq is not really what i wanted to discuss. i really have no interest in debating that particular topic - only to say that i wondered about the morale of our miltary troops because i think that sometimes people have a tendency to think of the military as a single war machine, not as moms and dads, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and lovers who don't want to die just as much as you or i. my lukewarm interest in these war goings-on is really on a human interest level, not a political one. i haven't paid enough attention to consider myself "well informed" about the facts and circumstances to really debate the ethics of this war.

what i really was asking is this: how do you feel about the inalienable right to free speech - is there a line where we cross into the land of "too far"? you should know that i do support this kid's right to protest in any way she wants, short of causing harm to others, which she clearly is not doing. i raised this question on my blog today because the morning radio show i listen to had people call in to opine about this girl's silent protest. one guy said she should do 20-30 yrs. jail time for disrespecting our national symbol. another caller determined that she must not actually be an american citizen. everyone that i heard on this show essentially said that the right to free speech is secondary to patriotism and good citizenship. nobody called in to say that they unequivocally supported this girl's right to protest in her individual, non-disruptive way. so i wondered, just out of curiosity, if there is some invisible line, that nobody talks about, we're not supposed to cross if we choose to disagree with the mainstream social conscience. to me, that idea seems at odds with the fundamental principles our nation was founded upon, and so i thought i would see what other people thought about that. thank you to all y'all that have already commented on my last post, i just felt like maybe i didn't make my question or my position clear.

here's a condensed version of the first blog (it's in it's entirety below this one); with some of the pieces that contain the question that i'm actually asking:
"in other news, i'm curious - what do you think about the college basketball player who turns her back on the american flag during the national anthem before her game?" it seems to have caused quite a hot debate on the issue of patriotism and citizenship vs. free speech. "isn't freedom of speech one of the principles we hold most dear as americans? isn't that one of the primary tenents on which our society/country was founded?"

so, now i feel like i've cleared up some murky waters, and am curious as to what you all think. so shout out!

you know how sometimes people say just random things that happen to piss you off, even though it's not really a bad thing they said, it just rubs you the wrong way for no real reason that you can identify? and then you get all defensive over nothing and want to scream fuckfuckfuckfucketyfuck really loud, but you don't because you know it's secretly stupid???

my daddy gives me shit for not updating my yahoo page enough, so i started the family safe blog, and he leaves this shout out: Well, this is different - but I would just as soon get an email - whihc has to be as easy or more so. DAD there is no fucking pleasing this man!! and why am i over-reacting like this? i feel like i tried to do something fun, and he crapped all over it.
fuck!

in other news, i'm curious - what do you think about the college basketball player who turns her back on the american flag during the national anthem before her game? she's protesting the war i think. on the one hand, i think we should be united as a country if we do go to war, for the sake of our overseas troops' morale, if nothing else. on the other hand, isn't freedom of speech one of the principles we hold most dear as americans? isn't that one of the primary tenents on which our society/country was founded?
i don't know, what do you think?

the weekend is over, and i haven't done nearly as much work as i had hoped. when did i become such a lazy fuck?


jessie came up on thursday, which is always good. friday night we both went to the cobb's party, and she got all kinds of tips for the ny trip (of which i am insanely jealous). saturday i sat around on my increasingly fatter ass, instead of drafting like i was supposed to. today, i sat around some more, but eventually did get to the drafting.... i still have one more plate i should do, and kinda feel like i might start on, even though it's 12:20, which is way past my bed time. damn responsibility!!!!

my sister comes into o'hare on thursday night, and i cannot wait to pick her up! we will rock out all weekend, especially since she told me that our mom is not only sending new baby pics, but also $100 spending money... yay mom!!!!!!!!!!!
jackie, my sister, wants to see all the gay parts of chicago... i told her that wouldn't be a problem.

i'm listening to massive attack right now... so smooth...

i've started a family - safe weblog, it's not exciting, but i felt obligated to say something about it.... there's no cussing, or silly quizzes, or talking about hottie starlets, so go if you want, but don't expect to be as dazzeled as you are by this page......

who wants to buy me a digital camera?

1. What is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)?
i suppose it's really a toss up between novels and non-fiction... i love a good autobiography, but i'm also a fan of a good story.

2. What is your favorite novel?
i don't know. i think wuthering heights, fried green tomatoes, beloved, anything by margaret atwood.

3. Do you have a favorite poem? (Share it!)
i like most of shakespeare's sonnets, but also adore dorothy parker....

If I had a shiny gun,
I could have a world of fun
Speeding bullets through the brains
Of the folk who give me pains;

Or had I some poison gas,
I could make the moments pass
Bumping off a number of
People whom I do not love.

But I have no lethal weapon ----
Thus does Fate our pleasure step on!
So they still are quick and well
Who should be, by rights, in hell.

4. What is one thing you've always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read?
I'd like to read the Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, and Catcher in the Rye.

5. What are you currently reading?
Currently I'm trying to read A Beautiful Mind

i always knew i was smart and hot....you know you want some of this.


You are Dana Scully. You're a doctor who believes
firmly in scientific explanations for
everything, yet you're also a fairly religious
Catholic. You support Mulder and his ideas,
and accept that you have seen things you can't
explain. Yet, you remain his foil and
"keep him honest", forcing him to not
get too delusional. You never get your own
desk for some reason.


Which X-Files character are you?
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tonight i watched two really good movies: the royal tenenbaums, and scotland, pa. you should watch these movies. they are wonderful. and maura tierney is so fucking hot i can't even think of words to describe how hot she is. i am speechless....except for dirty thoughts.. and they don't count as speech, right?

it occurs to me that i missed the friday five, and i know you hate it when i do that......

1. What is your most prized material possession?
i have my parent's wedding pictures, they were divorced when i was 6. they are irreplaceable. i also have a collection of playbills that my grandparents collected during their theatre-going days, including some pages from playbills that my grandmother's mother collected and framed. some of them date to the 1890's.

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?
i wasn't really sure at first, but i looked around and saw that i have a stuffed koala that's covered in koala fur, that i've had literally as long as i can remember, meaning i can remember having it when my parents were still together.

3. Are you a packrat?
incurably so.

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?
i would like to keep my house cleaner than i do, i'd like to have a place for everything and everything in it's place, but that never seems to work out for me... i suppose i would probably get nervous if my house was spic and span....

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?
i have an expertly arranged, aesthetically impeccable, visually inspiring and exasperatingly enviable collection of random knick-knacks that are all special for some reason or another.

well now, i know you've been waiting for an update... don't lie, you know it's true.

the truth is that i've been sick for a while now, and not really interested in life outside my apt., though others in my life (read: work) forced me to acknowledge it's presence and even participate in it against my will. i had a fever, i've had a persistent cough, and even some dry heaves! it seems to be over now, for the most part, and so i return (albeit reluctantly) to the more conventional routine.

friday night i went down to school to see pentecost, although i was too sick to do it (i didn't discover this really until i got there... not so good). it really was a great show. the cast did a nice job with an intense script and some powerful issues, and the design team really came together in some nice ways. i got back yesterday around 6, went to bed at 9:30 and slept until 11:30 this morning...

tonight i am watching the grammy awards, and i have to say that coldplay's performance of politik, backed by the new york philharmonic was in-fucking-credible. three musketeers opened officially on friday night, and at some point i'll try and find a review to link to. i assume it went well.

that's the nutshell... i had it, and you knew you wanted it.

i just got back from grocery shopping at walmart. i saw a couple, like mid 60's, with 10 heads of lettuce in their shopping cart. i couldn't see any other salad related items - dressing, croutons, bacon bits, other vegetables, etc....... just the 10 heads of lettuce.

what does one do with 10 heads of lettuce?

and here's my friday five, finally; a day late, but i got your dollar right here beeyotch:

1. Explain why you started to journal/blog.
yeah, becky, jess told me to, too. quite the little tyrant, that one.

2. Do people you interact with day to day or family members know about your journal/blog? Why or why not?
actually, no. well, my sister knows. and she reads it every day. hi jackie! nobody i see every day (read: at work) knows about it, and i hope to keep it that way forever and ever 'cause somtimes i bitch about work and it just wouldn't do for them to read it. it's not necessarily because i care what they would think about what i write, but since my livelihood (sp?) depends on maintaing a good working relationship with these people, it would be bad news for me to write something really offensive and then be confronted about it at work.

3. Do you have a theme for your journal/blog?
i don't think so. unless you count the reference to the fact that i'm hearing impaired in both the title of the blog and in the url itself.

4. What direction would you like to have your journal/blog go in over the next year?
omni

5. Pimp five of your favorite journals/blogs.
links to all my favorite blogs can be found in my links section. that's the extent of my pimpin.

went to an icehogs game tonight, and had a great time. they won 5 to 1, vs. the kalamazoo somethingorothers. i finally got an icehogs hat, and am hoarse from all the screaming bob and i did. friday night i went to see three musketeers, to see how all the painting i did this week looked under lights. it looks more done that i thought, and that's a load off my mind.

i feel generally better as a person today, i've had a day off, and most of the day on friday i painted by myself. i stayed home all day today, and only went out for the hockey game, which was a lot of fun. tomorrow i plan to go grocery shopping in the morning(ish) and then rent spinal tap and stay in all day, with my cat and my box of water. i don't remember the last day i had off, meaning a day that i haven't gone in to work, and two days in a row is such a treat.

later in the week i plan to head down to school, prolly on friday, so i can see pentecost, which i feel like i've been working on after hearing so much about it. dan conley will be down on thursday, for work, and is also staying for the show.... so all y'all down there... buckle up, it could get exciting :).....

also, i got a valentine today from my nieces... it's cute.. it's a happy valentine's to an aunt card, and now i feel all warm and fuzzy :). i'm diggin this niece thing. my sister comes to visit the first weekend in march, and chicago had better watch out, 'cause we got an agenda.

yup, that's all.

"love is for tiny people with tiny lives."

- parker posey as 'jackie o' in the house of yes

well, i got nuthin.

i spent the weekend in tech, and am still painting major set pieces even though we're in student matinees. we haven't officially opened though, so really it's not a huge, gigantic deal (even though i feel like it is).

for the past few days i have been in an extraordinarily foul mood... just evil and petty for several days on end now. i think it's because i haven't really had a for real break since like new year's. more recently, i haven't had a day off since i don't remember when, and i'm extremely tired of people in general. i'm in serious danger of actually telling some people just what i think, which wouldn't be wise, for so many different reasons. hopefully, i will be finished painting by friday so i can have the weekend to myself. this would be good for anybody that has to come into contact with me, at all.

on the whole, things are okay, i'm just tired i think. i got offered a job at apt for the summer, but only as a props intern. ha.
it sounds like a sweet job, and i would definitely take it if they weren't only offering $260/wk.. i can't afford to make that little = looks like retail for me this summer. maybe that wouldn't be so bad..... i dunno.

i should go to bed now, as lack of sleep isn't generally proven to help shittymooditis, as i'm sure many clinical studies have shown.

updated my webpage again, this time adding a page of musketeers process shots... the most common comment seems to be "it's big".....

some say it's not the size of your set that matters ;)

again, courtesy of the random slogan generator,

i wish i were a musketeer wiener.

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning? If you didn't have breakfast, why not?
i am having brunch today, and it's mac and cheese.. with an extra slice of american cheese just like jessie taught me.

2. What's your favorite cereal?
that's a tough call... sometimes it's lucky charms, sometimes it's cap'n crunch w/ crunch berries and sometimes it's cracklin' oat bran....

3. How often do you eat out? Do you want that to change?
it depends on the calendar. if it's tech, like right now, i eat out almost all the time. when i'm not in tech, i'm pretty good about eating at home... i would like to eat at home more during tech, but i never remember to stock up on crock pot stuff before hand.

4. What do you plan on having for dinner tonight? Got a recipe for that?
my dinner will prolly come with a medium fry and a coke. i got nuthin'.

5. What's your favorite restaurant? Why?
famous dave's at the moment........... buffalo wings... hoo daddy!!!!!!!!!!!

You are red. You are impure, but noble. You are precious and true to yourself and others. When you love, you love entirely, and will do anything to make your love happy. You are sure of your identity, therefore, you cannot change others or be changed. You are a true prince, you may be forgotten, but without you, none of us could go on.

What inner color are you?

and then, i tried the random slogan generator; i entered 'janine' as the word to 'sloganize':

we'll leave the janine on for you.
australians wouldn't give a janine for anything else.
gives a meal janine-appeal!

what would you classify as 'janine-appeal'?

i painted all day today. i got home at 10:30. pm. 30 seconds after i walked in the door at work this morning, two of my three flying buttresses fell over and broke in half. how was your day?

more painting today, but still not sick! fish are all alive, cat is fine. i updated my webpage tonight, you should go check it out if you haven't already.. it's more of a pain to update than blogger so i don't do it as often..

we're about to go into tech this weekend, and for anyone of you who's wondering "janine, does tech get any easier once i get out of school and into the 'real world'?" the answer is.....yes. even on the stressful shows, the atmosphere is a little more laid back.
i certainly think some of it can be attributed to the fact that we don't have other classwork and projects to attend to. i think mostly though, it's the sense that because we're all professionals, we all trust that the other person is doing their job. and the idea that we're all working to make whatever show it is be the best one it can be is just assumed. it's nice. we're all responsible grownups, and we act like it. i have a lot of work left to do on 3M, but we all know it will get done, and that it will kick major ass when it's finished. so we carry on. happy teching to anyone involved in pentecost; i know that's coming up soon.

and.....i'm spent.

didn't blog yesterday, kinda busy.. started junk painting.. so now the pieces that are up are a lovely shade of lavendar. it makes me think of the musketeers in a whole new way ;).

today should see some major additions to the set, i'm hoping to see most of it up, 'cause some of it i can't paint 'til it's up.
i really don't have anything else to say.. half of rockford (this includes our theater staff) has the flu, and i'm trying really hard not to catch it; it took bob out for 4 days. i'm trying to think of some witty closer here, but am currently wit free. so, later.

well, we struck arsenic and old lace tonight. it was a good show, but i'm ready to move on. three musketeers is next, and it is gonna rock. i watched a run through tonight, and am very glad i did for several reasons:

now i'm excited about the show, and want to work on it even more than i already did.. i got re-energized.

there is an upper level that's held up by legs, surrounded by these pillar lookin' things of sonotube (a giant toilet paper roll) and tonight i discovered, much to my dismay, that people get head-butted into them, and shoved into them. this is not good.

cool swordfighting!!!!!!!!

if you can, you should come see this show. it promises to be a good one. i may or may not be alive when you get here, but i'll be with you in spirit. the next two weeks could prove very hazardous to my health, indeed. let's just say that things like materials ordering and prop master responsibilities have not been going according to plan.......

ugh!!

the greedy grim reaper has made yet another stealthy, creeping, visit to my humble box of water. we've lost another, gentle reader. the other silver tipped shark, may he rest in peace (somewhere in the plumbing/sewer mazes of rockford), passed at some point in the night.

fear not, for i am on the case! i have secured a water sample from said box of water and am, at this very moment, readying for the journey to my local petco for a free water test. i will keep you updated on the latest developments as they occur. keep it tuned...

update: turns out it was my bad.....sort of. nobody told me they like salt in their water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. so i got my water tested, and everything is fine there, my nitrates are high but i just need to vacuum and do a water change, so no big deal. no new fish for a while i think...

today was pretty eventful i suppose. of course, there were the events of this morning; very sad. after i finally got out of my pajamas, i went to work and painted for a little bit. then i went and saw chicago which i loved. when i got home, i found that one of my new fish had died. i'm not sure why, but one of the silver tipped sharks was floating at the top, stiff as a board. it was kinda bizarre, as everyone seemed fine when i left the house and also, aren't dead fish usually floppy? so i flushed him, and plan to take a water sample in for testing tomorrow to make sure i didn't kill him with bad water in the box. two of my other fish have been acting wierd for quite some time now, so i fully expected one of them to be the floater.. sadly, not so. hopefully it was a fluke - in which case i plan to get another one tomorrow. poor fish.... poor fish...........

You're in the Gangster box.


What box do you get put in?
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