Funny how when you hear the song "Don't Need Nothin' But A Good Time" you can be fairly certain you're not going to have one.
I skipped the Molly's. My apologies. I'm sure you're over it.

Hi'ya. I'm currently at the loverly Robin's Nest. Here is a recap of the weekend thus far:
Friday: after my boring and lengthly afternoon at work I headed to Apple-town with UPB to meet up with Shaft and Roy for tasty tasty Indian food. Mmm. Lamb and Chicken 45... or was it 46? I don't remember. Then, shoe shopping. *sigh* I bought two pairs of very inexpensive shoes (one for me and one for sissy), and one pair of slightly ridiculously expensive shoes, but they are muy comfortable and I believe well worth the price. Of course, we had to pay homage to the giant God-tree, and that was a little spooky, but the shoes are damn good.
Then off to the bar for good conversation, then home to bed. Fast forward to Saturday and I woke up too early and therefore needed a nap. Did a little laundry and moved some heavy plastic boxes of fabric to the basement, then got my self gorgeous in a very Flock of Seagulls kind of way to go to the strip club. Ok... the plan was to go to the bar located in the basement of the building where the strip club is on the first floor, but it was kinda lame and we ended up going upstairs to look at proto-boobies. That is to say, they may some day be real boobs, but yesterday they were just sad little mosquito bites. What can I say? I'm a boob girl and I was disappointed. But watching the psuedo-dominatrix rip the elastic off some poor bastard's underwear was a little funny. Funnier was him trying to keep his junk covered while she forced him to crawl hands-and-knees on the catwalk. Good times. I came home (unlike the rest of the Oshkosh contingent) and the ride home from Ripon seemed unbelievably long. At one point I actually was concerned that I was going the wrong way, but I wasn't, so it's ok. And, I didn't hit any deer. But I was alert. Very, very alert.
Then, today, I slept a really, really long time. And played a lot of Big Money (the puzzle version). And went to the pet store, and I was happy to learn that Buddha's brother was (finally) sold. And that's about it. I meant to get lots and lots of cleaning done this weekend, and it hasn't quite happened yet. I guess I still have tomorrow morning before the pickynick. And tonight: Molly's. Yay!

MSN Learning & Research - 10 Words You Simply Must Know Who knew these were the 10 words most lacking from our vocabulary? I certainly didn't. Though I'm happy to say that #1 ranks among my favorite words. Along with megalopolis, miasma, antithesis and others I can't think of off the top of my head. Unfortunately, none of those words contain a 'k'.

Work is beyond quiet today. Seems that having Monday off doesn't make the long weekend quite long enough for most of my company's employees. When I get back from lunch I will be the only person there from my team. Kind of makes it difficult to want to go back in a timely manner, but I suppose I have stuff to do. Even CB took off this afternoon!

Anyway, now is time on sprockets when we find something to eat for lunch.

Good to know that despite not being the Dark Queen, I still hold some power in the ironocracy. Because Mr nor Mrs. Jones has yet to post about Labor Day festivities, I'll let you know: picnic/BBQ at the Jones starting around 3, or, if you're getting screwed by the man, whenever you can arrive. Other Labor Day weekend activities include dancing at Molly's on Sunday night, if you are so inclined. And for me, cleaning, as this weekend marks the beginning of my (if I do say so myself) well-deserved vacation, and I don't so much want to come home to a dirty house.

And just one little note about the whole vacation thing, and about how coworkers can suck.... I mentioned that I had off to one such person, and she had the audacity to imply that I a) do not deserve a vacation and b) couldn't possibly be in a position that I could be away from work for a week without being hopelessly and forevermore behind. And to her I say (imagine me giving the finger with both hands here). Loudly. This happened Tuesday and I'm still pissed. Luckily all of my friends at work (including my boss) were happy to jump on my bandwagon and bitch about this person with me. Which is my way of saying that most of my coworkers do not, in fact, suck at all. I should be very thankful, and I am.

It's very stormy. That makes me happy. And a little sleepy. Also the Packer game made me sleepy. It's not nearly as much fun to watch when we're sucking so very much. Stupid backup quarterbacks and lack of defense or special teams.... I know, I know.... Klingon. Suck it up, people, it's football season.

Friday
Well, it's the second day of the convention and it seems like I've been here longer.
>>Good Lord! Is he still at the convention? We should really go pick him up!!
I saw Traci Lords today. Um, yeah, I wasn't impressed either.
>> Traci who?
I'm still updating my journal on my laptop, so you have that to look forward to. I know the anticipation is killing you.
>> We are, in fact, already dead.

"Gigantic" was wonderful. Everyone's major criticism lies more on ourselves than on the filmmaker, in that we cannot get enough information on the two Johns. The ride home was filled with plenty of, "I wish they would have talked more about...(insert nearly any topic or tangent here)." In other words, a little disappointment in that this was a very entertaining documentary film instead of a full-on miniseries depicting every detail and nuance of TMBG, the Johns, Monopuff, State Songs, family, friends, etc. There was obviously a lot of love in the air when the stage collapse at the Modjesca was mentioned, I assume many of the viewers had been in attendance at that show.
*****
the above paragraph was written yesterday when I got home from the Robin's Nest. I had intended on going on more about the movie and my day, but got suddenly very very ill, so instead I went to lie down. I am completely recovered now, happily, and I have some new hair which is very fun.
In other news - there is big work news that everyone it affects already knows about, and those of you that don't know probably won't care, but... a big big big wig is stepping down the end of this year. Not exactly sure if or how that will affect me, but there will most certainly be a shake-up of some sort on third floor. More as this breaking story unfolds.
Otherwise, a nice slow day. I finally finished some old business, now I can concentrate a little more on the new stuff, which is good. It's begging for some attention.
I should probably be heading to bed soon...night all!

It's been a long day, but not as long as it was suppose to be. I skipped out on the bachelorette party after waking up a bit too early for the farmer's market today. Had a lot of fun, bought some tasty stuff, got to hook up with my bro and Mozybot and two of her rug-rats (no offense, boys) for a loverly lunch. Turned out that I got a little bit too much sun after all, came home and vegged out to the Packer game instead of partaking in craziness.
I'm headed off to bed now. Honestly. Any minute.

So...watcha doin Sunday around 3:30? Well... let me tell you. You're going to this. Right? And by "this", I mean Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns). It appears, if you scroll down, that we may be planning additional trips to this theatre as they will be playing The Animation Show in October. Friday, October 10th looks to be quite interesting. Mother - it looks like tennis may have to be in the morning Sunday... let me know if you're still interested.
In other news, UPB and I have purchased the tickets for the two of us to see the funny. I'm hoping everyone else interested is doing the same. For those who haven't been there, the Barrymore isn't big. It isn't small, either, but I'm guessing it will be a fairly popular show.
I feel like I've suddenly become incredibly busy. I'm very glad that I'm working on getting laundry done now, since it isn't looking like I'm going to be home a whole lot this weekend. Happily, next weekend starts the big vacation. I can't believe how much I'm looking forward to it!! It's a very exciting time to be alive.

No rest for the wicked. Or those who consume Mountain Dew after 5 pm. Unfortunately, I fall under both categories. Damn the luck.

Hmm... what to say? Today sucked. Not in any interesting way, just kinda got my ass handed to me for not doing something I wasn't ever exactly asked to do. And I got just about nothing done. But that was work, and that was hours ago, and since then I've enjoyed a nice meal, downloaded the rocket game from PopCap, and watched Queer Eye. I'm feeling much better.
We (UPB and I) won't be around on Friday night, as we're headed to the old stomping grounds once again. This time I'll be catching up with S one last time before she leaves the 1st world. Some time ago (one Christmas or another) when I was home we were taking stock of just how many of our classmates have lived outside of the country. It was kind of a lot, considering how few of us there were. When S goes to Ethiopia, that will be 2 that I know of that are currently abroad. And neither in Europe, which is interesting, too (I think). Also interesting is that none of it can be chalked up to military service, as no one in my class enlisted to my knowledge. I feel like I should be collecting these factoids for our reunion, but I'll let someone else worry about that.
Now to get back to work...

Stupid computers at work don't not even work. We were down. All day. All freaking day. Many people went home. Or, rather, many salaried people went home, and some hourly people went home. For the most part, hourly people tried to keep busy filling their days with things that could be done without the computer. I could have gone home. Maybe I should have. But I got done a task that has been hovering over me for a couple weeks that I've been avoiding because, up until today, I was honestly too busy to really give a crap. But now it's done. woo-freakin'-hoo
We evidently had a virus, something about nachos, that sounded suspiciously like the worm that was in the news last week that I would have assumed someone in IT would have maybe heard about. Evidently not. Or, maybe this actually was something brand-spanking new, yet to hit the airwaves or the internet. Seems unlikely when you put it that way. IT guy who was coming around to innoculate all the sicky machines said something about how the virus does not affect the AS400, that the AS400 was all ok. Plinko and I had the same thought: who would write a virus to attack an AS400? That's just silly! There's a reason the other people in our department think we're huge geeks, that's all I'm saying.
Not much else to talk about, as it was (obviously) a fairly slow day. Hopefully tomorrow will be full of productivity.

It's out. I know you were all worried, so I thought I'd just let you know. When the garment in question is white, things are much easier, but... Now I know for the future as well.
A sincere and heart-felt thank you, as always, to our gracious host, and best of luck in his new abode. Dinner was tasty, the company second-to-none. And that's not the wine talking.
Had a most lovely conversation with Mother, discussed the difference between friends and "bar-buddies" (thanks DerK for the apt description), as well as love, life, and other things.
I would love to have a nice dinner party for everyone here sometime soon, but that would involve cleaning that currently boggles the mind. I'm thinking that torching the place (torch it, scorch it, torch it, scorch it) may be the only solution short of saving up tons of money and actually buying a house.

Up at dawn and sleepy and yawning
Still the taste of wine
Then I remember you're mine
and I've got a world that's fine

Why, hello! What are you doing? Not blogging, I'll bet...
Yesterday was very nice... slept in a little bit, went to Kohler for the picnics, got to hang with my bro & my pop for a while, had a blast from the past, ate corn and ice cream and cotton candy and had some free wine cooler and a kinda nasty hot dog. The picnics are different... they've moved stuff around, there are tons of inflatable things for little kids to jump on, there's a new 'security' service (guys in t-shirts) and the music playlist was considerably improved. We were there for three hours before they played the electric slide followed up by the macarena (then we decided it was time to go). But it's more than that. It's hard to pinpoint just what is different, but it was considerably more low-key, and you could sense the townies lamenting the fact that there would be no knife fights nor battles of who can throw more pitchers of (free) beer on whom. Somehow the whole event has become more wholesome, and I don't think that's exactly something the residents of Kohler have been jonesing for, as anyone who has been there can imagine. Really, the town, and especially the summers if you a child, are boring enough without sucking the possibility of scandal out of the picnics. It used to be two weekends of debauchery and chaos (confined to a small park on the wrong side of the tracks). Now it's.... nice. I guess that's ok, too. I guess.

I think California did it. That's right. California was so pissed at being the butt of all the election jokes at the hands of New York "journalists" and comedians that it managed to go to hell and come back with the ability to take down the power grid at will. "This is for making fun of our long-standing lottery system..." ka-pow! There goes Buffalo! "And Ahnold is a perfectly reasonable candidate..." boom! No lights for you, New Haven! "Gary Coleman, why not??" bam! Suck it up, New Yorkers!! But did it have to go after Detroit? I mean, what did the city ever do to California? And it's really not fair... Detroit can't possibly withstand a night of total darkness. And Toronto? One of my favorite cities in all the world? Completely undeserving of California's wrath. Now... Cleveland I can maybe see, as the Packers are playing there tomorrow night and obviously with umpteen professional football teams of it's own, California would stand to benefit if something bad were to happen to our beloved Pack. Let me just say for the record, if it turns out that the Pack is pissing in the streets tonight because Cleveland has run out of water (as predicted)... I'm coming after you, California. If the greatest team in all of sports history oversleeps because there is no power going to their alarm clocks, it's going to be you and me, at the bike racks, 3:30. However, if Cleveland gets its power back in the next, say... hour or two...and NY is still black as the dark side of the moon for the next week, we're good. I'm just saying, pick your battles wisely. I know where you live. And I don't particularly give a crap about New York or New Yorkers that get to wear bibs and chucks to work because they're "creative" (read: hobos). Not that I'm bitter.

Hmm... your latest post is well noted, DerK, and (so I don't have to mention it when I see you) the whole situation pretty much sucks. Sorry.
I realize that I tend to bitch about work an awful lot on here, and there is plenty to bitch about, but maybe calling certain, selective higher-ups crazy is less than smart. Plus, there's the whole thing about me actually loving my job. (I do mention that part occassionally, don't I?) That despite days like today where I did a lot of babysitting and not a lot of my own job, I feel very lucky to be in my position, have my boss, and do the work with the people I do every day? Of course, now it sounds like kissing up... just in case... but it is true. Hopefully that will work in my favor. Just in case, I may do a little editting...
Back at work today I had a few surprises pop up... like old styles are new again and the work on them needs to be finished yesterday, that kind of thing. I (honestly) inadvertently missed a staff meeting yesterday afternoon where the team learned that few will be traveling in September, many in December, the vendor conference will be in Vegas in March next year, and possibly Hawaii the year after... that would be soooper cool. There was also a (so I am told) very long talk about quota... one of the aspects of the job that I mostly don't have to worry about yet because of the product I work on, and most of the other people in the department don't need to worry about, either, but... that's how those meetings tend to go.
Looking back at some of my early posts that were getting some tracker hits, I realized today that I used to be funny. Or... funnier. I remember asking someone once what they thought of themselves, what they believed their qualities were, and when said person responded with 'funny' I was a bit taken aback, as I would never, ever, ever have said that. It makes me wonder... does everyone think themselves funny? I certainly don't find most people funny, which is why I think I enjoy the bad guys so much, because they/we I think generally are. Sure, it's often at someone's expense, but most of us give as much as we get. It's all about balance. And sure, the funny is often centered on inside jokes, shared histories, etc which might make outsiders think we weren't particularly funny, but I think the amount of laughter generally surrounding us would indicate otherwise.
Anyway... I still say this person was NOT funny. Not ever, not once that I can recall. And, what's more... my posts of late have definitely lacked humor. For this, I have no excuse, and as my faithful readers I beg your forgiveness. I will try harder in the future to have funny things happen to me that I can write about.
Oh wait! Here's an oldy but goody that I forgot to blog:
A few weeks ago at work this old coot (who truly is insane) said, "Wow! I really like your hair today!" I said, "Thanks" while continuing to walk away. He said, "And I really mean it." Now... what the hell is that, I ask you???

Seems I am allergic to tennis. Or maybe to WD-40. I had a really really fun time playing (ok, for the sake of argument, let's call it) tennis with Mother yesterday. Except it was hot. Really hot. Me and my bright ideas of starting at noon-thirty. Sometimes I am not so smart. After that I fixed up my bike, which is now (as far as I can tell) in complete working order.
I, however, am not. I got sick last night (sorry I missed everyone at the Robin's Nest) and it lingered until today and paired up with a splitting headache that finally seems to be on its way out. So... I'm home sick from work. And bored. So very bored. To the point that I've checked my work e-mail. A couple times. Now that's just sad. I almost wish I didn't like my current pretty page so much, or I'd be working on making a new one. I'm not that inspired, though, and I feel like spending too much time on the 'puter is just tempting fate, as earlier today I couldn't really stand to even have my eyes open. So, in an effort to actually do something smart, I think I'll log off now. In case I don't think of anything more to write (which is likely, as my day does not look to be containing of lot of interesting content) here's wishing Shaft good luck at his new jobby-job tomorrow. Shaft is the man. Shaft is now taking calls. Shaft is the prettiest boy at the salon. tee hee

N E 1 4 10-S? ha ha!! I should put that on my personalized licence plate... oh wait... it may be taken. Mother and I are going to give it another go with slasher, not-slasher and some balls today. Last time I think I expended more energy laughing than actually running after or hitting tennis balls, but it was still quite a work out, as I recall. I think we should head to the Goodwill and pick up some more rackets and try a doubles match. Not that I can imagine talking anyone into playing with us, but... I could be wrong. Too much wood, not enough head. Mother loves the bush. I am on the net. See all the fun you're missing? And no, we don't keep score.

Damn it! And it started so well, too.... my day, that is. Threw in some laundry, got the a/c installed (yes, I do know it's nearly the middle of August as it happens, but I was tired of looking at it on the living room floor), rearranged a bit and made room for the new bar, even vacuumed a little. Then the pizza provided by my pals Plinko and Mother zapped the energy right out of me. Gone. So then I had to take a nap. Ok... I probably didn't have to, but it was awfully nice. Now I'm trying to summon the gumption to actually move the wet laundry into the dryer. Or even to move myself a little. To be fair, I think I've gotten more done this morning than on any whole Saturday in memory (at my own house at least), so slacking off this afternoon maybe wasn't so bad in the grand scheme of things.
Plus: football=tonight. Yay! I think I'm still sleepy enough to fit in my 3rd quarter nap. I should go back to watching tv now, though, cuz the Isaac Mizrahi movie is on, and despite the most hideous clothes ever at Target right now, I think he's on my list.

Funny... seems like it's been longer between posts than just the two days...
So today I finally got the recognition I so clearly deserve as an employee of ye ole b'gosh. Not a raise, a promotion, or any of those oh-so-overt displays, but rather, my one-year anniversary gift box. Now, it's two days late, and my boss had to call to find out where the heck it was (cuz I made her), but it did arrive thanks to one slightly sheepish HR gal. She was a bit embarrassed because it seems that the gift box assembler is not living up to the high b'gosh standards of timeliness. Or, rather, they are and therefore boxes for a given month show up about a week late. Now, I won't ruin the surprise for other employees coming up on their anniversaries, but I will say that I got another g-d bandana (I think that makes 5). Woo hoo!
Something else that is nearly a week late is the next paragraph, which I have been intending to write about since Saturday morning when it occurred to me. Here it goes: mourning doves are weird. I love the cooing noises they make, and I think they're pretty and stuff, and I think it's very strange that people want to hunt them. On the other hand, considering they're birds, they really don't seem to like to fly much. Whenever you walk near them and they have to move away rapidly, they squalk and freak out as if they forgot until just that second that they are even capable of flight. It's like, "Holy crap run run run... wait! I'm in the air! Crap!!! What the hell?? Must... get... down!!" And the length it took to read that statement is about as long as they seem to be able to stay airborn. Now here's the strange thing... you don't see mourning doves in the winter. They (I assume) do not hibernate. Therefore, at some point, they must migrate. I can't imagine this is done in many many short freak-out sessions until they find themselves in Florida. It seems like an incredible waste of energy. But I bet you've never seen a mourning dove soaring gracefully through the clouds, let alone a flock of them. Just think how strange that would be. Or how scary a flock of noisy, practically ground-tied, flitterpated, pea-brained, lice-carrying fowl would be, hopping their way from state to state. So what do they do? Hitchhike? Seems unlikely. I'm just saying... birds are weird. And as much fun as it is to ponder this, I'm not going to look up what the real answer is because it would just ruin it for me.
Speaking of... DerK, you know all that pretty, candy-like silica gel we saw at the Target (possibly in the Todd Oldham stuff)... totally edible. I knew it, I just knew it!!

Well...football was a bit of a let-down. Unless you like still shots of lightening hitting the ground nice and close to the stadium, which I do. The game was called due to weather, but it wasn't all that fun to watch (stupid preseason).
Anyway... big meeting tomorrow that I've been working all night trying to prepare for. Or, at least all night minus a haircut (yay!) and a delicious steak dinner (yay yay!!).
Now I'm very nearly fried (in my brain) and itchy (haircut) so I think I'm going to take a shower. Also, I smell like incense, thanks to crazy new Aveda products. It's a smell I like, but not a smell I want to smell like, if that makes any sense. (Did I mention I'm a little tired?)
So - everyone thinking happy thoughts for me around 11 tomorrow morning. I meet with my boss, my boss's boss, and my boss's boss's former boss. For those keeping track, that's sane, insane, and bat-shit crazy. And the reason for the meeting is to pick apart my work. So lucky I am. And I get to go first. Which means I need to be uber-prepared to not be shown up by the over-achievers in the west wing. I swear to God they're plotting against the rest of us. Of course, one of them is miserable, even with her new fancy promotion, and the other one has no life as far as I can tell, so... I guess I still win.

Da da da DAA! Are you ready for some football??? Packer game. My house. 7 PM.

Yo everybody! We are in the hiz-ouse. It's nice to be home. The weekend was sooper fun. Thanks to all who participated in the shopping and the extreeeeeme pig-out(s). I'm happy to have another restaurant to add to the list of good choices when in the Mayfair area. Peony (and their Dim Sum) were about what I was hoping they would be, I think. Tasty and unusal choices for not too much money. An adventure in every bite. Next time we'll know to order less and share more.
Next time I get down to Tip Top Atomic I'm bringing a U-Haul. It just occurred to me that they might be a good outlet for the thermos and blender lamps. I forgot to mention it to Shaft and UPB, but they had a clover-leaf blender there for (I think it was) $40. Plus, they were really, really nice. Bebo - you would crap yourself. African Hut was, of course, wonderful. I kept thinking, I knew I should have just ordered the plantains for dinner, but now I have tasty tasty leftover Jollof rice, and who could complain about that? Not me.
I'm currently enjoying a new monitor that I bought (thanks Kenny and Dixie!) with the intention of giving to my dad... when we got it home I realized it's actually bigger and better than the one we're using (which is much bigger and better than the one my dad has) so... he'll get an upgrade as well, it just won't be as much as it could have been, cuz he's getting our old one. I'm certain he'll get over it. More likely, he won't understand why he can't just keep the one he currently has.
In an effort to help increase traffic to her site, I just wanted to point out that Bebo is at a new location, and has been for a little while. Her current URL is correct on my links, so if you're still going to the old site, get with the times, baby!
As I don't seem to be able to construct coherent paragraphs, I think I'll do you all the favor of signing off... good night all!