em220@livejournal.com

em220 @ 2007-11-13T19:11:00

2007-11-14T01:04:40Z

Free-IQTest.net - Free IQ Test

Final Book Review and more

2007-08-15T03:18:16Z

So I finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which -- if you remember my last post -- was quite an accomplishment after it about made me sick 20 pages in. However, I was very glad I was able to finish it. I won't deny that it was a very girly book, but it was well written and had an interesting story. It was sad, though, so don't go running to read it if you're wanting a light hearted summer book.

In other news, I was devestated that Lauren went home on SYTYCD. I'm so ready for Lacey to go -- that cocky chic needs to get booted. But overall I'm happy with the final 4...it should be a GREAT finale tomorrow night. And we'll finally get what we want: Sabra and Danny dancing together!! :-)

So tomorrow I'm meeting with the head of community affairs about getting our company involved with IUDM. My friend Carol approached me with getting them involved, and I'm so nervous about the meeting. I spent some time creating my own overview forms that will hopefully persuade the people in charge, and I'm sort of banking on the fact that you can't really turn such an amazing cause down,...but I'm terrified that I'll screw it up or won't sound professional enough or won't be educated enough and will screw this opportunity up. And it would be amazing for both IUDM and my company. Repeat it with me: Don't screw up tomorrow!

Semi Book Review

2007-08-05T01:22:56Z

I have never in my life almost thrown up from reading a book -- until tonight.

We're supposed to read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan for my book club. I'm like 23 pages into the book when they go into the most graphic description of foot binding I have ever seen.

Look, I knew intellectually that foot binding was an unpleasant process. In theory I knew that. But then they went into bones breaking and all the smells, etc and the next thing I know I have that dizzy/swimming feeling and I'm lying down in the bathroom talking myself out of losing my dinner.

I think I reached the end of the foot binding part, but I really don't know how I'm going to pick that book up again.

If I finish it I might have a better review, but all I can say right now is pick up the goriest horror novel you can find--it'll be easier on your stomach.

Mardi Gras

2007-02-11T00:15:03Z

Today we went to Taste of Soulard for the pre-Mardi Gras festivities. For $20.00 you got 7 tickets to be used at a variety of different establishments. We had to-die for crab cakes, an andoulle and crawfish stuffed pasta shell, blackend shrimp over rice, blackend chicken cajun pizza, red beans and rice, hurricanes, and apple and whiskey sauced bread pudding. Everything (except the red beans, which were too soupy for our taste) was amazing. Especially the crab cakes and the bread pudding. The bread pudding we probably could have had 4 servings of, it was so good.

Anyways, so we're walking toward one of the restaurants and we meet up with just a random man. He tells us that Johnny's red beans and rice are fantastic and that we should really try Joannie's pizza. He was very nice, but we didn't want a buddy for the entire day, so we said thanks for the advice and went in another direction. After a little while, we decided that the pizza did sound pretty damn good, so we headed over to their tent. We go inside and random man is there. He says hello and wants to know our name. THEN he starts telling us how he spent a bunch of time in Alaska and how there are more bear killings there than anywhere else...and that most of those killed are women. And then he attempts to delicately explain to us WHY it's mostly women that get killed. And I'm sitting there wondering how we went from eating pizza to hearing about why we should never go camping in Alaska while we're menstrating! Seriously, one of the weirder moments my life.

After that, we start looking for the SoCo trailer that we heard was going to be at Taste of Soulard. We pass Clemintine's (whose fried oyster po' boy was not enticing us at all) and a man comes out saying "ladies, you have to come into this bar." Um...why? He looks totally freaked out and tells us that his friends just got there and apparently the place is a gay bar -- something he was not aware of when he arrived. We laugh and ask if they've been getting hit on..."we're getting eyed." We told him sorry and wished him luck and walked on.

Oh, and as for the SoCo trailer...turns out that they use one map for the entire month of mardi gras, so not everything on the map is present. Damn. So we went to Molly's for "hurricanes" which I swear didn't have anything alcoholc in them at all -- and yet still made me feel like I was drinking red jungle juice at a frat party.

But it was totally a good time -- so much good food!!

Because It Made Me Giggle. And Because...GO COLTS!!!

2007-01-25T00:47:06Z

The anatomy of a Super Bowl species
By Andrew Shaffer | Indiana Daily Student | Tuesday, January 23, 2007

A ninth Cincinnati Bengals player was arrested within nine months, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was caught carrying a suspicious water bottle and legendary head coach Bill Parcells announced that he's retiring from coaching.

But, who the hell cares?

The Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears will face off in Super Bowl XLI, and finally Bloomington is going bowling -- Super Bowling, that is.

Of course, there is only one town on Earth that will serve the front lines for this February feud. If Chicago and Indianapolis were the respective capitals of this gridiron clash, only one region will be the bedrock of bedlam. "What town?" you ask.

Naperville? Noperville. Lafayette? Not yet. Kokomo? Koko No. South Bend? Get bent -- Fighting Irish fans don't even know the NFL exists. So, then where?

Welcome to Bloomington, Ind., a Midwest melting pot that blurs the lines of professional football allegiance. Welcome to the jungle that inhabits primarily two kinds of football fan: DaBearus butkus and Coltus domis. For the next two weeks, Bloomington will serve as No Man's Land to Every Man's fantasy. Where there was once "bleeding Kansas" in middle America, soon we will come to terms with "bleeding Bloomington."

In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act introduced "popular sovereignty," the idea that any state established in America can allow its citizens to democratically decide whether they would be pro- or anti-slavery. Now, in 2007, popular sovereignty has forsaken fans on either side of the Indiana-Illinois border, with Bloomington established as the new Mason-Dixon Line.

Make no mistake about it, my fellow Hoosiers -- for the next two weeks we will be a segregated city. And mark my words: A house divided half-Bear and half-Colt fan cannot stand. OK, that might have been Lincoln's language, but, before you makeshift a musket and ring out a rally cry, you should get to know both species that stand in arms against each other.

DaBearus butkus: The Chicago Bears' fans comprise a remarkable genus. Their native tongues are straightforward, as nearly every sentence begins and ends in two words: "Da Bears." While strong in their convictions, DaBearus butkus are weak in its geography. It famously holds the belief that the city of Chicago is nearly 200 miles around in diameter, just so long as its hometown is considered "Chicago" to anyone who asks. DaBearus butkuses are polytheistic people who believe in two gods: Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus. Though they beam with pride in their newest leader, Rex "Sexy Rexy" Grossman, DaBearus butkus is a brutal, bandwagon bunch that is ready to jump at Rexy's jugular if need be.

Coltus domis: The Indianapolis Colts' fans are the dominant beasts in Bloomington. These normally docile diehards have turned diabolical since tasting the Boston blood of quarterback Tom Brady. As monotheists, the Coltus domis wakes up every morning with a prayer to its savior, Peyton Manning, and also perform a small sacrifice to Robert Irsay,the man who brought professional football to Indiana. No defense? "No problem," says the Coltus domis, who naively relies on dome turf and a diluted defense to defeat its enemies. The Coltus domis has a rare offspring of students who reside in Indianapolis, but preach Butkus. These "bi-fanuals" have never been fully embraced by either species in either state.

Fellow readers, this is a historic time that we are living in. Two weeks from now, the Super Bowl will create mayhem in the Midwest as both species are already starting to sharpen their claws. This game will decide bragging rights for decades to come, and if it all concludes in one controversial call, then may Butkus, Ditka and Manning have mercy on us all.

So, praise football and pass the ammunition, because come Super Bowl Sunday, there will be bedlam in Bloomington.

SUPER BOWL BABY!!!!

2007-01-22T03:27:42Z

GO COLTS!!!!

And I just love, love, LOVE that we beat the damn Patriots to get there!

Colts v. Bears baby!

Too much fun with phones

2007-01-21T04:11:44Z

We're planning the next few seasons, but we were on hold as to what to do with two of our stores. They were going to be closed, but due to leases, etc, they are now going to remain open. For the spring season. Which starts in two weeks.

Which leads us to our story...

I'm working on a project with my boss, and we're about to go over my part of the project when she holds up a finger and says "hold on, I'm going to call {swim planner} first." So I figure she has a planning question to ask him and tune her out. But then I hear her adopt a lower voice. She's saying:

"Hello. This is Debbie from {store name}. We just found out that we're staying open and I wanted to talk to you about our swim assortment. What we really need are some high-price merchandise. We're thinking some $200 tankinis. [pause]. No, we're really looking for some high priced tankini's - like in the $200 range. [pause] Well, how about some $200 cover ups. [pause]. Really? Well, what about flip flops? [pause] Alright, well, I'll call back in a week to see what you've been able to get us. Thanks; bye!"

I am by this point almost crying as I'm trying to keep my laughter down. My boss tells me that he got pretty angry on the phone...("well the assortment is pretty much set." "Yeah, we don't offer that kind of merchandise" "Ma'm, we don't even CARRY flip flops!") meanwhile -- because his desk is two doors down from ours -- we can hear his post-call reaction.

I look at her and ask "Didn't he see your name pop up on his phone?" "Nope, I dialed out of the building to call him!"

So she waits about 5 minutes, goes into his office and says: "Have you gotten a phone call from Debbie at {store name}?" The swim planner increadulously says "YES!! That woman is WHACK!" My boss replies, "Yeah, she left me a message asking me about really expensive prom and better dresses. I just didn't know what to tell her...it was the weirdest thing ever!" He responds, "No kidding; she was wanting $200 tankinis! We don't even sell those!" My boss: "Really? Did she ask about flip-flops, too?" Swim Planner (not catching on): "Yeah!"

[pause]

"....yeah, that was definately me."

Needless to say, he wasn't very happy about getting "Punked" (as he put it) and is out for revenge. The scary thing is, he's decided that I was in on the prank, too! Guess I'll have to watch my back from now on.

GO CARDS!!

2006-10-22T03:31:54Z

Hell, at the very least, we won't have a repeat of 2 years ago :-) But I have to admit, after hearing about how badly we're going to be creamed by the Tigers, it's very, very, very awesome to have won the first game! Go Redbirds!

Alright, so funny story of the month:
Lauren and I have been going to dinner every Tuesday now that she's in STL for her first project. We've been going fun, relatively nice places and - because we're going around 7:30 - we've been making reservations. This week, Lauren felt like Mexican and suggested ZuZu. She heard it was good, though neither of us had been before. So, like we always do, she offers to make reservations. She emails me a few hours later saying the woman was pretty rude in telling her that they didn't take reservations. Lauren couldn't really figure out why she had been so odd on the phone...until we showed up to ZuZus that night to find it a fast food restaurant. Imagine calling up Qdoba inquiring about reservations! *headdesk*

I've been spending most of my free time reading lately. In the last month, 've read Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom, Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affiar and Lost in a Good Book, Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow, and Dave King's The Ha-Ha. The Last Kingdom and The Sparrow were by far the best, but Fforde's books are just so damn much fun! Anyways, I'm running out of things to read again and should probably hit Borders sometime soon.

Homecoming is next weekend, and I got to take a half day on Friday to get back to Bloomington at a decent hour!! I'm so excited to see everyone again after almost 6 months.

Once again, though: GO CARDS!

You Taste Like Fish Biscuits

2006-10-12T02:06:42Z

LOST = Love.

That's all for now :)

Give Back Day

2006-09-15T21:08:14Z

For work, we did a community service project: we ran a field day at Bush AAA (a middle school STL public school district)

It was a beautiful day - perfect for a field day - and we all had a lot of fun. I also got dismissed from work at 1:30 this afternoon-- can't get much better than that!!

BUT the funniest thing that happened today was a small little girl - but feisty as hell, was involved in a water fight. Some boy threw water at her perfectly straightened hair. She started screaming: immediately, the wet part of her hair started tightly curling. So she had half a head of straight hair, and half a head of very curly hair. She was spectacularly pissed. She went after the boys with a vengance. And I felt bad for the girl; I mean, that really sucks. HOWEVER, she wouldn't wet down her entire head: that way she would have had one hairstyle. But she wanted the straight hair to stay straight. *sigh* so funny.

AND THEN!! She's shrieking and yelling at her teammates to hurry up because she wants to win. She was the smallest girl in the school, but DAMN was she feisty.

She made my day.

I participated in the dizzy bat race. I forgot how amazingly dizzy that makes you. I was barely able to run back to my teammates and wound up diving on the ground so that everything would stop spinning.

All in all, a very nice way to spend a half day of work!

Things I've Learned It's Good Not To Do...

2006-08-29T01:07:08Z

1. Kick the tower of my work computer to the ground.

When you do this, your moniter tends to fraction into 50 squares, all shivering in rainbow colors and giving the monitor a seizure-ish look and feel. It also takes about 8 minutes to boot back up to normal working order.

Maybe I should watch where my feet go next time...

em220 @ 2006-08-22T21:27:00

2006-08-23T02:26:59Z

Everyone is back at school, including my brother, and it's starting to really -- I mean REALLY -- dawn on me that I won't be going back. And that's fine. It's an exciting time; work is going well, I'm done training and I've settled into somewhat of a routine. But...it's different. I talked to Jared last night, and he's getting ready to start school and I can just *see* Bloomington in August and can't imagine why I'm not there.

But, like I said: it's fine; just different.

OH! Best news EVER! Lauren's first assignment is in St. Louis!!!! Woo-hoo!! :-D So excited for Mid-September!

em220 @ 2006-08-14T21:14:00

2006-08-15T02:19:12Z

I graduated from training on Friday and today was my first official day in my real position. It was exciting -- although no different from any other day. But now the new ETs have started and I'm not the newest one at the company anymore. And THAT my friends, is what is really exciting :)

Today flew, as almost all Mondays do...leaving you somewhat happy that the day goes quickly and more than a little exhausted.

This weekend was pretty fun. Sunday we went to see Remote Viewing at the art museum. We had a blast...mainly because we spent the entire time laughing at the "art" on the walls! Then we ate lunch in the Central West End and hit the HIspanic fest downtown. Oh, followed by swing class that evening. It was an extremely busy Sunday!

I finished American Pastoral, and am now reading The Twins of TriBeCa, a very Devil Wears Prada-ish book, complete with a reference to Miranda Priestely at a party dressed in - you guessed it - Prada. But somewhat silly or not, it's a fun book and a quick read.

Back from the abyss

2006-08-07T01:59:10Z

I don't want to admit it, but I've been lonely in STL. Nobody's here anymore. My IU friends are still in Indiana or in Chicago; my high school friends are all across the country, except here.

So, I decided I was tired of being lonely and was going to start doing things to meet more people. This week, I tried out 2 book clubs. They were a lot of fun; not a lot of people my exact age, but a lot of very nice, interesting and fun people. So I picked up the book for next month and started reading it. American Pastoral by Philip Roth. It's not a book I would have ever picked up on my own; that said, though, it's a very good book. Sad in the deconstruction-of-a-man sort of way. However, since I usually would never have picked up this book, it's sort of like a fun school project; but I'm already half through it and the next meeting is 3 weeks away :)

We went to Strassenfest today where I drank some beer and ate some yummy German food. Oh, and listened to polka music. One can never get enough polka music.

Also watched two movies this weekend. Vanity Fair, which was beautiful and intriguing if very sad, and Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, which was cute even if it included some very odd plot elements. I preferred Vanity Fair.

This week is my last week of training and then I'll officially be in my new job title. :-D _{free food will be provided multiple times this week!! (always good)}

Ballroom

2006-08-03T04:13:25Z

I had a 1 hour private ballroom lesson today; it was amazing!

In that one hour, we waltzed, rhumba-d, merengai-ed, salsa-d, and swung. My favorites were salsa and swing, but they were all so much fun. Although I think that anything is fun when you're dancing with someone who knows what he's doing.

He said that he could tell that I had danced a lot before (if not ballroom) and so he threw a TON of stuff at me; which meant I learned a lot, but my brain was swimming.

Anyways, if you're in STL and looking to ballroom, check out Just Dancing. New students get one group lesson AND a one-hour private lesson for $15.00 (usually the two would cost $56). It's lots of fun, too!!

em220 @ 2006-07-25T22:15:00

2006-07-26T03:16:13Z

Anybody else's Monday last all the way until Tuesday night??

I just hope it doesn't creep into Wednesday, too.

*Sleep*

Funny Story

2006-07-06T02:07:36Z

My parents went to dinner with their friends this past weekend where they were told the following story:

Their friends have friends with a specials needs child. Thier child went to the zoo with his class for the day, but somehow during the course of the day, the teachers lost track of this little boy. They searched for him for a long time before he turned up...soaking wet from head to toe. Not only was he wet, but his backpack was wet, too. Luckily, he was fine. They called his parents and drove him back to his house. He was fine, but he wouldn't talk to anyone. Once he got home, he went into the bathroom, locked the door and wouldn't come out. He also still wouldn't say anything. After about an hour of trying to get the little boy to open the bathroom door, his parents took the door off its hinges. They removed the door to find a penguin swimming in their bathtub. The little boy had snuck off to hog wrestle a penguin, stuff it in his backpack and take it home. and nobody was the wiser. HOW COOL IS THAT!!?!?!

oh, and the penguin was fine; he was returned to the zoo unharmed.

Seriously, how cool is that kid? I want to know him.

And get him to steal me a monkey.

Birth Month Meme

2006-06-21T02:50:37Z

Birthmonth Meme

1. Pick your birth month.
2. Strike out anything that doesn't apply to you.
3. Bold the 10 or so that best apply to you.

FEBRUARY: ~~Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract.~~ Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. ~~Sexy.~~ Temperamental. Quiet, shy and ~~humble~~. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily ~~but does not show it.~~ Dislikes unnecessary things.Loves making friends but rarely shows it. ~~Daring~~ and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. ~~Superstitious~~ and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

Hmmm...seems like I was born in the right month. Most match up pretty well :)

Want to give it a try?

JANUARY:Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and betaught. Always looking at people's flaws and weaknesses. Likes tocriticize nyahahahahar. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat andorganized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make othershappy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highlyattentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds *muttergrumble"damn rhinitis"*. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loveschildren. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Verystubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Lovesreality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality.Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest andloyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious whenrestricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Getsangry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things.Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn.Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment andleisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious andludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH:Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved.Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace andserenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered.Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assessesothers. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling.Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves homedecors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL:Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractiveand affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention.Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people's problems. Brave andfearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous.Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneselfand others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way thatonly their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted.Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered.Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautifulphysically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easilyconsoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance.Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination.Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Lovestraveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children.Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far withvision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Havingideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy andalways wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves tojoke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows howto make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to gettingcolds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions.Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood.Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself.Has reputation.Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people's feelings. Tactful.Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable.Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guidesothers physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Lovesto joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and hasleadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous andegoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises.Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easilyjealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independentthoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in thearts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistanceagainst illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Lovingand caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people's mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and travel. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER:Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at thecenter. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn't pretend. Gets angryoften. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurtbut recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of whatothers think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves totravel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned.Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easilyloses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas.Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant.Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Canbecome good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive.Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable.Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is awill, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angryunless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others.Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises.High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic.Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities.Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions.Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic.Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious.Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Lovespraises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy.Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic.Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Goodsense of humor. Logical.</div>

The big recap entry

2006-06-10T16:21:28Z

My vacation was amazing. So much fun. We were gone for 15 days -- 13 of them spent in Orlando.

On Tuesday, we went to Silver Springs, and then, on Wednesday, to the Magic Kingdom. At Magic Kingdom, I rode Splash Mountain for the first time (b/c it was the first time I had ever been there when it wasn't winter) and got soaked! Then, we ate at the Crystal Palace where the food was delicious and the Winnie the Pooh characters went from table to table. I got some great pictures with Pooh bear -- he sneaked up behind me and my mom had the camera out. I found out that I still adore the Peter Pan ride. Jimmy even got me to ride Dumbo again (our favorite ride when we were little). Only they changed the way that Dumbo flies. When I was little, it was a red button that you had to push to fly high in the air. I could never get my finger to push it down for the whole ride, so my dad would have to do it for me. Now, though...now those kids have it easy. Now it's a joystick that you just pull down. It may be easier, but it doesn't have the same allure as a red button. We got to the park before 9am and didn't leave until after fireworks at 10:30pm. That became standard for our vacation...it was great!

Then, we went to Animal Kingdom, which I wouldn't do again. My advice, come to the St. Louis Zoo -- it's just as good, but it's free! But I was glad I at least got to see it once.

Then we did MGM -- on Star Wars weekend. It's 90 degrees and kids (and some adults) are walking around in full Darth Vader costumes, jedi robes, etc. I'm all for Star Wars...I love Empire Strikes Back. I don't, however, love it enough to get a heat stroke. Anways, Tower of Terror is still one of my favorite rides and it was funny to see how badly Aerosmith sold out for the rockin' roller coaster. The coaster was good, but the band footage was kinda cheesy. MGM's ending show was fantastic, though. They used water, fireworks, characters and projectors to make an absolutely awesome -- if somewhat potentially scary -- show. It was, by far, my favorite. It poured that afternoon for about 45 minutes. Before the rain, Mom, Jim and I went off to ride Tower of Terror and left Dad behind. During the ride, we noticed that it had begun POURING outside. After the ride, it was still raining buckets, but none of us had any way to tell Dad we were staying put. ...SOOOO we made a huge dash across the park to find him. We were soaked for for most of the afternoon...but it was pretty funny.

Saturday we went to NASA, which was very interesting. I didn't expect it to be quite so theme-parky, but it was really cool. The best was the exhibit about the Liberty Bell which they pulled from the bottom of the ocean. Itw as an incredible exhibit. I really didn't believe the AAA woman who told us it would take a full day, but we were there from open to close and didn't get to do everything (we hit about 90% of it, though).

Sunday was EPCOT. I rode Mission:Space, which was the ride the little boy had died on, and expected to be blown away. The ride was pretty awesome in and of itself, but was totally eclipsed by Soarin'. That ride makes you feel like you're hang-gliding all over California. You have your feet dangling, the breeze blowing gently in your face as you soar over orange groves (with the scent of oranges in the air), over mountains, Yosemite, Malibu, San Fransisco, San Diego, over people boating in the rivers (with the scent of pine in the air), and you end up in Disneyland during fireworks. It was an awesome ride. Definitely my mom's favorite.
In the World Showcase, both Mom and Dad got picked to participate in various mini-plays being performed on the street. In England, Dad got to be King Arthur ("Long Live the King!" "Ha-cha-cha, baby!") and Mom got to be Ethel in "Romeo and Ethel". Then we had the best dinner all vacation in Germany. Mmmmm....I had to be rolled around the park for the rest of the day :)

Monday we went to Sea World. While we had a really good time, we were all depressed by both the Shamu and the dolphin shows. Instead of showcasing the animals and talking about the animals and how they're trained or even why they should be preserved in the wild, the shows both tried to be like Disney. The focus 90% of the time was on the humans -- sometimes the Humans even dressed up as and pretended to be animals. At one point in the dolphin show, 10 trainers were dressed like birds diving off diving boards while the dolphins were chillin in the back tanks. It was bizarre. HOWEVER -- we had to wait 10 minutes to see the finale of the Shamu show becuase...well...the whales had more interesting things to do than come perform. This was made even funnier by the fact that we had SEEN what was more interesting earlier that morning at the dolphin exhibit. I guess spring was in the air even in late May. ANYWAYS...I got to feed the dolphins, which was a kick ass experience. And the 2 sea lion shows were spectacularly funny. The last one made fun of all the other shows in the park -- and if you couldn't tell already, they had a TON of material to work with. The best, though, was when we went to the sea lion area during feeding time. They let the tourists feed the sea lions. Whenever they'd see someone with the fish, they'd bark and holler and go crazy. Well, i was standing pretty close to the wall, where a sea lion was resting on a rock. I didn't see it, but a woman walked behind me with a fish. The next thing I know, the sea lion is bellowing in my face! I jumped about a foot in the air, it scared me so bad! But the best part was that the sea lions would wave to try and get food. They'd look at the tourist, shake their fin in the air, then lean in like 'pay me now!' It was great!

Tuesday we went to Daytona Beach and hung out in the sun all day. You could still see hurricane damaged buildings, but they're making improvements and it was actually really pretty. Relaxing to be off our feet all day, too :)

Wednesday we went to Universal Studios. Their Revenge of the Mummy ride was 10xs longer and cooler than the one in CA, and Twister: Ride it Out was pretty fun -- especially when the cow flew right in front of you. Dad and I laughed pretty hard. But the BEST ride -- by far -- was Jimmy Neutron. Now, I don't watch the show, and had no idea what was going on. But the ride is one where you get into seats, and they show you a movie while the seats move with it. The ride is way lame. I'm looking at my watch and am so ready to be done. BUT THEN...and the very end...the "bad guy" gets you. He then pulls out speakers and screams "Dance, monkeys!" The chicken dance starts playing and your seat starts DOING THE CHICKEN DANCE! Mom and I laughed so hard we CRIED. It was the best ride ever!!! (At least the last minute was!)

Thursday we went back to the Magic Kingdom, Friday we went back to EPCOT, Saturday we went back to MGM and then saw X3, and then I flew home on Sunday.</div>

It was an awesome vacation and a great way to celebrate graduation and lead me right into starting work.

Have a great Saturday!

I'm baaaaaack!!

2006-06-06T01:45:44Z

This'll be extremely short because, quite frankly, I'm too exhausted to type much.

In short: I'm back from vacation. It was A-Mazing! I loved every minute of it and had an absolute blast. I'm exhausted, though...we walked for 14 days straight. Sooo much fun...soo exhausting. I'm sure I'll have more too say as I recover from vacation as well as...

my first day of work!
That, too, was awesome. I really like the other 7 people in my ET class and am completely STOKED to know my assistant buyer as well as my HR counselor. And the schedule for the 10 weeks of training is amazing. It includes some really fun social events :)

I also received some beautiful flowers from the boy :)

Okay...off to die now.

PS -- now that I'm back, I'll be trying to catch up on the flist.

em220 @ 2006-05-21T11:12:00

2006-05-21T16:23:54Z

My baby brother graduated high school last night.

Their graduation speaker was a member of their class, chosen by their class. His speech centered on the Power Rangers. He went through how all the episodes were the same...that they'd face a monster -- maybe a giant parakeet one week, a terrorizing goldfish the next -- and that they could only defeat the monster by morphing and joining together. He then went on to tell a bunch of anticdotes about how members of the class had morphed into different rangers (the ranger of patience, the ranger of trust, the ranger of friendship) with the help of their fellow classmates and friends and had defeated their own monsters. He left the class with this thought: when you find yourself facing a problem, gather your friends, look the problem dead on, and say it's morphin' time!

It was the weirdest speech EVER. But, it was still kinda cool. Definitely hookey...but so were the power rangers. The class seemed to LOVE it, though, and that's the only thing that really matters. It had the audience laughing, too.

Family at Queeny before the ceremony

The boys after the ceremony -- too smart for their own good!</div>
Then Mom worked the grad party from 2am-5am; took them awhile to get moving again this morning :)

...I've also been having bandwidth problems with my journal layout. I had to create a new account because the old one exceeded bandwidth. *grumble, grumble* I think it's all fixed now, though.

Dancing :)

2006-05-19T03:55:00Z

We had our in-house show tonight and it was so much fun! Mom kicked so much ass; she did so well and looked like she was having fun :) And then our dance went well -- I didn't forget anything and actually smiled (which is hard because I haven't performed in 4 years and kinda forgot how to actually dance IN FRONT of people). Plus, all the other numbers were fantastic. Libby does the advanced jazz class and her numbers were amazing. They put a huge freaking smile on my face just by watching them and made every fiber in my body scream I want to do THAT!

So I went up to her afterwards, told her I *loved* her pieces and asked her if she was going to re-start her classes in July. She said yes. She went to say something else right as I told her that I might drop in and crash one of her classes and she interrupted with Good. You should. You need to. You're at that level. *Squee!* I was so nervous to even mention that I wanted in her class...mainly because I dreaded the moment when she would squint at me and say something to the effect of: um...okay. I guess you can *try* it. But she didn't! She told me I SHOULD come to that class! And dance her kick-ass choreography.

*can't wait until July!* Crap; that would put me at 4 classes a week. I'm going to be so broke.

It was so much fun, though! :) So much to look forward to!!!

---
Also, I'm upset to hear that almost every reviewer in America hated Da Vinci Code. Right now, rotten tomatoes gives it a 15% (from 66 reviews, 56 of them rotten). Le sigh.

em220 @ 2006-05-17T21:11:00

2006-05-18T02:13:10Z

Best quote from tonight:
but he wasn't worried about forgiveness. He was worried that if he DID go to Hell, that dog would be waiting for him

*shiver* -- so cool. Can't wait for the finale next week. It's gonna be SO good! :)

I'll probably have something to say about Top Chef in about an hour.

ETA: Yeah, I have something to add: that was CRAP. It's a quickfire challenge and you didn't win a single part of it; you should have gone home. And you didn't. Someone else did. And that is CRAP. :-P

em220 @ 2006-05-17T16:51:00

2006-05-17T21:56:06Z

For the first time since I've been home, it was a beautiful day. It was sunny and mild; in short, everything it hasn't been for a long time. But now it's almost 5, and it's cloudy and cold and looks like it's going to pour. At least we had *most* of the day.

The high school had it's awards day this morning. Picture this: the seniors are out of school. The juniors have taken over the senior lot. The sophomores have taken over the junior lot. Now, DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, invite the seniors back and tell them to show up at 8:30am. Then, tell their parents and friends (along with the parents/friends of the non-seniors) to show up at 9:30 for the ceremony. Um...there's not enough parking!!! Someone clearly didn't think out the logistics of this endeavor. By 9:15, when we showed up, there were cars in every conceivable space -- regardless if cars were ever intended to be there or not. And then, the ceremony starts by someone saying, I hear the parking lots are a mess. Um...duh? It was bizarre.

HOWEVER, my brother got recognized for being a commended national merit scholar, and received the departmental award for social studies. So it was worth it. The departmental award was an awesome surprise :)

And then we celebrated at mongolian bbq. And it's the second to last LOST of the season tonight. Can't get much better than that!

Happy Birthday!!

2006-05-16T13:39:00Z

Happy 18th birthday to my fabulous brother! High school's over, you get to ditch your intermediate license, and it's time to go to COLLEGE! Have a great day, b/c you deserve it! :)

On another note, after an almost two hour dance class last night (after the four I had last week), I woke up feeling like a bus ran over me last night. Luckily, coffee and waffles fixed *most* of it. If I sit down. And don't move. And don't think about moving. Hmmm...it *might* be time for more coffee. Ouch.