at the tone, please leave a message....

.....it's another busy day, chock full of both multitasking and procrastination. so far, i've got two posts half-written for later in the week, and then writer's block sort of hit.

however, i'm totally going to toot my own horn and point out that i've managed to update random photos somewhat. feel free to go forth, "ooh" "ahh" and praise my superior* photography skills......or maybe not.

*not really- after all, all the good stuff's on film, since i use a 3 megapixel zoomless digital for gnome photography and stuff of that sort.

zoom zoom zzzzzz

i miss the good old days when you could count on seven minutes of previews before a movie. it was comforting to know that if i was running a couple minutes late, i wouldn't miss anything important, and if i were actually on time (for once!), i could settle in, catch four or five previews, and then the film would start around the time i'd finally settled into my seat and put my feet up in the crack between the seats in front of me. (i know, i know- i have no class- tell me something i didn't already know.)

i really, really miss those days.

perhaps it's been a little too long since my last movie*, but when on earth did it become okay to show ten minutes of commercials before the seven minutes of previews before movies? seriously- had i known, i would have gone to the 4:20 screening of rv instead of the 5:00, and i would have wound up sliding into my seat just as the first preview finally ran......and i wouldn't have had to sit through commercials for coke, and who knows what else (because i sure as hell don't remember- effective advertising in action, folks) before the freaking previews....and you know what ticks me off the most? since i was watching a pg-rated robin williams film, i figured maybe there'd be a slight chance i'd get to see the preview for whatever his new movie involving cartoon penguins may be**, but nooooooooooo. after sitting through 10 minutes of commercials and 7 minutes of rather uninspiring previews (okay, maybe they weren't that bad- perhaps i'm just bitter), i was left feeling rather unsatisfied.

however, since i'm into both robin williams and toilet humor, the film was quite good.

final score: annoying commericals: two thumbs way down
previews: thumbs fell asleep
rv: two thumbs up

*come to think of it, i seem to recall noticing the current trend while waiting to see ice age 2 and failure to launch, too, though i thought at the time that it was simply something that particular theater was doing to finance its outrageous neon lighting bill.

**i'd tell you the name, but i've only seen the preview once and was so taken by the penguin that i forgot to find out minor details, like the actual name of the movie and the release date, hence the need to watch the preview again.

the return of sentence saturday

it's going to be a long day- lots of side projects to take care of in an attempt to get caught up with myself. i've got catalogs to scribble on, pictures to sort and post, and i'm way behind as far as the station's myspace page is concerned. (don't even ask about mine- we're not gonna go there right now.)

however, there's always time for the latest edition of sentence saturday, especially since i was away from civilization last weekend.

this week's first word is poohaggling. scroll through the comments to find yours- and please don't forget to leave a new made-up word for the next person who stops by.

photo happy

i have four hundred seventy some-odd pictures from my trip- and that's just the digital stuff. i'll post several this weekend and give you some details to go with them, but in the meantime, i have three offerings to tide you over:

in front of mooney falls, the third waterfall in havasu canyon, grand canyon, arizona 23 april 2006

at the grand canyon, 24 april 2006

wupatki ruins, arizona 24 april 2006

more coming...as soon as i get caught up with myself

weekend wrap-up

i'm absolutely pooped, and i still have to pack for the flight home, but wanted to share a few highlights from the trip....mostly because i'm too lazy to scribble them into my journal tonight because, well, i'm pooped and still have to pack (i know, i know- what a vicious cycle!)

1. one appreciates a gorgeous waterfall more after having to cling to a rock wall and a chain for 20 minutes in order to descend to the base of the falls...unless of course you lose grip on that chain.

2. wearing shorts on the day you'll be hiking through lots of brush=not a good idea.

3. i have no idea why, but for some reason, park rangers feel the need to strike up conversations with me.....generally when someone else is waiting for me to just hurry up and stamp my park passport already.

4. italians want to strike up conversations with me too.....well, actually, they were soliciting hiking advice from my friend, but hey- a free dinner is a free dinner.

5. when faced with the prospect of hiking 8 more miles with a fully loaded backpack on a 90 degree day, $85 seems like a more than reasonable price to hop a ride on a helicopter and save four hours of hiking..and possible heat stroke.

6. sure, i could have spent my vacation at a spa or some other luxurious situation, but i wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much as i did clomping around in the canyon this weekend.

dispatch from phoenix

hello from phoenix!

i should be doing something productive, like hopping in the shower or packing clothes for the big hike, but i'm just not that motivated yet. instead, i woke up obscenely early (by phoenix standards) after getting to bed ridiculously late (by columbia standards), finished reading a book (yes- a book! i actually had time to plow through all 400 pages of a carl hiaasen novel, strip tease, which was excellent, by the way), and have spent the last 20 minutes screwing around on the internet....woo-hoo!

so this is what having free time feels like, eh?

i'm leaving later this morning for seligman, possibly stopping at my favorite ghost town (jerome) on the way, and at this time tomorrow, i should be starting the hike into havasupai for three days of exercise (shhh...don't tell anyone how out of shape i am), cavorting in waterfalls, and possibly (hopefully) a side trip to the colorado river.*

you can have your fancy resorts/spas, cocktails and shopping- this is my idea of a relaxing vacation.

*of course, i'll bore you with pictures of all of the above as soon as i get back to south carolina

sounds like.....a tough decision

the single hardest part of packing for a trip is always the same, no matter where i may be going- stuffing the portable cd case.

my case holds my discman (what ipod? you're kidding, right? i mean, i only have a radio/tape deck in my car, so obviously i'm not going to make the quantum leap from cds to mp3s), as well as 10 cds......well, 11, since i can stick one case in on top without straining the zipper.

it takes me the better part of an hour to narrow down my choices to ten....which is why i usually cheat and take at least a second case. however, in the interest of saving room in my carry on (i'm not taking my beloved laptop, by the way), i'm sticking with 11 discs. for better or worse, here's what made the cut:

1. nine inch nails- with teeth (haven't listened to it yet)
2. duran duran- astronaut (see above, though i'm thinking about swapping it out for seven and the ragged tiger or maybe liberty- haven't listened to the latter in a while)
3. the killers- hot fuss (one of my current favorites)
4. o-zone- discozone (stop laughing. sometimes, i just need a little europop)
5. chris isaak- forever blue (i like the mellower stuff, too)
6/7. inxs- shine like it does anthology, discs 1 & 2 (my favorite band)
8. a disc of cover songs (goo goos doing inxs, goldfinger's on there, reel big fish....can't remember what else because it's been a good six months since i last listened to it)
9. marvelous 3- ready sex go (one of my all-time favorites, even if you've never heard of them. butch walker is one of the best things since sliced bread, in my book)
10. billy idol- devil's playground (not only can he still rock at 50, but he still looks good in leather pants and not much else)
11. the pet shop boys discography (i was between this, frank sinatra's duets, a-ha's hunting high and low, the moody blues greatest hits, the monkees, a disc of depeche mode remixes, and the crow soundtrack. see what i mean about having a hard time narrowing my list down to 11?)

okay- time to figure out what i'm wearing in the wild. i'll be back to civilization in about a week.......*

*and yes- i'll finally get around to updating random photos upon my return....really.

cheap thrills

know what i love about easter?

i bought a bag of caramel kisses and six cadbury cream eggs for a whopping three dollars at kroger today...and i'm thinking about going back tomorrow and getting more.

you know that whole plan i had to work out like a fiend so i can wear a bikini while frolicking in the waterfalls at havasupai later this week and not scare small children and european tourists? it's now competely and totally toast. (sure, there was the whole "sleep vs. work out" issue that started late last month, but the half-price chocolate finished it off for good.)

this or and that

you know what i miss? i miss those "choose your own adventure" books from my childhood. we'd go to the library once a week, and i'd come home with at least three of them in my stack of checked-out materials.

i enjoyed reading the pages out of order, and i really enjoyed flipping around and reading both choices before choosing which one to go with next.

maybe i should submit that to postsecret-

i totally cheated when reading "choose your own adventure books".

nah- somehow, i don't think it'll stand up with the closet lesbians, mistresses, victims, and remorseful abusers.

sentence saturday (early, for once!)

i'm totally cheating and kicking off sentence saturday an hour early this week, but i've had a a lot of late nights, and for once i think i might actually make it to bed before midnight.

at any rate, the first word this week is piothetic. scroll through the comments to find your word, and after you use it in a sentence, please leave a new made-up word for the next person who stops by.

thanks for playing with me again this week.

hulk-mania

as i think i've mentioned before, i don't really have time to watch a lot of tv....or any, really, for that matter. i work roughly 70 hours a week between my two main jobs, and since i have to sleep sometime, tv tends to take a much lower priority.

this evening was my first time in front of a tube in at least a month....and what did i wind up watching? perhaps something as mundane of the evening news? nope- i was still at work when the credits rolled on world news tonight. that travel channel special on the wonders of the west that i've seen so many times i almost have the order of the "wonders" memorized? no such luck- they were doing a special on the bermuda triangle, and i couldn't grab the remote away from SO before he changed the channel.

no, dear reader, i watched an episode of "hogan knows best".

in the cave i've been living in lately, i hadn't heard a single word about this show. had i known it existed, perhaps i would have found a way to make time to actually watch it on a regular basis.

sadly, the last hulk hogan show i watched on a regular basis was "thunder in paradise". (no- i am not kidding.)

then again, this new show really isn't all that different from hulk's old series:

~both shows featured at least one blonde character (hulk's wife and daughter in this new show)
~a boat plays a prominent role (part of "family day" on the episode that ran this evening took place on a boat).
~hulk's pecs also play prominent roles (do i really need to give you an example? i think not. )
~missing persons/characters in distress (this evening, hulk's daughter wandered off for several hours, leaving the rest of the family highly distressed.)

hey- if this works out, perhaps fabio's return to television will follow....

another milestone

i just realized something- this is my 400th post.

i think i acknowledged my 100th, and i know i mentioned my favorite previous posts in celebration of 200....and then 300 passed by unnoticed, especially by me.

so, i feel badly not having anything special planned for this milestone, but it just sort of....crept up on me....like ricky schroeder's birthday did today, as well.

i can't believe it.

ricky schroeder is 36 today. thirty-six. legal twice over. old enough to be my.....big brother. (whew! that was close there for a minute.)

i can't help but wonder if he still has a duck phone in his living room, like he did on silver spoons. remember that show? i loved that show, in part because i had a mad crush on ricky schroeder. and alfonso ribeiro. and jason bateman, come to think of it.

most of all, though- i thought that quacking phone was the coolest thing in the world. i wanted to have a quacking phone in my living room, but i couldn't even convince my cruel, heartless parents to buy one for the kitchen. (it's just as well, come to think of it. i mean, a duck couldn't help but be a bit uncomfortable in the same room as the oven and several knives, could it? somehow, i doubt it.)

twenty years later (how the heck did that happen?), i still don't have the quacking phone- or a hot date with ricky schroeder anywhere on the horizon*, but that doesn't mean i've given up on either one.

it's an interesting coincidence- silver spoons being the topic of (one-sided) conversation. if you clicked on the links above and poked around a little, one of the premises of the show was that ricky's character was supposed to teach his dad how to grow up, while his dad was trying to teach him how to be a kid.

personally, i'm siding with mr. stratton. if i thought for a second i could actually get away with running a model train all over the floor of my apartment, i'd do it in a heartbeat.

i'll freely admit it- i'm 27 going on 7, and looking about 17- and i'm totally okay with that.

*i figure his being "happily married" might be holding that up.

surely thou doth jest

when i opened up this window to write, i'd originally planned on simply hitting {ctrl- v} and presenting you with a carbon copy of this evening's myspace post. it's not that i really feel bad doing it- in fact it happens fairly frequently. i mean, why write two different posts when i really don't seem to have too many readers who check out both blogs? you can call it lazy, i'll call it being practical. (let me state for the record, though, that i absolutely, positively hate the blogging feature over there. even in "source" mode, it never fails to piss me off at least thrice in the space of a post.)

wait a minute- i just said "thrice". where the heck did that come from?

actually, i know exactly where it came from, and this time, i choose to blame david sedaris.

i have a half-written post on my laptop about last evening's performance by sedaris. i haven't decided whether or not it'll see the light of day your monitor anytime soon, mostly because i'm too lazy to finish it right now. however, just in case i do get it finished/backdated*/posted, instead of mentioning the cocktails that were on sale next to the popcorn-pushing concession stand or the scalper (yes, you read that right**) on the sidewalk outside the performing arts center, i'll instead mention the college girl i stood behind for better than an hour and a half who had one of those weak chins that i'm afraid never fail to hold my undivided attention, even when i'm desperately trying to concentrate on the essay i'm reading about sedaris' stint as a shakespearian community theatre actor and how his temporary obsession inspired him to speak in old english and oh good grief- the girl three people in front of me doesn't seem to have much of a chin either and how on earth does she walk in those skinny platform wedge shoes without snapping her ankle like twigs during a drought and why on earth is her friend wearing a lace shirt with her bra showing through? surely she got the part about sedaris being not only gay, but happily taken as well and gee it seems like i've read this page three times and yet i never comprehend what i'm reading because i'm too busy people-watching over the top of the page.

where was i? ah, yes. it's amazing how much people watching/reading one can do while standing in the book-signing line for an hour and a half. in addition to the chicks without chins, there was a punk girl at the end of the line (rockin' the checkerboard vans, no less- a nice touch, in my book), a chick in stilettos and shorts (sadly, she left the fishnets home. that would have been something to write about for at least a couple days), several emo boys, and an employee with the most vibrant red hair i've seen in a long time. (oh, if i thought icould get away with it...i mean, it was really a glorious color, though if i did it, i'd be sure to color all of my hair, not just the top five inches, except when finger waves were involved....but that's just me.***)

the half-redheaded employee walked by just as we got to the head of the line, and my attention shifted to the chinless girl, who was holding out her cell phone and begging sedaris to tell someone "hello". he recoiled. seriously. he told her he'd say "hi", but he refused to touch the cell phone.

you have no idea how good it feels to find out that a famous author (or singer, or actor or whatever catches your attention) shares your intense dislike of cell phones. in fact, since SO and i had had a "discussion" on that very topic a couple days ago, i was thrilled to have a new weapon in my arsenal the next time the topic comes up.

i mean, really, who can argue with david sdaris' point of view? he's a pretty levelheaded guy, after all...and he has a well-defined chin.

*because i'm sneaky like that
**scalping motley crue tickets makes sense....sort of, but david sedaris? i'm afraid i just don't see it.
***in such situations, i find it helpful to ask myself, "what would mid-80s cyndi lauper do?"

save me, kiefer!

the latest issues of rolling stone and my college alumni magazine arrived in the mail today.
normally, i'd throw the alumni magazine in the bathroom (a little "light" reading for the tub, of course) and curl up immediately with rolling stone, but since i read the cover story on kiefer sutherland** a couple days ago online, i figured i'd flip through the alumni mag while waiting for my trusty laptop to boot up this evening.

this "extreme campus makeover" issue caught my eye for a couple reasons....namely some items in the "alumni news" section in the back, which- quite honestly- is the first section i flip to when a new issue arrives every blue moon. (i'm nosy- i'll admit it.)

for the first time in recent memory, not one, not two, but three people i know are not only married, but have had kids- all in one issue of the magazine. even more stunning is the fact that all three guys involved are among the biggest players i knew in college*.

what, i ask, is this world coming to? even the players are getting hitched and settling down and we're not even 30 yet? eeeeeeeek. i don't need those sorts of responsibilities looming on the horizon just yet, thankyouverymuch.

it's enough to make me throw down the alumni mag and seek some sort of reassurance from kiefer who, according to the article, is completely unattached and knocking on the door to 40.

now that's more my speed.

**for the record, kiefer's not my favorite member of the young guns II cast, but i must admit he had aged far better than some of the others. plus, "kiefer" is just plain fun to say.
*let me emphasize that i neither dated nor got naked anywhere near any of the three.

just leave me enough for a cherry coke, okay?

ah, yes- it's that time of year again.

no, no- that's not a reference to the warmer weather and my eminent struggle for self-tanning perfection....not this time, anyway.

i'm talking about uncle sam's yearly attempt to wrestle a few more bucks from my tightly clenched fists. somehow, he always wins...and i have yet to figure out how he does it. clearly, he's been talking to my college alumni association, as both entities seem to be under the (false, i'm telling you!) impression that i make a whole hell of a lot more money than i actually do. i mean, sure, i have as many jobs as i do degrees (3), but it's not like any of them pay enough for me to drop the others and/or buy a winter home in the caribbean or anything like that.

where was i again?

oh...yes...i believe we were talking about how i don't generally get a refund because even though i'm not exactly scrooge mcduck, the government seems to think i have enough money to just pour hundred dollar bills out all over my bed, roll around in them, and then stuff a handful into an envelope to mail to them.

well, dubya, uncle sam, and anyone else trying to get their dirty hands on my money, i have news for you:

i. don't. do. that.

not with real money, i mean.

do you have any idea how many monopoly sets one must buy to be able to dump out all of the $100 and $500 bills onto a queen-size bed and roll around in it a la demi moore in indecent proposal?

me either, but perhaps that's a good excuse to put the calculator and w-2s away.....

you searched for what????

it's been far too long since i last did one of these posts, and i have to resurrect the series in labbie's honor, because of this search:

Germany, 0 returning visits
1st April 2006 10:35:00 AM
duffsrandommusings.blogspot.com/ 2006_01_01_duffsrandommusings_archive.html
http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=i%20shake%20your%20labbie%20debbie&spell=1

(for the record, i think they were trying for "laffy taffy"...unless they're a really anti-dog person.)

and here's one for my canadian readers, especially doug:

pei cougar bars

i'm the fifth result on this one- that practically makes me an authority on the subject, according to google.

rate my mini skirt

i'm number one for this......though the rest of the top ten, quite frankly, scares me more than a little. i'm thinking it might be unwise to check out some of those links at work.

pork skins AND hiccups

1. who thinks of these sorts of combinations? i mean, when i see a bag of pork skins at kroger, i don't automatically start hiccuping....and when i hiccup, i don't think about pork skins being the ideal cure. (wait- there might be something to that.....)
2. how did i become the fifth result (out of 804) for this search?

After Murdock took over myspace

i'm not quite sure what this querier from canada was actually going after with this one, but i can only assume it has to do with one of those unsigned bands that keeps asking about being my friend.

pink floyd the wall "wet shorts"

undoubtedly, this is a connection each of us makes......listening to "the wall" and wetting your pants just seems....natural, doesn't it? of course it does.

that time of the week again....

i'm feeling crummy today, but i've managed to leave my deathbed long enough to kick off another edition of "sentence saturday". the first word this week is thipsol. scroll through the comments to find your word, make a sentence with it, and then please leave a new made-up word for the next person. thanks for playing with me again this week!

hey, you! get outta my drawers!

sometimes, i find myself in the strangest conversations. (well, okay- most of my conversations are a little odd, but play along with me here, okay?)

over the past week, i know i have been part of no less than three conversations about underwear, and no, i'm not counting the conversations where one or both parties may or may not have been naked, because, as i told you before (didn't i?) i'm a good girl and don't do that kind of stuff.*

so, really- three conversations.....and no, none of them were from my biggest fan (who used to be really concerned about that sort of thing.)

there was the discussion about why it's unwise to throw bras in the dryer repeatedly** over the weekend, as well as the conversation with my four year old sidekick whose drawers were crawling up her butt while we were jumping on the trampoline the other day (one word, kiddo: thongs), and then this evening, as i delivered orders and passed out catalogs, one of my customers observed that avon's now peddling undies for $7 a pop.

as i recall, she said something to the effect of never buying underwear that expensive, because after all, her butt wasn't big enough for all the material $7 should buy.***

i agreed at the time, as i'm a big fan of the 5 pairs/$19 specials at frederick's.....but when i got home and started putting away laundry, it dawned on me.

i have spent more than $7 on a pair of underwear....and recently....but how else was i going to find something to match the $60 blue thing i found on the back wall the last time i was in freder.......

oh, hi dad. hadn't realized you'd come back. i was just talking about my blue...uh...flannel pajamas.

*think that sounded convincing enough? i'm trying to keep my bases covered in case my dad decides to check in again at some point.
**can you say "goodbye elastic"?
***paraphrasing, but not exaggerating, i swear

happiness is...

the new toy that came with my latest shipment.

i mean, seriously, could you look at this and not grin?


how about now?


i'm telling you- it's pure joy.....

27 (with the social skills of a 12 year old)

so i've been wandering around myspace, searching for people from my past, and i found this guy i had a huge crush on in high school. i mean, i had dozens of crushes, but this guy was one of the five big ones. i've tried writing him a private message* no less than three times, but keep chickening out at the last minute.

so far, this is the best i've come up with:

hi.

(i've tried three different times to come up with a message that didn't sound completely dorky- after all, i like to think i've changed at least a little since high school- "hi" was the best i could come up with.)

anyway, i was a little surprised to see you on here, and thought i'd drop you a quick line to say "hello" in the hopes that maybe you'd vaguely remember me.

oh, and i have something i need to return to you.....sorry it's only taken me 11 years to do so.

riiiight. maybe a fourth attempt is in order.

come out, come out, wherever you are

i think my ups guy is hiding from me.

more specifically, he’s hiding from SO, because he’s the one who’s usually home every other monday around 5pm, when my avon shipment arrives.

the ups guy was able to avoid us for a long time- SO would be working late, or would be out cold in the bedroom and the ups guy could simply clomp up the stairs to my apartment and loudly stick his little “sorry we missed you”* note on the door, scamper back down the stairs, and simply leave the shipment at the office.

however, after a year of having to stuff multiple boxes in my car during my lunch break every other tuesday, i finally figured out what he was up to. i sweet-talked SO into coming home and waiting by the door on delivery days (for some reason, offering to cook lasagna is a surprisingly effective bribe), and i really wish i’d left him the digital camera the first time the ups guy came up the stairs and SO opened it before the sticky note could be applied- i bet the look on his face was priceless.

the ups guy became a little sneakier, tiptoeing up the stairs and ever so gently placing the note on the door- much like when you ever so gently placed the “kick me” sign on someone else’s back when you were younger.

thankfully, SO has pretty decent hearing**, and the ups guy rarely was able to take him by surprise.

it wasn’t like the ups guy would have to bring the boxes up all by himself- SO helps haul stuff up most of the time, which works out well. i mean, i get my stuff without having to chase after it, SO gets a little bit of stairclimbing*** in, the ups guy has help hauling my stuff up, and when he’s done with me, i’m sure the free space in his truck increases by at least 50%. in short, everyone wins.

so, since there was neither a note on my door nor boxes all over my floor when i got home from work tonight, i can only assume that the ups guy has either joined some sort of witness protection program, he’s expired and they’re currently looking for a replacement, or he’s been abducted by aliens****.

so, if you see a guy in a brown uniform in the middle of a field somewhere, hanging out with tom cruise, or pulled over by the side of the road tonight, could you please tell him i’d appreciate it if he’d swing by and deliver my stuff? thanks.

*sure you are, buddy
**unless his favorite college team is playing and/or i’m pestering him about doing the dishes, that is.
***oh, yeah- did i mention we live on the third floor?
****or scientologists

20 questions

as if i haven't already been inspired to write about five posts this morning (just as well- it's going to be a busy week, and i can space them out), i found this little questionnaire my sibling filled out over on myspace, and i'm totally posting it here and tagging people. (insert evil laugh here)

since she referred to me in a couple of her answers, i'm leaving them in red, and mine will be in white. (and since i'm so busy changing font colors, i'm going to be lazy and not decapitalize the questions......after all, it's the weekend, and it's really early.)

1. Who was your first prom date?
My sister's going to hate reading this, but I went to prom when I was a Freshman and she was a Senior. What's worse is I went with a guy who she was friends with. I did look damn good in a little black dress... and I never wear dresses!
no one asked, and i wound up going to mama's that weekend while my sibling danced the night away until several hours past my curfew.

2. Who was your first roommate?
i think her name was jenny. she was a redhead, and our first week of college she was, uh, making her transition into college life.....not that she remembers any of it, i'm sure. needless to say, that didn't last long.

3. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk the first time?
Beer straight from the keg at a New Years party my sister took me to. What was weird was the lesbians kept hitting on her while the guys were hitting on me. We should have tried to swap that out.
3a. they were more than hitting on her. as i recall, she wound up kissing two or three of them, while i was literally running from a pair of underage lesbians. (i mean, i'm flattered, but i like boys......a phrase i still have to utter on occassion these days. i suppose my sibling and i throw off people's gaydars or something.)
3b. not quite sure.....it was probably either beer or wild turkey.*

4. What was your first job?
non-paying: volunteer at a summer camp
paying: athletic attic.....many fond memories of that place....and many coworkers i'd like to reestablish contact with

5. What was your first car?
1989 plymouth sundance. it was the family car, but i wound up with it (unofficially) my third year of college, and it was officially mine upon graduation. you have no idea how hard it was for me to give it up a year and a half later....it was still running just fine at 213,000 miles. *sighs*

6. When did you go to your first funeral?
do hamster funerals count? how about the great flushing of goldfish? no? uhm.....i think it was my grandpa stanco, who died two days after my fifteenth birthday.

7. How old were you when you first moved away from your hometown?
i have a harder time with this one than my sibling. i mean, what do you cosider your "hometown"? the first place you lived? the place you lived the longest? we left cheyenne when i was something like a year old, denver when i was nearly 4, baltimore a week before i turned 14, and i left kansas city 8 years (almost to the day) after that.

8. Who was your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Jackson (psst- her last name was jordan, kiddo)
mrs. harris. she had a poster of the jacksons (from the victory tour, which i was reminded of the other day, as i wound up singing along to "state of shock" on my way to work) on her wall, which was cool, but otherwise, we didn't get along at all.

9. Where did you go on your first airplane ride?
wyoming....not sure how old i was, but daddy and i went out to visit my aunt while she went through a divorce

10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was with you?
the first and only time.....i was with jenny gilbert, and we totally got caught

11. Who was your first Best Friend and are you still friends always?
my first? a couple come to mind....i still write to chrissy, but i have no idea what happened to brett canfield, who was easily my first big crush, as well.**

12. Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parents house?
c419 hudson hall on the northwest missouri state university campus. i was crushed when i found out they'd torn my dorm down last year.

13. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?
it's generally a tossup between SO and mama

14. Who's wedding were you in the first time you were a bridesmaid or a groomsmen?
you know, i'd say i was still waiting on that one, but, quite frankly, i'm pretty okay with not having to don a fuschia dress with green lace that i'll surely never wear again.

15. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
roll over and blindly hit the nightstand until i manage to smack the snooze button

16. What was the first concert you ever went to?
A concert with Toad the Wet Sprocket and The Cranberries with my sister. She was there for Toad, I was there for the Cranberries, so we both suffered.
16a. can i possibly get across how much i hate the cranberries? i mean really, you have no idea how much i suffered to hear toad. it was totally worth it, though.
16b. my first concert was ugly kid joe at woody's nightclub in kansas city when i was 14 or 15. i'm sure i still have the ticket stub somewhere.

17. First tattoo or first piercing?
A crab I got about 7 years ago.
tattoo: a crab i got in june of 2000
piercing: seven in my ears starting as soon as i got to college. 1 other when i went to mardi gras my second year of college.

18. First celebrity crush?
let me think about this- i know it was before i discovered val kilmer. i can get it down to about five possibilities....

19. First crush?
**

20. First love?
not so fast- he reads this, and i don't think he realizes he holds this title.....and far be it from me to give im a huge ego.

*yeah- about that.....daddy, i should probably warn you that there's a seriously watered down bottle sitting in your liquor cabinet.
**no, wait- my first big crush was jamie galford, who lived two doors down and was a couple of years older than me......no clue what happened to him, either.

oh- i was going to tag some folks, wasn't i? how about mossy, kal, joefish, bricotrout, and raven?

hear ye, hear ye

ahem.

ladies and gentlemen, and the folks who actually read this (listen up, both of you);

tonight, i saw this,

and i'd like to officially add him

to the "val kilmer clause".

since SO didn't seem to openly object when i notified him of this development while driving home from the movie theater this evening, i'm taking his silence as permission. now, all i have to do is convince him to swing by and pick me up in his airstream.

ok, now- with that over with, let me give you the haiku review of the movie:

a funny new film
but would be better if we
saw matthew naked

hello......what's this?

as you know, i work on multiple radio stations each weekend. in addition to my live shifts on wnok (10-3 est today and tomorrow, gang), i also babysit a couple of countdowns on a couple of our sister stations.

imagine my surprise this morning when i skimmed the cue sheet for the jeff foxworthy countdown and saw a name that made my heart go pitter patter. (seriously- it both pittered and pattered!)

it seems john corbett (one of my favorite fictional djs, right behind johnny fever and that episode of the a-team where murdock took over a radio station in the middle of nowhere and played nothing but the lennon sisters) is no longer content to act and just generally be easy on the eyes.....he's now a singer...a serious artist.

sadly, it's country music.

i haven't heard the song yet (15 minutes to go), but i'm hoping maybe i can just sort of close my eyes and pretend it's really just southern rock.


(psst- scroll down for sentence saturday)

early sentence saturday

i figured for once, i'd actually get this up at the beginning of saturday, just for you night owls looking for something to do......

this week's first word is glacktomi. scroll through the commetns to find your word, and please don't forget to leave a new made-up word for the next visitor to use in a sentence.

thanks for playing with me again this week!