Gotta go to my Halloween festivities, but here's a shot of my costume....can you figure out what I was? Hint: 'West Side' is written on my knuckles.

Like my poses? Hell yeah, I'm a fucking loser.

So it's 4 in the morning, and I just finished my worms and dirt. Actually, it's just dirt, because I forgot to buy the gummi worms. Oh well, I can always add them in tomorrow. No one eats them anyway. It's my fault I procrastinated so long. Oh well, at least it's good to know that my dirt tastes DAMN GOOD. It just takes so long to make that dirt of of crushed Oreos.

It took me a while to figure out what to have for my costume. The daily crappy webcam pic should give you a hint as to what I'm going to be, but trust me, you'll never guess it. It's really lame, but hey, it's a costume.

Today at lunch Dan didn't finish his food. I told him that his eyes were bigger than his mouth, because that's what my mom would always say. But then he corrected me and said, 'It's 'Your eyes are bigger than your STOMACH'. Ohh...yeah, that's what it is. But then the ever witty Amy replied that one with 'Yeah, because there's nothing bigger than Dan's mouth.' HA! How true.

So in honor of Halloween, I'll give you my top ten scary movies (haven't done a top ten list in months!).

The Exorcist III

Event Horizon

The Shining

The Amityville Horror

The Ring

The Sixth Sense

What Lies Beneath

Poltergeist III

The Exorcist

The Omen

What are yours?

Well, I've been debating about getting my own website domain, but it looks like www.yano.com is taken. Any other ideas? I don't know what to get. I really should get my own domain and space because I feel bad that I'm using up Dan's space, and I want to move all my stuff from my Psylocke site, because I keep on overloading my bandwidth on Geocities.

Tomorrow is Halloween and I still don't have a costume. It really crept up on me this year! But I'm not going to party or anything, I'm just going to have a nice night with friends, watching scary movies. I also need to get my little Halloween baggies together. Tonight, it's time to make some dirt and worms. What is this dirt and worms I speak of? Basically, it's my specialty Halloween dessert. It's made out of chocolate pudding, cool whip and crushed Oreo cookies, with little gummy worms sticking out of the crushed oreo 'dirt' topping. It's always a hit at the parties. I'm getting a craving for some now.

I can't believe that Halloween is this Thursday. What planet have I been on? I don't even have a costume planned!!! And I'm on a budget, so I don't even know if I want to buy a costume. I may just have to be inventive and make something up here. Argh. Stress!

So I did my Halloween candy shopping. This year the candy of choice is Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, and Milky Way. My favorites. Ok, they're not. They're the ones on sale. But the peanut butter cups ARE my favorite. I remember being a little kid and separating them, and secretly stealing one or two of Claudine and Fatima's. I also bought my little halloween baggies, because I always put my candy into little baggies, with other little treats. This Halloween, we've got spider rings and pumpkin stickers. How cool am I? Unfortunately, my Halloween decorations aren't that great this year. I'm missing a lot of stuff from last year, and I don't know where it is. Usually, I have my little tombsontes up in front with my blinking eyes in the back, but I can't find the stakes for my blinking eyes, and the tombstones are MIA. Oh well. I'll have more time next year, wherever I am!

Looking for a costume? The Costume Idea Zone should help you out.

Are you enjoying my Halloween colors? Can it be any more annoying? Can it be any more SPOOKTACULAR? Ahh....I'm a loser.

How unoriginal can I get? Anyway, congrats to the Anaheim Angels for winning the World Series. It was a great series, and it was really touching to see the Angel's win their first championship. Too bad Gene Autry passed away. *sigh* When will Harry Caray help the Cubs win their long awaited championship? Damn that Billy Goat Curse!

And can I tell you how much the Bears suck? Can I? Every time, I give them the benefit of the doubt, and BAM! They lose. Grrr...

And what sucks even more was that Walter Payton's record was beat by Emmitt Smith today. Don't get me wrong, Emmitt definitely earned it, but as a Chicago gal, I've got a soft spot for Walter 'Sweetness' Payton. The game hasn't been the same without him!

Watched 'Angel' today....don't know if I like the direction that show is going...

As you can see, I've changed my titles. I just need a little change every now and then.

this is the arm that I'm going to marry

Well, I called some reception sites and found out that there's still some availability next year. I gave them a pretty broad range (August 16th - November 8th 2003) but it's good to know that it's not too late to book a hall. All this wedding planning can get pretty stressing. And I've added a new post to my wedding blog so check it out when you get a chance!

Dave came by yesterday and was using the computer. He gave me a lot of grief about posting his ugly constipated pictures on the internet. And for as much grief as he gave me, I think he LIKES the webcam. I turned it on and he was like 'You're not going to catch me on that thing again', but like a moth to the flame, there he was a couple minutes later doing stupid poses. Oh, the power of the webcam! So I've got this nice flex shot of him. Whoo hoo! Check out that bicep! I'm not marrying this man for his mind, my friends, it's all about that bodacious bod, baby! He's just a piece of meat. Eye candy! Ha!

So yesterday we went to go watch 'The Ring' (it's my second time) because Dave hasn't watched it yet. On our way there, I realized that it was exactly one week before that I had watched it. I was waiting for some sign of my impending death, but as you must have figured out already, I'm still alive. Watching the movie for a second time wasn't as bad as the first time I watched it. It was nice to know that I caught Dave shutting his eyes during one of the scary parts. I'm happy he enjoyed it. The last movie we watched, 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' he wasn't too fond of. I loved the movie. Two weeks later, he didn't even remember watching it. Gives me a lot of high hopes for my wedding!

OK, there were none. They flew me out to St. Louis on Thursday, and I came home yesterday night. Not too much time to check out the local scene. I hate it when they send me out of town with less than a week's notice. I know, I could have said 'no', but I've also been kinda experiencing cabin fever in the office. They haven't sent me away in a long time (which is because I'm on the blacklist for I don't know what), Well, it wasn't a tough job to do, just some training and helping the client setting up their system. I would have liked to see more of St. Louis, but maybe next time!

Nothing else much has happened. It's been a pretty boring week!

Since there's nothing going on in my life, why don't you check out Wil Wheaton's blog. Yes! He has a blog! And it looks like he's filming a movie right now. I used to have the biggest crush on him after watching 'Stand By Me'. Make sure to read the 'If you've never been here before, you should read this.' part. Today, you get to read about his first encounter meeting CHEF, Issac Hayes. It's really cute.

Yesterday I went to a script reading. Basically a script reading is when a writer creates a script, it helps to hear actors read the parts. What they have in their heads may not come out correctly when they have it on paper and its read aloud. Anyway, my old director asked me to come and read some stuff, and it'a always a lot of fun. That, and he fixed Dave's computer, so I own him. I miss acting a lot, too, but with my hectic schedule and traveling and all, I just don't have the time. My favorite bit of the night was a rough draft of a piece that one of the writers is going to try and submit to "The Simpsons". I was cast as Marge, and I have an awful Marge impression. I just can't get my voice that scratchy! But it was really a funny piece. Hopefully the it's accepted. We also talked a lot about the Simpsons, because my director knows someone in the cast. I won't say who, but he's a major player. When he visited 'the set' he said that it was the happiest bunch of people that he's seen work together. That's great to know, because "The Simpsons" is a great show, and it's been on FOREVER, so they better get along!

So in the news there's speculation that they MIGHT have caught the sniper in DC. I hope so. You hear in the news about what's been happening, kids not going to school, no outdoor football games, people not going outside of their houses, etc. I had talked to a client from DC and she had said that when they go for gas, they wait until the gas light is on, and they run out, put the nozzle in the tank, then run back into the car. And I didn't realize that without football or outdoor soccer games, scouts for colleges aren't attending so those kids that are depending on athletic scholarships to go to college aren't getting that chance. It's this horrible ripple effect that's happening. I really hope that these are the guys, and I hope they get punished.

Here's the test of the day:

Which Buff Girl Are You? Find out @ She's Crafty

Can one be the slayer, and yet have such a thirst for the taste of blood? (see post below)

So yesterday I went with Dan to give blood. Haven't done it in a LONG time. I always say I will, but I'm too lazy to cart my ass over to the bloodbank. So when Dan asked me if I wanted to give blood with him, I thought it was a great idea. Helping someone out. And I've got a pretty popular blood type. And free cookies and juice! That, and hey, I'll lose a couple ounces. COme on...it's all about me! Heh heh. Just kidding. So it's the coolest thing to see you life essence flowing out of you, into that little plastic bag. I was afraid that I wouldn't pass the tests or the questionaire. Here's some of the questions that stumped me for a little:

Are you a male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once?

Have you have been given money or drugs for sex since 1977?

Have you had sex with anyone who been given money or drugs for sex since 1977?

Have you been an inmate of a correctional institution (including jails, prisons or detention centers) or someone who has been incarcerated for more than 72 consecutive hours during previous 12 months?

Those as just the ones that I remember. I had to hold my giggles. They had a hard time finding my vein, and I guess I've got slow moving blood, because they kept on coming by and asking if I was squeezing my little stress ball. Someone came in and left during the time I was pumping out my juice. And once I was done, some blood squirted out, but the guy didn't see it. So while he was processing my stuff, I was watching my blood clot on my arm, and I had the strangest urge to lick it. Must be the vampire in me. No wonder I don't like sunlight and I have such a hard time putting on makeup because I can't see myself in the mirror!

Anyway...my arm is still sore. Don't really feel any different without that pint of blood, though my right hand has no feeling and my fingers are blue. Just kidding. But it IS pretty cold, which is weird....

Posted by Yano at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)

The quizzes that I post here are internet equivalents of the Melrose Place whores. They've been around the block a couple times. This quiz was first posted on Bernadette's site, then on Linda's, then mine...I'll grab more from their sites over time. For now, here's a cute one...Anyway, it's true, I like the cuddle and kiss. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy...

What Sign of Affection Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

So last Sunday, I went to church by myself. Going to church by yourself is no fun. Anyway, a couple minutes after mass starts, this man walks in, and sits a couple pews in front of me. Dude, it took me a couple seconds to figure out what was wrong, but then it came to me - he had plumber's crack! Yeah, all through mass, there was his ass crack, staring me in the face. I tried not to look, but it was like a magnet to my eyes - 'Look at me!' it cried...It's like watching a train wreck, you can't keep your eyes off it.

Damn the Bears for losing to the Detroit Lions. All they had to do was hold the ball for a couple minutes!!! We suck!

Sunday night, I hung out with Jaygee - my best friend from Orlando, and Jen. It was pretty fun. We made some wedding plans (but really didn't because we kept on going on tangents) and came up with a couple ideas about the wedding that I don't remember. All I remember will be posted in my Wedding Blog. Afterwards we went out for sushi, which I haven't had in a very long time. Yum yum, it was GOOD! It was really great to hang out with the gals. We all have such good laughs when we're together. I always make fun of the guys for rehashing the same old stories when they get together, but I realized that we do the same thing. It's good to laugh! I only wish we had more time to hang out, but she was only home for the weekend.

Wanna hear something sweet? (Emer beware, I'm gonna talk short track speedskater stuff) I've been helping out a little with this site, www.worldshorttrack.com and one of the webmasters went to go see Apolo in Denver and as a thank you for helping out with his site, he got a recording of Apolo saying Hi and thanks for all the stuff that I do. I admit, I got a bit giddy listening to it.

Today, it's cold outside, and it's cold in the office. Luckily, I have a window seat, so at least I get some warmth from the sun. Mental note - bring in a blanket tomorrow.

Went to a surprise party of my 80 year-old grandaunt. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but she made it through OK. Had lots of good food, finally played 'Kingdom Hearts' (which I just might buy) on Melanie's playstation (one of her massive collection of 4 playstation games). Also watch Memento for the 50th time, but that's ok, because the movie is the story of my life, so every time I watch it, it's like watching it for the first time because I don't remember.

Later, we went to go see 'The Ring'. It's basically a movie about this videotape that after people watch it, seven days go by and they die. Naomi Watts watches it, and she's trying to find out why the tape was made, the secret behind it, and how she can stop it from killing her. Haven't been that spooked by a movie in a long time. And it was great to see it in the theater, because there's something comforting knowing that you're not the only one screaming. Or whimpering. There was a lot of scary imagery, and it's a great movie with a lot of jump-outta-your-seat parts. And more than once I said something like 'No! Don't open the door!' I also found the shape of the straw in my Coke very interesting during the 'scary music something is going to pop out so I don't want to look at the screen' parts. A lot of good ole' Halloween season fun with that one. I definitely suggest you go see it. But then again, afterwards I was freaked out and I don't want to ever watch another videotape again. Creepy!

Haven't blogged in a while...Well, I'll do a day by day blog since my last posts...

Friday
Well, I headed out to Schaumburg on Friday night to see my favorite comic book artist, Michael Turner, the artist of Fathom, who was at a shop doing autographs and sketches. Drove all the way out there, and got this beautiful sketch. He called it Aspen's "Are you looking at me? Are YOU looking at ME?' face. I was a little star struck, so I didn't talk much, I just laughed at him aplling around with the other people in the shop. Also got to look at some of the original art that he brought with him, and they were gorgeous. The most expensive one he had with him was a $6,000.00 Medieval Wtihchblade pinup he did. Wowsers. I really admire the guy. During the peak of Fathom's popularity, Mike was diagnosed with cancer, which kept him off the drawing board for a couple years. But he's back, and better than ever. So anyway, when I first met him at the Chicago Comic Convention, he had really liked my thumb ring, which has waves on it (Fathom, underwater, waves, get it?). He asked me if he could have it, and I said for $15 he could. Hey, anytime I can make a buck. Just kidding. He then asked to try it on. He put it on his pinky, and it got stuck. After much pulling and laughing, we got it off, and he drew this marvelous sketch for me in return for my troubles. So when I saw him on Friday, I gave him this ring that I had found that was very similar to the one that I had. Unfortunately, this one was too big, but he wore it on his pinky anyway. What a swell guy!

Later that night, we headed out to Angelo's birthday shindig at Big Wig. I've never seen the place so packed so many Asians there. Then again, 3 different people were having parties there. The music was great, but the dancefloor was HOT HOT HOT! I almost melted. But we had a good time. Always nice to see people at these little get togethers...

Well, I've finally given in to my sickness. It's a crappy day outside, and I'm feeling crappy. Stress at work is not going to get my cold any better. However, I'm at home, and I'M STILL WORKING! There's just some stuff that I've got to take care of today, that I'm sending into the office and blah blah blah. There's also a lot of stuff that I need to take care of here at home, like wedding stuff. I pledge to myself that I will call at least 3 reception halls today!

Watching 'The Other Half' right now, and these guys are so cheesey. But I did get teary eyed when they brought out this pregnant woman, whose husband was sent away because he's in the military. It's their first baby, and chances are he'll still be gone when the baby is born. So the guys had elected themselves to be the 'surrogate dads' while he's away, going to lamaze classes, watching the ultra sounds, etc. They had called the husband today, and they (and the wife) were talking to him. Danny asked the stupidest question, which was 'So, do you feel bad that you can't be here for the birth of your first baby?' Um, DUH!!! So the husband answers, 'Yeah, more than anything else I want to be with her right now, to experience this whole thing, but there are also so many things going on in her life that I want to share with her, that I can't, like flat-tires, stopped up toilets, birthdays, I just miss her so much.' Awww, and of course, she started crying.

OK....gonna clean up the room. More later.

No decorations will be put up today. It's been raining, and it's really cold outside. Can't risk getting more sick than I am. Anyway, here's that pic that I was talking about earlier today. The scan isn't too great, but it'll have to do. I'm one of 'The Nebula Riders' - sexy, scantily clad women that ride around saving the universe. Yup. That's me!

Foul mood alert!!! Well, today, it seemed that a good friend at work may have been let go. I really don't want to go into the reasons or anything like that, but we're all in a little bit of shock. My feelings swayed from anger, to disappointment, to sadness, to hopelessness, to anger again. That, and I'm still sick! Grr...Our happy little family here had been broken up. But then, later on, we found that he was given a second chance. Whew!!! Can't stand to have our little Scooby gang break up. We've got a good thing going! But it really stressed me out. It makes my belly hurt.

I was talking to my friend, Luke Lizalde, who draws the comic book 'Mac Afro' and for his last issue he gave me a cameo. Of course, I don't think it looks like me at all, but it's the thought that counts. I've got the scan of it at home, so I'll post it up here tonight. My character even has a speaking part. Whoo hoo! Good luck to Luke, who's gonna be brushing up on his art skills and hitting up Marvel for a job. Come on, who wouldn't hire a guy who can draw like this?

It's freezing here today, the high is supposed to be the mid-forties. I've been wanting to put up my Halloween decorations around the house for a while now, but it's been too cold. But tonight will be the night! I've got to get them up soon, because it'll just get colder.

Geez!!! It took me an hour to drive to work today. It was only drizzling, but everyone was driving SO slow. It always happens that when you leave the house late, you're going to get to work even later! And it's freezing outside. It's only supposed to get to 46 degrees today. And I swear, in my office, it's even colder. It must be 40 degrees in here. I'm starting to lose feeling in my fingers. I think I may put my jacket back on.

Yesterday night was a good time. I went to meet up with the guys at John Barleycorn to celebrate Gel's birthday. By the time I got there he had drunk a bottle of wine and had a shot of goldschlager and tequila in front of him. He had many more drinks after that, including the car bomb that I bought him. There was a lot of great, funny conversation. For a while, I was the only girl there, so I got to listen to a lot of the guy talk. They were discussing that the amount of happy people in relationships versus happy single people that they knew was 28 to 1. The found one more happy male, which upped it to 28 to 2. (Happy single says: 'I've been hearing that sex is over-rated anyway!' Unhappy single replies: 'Yeah, they say that because they can't get any sex!') The rest of them are tired of being single. Poor single guys, with a shortage of young single women. If you're single, female, and looking for love, I've got a panel of good looking young men for you to choose from. E-mail me an application. *wink* We also discussed favorite old TV shows (the Wonder Years vs. Boy Meets World debate) and cartoons ('Why couldn't Lion-O's sword be long all the time? The rest of the time it was so puny, you can't fight with that thing!'), and there were some confessions made (like how many of them actually went to the theaters to see the Power Rangers movie, just to check out the Pink Ranger). There was also a lot of geeky comic book talk that I loved. All in all, it was a nice night, it's good to hang out with old friend. I can never get enough of reminiscing about the old days of college with them. We still laugh out loud at the same old stories. I love those guys!

I've also created another blog to talk about all my wedding stuff. Check it out at My Big Fat Filipino Wedding. Lots of people have suggestions and questions, and there are a lot of ideas that run through my head during the course of the day. I just want to keep everything together, and I think that the planning of this wedding will make one entertaining read. It will also give me a place to rant when the pressure starts building up!

Well, Saturday I went to a family party, and we sat around and watched football and rented movies. Trully is the easiest person to go to Blockbuster with, because every movie you suggest to rent she says 'YES!'. I guess you don't get to watch a lot of movies out in Brazil. SO we rent 6 movies, because she has a lot to catch up on. We get back, throw in 'The Scorpion King', which was her first choice to watch, and she falls asleep halfway.

Later that night me and Dave met up with some co-workers to watch the Chicago Wolves home opener. We played against Cincinatti Mighty Ducks and spanked their mighty little asses 8-4. Hockey games are fun to watch. Especially when they fight! But Saturday I was about 2 feet from getting hit by a flying puck. Someone tried a slapshot on the goal and it ricocheted off the gaolies mitt and flew into the crowd. It was the freakiest thing seeing it fly towards me. I had a slow reaction and ducked afterwards. Looking back, it seemed like it was in slow motion. It eventually hit a guy on the chest, but what a trooper, he had the presence of mind to catch it. After the game, we partied at Boogie Nights. In a way, I prefer dorky places like Boogie Nights, where you don't have to care how you're dressed, or how your dancing to the 'be seen' places that I've gone to before. It's a lot more fun when you don't have to worry about how you look. Dave didn't think that he would be he had a really good time, too. There's so much humor to be found when watching the crowd in places like that!

Yesterday we played Whirlyball against some clients. We didn't have a good turnout of people from the company, but we beat our client nonetheless. I scored a couple games, which I'm happy about, and I had some pretty good assists and passes. However, I got hit pretty badly a couple times, so I'm really sore. There was one time when I got hit at full speed with my back turned (a total cheap shot), so I didn't even have a chance to prepare myself and I think I may have done something to my neck. But that's ok, because he was a sucky player and he had no game. That, and I got a couple of good shots on him later on, as did Bryan. If you're ever in Chicago, I'll take y'all out to play. It's a good time.

Well, Dave came by and I showed him the webcam. At first I thought he was going to think it was a silly idea to have it, but as you can see, he rather enjoyed playing with it. And knowing that he hardly EVER comes to my page, I thought I'd post up these funny pics of him. Shhh!!!

Work today was blah blah blah. Loretta made the most kick ass pico de gallo ever. DELISH. It was gone in 15 minutes. Tasty! Once again, I was swamped with work, but then again, that's a good thing. I was scheduled to go to New Jersey next week, but when I had a conference call with the client, I discovered that they had a LOT of work to do internally before I go over there. Good. There's a lot of stuff that I need to do next week. On Sunday we're going to have a Whirlyball competition against some clients from Milwaukee. We've got a pretty good team together (I'm the captain, yay!) and so we should easily kick their asses. We were thinking of ways to intimidate them, like running laps around the court, then running drills in our bumper cars before the game. Can't wait. I'll definitely post up pics.

Gil and Dave came over today for a relaxing night of eating leftovers and watching 'Hannibal'. I don't think it was a good movie, I actually fell asleep during the first half hour. But I woke up again, and the story wasn't as good or twisty as Silence of the Lambs or Red Dragon. Oh well. It's always a good time to watch Dave and Gil hang out together. I swear, those guys share the same brain, they're like little boys when they're together.

Here's the test of the day:

So I finally installed the webcam that came with my computer. I really have no idea what to do with the thing, because I don't chat with anyone that has a webcam. And it feels really weird to take a picture of yourself. I feel like a major loser, as you can tell in these pictures. But now, I can start up my internet porn webcam site. www.yano-nekkid.com And yeah...I'm just kidding...

Yesterday we had an awesome dinner in Chinatown, at this restaurant called 'Penang'. The food was ok, but as always, we had a great time and a lot of laughs. We discussed my upcoming wedding a lot, but a lot of it was just BS, since I don't have anything set in stone yet. We also discussed my dream of becoming an Olympic medalist. So far, the winter olympic sport where I would have a chance of winning is curling. When I brought up short track, they just laughed loudly. Then again, they've seen me skate, so they know I have no chance of winning a medal. However, for the summer olympics, there are a plethora of events that I can win my gold in. Shooting, archery, rowing, bowling, badminton, those are all things that I can do! Athens, here I come!

We also thought of what I'd do once I was married, if I'd stay at my job or if I'd do something else. I then came up with an amazing idea. I'm amazed that no one had thought of it before. It's what I'd like to call the At Home Liposuction Gift Kit. The liposuction part is comprised of a little vacuum, where you can suck out all of the unnecessary fat cells for various parts of your body. I've seen the Discovery Channel, it's not that hard! So then, you've got your fat in the fat container, right? Now comes the 'gift' part. With the fat extracted from your body, you can make scented soap to give as gifts! Yes! It's the ultimate in the 'Made by me, especially for you' way of thinking. I love you, have some soap made with my own body fat. They'll love you for it! So many great ideas I've gotten from 'Fight Club'!

I'm still sick. Yuck. Everyone says I sound funny. Hmph!

It's SO HOT in my office. They turned on the heat, because it's a little chilly outside, but we're baking! Not only is it hot, but it's also weirdly humid, or something like humidity. It's just kinda like a lazy heat wave we've got going on in the office. I'm wearing a sweater, so I'm steaming. Everyone's complaining. I'm sweaty, and I'm sleepy. And the heat isn't helping my cold any. I just got myself some Puffs with Lotion and a pack of DayQuil. I don't think it's helping much. I'm miserable. I should have stayed home sick, but why waste a sick day on a day when you're sick? Sick days are to be used for beautiful days when you want to ditch work!!!

Anyway, my cousins Trully and Irio are in town from Brazil. I love it when they visit. We're going to Chinatown for dinner tonight. Should be a good time. We always have a lively fun time when we all get together. I know I should take it easy with my cold and all, but I'm not going to let this bastard cold get the best of me!

Ok, I changed my website, and there are some things that I need to fix. Grrr....I thought I tested it out yesterday. Well, I've got to update a lot on my site. A lot of it is pretty old.

And I've got a cold. My nose is all stuffed up and it's hard to breathe. It makes me grumpy.

Stupid Bears lost yesterday. *sigh* Embarrassed in front of the whole country.

Today has just been a boring blah blah day. Went to a LONG meeting where I was actually WISHING to go back to work. I've got a ton of projects that I need to get done, and being in meetings where the same things are said over and over again isn't a good use of my time.

Haven't had a test in a while, and I know you all LOVE tests. Picked this one off of Bernadette's site:

Yeah. It figures. Was anyone surprised with the outcome of that one?

Also, I'm still the top referrer for Redpac's site. As you can see on the right, he's graciously hosted most of the crap that I put on this site. I slip him some cash every now and then. It's a great work relationship. If you love the Olsen twins, that's the place to be. As for this page, I'm thinking of doing some changes tonight (hopefully). I'm tired of this side menu bar thing, and having some of my other pages open up to new pages. Watch out for changes tomorrow! Chances are, though, that I'm going to completely obliterate and mess up this site, but we'll see!

modified 20:30
Today is a rather odd day. Well, I guess a lot of weird things happened today. First off, I had this really vivid dream that I was cleaning my room, and I was doing a good job. And I woke up really inspired to clean my room. All day I've been wanting to clean my room. And for those of you that know me, i NEVER want to clean my room. Then at work, one of my meanest clients was suspiciously nice to me today, calling me 'The Queen of Reports' and engaging into giggly conversation about the American Girl Place. Later on, when we went to lunch, we went into the elevator to go down, and there were no lights at all in the elevator, except for the floor number we pressed. It was REALLY spooky, because it was pitch black in there, and we were half expecting the doors to open to the gatest of HELL (I know for most of you it's probably a Penthouse Letters dream, but it was spooky). When we finally got out, there was a maintenance man waiting there and we told him that there were no lights in the elevator. He had already known about it. Then he told us 'Um, if you see that there aren't any lights in an elevator, it would be a good idea NOT TO GO IN.' Hey, we weren't paying attention when we were going into the elevator! But we could definitely see his point. Then, at Taco Bell, there was NO LINE. There's always a line at Taco Bell! When we were walking back to work, we saw two guys, in the middle of the street, struggling to hold on to this rope that was attached to something. Upon passing, we realized it was a rope that was holding up this scaffolding that this man was on, which was hooked up to the building that we were eating lunch in. The man looked pretty worried, and the guys were yelling at him to hold on. Kinda freaky. We didn't want to stick around to see what happened. Also on the way back there was this car that thought that it was going to beat the light, but didn't, but ended up getting caught in the intersection (you know, THAT person). What was funny about it was that it was 2 old ladies in a sportscar. When we got back to the office, Sam found out that he had to leave ASAP to a client site in St. Louis. It's a 6 hour drive. Poor thing. And after he left, I found out that he had forgotten the directions that I printed out for him. So I had to call him and read them off for him. To top off the day (so far) I went to the convenience store and found out that they have no more Sabrositas Fritos!!! Oh the humanity!

I'll be extra careful today going home!

As for yesterday, we took the girls out to Lou Malnati's pizza (and they were AMAZED by the deep dish pizza, but the loved it). After that, we took them to the Shedd Aquarium. I never knew it was so hard to keep track of an 8 and 4 year old. The 4 year old wouldn't let go of my hand the whole time, so it was hard for me to take pictures. And the 8 year old was running around the place like nobody's business. I would see something cool, like glow in the dark jellyfish, point it out to her, she'd glance at it, and say 'cool' and run away to play with the 'interactive' stuff. Then the 4 year old would want to do what her big sister was doing. Hey! We're here for the fish, not the words that light up when you press a button! Oh well. They still had a great time. And it was a good work out keeping up with them. We then drove around downtown Chicago, and which my little cousin said 'Chicago is the best place in the world, you guys have ALLEYWAYS!' Um, yeah, right...THAT'S why we're a great city. But the girls were so cute. Even after making an ice cream run at 9 at night, and watching Monster's Inc 2 nights in a row, it was all worth it. They left early this morning, and it was so cute, because they were crying because they wanted to stay. Awww...

Tonight is an EXCELLENT night for television. BEARS ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!! WHOO HOO!

Well, my cousins are here visiting from Canada. One is 4, and the other is 8 years old. They are the cutest little things ever! Like little elves, running around. When they went into my room, they didn't say anything at all, they just walked slowly around, touching this and that, taking everything in. Missy Elliot was paying on WinAmp, and they were bopping their little heads, and said 'Hey, I like this!'. How cute! Unfortunately, I don't have much here to entertain them, so we had to go out and buy then some toys. However, they were more entertained when Fatima brought out some yarn and taught them how to play Cat's Cradle.

Yesterday was also Jane's baby shower. She's due in November, but she's pretty big already. At the party yesterday, there were so many babies running around. It was SO WEIRD, because it seems like only yesterday, I was out clubbing and partying with these people. Now they've got babies, they're talking about motherly advice, the best car seat, dreading the terrible twos, what to name their next child. Time has passed by so quickly! But it was great to see some old faces yesterday. I need to get out and see these people more often. I've become a hermit. I must be social again! Anyway, Jane and Maui got so much stuff. The presents filled two rooms. I don't know how all that stuff will fit in the baby's nursery! Me and Fatima didn't know what to get them, so we pretty much just got them most of the stuff that they had left over on their registry. It's the first baby of our generation, so we're pretty excited. We're going to spoil this baby rotten!

Today started out as such a crappy day. It was gloomy and raining so hard. But then, later on in the afternoon, the sun came out, and it looked as if it hadn't rained at all. It looked gorgeous outside. But then I walked to the train station, and it was windy. It was FUCKING WINDY! I could hardly walk, and a couple times almost blew over. And it's getting cold. Really cold. I was waiting for the bus forever. Ack!

Today was a pretty blah day. Work was really busy again, which is fine for me. I know that there are some people waiting for me to make a mistake. I hate having to be absolutely anal about everything, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Now I have to master the art of ass kissing.

Watched the premiere/sneak preview for Red Dragon. If you loved Silence of the Lambs, you'll like this too. Great performaces on all sides, Ed Norton as the pre-Clarice FBI agent, Antony Hopkins was intense as Hannibal, and Ralph Fiennes was amazingly creepy as our bad guy of the day. There's enough jumps and tension to make it hard for me to sleep tonight. Eek...to much scary imagery. But it was good....and a great story.

The Room Test is one of the neatest tests I've taken in a long time. It's pretty interesting. Try it out. I'll post what options I chose in the comments, so I don't bias you as to what you pick.

Ack. I messed up my archive links. And I can't figure out what I did wrong! Grrr....

Anyway, I'm the late shift at work today, so I started at 10:30. It's so pleasant! The only negative thing is that I get off of work at 7. Can someone out there tape Thursday night for me? I can't miss Must See Thursday!

Yesterday, I didn't get as much cleaning done as I wanted to. Surprise, surprise. I'm so awful! So tonight I'm going to be a cleaning machine, right after I watch the movie.

Meaningless, but Highly Entertaining Conversation of the Day: We were discussing the Wills and Will Not's of my wedding, and we were on the topic of what dances I was going to allow. Like, there's no way we're going to have a conga line. My feet always get stepped on. And no Cotton Eyed Joe. However, me and Bryan at the same time mentioned that doing the Limbo would be fun. It's always fun to watch the uncles and aunts do the limbo. But then I found out that Bryan had ulterior motives for the Limbo. Way back when, when the quality of the emails sent between friends was still good, I send him email of this picture of a girl at a company party that was doing the limbo, and from the angle of the picture, you could see that she had no underwear on. I guess he's hoping for some of that action at my wedding. So if you see a guy at the end of the Limbo line with a camera at my wedding, you know why he's there.

Meaningless, but Highly Entertaining Conversation of the Day: Discussing cell phone use in movie theaters. Which evolved to a lively re-enactment of the scene from 'Scary Movie' where the girl is in the movie theater and her phone rings, and she's talking to her friend on the phone. I guess it's one of those 'shoulda been there' moments.

CD for the Commute to Work - The Jackson Five Greatest Hits - Ahh, how I loved Michael Jackson back when he was black. This CD has got so many feel good tap your feet songs on it. I just remember some of the guys from college dressed up in fro's doing their little Jackson 5 impression. Oh the memories!

Work is getting busier and busier for me, which in a way is good, as long as I'm not dealing with irritated customers. I like to keep myself busy because it makes the day go faster. I just need to schedule my time better. I'm horrible at that! Tomorrow, I've got the late shift, which is WONDERFUL, because I get to sleep in. Whoo hoo! Then I'm going to watch the premiere of 'Red Dragon'. I'm pretty excited about that. I had always wanted to read the book, but I guess I'll read the book after watching the movie.

Tonight, I clean my room. I've got relatives from Canada coming this weekend, and they're staying in my room. Which means the place must be spotless. I haven't seen my floor in a couple months. I must trick these people into thinking that I'm neat and clean, rather than the hopeless slobby packrat that I really am. I've got a big closet. I'm sure it will all fit in there. I'll MAKE it fit in there. Man, I hate cleaning.

Since I have such a fixation on food, I thought this would be appropriate for my page. It's not rolling on the floor laughing funny, but it brought a smirk to my face. Sometimes, Satan isn't too bad of a guy...

And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach and green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
And Satan created McDonald's. And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double-cheeseburger. And Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?"
And Man said, "Super size them." And Man gained pounds.
And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair.
And Satan froze the yogurt, and he brought forth chocolate, nuts and brightly colored sprinkle candy to put on the yogurt. And woman gained pounds.
And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad."
And Satan brought forth creamy dressings, bacon bits, and shredded cheese.
And there was ice cream for dessert. And woman gained pounds.
And God said, "I have sent your heart healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them."
And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak from Cracker Barrel so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained pounds, and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.
And God brought forth running shoes, and Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.
And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2. And Man gained pounds.
And God said, "You're running up the score, Devil." And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.
And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fat fried them. And he created sour cream dip also.
And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol. And Satan saw and said, "It is good."
And Man went into cardiac arrest.
And God sighed, and created quadruple bypass surgery, angioplasties, and stints . . . . .
And Satan created HMO's...

I saw Sweet Home Alabama today. It was a pretty typical storyline - girl gets engaged, goes home, confronts the love that she used to have but now despises, but then figures out that she might love the guy from the past. However, it was still a pretty entertaining movie, with some good laughs. Reese Withershpoon did a great job carrying the movie, she's got such spunk! Unfortunately I missed a couple minutes of it because I got a large Coke (which was only 25 cents more than a medium) and halfway through the movie, I had to run to the bathroom. There are few feelings in life better than when you finally get to the bathroom after holding it for an hour.

Work was blah blah today. I'm starting to get tired of meetings. Half the time I'm sitting there thinking to myself that there is so much more I can be doing during this time at work. Sure, meeting break up the day, but after a while, my attention span wanders. But the good thing about today's meeting was that there was chocolate and Jolly Ranchers. Yum yum.

Pet Peeve of the Day - People who waste paper. In this day and age, with email and word processing programs, you don't really need to print out as much as you used to. Just send out a document and have people look at them at their leisure. There is no need to print out 25 pages of data I'm only going to look at once, and never again. Much less printing out 25 pages for a room of 15 people. I swear, my company goes through so much paper during the day, when so much of that paper can be saved if it's just emailed as documents. Today, I believe I heard a tree die.

I played around with my comments pages. I came up with a pretty fun design. Check it out when you can...