I've discovered that I love something.

I've noticed lately how often I like to compare people to other people, looks wise. I mean, who they look like. For instance, my annoying psuedo-coworker (the repeater) looks just like Stephen King. There is a Duke basketball player named Jon Scheyer who looks just like Freddie Prinze Jr:

FPJ


Scheyer:


I've been saying this for months, and tonight, I found a forum where someone else made the same comparison.

Anywho, the point is, this is the most fun game ever.

Happenings

Funny, a while back on either twitter or blogger (can't remember which), I noted how I thought Twitter would be the death of the blog. It's totally true. Blogs are dropping like flies as Twitter takes over the world. It just doesn't seem as necessary to write up a whole long blog about your feelings when you can so easily do it in 140 characters or less.

Love: So far so good. Jared and I seem to be working through our issues and things are going quite well. I know it's an unconventional relationship, to take a step back (he's not living with me anymore) but stay together, but so far it seems to be working. I see him pretty much every day. Good stuff.

Work: Aye carumba, am I busy. I bitched and bitched for years about how slow it was at work and now I'm so busy I've had to stay late every day for the past week and probably will this whole week too. We have one more new person coming in on April 1st and I'm hoping once she gets here, it will slow down for me a little. And if not, that's okay too, except I Haven't played spider solitare in like a month!

Party time: Been doing a lot of fun stuff. Carmen is hosting karaoke on Saturday nights, which are a blast. Wednesdays, as always, there is trivia. And there's always the goings on in between that are great.

I have been spending a lot of time outside lately. This would be good for most people. And I pretend it's good for me too. But honestly, sunblock is a pain in the ass and I have to put it on at least twice a day now. :P And, I think the flowers are slowly killing me.

My cats are somehow getting fatter even though I cut back their food. See my flickr page for examples.

I'd also like to say congrats to my friends Alisa and Matt for getting engaged last month!!

A little poll

"Okay. Would you rather be an alien or a mutant?"

"Or a vampire?"

"Or a vampire."

I would definitely choose to be a mutant. One like Mystique who can change into other people. And I would like the power of inivisibility. Maybe be able to fly too.

What about you?

Today is...

My youngest niece, Madelyn's fifth birthday. Which makes me feel old, since I graduated college only a few weeks after she was born. Sheesh.

Madelyn is a pistol. She's going to be tall, maybe a little burly, but pretty. And the best thing about her is her amazing personality. And she loves her Aunt Allison.

Still Got It.

So I got hit on today at the gym. At my gym, there is a little side room that has several pieces of equipment: a thigh machine, a hip machine, and a butt machine. I was sitting on the thigh machine when a pretty boy came and sat next to me on the hip machine. And he started talking to me and I told him I was going to use the machine he was on when he was done. So we were both doing our leg machines in rythym. It was kind of weird. I finished first, and wandered over to the butt machine. I've never been able to figure out the butt machine. Pretty offers to help me. I would have said "no" but I figured he was probably harmless. hehehe.

Pretty boy stood behind me and told me how the butt machine works. Then he told me I was doing a good job, and that I had nice legs. I giggled, finished up, and promptly left the room.

I have a man, thank you.. But it's nice to know I still got it ;)

“Things I sometimes imagine against my will.”

As copied from Maggie/Mighty Girl,

Here are the things I accidentally imagine or dream:

1. T-Rex is back, and he's after me.

2. I lost my job.

3. I am stuck in a small place, like a kiddie tunnel at a fast food playground.

4. Zombies.. that is all.

5. There is a demon in my home (from watching too much Paranormal State).

6. Being buried alive. With spiders.

7. I am swimming in the ocean, and a shark rubs against me (or dead body).

8. Someone sees me naked. And I'm not even drunk.

9. I am back in college, and I can't make it to class until exam day.

10. All of my teeth have fallen out.

Good Gravy.

Karaoke. Saturday Nights at Beef O' Brady's. This is how cool you will be if you go.

People really get me.

An email from my buddy Popcorn Rob:

Subject: Allison's Dream Come True

(click and view large)

Guess who finally learned to stop being an ass?

Has stopped meowing (for the most part) and waking me up in the morning since I started feeding them at night:



















<3 my Meatwad.

People, Places, Things.

Last week was a LONG, stressful week for me. I worked like regular Monday and Tuesday. Then, Tuesday after work, I headed to McLeansville with Katiebonk where we stayed with Jeff and Tracy. Wednesday morning my coworker Tom picked us up (30 minutes late) and I had to haul ass in a rented Kia in the rain so we could get to pre-conference workshop in Raleigh on time at 9 am. We made it, with several seconds to spare.

Yes, it's conference time again. Usually, work conference are regarded more as "fun" than "work". Not so this time. Usually, I'm free to go to whatever sessions I want and do what I like in my free time. Not so here.

At my office we just got a new big contract, which is good. But as per usual, we are putting things together kind of last minute. And rushed. And disorganized. Which means, my boss made me actually do "Work" at our conference. I had to skip a session so we could "call" people, and I almost got in trouble for skipping another one so I could nap. I'm only one person people! I still managed to have some fun though. I ate at a couple of really delicious restaurants (The Oxford, The Big Easy) and went to an awesome bar (The Flying Saucer) where they had a whooooole lotta beer on tap. Katie and I played in the hot tub, even though it was treacherously hot. I got to hang out with and see a few of my college friends, which is always good. I made a few new friends. I got to see Stephen play Rock Band with some ESRI salesmen. And I ate some delicious food. Okay, for the most part it was fun. But my boss has a bad habit of getting me stressed out over stupid things.















We got back from the conference on Friday night and on Saturday I headed BACk to Durham to see Brad and go to an mc chris concert. That kicked ass, as usual. mc chris is very funny and does a great one-man show. I was standing front and center and he saw me with my phone out and he said "Are you texting!?" into the microphone. I said "NOOOO!" (even though I was). His reply was "Oh, you're twittering? That's ok then". Fun times.


















Now it's back to work as usual.

Oh and one more thing. Jared and I are back together, and yes, I'm making the right decision.

Thursday.

I feel as if I'm revolting against my blog by not utilizing it to it's fullest potential. So hey world! How's it going?

Last weekend I went to the moutains with Carmen, Jon, and Matt we had a blast. I drank lots of wine, ate lots of jello shots, and shot a big gun:



There's also a video of this on my youtube, but I can't link to that from my office, so if you're really concerned about it, go to youtube and do a search for allygirl520's videos. I will be there. I also have a video of Carmen shooting, but it's sideways and I don't know how to rotate it.

This weekend I have no real plans. Well, Friday night I'm going to dinner with Katie, but after that I don't know what's going on.

Next week is a big ass work conference where hopefully I'll have a good time "learning" in Raleigh. Woo!

I am still painting my kitchen, been working on that for a year. The other night I finally put the hardware back on the top set of cabinet doors. Hopefully i'll get around to reattaching them sometime in the next few weeks, and then I can start taking off and painting the bottom set of cabinets. WEe!

Tonight? Bo's karaoke anyone?

Ho Hum.

Life has been a strange blur lately. For the first time in years, I'm so busy at work that I feel stressed. Which is good. A little stress is good for you. But still, I feel like I need a super long nap, but I'm not sure when I'll get that chance.

I realized the other day that I haven't cried in about 3 weeks. This is amazing to me considering a month ago I wasn't sure I'd ever stop crying. I'm not really sure what is going on with me and men right now, but I'm trying to do what makes me happy. And unfortunately, it might not make everyone else happy. But that's how it is, I guess. I just want to do what makes me feel good.

I thought I was getting sick earlier this week, but my stupid over active immune system didn't allow it. Yes, I want to get a cold. I want to have a good excuse to lay on my couch and be lazy, but I can't find one. I've been trying to work out more lately, but I keep going places and not being able to. Hopefully I'll be able to start staying home on the weekends soon and start really getting a good workout.

Tonight I'm helping Carmen, Jon, and our new friend Grant at a party celebrating the Hickory Art Museum's 60th Anniversary. Carmen and I made 250 jello shots last night for the shindig, and at the party they will be given away for free! Then tomorrow, Carmen, Jon, Matt and I will be headed to Jon's parent's mountain cabin for a little mountain fun. I'm not sure which mountain, but what the hey, it will be fun.

Pretty soon I won't be working outside as much anymore, which means I won't come home looking like this:

2 things that rule

1) Paranormal State, that spooky show on A&E. This college guy and his friends go around to people's houses who claim they have ghosts, and they help them. Sometimes they show exorcisms. They always have psychics. And the host/main dude? HOTTIE.

















Last night I watched three episodes in a row right before bed. Then I woke up at 3 AM and kept hearing noises and scared myself. Fun!

2)The Smoking Gun. Great Website. They have a whole bunch of celebrity mugshots, as well as generally funny mugshots. Here are some of my favorites:
Funny Old Man:

















Andre the Giant:











Michael Thompson from Hickory:

Ipod Shuffle

My friend KariBeri tagged me with this on facebook:

1. Put your iTunes on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. Tag at least 10 friends.
6. Anyone tagged has to do the same, because fun pointlessness spreads like a virus.
(It is crazy how a lot of songs will answer the questions!)

If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say..
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton (um, i don't know)

How would you describe yourself?
Rastaman Chant - Bob Marley (I guess that means I like to have fun?)

What do you like in a guy/girl?
Transformer - Gnarls Barkley (I guess I like him to change?)

How do you feel today?
I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic at the Disco (I do feel kinda emo today)

What is your life’s purpose?
Star Wars Main Theme - John Williams (I guess I'm just a rebel spy.)

What is your motto?
Ironic - Alanis Morrisette (This could work.)

What do your friends think of you?
Don't Stop Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson (I guess my friends think I shouldn't settle.)

What do you think of your parents?
March of the Pigs - Nine Inch Nails (NOt really, I like my parents.)

What do you think about often?
Dirty Harry - Gorillaz (That sounds kind of dirty..)

What is 2 + 2?
Not an Addict - K's Choice (I love 90's music)

What do you think of your best friend?
I Killed Sally's Lover - The Avett Brothers (I'd help my best friend get rid of a body.)

What do you think of the person you like?
Fixing a Hole - The Beatles (Hmm..)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys (I guess that means I want to drug people? Hmm, I have thought about being a vet!)

What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Rhythm of My Heart- Rod Stewart (I love Rod.)

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Ass and Titties - 3 6 Mafia (I'm gonna have to disagree with this one.)

What will they play at your funeral?
Caravan - Van Morrison (I love this song and would really love it to be played at my funeral)

What is your hobby/interest?
Waiting in Vain - Bob Marley (Well there ya go.)

What is your biggest fear?
Viva la Vida -- ColdPlay ( dont get this one either)

What is your biggest secret?
End of the Road - Boys II Men (I'm not really afraid of dying.)

What do you think of your friends?
Seven Seas of Ryhe - Queen (hmm. Beats Me)

What will you put as the title?
Pwom - MC Chris (I don't even know what that word means.)

Hello

I don't have much to blog about because I'm actually too busy to come up with anything thoughtful, but here are a couple things.

I posted my Savannah pictures that you should all look at:


And also, I just want to say, woohoo!

Savannar.

So, I know what you're all wondering, how does a 5 hour each way trip to Savannah end up taking 17 hours? Here's the story.

At 1:00 on Friday, I met Tracy and her sister Brianne at Katie's house, where we packed into one car and headed to lunch at the delicious Italy Grill. We officially left for Savannah at 2 pm.

Tracy is prone to car sickness, so she gets to sit up front the whole time (which is fine by me, I prefer riding in the back). Since she is up front, she is to assume the duty of navigator. This is also fine because she has serious eye sight. Eagle eyes.

She asks for the directions, to which Katie replies something like, "they are in the side pocket of the door, the google maps directions". Tracy grabs a handful of folded up directions, and chooses one from the bunch. I notice that the directions she chose were a bit crumpled, but I figured it was because Katie goes to Savannah quite often and reuses her directions.

We drive along, la-di-da, and finally get off the interstate and Tracy announces we should be there within the hour. We drive past a shopping center with a Buckhead Pizza place and Katie says, "I wonder if we're near Buckhead!?". Then there is some confusion as to where to go next and somehow, a lightbulb goes off in Katie's head.

"Do those directions end on MLK Drive?"

Tracy goes to the next page and announces "No, they end on Runhouse Way*".

"Those are the directions to my sister's house in Atlanta!"

It is now when everyone in the car starts asking themselves, 'how far is this from Savannah'? We pulled off into a parking lot and Katie checks her awesome GPS on her phone and gives us the bad news: "Four and a half hours." That's right. FOUR AND A HALF HOURS.

So, after all this, we didn't get to Savannah until about 10:45 pm. Luckily, since we are all girls, none of got upset about it. We still managed to have fun and talk the whole way down. When we got there we settled in for a minute and then went to a bar and had a few good drinks, giving us time to unwind after all that driving/riding. Poor Katie. I don't know that I could take all that driving at once.

Saturday we spent the day having a great time, drinking Wet Willies, bar hopping, walking around River St and the Market. We had a nice dinner at Kevin Barrie's. Then we went out dancing until around 2 am. I danced with a very nice Brazillian boy who had no idea how to speak or understand English. But he was nice and his friend bought us girls testtube shots. Wee!

Sunday, we left at 11:00, all positive and optimistic about how short the drive home would seem after the goofup on the way down. This is foreshadowing.

We have a nice, easy (with the exception of some rain) drive all the way to Rock Hill, when out of nowhere, the traffic stops and people are backing up on I-77. Seriously, reverse lights from the car in front of us. This is because we were right after an exit and people were deciding they should get off the interstate there. We roughed it out though. The thought of reversing on the interstate was not something we wanted to do. After we sat still for a while, Katie turned on the radio. The dj announced that some idiot had hit the Amber Alert sign on the interstate, and that both directions had subsequently been closed. *YAY*. So, we inched along. For 2 hours. At one point we got out to stretch, take pictures, and dance around a little bit.

When we finally inched off I-77 and got around the traffic, we got back on I-77 and made it the rest of the way home without incident. We hadn't planned on stopping again, but since we were stuck for SOOO long, we all had to stop to pee and figured we might as well have dinner.

Thus, our return trip from Savannah took Eight hours. EIGHT.

But alas, we still had fun. We are girls and girls know how to turn even the craziest car trip into a fun time. I'd do it again if I had to.

Pictures to come soon!

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

katie and allison after a lot of dancing

katie and allison after a lot of dancing
Originally uploaded by allygirl520

This picture was taken in Savannah 1.5 years ago. It was October, and it was nice. Tonight, Katie and I are going back to Savannah along with our friend Tracy and her sister, Brianne. I'm going to have a lot of fun and do a lot of dancing and hopefully not freeze my butt off. Or throw up while I'm on the phone.

Girls weekends really do rule. I need to have one with Carmen sometime!

I'm such a pushover.

Last year, I made a solemn vow not to watch American Idol anymore since the producers seemed to hate my favorite contestant, Jason Castro.



















I swore I was only going to watch again if they allowed my friend Stephen to compete (which, he is awesome and has been shafted every year). I maintained this vow over the summer and fall and into winter. But then, the commercials started. And dammit, I'm a sucker for this stupid show. I guess I'm sucked in again. I blame DVR for making it so easy to record and skip through the crappy parts.

I do, however, wish they could leave out all the bad singers and idiots that are only on camera because the producers want to make fun of them. If they only showed the decent singers, I would like this part a lot more.

Two nights into it I have a few people who I like so far. I can't think of their names though. Maybe once Hollywood week rolls around, I'll be more apt to say who. I've never picked the winner, but I've come close with Blake Lewis (2nd place to Jordin Sparks).

Last night, Jason Castro's little brother Michael auditioned. Okay, so he wasn't great and I fully expect him to not make it to the top 36, but look how cute:



































I just want to pinch his little emo cheeks! And come on, I can still call myself a Castronaut if he makes it!

Meatwad Hates Me.

So, ever since The Ex moved out, Meatwad has made it his personal goal to prevent me from enjoying my newly-single life.

See, on workday mornings, I have a little ritual I like to call "snooze hour". During snooze hour, I spend an hour hitting the snooze button every 9 minutes on my alarm, and getting another blissful 8.5 minutes of sleep in between. This is how I have always woken up. This is the only way to get me up early. Without this method, I'd be late for work every day.

Well, for the past two weeks, Meatwad has decided to mess with my snooze hour. Instead of waiting until I finally arouse and open my bedroom door before he starts bombarding me with good-morning-now-feed-me meows, he has decided he can't wait anymore. As soon as he hears my alarm go off the first time, he stands right outside my door and sticks his fat kitty snout right in the floor-door crack and meows very very very loudly, in an attempt to get me to feed him immediately.

This isn't entirely new. He used to do it a long time ago, too. You know, before The Ex moved in. Then he stopped. No real reason except I guess he figured I was feeding The Ex in there or something. Crazy ass cat.

I have tried a lot of different methods to prevent him from driving me insane. My first unsuccessful method was the watergun. As soon as I would hear him start, I'd jump up and grab the watergun, open the bedroom door, and shoot him a few times until he ran down the stairs. Then I would go back to sleep for 7.5 minutes (instead of 8.5) until my alarm went off again. Unfortunately, this method only serves to piss him off and he gets louder.

The next method I have tried is to lock him up in another room. This method is semi-successful except that it wakes me up more. The first time I did it, I put him in the downstairs bathroom, which means I had to grab him, hike down the stairs, and then back up. And even with a floor of separation, I could still hear him meowing. The next time I did it, I tried the extra bedroom, but I could still hear him.

Why can't cats learn? I don't understand. I don't feed him any earlier when he does this. In fact, I take my sweet time about it now, in an attempt to piss him off in return. To no avail.

*sigh* I'm not sure what to do now. I honestly can't survive like this. I think the only thing left to try is to start feeding them at night. I have a feeling he will still want to be fed in the morning and still meow under my door, but maybe eventually he'll forget.

That, or I could get someone to sleep over every night. But then, that's not going to happen anytime soon. I wonder if removing his voice box would help? :D

weekend update

Some great things have been happening with me lately.

Thursday night, Carmen, Matt, and I went to see the Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Drip's Coffee House in Hickory. Let's just say, it kicked ass. They were a lot of fun and really put on a great show. It was definitely the most packed I've ever seen Drip's. They were very Avett Brothers, but different, in a good way. They were there own band, and they were great.
Here they are:

So, how did I hear of them? From a new friend. A man. Who lives in Fayetteville. He's pretty nice... :D

Also, I've been going to the gym more lately. Having all this time with nothing to do and no money to spend has really been liberating in the sense that I can do things that I should have been doing all along. Not that I couldn't have been doing that before, but it's just easier now.

I haven't even cried in at least 4 days! Unless you count that episode of Bones I watched where Booth saved Bones and it was sweet.. but .. um..

Woo!

So, you know how for the past few years, I've been telling everybody about The Avett Brothers, telling everyone who would listen about how amazing they are and how soul clutching they are, and how good it makes me feel to listen to them? You know, that they're THE GREASTEST BAND EVER?!

Well, finally people are taking my hint. First off, two of my twitter friends, Gnumoon and LoveyH (Leila and Michelle), are both Avett fans, without me even introducing them. Secondly, I just looked at the touring page on their website and noticed that, hey!, they are going on tour with Dave Matthews Band. Yes, Dave Matthews. DAVE MATTHEWS!!! If only I could get a ticket to their Charlotte show, I'd be in hog heaven! Of course, DMB tickets usually sell out within minutes, and I'm not planning on getting up early and waiting in line for that, especially since the day the go on sale is the day I'm leaving for Savannah, but I would love to go.

Luckily for me, I've seen them many other times, and would prefer seeing them in smaller venues anyway. Have I mentioned that I kind of know Seth Avett? Sure I have.. I was just making sure you knew that.

Oh, and? WNCW 88.7, which is pretty big radio station around here, mostly listened to by hippies.. er.. I mean, artsy, smart people, held a listener vote and voted The Second Gleam, The Avetts' newest album, as the number album of 2008. For all of the world. Yea, that's right. AWESOME. I would link to the website for the station where it lists the top 100, but my office internet a-hole has blocked the site, even the home page. But you can google it and then when you find the home page, click the 'Top 100' link on the left.

So anywho I met a new friend a couple of weeks ago and professed my love for all things Avett, and he had never heard of them (he lives in Fayetteville). I'm going to send him a CD. In the meantime, he has told me about a band he likes, called the Holy Ghost Tent Revivial. Last night, I finally got around to listening to some of their music on myspace and I am loving them so far! They are like early Avett Brothers, and they even list the Avetts as an influence. This is good stuff.

And how's this for a coincidence? The very week I discover them, they are playing at Drip's Coffee House here in Hickory. It's tommorrow night and I think I'll go. Just to see if they're all that. Thanks for introducing me, Chris.

New Shoes!

It's too bad both of my football teams crashed and burned this year, but at least I can still get some enjoyment out of football:



This is my fantasy football prize. Why yes, I am going to buy new shoes with that.

Homicidal.

I may be a little too into the whole "CSI" thing lately.. I started reading a lot of Patricia Cornwell books two years ago, after a suggestion from a friend.

Since then, I have been unable to stop reading crime solving books. I have read all of the Scarpetta books by Patricia Cornwell (with the exception of the new one, which I am several chapters deep in). I have also been reading a lot of Kathy Reichs books, and I read a Marry Higgins Clark book.

There is nothing wrong with reading a good book, but also, I've been watching a lot of CS: Miami, and a lot of Bones (of course, there is more than one reason to watch Bones).

Again, these are seemingly normal activities, right? Well, last night Carmen, Jon, and I watched Zodiac. It was a darn good movie, but... it totally kept me up last night. I laid there in bed for hours going over the story in my head again. I don't know why. The gruesome scenes aren't even the ones I was thinking about. It was the crime solving bits.

When I was young, I used to watch the X-files a lot, which led me to want to be a forensic scientist. Of course, once I realized you had to go to a lot more school for that, I gave up on it.


The point of this all is to say that maybe I should back off on all the homicide stories.

Maybe.


After I finish this book..


And the other two books I borrowed from my mom...

Dumb Poetry I Just Made Up.

A Friday morning pick-me-up if you will:

(It's a Poem about love)

I love sleep.
Sleep is great.
Sleep is so good
I wish it could date.

I love steak,
it tastes so fine.
I wish I could make it
mine, all mine.

I love my cats,
they make my day.
they're so fat and fluffy,
and they might be gay.

I love football,
but my teams are both done.
Guess I'll cheer for the Panthers.
But in my heart, the Bucs won.

I love my friends,
they've got my back.
When old men make me cry,
They'll call him a f***ing ass.

I love green,
It's cozy and bright.
When I see my green couch,
it's a comfortable sight.

*finger snapping**finger snapping**finger snapping*

Dear 2008.

Dear 2008,
You suck.

Let's break up. I found a new year (2009, isn't he dreamy?). One who promises to treat me good. One who comes with a hot black man and a fistful of hope. This new year will take me to Savannah, the beach, and who knows, maybe even somewhere far away. This new year will give me money and caress me in all the right ways.

Thanks for trying, 2008, but you were an epic fail.

Peace out,
Allison.

Good things that have happened to me in the past weekish.

A: I am finally being promoted at my job! Booyah! Now I will be going from being a GIS Technician to a GIS Analyst and you still won't understand what I do. Hopefully in the coming year I will get my professional certification thinggy.

B: I got some really awesome Christmas presents: comfy Bamboo sheets, some nice shirts, earrings, The Dark Knight, Chronicles of Narnia, a ceiling fan, an itrip, an ipod arm band for working out, and lots and lots of fun socks! I love fun socks.

C: Jared is moving out on New Years Day. This is really only positive because now I can thouroughly clean my spare bedroom. And move my desk in there.

D: I've been able to see almost all of my good friends over the past two weeks. My friends rule and have helped me get over my sadness for the most part (alcohol did the rest!)

E: Last night I went with Katie and got a pedicure, the first one since 2000, when I went to prom:


F: My step sister had a baby on Sunday, the first boy born into the family. Of course, she's still a baby herself, but that's besides the point.

G: After four long years of ups and downs and ins and outs, I finally won my office's fantasy football league. Yes, you can call me the supreme fantasy football goddess. With my $150ish winnings, I plan to purchase some nice Gortex boots, so that when I GPS my feet won't get all cold.

I'd like to thank my team, the Stormtroopers, including Jay Cutler, Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson, Antonio Bryant, and Cadillac Williams. Thanks for caring, guys!

In Case You Were Wondering..

I'm doing okay. My amazing friends have been constantly on the ball with keeping me busy. Brad even drove all the way from Durham yesterday to keep me busy for a few hours and then drove all the way home last night.

The truth is I miss him like crazy. But happiness is important. *sigh*

As for Christmas my plans are to spend Christmas Eve with my mom, Christmas Day with my dad, and hopefully relax for the three days off after Christmas. Maybe find an awesome after Christmas sale or something.

I'm going to try really really hard to make it on my own in my condo without a roommate. Why? I'm just too damn picky about cleanliness. If it's my mess, it's okay. But someone else's mess? No thank you.

The one with the inevitable.

After two and a half good years, Jared and I have finally come to our senses and realized we were not meant for each other. Even though we still care about each other deeply, we are just too different in our opinions and needs.

He is still around for now and I am hoping we can remain friends for a long time.

I'm not really ready to talk about it much, but feel free to comment if you want.

Football again...

Don't worry, this will probably be my last blog about football until next season. Since my Apps are off until next fall, I've switched gears to the Buccaneers, my NFL team. I was thinking they could go all the way again. They were playing so well for like 10 straight games. And then? At Monday Night Football last week (which I was at) they decided to suck.

And then yesterday they lost to Atlanta Falcons. Thanks, guys! They do this to me every year. They start out ok, do amazing mid to late season, but in the last few games they crap out and suck. I'll be amazed if they get into the playoffs. It might not even be possible at this point. But, hey, at least they've won one Super Bowl before.. unlike some other local team.. This just isn't their year to repeat.


At least my fantasy team is doing okay for now. It is the first week of the playoffs for my fantasy football team. Jared was in the lead out of the whole league, but is probably going to lose tonight. In the first round. To the worst team in the playoffs. I, however, and most likely going to win. yay!

Geekdom.

As a big fan of both Star Wars and The Princess Bride, I can't help but share the funny, from ICANHASFORCE:

a survey, copied from Carmen, because they're easy.

-1. My eye color: Brown with a hint of red.
2. Favorite car: DMC Delorean.
3. Right-handed or left-handed: Right, Leftys are weird :D
4. Shoes you wore today: My Target platform work loafers.
5. My fears: Being lonely.
6. Goal you would like to achieve this year: Getting what I want.
7. Thoughts first waking up: What would be the worst that would happen if I just slept a little longer?
8. My bedtime: usually midnightish.
9. Pepsi or Coke: Coke
10. Single or Group Dates: Single dates with my baby.
11. Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
12. Do you smoke: Nah.
13. Do you sing: I try, but I have an awful voice
14. Have you been in love: Yes. Of course.
15. Do you want to get married: One day.
16. Do you get along with your parents: My parents are pretty awesome. Most of the time.
17. Do you play a musical instrument: At one time I played the piano, the clarient, the trumpet and the guitar. but now I just play the GPS unit.
18. In the past month have you smoked: I don't recall that happenning.
19: Favorite candy bar: Snickers.. or 5th Avenue
20: In the past month have you gone on a date: Yes, quite a few, but all with the same person.
21. All-time favorite sports team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and ASU Mountaineers.
22. Ideal girlfriend/boyfriend: Someone who thinks I'm their world.
23. My best friend(s): Carmen, Brad, Katie.
24. Do you believe in love at first sight: No, that’s just lust.
25. Favorite clothing brand: clothes that fit
26. Dream vacation: hawaii
27. My favorite singer: Beck, Avett Brothers
28. My favorite movie: Pirates of the Carribean
29. Have you ever fired a gun: I fired my brothers pistol once, that was fun!
30: Do you like answering these questions: I don't really want to blog a real blog because I don't want to be a debbie downer.
31. Do you like yourself: In a way.
32. I am addicted to… talking and thinking.
33. Favorite drink: Vodka and Cranberry.
34. Do you have a crush on anyone: Yep.
35. Are you ticklish: Yes. Don't tickle me. I HATE it.
36: Favorite ice cream flavor: Chunky Monkey
37. Define yourself in 3 words… Passionate, Mellow, Thoughtful
38. Do you believe in God: I want to.
39: Favorite day of the week: Saturday
40. Heads or tails: Tails
41. Favorite author: Patricia Cornwell, J.K. Rowling, Kathy Reichs.
42. What magazines do you read: Not really a magazine reader...
43. Sweet or sour: Sweet
44. Favorite chewing gum brand: Five gum. It lasts for freakin ever!
45. My hair color: Red, and curly.
46. Height: 5′ 3″
47. My heritage: German, English, perhaps Irish
48. My weakness: Impatience, Disorganization, Laziness.
49. My perfect pizza: Pep. and Green Peppers, Papa Johns Pizza.
50: My most overused phrase on IM: I don't really IM.
51. My best physical feature: My hair and eyes.
52. Do you get motion sickness: Not very often.
53. McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds
54. Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Tea makes me vomit.
55.Cappuccino or Coffee: Mochachino
56. Do you swear: By the moon and the stars in the sky.
57. Do you want to go to college: I wouldn't mind going back.
58. Do you think you’re attractive: Yes, occasionally. More so now than ever before.
59. Do you like thunderstorms: Yes, they make me sleepy.
60. In the past month have you drunk alcohol: Past 24 hours?
61. In the past month have you been on drugs: Nothing illegal.
62. Favorite cartoon as a child: Animaniacs
63. Favorite sport: Football!
64. In the past month have you been on stage: No, since karaoke doesn't happen anymore :(
65. Ever been beaten up: Nope, but I've been hit
66. How you want to die: In a horrible car wreck.
67. Number of piercings: 4 in one ear, three in the other, I used to have my eyebrow, tongue, and nose.
68. Favorite color: Green!!!
69:Favorite food dish: Green Bean Casserole, Mashed potatoes.
70. My parents are… Divorced and remarried.
71. Do you have children: Not yet.
72. Do you have pets: 2 fat cats.
73. My favorite music genre: 90's rock.
74. My favorite season: Fall. It used to be winter until this winter.
75. Silver or Gold: Silver
76. Who was the last person that called you: Jared.
77: Are you a good driver: I'm alright now, but in high school and college I was terrible.
78. Would you rather be rich or famous: Famous
79. When I’m sad or down, I prefer to… ball up on the couch.
80. What is your phone’s current ringtone: App State's fight song, I need to change that til next year thogugh.
81. The longest you’ve gone without sleeping: I haven't really slept properly for 3 weeks now.
82. What would you do with a million dollars: pay off my student loans.
83. What makes you laugh: Jared's sillly faces.
84. Your favorite book: Shades of Gray.
85. Most embarrassing moment: Can't remember.
86: Favorite item that you currently own: Laptop.
87: Have you ever moved: about 20 times.
88. Kisses or hugs: Why choose?
89. Are you a very emotional person: I base a lot on emotions, much more so now than ever before.
90: Do you think anyone else will repost this? No.

Football and Life

So the last few weeks I've not been interested in blogging because I've either been busy or depressed. Luckily for you I'm never depressed for too long and I don't think I need therapy. Who knows. My office has is part of an Employee Assistance Network so if I ever get desperate for counseling, that's an option. But alas, usually I can talk myself out of these funks.

The past few weekends have been all about App football and not sleeping. The App games have been great, with the exception of the harrowing COLD. It seems the older I get the more I get over that "Loving the cold" thing that I've been all about for 26 years. Perhaps the Florida in me is coming back out. I still hate being hot, but now I hate being cold too.

Yes, my beloved Mountaineers lost their playoff game on Saturday ending their 4 year run of awesomeness. But seriously? THREE National Championships in a row is a huge big deal and something that will be hard for anybody to touch. I can produce a lot of theories as to why we lost this game on Saturday, but really, it was just time. Time for a break from being the best. Nobody can be the best all the time. And while we're all still sad about it, I'm just glad I don't have to drive to Chattanooga again. And I'm glad that I didn't jump the gun like my boss and buy 18 tickets to the championship game (which he now has to try to sell). Next season we will TOTALLY be back and we will dominate and we will beat ECU in September. I hope. :D

Tonight Jared and I are going to the Monday Night Football game at the Panthers Stadium to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hopefully shut down the Panthers. The last two years have seen two dirty injuries to my Bucs coming from the Panthers. I'm hoping tonight isn't a repeat.

This weekend I plan on doing NOTHING other than going to see Carmen's play: "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".

Beefcake napping under the tree,

Beefcake napping under the tree,
Originally uploaded by allygirl520

As you can see, I have gotten around to putting up the tree with Jared's help. All we need now are presents to put under it.

Sludge

So, I am slowly but most probably assuredly climbing out of the massive hole of funk-titude that I've been in for the past week.5. Now don't go trying to pull me out by the hair or anything, I have to climb out myself. I've still got two feet stuck in the mud, but my arms are free to flail about.

*whee!

emotion

Rather than apologize for being a bad blogger or talk about how un-awesome my week last was (and still is) I'll just point you to this fun little site that I look at every once in a while for a little laugh:

Eric Conveys An Emotion

Stupid Christmas.

So I was GPSn' on Tuesday,,,

When I came across this creepy little thing in the woods:


Why is this so creepy?

The Mad Hotness

Last night I totally had a good idea for a blog. Since I had already blogged earlier yesterday, I decided to save it for today. But alas, Carmen beat me to it. But just in case you don't read Carmen's blog or haven't yet... here's a really awesome picture of Johnny Depp in his new role as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie:



I can't stop sneezing.. Thinking all of this outdoor time lately might not be so good.

Yep, Football.

Why is everything I want to do scheduled for a day when I already have something to do? Let's see.. Oct 4th was Jared's birthday AND ASU's homecoming game. Then, the 27th was a big ASU game, and Brad's costume party, but I was already going to Florida with the family. This past Saturday I was in Boone for another football game, but my mom called me the day before to tell me they were having a family cookout Saturday night with my brothers, nieces, and old friends from the past.

This coming Saturday my Sister in law is having a birthday party/going away party for my brother, who will soon be shipping out to Iraq. But Jared and I already planned on going to Cullowhee to see the last regular season Appalachian game. And we already paid $60 for the tickets. *sigh* Why must people schedule things for Saturdays in football season?

The game this past weekend was one of the few most miserable games I've ever been to. It was windy, rainy, snowy, sleety, and freezing arse cold. At least Joan and David were kind enough to let me sit with them and share a blanket so I didn't have to sit on the grassy hill. And since we won, I guess it was worth it.

I love the football. Yesterday, my Buccaneers almost lost to the Vikings, bleh. But they came back in the second half and rallied a barely-win. Now, if only the Panthers would lose a game or two so the Bucs could catch up!

Things I have Yet to do.

I have a library book due today, but I've only read 8 chapters. I hope the Hickory Public Library doesn't overcharge on their late fees, because I'm going to finish it.

This weekend is the last regular season foosball game for my Apps, and I'm being non-conformal and driving up the morning of and coming home after the game. Mostly because I'm poor but also because Jared and I have a date planned for Saturday night. This is also good because it means I won't allow myself to get stupid drunk and the people in front of us in the stadium won't have to think, again, 'who is that stupid drunk redhead?'. Look at that, I just used three punctuation marks in a row.

Last weekend was superborama because I got to do several cool things, including meeting Katiebonk's sister, who is way cool, and her cute family. I hung out with Andrea all day Saturday, which always makes me happy! We went to a chili festival and ate a whole lotta chili, including some strange concoctions like chocolatey chili (not so good).

After the chili-fest we went to IKEA which is wicked awesome. That's the biggest store I've ever been in I do believe. I bought nothing but candles, but could have left with a houseful.

Katie and Daniel met us in downtown Atlanta soon afterwards and had a blast with Andrea, Chad, and Newman (that Mike guy) at the bars. I think really this was great but I absolutely loved riding the MARTA (the Atlanta train) for some reason.

I am tired but alas, it was worth it for this:

(Seen on the sidewalk in Atlanta, Cabbagetown)

and this:

Hitting the ATL

This weekend I'm going to Atlanta to see my old roommate, Andrea! Katie, Daniel and I are headed there for the weekend. Andrea rules.

Today was my boss's birthday lunch and we went to the Hickory Tavern where I had to pay $13.00 for an overrated salad and soup and diet coke. This restaurant is on my short list restaurants that I just don't like to eat at. Either they're A) too expensive, B) overrated or C) nasty.

My list for Hickory includes:
-Hickory Tavern (A & B)
-Chili's (B & C)
-Buffalo Wild Wings (B & C)
-Iron Thunder Saloon (C)

Does anyone else have a list of places they just hate going?

Confessions of a GPSer

You know what bothers me?

The fact that no matter how hard I try, I can not open a manhole. I can not even budge those heavy metal lids. This one little thing that is really a small part of my outside/GPS job is the one little thing that makes me feel inferior as a female.

Sure, sometimes I like to play the dainty girl card, but only when it's trivial things that I really can do, but would rather watch a pretty boy do (like get things off the top shelf, or carry the heavy laundry basket upstairs).

I like being a woman, and I like being the fairer of the sexes, but I really wish that being inferior in that one way wasn't something that causes worry on the job.

Ah well. At least I see fun things whilst GPSn:




And this:

Uh.. Oops.

Well nevermind on the NaBloPoMo thing. I forgot to blog yesterday! On the second day! I guess I wasn't meant to be a great blogger.

Oh well!

I had to get up really early today and drive Jared to work since his car is broken. Hopefully we can get it fixed tomorrow on his day off. I guess we'll see.

On the plus side, Granite Falls, which is a town halfway between Hickory (where we live) and Lenoir (where he works), for some reason always has the cheapest gas around. I got gas this morning for $2.02! That's awesome for North Carolina. Apparently all the surrounding states have gas a LOT cheaper than us. I don't know though.

Tomorrow's the big day (election day!) and I'm soooooo excited for all the political commercials and such to be over with! No more pressure! I hope.

NaBloPoMo

It's National Blog Posting Month again.

Should I try for it? Last year I wrote a blog every day about all of the different things I collect. I don't have any ideas for a theme this time.. And I'm not sure if I can handle it again, but I'll give it a try.

Last night was ASU's whooping of Wofford, and it just happened to be Halloween. It was an amazing football game considering this was the one team in our conference that was supposed to be better than us. It felt darn good to come away with a 70 to 24 win. Of course, I was feeling no pain anyways.

Here's an example of what went down in the tailgating time:


Then we all went back to the hotel and tried to sleep. Well, after standing up for 9 hours straight, my legs hurt like hell and I did not sleep a wink. Boo.

I was supposed to go to Jeff & Tracy's house for an awesome costume party tonight. But since I'm so sleepy, I chose not to go. Plus, Jared's car has decided to break, so he needs mine to get to work in the morning.

I hope I can go to the next party.

Happy Halloween!

I don't really have anything Halloweeny to say.. I went searching for my pirate pants last night and could not find them, so I'm wearing my backup pair tonight and they are not as cute :(

While I was searching though, I decided to finally remove all of the old Sagebrush shirts from my closet. I had 14!! That's a lot of t-shirts that I'll never wear again. They are in all sorts of colors: red, blue, orange, pink, yellow, green, dark blue, brown-green. If I added all of Jared's old Sagebrush t-shirts, we'd have like 25 shirts. I'm thinking I need to find a cool way to recycle these shirts. Can anyone think of something neat to do with 25 t-shirts of various colors (mostly red) that doesn't involve me learning to sew?

I throw up a lot..

Yesterday I woke up with a headache. It was small and barely noticeable, but it was there. As the day went on it got more annoying. I took several (3 to 4) Tylenol Extra Strength pills throughout the day, but it never subsided at all.

I decided to go ahead and go to trivia since I didn't go last week due to vacation. This was a bad idea. Even though team "Yosef is Your Daddy" won 1st place, it probably would have been better for me to stay home. Halfway into the last round of questions I had to go in the bathroom and throw up. I felt a little better after that, and we finished the game. Carmen had asked for a ride home since her husband wanted to leave early. I said yes, but I made her drive my car home since I wasn't sure if the nausea would come back.

We made it all the way to about a block from my house when I started to feel nauseous again, and then as we were pulling into our parking lot, I had to roll the window down and throw up out of my car. Then we pulled in and I opened the door and did it again. It was rough. The worst part is, where I threw up was right where Jared would be getting out of his car a little later. Oops.

I called Jared and let him know to watch out where he stepped, and he got home soon after and took care of me. I took a Tylenol PM and man, do those things work.

I'm pretty much better today except I'm so sleepy! Ah well.

Tomorrow night is a big night! Halloween Game! Costumes! Wine!

Not a Good Read.

This blog post is not entertaining, it's more for my benefit, so I can remember what I did... Sorry

My trip to Florida:

Wednesday: Drove to K-town, visited Mommy. She's looking good, she's had lap-band surgery and it's really working out for her.
Drove to Enochville to stay at brother Alan's house.

Thursday: Got up at 7:00 and left for Florida with Alan and niece Elora. Had yummy sausage balls and Chex Mix. We stopped at Chic-Fil-A for lunch, and made it to Sarasota (Florida) around 6:30 ish.
We were supposed to stay with our cousin Eric that night, since Dad wasn't coming down til the next day, and he had hotel rooms reserved for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, not Thursday. Unfortunately, cousin Eric decided to be a punk-ass and not return our phone calls. We got a room at the hotel.
Dinner at Sonny's BBQ (blech).

Friday: We went to the South Florida Museum (which is a favorite thing in Bradenton). We go to see my lovely Aunt Dale and Uncle Rob, and then to see Grandpa Suggs. Grandpa looks as good as he can be.
Cousin Alicia came to Aunt Dale's with her chubby little son Micheal (my second cousin?).
Then we headed back to the hotel to wait for Dad, Brother Scott, and niece Madelyn to arrive. They finally got to the hotel around 8 and we headed over to Bradenton to eat at Wings & Things, where we had the best wings in the entire world. The six of us were joined by Uncle Rob & Aunt Dale, Alicia and Micheal, my Aunt Darinda and Uncle Mark, and my two other cousins, Kristina and Joey. What an... interesting dinner that was.
Thank god for Corn Nuggets.

Saturday: Alan, Scott, Madelyn, Elora and I headed to Port Charlotte to see our other grandpa, Grandpa Muhlberg. He's very German, and very uncaring of what he says. We had fun though, and we sat and watched him tell stories and play the accordion. He drove us around on the golf cart and we saw a wild hawk.
Then we all went to Myakka River State Park, where we saw deer, squirrels, vultures, alligators, and a wild boar. And my lovely niece Madelyn cried literally every five minutes. My brother Scott babied her, and I finally had enough and put her in time out myself.
Back at the hotel, Dad, Alan, Scott and I drank a bottle of rum and called Italian delivery, and my Dad knew the driver.
Also, this is the day I didn't speak to Alan for an hour because he's a jerk sometimes. I'm the black sheep of the family because I vote Democrat.

Sunday: We all headed over to see Grandpa Suggs again, and then Aunt Dale, and we had a pretty pleasant visit with each. We tried to find a bar with NFL Sunday ticket, but all we saw was Hooters, and that doesn't work with 2 little girls, so we had lunch real quick at Hops Restaurant and watched football in the hotel room. Tampa Bay lost :(. Dad, Scott, and I took the girls to the beach in Longboat Key, and then back to the hotel room, where we got ready and all went the the Crab Trap, some seafood place they all love.

Monday: We got up Butt-Ass early at 4:15 and headed home to NC. The drive was mostly pleasant with the exception of the last 2 hours when Alan was listening very loudly to Rush Limbaugh. I almost went deaf from having my ipod turned up so loud.

I got home around 6 and hugged Jared for a very long time.

So anyways, to sum up: it was hot (85 degrees!) and fun-ish. At least it wasn't June or July (like both Florida trips last year).

Now I need to catch up on a lot of sleep, but it's not going to happen this weekend (App football, party in Greensboro) or the next weekend (Atlanta with the Bonks).

Sweeeet!!!

Can't wait to be here next fall:


(ECU Pirates Stadium!) This is most exciting because it means I don't have to leave North Carolina for the big game next year. :D

P.S. Notice the road name south of the stadium? Blackbeard Alley. How cool is that?

What Have I Been Up To?

Last week was the usual sputter when the exception that I had to GPS three days instead of the usual two. And it just happened to be the hottest week in October. *yay* But I survived somehow and even managed to score a first place trivia win on Wednesday night thanks to Jared, Stephen, Tyson and his cousin Kevin. I freakin’ love trivia, I’ve decided. Too bad I’m not smart enough to go on Jeopardy…. Yet…















I had a darn gravy weekend since Appalachian squeaked a sweet win over Georgia Southern (who we lost to last year). And last night my Buccaneers beat the pants off of Seattle, which was also quite sweet. Only thing that sucked was my fantasy team. My only chance for winning is if Jay Cutler throws for 5 touchdowns tonight. Which could happen, you never know.

This weekend I’ll be in Florida visiting my Grandpas. I only have the 2 grandparents left, except for a step-grandmother. My brother Alan might be going to Iraq in the next few months (*yay*) so he wants to go see our grandfathers again, just in case. My Grandpa Suggs is in a nursing home in Sarasota, and is apparently not doing so well. Alzheimer’s is .. well.. awful.

It will be a pleasant trip though, hopefully. I’ll be there with my dad, my two brothers, and two of my nieces, Elora and Madelyn. I hope to have lots of pictures to show you when I get back!



*****EDITED TO INCLUDE*** Yesterday I also had a freaking awesome time in Boone with Katie. We went shoe shopping, and then to Macado's for a yummy lunch and then to the Library (bar, not books) to watch the Panthers game with Marie!

Last Night's Crank Call:

Me: Hello?

Them: Hello! I love you! Okay! Bye Bye! (in a fake middle-eastern accent)

Maybe the world is getting better when you get crank calls that make you feel good inside.


(Jared at Hard Rock Cafe being embarrassed)

Here's a representation.

I found a picture on line of the GIGANTIC crocodile I saw at Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach. So what if I'm obsessing a little. It's a GIANT CROCODILE.

And also a mullet: (You may have to click on it to get the full effect)

Last night I had a dream..

Last night I had a dream that I was looking at a map of the United States and all of the states on the east coast and all of the states on the west coast were blue. There were a lot of white states in the middle and a few scattered red states.

Oh, and it was late in the day on November 4th. Too bad I don't really believe in premonitions.

Strange, no?

Hey Look at that! I'm a bad blogger.

I've spent the last 5ish days on vacation. Jared and I took a little birthday trip to Myrtle Beach. Jared turned a big old 26 years old on Saturday! I know, I'm robbing the cradle since I turned 26 in April. But he sure is a cute little young'un. On his birthday, we went to Hard Rock Cafe in Myrtle. It was actually nice this time. Last year when we went there we had to wait for 2 hours before we were seated. This time, since it was the off season, we had no wait. Jared ordered a drink and they carded him. Since the server noticed it was his birthday, they of course embarrassed him. I loved it, especially since Jared made me PROMISE not to tell them it was his birthday. Ha ha ha. I have a great picture (from my cell phone) of him wearing an aluminum foil pigtails hat. If I ever get around to posting them you'll laugh.

The best time to be had was at Alligator Adventure. I've always wanted to go there. I finally got the oppurtunity. I LOVED it. There is 22 foot, 2,000 pound crocodile there that would make you soil yourself if you saw it in the wild. I have a video of the gator feeding too.

Of course the weather was perfect too. I'll never go back in August when October is the perfect time to go to the beach.

Thanks for being patient with me and my bad bloggibility the last few .. months...

Top 10

Top 10 reasons why I love my phone:

10. I can use the interweb to backup all of my contacts, saving me from the annoying habit of having to re-enter them when I get a new phone.

9. I can store and play MP3s on my phone. If I want to.

8. I can take videos and pictures that are sometimes decent!

7. It's got a great calender, that I don't really use.

6. I can keep all my media on a mini SD card, which I can reuse in my next phone.

5. I have the most awesome ringtones you've ever heard, and I only paid for half of them. Current ringtone: Hell's Bells, in honor of App football.

4. V-Cast song ID, it's fun. I can be listening to my car stereo, hold the phone up the speakers, and it will identify the song for me, and go to a page where I can download it as a ringtone, if I want.

3. I've had it a year and a half and it's never had any technical difficulties for me.

2. It's GREEN. No, not environmentally friendly.

1. I can play Jeopardy! on it whenever I want!

Know how I know I'm old?

Get this- I've actually kind of sort of started.. .. driving the speed limit!

I know, it's crazy. My whole life I've been a bit of a speed demon. I'm just so very impatient and want to get places faster! I've been known to cuss people out for being in my way!

But here in the last few months I've noticed that when I drive around town or wherever, I look down and I'm barely going over the speed limit! I'm talking 2 or 3 mph over! This is nuts. I'm used to going at least 10 mph over. Especially on the interstate, where now I find myself going a mere 7 mph over the speed limit.

Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe I'm becoming a responsible driver. Maybe I've decided to stop being in such a hurry all the time.

Or maybe it was those 2 speeding tickets in 2 years.

Really? Even Allison thinks this is a bad idea.

My beloved Johnny Depp will be starring in.....


ANOTHER Pirates of the Caribbean Movie. *sigh* *shakes head in disbelief*

And, yes, this blog is being written by me, Allison, the girl who is obsessed with Johnny Depp and pirates.

Here's why this might not be good: POTC Dead Man's Chest? Not a great movie! And? POTC At World's End? Even worse. I mean, it's good to have even more excuses to watch Johnny Depp, but they really should have stopped after the first one.

With this news though, comes good news: Johnny will be playing the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. And, he will be playing Tonto in a Lone Ranger movie.

I guess all I'm saying here is, I hope the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie doesn't suck.

I <3 you, Johnny.

Throwing up at the Gynocologist.

Don't worry, I'm not really going to talk about the gynecological part of my doctor's visit.

See, a year ago, my gynecologist decided that since I had never had a cholesterol screening, that my next visit (that would be this year) I should have one. She told me to fast after midnight the night before.

Fast forward to Monday. I made the mistake of scheduling that appointment at 4 pm (I like late afternoon appointments). So, I had to go all day with no food or drink. See, since I had never had a screening before, I didn't realize that I was allowed to drink water if I wanted. So no food, no water. This gave me a wicked headache, but I ignored it since taking a Tylenol might have affected the screening. I think.

Anywho so when it came time for them to draw blood from my arm on Monday afternoon, I was a little weak. I told the nurse about the last time I gave blood. And about the first time I gave blood. She asked if I wanted to lay down for the process. I said "no" taking a chance that perhaps it would be like the second time I gave blood, which is the only time I didn't almost pass out.

Bad idea. After about 3 minutes it hit me, as it tends to do. I got all hot and sweaty. The nurse put a bag of frozen peas on the back of my neck, and wiped my face with a wet paper towel. And then, I got really nauseated. And I threw up. In the trash can. This is a new one for me in the giving blood arena. She felt really bad for me and went next door to a vending machine and got me a Coke.

After a while I was fine of course, except the headache didn't go away. The point of the story is, I really shouldn't give blood unless it's absolutely necessary. And I can drink water when I'm fasting.

Heartache.

Heartache, that's what Saturday's game felt like. My Apps were like a relationship gone wrong. One of those relationships where everything starts out great and then all of a sudden you're left with a broken heart.

The first half was the buildup. The first touchdown was like the first date. Everything went well; the food was good, the conversation flowed, and you know you're in for more.

The second touchdown was like the first kiss. Soft, sweet, and it left you with a tingly feeling all over, and a smile from ear to ear.

The third touchdown was like the first "I love you". You felt like, this is it! I know I'm good now, and happy for a very long time.

Halftime: that first vacation together, when you're happy, satisfied that things are great, and you're just floating along with life.

Then, in the second half kick-off, you catch your partner in a lie. The other team scores.

A few minutes later, you realize they've been absent, and you start to suspect they're secretly seeing someone else.

And then the next thing you know, you're constantly fighting, constantly bickering, and you realize you're not in love at all.

And when the game ended, and Appalachian was left with a 35-32 loss, you're left heartbroken. A pain in the gut, and a pain in the soul.

The difference between a heartbreak and a football game is, though, next week there is another shot. The relationship will be back on, and the slate is wiped clean, and there will be good times to be had again.

This is why I love football, every week there is a chance for something great. Another first date, another first kiss, and another "I love you".

aye! avast!

Tomorrow is another one of my favorite days of the year, Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I'm not great at celebrating it because I'm usually at work and such, but tomorrow I plan on giving it the old college try.

For those of you who weren't around a couple of years ago when I posted them, here are the top ten pirate pickup lines again:

Top Ten Pickup lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day

10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8. Come on up and see me urchins.

7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?

4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?

3. Ya know, darlin’, I’m 97 percent chum free.

2. Well blow me down?

And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is …

1. Prepare to be boarded.

(Go to the website for even more.)

If you're not sure what to say or how to say it, here's a handy translator for you.

Go celebrate!!

Arrrr!!

Carmen is older than me. Ha.

Yesterday was Carmen's 27th birthday which means she's older than me again.. barely.

After a long day getting all hot and sweaty walking around GPSn, I came home and showered and then Matt, Carmen and I went to Carrabba's.

I think Carrabba's might literally be the best chain restaurant ever. Matt got free beer and crab cakes, and our tiramisu was free too! They gave us all of this free stuff because it was Carmen's birthday and because we were cool. We are cool.

To celebrate further, we went back to Carmen's where we played two games of spades with Brian D (my old roommate) and Matt against Carmen and me.

For those of you who don't know this, Carmen and I are a LETHAL pair when it comes to spades. We do lose, occasionally, but it's pretty rare. We outright spanked the boys two games in a row. It felt good. Damn good. I really think Spades is one of the best skills a person can possess. Jared needs to learn how to play.

Yes, it was a good night. Except for one little thing. On my way between Carmen's front door and my front door (which is separated by about 20 feet), I stubbed the hell out of my flip-flopped pinkie toe. It is the same pinkie toe that I had surgery on 2.5 years ago.

Carmen was kind enough to give me a bag of frozen okra to pack on it while we played spades, but today it still feels like it's constantly being stepped on. Shoes hurt. Walking hurts. What is it with me hurting me toes? Like here and here.

I should just give up on walking already.

AWWWEEEEEEEEEEE YEEEEAAAAA

Thanks to Joan's POS (that's Power of Suggestion) along with everyone else's, I finally got me some delicious Pumpkin Beer.
MMM hmmm.

GPSd out.

I have a new schedule that has started this week with my job. I used to only be in the field two days a week, on Mondays and Tuesdays. Now, since I'm not working in Lenoir anymore, and they need more people in Morganton, I am in Morganton two days a week. So Mondays and Tuesdays I am in the field in Morganton (meaning I have no computer access during the day) and on Wednesdays I am in the field in Hickory (no computer access most of the day).

This is the reason blogging has been so very very sparse lately. I am not a fan. But it's better than not having a job so I won't complain too much. I will say this however: Sometimes it's a nasty, yucky job. For instance first thing Tuesday morning when I opened a water meter and found this:


You should really see the large size for the full effect. It's a man-eating slug. He's about 7 inches long and slimy. I almost vomited.

I see a lot of weird things while out and about GPSn. Especially now that I'm in Morganton. Lots and lots and lots of black widows. I've seen pet geese, people burning trash right in front of me, and a few weeks ago we saw a garage set up with a confederate flag with a noose hanging in front of it. Lovely.

I have an entire flickr set dedicated to stuff seen while GPSn. It's still a work in progress.

ASU KILLS JU

I've gone from having an awful time in LSU to having a fantastic time this past weekend.

Friday night I went with Katie and Daniel to see Cowboy Mouth in Asheville at the Orange Peel. I love to watch Cowboy Mouth live because they always make every show they put on feel like it's their best show ever. Fred, the lead singer makes every person in the room get into it and have so much fun. Awesome. And then we spent the night at Daniel's parents house in Madison County, which was also really cool.

And of course Saturday was when App slaughtered Jacksonville University 56-7. Sweet. After watching that nasty game in Baton Rouge, it was really nice to see us play so well. Of course, since I had gotten so little sleep and then we tailgated for like 15 hours, I actually slept through the first half of the game. But the halftime show and the second half were great!!

Tailgating was especially fun this weekend since, like, everybody was there. We had a lot of fun hanging out and listening to Popcorn Rob tell a story. And I was bad and gave a baby a minibottle of Bacardi.. Of course we didn't let her open it, or drink from it :).

Anywho pictures are here



But there aren't any game pictures from me, since it was drizzling right before we went into the game, and I didn't want my camera to die.

Adventures in Sucktown

A short story, by Allison

Allison and Wendy arrive at the airport in Baton Rouge after two relatively scary flights. Bumpy rides are normal to some people. But the landing part spooks Allison every time.
Taking the first step out of the airport, Allison immediately feels the humidity hit her skin and hair. The piece of paper she had crumpled up in her hand succumbs to the humidity and becomes more like a wetnap than standard notebook paper.
After getting a cabbies attention, she stood waiting for Wendy and could already tell her hair was at least 4 inches taller than it had been minutes earlier. A bug flies at her and almost knocks her over.

Carl the cabbie took Allison and Wendy to their hotel, which was relatively nice, compared to some other Days Inns they had stayed in. Once checking in and changing, they call Carl the cabbie back and get a ride to the Baton Rouge Mellow Mushroom (which is the greatest restaurant chain on Earth). It is, after all, Allison's goal to eat at all the Mellow Mushrooms in the country.
After two delicious beers, some tasty cheesebread, and a wicked good cheesesteak sub, Allison gives her seal of approval and puts it at number 2 on the list of best Mellow Mushrooms (Boone will always be the best).

Carl the cabbie once again picks up the girls, and they drop by a convenience store where they discover that Louisiana sells liquor everywhere. Sweet. Back at the hotel, they drink a couple of beers before hitting the sack at 11:30.

5:30 comes way to early on Saturdays, as the Appalachian tailgate has moved to 7:30 am, and the cab is going to be at their hotel at 6:15. Good thing Katie is there to wake them up.

Since the tailgate was changed to 2 hours long instead of 4 hours, and outside instead of in (Hurricane Gustav, you bastard), the tailgate officials decide it would be best to offer a free-for-all on beer and bloody marys. Very early drinking ensues.

After an awesome meal of jambalaya, boude and red beans and rice, Allison, Wendy, and the rest of their group sit around and enjoy a raunchily good Cajun band, which includes a woman playing the washboard.

Once 9:30 rolls around, everyone heads to the stadium.

The adrenaline is high. The people are nice. The seats are fairly good. Allison and Wendy are so excited they can't contain their enthusiasm.

Then the game starts. After five minutes, the mood changes slightly, to anxiousness. Louisiana State University's football team scores 14 minutes in the first quarter.

The mood changes to scared.

After the first half, it starts getting very hot, and very sticky. Allison and Wendy realize their team is not going to win this ball game.

Once the game is over, really over, the girls leave the stadium, frustrated and hot. Allison is confused and unhappy and tries to find the rest of the group. It turns out they can not immediately get taxied back to the hotel. After several different people give them confusing directions (including policemen) and walking across campus twice, they finally locate the rest of the group at a pizza place called Reginelli's.

The seven people at the table are tired, hot and dirty. They eat their mediocre meals and attempt to make positive conversation. After eating, another hour passes before they can finally get a taxi. Most taxi companies only allow a maximum of five passengers per taxi. Since their are seven passengers, the taxi situation is even more complicated.

After several phone calls and waiting around while being hassled by some creepy guy, the group loads up all in one old, big, blue taxi. Five people in the back, two passengers and a driver up front, they are squeezed and sweaty. Halfway through this death-defying taxi ride, the driver turns to Allison and she realizes he is missing his left eye, a few finger parts, and shoes, making the ride that much more uncomfortable.

A few minutes later, our group is finally back at the hotel. Allison jumps in the shower as everyone prepares to nap in the air conditioning. The shower is low flow (like that episode of Seinfeld) but enough to make her feel better.

Allison gets out of the shower and the bathroom light goes out. She flips the switch a few times, then hollers to her roommates that her light is out. That's when Katie breaks to her the bad news: The power has gone out.

The power is out. The air conditioning is off. The phones can't charge. There is no t.v. and no radio. It's still hotter outside than in, so the group resigns to taking hot naps and sitting in the dark.

After several hours of sitting around the hotel room doing nothing, most of the group walks to McDonald's for a lovely (*Sarcasm*) meal of McDonald's. Grumbling and hot, they walk around Walgreens and WalMart as well, until Katie (who has stayed at the hotel to rest) lets the group know that the power has come back on (after 5 hours). The air conditioning (GLORIOUS AIR CONDITIONING!) is running, and they will soon be cool once again.

5:00 AM the next morning, Allison and Wendy head back to Baton Rouge airport, and kiss this un-fun state goodbye. Goodbye to Gustav, and goodbye to 1000% humidity.

Sure, Allison might go back to this state someday. Maybe even visit New Orleans one day (where some others had a lot of fun), but this won't happen anytime soon.

Luckily there's next Saturday, when the Apps will play another game, and get started on a winning season.



For pics go here.