Fortunately, the insurance with Rubbermaid is cheap - unless your container is red.

Ok, so today, I'm supposed to be cleaning house. I can't buh-LIEVE it's 8:30a, and I'm SO totally awake. I hate being awake in the daytime...or at night, for that matter. If they could make a job where sleeping fueled energy, I could fuel my own country.

I was just about to check out the site for the Bham zoo, because there are some ladies there who are doing a book signing for a children's book I heard about on NPR yesterday, in my 5 second drive home. I can't say that I LIKE the zoo, being the animal freak I am, but at least, um, they're not eating the animals. I was going to say at least they're not beating them, but I can't really vouch for that. Then again, I don't know what they did with that zebra that died. &=(

Friggin' great. Something else to lay awake and think about at night.

Ok, so let me tell you all the goodies I got the other day, on my massive shopping spree.

At Worst Buy:

Korn's latest untitled (CD)
Korn - See You on the Other Side (CD)
Spongebob - Friend or Foe? (DVD)
Scratches (computer game)
Belkin N1 Wireless USB Adapter (yay!)

At the B&N:

Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl
*already devouring it, and I haven't even made it to the first chapter - that's just the foreward!

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith - Rob Bell
*really looking forward to reading - it's about how it's ok to question Christianity, as well as everything in life, not to ever accept anything with a grain of salt.

When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals - Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson & Susan McCarthy
*I can already tell I'm going to have a time of it, getting through this one - the cover of the book (two elephants with trunks entwined) makes me teary-eyed.

Dogs I Have Met and the People They Found - Ken Foster
along with The Dogs Who Found Me
*which I've already owned once, but I loaned it to someone and never got it back. This guy does tons of dog rescue, and it's incredibly convicting.

Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
*I've been meaning to pick this up for years, because this was written back in the 60's, not unlike Sinclair's The Jungle, and spurred an incredible environmental movement concerning our air, water and land (eg. the banning of DDT). The environment, being my other love besides animals, is always an interesting read.

I also picked up a couple of books on bartending:

Big Bad-Ass Book of Shots - Paul Knorr
*which is mainly what we can mix at the bar, shot-related drinks, even though we don't have HALF of what they talk about. *sigh*

International Bartender's Guide - Joseph Sora
*this is more cocktail, martini & non-alkie drinks, but I picked it up, because I'd like to take this bar thing a little farther.

The Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide - Sharon Tyler Herbst & Ron Herbst
*turns out, this one is a little more explanatory on what crap is, what this means, and just general know-how of overall bartending.

So, that's it. Sure, it may be a little extreme, but it's been a long while, since I've bought anything for myself. Oh man, let me tell you - I went to have dinner with my friend Dwane last night (thank you, Dwane, by the way - the food was awesome, and it was so great to have the first intelligent conversation I've had in weeks - let's go again soon!), and as I was almost home, I got to a stop light, hesitated briefly, then turned right. Out of freaking nowhere, here comes a cop, barrelling down on me, lights flashing and everything. I was about 3 blocks from home. I got all indignant and fussy, when I realized..."ho-ly shit. I forgot to renew my insurance."

Ok, those of you who don't know me and don't want to know, you might want to skip this part. When I get nervous, I get like super-overactive colon and almost immediately, I get diarrhea. I'm NOT kidding you, when I reached that epiphany, I could have filled the car. Disgusting, yes, and I'm sorry.

When he got to the car, I looked like a doe in headlights. I was trying not to betray my recent-found knowledge but failing miserably. In fact, I'm kinda surprised I wasn't screaming it out, as I ran from the car - "DON'T PULL ME OVER!!! I FORGOT TO RENEW MY INSURANCE!!!! JUST TAKE THE CAR AND LEAVE ME BE!!!!"

So, he comes up and we go through the motions:
"You know what you did was illegal, blah, blah, blah,"
"Sure, but not really, I do it all the time, blah, blah, blah."
"You could have caused a serious accident, etc, etc, etc."
"I highly doubt that, being that it's almost 2 in the morning, yadda, yadda, yadda."

Ok, that's not EXACTLY how the convo went, but if it would have, you have to admit, that would have been pretty friggin' cool. &=) I just yessir'd my way out of there, SOMEHOW. He ended up just "warning" me, which I almost had to pull over on the side of the road and puke, after I drove away. I thought, FOR SURE, I was a goner. Because of course, next week, I'm supposed to take my car into Rob-E-Man's for a complete overhaul - brakes, tires, belts, the works.

So, I would have basically had to wire tin cans to the bottom of a cardboard box and pray it didn't rain next week. Well, I guess I could have asked someone to spring for me one of those sweet rubbermaid numbers, and I would have just had to bail water all the way to work.

"Would the owner of the beige Rubbermaid 22 gallon Duratote please come move your vehicle? You're blocking the ambulance bay."

$400, and no drugs to show for it

Yo.

Guess who's moved up to the 21st century?

That's right - I gots the infraweb at my house - FINALLY.

Holy criz-ap, it's taken me short of an eon to get finances sorted out enough to where I can buy that little retarded wifi thing that goes in my computer, because I was too stupid to put it in the first time around. Jesus, living without a computer geek up your butt blows. I could have probably stuck my box fan outside the window and blown service in faster than what it's originally taken me.

Ok, so I spent almost $200 at Best Buy, then repeated the same mistake at Barnes & Noble. I can't help it. I'm a total whore for computer stuff & books. *drools* I keep telling myself I'm going to do better and not shop wholesale, but I can drive past a Books-a-Mil and nearly have a come-apart.

I made it through the Best Buy...alone...if anyone cares to note that. After having lived through being married to the "Geek Squad" transition (and being accused by his co-workers for being "queer"), I've gotten to where I loathe going anywhere near that place. Nothing against him, of course - just bad blood. But after having spent a good part of my childhood trapped within the walls of the Circuit City in Irondale, I have little to no desire to ever visit another one. Nothing personal, Mom - now that I'm an adult, I just can't stand the smell of that grey chemically-treated carpet and the simultaneous sounds of a toddler banging out-of-tune on a casio keyboard and a thumping car stereo any longer than I have to.

And, yes, I WILL update regularly. From now on. Until the earth falls into the black hole. Or my connection goes down. Which is both possible AND probable, even though I spent the extra $30 to get the N1, because it has a wider reception radius. Just because you spend more money doesn't make you any less stupid.

I love you guys. I have so fucking much to update on. AND, Anna! I finally get to add you onto my blog! My work computers are retarded, so I've had to wait to do this. Guys, I have a new friend - her name is Anna, and I adore reading her blog. She's so much like me, it's scary. If you like to read my random musings of nothingness, then you'll super-love hers, because I think hers make a bit more sense. She's very real and raw, and that's what I love about her. It's appropriately entitled "The Inconvenient Truth," although she does have another blog attached to her account called "The Depressed Nurse Writeth," that is also worth perusing.

And, Anna, I'm going to steal your "36 things" idea tomorrow, and write my own. I always hope I can learn more about me than my therapist can read on my face, the second I walk through the door.

I don't know who the hell reads this, but just between me and the keyboard, I sure as hell am glad to be back.

THIS is my therapy.

Artist Request

Ok, I'm looking for anyone who draws, but I'm looking for someone who draws WELL, not just someone who can color inside the lines. I have a specific drawing in mind, somewhat intricate, but it's actually going to be a silhouetted, two-person drawing, so the inside details are actually a moot point.

The thing is, I have an idea for a t-shirt, and of course, this will be commissioned, so I'll be more than happy to pay to have it done. So, anyone you know who draws, or if you draw, PLEASE send me some examples of the works, so I can see what I'm judging from. Again, I'm looking for people accomplished in the human form.

SPREAD THE WORD!!!! &=)

!!!SHE LIVES!!!

early afternoon

Hey! Ok, guys. I'm REALLY sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm still working on getting the www at the attic, and aside from that, I really haven't had time! I've been working at the hospital like a fiend on crack, then I've been sick, then working more - it's just been crazy!

And of course, there's crap that I can't post about, since more people are finding out I have a blog.

THEY KNOW.

And, I hate letting it fall by the wayside. Dammit! Why is this thing typing in italics?!? There. I already pushed the italics button once to make it stop, but I guess it didn't want to.

Lately...let's see, what's been going on lately? Well, last night, I was in surgery from 7a until about 8:30p, on and off, of course (oh, I needed the money, trust me). And, when we were wrapping up, my surgeon (Dr K) said, "Okay, we're going to get an AP and a lateral, then let Jennifer go, so she can go let my dog out!" So, I did my last two shots, then hauled ass to Hoover to let Cinder go tinkle and poopers. She was JUST ABOUT to jump through the window, she was so happy to see me, God love her! Then, she jumped in the car (she loves car rides with me, for some reason), we rode down to visit Heather, then I brought her back and came home.

I was exhausted!

But I'm a glutton for punishment, so I'm back today for more. Thankfully, we have a very light day today, because this afternoon, I'm going home to take a nice, long, hot shower and crash like a 747 (ooo, still too 9/11-ish? sorry).

Oh yeah, my boss' Chris' 40th birthday was yesterday, so we threw him a Wolverine party, since Tommy said that's his all-time favorite Marvel character. Tommy had the idea, Terri made all the arrangements and bought the cake and all the decorations, and I picked up the cake and put the party together - it was fanatical yesterday! We thought about doing the whole, "Lordy, lordy, look who's older than Jesus," but it just didn't seem right, since Chris is so...well, retarded. And, I took pics, and ONE DAY, if I can get my hard drive, my camera, and my usb all near a working computer at the same time, I'd LOVE to post pictures!

And, yes, yours truly has taken pictures of EVERYTHING, since I've gotten my new cam! A friend gave me his 512 mb card out of his phone, since he wouldn't be using it. I just have to remember to dump every time I'm home. I took like a hundred pictures of the girls the other day, just because I wanted to see how close I could get (yes, before I pissed them off). But it's an awesome little starter cam. It's not permanent, by any means. I need more power and a better res viewer. When it comes to tech stuff, I'm exactly like my mom. The more features, the more buttons, the more crap, the bigger the book, the better! Like my uncle Gordon says, though, the best camera is the one you have with you. This cam has already paid for itself a hundred times over, if in nothing else but by buying my happiness!!! &=D

I've got about 2 more weeks before I have enough saved up to get some movers, so Heather, tell Lee thank you for being so patient - I'll get my crap soooooon!!! In a couple of weeks, I'll be fully moved into the attic! I have so much crap to do, though, so I need to wrap this up. Oh yeah! My phone is back on! But it's still acting crazy, turning itself on and off all the time, so if you call me, I SWEAR I'm not ignoring you...unless you're a collection agency - then bite me. Money doesn't come out of thin air, no matter HOW MANY TIMES you ask me for it.

Ok, ok, going. I posted. Be glad of it. I'm happy. Happier than I've been in a really, really long time. If I could just find that missing piece, then I'd be ok. Ahhh, Rome wasn't dismantled in a day, and neither was I!

LOVE YOU GUYS! (except for the collection agencies - lemmee 'lone.)

Happy Birthday to MEEEE!!!

I have to post a quickie, just to thank Heather for my AWESOME birthday!

She and several of my friends all met us at the Iguana Grill in Hoover for a tiny celebration, and even though it was very last minute and everyone I had invited couldn't make it, I still had the time of my life!!!!!! Although, those of you who were invited were missed - by me!! &=(

People in attendance:
Heather Jimmerson, Sean Brown, Marti Reece, Honey Lee Walker, Chastity, Kim & David Plummer, and making a later appearance, John Kirchner.

I had my first frozen mango margarita, which was awesome! I'm normally a peach girl.

I brought my NEW CAMERA, which had enough ondeck storage space for, like, 5 pics. &=P But Chastity took pictures, so I'm hoping she'll be kind enough to email them, so I can share!

I had gone to take a picture of Heather's food, which looked so cute (I can't remember what it was), and when I depressed the button to take the picture, the little red eye light appeared to be sneaking in from behind one of her tortillas. She had this look of utter disbelief on her face, when Kimmy said, "What is it??" Then, the flash went off, and she realized what it was - she said, "Oh my God. I thought there were lights coming out of my food, and I was thinking, 'Man.......this place is AWESOME!!!!!' "

I was squealing and laughing so hard, I couldn't even breathe anymore!!!!!!! I LOVE THAT GIRL!!!!!!!!! THESE are the reasons that she and are total BFF! &=D I love you, Heather!

Later on, it started to pour rain {thanks to God, for making it rain on my birthday!!! &=) }, so everyone started to excuse themselves, to make haste to their cars. It was really coming down. Anyway, a couple of us went and played pool at Pub 261 afterwards, and I had a great time. I adore playing pool, even though I've lost many of my skills! &=( Boo!

I just wanted to thank everyone for coming and celebrating with me! I missed my family, immensely, but I asked off from the bar for next weekend, so I'm going to go out and spend it with them. I'm having withdrawals, as usual!

Ok, I have to go. I have mucho errands to run. I will post again, as soon as viably possible.

I love you guys so much!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the very bottom of my heart!!!!