There's no way she can kiss you the way that I do

I am really close to finish my Christmas shopping! This morning I bought:

- Something online for my mom that she is going to LOVE. I like buying stuff for my mom especially, because she never buys anything fun for herself.

- Gift card for someone

- I went to Barnes & Noble intending to buy a couple books for a couple people, but then I saw one for my dad that is just perfect and was more expensive, so I got that now and will go back for the others later. I also got a great gift idea for something to get for my bro.

Seriously, the only thing I don't love about Christmas is the music. But I do like that one that used to play on either KWOD or KVHS every year about "Daddy Kissing Santa Claus." That was funny.

Friday night, I did venture to a store after all. LT was feeling bummed out and needed retail therapy, and so we went to Target. He totally cleaned up on some cheap ($16) Simpson's DVD's, but I didn't get anything. Everything I wanted (for myself, or to buy other people) was still expensive, of course. Oh well.

I can't believe that this season of "The Wire" has only two episodes left. I hope it shows up on Bravo or A&E sometime in the near future, like "Six Feet Under" and "The Sopranos" have, because I think so many people would enjoy it. Certainly it's not like most crime dramas on TV, where every week we get thrown into these crazy situations and manage to resolve it in an hour. It takes things longer to unfold on "The Wire," but it's never dull or stupid or insulting to its viewers. Also, I am still in love with McNulty (Dominic West).

Speaking of hotties, this is a post I have been waiting very impatiently to make for some time (as in like, a week) now. Today is the 50th birthday of my latest celeb crush, William Fichtner:





I was super-surprised he was that old, but it got me to thinking - there are probably lots of guys I like that I didn't realize were that age. So I got busy to scouring the web, and have come up with a pretty good list of half-century hotties! C'mon, it also has Denzel Washington and Liam Neeson, among other cuties - what are you waiting for?

You're face to face with the man who sold the world

Thanksgiving actually went pretty well. I was envisioning this really annoying, depressing day - not just because this is the first Thanksgiving without my grandmother, but because it's one of those holidays that never turns out as good as you try to make it.

There was a lot less variety of food than usual, but still plenty of it, and it was all delish. Turkey, ham (I talked my parents into it), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (I don't eat that), corn bread pudding (so good!), cranberries (the weird canned jelly one, and my fresh cranberries which were popular this year for some reason), stuffing (ew), and this sweet potato casserole my mom makes. I usually don't eat sweet potatoes, but she bought a different kind (New Jersey yams?) that are really mild and sweet and good.

Dessert also rocked. We got pumpkin and apple pies from Costco, and my aunt and uncle brought a few from Nation's (custard, chocolate cream, mixed berry).

I'm annoyed that I can't be out shopping right now. Every jerk and their mother will be in my way; you know, parking in my parking space, blocking my aisle, and so on. Being untraditionally (is that a word?) employed has made me so spoiled - I can do all my shopping and errands during the week, when most people are stuck at work. Admittedly, right now, I am eager to trade my shopping privileges for a job where I can make enough money to, you know, shop.

I made this nerdy spreadsheet regarding my Christmas shopping: What I've already got for who (whom?) and what else I need to get them. I'm hoping to knock a few people off the list this coming week, especially the guys (my dad, my bro and LT). Guys need to stop being hard to shop for. It's not like I'm buying all girly stuff for the chicks on my list, but I just have better ideas of what they all like.

I'm bored, but still have the attention span issue where I can't do something for very long. I did pick up the rest of season two of "The Shield" at Hollywood Video on Wednesday, and I've only watched a couple eps so far. I've already used all the beads I bought at Gee-Jay's last week or whenever, so unless I get some pretty amazing inspiration, making bracelets is out. I'm re-reading Bret Easton Ellis' "Glamorama," but it's complicated and I need time after like, each chapter to digest.

What I should be doing is writing. I've been more open with other people (and myself) in admitting that it's what I want to do with my life, but when it comes to actually working on and completing stories, I have very little follow through. I am considering taking one of the more advanced English classes at LMC in the spring. All I've taken there was the required College Composition, and Creative Writing twice, but never thought much about doing the whole 'critical thinking' deal. I know it would be good for me, not just as a writer but for the ol' brain, which I have pretty much ignored since graduation a few years ago.

I've been thinking about my education a lot lately. I wonder: What would my life be like if I had gone and applied to "real" colleges right after high school, or even transferred after two years? Would my life be any more "together?" At the time, I believed that I would only be wasting time and money at a university, still not knowing what I wanted to do, and I still believe that now - mostly. Sometimes I want to smack myself for not just being able to pick one of the many subjects I was interested in and studying it.

I know, intellectually, that it's not too late to go back to school and be, I don't know, a psychologist or a lawyer or a movie director or a cop, but I feel in other ways that it would be impossible. I'm a completely different person than I was six years (after high school) or even three years (after LMC) ago. I'm more witty, but certainly not smarter, and while being much happier now, I'm a lot less passionate and a lot more confused about the things I believe and that I'm interested in.

God, this is tiresome. I'm out.

I just wanna see through someone's eyes

I think my interview today went pretty well. I might know as soon as tomorrow whether I have it or not. That would be a nice change of pace from calling and waiting and waiting and calling.

Yuck, I just ate a pepper and olive oil Triscuit. I thought it would be good, because the garlic Triscuits are really good. And I had Triscuits. I hate things that rhyme with "biscuit" and are not tasty.

Saturday night, I was leaving my house to go to MB's birthday party and broke my car key in the door. I'm just glad it didn't break off in the ignition. That would suck. So, I had to go back inside to get my dad's set of keys, and on Sunday he gave me a spare that he'd hidden under the car somewhere.

This morning, LT and I went to Panera Bread. We got there at an inconvenient time - after the souffles were all gone, and before it was panini time. D'oh. We both had cold sandwiches, and mine was so good. It's called a Sierra, and it has turkey, onion, some kind of leafy stuff, and chipotle mayo on Asiago cheese bread. After that we browsed around Target for hella days.

I think I might go back tomorrow, after I pick up my paycheck. I need to get some serious Christmas shopping done. I was considering going Friday, but I don't want to deal with crowds. Crowds suck. Crowds evolve into riots over stupid video game systems. I think I might just stay in my bed all day, with movies. And snacks.

My blog template is now officially Totally On My Nerves. I hate it. Why's it so goddamn pink? I was going to save putting in the new template for when I move to the site, but since no one knows when the hell that will happen, least of all me - it may happen sooner. A lot sooner. This weekend sooner, if I can get over this temporary ADD.

Learn some manners

Yesterday, I was at Raley's and turned my cell phone on in case one of my parents called with something they needed. My phone beeps that I have a voicemail message. "Great," I think, "Probably my boss with (another) really weird project."

So, I listen to the message. Then, I listen to it again. It takes me a few tries to figure out what the anonymous chick is saying:

"Learn some motherfucking English, bitch."

Guh?

1. I do know English. I mean, it's the only language I know... I probably remember about as much French as a high school freshman who's just completed French I, and know maybe a handful of Spanish words and sayings.

2. Who calls someone at 12:30 AM with the purpose of telling them to do something they already do?

3. I'm thinking this has to be some great (and by great, I mean stupid) joke, because it's way too coincidental after a dream I had (and already put in my dream journal) where I met a woman who told me she didn't like people who spoke languages other than English.

Other:

I know I need to do a real post, but I have been super-restless these past few days. I can't seem to sit down and make myself do anything (except watch "Prison Break" or maybe Gordon Ramsay's "F Word" on BBC America) for more than 10 minutes at a time.

Quick News:

I did not get the job at My Girlfriend's Kitchen. Aw, nuts.

But, I do have an interview tomorrow. Wish me luck, and so forth.

You seem to have it all, you seem to have control

Quick note before I finally start getting ready for my day:

A couple nights ago, I had this dream where I was walking around downtown Antioch. I had been shopping and was going back to my car. On the way to the parking lot, I discover this casino that has a whole bunch of slot machines inside. As I walk into one of the rooms, this guy wins, so he has his friends grab me and stick me behind one of the machines, because he thinks I'm a good luck charm. I wasn't pleased with this, and tried (eventually successfully) to fight my way out.

Now: What the hell does that mean?

I've run out of patience, I've run out of comments

Is it wrong that whenever I see clips on the news of kids crying while they get vaccinations, I laugh?

Yeah, I thought so.

Work-wise, I'm now at the point of my current projects that I can work almost completely at home. Sweet. Well, in theory.

Today I went to:

Hollywood Video

I jotted down a list of William Fichtner movies, and of course HV only had one of them ("Go"). I've been meaning to see this for a long time because Jay Mohr is babe-o-matic, so yeah. Oh, and I'm beginning season two of "The Shield." Uh, best cop show ever.

Raley's

I've been living off of way too many sandwiches and frozen foods lately, so I bought fresh stuff for a couple recipes. One of them is baking right now: a quiche of chicken, bacon, red bell pepper, broccoli, and cheddar cheese. Mmm...

The dentist

AKA, one of my least favorite places in the world. I'm not afraid of the dentist; I don't think I've even seen the man in the last two years. Because we have no dental insurance, I haven't had x-rays for like... the last five visits (counting today). So, the RDA cleans my teeth and that's it. She told me that my mouth looks good, but that I've got some "tight teeth." It's true, it's all true. She almost yanked me out of the chair while flossing me today. I do not recommend this practice (falling out of chairs) to anyone.

You got it good, you don't know how good you got it

I don't know what I was doing last night - actually, I was doing nothing - but my neck started hurting really bad. I sat with the heating pad wrapped around like a scarf for awhile before going to bed (very early, even for me, at 9:30). It feels better today, but still sore-ish. Hmm...

My big project at work, yesterday and today, was organizing these photo albums from my boss' trip to Italy. He had some pictures of his ancestor's graves, and I recognized a lot of the last names... that, plus the fact that they are from Pittsburg's sister city*, reminded me of how I'm related to like every one I know (except for my friends - how annoying is that?). In fact, if one of my cousins married the girl he's dating right now, I would be related to my boss - in a distant, pretty convoluted way, but related nonetheless.

*He told me a bit about the Isola del Femmine, which means "Island of Women," and is named so because there used to be a women's prison there. They have a sign that lists Pittsburg as its sister city, and has a statue (some guy throwing a net to catch fish?) that is also in downtown Pittsburg. How neat-o.

The spinach salad is finally back at Raley's! I stopped by before work today and got one, along with a container of yogurt that I owe to the maid (long story). Screw e coli, I wanted a spinach salad, dammit.

I went by PetsMart today to look for the holiday loofah dogs (on a tip from JH - whose family calls the loofah dogs "Weenies" - in my family, they are all known as Baxter), but they didn't have any left! But I did find some mini-Baxters that are just the right size for Pepe and T-Bone's mini-mouths. Pepe got a purple one, and T-Bone got the cream-colored. The join the other three:

- Regular Baxter (he's cream colored, and is the 2nd regular Baxter... the dogs wore him out!)
- Pink Baxter (stretchy)
- Green Baxter (stretchy)

I love cute dog toys. And cute dogs. Today I had to pick up my boss' dog - she's one of those bony, skinny chihuahuas, and it made me nervous because I'm used to plump, fatty dogs. She was good, but sad that I had to put her outside before I left. Aw...

I think I'm about to use labels for the first time!

Oh, and any weird things that happen to you while on the site, is probably because Beta Blogger hates me. Harsh...

You don't own it so you can't just give it away

Well, I'm on the new Blogger beta now... fancy...

Yeah, I haven't posted in super days.

Random updates about my life, in chronological order so as to not confuse myself (more than usual) :

Monday

Worked.

Tuesday

Voted. Mostly good results. Yay!

I went to Best Buy to get an ink cartridge - it was pretty cheap, considering ($30), but would have been cheaper if I could have used my 10% off coupon. Though I'm usually a stickler for reading coupon rules, it totally went over my head this time that I couldn't use it on HP products. Ugh. The cute-ish cashier explained this to me very nicely, though...

Best Buy was also full of people buying copies of "Cars" for their babies, with said babies in tow. OK, I guess I can see an infant watching a movie - but you can't convince me they'll remember it later.

Worked.

Wednesday

Had my second interview for the food-y place, and I think it went pretty well. I wasn't at all nervous until I parked outside and then realized, "Oh crap! I not only need this job, but really want it." I'm hoping to get some good news early this coming week.

Thursday

Did some shopping, of both the online and the in-person varieties; Avon online (I was good... really... mostly) and then my mom and I went to the new Dollar Tree. I found a few cute little things, including another mini Nativity scene for my collection. (I probably have five, maybe six, including the new ones, all smallish.) But this one is covered in that fake grass-y stuff, and it got stuck all over my sweater... ew.

Friday

More shopping - but this time it was all for other people. I hit up Bath and Body Works and found a few things for friends, and something really cute for my mom that I gave her already: It's a candle (spicy gingerbread scent) inside this gingerbread-house looking vase.

I was totally bummed that I am not rich, and couldn't buy more stuff for everyone and for myself. The new sensual amber stuff is so my god.

I tried to console myself with tacquitos and my Terra chips from 7-11, but they didn't have the Terra chips! I also couldn't locate a bag of pretzels, for some reason.

Saturday, aka yesterday

LT and I went to Berkeley, had Peet's, went to Mel's Diner for lunch, and arrived way too early at the California Theatre to see "The Last King of Scotland." In the time we waited, LT had a hilarious conversation with one of the guys who worked there about the badness of Brenden in Pittsburg.

And, there was this stupid, bitchy woman who comes in the theatre with a plastic bag full of boxes and things from Baja Fresh. She wanted to take it into the theatre for her and her daughter's lunch, which is against their policy, so she went on this huge rant. "The reason I BOUGHT this food is because we didn't want to eat anything that YOU sold. So now, I guess we'll have to sit out here in the lobby and HURRY so we can get back to the MOVIE."

Clearly, she doesn't know the finer points of sneaking food into the movies. Whatever it is, it has to fit into your handbag, and - unless you want your purse getting smelly and greasy from fast food - should be store-bought, wrapped and sealed stuff (candies, soda cans and the like). Heh, what a dumbass.

I arrived home at exactly the right time: I was starving, and there was food. Mmm. KFC isn't something even I would make a consistent dietary staple, but it was unexpected and very delicious. Also, I kept picking at this great cornbread my mom made Friday night.

Sunday, aka today

I woke up early - 5:30 - and couldn't (or was just too stubborn to) fall back asleep. I watched the second half of "The Crush" (every time I watch that movie, it gets dumber... and I guess, since I keep watching it, so do I) and read ("The Tommyknockers").

I put some gas in the car, and stopped in Walgreen's to buy another tube of Burt's Bees lip balm. I don't know what's in that stuff, but I do know that if I have to go more than a couple hours without it, I start getting very anxious. And my lips get chapped. Grody.

Other random notes

I couldn't find any good pretzels in Walgreen's today, either! They only had the thin kind, which is not suited to my purpose (dipping it in rocky road ice cream - yes, I know I'm fat). This could have been remedied by a trip to Raley's, or even Safeway, but I had a moment of mathematical clarity:

rocky road + me = fat
rocky road - pretzels = no
so therefore, me - pretzels = less fat

You may have noticed a glaring omission from Thursday's notes: writer's club! For the second week in a row, I didn't produce a word, and skipped this meeting entirely instead of going empty handed. I'm stuck in a totally unforeseen rut, which is extra bad considering that I'm supposed to be NaNoing this month... oops.

My favorite celeb crush of the moment is, still and intensely, William Fichtner. With my Netflix free trial having ended hella years ago, I'll now have to go to the expensive and oft unreliable Hollywood Video to see more of his movies.

I do have one movie with him in it - "Drowning Mona," which I watched a couple days ago. It isn't as all-around hilarious as I remember, but the funniest parts are still the funniest things ever. I completely forgot about this great moment, where Mona Dearly (Bette Midler) is upset about all three judges of the knife-throwing contest (even her husband Phil, played by Fichtner) voting for another contestant over her:

Chief Rash: My mother had a saying: When life hands you potatoes, make potato salad.
Mona: Well, life handed me a great, big pile of shit. What am I supposed to make with that?
Phil: Shit salad?

Brilliant.

My car stereo is, or was, making these ungodly popping sounds when you turned the stereo up to a normal (as opposed to loud) level. My dad did something to it, and it makes less pops, but it's also really quiet; the 9 level is only about as loud as 5 or 6 used to be. D'oh...

I forgot to note what I thought about "The Last King of Scotland," which is that it was super intense, interesting and terrifying. If Forest Whitaker's portrayal of him is even remotely accurate, then Idi Amin was hella crazy. And not like "Jack Nicholson in 'The Departed'" crazy, I mean he was a total psychotic whack job. I'm not even trying to be funny about it - what an evil guy.

There are quite a few movies at the theater that I want to see right now. "Running With Scissors" looks good, and "Harsh Times" with Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez, "The Prestige", again with Christian Bale but also Hugh Jackman and Scarlette Johansen, ew, and "Stranger Than Fiction." Going to the movies these last couple of weekends reminded me how much I love seeing new films.

This entry is really long. Are you still here?

I'm running but I've got nowhere to be

I had a pretty busy week. I can't remember at all what went on Tuesday, but on Wednesday I had:

1. Group interview, which was really more just a briefing of what the company is all about. We filled out some further info - personality and career stuff - in which I tried to sound charming, which I guess worked because I got a callback yesterday for a second, individual interview. Whoo hoo!

2. Worked for an hour in Pittsburg on this vaguely annoying monthly project, that I would have done at home if my printer was not out of ink. Whoops.

3. Worked for the rest of the afternoon at M's house on what may be the project from hell, out of all the projects-from-hell I've had. Picture a wooden basket that is three feet wide, two feet long, and three feet deep, and imagine it is filled - to the brim, like - with receipts that need to be sorted into several categories.

OK, it wasn't that bad. It was actually kind of appealing to my inner obsessive compulsive, anal retentive self - but I would never, ever do it again!

Thursday, I worked more at sorting receipts. 95% of them were from this year, with a scattering of 2005, and like five receipts from 2003-2004. I just don't get how someone could stand to let so much stuff pile up - as soon as I receive my bank statements, I attach all my receipts and file it away. Well, M. produces more receipts in a month than I do in a year, so I guess that would be discouraging. Anyway.

We had Chili's for dinner Thursday night, I remember that. Mmm, chipotle bleu cheese bacon burger...

And I had writer's club, but no story this time. Even if I had managed to write something on time, my printer is out of ink. Completely. Well, out of black ink, and I think the only color left in the color cartridge is magenta. I hate how the colors never get used up equally.

Speaking of writing... I am supposedly participating in NaNoWriMo this month... but I haven't written yet! I was originally going to work on something I had already started, but at writer's club on Thurs. night, I got inspired to do a different story because of some paintings I saw and was intrigued by. It's kind of coming together slowly in my head, but I don't feel that I can get very far on paper without knowing more about what's what. How do I get myself into these things?

Friday, more work. And a paycheck, which I was very glad to receive.

Today, LT and I hung out. We went to the movies and saw "The Departed," which is good but also disturbing on many levels. Jack Nicholson was hella crazy, but like LT said, what's the fun of seeing him when he's not? I didn't know that Vera Farmiga is also in the film, and was pleasantly surprised to find her so.

Random: Boston accents are hot.

We shared a pizza at Uno Chicago (the either primo or prima pepperoni, which was really good) and browsed around Target for a long time before going home.

Also, LT made me a mix CD that I was enjoying until five seconds ago, when it ended. Includes, among others: New Order, Garbage, Keane, and the Pixies. I love mix CD's (I made one for him too). In fact, the next person who asks me what I want for Christmas, I'm going to tell them that I just want a mix CD of their favorite songs. I like knowing what my friends like to listen to, even if I don't like it myself.

Tomorrow, I have to go pay the Mervyn's bill, and put more gas in my car. I put in $24 on Thursday, but I'm already running down to a 1/4 tank again. I wonder if my car could be leaking gas - I wouldn't be surprised, at one time or another, it has leaked every other possible liquid!

It was really embarrassing - I went inside the gas station mart to pay cash, and two dollars of it was in coins (at least it was quarters, though).

Also humiliating: I just had to send M. my timesheet for this week THREE TIMES because I kept making mistakes. In the first one, I had accidentally left on the hour I worked at the office on Wednesday, which will go on a separate timesheet to J and not to him. Then, in sending the "corrected" hours, I didn't add up the total hours right, and cheated myself out of an hour, so I had to send a correction to that.

I should probably not mention these simple math mistakes in my upcoming interview huh?