Thursday, November 29, 2007

And now... questions and answers. Just for fun.

1. Are you taller than your best friend?
Oh, dear god, no. The only friend taller than me is my brother. He's in another category.

2. Do you have a favorite type of pen?
pens that work when i use them. if it doesn't work I'll just put it back.

3. Look at your planner for the 14th of next month, what are you doing?
Damon's work xmas party

4. What color are your toenails usually?
Red, or black, or blue, or pink... or....

5. What was the last thing you highlighted?
Stuff at work. Nothing exciting.

6. What color are the curtains in your bedroom?
Blue Velvet. Excellent drapes and fucked up movie!

7. What color are the seats in your vehicle?
Black with hair. I shed.

8. Have you ever had a black and white cat?
Yep. But the cat I have now is WAY cooler.

9. What is the last thing you put a stamp on?
My halloween invitations. If you rule, you were invited.

10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming?
No. I'm pretty sure that isn't even a real place.

11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time?
Because I had to loan my parents some money for vacation.

12. Who is the last baby that you held?
I don't hold babies.

13. Can you spell well?
I'm an excellint speler.

14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste?
Only if it's on my cinnabon that I'm eating.

15. What kind of car were you driving 2 years ago?
My most awesome car ever that I still have - Volkswagen Jetta. I smell your envy.

16. Pick one: Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators?
Um.. is that like a sport or something?

17. Last time you went to Six Flags?
I don't remember. Cedar point is better anyway.

18. Do you have any wallpaper in your house?
I have this crap in my kitchen. It's blue and gay and I want to set it on fire.

19. Closest thing to you that is yellow?
Post its. I invented them, you know.

20. Last person you gave a business card?
? Somebody in London, I presume.

21. Who is the last person you wrote a check to?
Your mom... for doing my laundry. Really? I don't remember.

22. Closest framed picture to you?
Me & the hubby.

23. Last time you had someone cook for you?
Thanksgiving. Thanks Damon's aunt!

25. How many emails do you get in your inbox daily (excluding spam)?
For work? 50-ish

26. Last time you received flowers?
Valentine's day

28. Do you play air guitar?
I prefer air piano.

30. Do you take anything in your coffee?
lots of things. chocolate is best.

31. Do you own any Willow Tree figurines?
I don't know what it is but it probably contains lead paint.

32. What is/was your high school's mascot?
Trojans. Yes, like the condom.

33. Last person you spoke to from high school?
Shaffer

34. Last time you used hand sanitizer?
Last time I returned bottles. Maybe a couple weeks ago? Not fond of the stuff.

35. Would you like to learn to play the drums?
No. Definitely not.

36. What color are the blinds in your living room?
drab

38. Last thing you read in the newspaper?
I don't read the paper. I'm information eco-friendly and get it all online.

39. What was the last pageant you attended?
I'm not that kind of girl. I've never been to a pageant.

40. What is the last place you bought pizza from?
Cottage inn.

41. Have you ever worn a crown?
Only when April makes me. She likes it when I cry.

42. What is the last thing you stapled?
Paper. Duh.

43. Did you ever drink clear Pepsi?
I think I was like 9 when that came out. Sorry.

44. Are you ticklish?
Only when you touch me.

45. Last time you saw fireworks?
4th of July. I celebrate independence with fire.

46. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut?
I don't remember.

47. Who is the last person that left you a message & you actually returned?
I always return messages. Eventually.

48. Last time you parked under a carport?
Never.

49. Do you have a black dog?
I don't have a dog. They smell funny. And drool. Just like babies.

51. Are you an aunt or uncle?
Yes but you can have them.

52. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know of?
Shaffer... Looking into his eyes was like the first time I ever heard the Beatles.

53. Last time you saw a semi truck?
Hm, somewhere around the last time I answered the dumbest question ever.

55. Do you have a little black dress?
No. Buy me one.

Really?

So, last week I was watching House with Damon & there was this competition to get Cuddy's thong. House ordered it up. Get her thong. So the minions went scrambling for the underwear of the authoritative figure of the show.

Lo and behold, one of the minions appears with the trophy fabric and tosses it on the table.
It's red. It's lacy. It's racy.

I go from being absorbed and entertained to question mode. I have this problem with my brain when I watch shows that include things that don't make sense to me. I'm pulled from the show, to question the logic.

1. Who wears underwear like that to work? Really?

2. One of the minions tried to pass off a black lacy thong as Cuddy's previously in the show, and House immediately knew it was a fake, because - as he claims - she's wearing a red bra, and therefore the underwear should be red as well. I claim bullshit. Unless she knows somebody is going to be looking at it - it most likely is not going to match.

I don't want to ruin any male fantasies here, but nobody has a Victoria's Secret fashion show going on under their clothing unless they know somebody is going to see it. Look, if you've ever slept with the same chick more than 10 times you know it's true.

I might be wrong. There might be chicks out there that wear HOT matching bras and panties every day. I'm just guessing that 90% of us probably don't.

So, writers of House, I get that it's much more appealing to slap a slutty red thong on the table, but add in some kind of "Cuddy's got a date" later storyline to make it believable, ok?

Thanks : )

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

I see famous people...

I forgot to tell this story before. It's pretty awesome. Ok, so most of you know my brother moved to NYC. So, in October I went out to NY to visit (and do some work, too) and got to see Joe Joe. We're near Times Square and we're walking to his apartment. We're walking down 7th Avenue, somewhere around 44th street, and the light turns for us to cross the street, and I am in front, I start walking, and the crowd on the opposite side begins to come toward us. I make eye contact with a man on the other side as he walks toward me, and he meets my gaze. I keep staring at him.. he looks somehow... familiar. Joe is staring at him too, and as he gets near us, I figure out who it is. As he is about 1 foot away from us, Joe stutters, "Oh hey Richard Jenkins!" and the man turns to us and says, "Yup!" and as we pass him I turn my head toward him and just squeal. I'm so super excited. Joe and I keep walking away and so does Mr. Jenkins, but now we're pumped.
OH MY GOD. WE SAW RICHARD JENKINS! WE SAW THE DAD FROM SIX FEET UNDER. YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!!
I can't believe I forgot to post this story.
Seriously! Richard Jenkins, man!!!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Oh my god

I made a pie!
Ta-fucking-da!
(click for bigger)

It's apple, and delicious and gorgeous and way easier than I thought it would be. I really made it from scratch and never have made a pie before. I made it out of flour and salt and shortening and water and apples and sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg. That's it. I'm a real "whatever comes out of the box" kind of cooker so this is a big deal.

Yay me!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

gobble gobble

Current mood: accomplished

So turkey day started with a knock at the door. I'm down the hall, I don't know who's at the door, but I'm immediately suspicious. People don't come to our door. Seven years and nary a trick-or-treater.
I hear the door close and investigate, and Damon points to a pamphlet about jesus in our kitchen. Wonderful. Jehovah's Witnesses come to tell me about jesus on turkey day.
Go away you guys, really. Don't you have family? Go bother somebody else.
We do family stuff on the turkey day itself, as it is coincidentally Damon's mom's and aunt's birthday (yep, twins) and we had a nice birthday/thanksgiving gathering.
It was funny because his mom has a cold and when she's sick her voice half-disappears and gets raspy/squeaky. Turns out, his aunt has the same cold, and when they talk to each other it's one raspy squeaky lady talking to another in the same raspy/squeaky voice and it's comical.
So because my turkey day was spent with family, we delayed our own turkey day and had it today! We made turkey (of course), Damon made mashed potatoes, I made corn, stuffing, macaroni & cheese, baked sweet potato wedges (yum!) gravy, rolls, deviled eggs, and this dish that had cubed sweet potatoes and apples and cinnamon and brown sugar and baked til it was gooey and delicious - oh my it was yum. So, yes lots of food. I made what I wanted, and the best part? I get all the leftovers. I didn't eat any turkey Thursday or today, so I get leftover turkey sandwiches.
Didn't eat turkey?! you say? Yeah, I don't care much about meat unless it's something really great. Turkey is kind of boring. I prefer to fill up the space with all the other tasty stuff and save turkey for leftover sandwiches. That's how I like it.
So, then we had pie and ice cream and coffee too. We had Rich come over to help eat.
It was pretty great but I'm pretty beat from all that work in the kitchen.
I don't cook, really. I should though.
I'm crafty. I make candles and things of ceramic, and I sew, and do other crafty and creative things. I should be crafty and creative in cooking. But really? I don't care. I like to eat awesome food, I just don't care to make it. I'd rather have a bowl of cereal and get it over with. Or pay someone to make something tasty for me and bring it to me.
I actually bought shit today to bake a pie. A real pie. From scratch. I have apples, flour, cinnamon, etc. I have never made a pie in my whole life.
I can do this.
I'm baking a pie tomorrow.
For real.
So, I hope the rest of you all had a great turkey day.
Good night.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Mars vs. Venus

Recently a male friend of mine insinuated that another male friend of mine was not necessarily my friend because of who I am but because of what I am.
I'm young, I'm a girl, and not hideously ugly. So... voila... all they want is to get into my pants.
Look, I'm not debating the status of current or past friendships, I'm just talking about the general idea of this statement.
I know there's this age old argument between men & women and the basis of men is that they are simple creatures and need only 3 things: food, sleep, sex.
I apparently am the more complex creature and I believe that there's more. I have played the Sims. You can't just let the men sleep and eat - they want more or they jump up and down and whine and wave their hands in the air and indicate their displeasure with icons above their head of the things they are lacking.
True, real people aren't that simple - though that would make it easier. If the thing I needed appeared in a bubble above my head you'd find me looking up more often. If all the answers were really there in the air - ready for the plucking - we'd all be a lot happier. Too bad life isn't that easy.
But, really... this kind of hurt my feelings. All my life I've usually had more male friends than female and I've been told this line time and time again. They aren't my friend because they want to be my friend, they are my friend because they want in my pants. Being told this again makes me question the past friendships I've had and the ones I have now and that bothers me. My life is more complete because of the guys in my life and I value their friendship and it seems to cheapen the relationship to put such a simple insulting label on it.
I find it implies that they don't really 'like' me - they just want something from me and it's insulting.
I was at a friends bonfire not too long ago, sitting around the fire with the husband and about 4 or 5 other guys. The woman of the house comes out with a lady or two with her and her husband says something like oh now the girls are coming out to join the guys. I said, "Hey, I'm a girl, I'm out here!"
To which he replied, "aaah you're really one of the guys."
Which I kind of smiled at and appreciated. It also helps prove my point... while that statement of "men only want one thing" may be true for some guys, and may be true in some cases... is not true in every case, so please stop telling me this. It takes all the meaning out of friendships for me. I'd prefer to go on blindly believing people like me for who I am.
Guys - help me out here, is this true every time? Really?

And then my head exploded

Current mood: anxious

I'm not a morning person.
I just called the phone number to check our voice messages, and normally it goes to a recording and then I can hear our messages. In my usual pre-noon zombie state, I dial the number and it rings... and someone answers, "Hello, Huron Valley Travel."
I don't say anything. I can't even speak. The fact that someone else just answered "Huron Valley Travel" is so confusing to me I can't create full thoughts. I can feel my brain firing.
Wait a minute?! I'm Huron Valley Travel, how can you be Huron Valley Travel... is this the Twilight Zone? Where am I? I don't get it.
I finally stammer, "Um, I was trying to check our messages?" and the nice lady explained that the system was down and would be up in a few minutes.
So, simple explanation, but damn.
This one little phone call nearly made my poor little head explode.
I need coffee.

Monday, November 19, 2007

This one time I went bowling and fell down

No, it wasn't yesterday.
I did go bowling yesterday and it was fun, but I suck.
No. Really.
I SUCK.
My first game? I scored a 61. Sixty-one. That's like seventeen gutterballs and a strike. Yep. I suck.
So, you know one of the strange things I see bowling? People that wander up, and just sort of flick the ball off their hand and it creeps toward the pins and clunk clunk clatter clunk, they get a strike. Augh.
I go flying up there all a blur of legs and hair and whip the ball down and... GUTTERBALL. *Sigh* dammit.
I've been told I'll get better. I certainly hope so. I'm only getting worse so far.
Oh, the other strange thing! A few weeks ago I saw this dude on his cell phone, go up and bowl and get a strike... all while still on the phone. He's got the bowling ball in one hand and the phone in the other and he's doing the whole thing on the phone. I thought that was just the worst, bowling on the phone. Put the damn phone down. Really.
But then? I see it again yesterday, some chick is bowling while on the phone.
Oh hell people. Stop it. Please.

So, onto the story...
Years ago we were on a Sunday night bowling league at Bel-Mark (me, Damon, Brian and his then-girlfriend Kirsten). One of those nights I went up to throw, the very first ball of the night. I step up and walk toward the line and swing my arm back and step forward and accidentally stepped about 3 inches over "The Line." My foot promptly shot out and somehow my entire body went with it and I went up and away and then landed hard on the small of my back.
I just laid there on the floor thinking, "That really hurt so I'm just gonna lay here a second" followed immediately by "There's a lot of people in here and I really should get the hell off the lane, they're probably all staring."
I half sit up and try to put my hands and feet on the floor to get up. Now I know you know the floor is oiled, but I'm sure you have no idea the real slickness of your average bowling alley lane.
This floor is insanely slippery. I literally cannot put my hands and feet down solidly enough to even get up. I scramble in place and can barely even sit up. It's not like ice, its much, much worse.
Damon goes from laughing to concern to scolding in the blink of an eye. He asks if I'm ok. I put my hand out toward him and tell him to drag me off because I can't get up. He tells me to stop playing around and get off. I tell him that no, really I can't get up - you have to drag me off.
At this point I'm like 6 feet down the lane, I flew up and out and landed and slid so he walks on the part in between the lanes a bit and grabs my hand and drags me off the lane. I limp away and sit down and soothe my bruised back and ego.
Sure, it hurt like hell to fall down like that, but also was pretty freakin embarrasing. Though thankfully, nobody really seemed to notice much.
So, a mental note for the future. Never step over the line. That line is there for a reason, and I learned the hard way.

Sorry Detroit

Detroit declared most dangerous US city

DETROIT - In another blow to the Motor City's tarnished image, Detroit pushed past St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to a private research group's controversial analysis, released Sunday, of annual FBI crime statistics.

The study drew harsh criticism even before it came out. The American Society of Criminology launched a pre-emptive strike Friday, issuing a statement attacking it as "an irresponsible misuse" of crime data.

The 14th annual "City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America" was published by CQ Press, a unit of Congressional Quarterly Inc. It is based on the FBI's Sept. 24 crime statistics report.

The report looked at 378 cities with at least 75,000 people based on per-capita rates for homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. Each crime category was considered separately and weighted based on its seriousness, CQ Press said.

Last year's crime leader, St. Louis, fell to No. 2. Another Michigan city, Flint, ranked third, followed by Oakland Calif.; Camden, N.J.; Birmingham, Ala.; North Charleston, S.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Richmond, Calif.; and Cleveland.

The study ranked Mission Viejo, Calif., as the safest U.S. city, followed by Clarkstown, N.Y.; Brick Township, N.J.; Amherst, N.Y.; and Sugar Land, Texas.

CQ Press spokesman Ben Krasney said details of the weighting system were proprietary. It was compiled by Kathleen O'Leary Morgan and Scott Morgan, whose Morgan Quitno Press published it until its acquisition by CQ Press.

The study assigns a crime score to each city, with zero representing the national average. Detroit got a score of 407, while St. Louis followed at 406. The score for Mission Viejo, in affluent Orange County, was minus 82.

Detroit was pegged the nation's murder capital in the 1980s and has lost nearly 1 million people since 1950, according to the Census Bureau. Downtown sports stadiums and corporate headquarters — along with the redevelopment of the riverfront of this city of 919,000 — have slowed but not reversed the decline. Officials have said crime reports don't help.

Detroit Deputy Police Chief James Tate had no immediate comment on the report. But the mayor of 30th-ranked Rochester, N.Y. — an ex-police chief himself — said the study's authors should consider the harm that the report causes.

"What I take exception to is the use of these statistics and the damage they inflict on a number of these cities," said Mayor Robert Duffy, chairman of the Criminal and Social Justice Committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The rankings "do groundless harm to many communities," said Michael Tonry, president of the American Society of Criminology.

"They also work against a key goal of our society, which is a better understanding of crime-related issues by both scientists and the public," Tonry said.

Critics also complain that numbers don't tell the whole story because of differences among cities.

"You're not comparing apples and oranges; you're comparing watermelons and grapes," said Rob Casey, who heads the FBI section that puts out the Uniform Crime Report that provides the data for the Quitno report.

The FBI posted a statement on its Web site criticizing such use of its statistics.

"These rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region," the FBI said. "Consequently, they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents."

Doug Goldenberg-Hart, acquisitions editor at CQ Press, said that the rankings are imperfect, but that the numbers are straightforward. Cities at the top of the list would not be there unless they ranked poorly in all six crime categories, he said.

"The idea that people oppose it, it's kind of blaming the messenger," Goldenberg-Hart said. "It's not coming to terms with the idea that crime is a persistent problem in our society."

The report "helps concerned Americans learn how their communities fare in the fight against crime," CQ Press said in a statement. "The first step in making our cities and states safer is to understand the true magnitude of their crime problems. This will only be achieved through straightforward data that all of us can use and understand."

The study excluded Chicago, Minneapolis, and other Illinois and Minnesota cities because of incomplete data.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Junk mail

WTF?
Ok, so I'm a hippie. I was once a vegetarian. I used to live in Ann Arbor. I signed up for "green currents" and offset 100% of my electricity usage with carbon credits. (Though I'm not sure if that's really just enviro-crap talk) I try to recycle.
My new quest is to get rid of all the shit coming into my mailbox on a daily basis.
I signed up for e-bills for every single person I pay (except Comcast, you don't even have that option - Fuck You Comcast)
So, you'd think less mail would come? Right? Nope. I get those stupid flyers with coupons and ads for everything on sale locally. Haven't gotten those to stop yet. I had to switch phone service and my new phone provider sent my address out to all kinds of people and I'm getting mail every day to "welcome me to the area." I didn't just move in jackasses. I've lived here years. I don't want your junk mail sent to M. Backer (get my name right jackasses) and I don't want a complimentary subscription to the Ann Arbor News.
I Don't want your crap!
Every day I get a credit card application from Chase bank.
Every Day.
I'm not kidding.
I can't get them to stop sending it.
We were talking about this at work the other day and complaining. With all the "environmental awareness" going on and all the "think green" shit - don't you think somewhere out there someone is attacking this stupid industry?!!?
Make it stop!!!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Employees are scary

Current mood: scared

So, I spent the entire day yesterday working at home on the website for work, re-doing images, fixing issues, little site improvements, etc etc... if you want to see it it's lame: www.huronvalleytravel.com

Anyway, I come into work today and test a form and submit it and when I do that, I get an email that looks something like this: (and Shelly gets it, too)

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by
(me@no.com) on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 10:51:20
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
email: me@no.com
firstname: melissa
lastname: test
state: AL
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, to be funny, Shelly replied to me with this:


Hello Melissa,

Thanks for your interest in Wimbledon.
What the hell kind of email address is that anyway? Oh-right. You're from Alabama. That explains part of it. Ummmm, do people in Alabammy understand the postal service, because how am I supposed to send you something if I don't know where your trailer is? Think about it. Get back to me when you get your shit together.
CHEERS!
YOUR FRIENDLY TRAVEL AGENT
Shelly

...............................................................


I think I should worry. There seems to be some underlying anger there. Perhaps, resentment? Jealousy? Am I reading too much into this? If I turn up dead, look for Shelly. Or if you hear of the next office shoot-up? Uh huh. Yep. Suspect Shelly.
She's just full of angst. I hope she doesn't reply to our real customers that way. ; )

Sunday, November 11, 2007

I'm selling stuff on eBay

Take a look. Tell your friends.
Especially if your friends want to buy my crap.
I didn't want to throw my crap out, so I'm selling it.
Complete with attempted humor, is there any other way I would attempt to sell something?

I'm linking the item number, so if the link doesn't work you can go to eBay and search for the item number.

Item 1: 200172999632

Item 2: 200172991124

Item 3: 200172995425

Happy reading! (and buying??!??!)

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Insert clever headline here

Current mood: exhausted

I'm falling apart. I don't know if it's the stupidity of adjusting to "daylight saving time" or if it's the fact that this week started out all wrong, or if it is because fall is here and now it's cold and grey and disgusting outside. (It snowed today, people.) But I feel like a bag of wet newspaper and discarded clothing. (I know, that's pretty specific right?) I cannot think. I cannot focus. I cannot concentrate. I'm exhausted. I am trying to work and I feel like a mess. Every little thing is an ordeal. I have been sleeping, maybe not enough? Maybe I need more sunlight? I haven't had time to adjust to this greyness yet? Maybe I need to exercise? Does everybody else feel like warm puppy vomit this week?
I get home last night and my head is swirling full of thoughts and emotions that have been blocking the natural productive brain flow this week. I've been drowning inside my head all week but today it's gone from tropical storm to hurricane. You know the feeling, it's one of those days where you feel generally ok, but it's like your brain is wound up and just won't shut up. It must be the normal cycle of things, just like weather, seasons, sun-up and sun-down, but it's like trying to see the sun through the clouds. All the grey mess is in the way. I go foraging through the fridge and find a pot of gold. I've got a bucket of jello shots left over from the halloween party and down them until I can't hear my brain anymore. Aah, the sweet bliss of a silenced mind.
I don't usually have to resort to such tactics to relax but sheesh, I needed a freakin break. Oh please bring me a day of sunshine!
Husband has requested we order pizza for dinner tonight, and I agreed and jokingly said "You'll have to hand me the phone, I can't get off the floor." Because seriously I'm exhausted. I wanna go home and curl into a ball and take a nap.
Wake me when it's June.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Because Damon is funny, too

This is an email thread, best if read from the bottom up.

From: Damon B
Date: November 7, 2007 7:36:36 PM GMT-05:00
To: customer_care@circuitcity.com
Subject: Re: Drive to 65 instant win game [70593]

C. Torrence (Contact ID 70593),

Thank you for your dismissal. This is a well worded brush off. Your response takes no responsibility and recommends I simply waste more time later. You have not corrected the problem or mentioned the intent to correct this problem. "Just deal with it," would be a good translation.

I realize these campaigns are aimed at people who would simply assume they are doing something and just go away. I guess I am one of those people. My intention to stop visiting your web site and stop your time wasting email you send me.

Thank you for your time!!!

Damon A. B
Academic Sales and Marketing Manager
Mechanical Simulation Corporation


On Nov 7, 2007, at 7:03 PM, Circuit City Customer Care wrote:
Dear Damon A. B:

Thank you for contacting circuitcity.com. I apologize for your difficulty and want you to know that I've forwarded the specifics to our development team.

Technical glitches and erroneous information may be temporarily posted on our website in error, so you may want to attempt the link at a later time. Also, if we can be of help by phone, feel free to call us toll-free at (800) 843-2489.

Thanks for shopping with circuitcity.com!

Sincerely

C. Torrence
Customer Support Coordinator
Contact ID 70593


--Original Message--
From: db@
Date: 11/4/2007 9:40:10 AM
To: customer_care@circuitcity.com
Subject: Drive to 65 instant win game

Customer Service,

I was trying to enter your Drive to 65 instant win game and have been very discouraged by this campaign.
https://driveto65.circuitcity.com/process_registration.cfm
The code that you gave me doesn't work (KAAP6MRA6Z). The form indicated it was an invalid code and the form must be filled in correctly. When I applied for a new code you failed to supply one. Instead I was simply supplied with another email with the link to the form.

If you intent was to make me stop reading your emails and stop using your web site then I feel this campaign is going to be very successful.

Damon A. B
Academic Sales and Marketing Manager
Mechanical Simulation Corporation

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Weird things

Current mood: sore

I'm not sure you all know this but April's house has "history."
The previous owner "went off his meds" and shot his wife and then himself. We're pretty sure it was in the living room because that's the only room in the house with new carpet.
So, last week April noticed her mailbox was different, and they pointed it out to me yesterday. This was obvious. This was new. There's no way they could have not noticed this, living here 6 months and getting the mail every day. The name SARAH is on the mailbox. And not painted, it seems like it was burned into the mailbox. It's a black metal mailbox and where the letters are seem... melted. It's just strange.
And what's creepier? The couple who lived in the house had a daughter, and her name was Sarah.

In other news, I'm pretty sore today from a pretty awesome bike ride yesterday. A good sore, but should be in better shape than this. It's somewhat pathetic. Oh and I have lovely bruises. Yes. I don't think anyone saw, but I was going over this narrow bridge and this couple on the bridge backed up and I was nervous I would hit them, so I totally ate chain link fence instead. Recovered quickly and kept moving, but I realize now I really whacked my hip. Ohhhh... wince, cry, grimace, whine, whimper. And have to go bowling later.
I'm so pathetic.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Halloween isn't over yet

Ok, this was the funniest thing.
Yesterday Shelly went to the Michigan Theater for their Halloween event and she dressed up and her costume was awesome. She was a cult leader and had this giant gold/rainbow mu-mu and a blue wig and lots of jewelry and a tinfoil hat to go over the blue wig, and also big white sunglasses. Just an awesome costume.
I come into work today and there's Shelly all dressed normal, with... something... on her forehead. Turns out, to add to the costume she had applied a temporary tattoo of a crazy-cool looking hippie-moon thing. And she just says, "It won't come off," I cannot stop laughing. I don't get much amusement at work so I of course snuck a picture.
Halloween isn't over yet
(click for bigger image)

By the end of the day with much rubbing alcohol and scratching it did eventually come off. But oh boy was that fun all morning.
Shelly, if you find this and want me to take it down, I will. But seriously, I could not resist.