Monday, December 26, 2005
Let the orgy of greed begin!
Exercise: None today. Had to go to the store and by the time I got back, I had too many other things to do and not enough time.
This has been quite the weekend. Friday night was dinner at my parents' house with them, my sister and her family, and the people my mom is a nanny for (they are a riot and fit right in with us - liberal and a wacky sense of humor. LOL). They're kids who are 5 and 3 are very bright too. The three year old speaks in very clear, complex full sentences that you would expect to come out of a 6 year old and the five year old taught herself to read.
Saturday I trekked to Story City for our family get together at my brother's house before going to my parents' to celebrate Christmas further. Ant chose to stay home since he's not really into the family thing and prefers just to celebrate with me and the furballs on the actual day.
It was funny, the minute I walked in the door and my brother saw my new car, the first words out of his mouth were, "Where's the key?". I told him in my pocket where it will remain for the evening. LOL When I bought my Sunfire, I actually let him take it out for a drive and he came back saying it cornered like it was on rails so I can only imagine what he did with it and what he might do with my current badass car. LOL I mean after the question he asked about the key, he started telling me about topping out the 2001 Chevy Impala my parents gave him when they bought their new one. He told me that it would only do 105. I said I wasn't sure what mine would do before it topped out but it would definitely spank the Impala's butt. LOL After I came home, Chi and I checked it out. The Eclipse is electronically regulated to 140 but if the computer was reset, it could be pushed higher than that.
I really think my brother should have become a stand up comedian rather than a truck driver. He had us all rolling on the floor. Even though we don't see each other very often nor did the three of us really grow up together because of the many years between us, we play really well off each other. The best "skit" he did dealt with this story he made up to use as directions to get somewhere. He was talking about how the "country folk" use landmarks like "that place where old man Wilson had his wreck" so in this story he made up this landmark that was a tire shop (can't remember the name but it had to do with this kid he knew in high school who was a doofus). This shop was a place that had really big tires to fit them really big wheels, them medium sized tires to fit them medium sized wheels, and those little itty bitty tires to fit them little itty bitty wheels. It was just hysterical.
When it got close to the time to leave, my second eldest nephew had yawned and his mom asked him if he was tired - he said, "Yah". I told him he could ride with me (he always has in past years because as a teenager, he doesn't like to be seen in the "older folks cars". LOL) and I'd turn the stereo up really loud to keep him awake. He smirked at my comment and said he had some video game that has an Eclipse in it and ever since he started playing it, he wanted to ride in my car. LOL I told him he would be the first blood relative to have a ride (my mom played like she was miffed when I said that because she had said something about taking a ride in it when I first got it) and he said he would have to feel special then. LOL To make a long story short, the kid was impressed and when he got out, he said he liked how the seats let you "ride low" and wished his mom would have bought one (she was looking at an Eclipse when she got her new car) instead of the SUV she got.
Once everyone got to my parents' house and settled a little bit, we opened gifts. My parents' gave me a doormat that says, "Foul Sewer London England" (it looks like a manhole cover) which I said I may have to tie to Chi's butt (LOL) and some glasses with Tube stops on them. I said that Chi would probably cringe at them but that's ok because I love to watch the goofy faces he makes when they get me stuff like that. LOL True to form, he did it when I showed him the goods. LOL I think the most humorous moment was giving my parents' dog Sadie her gift of a pig's ear. I had wrapped it up just to see what she would do. Sure enough, she tore into it like there was no tomorrow. LOL
On Sunday Chi and I celebrated Christmas at home with the furballs and we opened the gifts from his family - I got a bottle of perfume, the new Chelsea football jersey, a hat and scarf, and a Floorfillers CD. Chi got a coat, a shirt, and a Pete Tong CD. Chi also opened the gift from my parents. It was a turkey fryer - something he's been yakking about wanting for months now. You should have seen him the minute he got it open. He was just like a little kid who got the best toy on Earth. The downside was that I had to hear him whine about not having a turkey to cook (something we went hunting for at the store today). LOL His present from me is ordering the Evo (there was also a little VS tidbit for him too since the Evo won't be here for a few months). More than likely the order won't actually be placed until mid to late next month because we don't want to take delivery until late March or early April, but at this point the decision has been made that we will be buying one. As for me, Chi gave me a couple of nice sweaters - a white one for work from Banana Republic and a pink hooded casual one from Pac Sun.
At this point, you may be asking what about the furballs? Didn't they get any gifts? No, actually they didn't. Not because they had been naughty or Santa didn't think they deserved anything. It's because they turn their noses up at treats and they have just about every toy that a kitty could want so anything Santa could have brought would have been overkill. Instead we decided we would treat them to as much turkey as they want when it's fried because we know they love that. :)
Well kiddies, it's getting late and I need to get to bed so I can be up in the morning. I'm going to go visit TBB tomorrow for our little Christmas get together.
Til next time....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
The "girly car" isn't so girly after all
Exercise: 2 mile run. You know it's amazing how much extra effort it takes to run a couple of miles when it's cold out and you have to put on extra clothing. Of course with Bon Jovi's Keep The Faith along with a few other choice songs, I was trucking right along.
Chi wanted to make some candy (namely toffee). We needed a few ingredients we didn't already have and a candy thermometer so we took off to Wally World to get what we needed. Now we could have just gone over to "Tarjay" or down to the local grocery store but Chi was chomping at the bit knowing I was going to allow him to drive my car and give it a good run. He wanted to make sure he got as much opportunity as possible. LOL I told him before we went that if he broke it, he would be buying it and I would be getting the brand new Evo MR rather than him. LOL
Once we got to our destination and he had a little time to check out what the car could do, he finally admitted that the "girly car" has some pretty good kick to it. LOL I couldn't help but say, "told you it did" and remind him that my car could kick his car's ass even though they are essentially the same. When we got home, he was revving the engine a little bit and his car sounds like a little pussy cat compared to the VROOM of my car. Couldn't help but point that out to him too. LOL
The downside of all of this....I think he's even more hell bent on getting the Evo than before. He got a taste of the way the engine will hop into performance mode (something he couldn't do on the Evo test drive because it was still in its break in period) and he was pretty impressed. Obviously the Evo being lighter and more powerful is only going to be that much better.
And now for something completely different......
Forget impeachment for Bush and his cronies, let's just by pass all the legalities and ship them off to their own little island where they can spy on each other and count all the money they have extorted out of the American people. UGH *watch my eyes roll*
Otay kiddies, I'm outta here.
Til next time.....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
Monday, December 19, 2005
Some people are nosy gawking bastards
Exercise: Walking the malls. I was going to run tonight too but after I got home, I had a headache from going in and out of the cold weather.
I had a little Christmas shopping left to do and decided to go out today and get it done. I had the day off (actually have the rest of the year off) so it wasn't like I had anything else I had to do today. I didn't find everything I wanted at the first mall I went to which is by our house so I went to the other one that's fairly close.
As I was walking around looking for the items I wanted, I got down by one of the anchor stores by the escalators and noticed people were crowded around the balcony the looks down to the lower level. At first I figured they were just preparing to watch some little performance type thing that they will have every once in awhile but when I passed by and looked over, I saw that they were actually watching paramedics work on someone who seemed to have tripped or something at the bottom of the escalator. You know it's one thing to be curious about what is going on but to just stand there and stare is just poor taste. I went into the store that I was headed to and when I came out on the lower level there were even more people standing around watching and the sickest part of all is it looked like some of them had gone to a nearby pretzel stand, got something to eat, and then came back to stand around and watch. It was like they were a spectator at some ball game or something. Obviously some people have no shame. Sick assholes!
And now for something completely different....
Will someone please put an impeachment in place for Dubya and his administration? I swear every time that guy opens his mouth he makes this country sound more and more like it's under a dictatorship. YIKES!
Otay kiddies Vicar Of Dibley is on so I'm outta here.
Til next time....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Playing down the lie
Exercise: None tonight - the weather kept me in since it's a nasty slushy mess out there. I at least got out and did 3 miles last night before everything went to crap.
I sat down today at lunch to read the news and I couldn't believe my eyes. Prez Asshat is finally admitting what many of us knew all along and others insisted just didn't happen. To bad he had to wait until after over 30000 people were killed. Of course he still insists on saying that he made the right decision by taking Saddam out. I guess though if you lie enough, you can end up believing it yourself.
And now for something completely different......
I broke 800 miles on my car today. Not too bad considering I've had it for just over a month and the first 300 miles were put on just driving it home. If I can stay at the rate I have been, my mileage should be about what I estimated it would be which is good because that will mean the car will be nearly 10 years old before it has 60K on it. Definitely a good thing when I go to trade it off or sell it.
Anyway....the main point of bringing this factoid up was that now I have got past the first 500 miles and we did actually have a day or two of dry roads, I was able to "open it up" and really get an idea of what it was capable of. First impressions - KICK ASS! I'd have to say 3rd gear is where you find most of the power. 2nd isn't too shabby either. Even 6th has pretty good pick up for being the top gear. The best part about it was having the little boy in a Chevy Cavalier thinking he could race me and win. I hope he didn't choke too bad in the dust cloud I left him in. LOL
Otay kiddies....I'm outta here. Project Runway is on and you know I wouldn't dare to miss it. :)
Til next time....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
Friday, December 09, 2005
It took a lickin' and it's still tickin'
Exercise: None today. I had a late night last night which meant I was exhausted when I got home. I've got lots of shopping I need to do this weekend so hopefully that will make up for at least some of the exercise I didn't get today.
Today's post title is a modification of the Timex motto you might remember. Today's blah blah doesn't have anything to do with watches (well, wait. It does too but not of the Timex brand) but the line is appropriate for the news of the day.
This morning as I sat at my desk chomping down my Raisin Bran and knocking back a bottle of orange juice, my supervisor (I will refer to her as L from now on) came over to talk to me. She said, "I've got some bad news for you." All I could think is, "Oh God what now?" There are some changes going on at work which are asinine to say the least so when she said what she did, I figured it had to do with that. Turns out, it was completely unrelated. She told me that her son who brought my Sunfire wrecked it yesterday. The roads were pretty slick and I guess rather than sticking to the paved roads which are the first to get plowed, he took the back way to school which included gravel. For someone who has more driving experience, it probably wouldn't have been that bad. For a kid who has only been driving a couple of years and isn't accustomed to gravel, it could be downright ugly.
From what I understand, he hit a slick spot, slid off the road and hit a tree. The good news is that he wasn't hurt. L told me that her brother came to have a look at the damage to make sure there weren't any leaks or anything. According to him, there weren't but L said that when he put the hood back down, it didn't latch because it was buckled and looked worse than it did before he opened it so they had to use a bungee cord to tie it down. I guess the bumper is pretty torn up too. Even though I love my new car and it was time for me to let the Sunfire go, I have to admit I was a little crushed to hear the news just because of the sentimental value it had being my first car and the amount of care I put into it. Seems the kid is sad about it too because he REALLY loved the car but the most important thing is that his injuries didn't go further than a little bit of pride.
There was an notable side to this story. Even at it's age and mileage, the Sunfire was able to withstand hitting a tree and come away with only cosmetic damage. Now to me that's IMPRESSIVE. Damn, I really did have a GREAT car.
And now for something completely different.....
I work with some real pranksters. One of the business managers (I'll call him O) came over to my desk to give me some paperwork. While he was there, one of the other managers I work most closely with (The Office Perv - TOP for short) called my phone. Since I was busy talking to O about the stuff he brought over, I was just going to let it go to voicemail. O had other ideas. He picked up the phone and said his name as he does when he answers his own phone. I couldn't hear what TOP said but obviously he was a little perplexed as to why he got O and not me. O made some comment about checking the number and calling again. TOP being the total goombah he can be from time to time did just that. Not 30 seconds after O put the phone down TOP was calling again. O decided to be a real stinker and answer it for a second time. He proceeded to suggest that I had forwarded my phone to him and that's why TOP kept getting O rather than me. LMAO When I finally talked to TOP about 15 minutes later, I think he was a little annoyed and thought I was the one behind it all because he didn't seem to be his normal cheery and piggish self. Of course had he taken two seconds to look down at the display on his phone when he had called earlier, he would have known that he actually did call my phone and it wasn't forwarded (see why I say he's a goombah? LOL). A couple hours later when TOP showed up at my desk to give me some stuff he needed me to do, I teased him about O getting his goat. By that time it seems he was in better spirits and not so stress laden because he was laughing about it which is good. If I "gots" to be around a perv, I would much rather it be a happy one than a stressed out and pissed off one. LOL
Oh DUH! I nearly forgot the bit about the watches that I eluded to earlier. Seiko is running a commercial now with a guy in it who is nothing short of ooh la la la la la la la la. :)
Otay "chillins" it be time for me to say night night to the puter and hello to the pillow.
Til next time......
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Oh look more snow!
Exercise: But not before I could get a 2 mile run in. :) 7F/-6 Windchill and I was outside running. Yah, I know I'm either dedicated or nuts and probably most likely a little bit of both. :P Hey it does the body good.
Now I thought our sidewalks were in poor condition as far as the shoveling goes but they are actually a dream compared to the other side of the neighborhood. There were places I ran through that weren't even touched. Yah, I love running through 4 inches of the white stuff sliding around and nearly falling on my ass - OH JOY! At least I was more than warm enough. That little waterproof nylon windbreaker I bought in New York has got to be the best $40 I left there (aside from the $100 which went towards the Rockstar T - I soooo love that shirt). That with a long sleeved T and hoodie worked wonders. I was actually sweating by the time I got home. The only thing I would say needs to be upgraded is my mittens. They just aren't cuttin' it. LOL
And now for something completely different......
The new season of Project Runway has started on Bravo - YAY!
Otay kiddies....I's be off.
Til next time.....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Well hell
Exercise: Mall walking.
I took a half day off work today so I could get the licensing papers for my car over to the county office and get the plates before going to my dentist appointment. It was a pretty painless experience and at least I didn't have to wait long. Now that I've got them, I can get to work on the form to replace the ISU vanity plates I had on my Sunfire. Just gotta decide what to put on them. No, I still haven't narrowed that down yet. Guess I better get on that. :P
When I got done at the treasurer's office, I came home briefly then took off to the mall to do a little Christmas shopping before my appointment. Little describes it too. I spent $20 and only came away with a box of cards and one gift. Lemme tell you it sucks when half your family lives 3000 miles away because it's not as easy to pick gifts for them especially those which are easy to mail or are allowed to mail for that matter. Then again, that may not be much of a help. I mean I've got people in my own family that I often get stumped about.
At 3:30, I made my way over to the dentist's office which turned out to be a somewhat disappointing visit. For the first time in 6 years, I have a cavity. :( It at least has been caught early enough that it won't take much to fix it - 30 minutes in and out according to "The Man". At least they are able to get me in next week so I can have it done before the year is out and my insurance goes to crap. I could start going to a different dentist that is "in network" on the new plan but the thought of that just doesn't sit well with me. For years I was terrified of dentists and just walking into the office was enough to make me start bawling even if I was only going for a check up/cleaning. This guy is a godsend. He was the first one that I went to that said, "it won't hurt" and meant it. He's kind of a "wild & crazy guy" but I like that. Many of those doctor types don't tend to have much of a sense of humor but this guy rocks! Now that I have found someone I really like and feel comfortable with, I REALLY DON'T want to change.
And now for something completely different.......
We are preparing to pass butt cold tonight and move towards are you out of your fucking mind cold. -20 windchill. Now this isn't completely odd for Iowa, however, it usually doesn't come knocking until January or February. Considering it was only a few short weeks ago that we had 60F temps, I was hoping we could kind of ease into the frigid shit. Instead of dropping 50 degrees or more in the course of a couple of days. Not that it would really matter I guess. For me if it isn't 80, it ain't even warm. LOL Oh yah....we also have a chance at yet another couple of inches of snow on Thursday. This after about 4 this past Saturday and half to one inch last night.
Oh that reminds me.....
This morning the roads were kind of slick because of the snow we got last night. On my way to work this old fart who lives out here pulled out on the street from the Kum & Go on the corner and nearly cracked up his $70,000 Lexus SC 430. Had he fishtailed another 5 inches he would of. I can only imagine that one word and one word only was going through his mind as he was sliding all over - "SHIT!" LOL Of course maybe he needs to rethink those performance tires and invest in some smaller winter ones. My car, on the other hand, performed like a dream and impressed me yet again. :)
Otay kiddies....it be past my bedtime.
Til next time.....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Born A Boy - Raised A Girl
Exercise: Floor mopping. The weather would have been great for a run but as usual, the association failed to shovel everything the way it should be done.
The title of this post is the subject of a very interesting program I watched today. It was about a couple who had twin boys and when one of them was circumcised, something went wrong resulting in damage. Around the same time, there was this quack doctor that had reason to believe that nurture could beat out nature but had no real way to test it since no parent would be willing to just subject their child to that sort of thing. The short story - this couple decided to go along with this experiment because they thought if this guy was correct, it would be the best for their child. In the end, it turned out that nurture doesn't beat out nature. The kid never felt right being a girl and after being told about what happened, took measures to become male again.
It's things like this that only further my belief that things such as homosexuality are not choices that we make in life but something that we are born with and is part of who we are.
And now for something completely different......
This is a link Chi sent me. I thought it was kinda cool. Enjoy.
http://www.fazed.org/video/view/?id=125
Otay....I's off.
Til next time.....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Listen Up!
Exercise: Intense metal concentration and a little mall walking.
To all the nutballs I shared the road with to and from Ames today - get off the fuckin road please! Around 9 this morning it started to snow and it didn't let up until about 4 this afternoon and we were expected to get anywhere from 2 - 4 inches. The road reports I had been reading before I left were saying that everything was normal where I was going but I didn't trust that information so I made sure I left plenty early. They weren't exactly horrible but they weren't good either. I had decided to stop for gas and rather than taking the interstate and backtracking a little bit, I took the side roads. It only took about 3 miles before I saw the result of an accident. A car and a truck smashed at an intersection. The front of the car was all crunched up and the truck had popped the curb so it was perpendicular to the road.
The rest of the way up to Ames, I saw a couple of cars off the road here and there which surprised me considering all the ignorant drivers that I came across. Not only were they traveling in "wolf packs" and only leaving a couple of car length's spacing between them and the drivers in front of them, they also seemed to think 70mph (the speed limit) was acceptable for roads which were at least 50% covered. I was doing about 50 and thought that was fast (was kinda ironic when Sammy Hagar's I Can't Drive 55 came on the radio). What pissed me off even more was the semi truck drivers who were also driving what appeared to be the limit. The visibility wasn't the best to begin with and the snow they would kick up only made it worse - close to white out conditions.
The way home was much of the same with a ton more cars that had gone off the road. There were people like me who were trucking along at about 50 and leaving good sized distances between the cars ahead of them but there were also the wack jobs too. It looked like at one point along the interstate 6 of them and a semi all met up - literally. They were all in the ditch and there were cops and ambulances along the road. Not long after I passed that wreck, there was this woman who blew passed me in a little white car. I said, "Happy accidents to you lady." Wouldn't you know about 5 miles down the road at the interchange, she was in the ditch. I know it isn't funny but I couldn't help chuckle at the sight especially since she was trying to push her car. LOL Um hello lady your car is in 6 or more inches of snow and a ditch to boot. Do you really think you're going to get it out of there all by yourself? DUH!
As usual, when I got back to my neighborhood, the roads hadn't been plowed yet - FIGURES! A little while ago they finally came around to plow but like previous years, did a very shitty job at it. Once again we have a big mound of snow right by our driveway and if it gets any bigger, getting out will be a chore. This year is going to be a little different though because I have decided to document it and bitch up a storm about it if it gets as ridiculous as it has in the past.
The upside to today's drive is that my car performed very well. It actually surprised me. Based on the things I had heard, I didn't think it would do as good as my Sunfire but I'd have to say it may have surpassed it. Of course my Eclipse is much heavier and has traction control which may have contributed a little bit - not that I'm a big believer in those sort of "gadgets". Unlike my Sunfire, it wasn't an option so I was stuck with it. I did slide a little bit in areas where there were piles of that silty snow you get when sand has been thrown on the streets but it wasn't anything worse than what I'm used to. Today's performance of the E Machine was just another sign to me that I was meant to own it and once again I just have to say I LOVE MY CAR! :)
And now for something completely different.....
A grocery store in Ames has now made it possible for people to pay by finger. All you need to sign up is a blank check, ID, and your finger. Once it's done, you can pay by touching your finger to a screen where it is scanned, turned into a mathematical equation, linked to your bank account, and then automatically withdrawn. Now if only they would set things up like that everywhere for credit cards (I find paying one bill a month from my account easier to manage than multiple debits.). With the things they have you sign on these days, I don't know how on earth anyone can actually tell it is you by signature. I have rarely signed one and had it actually look like I wrote it. At least with a fingerprint, it would be damn hard to get around.
Otay kiddies. I's be off now.
Til next time....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
|
