ZZZZZzzzzzzz.......

I am so tired that my brain has become incapable of making sense.

While editing my resume and listening to Pulp Fiction play in the background (the actual movie, not the soundtrack), it ocurred to me that I should update my blog. What to discuss though? I've thought about a lot of things today. For example, I think Tavis Smiley and Bill Maher are right about black men in America when they say that they have generally shitty role models in rappers and pro-athletes. Most young black men will never grow up to be rappers or athletes, they should dream about growing up to be teachers and journalists and doctors and lawyers. Boring? Maybe. But real and achieveable? Definitely.

Also, I think that Ralph Fiennes is my favorite actor of all time. The English Patient is in HBO On Demand right now and I still cry every time I watch it. Although I also think that Christian Bale deserves more credit, Ewan McGregor is the shiznit, and Jamie Foxx is still loveable in spite of having made Stealth. (I mean c'mon Jamie, you need to fire your agent over that one -- seriously, seriously awful. And I didn't even see it.) And I think I have a non-lesbianesque crush on Natalie Portman, because she is outstanding in V for Vendetta. (Which, incidentally, the New York Times completely trashed, but I think is excellent.)

Or, I could think about how pretty soon I get to headbang with Nikki at the SOAD concert in DC in August.

I can't wait to move in with Shaun. (I promise I'll keep my headbanging to the car baby.)

Chocolate sounds stellar right now, but alas I have none. *sniff sniff*

Hopefully I get the job with the United Way, or at least a job as somebody's personal houseplant waterer, because every day when I come home from work all I want to do is stab myself in the eye with a pen repeatedly.

I think I have to sneeze.
...
...
...
Nope. I don't.

Summer could not possibly take any longer to get here.

I apologize if there are type-os.

One

Shaun and I went out last night to celebrate the first wonderful year that we've spent together. Officially, tomorrow marks one year, but since I have to work tomorrow night we went out last night. He took me to this nice little Italian restaurant called Picano's (which was in Troy I think) and then we went to go see V for Vendetta for the second time. (We saw it last weekend and loved it, so we decided to go see it again!)

It's hard for me to believe that we've been together for a whole year already. I feel like the time has just flown by. I always have so much fun with him, and I wake up with so much excitement about what will happen with us in the future, that the year ended up just whizzing by.

Thank you baby for everything that you do, I love you from the bottom of my heart! Smooch!!

Everybody Loves an Irish Boy

Our St. Patty's Day fun


So yesterday was St. Patrick's Day. (Also my mom's birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!) Shaun and I woke up at the absolutely unheard of hour of 5:oo A.M. to get ready to go downtown to the Old Shillelagh (pronounced shi-lay-lee) to start the day off right. (Well, I got up at 5, because I had do my hair and my makeup and take a shower, he slept til about 5:50.) When we got downtown at 6:45 there was a line almost down the next block to get into the bar, and it continued to grow as we waited for the doors to open. By the time we got inside and got our first beers it was about 7:30, and it was a great start to a fun day. I found out that we even made it on the morning news because Shannon called and left me a message saying, "We saw you and Shaun on TV!" We met up with Jeff at the Shillelagh and then went to the Anchor for lunch. From there we went to Gusoline Alley in Royal Oak where Shaun's cousins Matt and Nathan met up with us, then on to Renshaw's in Clawson, and then all the way out to O'Malley's in Farmington to meet up with my fam to celebrate Mom's birthday. Needless to say, it was a day of marathon like endurance.

Shaun popped right out of bed this morning, in spite of the tremendous amount of Guinness he drank yesterday, and I, the DD yesterday, was thinking, "Just 10 more minutes, just 10 more minutes of sleep and I'll be OK!!" Hahaha....

Watching Shaun, Nathan, Matt, and Jeff yesterday I realized that Irish boys are great. They don't mince words, they are adorable flirts, and they can hold their liquor (or their Guinness, as the case may be). Plus they're just cuties. Three cheers for Irish boys! (Especially mine, I love you baby, hope you had fun yesterday, cuz I sure did!!)

Guinness for Breakfast

Happy St. Patrick's Day! And Happy Birthday mom!! Be afraid, be very afraid. It is six on the button on my day off and here I sit, awake, dressed, makeup and hair done, so that we can go downtown and celebrate St. Patty's Day. Shaun is excited about having a Guinness for breakfast. I really want a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit from McDonald's.... But since I gave up fast food for Lent I will not let myself be weak!!

Check back later for some fun audio (maybe) and pictures of our (mis)adventures in the D for St. Patty's.

Oh, and did I say HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!?????

Enemy Territory

So last night Nik and Linda and I went up to East Lansing (gasp!) to go see Nik's friend, Bob, who worked with her at the Senate last fall. It was pretty chill, beer and pizza and NCAA basketball on the TV, but it was fun. And we looked hot, but then again we pretty much always look hot, right ladies?!?! Hahahahaha.....

The Ex-Girlfriend Dilemma

Earlier today I spoke to an ex of mine who happend to mention that should his current girlfriend find out that he'd spoken to me he'd be, "in trouble." And I thought, Well that sucks, what the hell is that all about, where does she get off??

After we got off the phone it occurred to me that I am the biggest hypocrite on the planet.

While I consider myself to be cool with the fact that Shaun occasionally talks to his ex or has lunch or coffee with her, I know that I am not exactly comfortable with it. While I would never ever tell him that he couldn't speak to her or see her ever again, I still know that there is a fine line there, and should it ever be crossed I know I would be pissed. I put my trust in him, in his neverending honesty with me and vice versa, and I talk to him if something makes me feel awkward. I hope that Shaun never has to say to her, "If Maria found out we talked today I'd be in big trouble."

On the other hand, I really want the girl to keep her distance. I know that I can never really know what happened in their relationship, that will forever be between the two of them. And while I know that my opinions about it, and my perception of it don't really matter in the grand scheme of things, I know that he used to think she was the one for him, and that she broke his heart, and she will therefore always be undeserving of so much as a smile of his, let alone a friendship. But that's probably how my ex's girlfriend sees the end of my relationship with him. I was the one who did the leaving. So how can I blame her for feeling that way?

The difference with me is that I know that Shaun is a grown man. He can take care of himself and he can grant his friendship to whomsoever he pleases. And because I love him, and because I respect him and the relationship that we have, I have to trust him. I love to trust him. And I know that each of us cares infinitely more about our current relationship than we do the remains of things that were so broken and destroyed the only remaining option was abandonment. So while I know that neither of us would ever forbid the other to speak to an ex, I also know that if that were to happen, the ex would be forsaken, because if you care about what you have with someone you have to respect that above anyone else from the past, friend or not.

It's nice not having to worry about it though.

I Belive in Miracles

i used to be on an endless run
believed in miracles 'cause i'm one
i've been blessed with the power to survive
after all these years i'm still alive
i'm out here kickin' with the band
oh suddenly i'm a solitary man
every day my time runs out
lived like a fool, that's what i was about
oh i believe in miracles
oh i believe in a better world for me and you
oh-oh-oh, i believe in miracles
oh i believe in a better world for me and you
tattooed your name on my arm
i always said my girl's a good luck charm
if she can find a reason to forgive
then i can find a reason to live
oh i believe in miracles
oh i believe in a better world for me and you
oh-oh-oh, i believe in miracles
oh i believe in a better world for me and you
i close my eyes and think how it might be
the future's here today
it's not too late
it's not too late, no!
oh i believe in miracles
oh i believe in a better world for me and you
oh-oh-oh, i believe in miracles
oh i believe in a better world for me and you, you, you...

Craptastic

Just in case it may have slipped your minds, my lovely readers, I am now, have always been, and will always be forever more, a geek. I subscribe to Dictionary.com's word of the day, and today I was emailed the greatest word I've learned in quite some time. I have decided to share it with all of you, perhaps much to the detriment of future Scrabble games against any who may dare to challenge you! It is as follows:

Word of the Day for Saturday March 11, 2006

crapulous \KRAP-yuh-lus\, adjective:

1. Suffering the effects of, or derived from, or suggestive of gross intemperance, especially in drinking; as, a crapulous stomach.
2. Marked by gross intemperance, especially in drinking; as, a crapulous old [1]reprobate.

These were the dregs of their celebratory party: the half-filled glasses, the cold beans and herring, the shouts and smells of the crapulous strangers hemming them in on every side, the dead rinsed-out April night and the rain drooling down the windows. -- T. Coraghessan Boyle, [2]Riven Rock

The crapulous life which her future successor led. -- Lord Brougham, Historical Sketches of Statesmen in the Time of George III

The new money was spent in so much riotous living, and from end to end there settled on the country a mood of fretful, crapulous irritation. -- Stephen McKenna, Sonia _________________________________________________________

Crapulous is from Late Latin crapulosus, from Latin crapula, from Greek kraipale, drunkenness and its consequences, nausea, sickness, and headache.

*Newsflash*

Pearl Jam is releasing a brand spanking new album on 4-2-2006!!! In honor of this album they are touring. Ten Club tickets go on sale sooner than humanly possible.

The name of their first single is "Worldwide Suicide" and you can download it from their website for *free*. All rumors seem to think that this album means they are 'back' and finally, finally, out to rock the house once again. Whoopee!!

Nik and I are down for the Detroit and D.C. shows. Aubs, can I get a shout out from The Windy City???

The Biggest Load of Crap

So South Dakota's a-hole of a governer, this guy, Michael Rounds (ahem, a man) recently signed into a law a ban on all abortions in the state of South Dakota unless the life of the mother is at risk. There were no exceptions allowed for cases of rape and incest. So if you get raped in S.D., and you get pregnant, you're having the baby. If you are a doctor and you perform an abortion in S.D. (after July 1st) you face a felony conviction and 5 years in jail.

I'm sorry, but does anyone else think that this is the biggest load of SHIT to hit the proverbial fan in quite some time. I know that everything in Iraq is a mess, and everything in New Orleans is a mess, but if this doesn't make it totally obvious that the Bush administrarion is out to legislate opinions and beliefs, and not things that will actually help Americans lead better, safer lives, then I don't know what is.

This is how the beginning of the law reads: "The Legislature accepts and concurs with the conclusion of the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion, based upon written materials, scientific studies, and testimony of witnesses presented to the task force, that life begins at the time of conception, a conclusion confirmed by scientific advances since the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade, including the fact that each human being is totally unique immediately at fertilization. Moreover, the Legislature finds, based upon the conclusions of the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion, and in recognition of the technological advances and medical experience and body of knowledge about abortions produced and made available since the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade, that to fully protect the rights, interests, and health of the pregnant mother, the rights, interest, and life of her unborn child, and the mother's fundamental natural intrinsic right to a relationship with her child, abortions in South Dakota should be prohibited. Moreover, the Legislature finds that the guarantee of due process of law under the Constitution of South Dakota applies equally to born and unborn human beings, and that under the Constitution of South Dakota, a pregnant mother and her unborn child, each possess a natural and inalienable right to life."

While this bill is clearly aimed at reaching the Supreme Court, it will take years to get there. But it will, undoubtedly, get there. (Hey, if fricking Anna Nicole Smith can do it, so can the South Dakota Abortion Ban.) With the two new justices on the bench that Bush appointed, people all over the U.S. who believe that a woman has the right to choose are thinking, "We're F*CKED!" And they're pretty much right, unless we get our butts in gear. And by "we" I mean both normal Americans such as myself, and also our Democrats in Congress who have developed a habit of just rolling over and going back to sleep, hoping that this will all have been a bad dream.

I for one am emailing John Kerry and Michigan's awesome Senator Debbie Stabenow. What are you going to do?

Yowza!

So, as many of you lovely readers know, my mom is a dental hygienist (did I spell it right mom???). As a result, I have never had so much as a doubt about the importance of dental hygiene. I don't exactly floss as much as I really should, but I get my cleanings and if something hurts I go to the dentist. When I was 17 (I think) I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed by an oral surgeon in Ann Arbor, and while it wasn't exactly fun, it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Probably the worst part of the experience was that as I returned home from the surgery, after having stopped at Wendy's to get a Frosty, I was bombarded by the hysterical giggles of my kid brother, since in my numbness I had inadvertently dribbled chocolate Frosty-ness all over my face, chin, and down the front of my shirt. Hey, if your kid bro can't tease you after you've just been anesthitized and had four teeth forcibly removed from your skull, who can?? But I digress.

I mentioned in my last post that I am reading A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. I also mentioned that it is about his recovery from alcohol and crack addiction, and that he admits to having fabricated some of it, but let's just cut the guy some slack, OK? Anyway, at the beginning of the book he wakes up on a plane and has no idea where he's traveling from or to. All he knows is that he's missing his top four front teeth and that there is a hole in his cheek large enough to stick his finger through. When he gets to rehab they notice that he is need of some serious dental attention, so they send him to a dentist to have his mouth repaired. The only problem? He can't have ANY anesthesia or pain killer of any kind because he's being detoxed and it could shock his body and kill him.

My friends, I have read a lot of books. A lot of books. I've never read anything as horrific and terrifying as the scene where they fix his teeth. To quote Mr. Frey as they are using power tools inside his shattered mouth, "Bayonet, bayonet, bayonet." It was terrible. I grimaced the whole way through it. The moral of the story? If you are already afraid of the dentist, never ever read this book.

On a different note, today is my first day off from all jobs, tasks, chores, plans in as long as I can remember. How glorious! I plan to spend it reading, and taking a bath, and doing my nails, and reading! (Oh, and doing Shaun's laundry, because I am the greatest, and he'll be the first to admit it! Wink wink....) Tomorrow we are going to Saginaw to watch his little sister's cheerleading team compete. I have decided to rest my voice today so that I can cheer extra loud tomorrow.

And finally, March will be a month of brokeness for Maria since I have the following birthdays/events to plan for:
March 9: Kira (25) and my Gramps (88)
March 10: Daddy-O (58)
March 11: Nikki comes home for a visit, and subsequent partying....
March 17: Momma's B-day and St. Patty's!!
March 24: Natalie turns 16, holy crap!
& March 27: My one year anniversary with Shaun, yay!
Is that not ridiculous, or what? We can even throw Steph in there, since she's right at the beginning of April, on the 2nd! The madness never subsides around here, let me tell you.

Resurrection

So, I've been absent for awhile. My bad. Shit happens.

For example, I've recently decided to renew the actually-made-from-corks corkboard project that Amy began our senior year of college. See my budding collection? If you are a wine drinker please begin saving your corks for me. I can't use those cheap-o plastic ones, only ones that are made out of actual cork. Hence the title of the project, The Actually-Made-From-Corks Corkboard.

Also, my brother got pulled over going 109 mph on the Lodge, called me to come get him, and because we'd both been at the bar (read: really shouldn't have been driving), the very lovely Michigan State Trooper that pulled him over found it somewhere in his heart not to give either of us DUIs, and instead merely gave Jess a speeding ticket. So there was that whole fiasco.

Nextly there's the fact that I am reading a new and very good book after having just finished a not-so-new but equally as good book. I miss reading and getting to talk to people about it a few days later. I actually (in my supreme and eternal dorkhood) still underline stuff in pencil that strikes me as important or moving or just plain nice when I am reading something. What did I just finish you ask? The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, quite good. What am I reading now you query?? A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey (you know, the one who "duped" Oprah? Apparently she had some trouble coming to terms with the fact that a recovering alcohol and crack addict may have had to fabricate parts of his memoir for emphasis or effect or perhaps because he's a recovering crack addict, I mean, how much can he possibly remember with total clarity anyway??).

Lastly there is the fact that lately I have become consumed with the desire to move out of my house, and, more specifically, in with Shaun. Not at his apartment because, and you may know this already if you saw the absolutely horrific pictures of what the management of his apartment complex did to his shower - eek, well because lets just say that the only 2 redeeming qualities about his apartment are that 1. he lives there, and 2. it's in Royal Oak, which is nice, but still, eek. I drive around and look out the car window and I think, "What does the inside of that house look like, and how much would it cost for us to buy it?" I try to think up compelling arguments to convince Shaun that we should move downtown, both because I believe it would be a wise investment and we'd make a ton-o-money off of selling something good in 5 years, and also because with every passing day I think the likelihood of me going to Wayne State to get my master's in a year and a half increases. He says, "No well in hell I am living downtown," and I say, "No way in hell I am living in Warren!" So we'll probably end up in Royal Oak or Berkley or Clawson or who the hell knows where.

Was that good enough for ya A.? I will try not to be so long next time, deepest apologies.

Mickey D's

This morning Shaun decided to stop at McDonald's on the way to work. The McDonald's we stopped at is one we usually skip, seeing as how they f*ck up the order 92% of the time, but since it is the most strategically located McDonald's in relation to Shaun's office, that's where he pulled in. His order was simple, a medium OJ and one hash brown. Finito. The ordering conversation went as follows:

McD: Can I take your order?

Shaun: Yeah, I'll have a medium OJ and a hash brown please.

McD: Is that an orange juice or an orange drink?

Shaun: Juice.
(At this point a small OJ order is showing on the screen, in spite of the fact that he ordered a medium.)

McD: And what else?

Shaun: A hash brown.

McD: Would you like sauce with that?
(At this point I giggle because who orders sauce with a freaking hash brown, which, incidentally, is still not appearing on the order screen.)

Shaun: No, just the hash brown.

McD: Did you say a breakfast burrito?
(Now I'm giggling again because it is clear that this person is an idiot in the best kind of way, namely one that will provide me with entertainment.)

Shaun: No, I said a hash brown. (Enunciating perfectly the two syllables that form HASH BROWN.)

McD: Is what you're ordering a sandwich, because I don't know what that is...?

Shaun: (Yelling at the order microphone) A HASH BROWN!!!

Finally his order appeared on the screen, still showing a small OJ instead of a medium, but I don't think he wanted to press his luck at that point. I was giggling so hard I was in tears until we pulled back out onto 14 Mile Rd. It was hilarious. Whether or not you'll be able to appreciate the humor from my retelling of the story remains to be seen, but take my word for it, it was hysterical.

The Best Things in Life Are Free

Perhaps it is a bit played out, but it's true all the same: the best things in life are indeed free. Matty and I experienced several examples of this on Friday night when we were hanging out. While minding our own business and drinking our brews at the Rock in Royal Oak we were suddenly bombarded by representatives from Sprint who showered us with *free* Super Bowl XL gear! We each got hats and long sleeve tees, neither of which I'd actually use, so that hat went to Jesse and the tee to Shaun. But after that we decided to head downtown to check out the official Super Bowl XL Insanity that had been going for a couple of days already. Matt works downtown and has a parking pass, and I talked us past the cover at the Anchor, and Kira being the super awesome and gracious gal that she is merely pooh-poohed me when I asked for our tab. The perks of knowing the family that owns the bar I suppose.

Now that the Super Bowl has come and gone (well, I suppose the Steelers fans are still partying it up big time downtown), I really hope that Detroit will be able to sustain some of the interest it has piqued with the whole event. It was so great to walk around downtown and see families out with their kids, and people bar hopping and just having a kick ass time. It's what a major city should feel like all the time. I'm proud of Detroit for doing us proud for the big game, and I just hope we can keep a little of that pride around, because that's what really helps.

In other news, Shaun and I went bowling last night and had a rockin' good time. It's crazy how much FUN I have with that man! Here's a picture of us having fun and looking cute at my work holiday party (which was stupefyingly LAME, in spite of the fact that they gave away a 50" plasma TV).

He is a much better bowler than me (read: he owns his very own pair of bowling shoes while I rent the dorky Day-Glo ones), but I actually didn't suck! I started off with a strike and managed to break 100 every game. Shaun finished by bowling his best game ever, and somehow still managed to be disappointed by his score. Men. (Just kidding baby!!)

Anyway, I am exhausted so I'm going to bed. If anyone has a any great pics from their adventures downtown this weekend I'd love to see them!

Sunday Morning Over Easy

There is something about Sunday mornings that I have always loved. At my mom and dad's house Sunday morning is a time for relaxation. You can sleep late if you want to, or you can wake up and read a few pages of whatever book you're in the middle of, or maybe a magazine or a newspaper. There's always coffee, and my mom makes breakfast. BLTs are a popular menu item, or the traditional eggs-bacon-toast-hash browns meal, with OJ and milk, of course. You'll hear 94.7 FM on the radio, with their "Sunday Morning Over Easy" show that ends at noon every week with the mandatory playing of "Angelo's Restaurant." My dad will putter around in the garage or play cards online, Jesse will sleep til 2 PM, and mom will cook and read.

This Sunday morning Shaun and I went to look at a little studio apartment in Royal Oak that I/we are thinking of renting for awhile. Then we went to get coffee at Caribou and shared the paper. I was thinking it could be a start to a new Sunday morning tradition of our own. Coffee and the paper at Caribou. Sounds like a plan to me....

Happy Birthday Jesse!

Happy 21st Birthday to my not-so-little-anymore Little Bro. Lord help us all, he's 21!

Raining Cats and Dogs

So I've learned that I pretty much hate dogs. All except for mine, of course, but even she gets on my nerves sometimes. This discovery came about around 4:30 this morning when I was asleep at Kira's house (I am house/dog/cat sitting for her and Jeff while they are in L.A. for her cousin's wedding) and woke up to the sound of one of her dogs, Blanca, whimpering and whining because she wanted to come into the bedroom and get into bed with me and Shaun. (Obnoxious Dog Feature #1, hereafter abbreviated as ODF #'s 2-whatever, dogs always have to be on top of you! When you're on the couch, when you're in your bed, wherever.)

We had a kid's safety gate at the doorway so they couldn't come in, and since they are used to sleeping in there, Blanca was upset. I got up and let her outside, but that didn't seem to be the problem, because the whining and whimpering and occasional barking and scratching at the baby gate continued with renewed vigor. (ODF #2, you have to get out of bed in the middle of the night in Michigan in the winter so that they don't shit and piss all over your house. We don't even do that with human children, they wear diapers.)

After another 30 minutes of moaning and whining and running back and forth between the front door and the bedroom door I thought, "well, maybe she still has to go," so I let her out again. She squatted 3 times before coming to the door, so I figured, "three times ought to just about cover it." On the way back to the bedroom I made sure she had water and that her bed and her cuddly guys were all there, and I showed her where we'd moved it to (out in the front room, with the other dog, who was becoming more and more awake every time I got up), just in case she'd failed to notice it there the 3,795 times she'd already walked by it. But she looked at me as if to say, "What? Are you retarded? That's not my bed. You're in my bed."

I went back and crawled back into bed with Shaun, but I was wide awake at that point. He was snoring, which I was glad to hear, because it meant that at least one of us (and the one of us that had to work today at that) was going to get more than 60 seconds of sleep. At 7:15, after getting up FIVE more times in efforts to get the dog to just SHUT THE F*CK UP already, I'd finally managed to fall back to sleep. The alarm went off at 7:30, we hit the snooze about 3 times, and at 8:00 when we were deciding to leave around 8:15 we realized that the clock in their bedroom is set 20 minutes fast. So we left anyway and went to get breakfast in a diner far, far away from any and all dogs.

As for that epic battle between cats and dogs, it is now abundantly clear to me that cats win, hands down, no contest. Cats are aloof, self sufficient, they make you earn their love, and they are fickle with it once it's been granted. A cat would never wake you up to make you let it outside in the middle of the night, it would just pad on over to its litter box, do its business, and then come cuddle with you again. When they make noise, it's quiet. Have you ever heard a neighbor complain about how your cat's purring is just keeping them all awake at night?? Um, no.

I miss my favorite cat of all time, Rosco. Dad brought him home from up north. He went hunting with Tony and they stopped at an Amish farm on the way back. Tony took one kitten, which Carrie and Nick named Ace, and we got one of his brothers, who turned out to be Rosco. He was sooooo cool! Unfortunately, he died when I was 14, and we haven't had another cat since, but I can't wait for Shaun and I to get a kitten when we get a place together. I put some pictures up of him, sleeping in an empty box under the Christmas tree, trying to eat my goldfish out of the bowl in my room, and then generally just looking cool. The last two are double exposed pics so they might look a little funny, but he was a funny cat.

Show Me the Money

OK seriously. The payroll department at work has f*cked up 3 of the last 4 of my paychecks, and now I am officially pissed off about it. The first time (4 checks ago) they shorted me four hours and some OT, totaling about $60. Since it was the first time it ever happened, and I wasn't pressed for the $60, I figured, "Hey, no biggie." They fixed it on my next check. Which had a new error of its own. That new error was really small, and came out to being about $5 short. Not really a big deal at all. The next check was OK, but the one I got today has pushed me over the edge. This time it's a full day short, which is more than $100.

One of the managers at work suggested that I try to, "make a case," to the payroll girl to try to convince them to issue it to me immediately in a seperate check -- as opposed to having to wait for it to appear on my next check in two weeks. I thought about that for a little while and then a realization hit me: SCREW THAT. I really, really, really need that $100. If I don't get it, I may be eating bread and water and hitchhiking to work because I won't be able to guy gas or food. But that is NOBODY'S business. There is no way in hell that I should have to go explain in detail to my manager and members of our HR and payroll departments how desperate my financial situation is right now. I need that money because I don't go to work each day for fun, I go because I get a paycheck every two weeks. I shouldn't have to 'make a case' for why I'd like to be paid money that they owe me for time that I worked.

Wish me luck when I go talk to them tomorrow. Flippin a-holes.

Go Ahead With Your Bad Self

Congrats on your acceptance to American University homie! I knew you could do it, now go kick some Republican ASS! XOXO

So, as you may have guessed from the celebratory collage of photos and corresponding caption, Nikki was just recently accepted at American University in Washington D.C., where she will begin work on her Master's in Public Policy degree later on this month. Way to go Nik! What a great way to start out 2006. I see big things for the year ahead, BIG THINGS!

It seems as if everyone is taking a moment to reflect on what happened in 2005 and what they want to happen in 2006, so I will do the same. What can I say about 2005? It was a steady year, no major life disasters, just a good, solid beginning to a lot of thigns. To a happier me. To a debt free future (thanks to Mom and Dad who let me live at their crib for free, and to the two jobs I've been working for a year now). I am thisclose to having all my credit card debt that I racked up while in college and South America paid off, I bought my very own car, and I *almost* pay all my bills on time every single month! AMAZING!

What else was great about '05? I got to see my friends do things they've been wanting to do forever -- Kira got married, Nik moved to D.C., Amy got a job at the Shedd, Aubs moved to Chicago and got a job she actually likes, Jetta made it home from Uzbekistan safe and sound and got a job she really loves, Brian and Steph are doing awesome in the Pacific Northwest. The list goes on and on.

But the best thing about 2005 was definitely meeting Shaun. I complain about my job an awful lot, but I know I shouldn't, because if I had never worked there then I never would have met him, and he's the best thing to happen to me in a long, long time. Maybe ever. He always knows how to make me laugh, he doesn't put up with me being a brat, he's romantic and mature and smart and fun and loves to dance with me, and loves his family, and his friends, and has a good heart and is just basically a great man. I have come so far from where I was last year at this time, and I so happy that I met him along the way, and that I get to keep moving forward with him in my life.

So, to Mom and Dad and Jesse, all my homies, and especially to Shaun, thanks for making 2005 a great year for me, and here's hopin' 2006 can be even better.

NYE 2005

Scenes from the fiesta