3/29/2004 10:47:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|(let�s try this again, shall we?) Every time this sort of thing happens, I swear that I�m going to save my posts in word before I post them FROM THEN ON. And then I forget once, and here I am. Grr. Anyway� A friend like Ben (Alternate title: Amie, what you wanna do?) Jen and I looked at some apartments on Saturday. Oh, the tales I could regale you with�but I�m going to stick with this one in particular. As I said before, it�s priceless. Ad in Artvoice: ALLENTOWN Cute 2+ bedroom single family house. Fenced in yard, parking for 1 car. $650. Well, this looks like it could be promising. So I call Ben. Ben sounds frazzled and asks me to hold. He comes back on, and asks which property I was calling about. I read the ad to him. �Oh, the cute one,� he says. I don�t know what that means, but he sounds amusing. We make an appointment to come see the place at 4. He tells us to meet him in front of an address, but tells me that this address is not the property we�re seeing. The house is tucked away behind it. We arrive there a bit early, so Jen and I sit in the car and wait. Directly in front of us is a young child pushing a stroller on the sidewalk in front of a house where a bunch of people are standing on the porch talking. The stroller has a plastic thingy draped over it. It looks like an old lady�s rain bonnet, except bigger. There are feet sticking out of the bottom of the stroller. �Is that a real child in there?� Jen asks. �Or is it a doll? It has to be a doll right? I think it�s a doll.� Nope, pretty sure it�s a real kid. It�s not moving, but the feet look too big to be a doll. Jen is concerned that the child can�t breathe. I tell her not to worry. :) After a brief detour to some guy�s porch, child, stroller, and the rest of the family are on their merry way. In front of the house where we are to meet Ben, there is a little kid (perhaps 10?) and a guy behind the hood of a car. I can only see the top of his head, but he has dark spiky hair with obnoxiously blond peroxide highlights. Based on this information, I guess him to be, oh, 18 or so. But then I get a look at his face, and no�it would appear that he is much older (I�d guess late 30s, pushing 40) and is the child�s FATHER. Oh, Lord help us. Dude? The hair. Has. Got. To. Go. It�s now almost 4, and no sign of Ben. We step outside in case he�s waiting inside a car or something, but no. We watch the Puerto Rican Pride brigade (okay, so it was just one guy. But he was bursting with pride, yo.) across the street. Talking to woman in old SUV, very loudly in Spanish. We go back to the car, and decide to give ol� Ben a call. Ben, as it turns out, got the time confused and thought he was meeting us at 4:30. He says he�ll be there in 10 minutes. About 5 minutes later, a jeep pulling a trailer covered with Harley Davidson stickers pulls up. �I really hope that�s not Ben,� Jen says. Guy steps out of the jeep and crosses the street. Ball cap, torn carpenter jeans. Looks like a teenager. �That can�t be Ben,� I say. �He�s, like, twelve.� Oh, but it is. We know this because he motions for us to follow him. He leads us through spiky-haired man�s driveway where he unlocks the gate to reveal� A trailer. Okay, not so much �trailer� as �prefabricated home,� but still. He does mention a boss, which makes us feel a bit better about the whole thing. �It�s kind of decorated in old lady style,� he warns us. �It�s very�.peach.� And peach it is. Peach kitchen. Peach bathroom, which is being torn apart. It had previously been covered in peach tile. Everywhere. But for the blue fixtures. Blue bathtub. Blue toilet. Blue sink, which is currently lying on the floor in the small bedroom. The living room has that brown/tan marbley shag carpeting that my parents used to have in their living room. Fifteen years ago. �We were looking for something�bigger,� Jen says. Not �bigger� so much as �less peach� or �less prefab.� In reality, we�re looking for something spectacular. Spectacular, spectacular, as Jen says. : ) Ben, sensing that we�re really not interested, mentions a couple of other places he might possibly be able to show us. We tell him we�ll get in touch. Okay, kids�here�s where it gets good. We head to Allen Street realizing that we need food. We decide to try the new little caf� (Allen Street Grill? The name is escaping me at the moment�) The bartender/waitress commiserates with us about apartment hunting. We have some wine and split a sandwich and the most amazing roasted potatoes ever. As we�re getting ready to leave, the two guys who have been sitting at the bar get our attention and ask us what we�re looking for�because they happen to know that the house next to them is going to be available soon. They introduce themselves as Ben and Chris.l They ask for our phone numbers, telling us that they really want �cool neighbors.� They say they�ll pass the info along to Ben. The other Ben. The one that manages the properties. Wait, Ben? The same Ben? Our Ben? We have this very convoluted circular conversation about Ben, and the fact that Ben just showed us the trailer/prefab. They laugh, because they know the place. And then, they explain that Ben used to be a girl. �Oh my God,� Jen says. �Did he used to date a girl named Amy?� Because, you see, we know this person. No, more accurately, we know of this person. He�s in Brenda�s circle of people. �No,� they say. �He used to be Amy.� �Yes, but�� Jen is pretty sure that Amy, now Ben, also used to date a girl named Amy. They broke up after the transformation, because it got too weird. �So is this the same Ben that we just met?� I ask. Because, after all this, could it possibly not be? So immediately upon leaving the bar/caf�, Jen calls Brenda to verify. She tells the story, and describes our Ben, whom Brenda verifies to be the very same Ben. Amy. Ben. Whatever� How weird is that? |W|P|108061846186766864|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/29/2004 12:30:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Oh, by the way... Check out my special blog for 27 sightings...The Chronicles of 27. I don't have a lot there yet, but I'll continue to add.|W|P|108058142396330219|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/29/2004 12:25:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|O lamentable day! Stupid, stupid, stupid. I just spent a LOT of time writing an entry about the crazy apartment hunting story from Saturday. I forgot I was offline and hit "post" and lost it. LOST IT. waaaaaaaaaaah!|W|P|108058115301037079|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/29/2004 01:26:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I've been rejected. Pity me. So there's this short story that I wrote a while back that I've been shopping around trying to get published. I was pretty hopeful about the last place I submitted, because it seemed like the tone and general feeling of the story fit in well with what I saw there. Also, I thought it was a sign that one of my old fiction writing profs had been published in their last issue. But alas, it was not to be. I got the rejection today. Wah. Stay tuned for a great apartment hunting story from Saturday. Really, it's priceless. But also long, and I'm too tired to do it right now.|W|P|108054160128856020|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/26/2004 09:13:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|I did "scarily well" This was fun:
:) Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn So a curious thing happened....I took the "which classic novel are you" quiz, and I ended up Gone With the Wind. And for some reason, that annoyed me, and I didn't post the result. Hmmm...|W|P|108035358721035739|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/26/2004 10:29:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Margaritas and darts.... So, at the request of Dayna, here is the quick run-down of the date... ;) John and I were set to meet at Cozumel for drinks at 8:30-8:45. I had gone for dinner at Anchor Bar with Jen, Brenda and Steph, so I figured I would just hang out at Jen's until it was time to meet. I checked my messages, and John had left a message saying that he was going to be running a little late, and that he'd call when he was getting ready to leave. I tried, in vain, to figure out how to remotely change the outgoing message on my machine. No luck. I checked again, and he'd left another message asking me to call when I got the message. No number, though. O, if I were one of those photographic memory types who remembered a phone number after dialing it once. Um, not so much. So after a few minutes of grumbling, it is determined that I must run home to find the number and call him back. He just wanted to make sure that I still wanted to meet, even though it was going to be late. Anyway...we do meet up at Cozumel, around 9:20. I decide to go ahead and order the margarita, because....well, it's Cozumel, and I can't concieve of drinking anything else there. (They make the best--and most potent--margaritas in town. Yum!) We chat for a bit, catching up (remember, I haven't seen him or spoken to him other than email and IM in like three weeks!) while waiting for the dart board. So we play, and I'm quite certain that I'm going to get my butt kicked. He's in a league. However, fortunately for me, it takes John several rounds to adjust his throw for crappy bar darts. I'm actually doing pretty well, and we're about neck-in-neck. I've got 17 points, he's got none, and everything is closed but bulls. Well, you all know how good (ahem) I am at hitting the bull. So I lost. We chat some more, and it's very nice....about everything and nothing in particular, and just comfortable. Easy. Nice. We decide to have another drink and head over to the bar to sit. I embarrass him by telling him that Caren described him as being like "one of the girls." hee. He said that he is "on the cusp" of metrosexual...that is, he takes some pride in his appearance and actually likes to shop, but does not go get his nails done. Hence "on the cusp." Again, hee. :) So when we parted for the evening, there was another pleasant goodnight kiss...he thanked me for putting up with his crazy schedule, and said "maybe next time we can have food." ;) All in all, I like him. He's fun to talk to, he makes me laugh, and he just seems like an all around good guy. And there is definitely an attraction there. So....I'll be thinking good thoughts about this one. We'll see.... ;) |W|P|108031497963202781|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/25/2004 11:23:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Wow, I'm boring Haven't had much of interest to say lately...just been working, sleeping, nothing very exciting. I do have a date tonight (whoo! it's been a while...), so I'll keep ya posted on that. Fun photos up at the Jackdaw site from last week's show at Niagara U. Here's a sample: Yeah, that's me all the way on the left. It's a candid moment. : ) (I did it! woohoo!)|W|P|108023183070538402|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/23/2004 03:47:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|New blogger joins the ranks! Welcome, Tim, to the world of blog! In other news, I learned that I misread my health benefits manual, and that contacts are not covered. Boo. I had been under the impression that I had a choice of glasses or contacts every two years, but no...contacts only if medically necessary. Whatever. The thing that really irks me? Is that I had the eye exam. Eye exam is covered. However, because I said I wanted contacts, they do a "contact fitting." Now, for my first time ever, this made sense. They have someone show you how to put them in, yada yada, and it's an extra $30. But this time, all it was was me putting in a sample pair and saying "yeah, these are fine." What? Are you kidding me? Grr. GRR! The kicker? I wouldn't be able to order new contacts without doing this. Even though my prescription has not changed AT ALL. *Grumble*|W|P|108007483931448736|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/21/2004 12:10:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Victor Garber, cupcakes, and crunchy peanut butter So last night I was looking forward to a calm, cozy evening in. I've been battling a cold these past few days, and I figured some rest would be good for me anyway. I've been craving cupcakes, so I mixed up the batter and baked them while I was playing around online. I was planning on making chocolate-peanut butter icing for them (yum! my family has done this for as long as I can remember, and I LOVE it.) When the cupcakes were finished, I dragged myself down to DVD Dot to rent a movie or two. I decided to have myself a Victor Garber lovefest, and rented The Music Man (the one with Matthew Broderick. VG played the mayor). It was fun, and VG was hilarious. I also rented Godspell, which features a very young Victor as Jesus. Whoa. Weird, weird stuff. Anyway...when I got home, I began to mix up my icing. I opened up the peanut butter that I'd just bought while grocery shopping last week, started to scoop some out, and Horror of Horrors! I realize that it's CRUNCHY peanut butter. Now, I used to be extremely prejudiced against crunchy. Wouldn't eat anything but creamy. In my old age, I've come to accept crunchy. I will eat it, but still prefer creamy. However, in this particular situation, crunchy will just not do. I mean, crunchy icing? I don't think so. Sigh. So I ran to Wilson Farms to get creamy peanut butter. And yes, my cupcakes turned out fabulously, thank you. : )|W|P|107988903750022580|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/20/2004 11:28:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Another quiz The result made me laugh, so I'm posting it. (Gee, maybe I should offer my services for a fee....hahaha)

You Are A Professional Girlfriend!

You are the perfect girlfriend - big surprise!
Heaven knows you've had enough practice. That's why you're a total pro.
If there was an Emily Post of girlfriends, it would be you.
You know how to act in every situation ... to make both you and your guy happy.

What Kind Of Girlfriend Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

Find the Love of Your Life (and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.
|W|P|107984331424725627|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/20/2004 10:35:00 AM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|And again...and again...and again... A thoroughly enjoyable performance by Jackdaw at Niagara University last evening. I got to meet some of the people I "talk" to on the message boards, so that was kinda cool. I also got to experience the full Sorry Again thang. It is indescribable to someone who hasn't witnessed it. Basically, the song ends in an instrumental frenzy that builds and builds until the guys are breathless and sweaty, and... *fans* Hoo, boy. I need to find me a man or something. ; ) Fun with Words While I'm talking about it, I've been meaning to mention this for a while. The aforementioned forum has these great built-in censors. If you type in certain swear words and try to post them, the words are replaced with something more family friendly. For example, if you try to post f***, what comes up is [TO KNOW, BIBLICALLY]. Hee! But the absolute best one is this...if someone should try to type in the name of a certain establishment in downtown Buffalo that totally screwed over our boys, what appears is [YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT REALLY AN IRISH BAR]. LOVE it. Makes me laugh.|W|P|107979692242876548|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/17/2004 12:35:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Kiss me, I'm Irish! Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! For those strangers who stumble across my blog, it should be noted that I am not Irish. Not one little bit. However, everyone is Irish today! : ) Need something to do? Those of you in/around Boston should definitely head to the Hard Rock Cafe roundabout 8 pm to see the Jackdaw boys. What a great gig! I'm so proud. And jealous that I'm not going to be there. But if ya go, raise a glass for me! If you, or I, had been on the ball, you could have seen Carbon Leaf or Great Big Sea in Washington, DC. But Great Big Sea is sold out, and Carbon Leaf has already played! Ah well. Kiss me, I'm....uh...employed? Yes, I have accepted the position as a reporter for Western New York Catholic. I start April 5. Woohoo! I'm still trying to reconcile any potential guilt I might feel over quitting, but am trying to ignore it. Fact of the matter is, I need work. Now, go drink something Irish. : ) (or, you know...wait until you're done working and THEN drink...) |W|P|107954495020376506|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com3/16/2004 08:44:00 PM|W|P|Erinna|W|P|Finally...here's the rest of the weekend! But before I start...images! Yay! Okay. So we were all invited to the Conservation Club in lovely Dunkirk, NY to see the band Big Leg Emma. Jen's Auntie Carroll, as well as Tim and Dayna, became big fans of the band at a music festival last summer. We had quite a time with the name of the band...Jen once mistakenly called them One Leg Emma (no, no one's leg has been amputated. hahaha) and I couldn't get that out of my head. But I didn't feel so bad when I learned that Brenda had called them One Leg Enema. : ) So Jen and I drove down a little early to have some cheap eats at Sullivan's, and then went to meet Carroll and her fiance Dan at the Italian restaurant where they were celebrating a friend's birthday. My brother would have loved this place...all decked out with posters of the Rat Pack, the Sopranos, Pacino, etc. There was one guy who was a dancing maniac. Those of you who know me know that I cannot resist a dance floor, so I agreed to dance with him. At some point, he asks what he would have to do to take me out.... Nice enough guy, but: a) he's almost 50; b) he lives in Cleveland; and c) just not interested. But dancing was fun. : ) On to the Con Club. Located at One Mullet Street. I couldn't make this up if I tried. ; ) I did only see one actual mullet, but it was a good one. Long and curly. And he was wearing a Scorpions t-shirt. I looked around at the club, and it was a familiar enough place...we have places like it in Elk County, but we tend to call them stuff like "Sportsmen's Club." "What are they conserving?" I asked. ; ) Lots of mounted animals and fish. There was even a jackalope. Dayna, did you get a photo? Hee! Jen, Brenda and I missed the first set trying to finish a game of darts. I was kicking butt, but couldn't seem to end the game...I needed ONE MORE BULLSEYE to win, and just couldn't get it. The game timed out when Carroll stole Jen and Bren away for a family shot. I think Jen did it on purpose...she just didn't want me to win. (kidding!) So then we made it over to see the band. LOVED them. Seriously. They have quite a following, mainly of the pseudo-hippie variety. Lots of tie-die and dancing bears. But the music was happy and infectious, and the musicians were very talented. Also, I have a lot of respect for talented female fiddle players! The other girl in the band was adorable...short blondish hair, and played multiple instruments. I think I had me my first girlcrush...at least the first on someone who is not on television. Ah, good times. Great weekend, but exhausting!|W|P|107948784044392368|W|P||W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com