Stephanie|W|P|Newsletter. Oh yeah. That.BTW: I will be sending cards to you & Jen. I will even spring for two stamps and send separate greetings. ;)
Unknown|W|P|When I went into a job interview not really caring whether or not I got it, I got an offer. Weird. LC Scotty|W|P|Best of luck.
|W|P|Erin, Do all of Kelly's out of town friends a big favor and go to Quinn's funeral and give he and Deb a big hug from us.Thanks from one of his college friends,
Chris
Thanks to those of you who answered my poll. I enjoyed reading your responses! :) Here are my personal faves:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original animated TV version, thank you very much. I refuse to watch the Jim Carrey movie on principle) I cry every time the Grinch's heart grows three sizes.
A Charlie Brown Christmas Again with the tears. During Linus's speech, and when they all sing around the little tree at the end.
Rudolph because who doesn't like Rudolph?
And interestingly, Rand and I were just talking about the one that I believe is called 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. It has to do with some mice and a clock tower, and there's a song that goes "Christmas bells are ringing, Santa, Santa." Anyone else remember it? :)
I've dug out the holiday music, and in fact, just bought a copy of the Barenaked Ladies' Barenaked for the Holidays. I really enjoy most of it, but could probably do without a few of the tracks. There's a short little track called "Deck the Stills" which had me rolling on the floor.
Also, I listened to Collin Raye's Christmas album today, which really deserves a listen if for nothing more than his version of "O Holy Night." I like it for a lot of reasons, his voice not being the least of them, but also because it includes this verse:
Truly he taught us To love one another His law is love and his gospel is peace Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother and in his name all oppression shall cease.I don't usually hear that verse in other people's recorded versions, and to me, it's such a perfect statement about what it should mean to be a Christian. When I'm in a particularly emotional mood, it makes me a little bit weepy. Oh, and this was so funny, I just had to share. I have a burned CD marked "Tony Bennett Xmas", so I put that in on my drive down to PA today. The first track was indeed Tony Bennett. But the second? Shania Twain. Any Man of Mine. The huh? Track 3 was Tony Bennett again, but track 4 was Shania. (If You're Not in it For Love) The rest of it seemed to be safe, but no....track 14 was No One Needs to Know. I don't know what the hell I was doing when I burned that one. Ok, enough...I've got pies to bake. Happy Thanksgiving!|W|P|113280340437346982|W|P|Happy Turkey Day|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com
Lee|W|P|And to you, dear! LC Scotty|W|P|mmmmm pie!
Awesome quote from Henry Rollins, seen in Traveling Pants book:
When life hands you a lemon, say "Oh yeah. I like lemons. what else ya got?"(Haven't updated book post, but I read The Second Summer of the Sisterhood today. Cried more. These are great little reads.) A poll: What's your favorite holiday special? I have a few favorites of my own, which I'll share after you've posted yours. :) Happy Monday!|W|P|113263137114708657|W|P|In their words|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com
Unknown|W|P|Mine is definitely "A Charlie Brown Christmas!" There's so much to love about it (the dancing scene, for example), but I must admit I'm not a big fan of the Linus speech ("Lights, please..."). Stephanie|W|P|Ruduloph. I'm a huge Rankin/Bass fan. I'll watch any of those specials.I also like the Claymation Christmas, but no one seems to air it these days. Good thing we bought it on DVD!
I can't celebrate Christmas without watching White Christmas; it's become my own little tradition. And if I have time, The Man Who Came to Dinner (from one of my favorite plays) and Christmas in Connecticut.
You'll be going home this week?
Oh, I have news...I'd better quit here and fire off an email.
Erinna|W|P|Well, I'll be interested in hearing your news, although I won't be able to read it until later! Yes, I'm going home.LT, Charlie Brown is definitely a favorite of mine, too. :)
|W|P|Rudolph, the original animated Grinch, and a little-known animated Christmas special by the Nelvana company in Toronto called "A Cosmic Christmas". Stephanie|W|P|If Henry Rollins had a Xmas special, it'd be that.I like The Grinch, Rudolph, Charlie Brown (I had a record of that when I was a kid so I know it by heart, even Linus's spiel) and South Park. We put on the South Park Xmas album last night. It's never too early for Cartman.
|W|P|Oh, I forgot Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman"! I love that special, especially the music. jalaire|W|P|Definitely White Christmas, but my all time favorite is Christmas Eve on Seseame Street (Mr. Hooper = awesome!). My guilty pleasure is A Very Brady Christmas. All Things Jennifer|W|P|Thank you. After taking MUCH time to get together the post and sending out to 100 people, LOCALLY, I was quite disheartened to find, a handful of people who thought it was linkworthy.
And that depresses me.
But every single person who takes the time to link, makes me smile. And hopefully spreads the word to just ONE more person that might be able to give.
(Possible Lost spoilers below) If I work on a Tuesday or Thursday, it's always at the same school. This is because they're finished at 2:03, getting me out of the building at 2:15 and to the college before 3. My first class is at 4:30, so I like having that bit of time to prepare. Of course, the day ending at 2:03 means it starts really really early. Homeroom bell is at 7:28. Ack. I have a really difficult time leaving the house before 7. It takes about 20 minutes to get there, and in a perfect world, I would arrive at 7:15, giving me a little bit of breathing room. Today, I almost made it. What I failed to consider was that my car would need to be cleaned off. There wasn't a significant amount of snow, but since it had changed from rain to snow, there was that coating of icy crud on the windows underneath the snow that had to be scraped off. Ugh. There's nothing I hate more than scraping ice off my car. This is the kind of morning when a remote starter would be heaven. A couple of quick notes on Lost (really the only show I'm watching on a regular basis. I kind of gave up on Alias, and my West Wing viewing has been sporadic. I hate that it's on Sunday night. Generally, the idea that shows will soon be out on DVD has made me less concerned about missing things.): I liked getting the back story of the other survivors. I completely forgot about the freaky radio transmission! Hey, it's that guy from Ed! Totally not one of the Others, but it was a nice fakeout, I thought. How freaking creepy are The Others? And when do we get their story? I didn't like having to wait another week to see what happens with Shannon. (Although, let's be honest...we all know what happens with Shannon. Just when I was starting to like her.)
|W|P|113224100678773691|W|P|It's still hard, at six o'clock in the morning...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com
Erinna|W|P|Hey, send me an email and I'll invite you to the Lost discussion group! :) jalaire|W|P|I had also forgotten about the weird radio transmission, and it was nice that they didn't take weeks and weeks to catch us up on the "Tailies" story...(I kinda expected JJ to take that route.)Alias has become background noise while I do other things, and that makes me very, very sad, but I know I'll eventually just see it all at once on DVD.
|W|P|How do I get to your Lost discussion group? I did get an e-mail from you, but I think I managed to botch up figuring out how to get over there.Really liked last night's Lost. It's going to be cool seeing the Lostaways and Tailaways interact. Can't wait to see the interaction between John Locke and Mr. Eko.
|W|P|what does that mean?? Erinna|W|P|I don't know. I'm not sure I want to...;)
Stephanie|W|P|You think that's bad? I had this:'standing p***s of young boy photo free'
I blocked out the letters, not the searcher!
Erinna|W|P|ew. |W|P|Crunch n Munch Strippers. I guess someone wanted to see some strippers eating Crunch n Munch, or to see the creative ways the strippers placed the crunch n munch on their bodies. LOL.People are so weird.
Andrew Ironwood|W|P|Alternate theory: while Googling "CRUNCH N MUNCH", I saw they had done some crosspromotional work with Marvel Comics -- might this possibly have been someone looking for the "comic strippers" (aka authors of comic strips) of said promotions?(...nah, yer rite -- it's gotta be sumthin' preverted, ah-rite...)
Andrew Ironwood|W|P|(...okay, so I don't know my Motley Crue from my KISS anymore...)
Separates. The color is fantastic. Also, I really like the top, although they did not have it in the store in my size in ANY color. I tried on a different top in a 6, and it seemed to fit. I tried on this top in a 4, which nearly fit (much to my surprise) except that it wouldn't quite zip at the top. So the 6 should be fine, I think.
Women's sizes are so strange. There is no continuity. The dress I wore for Susan's wedding was a 10. I typically wear a size 8 in pants and skirts, and usually a 6 on top.
Since I was already out and about, I decided to take my little laptop and go to Barnes & Noble. There was a sign on the front window that said "High speed wireless here!"
Yay!
But what they don't tell you is that it's not free. Boo.
I had to pay $3.95 for 2 hours, but I decided it wasn't worth packing up and going somewhere else. So I got an Asiago Cheese Pretzel, plugged in my headphones and listened to my music, chatted a bit with Eden, and got to writing.
I think Tall Mocha on Wheels, the current story I'm working on for Woman's World, is nearly ready to submit. I also started on another project that I'm not talking about just yet, but I am having a lot of fun with it.
I've abandoned NaNo. I was wasting my energy. But oddly enough, I seem to have funnelled it into more productive areas. So yay for me. :)
I also did some other not-so-interesting things like grading and laundry.
Random thoughts:
That cute, happy, Brit-poppy song I keep hearing on the radio and liking so much? That one that goes "No matter what you are, I will always be with you/Doesn't matter what you do, girl, ooh girl, with you" is DEF LEPPARD. Covering Badfinger. I was dumbfounded.
I understand there's a new Goo Goo Dolls song out, although I haven't yet heard it.
Also, I hate Bon Jovi's new single, Have a Nice Day. HATE it. And you know how much I like Bon Jovi. I hate it so much that I don't even want to hear the album.
And that's me today.|W|P|113201743408324185|W|P|Hooray for "me" days|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com Unknown|W|P|The new GGD song is called "Better Days," and it's a Rzeznik song (bien sur!). They performed it on the Today Show not too long ago. It's on a new CD called "Sounds of the Season: The NBC Holiday Collection." I got it at Target for like $4.99! As you probably gathered from the song title, it's not about chestnuts, snowmen or sleigh rides! It starts out quiet and builds. It's not his greatest song, but it's not bad, and its message is quite welcome and uplifting considering the state of the world. Did I really write all that?!
Def Leppard doing a cover is really sad. But they need all the help they can get these days.
I haven't gotten the new Bon Jovi album yet either. I'm sure there's a decent power ballad on there somewhere, though...
NEW MADONNA TOMORROW!!! :-)
Stephanie|W|P|Badfinger has a lot of good stuff. If you enjoy McCartney tunes (and that one is one I believe), check them out. I could burn you a Best of Badfinger but I believe you will be 87 years old before I get to it.Burning CDs. Heh.
-Me|W|P|I don't mind Have A Nice Day, but i really like Welcome To Wherever You Are.
Dear fashion industry,
Gaucho pants? Really?
Sincerely,
erin-go-blog|W|P|113174457812741431|W|P|Open letter to the fashion industry|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com Stephanie|W|P|Oh sweet Jesus save us all. Unknown|W|P|I saw a woman wearing a pair with boots at the mall the other night! Ew. Stephanie|W|P|I saw ads for them a couple weeks ago, and every time? I complain to Matt about them."Gaucho pants look good on...no one."
Minnesota Nice|W|P|Hey I stopped by because I heard how cute and smart you are. And you are! I saw a pair of camoflage gaucho pants at the airport yesterday...with stilettos. "That's hot."I'm with ya on the Pat Robertson thing too, he's totally insane.
|W|P|OMG...WTF??? Umm, maybe someone who wears like a size 0 or a size 2 could pull that off (and no offense to those readers who are that size. I'm so jealous!) but NO NO NO!!! stodmyk|W|P|On a good note, this inspired me to go back and listen to Steely Dan's classic album, Gaucho. Hey Nineteen, Babylon Sisters... does it get any better?Always looking for a bright side,
Jason
|W|P|They were ugly when they were in fashion back in the late '80s, early '90s, and they're still ugly. All Things Jennifer|W|P|Ooooh. Don't mess with the poncho man. I love my ponchos.I caught the early side of the trend though.
Erinna|W|P|Heehee...I had no idea this post would generate so much response. I'm glad I'm not alone. :) ALL the high school girls are wearing these.The scrutiny intensified after Exxon Mobil, the world's biggest oil company, posted a profit of 9.92 billion dollars for the third quarter -- the biggest in US corporate history. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said the 29 major oil and gas firms in the Standard and Poor's 500 stock index are expected to earn 96 billion dollars this year -- up from 68 billion dollars last year and 43 billion dollars in 2003. "It's become perfectly clear that the big oil companies are cashing in while average American families are being bled dry," Schumer said. Schumer and other Democrats are pressing for legislation to tax the "excess" profits of oil firms to fund heating assistance programs, recovery from Hurricane Katrina and other programs.I was screaming at my radio. Ugh. I got my hair cut today...nothing crazy...but I just love Lynn at Papillon Salon so much. She always makes me look fabulous. Yes, I pay too much, but the fabulousness...|W|P|113174453082372603|W|P|Random things|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com
Unknown|W|P|How much do you pay? Does she color it, too? Is it "Alyssa Milano short" again?You like me. You really like me.;)|W|P|113174387782962066|W|P|I am truly honored...|W|P|27chronicles@gmail.com
LC Scotty|W|P|The pleasure is all mine. Well and my readers too of course. Both of them. Unknown|W|P|Maybe it was from drinking both tequila and vodka? Or is the whole "don't mix your liquor" thing just urban legend? At any rate, glad you're feeling better today. Hopefully it was just a fluke! :-O Erinna|W|P|I know people have warned me about mixing liquors, but it was more about getting sick (puke-sick), I think. That happened to me in college once, but I drank half a bottle of champagne and THEN drank several different types of liquor. Ugh. |W|P|I'm so sorry to hear it! I hope you're feeling much better today. |W|P|Remember that time Homer wanted to feel drunk without drinking alcohol and drove up a large hill to breathe the thinner air, and then... oh wait, that's TV again. Ben O.|W|P|Blog Writer Extraordinaire . . .Does that count?
Ben O.
|W|P|Wow...well, it's a tie between working at McDonald's and then Petsmart. But I guess McDonald's was the worst since I only lasted 3 days on the job. I worked at Petsmart for about 4 months. LC Scotty|W|P|let's see. I too have played the telemarketing game, but I was just out of the Navy and was looking to suplement my income with a part time job.But that was not the worst. Not by a long shot. The absolute worst was Vacuum Cleaner Salesman. Since it can be difficult to convince people that an MS in physics prepares you to do engineering, and no school districts around here were hiring, I was relagated to hawking $3500.00 vacuums. And yes, that's US dollars.
All Things Jennifer|W|P|I actually LIKED McDonalds. ;)Hmmm. Worse? Erin what was my worse job???
I hated working at the grocery store, TOPS.
I LOATHED AND DESPISED working at the Meadville Theater in college, that was the year of Pocohontas. I will never forget that damn *around the river bend* song 200 times a day.
But I feel like there has to be something WORSE...
Actually, the time I spent over tha last year or so that I had NO JOB was the worse job...
Andrew Ironwood|W|P|I spent the first 6 months out of college as a rural newpaper delivery person with about 100 customers. The hours weren't bad (2 hours a day 5 days a week, plus 4 hours on Mondays for the free weekly supplements), but the wear and tear on the car and the hand muscles (*you* try driving from the passenger seat with your left hand while folding 100 newpapers a day with your right) was a bit much...(Sometime not long before that, I also tried door-to-door sales for 2.5 days but discovered I had absolutely no tolerance for being yelled at by people angry at having their afternoon naptime interrupted...)
All Things Jennifer|W|P|Woo hoooooo!!! Unknown|W|P|Can you write it off on your taxes because you're a freelance writer? Stephanie|W|P|Woo! |W|P|I'm glad you listened to Thomas. |W|P|I'm also glad you listened to Thomas. |W|P|I'm glad you listened to Thomas too. |W|P|Aren't you glad you listened to Thomas? Erinna|W|P|Thank you, Thomas. ;) Stephanie|W|P|Ooh I'll read. I definietly want you to publish there again. Get that laptop!Anyway, I also have Good Omens, whic I've started like 4 times and could never get into. I like both authors so I don't know what the problem is. My current read is Pratchett's "Thud."
|W|P|I thoroughly enjoyed the "West Wing" live debate, too :). I admit I hadn't watched the show in quite some time, but I was fascinated by the new gimmick, so I checked it out. It was fun. |W|P|I'm watching Lost on my new iBook right now.The other day the FedEx guy dropped off a new iBook at my house instead of my neighbor's who ordered it.
whoo hoo! Free laptop!
stodmyk|W|P|The Crash Test Dummies, unfortunately, become less fun as time goes on. The Ghosts That Haunt Me is as good as it gets, God Shuffled His Feet is fair to middlin', and A Worm's Life has a few sparks but that's pretty much it. After that (although I haven't heard the new album, where all the original folks get back together, apparently), it's just Brad Roberts without any quality filters to keep him honest. Ever since he moved to New York (the whole band hails out of Winnipeg), CTD music has gone downhill faster than a lubed-up thing in a greasy place.
-Me|W|P|i *heart* CTD. Stephanie|W|P|I've done this one for my food blog! |W|P|"There's no possible way to describe it without totally giving away the whole plot." (http://missmita.blogspot.com/2003_05_01_missmita_archive.html#94577456)
Dave|W|P|Mine is frightfully boring:I thought I'd reward myself with a quick blog entry.
Snooze-snooze.
LC Scotty|W|P|Upon first reading this, I thought "Boy, get yourself to Denmark!", but then I realized the we have our own taxpayer funded whores right here. |W|P|ha! that was one of the specific songs banned at our wedding reception which was played anyway by the moron DJ |W|P|LOL...I never learned the electric slide, but I liked the song. Hee hee. Stephanie|W|P|Gak -- people still do the Electric Slide? I thought The Macarena cured that.This wedding reception... was it in a firehall by any chance? ;)
Erinna|W|P|Hey Debbie, I'll show you next time I see you...because this is important information to have. ;)SQ-teehee!
|W|P|wait, you taught your dance teacher the electric slide? hahahahi wonder if she's learned the achy breaky yet... or the macarena.
boogie woogie woogie!
Unknown|W|P|But can you do Napoleon Dynamite's dance? :-) Erinna|W|P|Sadly, no. I'm one of about 3 people on earth who saw Napoleon and didn't really like it. ;)
Unknown|W|P|Well, I didn't like it the first time I saw it. It took another viewing to begin to fully appreciate all the silliness!