Now Accepting Applications

Now accepting applications for a best friend who will go with me to the concert below. Apply within.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK LIVE IN CONCERT!
Saturday, 9/27/2008
Borgata Hotel and Casino Event Center
Atlantic City, NJ

Tickets on sale: 10 am, 5/17/08

What's the Word?

I thought about doing a 'Ten on Tuesday,' but today I feel bored with that. Maybe I just feel bored all over. I'm not actually sure that bored is the word I'm looking for... but I'm something. I just can't put my finger on it.

Well, first of all, I'm proud. I'm happy to report that I nailed my presentation this morning. Yep. I nailed it. I did a much better job that the presentation last week, and I felt comfortable and confident the entire time. It was great. I'm glad I could rise above my disappointment and just bring it. There's nothing like a good rebound (haha).

So bored isn't the right word. Maybe I'm anxious but wish I could feel lazy. Is there a word for that? What does that even mean? Who knows. I think I'm going to bed early tonight. And by 'early' I mean in 15 minutes. Yum.

I'm Tired but Determined

I have another work presentation tomorrow, and I am bound and determined to do a better job than I did last time. Presentations are my thing, and I'm good at them, but I didn't own the content on my last presentation and I was upset when I flubbed it a bit. This time around I created my PowerPoint from scratch instead of trying to use someone else's as a guide. I've rehearsed it so that it's smooth (at least when no one is asking questions), but I'll still be happy when noon comes around tomorrow and I can relax.

So I'm headed to bed. I have nothing of any degree of importance to say except to request that you send happy, supportive thoughts my way at 9 AM. I want to kick butt this time around. Time to step it up...

Lots Done/Lots To Do

The first phase of my deck is done. It's now 6 ft long, and the landlord is going to work on his mud room before he extends it another 6 or 7 feet. I am thrilled with the progress. Yesterday I laid out on the deck to get some rays for an hour or so. I got just a little sun, but it wasn't my intention to get a lot. I don't want to be burnt for the next week.

Of course, with phase one of the deck construction complete, my apartment needed a thorough cleaning. There was dust everywhere and sawdust even in the carpets. Yesterday I did a bulk of it, but there's plenty to do today and this week.

1. Wipe entire kitchen down - Done
2. Clean all utensils not in cupboards - Done
3. Swiffer floors and floor moldings - Done
4. Scrub floors - Done
5. Move planter back outside and set up - Done
6. Move furniture back to pre-construction locations - Done
7. Clean pet bowls - Done
8. Beat kitchen rug - Done
9. Wash bathroom rug - Done
10. Dust all surfaces in house - Done
11. Vacuum - Done
12. Laundry and put away - Done
13. Iron all work clothes/pants just washed - Done
14. Go through Snay's VHS tapes and pick out kid videos/parents videos to take home - Done
15. Clean cat box - Done
16. Collect trash - Done
17. Cook for lunches - Done
18. Work on PowerPoint for work meeting - Done... say a prayer for me on Tuesday
19. Go through clothes for sister - Done
20. Make music memory cards for niece and two nephews for new music players - Done
21. Launder sheets
22. Pack clothes for next weekend home (YAY!)
23. Email Ohio friends - Done
24. Clean out car - Done
25. Take heater to storage and get fan
26. Watch VHS Movies - In progress

I imagine I'll update this post a few times. Today is hard... although my allergies are better because of the rain, my right eyelid is twitching and my head hurts. What fun, right? Anyone up for a beer later? I'm too lazy to leave the city, though... so FYI.

I Still Can't Sleep

Stupid allergies. I've been suffering all week. I had a few work days in a row where sleep just didn't come, and even my few hours of drinking with Katie earlier didn't help with the sleep problem. My nose is stuffy, my sinuses are draining (no infection, relax), and the itchy throat situation is keeping me up coughing. Ugh. At least I have plenty of blog posts in Google Reader to keep me busy at 4 AM.

So Katie and I went to Bay Cafe for a fun meetup. We met new friends, and I chatted with an Armando Montelongo look-alike, as well as a fledgling 22 year old that looked and acted 30. I met two nice folks originally from Ohio (Katie says I find them wherever we go), and we ended the night with a final drink at Elliott's Pour House in Brewer's Hill. Overall it was an early night and I was asleep by 11:30. And now I'm awake. The sun will be up soon which will make it even harder for me to sleep. Allergies suck.

Calling All Bloggers!

(And ex-bloggers and blog readers...) JWER and I are hosting the next Blogger Happy Hour! In true blogger form, I am copying JWER's announcement word-for-word, with exception to a few changes that wouldn't make sense coming from me. Here we go...

The ever-awesome JWER and I are hosting the next Blogger Happy Hour on May Day, May 1st. And by "hosting", I mean "want an excuse to go drink".

This is the first Thursday in May, and we've chosen what we think is a "central" location - Dougherty's Pub in the Mount Vernon area. It is also a convenient stumble from JWER's house, which is (I assure you) completely coincidental. Behold:

Dougherty's Irish Pub
223 W Chase St
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 752-4059

We have met with the Baltimore Blogger Central Committee*, and it appears that this date works for at least enough people to make a respectable (disrespectful?) showing, so there you go.

* ie: JWER cut-n-pasted the email addresses only from people he likes.

Someone Fix This, Please

This I/O device error occurred when copying videos from a CD to my hard drive. Seven other videos copied without a problem off of the same CD, but this file won't copy. I tried copying this file from both of my installed DVD drives. Note: It will play off the CD.

I tried the fix online, but I don't care if it says it's for Vista - it isn't. The menus aren't the same. (For instance, there's no "Advanced" tab on either of the drives in Device Manager, so I can't change the transfer modes. Here's a screen shot of my two DVD drives.

I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit OS. Help?

Vericomcasticapsidolslyvania

My cable and DSL are out. "Out" as in a garbage truck took out both lines, and Verizon won't get out here until next Tuesday. "Out" as in my landlord spliced back into the broken Verizon line, in a McGuyver kind of way, and "out" as in we are hijacking (with approval) the neighbor's cable.

Fun. Especially when the Caps are in game 7, Tuesday is American Idol night, and today was the Pennsylvania Primary.

So. The Caps. F'n hell (sorry, Mom). But seriously. What a disappointment.

American Idol. American Idol was Andrew Lloyd Webber night. Um, coooool. Can you imagine singing one of his songs to him? Oh my. My favorites were David Archuleta (so bloody cute) and Carly Smithson (hot). Hands down. Castro was boring, David Cook butchered the song (my opinion), Syesha showed that she's in the wrong competition, and Brooke was just mediocre. Andrew Lloyd Webber's music is powerful. Even when it is light and lilting, it's powerful. My prediction for tomorrow's bottom three is Castro, Brooke, and Syesha. We'll see how I do.

Lastly... CLINTON WINS PENNSYLVANIA! WOO-HOO! There will be no upset, folks. Now it's just a matter of how much she won by. Right now... it looks like about 8% with 51% reporting. Oh, this will be a long, long night for me.

Glassblowing Is Back On

I FINALLY rescheduled my glassblowing class from November. Remember? I signed up and paid for a class, then I realized that the Thanksgiving Parade was on the same day. What a horrible mistake. I wanted to do both! Thankfully, the folks at Corradetti Glass allowed me to postpone my class and come back for a class this Spring.

So my two day glassblowing workshop will be May 17th & 18th. I'm a bit nervous because this is the weekend right before a major event I'm planning at work, but it was this weekend or the next - and the next is Memorial Day.

Anyone up to join? The cost is $385, but well worth the experience, I think! Only three more spots left in the workshops that weekend, so sign up now!!

There's Nothing Like the Smell of Wet Dog in the Morning...

And that's what we got! Antonio and I marched for the animals this morning with Jill, Rob and Rocky; Jess, Russ, beautiful Bella (see photo, right), Penny and Remy; and somewhere at the park was my friend Erin and her puppy. There were too many people and dogs to schedule things properly.

First, I'd like to report that Antonio made it the complete mile and a half without a problem. He wasn't interested in water at any of the water stops, and did his best to lead our pack through the throngs of people and pooches. (It's not like he's an alpha dog or anything.)





Second, I'd like to remind my readers that Antonio hates water. Hates as in despises. And because of this, you might find it funny that we finished the race in a torrential down pour. Yep. The skies opened up, and our group was deluged with water. I forced Antonio to walk for as long as I could, but once the lightening started up he was done. I picked up my dirty, wet dog and headed for the car. This photo is a bit blurry, but I think you can see just how wet he was by the time we found our car.



Third, I'd like to apologize to the driver I pissed off. I sat in a line of cars for over 25 minutes waiting for cars to let us out onto the street. When a car in front of me took an opportunity to get off of the grass and onto the street, I followed him. Yes, I thought it was clever for you to throw open your driver's side door to try to block my 3500 pound moving car, but I was already on a roll, and your door was not about to stop me. Yes, I heard you yell. Yes, I ignored you. I am sorry I angered you, but I assure you that I wasn't trying to be rude, I just realized that I had to be assertive if I was ever going to get out of that freakin' park.

Those points made, Antonio and I had so much fun, but we certainly got drenched - the kind of drenched where water is dripping off of your nose. Antonio rallied and did quite well given the conditions, but it's a major shame that we all didn't get to hang out longer together. I wanted my friends to meet each other, but it wasn't meant to be today.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR DONATIONS! I hope that Antonio and I pulled through for you and made you proud. In total, the event raised over $180k for the SPCA. That's incredible! You gave generously, and I sincerely appreciate the support.

And now for a few photos:

Penny in her SPCA scarf. (She's a Japanese Chin mix.) I tried to get a picture of her pretty face, but there was way too much going on for her to pay attention to me.

Jill, Rob, and Rocky (He's a jug - a jack russel/pug mix.)

Russ and Remy. (Remy is a boxer.) I didn't get a picture of Jess, but that's her on the right.

Rocky and Antonio marching together - what cute tooshies!

Rocky and Jill walking around the reservoir.

Deck Update

It's hard having someone in my apartment all day long (even if he's outside on the deck). I watched a lot of Oz, did laundry, cleaned as much as possible, and stayed out of the way. I have no idea where my day went.

Here is the status of the deck tonight.
The walls/ceiling have been finished with T1, molding has been put up, and the railing is complete.
I believe that the next steps are priming and painting, and then putting down the floorboards.

There probably won't be any progress for a few days because of the forecast of rain. That's unfortunate, but I must admit that something in me desperately wants to DUST my whole apartment and have it last more than 24 hours. And no, I'm not OCD or anything.

Eight Straight Hours

Wow. I am shocked and amazed that I feel fine this morning. I started out last night at happy hour in Hunt Valley, went home and let out the dog, and headed straight for Canton. I drank for about eight hours - that's UNREAL for me. And surprisingly I woke up this morning just the tiniest bit thirsty, but sans headache. Lovely.

So last night a group of coworkers and I went to Walts Inn. I know. My last post about Walts Inn was quite negative, but after a manager posted a friendly comment asking me to give Walts another shot, I was happy to oblige. And it was actually a lot better. There was a familiar face behind the karaoke machine - a girl who's name escapes me but has karaoked before - and the bartenders were (as always) very nice. The KJ who I was unhappy with last time was there, too, and he took over later in the night; but he was much more professional and responsible this time around. All-in-all it was leaps and bounds better.

Of course, later in the night it got unbearably crowded, but that's just what happens at Walts. The overflow from Canton Square starts around 11 PM, and usually (last night included) it gets super packed. Luckily, I was a number of drinks down by then. :)

Updates...

The landlord is building the deck at this width so that he can finish the walls, floor, etc. Looks neat, doesn't it? I've been half expecting to come home some time this week and see an entire deck built in a day, but I can see why it takes so long as I watch his progress day-to-day.

In other news, I am participating in March for the Animals on Sunday at Druid Hill. It's a huge event and fundraiser that raises money for the Maryland SPCA. Antonio and I will be walking, and hopefully this year he won't get heatstroke and I won't get sunburned. (Please oh please oh please...)

If you would like to walk with us, click here to join our pack. We have a staggering TWELVE pack members! That's excellent!

If you would like to donate to our cause, please click here to donate. Anything is appreciated, and nothing is required. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Belly Ache

My stomach is very tight. What did I eat? Certainly not dinner, that's for sure... but it's been tight for a few hours now. I had cheddar goldfish this afternoon.... I don't think that's it. I did have a lean pocket for lunch - do you think? I've certainly seen this video about lean pockets before, but I've always done okay with them without complications. Ugh. I guess time will tell.

I stayed late at work today (oh, and the review went very well, so thanks for asking!), then I went out for a drink and came home a lot later than I usually like. I've been home for a few hours now, but I can already feel bed creeping up on me. I like bed. And sheets. And blankets. And sleeping. Yep, I do.

What? How's the deck coming? Check out these pics!

The ceiling and walls are framed in. T1 will go up here to close it in and clean it up. These new walls will also be much sturdier to support the handrails.




This is the beginning of the railing - but only 6 feet out. My landlord is steadying up the railing here while he works on the framing (for safety). Then when he extends the deck out an additional 6 or 7 feet, he'll just detach and reattach the railing to the extended part of the deck.




A shotty photo of the railing straight on.






With only a few more days of sun left, I don't think the deck will be functional by this weekend... but it's coming along very quickly, isn't it?

Ten on Tuesday

1. My floors are dirty. Dirty from the work the landlord is doing. I'll live, I know. But it's really driving me buggy.
2. But... beer is delicious.
3. I had a dentist appointment last week for a regular cleaning - all is well. But I'm trying to begin a strict regime of brushing and flossing before bed. Ugh. Flossing. I admit I'm a bad flosser, but I've flossed everyday since my cleaning. Here's to keeping the faith.
4. Speaking of faith - how crazy is this polygamy raid? I mean, not that we don't know it happens... of course we do. But it's damn inspiring to watch the government do something about it, isn't it? This is going to take a long time to play out, and I know I'll be very interested to see what happens.
5. Oh. I have my annual review tomorrow. The magic 8 ball says "all signs point to yes." I wish I knew what the question was.
6. OMG. Cindy made me the cutest purse. The lighting in my apartment stinks right now, so here's the photo she took. Do you LOVE it or what? THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, CINDY!!
7. I might have to heart David Cook on American Idol. I got nervous when I heard he was going to sing "Always Be My Baby," by Mariah, but it was pretty fierce, wasn't it? Wow.
8. The Caps. Are losing. I don't think my prayers and candle lighting made any difference. Dammit.
9. I haven't eaten yet... and my head hurts. I bet those two things are related. But I want me some nachos... and I don't have nachos here.
10.What? You want an update on my deck? Okay!!

This is of the new support across the roof (the newer wood). My landlord says that this middle post will be taken down once he "tresses" the roof. Uh huh. Okay.



He also started framing out the balcony. This shows the framed wood over the drainage system, as well as some of the first floorboards (on the side/corner).

Slowly but surely...

I Am Only Four Degrees From Bret Michaels

Why? Because I read Diana's blog... and Diana is friends with Ambre who (in fact) is STILL DATING Bret Michaels. Damn. I think my day just got better. I feel sorta famous like. Sweet.

What a Monday

Seriously. I'm tired. After dreaming about scary men chasing me on a cruise ship last night (don't ask) and running late this morning, my day didn't get much better. I don't know why it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day lately. Ever since I returned from Vegas I'm just stretched. There's so so much to do.

After work I had errands, including picking up Elliott's meds. I asked the vet if I could get the generic brand of Tapazole, methimazole, and 30 pills only cost me $22.99. It's not a HUGE savings, but I'll take it. I need another few weeks to get his dosage back to normal anyway. I was running low and switched him to a half a pill a day rather than 3/4 of a pill. Now I have to go back to the larger dose so that we can get another blood test.

So I know that this post has been thrilling so far, so I'll close with an update on the deck. Of course it was dark when Antonio and I went for a walk so I couldn't get a good shot from the yard, but I took these from my back door.

The form stone on my balcony has been primed/painted...









... and the roofing material had been laid.






The wood decking will cover the roofing material and will run-off into this drainage system.

Are you excited yet?

I Forgot to Mention...

...that my landlord is building me a deck!! Yep. That's right... and it may be done within the week. I'll post photos as he progresses, but my small one bedroom apartment will soon have some outside living space! I'm so excited!

So here's a pic the back of my house Sunday afternoon. The balcony up top is my apartment. What you can't tell is that the whole left side of the first floor has just been built-out. He did that in one week. In addition, the roof line above the first floor has been built out, roofed with shingles, and a drainage system has been added so that when the deck is built above it, the water will run off properly.

Sometime with the next few weeks, my landlord is also going to reframe and paint the walls and ceiling of the balcony and the whole back of the house will be a taupe-like color, darker than the primer that he has on the first floor. The upper deck will come out from the balcony plus an additional 6 or 7 feet. And after the deck it done, my landlord is going to build another deck underneath for him with enough room for his car to be parked beneath. Incredible!

I can't wait!!

The End of Rock of Love 2

He chose AMBRE! Yeeesssss!

My New FreeAgentPro

Before...


During...




After...

Happy Birthday, Jill!

Jill has turned 28. Thankfully, I don't feel as old as I did this time last year (when she was 27 and I was turning 30). I feel like she's finally approaching my old age (sorry, love), and I admit that there's something very comforting about that. Tonight, a whole big group of us met up at Max's in Fells Point for some birthday drinking and socializing. The girls had a round of pineapple upside-down cake shots (yum!), and the boys drank lots of international beers (which is why boys tend to flock to Max's in droves in the first place, right?). For the record, the boys in Max's easily outnumbered the girls... maybe 3 to 1... but maybe even more.

All-in-all, it was a fun way to celebrate my BFF's birthday (if you exclude the face punching I almost received - long story). All of Jill's family turned out, and since I am an honorary member of her family, it was almost as good as having my own family around. They're just great people. :)

Well... I'm off to bed, but here are some photos for your viewing pleasure...

Me, J, Jill and J - again, I am blessed to be an honorary member of this family. They are the best.

One of my favorite couples - Happy Birthday, Jill!

Proof of Life

Darn it. I wanted to sleep in really late today, but I woke up at 5 AM and again at 9:30. I'm awake at this point, and even if I wanted to go back to sleep, I wouldn't be able to - it's too hot in my apartment.

Anyway, last night I went out for a coworkers birthday and had a really good time. I planned on being home a lot earlier, but people kept handing me coronas, so I stayed... and stayed... and stayed. All that staying has made my head a bit fuzzy this morning, but some water and potato sticks should remedy that in due time.

I'm headed to the couch for hours of mindless tv watching, but for your enjoyment and the return of my former picture-posting self... some snapshots from the evening.

Joe and I - I'm still not sure if I like this one. Don't I look ridiculous?

Nick and I - I forget how short I am until I see pictures like this one. (Who is that guy?)

Dea, Joe, Nick and myself - what a silly, drinking group shot.

And yes, mom - I'm alive. I know I haven't posted in a few days, so please use this photo as proof of life.

Ghost Hunters: Ohio

OHIO! Ghost Hunters tonight took place at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. I've been on that base a number of times for tours and such, and once for an overnight stay when I went down to their museum for a few days. It's a show-base - very pretty - and it has all of the bells and whistles that a fancy base has, including shopping, bars, bowling alleys, movie theatres, etc.

So Ghost Hunters investigated (at the Air Force's request, no less) Building 70 and the Arnold House. It was so very cool. At one point, the investigators had direct answer-response interaction with whatever was there with them. It's all on the show (which is on again in five minutes, by the way). Go catch it and let me know what you think.

Here's the press release.

And here's a clip...

I Love Statistics

HT: CB

Sickly: Day Two

My nose won't stop running. And my head hurts. Ugh. My throat and ears feel better, but I'm still about to plug in the vaporizer and hang my head over it for a few hours. I hate, I hate, I hate being sick.

On the bright side, I made a delicious dinner. Penne pasta with zucchini, squash, tomatoes, garlic and turkey sausage. Yum. Light and very healthy. And plenty left over for lunches. Relief.

It's Official

I'm sick.

My throat hurts. My ears hurt. And I won't tell you about the snot. My body feels fine, but I definitely have a sinus infection. Dammit. I guess it's time to up the Vitamin C and healthy foods (good thing I went shopping yesterday).

So here's to hoping I can feel better by tomorrow. I haven't been in the office for a week, and I hate taking days off. Please, oh please, oh please...

Orioles Baseball

It was such a nice night, and even better because the Orioles won against the Mariners. And, of course, I always have fun with my friend, CJ. Doesn't she look so smart with her glasses?

Back to Life

My throat is sore this morning. I'm hoping it's travel symptoms, and not so much actual sickness. I'm going to start off with honey in my tea and see if that relieves it. I have a lot I want to get done this weekend, and being sick doesn't really fit into those plans.

1. Grocery shopping - done
2. Laundry - done
3. Vacuum - done
4. Clean sheets - done
5. Do taxes - done
6. Be lazy some more - done
7. Go to Orioles game - done
8. Watch more OZ episodes (I'm on season 1, episode 8.) - in progress
9. Take Antonio for walk - done (TWICE!)
10. Cook - done
11. Complete my self-assessment - done
12. Go through my emails - done
13. Go through my trade show notes - done
14. Get oil and wiperblades changed - done

As an aside, what the heck is with all of the sirens? I slept with my window cracked open last night, and there were police or fire sirens all night long. Did something huge happen that isn't showing on WBAL?

"Home"

This is what I'm listening to. Yes, I made it home, and I've been sleeping for hours. There's nothing better than sleeping in your own bed with your own dog and cat. Nothing.

by Michael Buble

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home

May be surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky, I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
'Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home

"Oh How I Wish It Would Rain Down..."

Good morning (or afternoon to you east coast folks)! Last night our event was at Rain Nightclub, a posh club in the Palms. It was very cool inside, with waterfall walls and fire displays above our heads on the dance floor. Because it was a private event, part of the pool area was also accessible, and the pool is an infinity pool, where the water level is even with the concrete pool area around it. It was really super nice. I drank red wine, and somehow managed not to go overboard - I think I only had 3 or 4 glasses all night with a number of glasses of water - so this morning I'm feeling fine. Thank God, too, because as you know, Charissa and hangovers don't get along so well.

I wish I would have taken more photos, but I did get one of S, Katie, and me. Here we are with some mysterious rabbit ears behind us. After our event ended, we headed back to the hotel intending to hit up Studio 54, but the group kind of dispersed along the way. I hung out in the hotel bar for another 30 minutes, then finally decided to go to bed. I have a full morning of work and a full afternoon at the trade show today, so I'm so glad that I didn't stay up any later.

Ah.... Vegas

I am awake and moderately rested this morning. Yesterday I was up for 21 hours straight with exception to some short nap-like stints on the plane out here. My throat feels a little sore today, which I'm hoping is just from the time change, travel, etc.

Today I have a slew of meetings, so hopefully the day will go by quickly. There's a big event tonight I am looking forward to at Rain nightclub. I still don't see myself partying all night long, but at least I'll have 7 or 8 hours of sleep under my belt to help me get through it. Here's a photo of the pretty day that was yesterday. At least the weather is nice...

Oh No

I am so very tired and heading to Vegas today. I've had 4 hours of restless sleep, and my day will be at least 21 hours long. I hope to God I can sleep on the plane - please, oh please.

See you all in Vegas...