Wax On, Wax Off

Things I miss

- the sun

- death drops and cherry bombs

- Speed Skate, Couples Skate, Limbo, and Late Skate

- cruising main

- getting called in from playing when it's dark out

- Quincy (the TV show)

- Banana seats, baskets and reflectors

- leg warmers

- my mom's cooking

- my grampa

- snow days

- book-mobiles

- sock hops

- 120 Minutes

- 1980's Saturday morning cartoons

- Night Flight

X's

X's - what can you say about them?

There are some I like, others not so much.

I like the band X.

I like some X-rated movies.

I like XXX Siglo Treinta Tequila.

Some X's show up out of the blue and when that happens, sometimes it's difficult to determine whether you are pleased, bothered, or indifferent.

An X of mine sent me an email last night, with a very nice apology attached.

Nice, right?

Well, it was, but kind of weird also. I haven't seen this X in a good, long while, and things did not go well during the break up.

I'm guessing he is going through some sort of "reach out and make amends" type of life crises, and if that's the case, I'm all for it.

I accepted the apology, but did not inquire as to how he was doing, but did wish him well.

Why didn't I invite him back into my life or open up the lines of communication?

I've concluded that there are people I've know in my life that I've known for a reason - and it's not a life-long reason. Our friendship/relationship served it's purpose, and we're better off at this point recalling the good times but not making any new ones.

There are also times in my life at which I've not been at my best, and certain people I've known during that time I cannot remain friends with, because they remind me of my shortcomings/faults/mistakes/digressions. And also, because they stood by and watched me in my chaos and didn't reach out to help or offer advice. I guess I can't really call these people friends, as a friend would help pull your head out of your ass during these times.

And I know this because I have friends who have had the distinct honor of pulling my head out of my ass.

So, X's are called that for a reason - if they could transition to a "friend" than they would be called just that.

Perfect night

I watched "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" last night.

I have watched this movie every year since I was maybe 5 years old.

Never gets old.

I need a ghost hunter

I am a believer in ghosts. There are weird things that happen every once in awhile that I can't explain - weird noises, whispering, a shadow, my dog looking at the wall inquisitively. I get weirded out when they happen, but don't dwell on the situations.

Monday night/Tuesday morning must have been some kind of spirit uprising, because three people in my family (including me) had unexplainable things happen to them.

I woke up at 11:48 pm on Monday night to some very strange sounds. Whooshing of sorts, but they weren't from any traffic or the weather - they were in my room only. So I laid there for a minute, listening intently to these very unique sounds which only lasted for 10 seconds, and looked around for my dog. He wasn't on the bed, or even in the room. This is a very strange occurance - Oliver NEVER leaves the bedroom at night. So I called loudly for him, several times, and he didn't come to the bedroom. So I got up, and walked out to the hallway which was lit by a nightlight. The ambience in the room was perfect for a ghostly encounter.

So I stood in the hallway and called his name.

Nothing.

I went into the dark front room (Living room, dining room, kitchen), and turned on the light. Oliver was in the middle of the kitchen, sitting there. Doing nothing. Too weird.

So my brother called me the next morning and said that he had something very strange happen to him in the middle of the night. I told him that I had a creepy encounter as well, and told him my story. He went on to say that at 3:30 am, he was woken up by a HUGE bang that came from inside the house. His dog got up also, who sleeps through anything. So, he has an alarm system, which was on. He turned it off and left his bedroom to investigate.

Nothing.

My first through was that a deer may have accidently hit the house. He walked around the house after work and didn't see anything amiss.

THEN, I talked to my aunt, who told me that on Tuesday, she noticed that there was light coming from her daughter's room. Her daughter is married and hasn't lived in the house for years, and neither my aunt nor uncle have cause to go into their daughter's room. She went in and the two lamps, one on either side of the bed, were on. They are touch lamps, each plugged into separate outlets, and each were turned up to the THIRD SETTING.

So, three creepy occurances, all within 24 hours of each other, from members of the same family.

I guess we are a spooky family. Or spooks like us.

Makes life interesting, that is for sure.

Talk is cheap

So I get a call this afternoon, and I was thinking it was one of the tox docs returning my call to set up the interview for the new blog. Nope, it was someone calling from my bank who wanted to discuss a new Identity Theft program they have and if I would like to join. And it was from a 314 area code number.

Right. My bank NEVER calls me. I get emails and snail mail, never a phone call.

So my guard is immediately up.

I tell the caller that I would like to join, but feel more comfortable dropping into my brand to talk to a representative face to face. The caller says that's fine, wished me a good day and hangs up.

I immediately call my bank and tell them the story. They confirm that they are calling their customers about the new service. I ask if they were sending out mail or email - they said they sent out mail.

I didn't get the mailing - if I had, I wouldn't have been so suspicious.

However, this really irks me. I feel like they are getting desperate to resort to calling their customers, especially when it's about IDENTITY THEFT. And they are taking up my minutes.

They send me emails all the time. I also receive mail every once in awhile. Both forms of communication are traceable and verifiable and more than fine with me. I rarely give out any personal information via phone, unless I've made the call and confirm it's the right destination.

I am less than pleased with my bank at the moment - the reason I chose this bank years and years ago was that it didn't go through a buyout. I bank at another institution (got a giftcard for signing up through my former employer) and might consider consolidating my accounts into one - probably the latter and not the former.

Could not resist

I love my dog more than, well, pretty much anything. He is an amazing little being, and I cannot imagine my life without him, or how I existed before him.

So, I saw this video during a search this morning and thought I would post it for anyone out there thinking of adopting a pet.

It doesn't matter if you don't have a yard, or work 10 hours a day. They won't mind. What they will mind, however, is living in a cage 23 1/2 hours a day, waiting to die.

Suhprise Suhprise Suhprise!

So, I got up extra early today so that I could use the gym downstairs and lift so that when I got to my Y, I could just spin and come home.

I got up at 4:15, dressed for the gym, hooked up the pooch and walked him to the elevator. Huh - the elevator was already in use. Wierd. It was so early, I didn't think anyone got up at that time but me.

Oh well, whatever. So I wait for the elevator to pass my floor and go up to 6, whoever was on it got off at their stop, and then the elevator came back down to me on 5.

OMGIATU.

As the elevator doors opened, the smell hit me first. And it hit Oliver also, because he would NOT go into the elevator, I had to pick him up and hold him (which I would have done because of what was on the floor).

Two rather large STEAMING piles of poo.

Dog poo. (I think)

Seriously.

So I help my breath the 5 floors it took to get to the lobby, ran out, pottied the boy, and got back into the shitbox for a quick ride up to my floor.

I then, fed the boy, and left about 2 minutes later to hit the gym.

The poo was still there.

Really? I mean, come on.

So I go down to the gym, work out, and head out to my car at 5:00 so that I can make it to spinning.

I get back from the gym at 6:30.

Yup. It's still a poo factory in the elevator.

WTH.

So I go upstairs, get ready for work, and take the boy out one last time.

The poo is now gone, but it still stinks. I don't believe the culprit's owner(s) did anything but pick it up - no dissinfecting, nothing to mask the smell.

I ran into the maintenance man who was just getting to work and let him know about the situation. After running Oliver up to the loft and taking my final trip down in the elevator, I noticed the nice fragrance of Mr. Clean.

Thank you, Maintenance Man.

And to the owner's of the dog who couldn't hold it (and I know who they are, there are not many people in my building and only one resident on 6 who owns a dog), I say...

...karma is a bitch.

Weekend in review

It was a busy weekend. Fun? Some of it.

If you read my former post, you'll know that I went to see "Paranormal Activity" on Friday night. Very decent. Wings and frosty beverages post-movie made it easier to sleep.

Saturday I woke up super crabby. No, it's not PMS per se, more like a 24-hour bug. I am super pissy for about a day - I don't want to see anyone, or talk to anyone, and god help you if you get in my way on that day. So I had some plans that day and could not back out (they were my plans) so I sucked it up as best I could and plowed through.

Went to the Boathouse for some wine, fire, and photos.

Then went out to my grammy's house for spider duty (thankfully all but three very large ones that resemble the Empire Strikes Back Walkers and felt the doom of my shoe soles).

Returned to Starbucks to exchance my crap in a cup for the Chai Tea Latte that I had originally ordered. They were nice about it but damn, can't a girl catch a break?

Stopped off to run a couple errands in the county as the city has little to offer in the ways of actual stores.

Got home, exhauseted and sick of seeing people, and settled in to my cozy home. Lit some candles, set up my DVR to record some spook shows, and got a call to meet friends down at El Borracho. Shit. Well, it's around the corner from my house, how could I say no? It ended up being fun because I was drinking the best margarita's in a 6 block radius from my house and the music was loud and fiesty.

Sunday my brother came over and we walked the 15 blocks to the dome to see the Rams suck it. We left in the first part of the 4th quarter to hightail it over to Thips for some Thai food, then went Walmarting and headed back to the crib.

Sunday night was delicious - all coziness and comfort, a nice end to a 50/50 weekend.

Monday morning was a completely different story...stay tuned...

Movie Review

Paranormal Activity

Rating: Worth It

This has been hyped as the "scariest movie ever made". I wouldn't call it that, but I would definitely call it frightening.

I went to see it last night, after I had accidentally read the ending on a review blog. I thought I had prepared myself sufficiently to get through it.

Um, nope.

There were a couple scenes that I had to turn my head away because I knew if I watched them, I would not sleep.

The other theater-goers were scared also - lots of shrieks and nervous laughter. That made the experience all the more fun. Plus, people left the movie halfway through - it was hard to take sometimes.

I did find that watching with your eyes squinted and your fingers in your ears muting the sound was an effective way of dealing with all the boos.

Because it's filmed with a hand-help and told from POV it's constantly compared to the Blair Witch project. I do not stand by that comparison. Have you ever watched those shows on TV where ghost hunters leave a camera on for hours, and then they catch spooky stuff happening that's unexplainable? Well, this is what happens in the movie. And it's pretty good shit.

That said, I am going to now tell you about some of the scariest scenes in case you want to see the movie but don't want to "protect" yourself from a sleepless night.

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1. The Ouija Board - this scene is scary because no one is in the house when it starts to go bonkers. And then catches on fire. The entire theater screamed at this one.

2. Katie standing by the bed looking at her boyfriend for over an hour in the middle of the night. It's just damn creepy, and happens more than once. Because you get to thinking at this point, is it Katie or some demon?

3. Katie being pulled out of bed, legs first, by an invisible force and dragged out of the bedroom. It's one of the weirdest and creepiest things I've ever seen - I think what makes it so creepy is that it looks REAL.

4. The ending - since I had already read about this, I decided not to watch it. Good thing - again, the entire theater jumped out of their pants.

SPOILER ALERT! ALTERNATE ENDING BELOW!!!

Burnt out

Trying not to dwell on things, but I think I am in the middle of a burnout.

My classes this semester aren't more taxing than previous semesters. This summer really sucked a lot of joy out of school for me - the 5 hour long classes, intense.

I'm sure it's not just school - there are other factors in my life that are causing stress, and while I know they are out of my control, that doesn't stop me from worrying about people that I love.

So I guess it's finding that balance I had earlier this year, letting some things go, and remembering the good, on an hourly basis.

Wow, what a blah entry. I'll try to make my next post fun.

Spooky Stuff

It's that time of year - my favorite time of year. Fall, leaves, wine...and spookfesty stuff.

This blog that I follow listed the 7 horror movie themes, and it reminded me of an interested trailer for "House Of The Devil" I saw this morning while shoveling down my Wheaties. Initially, it reminded me of a Dario Argento movie I saw, it looks to possess the same witchy-devil-cultish feel to it. It's supposed to take place in the 80's, and I'm guessing the creator is reaching back to that nostalgic feel of that time, when special effects weren't great but the storyline and characters were.

I'm hoping they pull it off - Rob Zombie succeeded (in my opinion) with the Halloween remakes.

Still undecided about seeing Paranormal Activity this Friday...maybe too spooky, even for me.

Check out "House Of The Devil". I will be there opening night.

Dilemmas, whine poetic, happenstance

Just some random thoughts, leaning towards the non-positive or neutral arena:

- I like my long hair, unless I have to dry it. Then it becomes the mane/bane of my existence. Big whine. Cut it off, you say - right....

- The Rams suck, but I'm still waiting to hear about whether I have tickets to this Sunday's game. Yes, I want to go - even though they'll probably lose, there's nothing like watching sports live. Whine.

- This weekend is my OFFICIAL FUN FALL WEEKEND. This includes the winery, photography, pumpkin picking and football (see item #2). This weekend is the last really outdoor-fun weekend until after the holidays because of non-fun commitments and really cold weather, and is also a celebration of me kicking ass on my midterms. However, I think I feel a cold coming on. There might be a dilemma in the making...

- Since I have somewhat perfected the art of sleeping in on Sundays, this makes Mondays and Tuesdays very difficult. I am not sure what the remedy is here - it's really putting a damper on my a.m. workouts...give up a little slice of heaven, or fight through the blur. Substantial dilemma.

- I like bananas. And I like coconut. But when you put them together in a drink it tastes like suntan lotion. Not really a dilemma, more of a whine.
Plus, the packaging is inviting, making it difficult not to partake.

- I heard the nastiest rumor - Lou Reed may be retiring from playing out live. Since seeing him live is #2 on my dirtnap list, this is a great dilemma.

- I am supposed to see "Paranormal Activity" on Friday night. This movie looks realistically scary. My dilemma? Reschedule for a matinee? When I see a scary movie during the afternoon I enjoy it just as much as if I'd seen it at night, and by the time night rolls around I'm not really scared anymore.

- I was listening to messages on my iPhone, miss-tapped and accidentally called a friend from my address book. When I realized my mistake I believe he had picked up already but I was too slow to stop myself from hanging up. He called back immediately, I apologized, he laughed, and we had a nice quick talk. Since he was just catching a flight back to St. Louis, we will officially catch up tonight. Random happenstance, in the best way.


Enjoy...

Forgiveness

Forgiveness can be a powerful thing.

It can provide relief, a way out, hope for a better life.

Forgiveness is kindness. Forgiveness is empowering. Forgiveness is humbling.

Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness - it's the ultimate strength. To forgive someone their shortcomings, their faults, their dishonorable acts is to say that you understand human frailty, and that you won't let it keep you down.

It can also provide the forgiver with a path back to love. Whether it's with the person they are forgiving or with someone new, it lays out a clear and freeing way towards a better day.

It's a terrible thing to be wronged by someone. It makes you question your judgement, your worth. Being wronged was usually not done on purpose - it's a crack in the other person's character, and has everything to do with them and nothing to do with you. But in those hellish hours and days of pain, you can't see past the hurt to realize it's them and not you.

At first you want to hurt back - make them pay. That's a natural reaction, and not entirely a bad one. It's part of the healing process. But dwelling here isn't good for anyone. Keep going, and get this stage behind you.

To move forward with a positive mindset is the result of forgiveness. To open yourself up to the good is the result of forgiveness.

To be able to forgive someone who has wronged you is difficult - it tests your resolve. It's an admittance that you put trust in an individual, in people, and that trust was broken, but that you will be open to trust again.

Forgiveness is the first step in moving on and moving forward.

Forgiveness is a good thing, if you can get there.

Weekend

This weekend - fun fun fun.

Movie with my bruder tonight. Soulard & Tower Grove farmer's marketing, a pot'o'chili for lunch with friends, then on to a blogging seminar and fashion event on Saturday.

Sunday? As always, reserved for studying, spinning and football. Oh, and that luscious, heavenly sleeping in.

I am always upgrading my bed to make sure it's a toasty and cuddle-worthy. I now own the fluffiest pillows known to man. And they are covered in flannel.

Beat that!

We interrupt this program...

My midterm went swimmingly, but my presentation hit a speedbump.

I was on a roll. Doing well. I was feeling pretty darn good, considering I had written the three page presentation and prepared in less than 2 hours (because I plum forgot).

And then....my prof interrupts me.

I answered her question, but COULD NOT recover.

What the dell?

I am not bad at presentations - I just don't like them. But this was a new development - not being able to pick up where I left off.

I guess the interruption was so jarring, it rattled my brain but good. Enough to make me lose my place, and skip DIRECTLY to the conclusion.

I walked back to my seat and proceeded to beat myself up (and my prof a bit) in my head for the next hour.

I guess it showed on my face, because my professor came over after class and apologized and told me what a great presentation it was. She interrupted me because she had missed something I said earlier about the psychosocial level, and she needed that information in order to grade the rest of the presentation.

It happens. I felt a little better after the apology, but not much. Actually cried tears of frustration all the way home.

I woke up at 11:30 last night to my phone dinging me, telling me I had an email. I checked it out, and it was another apology from my professor. Not needed at this point, but it was nice to get.

I feel better today, but at some point I need to review how I got so discombobulated and figure out a way to prevent that from happening again.

Rockin the 80's 'do

I remember feathered hair.

It was so much fun to do.

Flip back the brush while you were blowdrying. Achieve the perfect "feathered" look.

Spritz. Shake. Hold. Done.

Midterm purgatory

This is where I live at the moment.

Yes, it's by choice. And yes, I'm glad I have the opportunity to further my education.

But I just want to lay in my toasty bed of flannel sheets (thanks again mom), fluffy pillows and fantastic down comforter and watch a movie - preferably something spooky/funny, such as Evil Dead 2 or Horror House (one of the worst British 1960's horror movies ever made...so bad it's good).

But, I cannot partake in the loveliness that is my bed, as I am relegated to this computer until my essays are completed.

However, I will be a happy girl come Monday at 10:00, as this will end my stay in purgatory and I can move on to preparing for my weekend of wine, woodland creatures and win-free Rams.

Oh, and of late, I have embraced the art of sleeping in. I am getting really, really good at it. Double-digit good. I figure I deserve lazy Sunday mornings, especially after getting up at 4:30 a.m. during the week.

Word to ya mother.

Tude

Yo beeches...I'm back.

Have been so bogged down as of late, but that's not really a viable excuse for not writing. I've found time to see some good movies, some really bad movies, and some really, really good bad movies. And shop. And hang with friends. And check out new music.

So, I've basically been a slagger (blog slacker).

That said, here are a few morsels to get me going again.

- went shopping last weekend with my friend Cin. We started off by having lunch at Cooperella in Maplewood (delish), and then hit up a few boutiques on the main Manchester drag. We spent a good 10 minutes perusing the jewelry section of a tiny little shop (no, not Femme, but close). I found a little necklace that was Cin's style, she loved it, and even better, loved the price tag ($4). Now, most of the jewelry was around $35-$75, but there were some clearance items so we had every right to assume that the necklace was priced correctly.

Sadly this was not the case, as we found out when Cin was checking out.

But what was even more sad was the ATTITUDE (capitalized because it was total 'tude) that was spewed in Cin's direction when she went to pay for the necklace. The exchange goes something like this...

Stuck-up Shop Owner (SUSO): "Are you ready to go?"

Cin: "Yes, I'll take this."

SUSO: "Alright." (Takes the necklace, fumbles around for the price tag, keys it in, looks puzzled. Frowns.)

SUSO: "Honey? Can you come over here for a minute? Something doesn't look right." (She calls over her daughter, who works at/owns the store...daughter walks over, stares at the tag)

Daughter of SUSO (DOSUSO): "Oh, I marked it wrong. Ha ha." (ditz)

SUSO: (Turning to my friend Cin) "You do know this is $40, right? Nothing from this designer would ever sell below $40." (SAID WITH COMPLETE ATTITUDE)

Cin: "Um, know, I didn't know it was $40, because it's marked as $4."

SUSO: "Well, would you still like it?"

Cin: "Well, no. Not if it's $40."

In my opinion, they should have cut her a deal. The necklace wasn't expert craftmanship, it was more kitchsy than anything - not worth $40 in my opinion. But to speak to Cin like that, as if she should have KNOWN that it was $40. Seriously. I will not be shopping there again.

I am surprised they are still in business. I was in the shop 3 weeks ago with a different friend, and I didn't see that much inventory had moved since then.

Concerts of interest

Jim Rose/Revolting Cocks - Firebird tonight: Get up close and personal at this cozy venue

Neko Case - Pageant 11/5: Songbird, sing to me

Son Volt - Pageant 11/6: Takes me back to my college years

Rob Zombie - Pageant 11/15: Love his movies, like his music

Headlights - Firebird 11/21: Nice little pop outfit, they rocked it at Pygmalion

Swell Season - Pageant 12/4: Once, I would like to see Glenn Hansard play live

Time does fly

The last two weeks were very eventful. Some key items include:

- I accepted a job offer which had been in the works for some time, and I'm still pinching myself. I won't really believe it until I sit down at my new desk.

- I went apple picking for the first time. Loads of juicy fun.

- this PhD process is looming...I need to get on the ball.

- back to spinning. Oh, how I've missed ya.

I haven't made time to write lately since the weather has been so spectacular. I am in love with life in October. Went to the Shaw Art Fair this weekend, got inspired. Took more photos outdoors - the leaves are getting there, not quite yet, but in two weeks all will be right in my world.

Camping is tentatively on the agenda for next weekend, followed by the annual winery trip, and then Halloween. Seattle in November - cannot wait for that trip.

Life is good.