This is a little treat for everyone. After eating your murdered turkey, check out a much happier turkey!

It’s a video.

GOBBLE GOBBLE!

*sorry, i had the link wrong!!!

I have a new favorite restaurant. It’s called Thaiphoon. It’s so damn good. When I was in highschool, I worked at a place for a while called The Lemon Grass Room. The food was amazing. It seems, that since eating there, I haven’t experienced Thai food quite like that. Well Thaiphoon is as good. I met Toby there last night. We went once before and were ignored at the table, so we left. This time, however, everything worked out well. Toby was amazed and quite pleased by the size of the hot peppers they put in his meal. I ordered a green curry dish with tofu. So good. Makes me wonder why anyone would want to eat meat. :] Anway… Yesterday I ordered two tickets through work to see SUPERDOGS! in January. SUPERDOGS! is a show about super dogs. I guess they do tricks and run around, they dress up and dance and sing. Maybe they fly through flaming hoops, who knows. I can’t hardly wait. I also picked up this book from Olsons. It’s back to non-fiction as I don’t think anything can top Middlesex right now. I’ll ease my way back to fiction soon enough. :] More in a few. I need some tea.

I found some of the images from last January. Our trip to Mystic. (I may have posted these before, but screw it. Here they are again. hehe).

I didn’t buy or look at the Volvo this weekend due to not having a ride and not having the cash. It seems like spending 2 grand on a car right now ain’t so logical, if one pops up too good to be true, I’m sure I’ll take that statement back. Now I want a Scooter. Yes, a Scooter. But not until the spring… (I can’t type).

Pictures from the past few days.

“Lesbians = Trouble”.

This is cool…. ever since I posted about Verizon and started to link them, my second most popular search string is “Verizon Sucks”. Too funny. I should write a book about all my adventures with Verizon. However, my number 3 search string is “pictures of rugby wedgies.” What the hell? Which reminds me, I think it’s time for some poetry.

This morning I went to Au Bon Pain and got some more of those bagel-bread things. So good. Today, for breakfast, on banana and one bagel-bread thing. And one cup of coffee. My cat may be sick. I think I have to take him to the vet soon. A friend of mine is going to give me a number to a vet in Dupont. He says they’re excellent. I hope The Big Guy is ok. Last night he was acting funny. You can just tell with him as he’s normally a very social cat. I was pretty upest for a while when I got home and realized he wasn’t well. When he began eating again I cheered up. He seemed better this morning, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. We’ll see. I hope this doesn’t traumatize him; He’s done a lot of travelling lately. I am almost finished with the book Middlesex. This book is/was so good. I highly recommend it. I can’t say it enough to people. I’m going to stop rambling for now.

For weeks now I have been using a temporary copy of BBEdit which I downloaded when I first started here and it counts down the number of times one has left to use it. So I’m down to 5 (out of 20) and I sit here every day and when I get a job where I have to edit and/or write any html, I think to myself,

Is it worth opening BBEdit and using my last few tries?

I decide it can be done in SimpleText. And this is how I feel about using SimpleText compared to BBEdit: It’s like a black and white television, it works, you get it and everything but it’s just not the same as color.

Eminem IS IN MIHOUSE! Enjoy. (6.8 mgs)

If you had said to me, last year,

Soon, you’ll find yourself listening to Eminem while chewing on a carrot.

I would have said

you’re crazy, dawg

. But here I am, listening to 8 Mile over and over again with a giant carrot in my hand. It’s so damn good (the cd and the carrot). Should I put up a song? SHOULD I?!

BACK! by popular demand! CAT PICTURES! (only two).

This morning I was on the bus. I take the S4 or the S2 to the end of the line. At the end of the line there are two stops, the first stop is closer to my office, the second one is a little bit further down the street. The first stop is the ideal spot and sometimes the bus driver doesn’t stop at this one but continues to the last one. Now, I don’t know why they do this I don’t know why there are two spots, one right after the other. Yes, it seems a bit pointless, but they’re both there, and so I choose to use the first option to my advantage. Today I was in the back of the bus and there were about 5 other folks there as well. Normally, I’m the only person left on the bus at this point so I can just personally ask the guy to stop. But today I decided I might just pull the cord, you know, just to let him know I would like to get off at the first stop and to not bother the other fine folks that early in the morning. Well, I stood up and I guess the guy across from me decided that his life just wasn’t enough for him, instead he wanted to interfere with mine as well. He says, smugly,

I think he knows that we need to stop here, I mean it is the end of the line. Sort of a given—donchya think?

I expect him to follow up with

I mean like NO DUH!

I looked at him, irritated. Should I explain? Should I let him know I’m not a total moron, nor am I a tourist, that I do this EVERY day? Is it worth it?

Oh, thanks.

I grab my things and leave.

Little, round, cheese-bread yum close to God. I have had two (2) of these little cheese things from Au Bon Pain-in-me ass name today. So good. They call them “bagles” they aren’t scones. They’re not really bagles either. Their more like buns. Cheesy buns. But my goodness, I could eat them up all day, every day. For now. Until I abuse it and can’t eat it ever again. Like I did once with pasta when I was a kid. I could only eat the noodles. The pasta sauce made me sick. I did that with Valentine, candy hearts as well. But that was ok, because no one ever gave me any of them anyway. Woe is me. I wasn’t complete until today.

Meetings that are ok:

1. Where you leave and they’ve just ordered you a $3,000.00 computer. 2. Where you’ve been told to take 4 days off between now and the end of the year or you’ll lose the days and that sucks. 3. Where you’ve been signed up for two classes: Flash 2 and Director.

Sometimes, meetings are ok.

Toby went to work today. We made lunch this morning together, had some tea and left before 8 a.m. Good times. :] My cats are destroying our new, round IKEA rug. Oh well. I really don’t have much to say or add today. I’m tired. I want coffee but won’t break down. I want to play that damn video game. I want to go on vacation. I want to not have meetings all the time. Is it too soon to buy my Christmas tree? Is it? This weekend we watched Serendipity. It was perhaps one of the worst cookie-cutter pieces of crap movies I ever sat through. I’m sort of surprised at what Cusack will agree to. Anyway, it wasn’t offensive, per say, just really really bad. That is all. (For right now).

Online payments are cool. I pay my credit card bill online. Basically whenever I have any extra couple hundred bucks laying around (ha ha ha) I put it towards that. It feels so good just clicking a button and it’s done. Done. Money = gone. That’s good stuff. It’s like it was never mine to begin with. :] (Lately, the best part is this: I do actually have an extra couple hundred bucks laying around, the feels pretty good even if it’s gone right away).

Holy bat with insecurities, crapman! Some times I just feel only drastically smaller and more pathetic than I do at other times. I’m in bed Saturday night, it’s very late, and all I can think about is everything I have done and said wrong over the past day and a half. And of these things that were perhaps not “wrong” were they taken to be a different way? Were they misinterpreted? Do I need to apologize. Do I need to set things straight? And if I set things straight and they’re not bent will only then people start to wonder and think of me as rude? (I should learn to be quieter and listen more). And I want to wake up Toby and tell him I’m sorry and not to give up on me I want to call my family and let them know I don’t care that much about two-or-more car-owned households. I laid awake for hours, hating the heat because it wasn’t something I could blame myself for. And even when I finally fell asleep, it was unsettled and restless. And you just have to wonder if it’s chemical. Or hormonal. Or I’m just plain crazy—hopped up on caffeine. Sunday, I switched my brain over to something more tangible. If I can’t settle it down on my own, I’ll put it to work, right? So now I’m addicted to Halo. Sunday night, late, I’m zooming in with my sniper rifle ready to kill aliens on a circular planet. Is there a doctor in the house? In the House of Pancakes? :] (mmmmmmmm pancakes….)

Inspired (originally) by CSI last night and then brought back up to my attention after reading what Freakgirl wrote about pee and puke, I have a question…. Of all the below, which one makes you gag, want to hurl, gross you out beyond belief, etc:

Vomit

Saliva

Urine

Snot

Blood

Sweat

or…

Poo

On the show the woman had a gag reflex/problem with a bucket of saliva. She said everyone has one body fluid repulsion, so we were inspired to answer what it was for us as well. Mine is saliva as well, with a runner-up of vomit. (I wonder if I missed any…)

This just in from Melissa—Virginia kitties need a home! (I met them, they’re cute. In fact, Hazel was almost mine years ago).

I get my cats tomorrow! YAYA! However, it does make me sad knowing my parents will be without them and I have offered (and I mean it) to let them keep The Big Guy if they return Pookum, but they have said no. I mean this sincerely that their happiness is most important. So if they get true joy out of The Big Guy, they should consider keeping him. If it were ANYONE else in the entire big world, there would be no way I’d give my cats away. I miss those fuzzy bastards. (This feels like Kramer vs Kramer and the painted cloud room and the pancakes [or was it french toast] don’t take it to court. We can settle this on our own). :] I got grumpy last night. I have no idea why. And then I couldn’t sleep. It was too hot, or too cold or I wasn’t feeling well or something else. Sucked. Now I’m tired and my tummy is still messed up. I hope I’m not getting sick again. That won’t work. And tonight. What’s on the menu for tonight? This QuarkXpress/OS X thing is really, really annoying. I want to be up to date on the latest technology as much as possible, but I use Quark nearly 80 percent or more of my work day. And my laptop runs OSX (I don’t have classic installed) so I can’t use the program I need the most. Therefore, I think Toby and I are going to zap my laptop, add OS 9 and OS X and be done with it all. We’re going to buy an external drive to back up all our data. So tonight could be long and kinda annoying, but it has to be done. This is SO annoying. I don’t understand why Quark can’t have their act together enough to put out up-to-date software and if I didn’t so many active jobs and tight deadlines, I’d vow never to use them again and turn completely to InDesign. As it stands now, I really can’t. (Speaking of design related issues—Designable.org will be up by Monday).

Andrea’s Lunch. (see comments under previous post).

By no means, am I a healthy eater (all the time) but right now I plan on bashing some of the folks who eat out of vending machines. Ready? To the ladies who suck down the vending machine food… Food wrapped in plastic probably isn’t good to eat every day. And if it’s a sandwich, and its life has consisted of being confined in a giant, metal machine waiting for Rita Jane to come along and scarf that shit up, chances are it ain’t too good for you either. Now that canned crap they put in there, it’s vacuumed packed for “freshness” OH MY GOD. The miniature pizzas—they’re not frozen and they can’t be tasty. They’re sealed, but they’re not frozen. They’re next to Pringles and you can pretty much assume that the Pringles aren’t frozen. Put the pizza away and go eat the plastic folder in your top drawer.

I can’t imagine why people eat this crap? And then they complain when they’re sick later in life and and unable to move and have heart attacks at the age of 40. Can’t you eat something else? Bring in some fuckin carrots for Pete’s sake. Bring in some bread. Shit, I dunno, make a salad. I just got harassed for heating up left-over Indian food in the kitchen.

How do people eat that stuff?!

She squawked. Said harasser was heating up one “frozen” pizza from the rotating, monster of a vending machine. WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! These damn bitches can go straight to clogged-artery hell for all I care. I’ll hand them a candy bar for the trip. And then she said the another lady who was eating some vending cuisine

You can’t beat the price of this stuff, I tell ya!

She’ll make up it later in doctor’s bills.

Here are some images from Today.

A few questions came up last night that I thought I’d share. One was why is a church erected and a building built? The other was how many times does one pee during the average lifetime? Deep thoughts indeed. I also wondered why it is that our language doesn’t cover emotions very well. We speak about sadness and happiness and blah blah blah, but there aren’t words for the more abstract, yet commonly felt emotions, such as

the happiness or release felt when someone sick passes away?

or

the smell of bread or that first sip of coffee?

or

being able to go back to sleep on a Saturday after forgetting to turn of the work-week alarm

. I’m just wondering. I know it’s a silly thought compared to how many times one urinates. There aren’t words to really describe actual emotions and I know they exist in other languages. I wish I knew it all, or at the very least, could know the differences. But tell me, was the English language designed by cold-hearted, unfeeling bastards or what?

I think I may be eating my stomach.

We had our bed delivered this morning. I can’t wait to sleep above the floor. I have never had an actual bed—futon for the past 10 or so years and before that some sort of a day bed. All is good. I think we’re set for a while.

Today I brought in a toothbrush and some toothpaste. And a hairbrush. They’re not related, ‘cept that they all belong in a bathroom, but I’m gonna try and appear “fresher”. Toby said I don’t stink so that’s good. He said the guy was probably just being nice and offering me a mint. I need to relax. Last night I finally purchased the Eminem cd. And I forgot the thing at home. I am so annoyed. Toby, if you’re out there, give it a listen and then write me and rub it in. Tell me how good it is. Coming soon, to a theater near you… (I really need to get some kind of a life).

Here are a few images from our weekend. I didn’t put up many. I got bored, so I’m sure you will too.

I’m in an angry mood. I wasn’t earlier, but now I am. It appears some freelance relationships just aren’t meant to be. I’m beginning to realize that I should probably try and focus on the “real” job instead of trying to please everyone as I think I’m beginning to wear myself thin. Which, in turn, does a number on my self-esteem, leading me into thinking things like,

I suck

and

I can’t handle anything.

Two things which (deep inside) I know aren’t true. But when someone sends an email filled with ideas like,

You really should have…

and

Well, we really needed it last night…

I begin to question what it is I’m good at. Perhaps it’s time to get a little bit more stern… learn how to say “No” and call it a day. I don’t know. Really, tell me, is money really that important? What a sad bunch of humans most of us are. This could be the beginning of the end, a beginning I thought started a year ago.

::sigh::

I am not a secure enough person to handle this work-lecture shit. So what to do instead? Perhaps it’s time to turn my back.

Twas a full, four-day weekend, that is true. On Thursday we hopped in the rental car and drove to NYC. We arrived at the Chelsea hotel at about midnight, checked in, gave them our car and walked to the diner around the corner. I had some pancakes and Toby ate a veggie burger. We went to bed. I woke up around 8 am and headed to XB to work for the day. It was great being there again. I was sort of sad all day actually. It was great seeing them all again. I was met with a very warm welcome, which sort of surprised me. I worked from about 8:30 until about 9 p.m. and then headed back to the hotel to meet Toby for a movie. We saw 8 Mile that evening. And, I shit you not, it was good. I enjoyed it so much. Yeah, it’s a similar story to movies like Rocky, but so much fun. I could listen to that cracker rap for hours without getting bored. You get to see his butt. There’s a pretty hot sex scene. The rapping (as I mentioned) was amazing. Good stuff. Go see. We woke up Saturday and had breakfast with Chandler at Kate’s downtown. Yummy. At around 1 p.m. we headed for Philly to see Nico and George. And then exit 13A happened. 13A, for those of you familiar with the Jersey Turnpike, is home of IKEA. Toby hadn’t been to IKEA before so we stopped. I figured we’d peruse for a bit and head out. IKEA takes a while. I hadn’t realize how long. It’s huge and you do a lot of it yourself. So I guess it makes sense. I got a little antsy and worried that Nico would be waiting so we left before picking too much up. We arrived in Philly around 6 and had Japanese for dinner in downtown Philly. Excellent meal. Great talk. Good people. We got back to DC around 12:00 a.m. and went to bed. Sunday we took the rental car and headed to IKEA in Virginia where we spent 700 bucks and left. We finally bought a bed frame. It’s super nice. It delivers on Wednesday. We got myself a desk and some rugs and about 400 more dollars worth of (surprisingly) necessary items. Good time. I returned the car before six. Left my coat in the backseat. Headed home for homemade veggie burgers and fries. We put together the furniture with a little help from our friend and neighbor, Jason. And now, this morning, I am here. Home for the day getting ready (mentally) for work tomorrow. I have many pictures of our stay in the Chelsea Hotel and a story to tell for each but my Elph camera cord is at the office and I’m at home today, so it will have to wait until tomorrow. :] What did you do?

I can’t be sure, but I think I’m addicted to Subway subs.

Why is it that staying in a Hotel is so intriguing? Hotels are like Halloween.

I was so tired yesterday. My eyes burned every open moment and my head was filled with thick thoughts that I couldn’t shake. It was filled with those things I usually put behind opaque walls, yesterday I woke up before the walls were put back up and so the day was tainted with insecurities and unforgiving what ifs. I think I’m better today. I crawled home at 5:30 and walked into an apartment filled with dinner smells. Toby made polenta last night. He made it from scratch. It was the yummiest meal. He made garlic bread as well. We ate and talked. I did the dishes and then built a nest in front of the TV. I was asleep before The West Wing. What a long day. I woke up to Toby convincing me to go into the bedroom where I’d be more comfortable. Once in the bedroom, I couldn’t fall back to sleep. Seems when one follows up a bad day with an early shut down and the sleep is interrupted before sunrise, they wake up an adolescent. I yammered on songs and made fun of Toby for whatever goofy reasons I could come up with. There is a line in the book I am reading. It sat with me all day. It bugged me all day. I found it so unsettling and freakishly weird I asked Toby about it that evening, he tried to explain what it could mean and still it bugs me so. And so, if you can’t beat it, sing songs about it. And he covered my mouth to shut me up. Apparently, I’m not always mature enough to handle Jeffrey Eugenides’ strong, descriptive abilities because this line hit my adult conscience and set me off running into 13 again. (Oh, maturity, where are you?) I don’t remember much after the news; Hell, beneath my singing and joking, I don’t remember much of the news. But I fell asleep again. And now, here I am.

When he removed his underwear, the lifeboat filled with a mushroomy smell.

We’re renting a car and driving north. We’re staying in the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. We’ll be there for a few days. I’m hoping to see city from some different angle and not take it so seriously. It could be fun. It could.

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel, you were talking so brave and so sweet, giving me head on the unmade bed, while the limousines wait in the street. Those were the reasons and that was New York, we were running for the money and the flesh. And that was called love for the workers in song probably still is for those of them left.

Ah but you got away, didn’t you babe, you just turned your back on the crowd, you got away, I never once heard you say, I need you, I don’t need you, I need you, I don’t need you and all of that jiving around.

Maybe we’ll get our 3 Mile tickets early…

For those of you who like that stuff called code and like to chat it up with other geeks who like code Toby has launched a very informative website called Codable.com. There are some very helpful people on there; Some bright folks indeed. Anyway, they can help you with problems and such. :] I am creating its sister site called Designable.org. It will be similar in nature but will be primarily for print designers. Toby was kind enough to hook me up with the goods. It will go live soon. It will aid designers who have questions about 4-color process, printing, software questions (QuarkXpress, InDesign, Illustrator, etc), pretty much anything. I would love suggestions. Eventually, I would also like to create a database of contacts. So if you’ve worked with certain printers etc. who you either recommend or can’t stand, please email me their information. I’m always looking for new contacts, and I’m sure others are as well. Feedback is welcome.

So tired. Last night we went to an election party at a local design firm who creates direct mail for many Democratic candidates across the United States. I worked for them a bit and so we were invited to attend their festivities. The party started at 7 p.m. so we went out for some dinner first. We ate here. I had some fake chicken dish and Toby had the sampler. It was all pretty good. The mashed potatoes were amazing. We arrived to the party by 7:30. And we met this guy. He was just super tired and liked to sleep and look around and then sleep again. He’s an American Bulldog. He’s cute. We watched people eat. We ate some cookies and chips. I drank some beers. Toby had water with lime. We chatted. I told a story with no point which ended in my saying,

Why did I start saying this again?

Toby answered,

We have no idea

Anyway, we kicked around there until about 10:30 and then took a cab home. I have pictures. Booze isn’t pretty on me. I’ll stick to my newly acquired taste for Grape Kool-Aid. That is all for now.

Judging by all my stupid campaign posters today, I apparently had some trouble focusing. Which means one thing, I’ll work late. But that’s ok. Anything I can do pro-muffin, anti-scone is all good. Tonight, Toby and I attend an election party at Soung’s place of work. Should be pretty cool. They’re good people up there. I’ll take pictures. I guess I should get some more work done now. :]

It’s simple. See?

Scones = bad

On Saturday I went to ty’s Tattoos and had the stars on my arms retouched as they had some holidays (white spots within the color) and didn’t settle in too well. It seems there is something to be said for a thin needle as my arms are doing so much better than they were the last time around. (What a horrible, healing process that was). Anyhow, he made them much more sketchy-looking and filled in the pink and the blue. So I am much happier with them now.

I went on a field trip to a paper mill on Friday. I woke up at 6:15 a.m. and went out to some mall in Virginia and got on a giant bus, the kind of bus desperate people take to Atlantic City. We left the Springfield Mall Target at 8 a.m. and someone threw donuts and bagels at us. I pleasantly declined. They switched on Mr. Deeds and we watched country roads roll by. The south really does look different. I started to get nervous at certain points as we moved further and further from the top. I started wondering where they were taking us, where might we end up, what kind of field trip was this anyway? Panic set in slightly. I don’t like to be at the mercy of a big bus on a Friday headed south. We ended up in Franklyn, just 10 miles above the North Carolina border. I was 15 when Ieft North Carolina. Fifteen. My memories of that place float between a childhood happiness and several, uncomfortable adolescent years. Being that far south felt like being underwater for too long. Sometimes I shudder, actually shudder, at the thought

“What if I had stayed there?” [yikes]

And here I was, inches away from seeing my past, miles from the North Carolina border and things began to get louder. The paper mill was far from warm. In every way. It was like being trapped inside a massive machine. A machine the size of a football field. It was wet and smelly. It was loud. Every sense was now insulted. There was so much paper. It was hoisted up on massive toilet-like rolls, lifted by human-powered cranes, indoors. Everything was giant. The plant, the paper, the men, the machines and the waste. I am sure to think three times before wasting any paper. This was too much. Just too much. They make their own electricity. They make it from toxic, paper waste. We walked around for about an hour and a half. We asked questions and saw it all happen. Safety signs lined the walls reminding people about lost limbs and bloody stumps. An ambulance stand outside made removing maimed men easy. We walked in small, yellow-lined walkways. We wore hard hats and earplugs. We were fed something that took on a strange resemblance to green beans, chicken (I declined) and some potato salad. The working men were so kind. They enjoyed the change from metal to flesh. They enjoyed my questions and my photographs. I snapped away. We left the ground at 2:30 and the bus people fed us beer and potato chips. I got home at 7:00 p.m., took a deep breath and ordered pizza. It came in a box and a flyer was taped to the outside. The delivery guy tried to hand me another flyer. I pleasantly declined. Pictures in a few.