Girls' Night Out

At Sam's annual holiday party on Thursday night, we collectively decided that we needed to go dancing. Spontaneous planning ensued, resulting in last night's excursion to The Road House Inn in Bensalem. And yes, it's just as dive-y as it sounds. But it had all the makings of a fun evening - no cover, awesome music, cheap drinks, an oddly-positioned vent that tousled our hair about (thus creating the effect of a bad 80s music video). There were seven of us in attendance (at first, anyway), and we all looked hot. (Then again... when don't we?) We drank and danced and danced and drank... and then danced some more. Karen has posted the evening's highlights on her blog, and I'll list my own here:

* The seven of us split a chocolate candy cane martini... which tastes just as spectacular as it sounds. I'm going to search the Internet high and low to find a similiar recipe so I can make my own at home.
* The DJ stopped the music to announce the death of Saddam Hussein. The crowd erupted in cheers and toasts. Then the music resumed and Saddam was forgotten.
* I'm not much for drunk dialing, but drunk texting on the other hand... Yeah, I'm guilty of that big time.
* After several drunk texts from me, Joe showed up sometime around 1 AM, with hat firmly planted on his head. He wasted no time getting his dance on.
* And while we're on the subject... Sam danced!!! Yay!!!
* Inara and Steph sported eerily similar outfits and then swore that it wasn't planned.
* Lots of beverage-related paraphernalia wound up in cleavage. For reasons unbeknownst to me, Kim decided to stick her bottle of Smirnoff Ice in my cleavage. Later, ice cubes were dropped (or thrown) down shirts.

All in all... it was a kickass good time. We must do it again very soon.

out with the old

As 2006 winds down, I've found myself thinking about what I've done this year. It's only natural to compare oneself with other people and unfortunately, that's what I started doing today. I thought of all the people I know ... some got into serious relationships, some got engaged or married, some got pregnant or had a baby, some got promoted or found a better, higher-paying job, some moved into new houses or apartments, some went on fabulous vacations.

Well... by way of comparison, my love life is still non-existent, so no boyfriends, fiances or husbands here. Which means no pregnancies or babies, either. Still working at the same place, which means I'm making basically no money, which means I'm still living at home... so no new house. And no fabulous trips, either. I've been to New Jersey and New York and that's about the extent of my travels this year.

(Fear not, dear reader! This is not a pity party! I just wanted to set the mood for what will no doubt be the uplifting portion of this post.)

This line of thinking threatened to put me in a foul state of mind. I firmly believe in the power of positive thinking, so I decided to make a list of all the things I've accomplished this year, no matter how insignificant they may seem. Behold! My year-in-review:

• Took two grad school courses during spring semester while also working full-time. Got an A in both courses.
• Took three summer courses while also working summer camp. Got an A in all three courses.
• Took Reading Clinic (similar to student teaching) in fall semester while working full-time. Got an A in the course.
• Finished grad school.
• Continued to work at catholic school (this is my 6th year there).

And that is all. I mean, I could add more. Like, "I didn't get into any car accidents." Or, "The stomach flu completely missed me!" But those sound more like chance than accomplishment. No matter. I will end the year celebrating the things I have done, and I look forward to enjoying a prosperous 2007!

Remember what I said about candles?

So the holiday season is upon us... and that means the candle-count is officially on. For those of you not in the know, there are a number of typical "teacher" gifts that parents and students have been known to rely on. Example one: the mug filled with candy. As was stated in a previous blog, the candy is never anything of high (or even slightly mediocre) quality, but instead, the cheap foil-wrapped strawberries (which I despise) or those generic butterscotch candies. And in my neighborhood, I get the candies with labels printed in Spanish. Some hard candies with fruit flavored fillings. Ick.

Then there's example two: body lotion/shower gel. I'm not opposed to being clean or having soft hands. But when said lotions come from the dollar store, I'm hesitant to use them on my sensitive skin. And they always come in scents that make my eyes water... floral scents or musky fragrances. Not my type at all.

Which brings us to popular teacher-gift number three: the candle. I just started getting gifts from my students today... out of six gifts, four were candles. Two huge pillar candles (one scented, one unscented but decorated in gold swirls), one small jar candle (black cherry) and one tiny taper candle that came with a glass candle holder that resembles a funky shot glass. In fact, I might just trash the candle and convince Joe to make me up a batch of Funky Cold Medina for my new "shot glass."

For those of you who have children and are wondering what their teacher might appreciate for Christmas, here's a no-fail list, from me to you. Gift card to any restaurant. Gift card to Target, Walmart, Kmart or similar store where she might be able to purchase classroom supplies. Gift card to any book store... or, if you're so inclined, buy a few books for her classroom library. Gift card to Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. Home-baked goodies are always appreciated. If you want to be really generous, offer your time in the classroom. Any teacher would be happy to have an extra pair of hands for a few hours a week. You could cut patterns, file papers, read with children, stamp homework, make copies... the possibilities are endless. But please... I BEG of you... no more candles!

I don't mind the hustle... it's the bustle that gets to me.

I am the Queen of Procrastination. Well... maybe I'm the Princess. (According to my first graders, princesses are cuter than queens. And it's a well-known fact that six-year-old girls are the leading authority on all things trendy.) There are nine days until Christmas, and just today I started my Christmas shopping. I have to admit... my heart just isn't in it this year. About a month ago, my family started asking me what I want for Christmas, and I wasn't able to give them much in the way of an answer. It was easier when I was a kid. Books, toys, clothes, tapes. Now that I'm older and have my own money, I buy what I want when I want it. I download my own music. I choose and buy my own clothes. So I couldn't think of anything I really needed.

I also have no idea what to get my family and friends. Today I hit Target, hoping to get some gift ideas - and maybe even a gift or two. I didn't do too badly, all things considered. I managed to get something for my mother, my father, my brother, a cousin, my work pollyanna, and my friend pollyanna. I'm not done, but at least it's a start. There are a few people I still need to buy for. I have friends who get me a present every year, and of course I have to reciprocate. I never know what to get them, so I have to go out and look for something that isn't too similar to something I got them in years past. And I try to get all creative. One year it was homemade baked goods, packaged neatly in a decorative basket. One year it was a movie theme - popcorn, giant candy bars, movie theater gift card. A nighttime theme - flannel pjs, mug, hot cocoa mix. (You know me and my themes.) It seems like gift cards are the "easy way out," but I feel like it's so impersonal. I like buying and wrapping gifts. I don't want to just shove a gift card into an envelope. I want ribbons and bows, gift tags and tissue paper. The only gift that was easy to buy was my pollyanna gift, because the person wrote down exactly what to buy. Done and done.

Screw it. If I can't find anything, everyone's just getting a bottle of booze and a hearty "Merry Christmas!"

Bah humbug :)

light it up

I was cleaning out my closet last weekend and I found a shitload of votive candles that I bought and never burned. They were all stored together in one box, thus rendering their scent indeterminable. They all smell like potpourri, no matter what their individual labels read. Then there are those sans labels. It's like the mystery flavor Dum-Dum lollipop... is it apple? rose? mango? grandma's kitchen? Damned if I know.

As a teacher, I get about a gazillion candles as gifts every year (they're as popular as dollar store religious figurines or mugs filled with those foil-wrapped strawberry candies that no one likes), and I don't burn them as often as I used to. I decided that they were going to waste sitting in the box, so I pulled out a few that looked Christmas-y (clove, pine, hollyberry) along with a few of the mystery scents, determined to finally get my money's worth.

So now I'm sitting in my room with three votive candles lit (plus a pillar candle that's been collecting dust since a former student gave it to me two years ago). I've got the lights off to better appreciate the candles' glow. It's rather nice, actually. Soothing. Relaxing.

There's just something about votive candles that makes me nostalgic for college. Reminds me of sitting in my dorm room, listening to Counting Crows ("August and Everything After," most likely)... or in the living room of the apartment at La Salle, talking on the phone to my boyfriend-at-the-time and listening to Fiona Apple ("Tidal"), after my roommates had gone to bed.

Good times. Good times indeed.

It's over!!!

Well, friends... it's official. As of tonight, I am DONE GRAD SCHOOL!!! One hundred percent completely FINISHED!!! WOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!! (And there was much rejoicing.)

wednesday night

Oh boy, am I ever thankful. After months of busting my ass for my reading clinic for grad school, I only have TWO DAYS LEFT!!! Next week is IT. And then I'm done. Not just done class, but done grad school. Whoo-hoo!!!

Wednesday night I decided to throw caution to the wind and actually go out. I've been a hermit lately, staying home to either work or sleep. I figured I deserved a night out. And since MK offered me a ride, I was free to enjoy a beverage or two (or three). MK picked up me and Sam, and we met Rich, Heather and Karen at the Blarney on South Street. It was completely empty, which shocked me, given that it was the biggest party night of the year. So we snagged the big table in the back and ordered up a round.

After we had been there about an hour, we noticed a man walking toward our table, presumably heading to the bathroom. He kind of slowed down and stared, smiling, when he passed our table. We all noticed it and thought he might be interested in one of us - possibly Karen, since he seemed to look at her specifically. He came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and walked back to his seat at the front of the bar. A few minutes later, he came back again, this time holding his drink. He stood by our table, smiling and watching us for several minutes without saying a word. It was a bit creepy. I mean, if he was trying to talk to one of us, he could have used any number of opening lines... "Sounds like you ladies are having a good time," or "Hi, I'm fill-in-the-blank," or whatever. Instead, he just stood there. Eventually, he walked back to his seat.

Later, Karen and I headed for the unisex bathrooms. On our way back, Rich warned us that one of the toilets was clogged. I waited while Karen used the bathroom first. Socially Awkward Guy came back and stood outside the bathrooms with me. I kicked the door and said, "Hurry up, bitch!", just to be funny. He said, "If you're in a hurry, there's another bathroom." I explained that it was clogged. "Oh," he said. "I heard you say you were in a hurry, so I just thought I'd let you know." Oooookay.... was this guy for real? No "hello," no introduction... he opens with bathroom-related conversation? Smooth talker. After the bathroom pleasantries were out of the way, he did finally introduce himself. A few awkward minutes of small talk followed. ("What are you doing out tonight?"... "Having a few drinks with my friends"... " etc, etc...) Luckily, Karen came out of the bathroom at that point, so she got stuck with him while I used the facilities. He spoke with her for a few minutes (not sure what they talked about, though), and then when we went back to our seats, he walked with us and stood by our table again for a few seconds. Then he walked away. And that was the last we saw of him.

Not to get all Jerry Seinfeld on you, but what's the deal with guys? I mean, seriously. That has to be the second worst opening line that I've ever heard. (I'd repeat the first, but the person who used it reads my blogs... ). I know it's not easy to talk to the opposite sex. Believe me, I know. My middle name is chicken-shit. But I would never approach a guy with bathroom-related conversation. Sheesh. A little effort, a little common sense... is that too much to ask for?

busy girl

Hi friends!

Okay, so I haven't been writing much lately. I've been trying to prioritize (snort of laughter at me doing anything organized), and sadly, blogging hasn't been high up on the to-do list. I've been inundated with school projects and work responsibilities and (ahem) parties. Parties out the wazoo. (Is that how you spell "wazoo"?) In the past 3 weeks, I went to two Halloween parties (both of which required costumes), saw "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in New Hope, saw a viewing of "Teen Witch" at the Trocodero, and went to a horror movie party. Good times, all around.

Last night was the horror movie party at MK's... sans horror movies. We sat around the fire pit, made s'mores, drank apple wine (although some opted for brandy in a flask), bonded over Abba, looked up TV theme songs on YouTube, and watched "The Tick" while reclining on the uber-soft leather couch. Highlights from the evening include throwing cinnamon sticks on the fire, testing the futon, leaving Erin myspace comments, and having group sing-alongs of "Take a Chance on Me" and "Afternoon Delight" and "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." (Although, I think that last one was a solo effort by yours truly...)

Anyhoo... it's Sunday... and for me, that means sitting in my pajamas catching up on classwork. Loads of fun. And while this has been a fun distraction, it's back to work for me.

My Day

The Lows

~I had two near-breakdowns today (one in the morning while I was rushing around getting ready for work, and one about 20 minutes ago). I'm not a crier and I almost cried twice today. I haven't been this stressed and overwhelmed since... wow, probably since my first year of teaching.

~One of my students had his own breakdown. He's on meds for something... maybe anger management or oppositional defiance disorder (I feel like I should know this, but I don't. Bad teacher.) and he has these "episodes" at least once a week. Today's tantrum was actually his second one this week, and I was just NOT in the mood to deal with him.

~The button cufflinks on my brand new shirt fell off today. Shoddy workmanship. I had to MacGyver it by using the thread that was still attached to hold the buttons together. Surprisingly it held for the rest of the day.

~I looked at my calendar and saw the obscene number of projects that are due for my class in the next few weeks. Will December never come???

The Highs

~I got a 98 on my last clinic observation (for grad school). Two down, one to go!

~I got my grade changed on a major project... went from a 95 to 100! (My supervisor made a mistake and I called her on it. I'm a bitch like that.)

~People kept complimenting me on my hair. (Thanks, Nat! It's been a week and I'm still lovin' it!)

~The Flyers won!

~Tomorrow is Friday.

stayin' alive

It was SUCH a long day at work. I wanted to blog about it on my teacher blog, but I'm just too tired and annoyed to even deal with it. So I decided to blog here instead. About absolutely nothing.

Currently, I'm watching "Dancing With the Stars" (my total guilty pleasure show). Waiting for Mario Lopez to dance again. Mmmm... Mario Lopez... When did he get so damn good looking? It's either the dancing or the dimples or the whole Hispanic thing. Or some combination of the above elements. Whatever it is, it works.
Anyway.

I had a full day of work (which was exhausting... and I had several incidents which left me drained) followed by a grad school class. In between work and class, I was walking across campus freezing my ass off and thinking about how nice it would be to curl up on the sofa, wrapped in my chenille blanket with a glass of wine, listening to Aqualung. (If you've never listened to his CD, go download! It's some amazing music.) It was enough to make me wanna turn around and go back to my car. Alas, I could not afford to skip school.

Of course, now that class is over, I'm not drinking wine or listening to Aqualung. I am wrapped in my blanket, but I'm watching TV and killing brain cells on myspace. As per usual.

I've got nothing to say, but it's okay. And if I think of something more interesting to write about, I'll be back. But don't count on that.

my Halloween gripe

I know, two blogs in one day. Technically the first one was last night, but since it was after midnight, it counted as today.

Anywho.

Here is my Halloween gripe. Let me preface this by saying, I'm not a Grinch. I love most holidays, just not the commercialism of the holidays. I love Easter and Christmas and Thanksgiving. I enjoy St. Pat's Day, for the most part (i.e. Irish potatoes and drinking, though I don't own much green and I hate corned beef and cabbage). New Year's Eve used to be fun, but now it's just an expensive hassle. And Valentine's Day is just plain stupid. (See me in February for a longer dissertation on this topic.)

But Halloween... that's a whole 'nother story. I used to love it: planning a costume, going trick-or-treating with friends, trading the good candy (anything Reeses) with the crappy candy (Mary Janes and anything with coconut). But lately I've noticed a disturbing trend. Halloween, for adults (or at least, adult women), is no longer about dressing in a goofy costume. It's about looking sexy. I've been checking the ads for Halloween costumes... sexy nurse, sexy witch, sexy vampire, sexy pirate, sexy maid, sexy superhero, sexy rock star... and the list goes on.

In years past, I've donned such homemade costumes as a hippie, a mime, a cat (with store-bought ears and tail), and a vampire. None of these costumes were "sexy." No fishnets, no cleavage, no heels.

Now, let me clarify. I don't feel like I need to dress sexy for Halloween. It just makes it harder to go to a party in a "silly" costume. And I have not one, but two Halloween parties to attend this year. To further complicate things, I don't have anything even remotely resembling a Halloween costume in my posession. So now what? Do I go out and spend money on a costume that I'll wear exactly twice? Or do I dig through my closet in the hopes that I can find something to pass off as a costume? Or do I just bag the whole thing and go in jeans and my Old Navy pumpkin t-shirt?

Damnit. With age comes not only wisdom, but a whole new set of problems.

the book club meeting that wasn't

Today Heather and I had lunch at a Chinese restaurant and then got our hair done (by Nat!). Fun times filled with lots of gossip, as is typical of a beauty salon.

Tonight was supposed to be a book club meeting, but three members of book club couldn't come. That left only four of us. And I didn't read the book (no time, what with work and grad school, etc). So me, Sam and MK just decided to chill at Heather's place and watch "Rocky Horror Picture Show" whilst munching on treats like veggies, spinach dip, fruit, pumpkin dip, cookies and finger sandiwches. Later, we even pulled out the Mad Libs for some grammar-infused goodness.

I drank a lot of wine at Heather's, so I should be exhausted, but I had way too much caffeine today. A diet Coke, a diet Pepsi, and a large Dunkin Donuts chocolate-hazelnut coffee. I think the caffeine and the alcohol are both trying to work at the same time. Caffeine is currently winning, as I'm wide awake and have no intentions of sleeping. However, my eyes are starting to hurt from the computer screen, so I think I'll lay in bed and watch my "Friends" DVD until I fall asleep.

This post was long and mostly pointless, but it kept me busy. That's all I care about.

sigh

Oh, Flyers... I weep for the team I knew and loved.

party time... excellent!

Wow. What a weekend... It was just party, party, party all weekend. Well, make that party, party. Today was Relaxation Day.

The festivities began on Friday night with dinner at Bennigan's to celebrate Rich's birthday. A yummy dinner was had by all (I got the steak & chicken fajitas) and Rich got to sing along to the Bennigan's Birthday Song. Hey, it makes him happy.

After dinner, we met up with a bunch of other people at Out of Wack Jack's (aka: Kenny's, which is the only name I knew it by until recently). Despite a "No Smoking" sign posted on the door, the place was FILLED with cigarette smoke. *cough, cough* I managed to ignore the haze of smoke long enough to drink and dance and chat with everyone. When I woke up yesterday morning, however, I felt like complete shit. My head was pounding, my throat was scratchy, I was hoarse and nauseous. Ugh. I was congested for hours. Luckily, it wore off in time for my party.

Yes, that's right - party number two! Saturday night I had a bunch of people over to celebrate my birthday. Nothing fancy, just some low-key hanging out with some booze and snacks thrown in for good measure. I had a blast. And people brought alcohol! I got 4 bottles of vodka (apple, grape, and 2 vanilla), a bottle of pineapple rum, 3 bottles of wine, a jug of wine, and a bottle of apple schnapps. Rock on.

The party went to a whole new level when the games started. There's just something about combining alcohol with board games. Hoo, boy! We started with Taboo, where Team Nuge made quite a victorious comeback. Then a few of us played Scene It, the Friends edition. Later, after some of the other guests cleared out, a group of us played Adult Mad Libs (a very kickass present from Melissa). As with any edition of Mad Libs, our objective is to think of as many raunchy words as possible. And with three teachers in the game, quite a few grammar lessons were provided as well, free of charge!

And this was followed by a rousing game of I Never. I'm not naming names (ahem), but some people drank a hell of a lot more than others. You know who you are. The last guest left somewhere around 4:30 in the AM. And I went to bed and promptly passed out. Sleep, glorious sleep. I woke up at 9:30, somehow wide awake and I've been up ever since. It'll catch up with me soon.

Anyway, it was a great weekend. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. Thanks to everyone who came over to celebrate with me last night... you guys rock my socks!!!

my goals

Over at Karen's blog, she posted some goals she has. She requested that others do the same, so I thought I'd oblige over here at my blog.

Some goals I have (in no particular order) (and with no time frame, cuz I don't want to limit myself):

1. Make it through my reading clinic with an A
2. Graduate and get Master's degree
3. Get certified as Reading Specialist
4. Get certified to teach in NJ
5. Find better paying job with same "family" atmosphere as current job
6. Move out / Buy a house
7. Pay off student loans and get out of debt
8. Travel more (back to Europe and perhaps to an island... and definitely to Australia)
9. Take a cross-country road trip
10. Get married
11. Have children (no less than 2, no more than 4)
12. Work as a classroom teacher for at least 3 more years
13. Work as a Reading Specialist
14. Teach a college course in elementary education (as an adjunct, most likely)
15. Get and maintain decent haircut (sounds petty, but I never like my hair)
16. Write a book about a year in the life of a first grade teacher
17. Learn how to speak Spanish fairly fluently
18. Possibly go back to school to get certified as an ESL teacher
19. Possibly go back to school for my doctorate

And I think that's it. I wanted to make it an even 20, but I can't think of any more.
They're not entirely unrealistic goals, so I should be able to work it out. And if I don't hit them all? No biggie. As long as I'm happy, it's all good.

Now go write your own life goals, damnit!

Como estan, bitches?

Okay, before I delve into my blog, I gotta start with this... because it bothers me. I watched "Anchorman" earlier today (hence the blog title), and I had the subtitles on (I don't know why), and during the news team fight scene, Ben Stiller says, "¿Cómo están, bitches?" But the subtitles read, "¿Cómo están, pinches?" So now I'm not sure if pinches is Spanish for something (probably something insulting), or if the subtitles are wrong. Either way, I went with "bitches."

And now... back to our regularly scheduled blog.

I realized it's been about a month since I've blogged. For shame. I've been very busy. School and work. Work and school. Doing work-work at school, and doing school-work at work. And then I go home and do more work, for school and work. So, yeah. Busy.

But today... today was glorious. I don't have any projects due this week, so I got to spend my day doing nothing. I wound up doing some boring stuff. Going through junk mail, checking email, walking and feeding dog, painting my toenails, updating my classroom website, and watching movies. I watched "Anchorman," the end of "The Cutting Edge," the beginning of "Dirty Dancing," and now I'm watching "Swingers." And drinking wine. God bless the Ren Faire.

I didn't realize it was October already (well, tomorrow is, anyway). In about 2 weeks, it'll be my birthday. I'm supposed to be figuring out what I want to do for my birthday, but that hasn't happened yet. Last year, I went to a piano bar (which I had been to a few times before, when it was under different management), and the whole night sucked. I don't know exactly what it was that made the night so bad, but at the diner after the bar, I had decided that I didn't want to go out for my birthday anymore. Bars are too expensive, too crowded and too noisy to socialize with my friends. They're good for a random night out, but it's not what I want to deal with on my birthday. So last year, after the piano bar, my friend and I planned a dinner party for this year's birthday. I had planned on keeping the guest list small (like 7 or 8 people), but now that's not gonna happen. My new plan is a low-key evening at my house... some booze, some food, some games, some music. I'm not gonna force the fun. I'm just gonna let it ride.

Okay... the wine is making me drowsy, and I can't think of anything else to write about. Gonna go watch "Clueless" now.

some stuff that i felt like writing about

I've got nothing to say, but it's okay.

(Name that tune for extra points!)

Back to school! It's the most wonderful time of the year!!! (Apparently, I'm all about song lyrics today.) Today was the first day for my first grade students. I only had half of the kids (the other half come tomorrow), and then Friday I have a "full" class. I put "full" in quotes because I only have 18 kids... which is one less than last year's total. I'm okay with a smaller class. It means less behavior problems (usually), and more time for one-on-one attention. But less kids also means less money for our school, which will eventually put us in danger of closing. Hopefully that's a long way down the road, but you never know. That's part of the reason that I'm working my ass off to get my masters. The sooner the better, just in case I need it for a new job.

But anyway. My kids are cutie pies. So far. Talk to me in about five weeks and I'm sure I'll have a different opinion of some of them. :-)

And I started my fall class for grad school, which is two nights a week. So basically, I'm gonna be dragging my ass through September. I guarantee I'll be fast asleep before 10:30 PM every night this month. The first few weeks are always the worst.
This weekend is the Ren Faire! Yay! I hope the weather is good. Now... as for what to wear... probably ye olde jeans and some comfy walking shoes. No costumes for me. I don't have a damn thing that could even masquerade as renaissance attire. No long skirts, no long dresses (unless you count some old bridesmaid gowns), no leftover Halloween costumes from years past (not that I would have worn anything renaissance-y for Halloween, either). So jeans it is. Huzzah!

Okay, I'm tired and I still don't know what I'm wearing to work tomorrow. God, I hope I don't have to iron.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Things I'm loving this month:

First and foremost is You Tube. It's genius. I have found so many videos to watch. Brain cells are dying left and right. If you're around my age, go on there and do a search for "Classic Sesame Street." It will bring back SO many memories. And as you can see from the video on my profile, I also searched the Muppet Show.

Next is Target. Well, this is nothing new. I walk into Target for one thing (in this case, a clear plastic storage box), and I come out $90 poorer, carrying enough bags to break an arm. Today I found DVDs on sale for $7.50 each. I got "Dirty Dancing," "Mean Girls," and "Romeo & Juliet." Let the movie marathon begin!

Moving right along... and it pains me greatly to admit this... Mary Kay products. Good Lord, where was I before the 3-in-1 cleanser came into my life??? And then there's the lip mask and lip balm, which keeps my lips soft for HOURS. No lie. And the Satin Hands? You really DO get satin hands! This stuff is amazing. I'm hooked.

Next - cheesy romance novels have always been a guilty pleasure. But then I discovered Jennifer Crusie. I've taken two of her books out of the library in the past month, and I can't get enough. Romance, good dialogue, likeable characters, great plots... and they're not too cerebral, which makes any of them a good beach read.

Finally... parties. I've always been a fan of a good party (who hasn't), but lately I've felt extremely social. I want there to be a party every weekend. I don't necessarily need to get bombed every weekend (take Karen's party, for example, where I merely got buzzed, but still had a blast), but I love being around people - old friends and new ones alike. Good music + good food + good drinks + good people = good times, indeed.

Quotes From Last Night

(otherwise called, You Had to Be Here)

"Now anything we do will be sanctioned by the Lord." (Karen)

"Stupid breeders!" (Inara)

"I'm trying to swallow!" (Karen/Inara)

"It's an all-you-can-eat buffet!" (Dree)

"He has to be sober enough to molest us later." (Sam, on Joe not drinking)

"I'll punch you in the vagina!" (Karen)

"You doin' bubbles?" (Sam to Joe, on sucking soap bubbles)

"We're both too gay for this." (Inara)

"You're destined to be with a short Mexican." (Rita, to MK)

"I don't remember my tongue being out that much." (Inara) "That's because your tongue is always out that much." (Steph)

"When life gets bad, you rub the duck." (Dree)

"Jesus is a boob-man!" (MK)

"Your chakras are fucked!" (Karen, to MK)

"If it comes out of Sam's mouth, it's gospel!" (Rita)

"I always use 'My Uncle Ned will give me five dollars to touch his balls.'" (Rich, on mnemonic devices)

"I like my asshole." (Karen)

"I'll punch you right in your Jesus!" (Sam)

"Jesus is in my cleavage!" (Dree)

"Christ approves your boobs." (Joe)

"Nipples in vaginas?!?" (Steph)

"I can't do anything with two hands, let alone one!" (Sam)

There are more, but I've temporarily misplaced the other paper. This is most of them, though.

I've spent my day watching cooking shows on PBS. One woman made Dominican food... chicharrones, mojito, tostones... mmmmm... now I'm hungry.

the truth

I watch reruns of "Full House." I pretend not to like the show, but I do. I really, really do.

I can't stand quiet. It makes me nervous. If it's too quiet, I'll start talking until I'm comfortable again.

Music is extremely important to me. My life has a soundtrack that only I understand.

I can't comprehend that there are people in the world who don't enjoy reading.

When I get a new box of crayons, I dump them out and rearrange them in color order. And I keep it that way.

I'm usually in the middle of two or three books at the same time. At least one of them is a book I've already read several times.

I think I'm incredibly smart. Sometimes, I also think that my intelligence is the only thing I have going for me.

I hide my insecurity behind my sarcasm.

Everything about autumn makes me very, very happy. The smells, the crisp air, the "back to school" atmosphere, the crunchy leaves, the holidays... it's just all very good.

One day, I might write a book.

I don't like going to the movies.

I'm afraid of bees, heights, fire, and being wrong.

When I started college, I wanted to be a psychologist. After a year of Liberal Arts, I had to choose a major... and I picked Education. I've never once regretted my decision to be a teacher.

I don't think Wayne Brady is funny.

I'm a pack rat.

The first time I drank beer (Coors Lite from a can), I almost threw up. When I turned 21 and realized how much mixed drinks cost, I made myself like beer.

When I hear people laughing, I assume they're laughing at me.

I used to bite my nails. Now I just pick at my cuticles.

It was always my dream to rent an RV and drive cross-country with a group of friends. I haven't entirely given up on that dream.

I'm a perfectionist.

My toenails are always painted.

Sometimes I miss high school.

Sometimes I miss college.

Given the chance, I would NEVER go back in time to relive any part of my life.

I posted this because I'm bored and couldn't think of anything else to write about.

That's the truth.

That's a whole lotta girly

My mom won a "free Mary Kay demo," which I think is just slang for "you think you won something, but really you just agreed to let me come over and talk you into buying makeup." The woman promised my mom it would be fun. "Just like high school!" she gushed on the answering machine. She told us to invite people if we wanted to, so I sent out the word... and I actually got some takers! Besides me and my mom, we also had Becky, Melissa, Sam and Mary Kate. We all tried on some makeup and had our hands pampered. And damnit, I actually enjoyed myself. I tried so hard not to. I was snarky and sarcastic and made all sorts of snide remarks about the girliness of it all. But in the end, I wound up buying cleanser. And makeup. And that hand pampering stuff. Shoot.

Tomorrow I'm entertaining my 7-year-old cousin for the day. She requested a day with me to do "girly" things. Clearly she doesn't know me at all. According to her, she wants to do makeup, play with the dog, watch cartoons (she doesn't have cable at home), swim (if the weather holds), and bake something. Should be a hoot. I guess I can't blame her for wanting to spend time with me. She has an older brother and 4 uncles. Her only aunt is a field hockey coach who is more interested in sports than doing makeovers. I'm the closest thing she has to a female role model, which is a frightening thought. So I'm gonna suck it up and be girly tomorrow.

Lordy... next thing you know, I'll be wearing pink ribbons in my hair.

party. the aftermath.

No more parties. I mean it this time. It's too much work, and too much cleaning up to do afterwards. And I was pretty trashed, so the party itself was kind of a blur to me. It's just not worth the effort.

Damnit, why did I drink so much? I don't even remember drinking that much, but I knew I was drunk. I feel like I went from slightly tipsy to incredibly drunk in no time. Blah. But I'm not hungover, which is awesome. And kind of hard to believe, considering how much I drank.

And GOOD LORD my porch was a mess. There were crushed potato chips all over the porch. Ants were everywhere. Bottles and cans and napkins and cups. I found a million cigarette butts, and four empty ashtrays. Interesting. Somewhere along the line (like 8:30-ish) the keg got kicked. That was a first. I don't think we've ever had that happen before. Someone had the "brilliant" idea to get another keg. Only about a quarter of that went. Damn shame... it's a waste of good beer.

Finally, allow me to issue a formal apology to the following people: anyone I didn't say hello or goodbye to, anyone I insulted (I don't think that happened this year, though), anyone I ignored, anyone I spilled beer on (again, don't think that happened this year)... I think that's it.

Honestly... I think I'm just too old to party that hard anymore.

to do...

One of my friends from grad school once told me that if she had to buy me a present for something, she'd get me a notebook for all the lists I make. If you know me at all, you know I'm notorious for making lists. Shopping lists, to-do lists, lists of things to remember, lists of songs I want to download, lists of funny things people say (yeah... those of you who went to Wildwood with me, I promise I'll post that quote list asap), lists of books I want to buy someday, lists of things I want to do this upcoming school year.

Today I made a party to-do list to figure out how much still needs to be done, and how much I can dump on Doug (not much, as it turns out, seeing as how he works all day and has no car). So I made the chicken today. It smelled damn tasty. Tomorrow I'm making pasta salad, rice krispie treats and jello shots (woo-hoo!). Then tomorrow night is Leo's first birthday party, which Tasha the Wonderdog and Bobby the Beagle (Doug's gf's dog) will both be attending.

And Saturday... THE PARTY!!! (Can you tell I'm just a wee bit excited about this?) Rumor has it that 1/3 of UpFall has poison ivy and might not be able to play. Suck it up, bitch. You're playing. I booked you months ago. Deliver the goods, damnit.

boredom

I know I blogged yesterday. But I'm bored and antsy and decided to blog again today. Usually, the week before my party, I'm all stressy, running around trying to get stuff together. But this year.... not so much. There's nothing to decorate. I already know what I'm gonna wear. It's too early to clean the porch and pool (it'll just get dirty before Saturday, and then I'll have to do it again anyway). I can't make any of the food too far in advance. So... hmmm... nothing to do today. I'm going food shopping tonight, and then tomorrow I think I'm making some chicken for Saturday. That can be made in advance and then served cold. The burgers and dogs and such need to be done Saturday, obviously. Any dips will be made Saturday morning. Oh, I'm making Jell-O shots. Does anyone know how far in advance they can be made? Maybe I'll do them Friday afternoon.

But for today? A big, fat nothing. I guess I'll read for awhile.

Wildwood Days

Sooo... we went to Wildwood for the weekend. I was really looking forward to it, since I haven't been to Wildwood in a few years. There's just something about the boardwalk... the smells, the sounds, the lights, the people... it's summer to me. Anyway, we had a great time. We hit the beach three days in a row. The weather was perfect. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I wanted to make sure I got the full Wildwood experience while I was there. I ate funnel cake, cotton candy, Boardwalk fries, and a fudgy-wudgy bar (on the beach, of course!). I got my handwriting analyzed and my palms read. I watched the tram car, please. I ate cheap eggs for breakfast and cheap pizza for dinner. I read Cosmo on the beach and played skee-ball in the boardwalk arcade. Oh yes... and five of us drank three cases of beer in 2 days. Classic. We had beer before we left for the beach... then beer on the beach... then beer when we got back from the beach. So it's safe to assume that most of us spent the weekend in a drunken stupor. But it was fun. I have some new pics up on my profile from this weekend if you wanna check them out (leave me some love, people... lol).

And now... the countdown begins. FOUR DAYS UNTIL MY PARTY!!! Plans are in full swing. Shopping lists have been made, menu has been planned, my outfit has been picked out, the playlist has been chosen. It's gonna be one kickass good time. You all better be here, or be prepared to face the consequences!

bring on the rock

Must blog. It's late and I have to pack for the beach and I have to sleep (eventually) because I have to wake up early. But first - I have to blog.

So tonight I did the unthinkable. I cut class (*gasp*) and went to World Cafe Live to see a triad of fantastic bands.

Fooling April was first. AWESOME BAND. Very Ben-Folds-esque, very piano-y, very energetic. Loved every minute of it... in fact, I thought their set was way too short. I was so impressed with their music that I bought the CD. I will definitely go see them play again.

Jealousy Curve was next. What can I say? They rocked, as always. I haven't seen them in awhile, and I was psyched to get to see them tonight. I thought their set was very short, as well. One should never stop the rock. Unless it's to bring on more rock. Which leads me to...

Ike! Awesome show. They have a lot of fun music... good for dancing and singing along. I always enjoy seeing them live. I decided that owning just one Ike CD wasn't enough, so I bought their first one to add to my collection.

Then... just when we thought it was over... Ike brought out Fooling April to help them sing Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls." Wow. And THEN... they brought out Jealousy Curve, and all three bands did "Under Pressure." As I said to Ray, it was "epic." I don't think anything could've topped that.

A phenomenal evening all around.

And now I must go pack... tomorrow, on to Wildwood!

Book Club

I hosted this month's Book Club meeting last night. Unfortunately, the book I chose, The Time Traveler's Wife, did not exactly lend itself to much in the way of a theme. I managed to find a half-assed theme, just because I'm dorky like that. The theme was "time" and everyone had to name their foods accordingly (like, "chronological cheese and crackers"). Anyway. Good discussion, as always. And good times were had in the pool, although I did not join in on those festivities. I was putting finishing touches on a paper that had to be emailed to my professor by that night. Once again, me = dork. But it's all good.

It still feels weird being done camp. I have a lot of free time in my week and I feel like there's a lot I could be doing (i.e. cleaning, organizing, planning for the upcoming school year)... but so far, I haven't been doing much of anything. Summers were made for being lazy.

My new goal is to come up with a fabulous blog topic that garners comments from everyone on my friends list. It's out there, I just gotta find it. Hmmmm... come to think of it, perhaps I'll ask my readers to suggest topics for me. Readers! What do you want me to write about? Throw out some ideas!

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy...

... sunburn on my chest does NOT.

I spent my weekend in New York - on Fire Island, to be specific. My roommate from college (the one who got married in November) turned 30 this year, so she had a big party to celebrate. Her family has a summer house on FI, and I usually go out every summer to visit. When I got out there Friday night (after a 4 hour drive and a 45 minute ferry ride), it was raining. But Saturday... a totally different story. The weather was PERFECT. If you looked up "perfect beach day" in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of Saturday. Despite the gorgeous weather, I got major sunburn. I'm bright red in certain spots, nicely tanned in others. Even after the burn fades, I'm gonna have some wicked tan lines. Damnit. And of course, I'd packed a tank top for the party that night. I was a lobster in a tank top. Uber attractive. But it's okay. I got drunk enough to forget about it. Several vodka tonics and half a dozen kamikaze shots took care of that. And the beauty of the island - no hangover! I don't know if it's something in the air, or what... but it's fabulous.

In other news... SUMMER CAMP IS OVER! Woo-hoo!!! I still have class (2 mornings and 2 nights a week), but I have a lot more free time now. I can do laundry, wash my car, read, go in the pool, go shopping... it's glorious. Oh... and of course my party is coming soon! If you know me, you know how much I adore party planning. There's no theme this year (damn you, Doug!), so I can't go shopping for decorations or look up fun thematic recipes online. But I'll figure something out.

Soon I'll be back in my classroom setting up for the new school year, so I gotta cram as much fun into the next few weeks as I can. Anyone interested in contributing some fun?

the weekend update

Crazy weekend. I'm kinda glad it's over, cuz now I can get a good night's sleep. I was up past 4 AM two nights this weekend.

Anyway, Sam's birthday party was Saturday night. Before the party, I told Erin I wasn't going to get drunk. I threw that plan out the window shortly after arriving at Great American. Started with two beers there, continued with many more cans of Miller Lite at Sam's house (at one point, I even started double fisting cans... yikes!). And, if I remember correctly, several shots of vodka. But it was a damn good time. From what I can recall.

Seriously, I do remember pretty much all of the party. I handle my liquor well. Some drunk people get obnoxious, some puke, some fight, some pass out... not me. I get loud(er), sing more, talk more, flirt a LOT more (ahem), and apparently, I call everyone bitch. I didn't notice that until Karen pointed it out. Bitch.

The weather was kinda shitty for awhile, but then it cleared up enough for us to swim. Yay! Much fun was had in the pool and I do believe some beer was spilled there as well. Sam's pool floats are gonna get tipsy... lol...

My camera proved to be a great source of fun for all. I took a few harmless pics to start with. And then we got ideas for a few posed pics. And then it got ugly. When I looked at my pics last night, there were about 20 that I didn't take. They're quite interesting and they're all up on Snapfish. (If you wanna see them, email me for the link.)

The night was not without it's casualties, though. As Erin was handing out cake (mmmm... yummy cake with chocolate icing...), a beer bottle fell off the table and shattered. Soon after, I stepped on a piece of glass and cut my foot. Sam and her first aid kit came to the rescue, and I was back in the pool in no time. Later, when I was changing out of my bathing suit in Sam's teeny, tiny bathroom, I dropped my shirt. I bent to pick it up, and smacked my head on the doorknob on my way back up. Hurt like a bitch... and yesterday morning, I couldn't figure out why my head was so sore. Oh... and this one's embarrassing... I scraped my finger trying to open a bottle of Yuengling. I have no skillz.

I didn't get home until around 4 AM (thanks again for the ride, Panama Joe!), after an eventful drive through a maze-like development in Bensalem. Fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow and woke up with a hangover, of course. Good times, indeed.

And now I can't WAIT until my party in August!!!

If...

If I had the time, I'd blog. I'd talk about camp... swimming with the kids, making papier mache crafts, reading endless stories, sweating through the day in a building with a crappy air conditioning unit. I'd talk about my classes... my projects and papers, the 16 year-old Chinese girl that I'm tutoring, sitting through 2 hour lectures that have produced more daydreams and doodles than I can count, flirting with the cutie who sits next to me in my Tuesday/Thursday class. I'd talk about my summer... or lack, thereof. I've only been in my pool twice. I have no tan. I haven't gone to the flea market or the beach or any sort of vacation. I'd talk about the party... the evite went out today (if you didn't get yours, email me, bitch!).

If only I had time...

Tag, no tagbacks!

Tag!!!!

The rules of the game, once you've been tagged, write a blog with 6 weird things or habits about yourself. In the end you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says, "You've been tagged" in the comments and tell them to look at your latest blog.

Here goes it,

1. I love to sing, but sometimes I'm weird about doing it in public. Also, I feel like I sing better after I've had a few drinks.

2. I'm addicted to chapstick.

3. I collect children's literature. I'll need a storage unit for all my books someday.

4. I get insomnia when I'm not on a "regular" school/work schedule. I often get panic attacks with the insomnia.

5. When I buy a new box of crayons, I have to dump them out and put them back in color order.

6. I've never been stung by a bee.

just some stuff

I've been going to teacher seminars in Chestnut Hill all week. I've had a less than stellar commute pretty much every day. Monday it rained and the normally 40 minute ride took me an hour and a half. Tuesday I left early, didn't hit any traffic, and got there early. Wednesday... grrr... every road known to man was closed or flooded. It took me 2 hours to get to the college, where I found out the seminar was cancelled. Then it took me 2 hours to get home. I spent 4 hours in the car and didn't go anywhere. Today traffic was good... but I had a coffee mishap. I went to Dunkin Donuts, ordered my coffee black w/cream & sugar on the side. I got to the turnpike and realized that he didn't give me a stirrer for my coffee. DAMNIT. So I MacGyvered that shit. I found an old pen, took out the ink tube, reassembled it, and used it to stir my coffee. Mmmm.... caffeine...

Anyway, the seminars are boring as hell. I could teach these things. I actually should teach them. It probably pays damn well. And it'd be better than sitting there, listening to someone talk about stuff I already do in my classroom.

So Erin and Mike are now in Vegas... tomorrow they will be married! The bride-to-be has been sending me the funniest text messages since she landed in Vegas. Right now, she is drunk. Lucky bitch. Drunk in Vegas, and getting married to boot. I should un-friend her for awhile. Find some pathetic single friends, so I don't feel so bad about myself. Kidding, of course.

Tonight was my last night of class for Summer I semester. Summer II starts Monday, which sucks. Anyway, a bunch of us from class went to dinner at Chickie's and Pete's. Had a few beers, some chicken fingers, and crab fries. Mmmm... crab fries... (I'm starting to sound like Homer Simpson.)

I guess I should go to sleep. I don't feel like sleeping yet, but I need to be up early tomorrow.

Thank you for joining me in my randomness.

tiaras, spelunking , and the world's best pizza

Don't let the title confuse you. All will be revealed in this quite comprehensive post about Erin's Bachelorette Extravaganza.

The day began around 3-ish, when I collected Erin and her belongings. We made a brief pit-stop at Dunkin Donuts, to get an energy boost in the form of smoothie (for me) and black iced coffee (for Erin). We picked up Gina and then began our journey downtown, enjoying loud party tunes all the way.

We found a not-too-seedy parking lot, where we were informed that we needed to be back "before," or else we might have to pay extra. I tried to pin the man down on a specific time, but he was evasive. "Just be back here before," he said. "Man... You are three good looking ladies. Don't get to see ladies like you every day. They usually stick me in the ghetto." Um... okay, buddy... just give me my ticket and we'll be on our way. "You ladies going to party?" We nod. "I get off work at 6:30!" He laughs. "Okay, remember, just be back before."

And off we go to find our hotel. Upon our arrival, we see a sign saying we need to register in the bar. Okie dokie. So we go in and talk to the (very hot) Irish bartender , who showed us to our room, called The Betsy Ross Room. It was an experience. We opened the door and saw a table and two chairs. And another door. We opened that door and saw a tiny bathroom. And another door. We opened that door and saw a very small bedroom, with ONE bed and a small dresser. And another door. We opened that door and saw the hallway. Interesting.

We assessed the situation. Clearly, there was only one thing to do: drink. We went to the hotel bar and ordered some drinks. Erin informed us that the hotel advertised fresh flowers in every room, internet access and a piano in the hotel bar. We had a few good laughs about the quality of our accommodations. We agreed that Betsy Ross most likely drank herself to death in our room (thus accounting for the smell), and that her ghost haunts the hotel. Furthermore, in the evenings, Francis Scott Key descends into the bar from on high, playing a piano, to perform a stunning duet with Miss Betsy.

The rest of our party (Sam, MK and Tina) eventually met us at the hotel and after a wardrobe change (and a discussion about cleavage), we headed out to dinner at Rotten Ralph's (good food, bad name). From there, we went to the infamous Cave, where we met Karen and Heather. Let me say that I went into the Cave with the preconceived notion that strip clubs are skanky, nasty places with skanky nasty people (basing this opinion on the female strip club I've been to). I was SO wrong. The Cave was AWESOME. Okay, getting ahead of myself. When we got settled, Sam distributed the goody bags that we had assembled earlier in the week. We each got a cute little bag shaped like a lace trimmed teddy filled with condoms, lube, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, a candy necklace, an x-rated fortune cookie, a penis straw and a tiara! Erin got a special floofy, feathery crown and the rest of us got Disney princess tiaras. Woo-hoo!

And then the party began. This place is filled with HOT guys (most are probably gay, but whatever) whose job is to look good and flirt with the ladies. (I want to hire them to walk around my house and do that...) And flirt they did. Within five minutes of being there, one guy came over to me, put one arm around me, put a hand on my thigh and started talking in my ear. So... yeah ... um... I didnt really hear anything he said for the first minute or two. Ahem. But then I focused and realized that he wanted to steal Erin to demonstrate a body shot onstage. Tee hee. After that, it was all a blur of dancing and drinking champagne and watching the hot dancing guys (with damn impressive upside down moves ) and doing shots and eating penis cakes and watching Erin get a lap dance and the grabbing of various body parts. Much fun was had by all.

When the show was over, we went to the attached dance club, which sucked. It wasnt very crowded, there weren't many guys (of course, since it was a male strip club), and they had a very strict liquor policy. Heather and I had to stay behind a gate around the bar with our drinks. We werent allowed on or near the dance floor. Stupid. So I didn't get to dance at all, which pissed me off. Then we lost Gina briefly, and when we found her, everyone was ready to leave. We headed back to the hotel, making a pit stop at Soho's, which Tina claimed had the world's best pizza. And she was right. It was incredibly tasty. I highly recommend it... but not after several glasses of champagne and many fruity shots.

Then back to the hotel where 5 of us planned to sleep. Considering how drunk we were, the assignment of sleeping arrangements went smoothly. We stripped the comforter and fuzzy blanket off the bed and found an extra pillow in the closet. Gina and Karen slept on the floor in the sitting room, Heather took the floor in the bedroom, and Erin and I shared the bed (but she stole the sheet and most of the pillow). It was, as Heather put it, "hot as balls" in the room, seeing as how there was no a/c, no fan, and a sign on the window that said "Do not open."

But somehow we managed to sleep. Woke up around 8, left at around 10. And the rest of my day was spent nursing a hangover on the couch.

So there you have it. A very detailed look inside Erin's last night of freedom. Okay... who's getting married next? We need another trip to the Cave!!!

so tired. my weekend - the random post.

Last night we went to the Cave. Much alcohol was consumed. Little sleep was had. I'll post more about all that later. I just wanted to get it out there now, so you know what you're dealing with.

I'm tired 'cause we were out 'n' about 'til the wee hours o' the mornin'. I tried to put as many apostrophes in that sentence as was humanly possible. I like the way it looks. I think I'd like the way it sounds, too, if I was crazy enough to read it out loud.
Really we were only out until around midnight. We're old, apparently, and that's when the fun train stops running for geezers like us. Especially when the alcohol started flowing before dinner. We were in bed (or on floor) by 1:30. I couldn't sleep. Everytime I looked at the clock, it was a half an hour later than the last time I looked.
I must've eventually dozed off, because I dreamed about text messages. Indeed. I received a text message from a guy named Josh. I don't know anyone named Josh. But I did in the dream, I think. I didn't know who he was when I got the message, but then he was standing next to me reading the texts over my shoulder. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me, either. I guess that's what champagne and pizza does to your brain.

I'm camped out on the couch now... wrapped in a blanket, watching bad TV. There's a "Three's Company" marathon on TV Land. It's bad. It's so bad, it's almost good. But not quite.

I think it's naptime again.

a night at the (movie) theater

Tonight, I went to see The Da Vinci Code with my parents. We went to the Franklin Mills Mall theater, hoping it wouldn't be too crowded at 7 PM on a Sunday night. We were right - there were only about 25 people in our theater. I sat back and settled in with my popcorn, preparing myself for the quality cinematic experience that only Franklin Mills can offer.

*At this point, let me state for the record that not a single part of this story has been fabricated.*

Just as the opening credits were rolling, a group of people walked in. Loudly. About three or four women (one of whom was carrying a baby who couldn't have been more than a month old), two guys, and a very young child (about 5 or 6 years old). They paraded to the back of the theater and proceeded to have a very loud discussion about who would sit where. There was much laughing and moving around during the first few minutes of the movie. Then, all was well. For about ten minutes. That's when Paul Bettany (Silas the monk) appeared on screen bare-ass naked and began beating himself bloody. Not at all appropriate for the 5-year-old.

These people didn't appear to have a clue what the movie was about, because they kept asking (very loud) questions. During the dialogue. Fortunately, that portion of the movie was mostly subtitled, so I was able to read what I couldn't hear. Several other audience members shushed the group, which only made it more difficult to hear the movie.

Then, three giggling women from their group left, running down the aisle stairs, to get snacks. When they came back in, one of them took a picture of the others (with flash) before they ran back up the steps. They were clearly unable to locate the remaining members of their party, because they kept calling to them, "Yo, where you at?"

After about fifteen more minutes of obnoxious interruptions (questions, comments, jokes, and a cell phone that rang and was answered), most of their party left the theater. For good, so it seemed. Only two people stayed behind. We were able to enjoy the remainder of the movie in relative peace and quiet.

And then... just when we thought we were safe... the people who left the theater came back in. Five minutes before the movie ended. This none-too-quiet conversation ensued:

"What's going on? What happened?"

"How was the other movie?"

"Good. This is still on? What's he doing? What's going on here?"

One girl began to mimic Audrey Tatou's lines, French accent and all. Much laughter from her friends.

Ending credits roll.

Laughter. "Oh look, we came back just in time!" More laughter.

You're thinking the story ends here. You're wrong. We left the theater, and happened to be walking behind this group out of the theater. They stopped not once, but twice, to take pictures of each other.

I am NEVER going back to Franklin Mills movie theater again.

lack of sleep - not a good thing...

I was all set to get on here and blog about my weekend, and now I'm too tired to do it. Blah. But I'm gonna do it anyway, because I'm too bored to go to bed. I think I'm overtired. Let's go back and start at the beginning...

Friday night we had a Girls Only Slumber Party at Karen's apartment. Six girls, lots of booze, several chick flicks, a few issues of Cosmo, and a ton of healthy snacks (veggies, fruit, other assorted fat-free and low-fat snacking options). I think the idea was female-bonding and reliving the fun of our girlhood slumber parties. What happened instead? We got trashed, gossiped, made drunk phone calls, and passed out sometime around 2:30 AM. It was a hell of a lot of fun, though. Some things I remember from the evening's festivities: Karen standing on the chair in her kitchen while we were doing shots, everyone sampling Erin's concoction (Pink Bichon!), me and Heather bonding on the front steps, Jeanette's pool cue, Sam keeping a list of ridiculous drunk things we said, me shushing everyone during Christian Slater's "abyss" line in "Heathers," Rich fighting to get the futon open when he came to pick up Heather, me discovering Erin asleep in the bathtub at 6:30 in the morning (apparently I was snoring too loud... damn allergies...). As always, good times were had by all.

I got home at around noon, made an Eggbeater sandwich, ate it, and then fell asleep on the recliner for a few hours. Woke up, discovered that "Bring It On" was on USA, got a phone call from drunk Erin (who informed me that I must leave all my evenings free for her) and then finally felt awake enough to get ready to go to dinner with my friend (the bride-to-be mentioned in my blogs about a month ago).

Dinner was fun. We went to Great American (where else would I go?), chatted about the wedding, caught up on other stuff. And we saw Tim and Michael there (I always see someone I know at GA...). Before I went to dinner, I told my mother that I knew I'd be fielding the two questions I dread more than any others: "Have you met anyone?" (which is girl-speak for "Have you met anyone you'd be interested in dating?") and "So, what are you going to do after you graduate?" Bride-to-be asked me both before we even got to the restaurant. My answers? "No," and "I don't know yet." I didn't bother elaborating. They're loaded questions with complicated answers.

Well, I think that's all I have the energy for tonight. I guess I should eventually get some sleep.

party... party... party...

Here is it... the Readers' Digest Condensed Version of the Memorial Day Parties.
The first party was Rich & Heather's on Sunday night. The cliffnotes: lots of food, lots of beer, dirty dice (mostly just rolling and laughing at the combinations - like "slap toes" and "lick ear"), scary garden statue, Sharpie marker tattoos. Good times indeed. Plus, Erin drove me, so I got drunk. Woo-hoo!

On Monday, Doug & I party-hopped (we're the uber-popular brother-sister sing-along duo... we get invited to all the good parties). We went to Ray's barbecue first. Lots of fun. In addition to the cool things that were already at the house (pool table, horseshoes and slot machine), one of the guests saw fit to make a trip to Target (source of all goodness) to buy a Slip 'N Slide. Hey, it's not a party until someone takes a running bellyflop onto a wet piece of plastic, right? Unfortunately, Doug & I had to leave just as the party was getting into full swing. Damnit. I was up next for beer pong, too. I totally would've lost (Kay was kicking serious ass), but I was ready to give it the ol' college try. Next time... next time...

After a brief stop at Dunkin' Donuts to refuel with a Coolatta , we were on our way to Phoenixville, where Doug's friend Jim was having a barbecue. It was a small gathering, consisting mostly of Jim's old friends. After about an hour, the sing-along began. Doug & Jim traded off bass & acoustic, performing originals and covers. I joined in with some singing and some percussion (in the form of a shaker-egg).
We finally made our way back to the good old Northeast by 11 PM... just enough time for me to crawl into bed and try (unsucessfully) to get a good night's sleep. Needless to say, I was exhausted all day today.

And now I'm looking forward to the next party - who's having it??? Let's go, people, it's summer! Bring it on!!!

about last night...

For all interested parties...

A little rubbing alcohol will take off a Sharpie tattoo real fast. :)

my addiction

The perks of teaching in Catholic school are that I don't work on holy days. Yesterday was Ascension Thursday and today is commonly known by Catholic school teachers as Ascension Friday. And of course, Monday is Memorial Day. So I wound up with a 5 day weekend (don't hate, people, please...) and pretty much nothing to do. Well, not until Sunday, anyway. I've been invited to one party and two barbecues this weekend. It's beginning to look a lot like summer!

You may recall the book dilemma I had in my previous post. Well, the saga continues. Yesterday I finally got the new book club selection in the mail (The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer). I started reading it right away, and I'm up to chapter seven already. It's a quick and easy read, and it's not too bad as far as plot goes.

I intended to put Everyone Worth Knowing (Lauren Weisberger) aside until I finished some of the other books, but I got bored last night and stayed up til 3 AM to finish it. A good beach read - lots of name dropping and celeb mentions. And one of those perfect romantic endings that makes me believe that there is a Mr. Right out there. Damnit, chick lit. You always get my hopes up.

Still re-reading The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown), but I put it aside in lieu of The House of the Scorpion. Haven't even touched Secret Supper (Javier Sierra). Soon... soon...

Today I went to Neshaminy Mall to kill time. I went to the bookstore to buy the book I'm reading for my grad school class lit circle, Esperanza Rising (Pam Munoz Ryan). I also bought one of the other books on the list (Pictures of Hollis Woods, by Patricia Reilly Giff), just because it looks good. I'm gonna wait and read that one later. Then... things got out hand. I spotted the new-in-paperback Jennifer Weiner novel, Goodnight, Nobody. Then I saw The Mermaid Chair (by Sue Monk Kidd, who also wrote The Secret Life of Bees... awesome book), so I picked that up as well. Went in for one book, came out with FOUR. Go figure.

So my new plan is this. I'm going to continue reading The House of the Scorpion and start reading Esperanza Rising. It'll be neat to read both at once. Both books are award-winning young adult fiction. Esperanza is about a little girl and her abuelita, set in Mexico during the Great Depression. Scorpion is about a young boy who is the clone of a drug lord, and it's set in Mexico sometime in the future. Should be a lot of interesting comparisons. Hope I don't get the two plots mixed up!

And that's about it for now. Enjoy the holiday weekend, all!

decisions, decisions

I don't quite know how it happened, but I somehow wound up with way too many books to read. Back in the day, I would have considered reading (gasp!) two books at once... but Summer I semester of grad school started tonight, and I know I won't have time to do that.

After finishing The Turn of the Screw (Henry James) for book club, I ordered our next bookclub pick, The House of the Scorpion (Nancy Farmer), from Half.com. It was taking too long to arrive, so I started reading Everyone Worth Knowing (by Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada, soon to be a major motion picture which will probably pale in comparison to the book). I got about halfway through that, when our school's secretary lent me The Secret Supper (Javier Sierra), a novel that deals with the secrets hidden in the works of the late, great DaVinci. I was planning to start that, but then I got into a discussion with my brother about The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown). He just saw the movie, and I plan to see it, but I'd like to re-read the book again (for the third time) before I do. So I started reading that last night.

Tonight I went to class (The Structure of School Reading Programs) and one of our class assignments is to choose one of four young adult novels to read and discuss as part of a literature circle (kind of like a book club). I chose Esperanza Rising (Pam Munoz Ryan) for the assignment. I need to have chapter one read by next Thursday. But one of the other books on the list, Pictures of Hollis Woods (Patricia Reilly Giff), sounded so interesting that I want to read that, too.

And on top of that, I have textbook chapters to read each week.

So much to read, so little time.

why so blue, panda bear?

Today, I'm veggin'. I woke up unusually early for a Saturday (6:40 AM ) and couldn't fall back asleep. So I decided to just get out of bed and see what the world looks like that early on a weekend. (Not much different than usual, it turns out.)

I've spent my day doing little errand-y things... cleaned the bathroom, did a load of laundry, went through my old People magazines and bagged them for recycling... nothing interesting. And I've been watching bad TV all day. "Dharma and Greg," "Full House," and a cheesy-ass Lifetime movie called "The Wedding Dress." Read the paper. Read a few chapters of a book. Good stuff.

Might sound boring, but the thought of a whole day with no obligations is bliss. Especially after my week at work. It wasn't a bad week, just a bit stressful... schedule changes, behavior problems... one thing after another. It's nice to have a relaxing
day.

The story of Mark-Greg

Yeah, I know... two blogs in one day. I must be really bored, right? Well, I actually got a lot done today. I finally took out all my summer clothes, packed away my winter stuff, baked brownies from scratch, cooked a fabulous spaghetti and meatball dinner....

... Oh, right... the Mark-Greg story. So, last night at Club Glam, there were quite a few nice-looking guys. I had noticed one in particular standing on the edge of the dance floor, watching everyone. Pretty cute, too. He made his way over to us and began dancing with Erin (damn my luck). His name was Greg, but Erin and I both thought he bore a resemblance to Mark Ruffalo. So he'll be known as Mark-Greg from now on.

Allow me a brief digression. If a guy wants to dance with a girl at a club, it is apparently quite acceptable for said guy to just sneak up behind her and start grinding her. Um, hello? Could you try asking first? Do guys do this because they're drunk? Because they're cocky assholes? Because they're too insecure to actually take a risk and ask if the girl wants to dance? (By the way, Dane Cook has an awesome bit about this on his first CD.)

So, back to the story. This guy is dancing with Erin - not speaking to her, as far as I can see - and I'm now left to dance by myself. That's always an awkward feeling. Especially with the floor to ceiling mirrors that line the wall behind the dance floor. Nothing quite like watching yourself dance alone. Yikes. And then, Mark-Greg pulls another infamous guy move - he pulls me over to dance with him and Erin. As if dancing alone weren't bad enough, now I get the "pity dance." I sound bitter... really, I'm not. But this has happened before, so I know the signs when I see them. See, what happens is that the guy (in this case, Mark-Greg), senses that it would behoove him to get on my good side if he wants to get anywhere with Erin. (However, unbeknownst to Mark-Greg, Erin is quite unavailable.)

At about 1:45 AM, Erin and I hit the bathroom and made plans to slip out of the bar. On our way out, they started playing a good song, and I insisted that we stay until it was over. We started dancing, and Mark-Greg slipped right back into place behind Erin. Several songs later, we finally managed to leave, only after Mark-Greg convinced Erin to give him her number. I told her she should have fake-numbered him, but she didn't think fast enough.

And thus ends the tale of Mark-Greg.

my friday night

Last night I decided to throw caution to the wind and go out WITHOUT MAKING PLANS IN ADVANCE.

*Gasp*

Early in the week, I had read online that Ike was playing at the Tin Angel last night, and I had toyed with the idea of going. Then Erin called me yesterday afternoon to share teacher-related anecdotes (which, really, only another teacher could fully appreciate), and we got to talking about weekend plans, or the lack thereof. I mentioned the Ike show, and plans just sort of fell together.

So off we went. We managed to find parking directly across from the Tin Angel, but it came at a steep price. (I'm one of those people who can't be bothered with driving around looking for a street spot or a cheap lot. I just park where it's close and convenient and pay whatever.) I just gotta say, Tin Angel is a neat little place, but totally not conducive to seeing a band. It's a long narrow bar with a dim, coffee house feel. Better for whiny solo guitar acts (like Ike's opening act, who I deemed too "emotional" for my liking). But Ike was awesome, as always.

When they finished, it was still early (like 1 AM early), so we decided to see what else was around. We bypassed an Irish pub because it looked kinda lame, and wound up at a club called Glam. Strange little place. Tiny dancefloor area with a platform for the club's dancing girls (NOT strippers, but they may as well have been, based on their clothing and the type of dancing they were doing). Some interesting characters in that place. Including the two guys in loud print shirts who high-fived each other for reasons known only to them. High-five??? Seriously?

Turned out to be a weird and rather pricey night... but fun. Made me realize that I miss seeing good local bands, and I miss going clubbing. I'm not too old to give that stuff up yet.

The downside is that I've been feeling crappy as of late (mostly due to allergies), and the smoky bars did not help. I started coughing as soon as I got into bed, and that kept me up until after 4 AM. I finally fell asleep, but didn't wake up until after 10, which killed my morning plans of going to a baptism (one of my first graders and a few second graders that I taught last year were being baptized).

So now it's almost noon and I'm feeling unproductive. I think I'll go find something to do.

every breath I take

I haven't been able to breathe through my nose for the past three days. It's annoying. I have allergies, or a cold, or some twisted combination of both. Either way, this congestion is killing me. Since I can only breathe through my mouth, things like talking and eating become more of a challenge. And teaching? Forget it. It's torture. After talking for an extended period of time, I get winded from not breathing normally, and that makes me light-headed. (I truly believe that my brain is becoming deprived of oxygen. Seriously.) By lunch today, I was exhausted. Like eyelids drooping shut exhausted. I tried to read the kids a story after lunch, but I had to take a breath after every sentence. Same goes with eating. Bite, chew, chew, chew, chew, swallow, take huge gulping breaths. Start over.

Stupid congestion.

Oh well. Hey, does anyone else watch "Lost"? DAMN, that show is getting good. And of course, last night's episode raised like a zillion more questions. I can just tell that there's gonna be a hella cool cliffhanger.

dress addendum

So, I was going to post comments to respond to the people who voiced opinions about my dress dilemma (thanks for the advice, by the way!), but then I got another call from the bride-to-be. She said that she was on the David's Bridal website again, and she found two other dresses that she likes better... and they're both currently on sale! One is $80, the other is $100. They both come with wraps. The first one she picked out was $110, but she wanted us to wear shawls with it, which would be an added expense.

Aside from the decent price, the plus side is that I like both of these dresses MUCH better than her original choice. The skirts aren't as fitted and they will most likely be pretty flattering.

Possible downsides - one dress has spaghetti straps, the other is strapless. I HATE my arms, but I'm willing to overlook that because a) I like both dresses and b) they both come with shawls. Also, she's not sure how long they'll be on sale, so we may have to move fast on this. Like, within the week. And the wedding isn't untl next April.

But anyway, it seems like my dress crisis is over. Wasn't much of a crisis, really. I didn't even get a chance to complain about it. :)

all about dresses (the boys can skip this one)

Okay, so I'm in this wedding next April. The bride-to-be called me today to "chat" (bride-speak for "talk about wedding") and I discovered that she's already picked out dresses and accessories for the bridesmaids. She's got a Spanish theme going... she's very creative like that. She wants red dresses (David's Bridal calls it Apple), gold shoes, shawls, red flowers in our hair, and possibly Spanish-style fans instead of bouquets. All well and good, in theory. However, when I looked at the dress online, I kinda panicked. David's Bridal advertises dresses "in sizes from 2-26!", but we all know that there's no guarantee that everyone will look good in a particular style. The dress she selected is one of those styles that would look best on someone with the same proportions as Barbie. It's sleeveless, very fitted, slim skirt. It will not be a very flattering look for me. I know this about myself. I'm okay with not looking good in certain styles. But how do I tell my friend that I'm not comfortable wearing such a fitted dress without sounding like I'm being petty or spoiled? After all, it is her day. Does it really matter how I look?

Before I launch into full-fledged panic, I'm going to David's Bridal to try it on. And then I'll just have to go from there, I guess. But in the meantime, any suggestions would be welcome.

another one bites the dust

Got a phone call this afternoon. One of my good friends is engaged. The wedding's next April. I'm a bridesmaid. Again. Yikes.

I'm totally, completely, extremely thrilled for her. Seriously. I just need to be selfish for a few minutes and throw myself a mini pity-party. I'm entitled. This will be the fifth wedding I've been to in four years... and I was a bridesmaid twice in two years (third time's a charm!). Good thing I didn't throw out the number of the woman who altered my bridesmaid dresses.

Well... maybe my friend's fiance will have some cute, single friends. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Sidebar - LET'S GO FLYERS!!!

Tonight's Flyers game

Down two games???

Allowing TWO Sabres hat tricks???

What the FUCK?

I'm so pissed off.

sleeeeeeep.....

So very. very tired...

It's been a long and busy weekend. I spent all day Saturday running errands in the rain, then rushed home, changed, and rushed out to get Erin and Mike for Mike's birthday extravaganza. First stop... HOOTERS! It was packed, due to the first Flyers playoff game (which they fucking LOST ), but we managed to squeeze our group into a table. From there we went back to the apartment to continue the drinking (many, many, many shots of cherry vodka were consumed... and for good reason ), eat some snacky foods, and chat. Due to the presence of certain people, I was expecting a lot of awkward tension ... but it was surprisingly un-awkward (is that a word?). That was kinda nice, because I was sick of being invisible. When the party broke up, Erin, Mike, Gina and I headed for Levittown to meet up with my brother and his friends at a bar. The world's oldest cover band was performing. Seriously, the average age of the band members had to be like 45. But they played some good stuff, so I'm not gonna complain. I didn't get home until 3, and I didn't fall asleep until around 4. And of course, I woke up at 9 with a killer headache and an allergy attack. Bleh. I managed to pull myself together in time for Erin's bridal shower! She seemed truly surprised. A good time - and a few mimosas - were had by all.

So now it's late and I'm exhausted and tomorrow is Monday already.

Time for bed, friends.

giving up the dream

I was just on the phone with my friend, and we got to talking about our lives and our futures and stuff like that. It got me thinking about where I am right now. When I was in high school and college, I had this image of how things would pan out for me. I'd graduate college, meet Mr. Right, fall in love, get married, buy a house, have kids. I'd be able to teach and raise my kids, maybe go to grad school if I felt like it. And the reality? I'm 28, single, teaching Catholic school, going to grad school, living with my parents.

Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad life at all. I have great friends, I love my job dearly, I'm kicking ass in grad school, and my family is awesome. I have my health, a car, a semi-decent social life. But it's not what I had planned.

I have friends who are engaged, married, have two or three kids. I have friends who are divorced, getting married for the second time. Almost all of my friends live in their own houses, condos or apartments. And me? I'm not dating right now. I've never had a boyfriend that I would consider marrying. I don't make enough money to move out of my parents' house.

I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that my life is not going to turn out the way I expected. But it's kinda hard to give up the dream, you know? It's hard to accept that I'm probably not going to be married before I turn 30. That after I get my masters, I'm going to have to quit the job I love because it doesn't pay me enough money to live on. That I'll most likely be buying my first house for myself, and not for a family. I'm certainly not the only one out there living like this. And like I said, there's nothing wrong it. But it's so not what I had planned.

happy easter!

It's me again. Blogging. You know how it goes.

So... Easter. Good stuff, huh? You know why I like Easter? There are no Easter carols on the radio, no presents to shop for and wrap, minimal (if any) decorations, very little stress. Plus the whole Jesus rising thing. It's all good. Just get dressed in something pretty, go to church, go to family dinner. Sweet.

I had a soda and two coffees tonight. That's more caffeine than I usually have in one day, so I'm a bit wired. My body doesn't know what to do with all the extra energy. So. Blogging it is. And IM-ing, cuz I have two people who won't leave me alone.
Hey, did you check out the cool new fridge on my profile? It's bad ass. Drag some letters to the top to leave me a message (and remember to click "save message" so I can see it). Leave me some love, people! (Erin, that was totally for your benefit...)

I have off tomorrow and Tuesday... ah, the perks of teaching Catholic school! Aside from studying for Tuesday's final, I don't have much of anything to do. I think I'll do laundry, read my book club book, and catch up on some shitty daytime television. Sounds fabulous, no?

Okay, I'm done talking to you. It's been real.