Internet Salvage Yard

I'm acting like the proprietor of an Internet salvage yard. It's cumbersome, let me tell you.

More Ketchup

Two days after Easter weekend, Kate and I had a huge fight over the phone...for hours. What a mess. Everything is fine now, but I let it all out.
Younger Matt's going-away party was great. He put on the song Xanadu while I was sitting outside, telling someone that he knew it would bring me back in. That person told me, and...well, he was right. I now have three Xanada songs set to play instead of rings when he calls me. Wonder why? :) His eyes began to well up with tears when he turned around to give me one last hug before moving to Chicago. That just killed me! The other day he thanked me for my friendship and said some other really nice things out of the blue. If only he weren't in Chicago.
The post about Brian...well, we went on a date to see Einstein Simplified. He didn't talk to me for a week and a half because I didn't shake his hand goodbye. I didn't see him hold out his hand since I was saying goodbye to Vincent. Brian ended up getting back together with his ex-fiance'.
In April I went to Minnesota to be in my friend Katie's Eharmony wedding. It was wonderful! I'll put in a funny story from it later.
I had my hair cut in June. Butchered is more like it. I asked for it to be shoulder length, and she chopped it up to my ears. I looked like a boy. It's tolerable now --- yeah!
Two weekends ago I went on a hike to Abram's Falls with Vincent.

I'm Back

Ok, I'm finally going to go through with this again. My lack of creative outlets has been getting to me. I combined the blog of personal ads with the replacement one and now here's this. My original blog's address now redirects you to a page that says "Welcome to my new blog" and offers you a free Sony PSP. That sucks. I can't get the address back. I forgot to cut and paste the comments from the personal ads blog into this one. That sucks as well. Oh well. Hey, at least my former blog was popular enough for Internet rascals to want to take it over. That's both good and bad. First, I must catch up on what has happened in the last few months. Well, I deleted the original blog of course and never really posted much on the replacement one - as you can tell here. The old blog's contents killed a tree when I printed them out. It's all sitting on a desk. I'm off to Atlanta for the weekend - yeah!

Ketchup - Easter Weekend

The last real post on the replacement blog was before I went to Atlanta for my goddaughter's birthday party. That was a whirlwind of a weekend. Kate wanted me to reserve a table at the zoo, and I drove 3 1/2 hours to do so after working three 13-hour-plus days. Younger Matt called while I was being a bitch shoeing families away from the table. Turns out he was there! He and Jeremy decided to surprise me by showing up there while I was holding down the fort. I directed him my way by using a nearby trombone player as a guide. "Hear When the Saints Go Marching In? Yeah, well, he knows that and two other songs. Trust me, I know." We walked around and talked. They gave me the keys to their place so I could take a nap there after the party instead of walking around inside the zoo. He thought I was going to invite Keith over for some "fun"...and I had to remind him that it just wasn't like that. I took the nap and then went over to Keith's. Shortly after I arrived, Keith was talking on the phone, and I was trying to get settled. I heard him tell his Dad, "Yeah, she's brushing her teeth." I thought WTF. His dad now knows I'm here this late at night? I smiled and flipped off Keith for that, and he just laughed and said, "It's ok." It was ok for his parents to know I was spending the night there? Not to me. I didn't want them to think that anything was going on since nothing was! We went out to eat at a fancy restaurant, and he asked if I wanted to keep some kind of I-forget souvenir from there. I declined. I thought, "What do you think this is, a date?" It was awkward. Kate had said she was going to call me, and she hadn't yet. Keith told me to not call her because of all the times she never called me back while we lived together. Dummy me took his advice. Yeah, I listened to him and didn't call Kate, waiting to see if she would call back. She hadn't answered when I called earlier in the day...typical. He had pink eye, and I wanted to catch it so I could miss work. No such luck. We had fun inventing tons of ludicrous and ever-more-insane calls-in for work. "Yeah, well I've got pink eye, but not only that...you see, a turtle aquarium fell on my foot, and I can't walk"...and so on and so on. I pressed him to tell me what he was thinking of me because he had been saying and doing so many weird things - like shaking his ass in my face and suggesting that we watch a movie with Nicholas Cage, who he looks like. I wanted him to watch Before Sunset so he could understand how I felt. The diatribe about all of her exes being married and thanking her for showing her what love meant...that's how I felt toward him. I don't know if he ever watched it since he wanted to go to bed right after I returned from the video store. I put eye drops in his eyes only to have him run to the sink complaining of poison since some dripped down into his mouth. Such a hypochondriac. I had some trouble sleeping, and he yelled at him for moving around and such. I moved into the living room and then ended up sitting on the floor in the kitchen crying because all of his yelling and such just transported me back in time to when he took me for granted and treated me like crap years ago. The next morning, Easter morning, I went to a Unitarian church with Younger Matt. Ended up crying tears of joy over the treatment of the children and their behavior during new-member ceremonies and the children's message. They had flowers that everyone could take home with them. I took two - one for Kate and one for Maddie. I went over to Kate's place. She was mad that I came over and greeted me very rudely, since she didn't know I was coming. I thought I had been invited days before. It was a big misunderstanding. I ended up fighting with her in the car in front of Stephen and Maddie over my plans to have dinner with Keith and his parents that evening. It was an ugly, ugly weekend at times. In May, Keith ended our friendship. He said it wasn't working out. He said, "Not to sound arrogant, but..." I interrupted him and made sure to let him know that if he was thinking that I had wanted him back that he was wrong. I was on a break from work and had just found out my Papa had died. He had been short with me earlier in the day so I called him back to see what was going on. I was furious and sent him a nasty email. He had complimented me, saying I was the best he ever had in all departments (yes, that means what you think it means). He had been so flirtatious at times. He had acted like he wanted me back, and I had said that I don't date exes, that even though I had said I still loved him that that didn't mean I wanted him back. Those three words had popped in my head while I was laying on his bed talking to him the first time I had seen him in years back in the fall, and they had freaked me out. After pondering it for awhile, I realized that I would always love him (or so I thought...I could kill him now)...that my passionate anger years before just reflected how strong my feelings were for him at all times. I realized that there was nothing wrong with still loving him as long as I didn't want to rekindle the flame. Since he was the most romantic person I ever dated, the temptation was there to get back with him at times, but his hypochondria, type-A tendencies, and negativity are still there, and they reminded me why we aren't a good match.

No phone

Got back in town Friday and worked that night. For my birthday Saturday, Vincent took me out to see Crash and then eat at Cozymel's. Then I had to work at the bookstore again. Crash was damn good. Some of the dialogue was a tad annoying, and the racism theme was overdone, but I still could not help but love the movie overall. Yesterday I went to see March of the Penguins with Mike, his friend John's girlfriend, and her friend and mother. Can you believe the theater was packed at 4PM on a Sunday for a documentary? Wow! Also a good film. Went to O'Charley's with all but the friend and then went out to see the Queer As Folk series finale at Kurt's with Mike. Disappointment is an understatement. I was surprised and thrilled to see Blake, but the wedding's cancellation blew. The hopeless romantic in me didn't get what I wanted. The least they could have done was have Justin appear out of the crowd and dance with Brian. The ending was so dame lame. Of course I had to call Linda about it. Since the hotel in Ohio couldn't find my cell phone charger and gave me one that charged the phone at first glance but then turned out to have no stamina, I ended up calling Linda from Court South while testing a charger I bought at WalMart. Unfortunately, it also suffered from electrile dysfunction. Got to buy an expensive Verizon charger I guess. Until then, insert modified Cake song. No phone, no phone, but I don't want to be alone today....Dysfunctional technology sucks. And deceptively-functional-but-not-functional stuff makes me tempted to become a Luddite.

Thursday I spent all day riding 12 roller coasters at Cedar Point. I loved seeing Lake Erie from the tops of the 200+, 300+, and 400 foot-tall hills. The stand-up coaster racked the heck out of me. Some others bucked me up and down so many times that I'm now ready to move on to bull riding. I banged my head back and forth on the shoulder pads at the end of the Raptor. That snake. The pressure of the Millenium Force was so great that leaving my eyes open was uncomfortable. I could have ridden the coasters all day. I'm a glutton for punishment, but I do have one question. Why don't Traumatic Brain Injury Support groups hold membership drives at amusement parks?

I liked the Magnum, and the Dragster (see them here) made for an awesome thirty seconds!

Currently reading and enjoying:
The Devil's Teeth : A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks
By Susan Casey
Release date: By 07 June, 2005

Brian

I have a lot of catching up to do. Mostly though I want to talk about an amazing date I had.
I'd been talking to Brian for a couple of weeks. Hooked up with him on the dating line. Our conversations have always been good. Connected.
Saturday night after I got off work at the bookstore, I couldn't wait any longer. I wanted to lay eyes on him so I made him meet me in a Waffle House parking lot.
From there I followed him back to his place so we could switch to my car.
First up was Patrick Sullivan's for a screwdriver and a rum and coke. I suggested he try Cointreau, and he did. The bartender gave him one of the biggest shots I'd ever seen of it! Sometimes I sip and savor; other times I down it. I told him that I usually down it, and that's what he did. Let's just say he got a tad tipsy.
Next we went down to Preservation Pub. Then we went driving around. I showed him my cute little work domain, and he showed me his. He showed me a view from a really tall hill south of downtown, and I showed him the gorgeous view from Sharp's Ridge. He scratched a note into the rail saying, "Brian was drunk here. Thank you ____ (me)." After that, we went back to his place and listened to some Faith No More, a band we both love. No kiss. Darn. Maybe next time...

Finally - A Free Hotel Room!

I have finally lined up my first hotel mystery shop and will be getting reimbursed for a room and breakfast. Woohoo! I have to go to Nashville April 8-9 for meetings. From Nashville, I have to go straight to Atlanta for my little brother's birthday party. It's going to be a busy, busy, busy weekend.

Less Like Cyndi Lauper

The last few days my hair has finally calmed down and has finally stopped trying to match my car. It's now a human, and humane, pigment. Hallelujah!

My Brother's Leaving for the White City

I'm going to Atlanta, and Atlanta's coming to me. The next three weekends are going to be bittersweet. This weekend is my adorable goddaughter's birthday party in Atlanta. I'm going to try to squeeze in time with my adopted younger brother, Younger Matt, and another friend, my ex-fiance', Keith; my little brother may be out of town. Hopefully I'll also be able to watch the Easter egg hunt at Kate's in-law's house; I don't know if I have to come back and work that day yet. Next weekend Younger Matt is coming here. The following weekend I'm going to Atlanta again for my younger brother's birthday party/going-away party. He's leaving for a new start in Chicago, and I'm going to miss him terribly. It's one thing to go from seeing him once every few days to seeing him every month or so. That took some getting used to, but I finally learned to deal with it. It's quite another thing to go from seeing him every month or so to seeing him once or twice a year. I doubt he'll be able to make it down to Atlanta often. It's not like it could be a weekend trip. He is one of the best friends I have ever had and knows me so much better than many people who have known me far longer than him. I'm so honored that he considers me like family. Friends like him don't come along often. I'm going to once again make sure that he realizes how much I appreciate him. It's the least I can do. I better stop since I'm starting to tear up just thinking about it.

The Curious Phone Call with the Texan in the Night-Time the Day after Finishing a Great Book

I talked to a guy from Texas on the dating line last night. We both miss the sky. We both agree that Texas Roadhouse is the lamest, fakest restaurant on the planet. We both agree that seeing one club's regulars line dancing to every song, including rap, is just plain bizarre. I don't recall people back home doing that, but maybe they did. I suppose I would block that out if they had. :) We both bemoan how hard it is to find good Mom-and-Pop Mexican food. We had a lot of fun talking and may meet soon.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon is a gem. It's a fictional glimpse into autism that is very matter-of-fact. I sympathized with the parents' frustrations while coming to an understanding that the child does not realize what he is missing by being unable to experience the full spectrum of normal human emotions. I loved the book's incorporation of difficult math problems; I pondered and tackled them all. The only letdown was the ending. Too abrupt. Too unoriginal. Everything had already been mentioned once. We didn't need a summary of things that had already been said; we needed something new to provide a glimmer of hope. Despite this, I'm going to recommend it to my friend who is an occupational therapist. I believe she will find and appreciate things I never saw. I hope she will state that it does seem to portray autism realistically since that's the opinion I had, but I don't have the wealth of knowledge on the topic and regular contact with autistic people like she does.

I Stood Up To Someone

After resting on Friday and working Saturday and Sunday nights, I was glad that this was the last weekend I'll have without social plans for awhile. While driving home Sunday, I found out that a friend was at a bar with some of his friends. He likes to keep his friends segregated but had allowed a girl he's been seeing lately to tag along. That's so hypocritical. When I said that I was thinking of dropping in, he said they were leaving soon. I was in the area and was already planning on going to the grocery store near the bar on my way home. When I left the grocery store thirty minutes later, I could see his car still sitting in front of the bar. This really pissed me off. I don't what the freaking big deal is. I've met all but one of the long-term friends he was with. And guess what? I met them when I arranged for them to surprise him at a birthday party me and two friends of mine, who, incidentally, I once set up with him, planned. I've been his friend for four and a half years. I dated him for three months and then broke up with him because he was a bitter jerk. His bitterness decreased over the years but has resurfaced in full force again here recently. He can be such a jerk at times. Rarely to me though. I'm just tired of mostly only being an on-the-phone friend whose only role seems to be to listen to him bitch about his ex and tons of other things. I'm tired of his being a hypocrite. And I especially don't like the fact that he lied to me. Let's see if he apologizes. He better, but I doubt he will. When I started to vent, he said, "Why should I feel obligated to invite you?" Our mutual friend said she would chew him out the next time she talked to him. I said that we shouldn't gang up on him. Maybe we should. I'm so sick of his negativity. I know that sounds hypocritical, but I have been nothing but patient and long-suffering for years. I'm tired of his taking my friendship for granted. I'm especially tired of his bitter side's rearing its ugly head more and more for the last few months.

Ch-Ch-Changes...

The weekend before last consisted of another do-nothing Friday night, a work-both-jobs Saturday, and another do-nothing Sunday. So bland. But last week things became interesting. I had a huge deadline on Monday that resulted in my working late on Saturday and Monday. Not only was there the incident with the guy; I also had to stand around for forty-five minutes in the freezing cold on Friday to wait for busses that were delayed by car wrecks. I looked like a lunatic standing there shivering and cussing nonstop. I caught this woman looking over at me from her heated car with concern and pity. I wanted to scream. But I knew that it was all going to change very quickly. And it did.
Around noon on Saturday - hours before I was expecting them - Michelle & David called and said they were bringing the car over. I got my new baby. The cutest baby I have ever had. I'm in love. First things first I took them home and filled out paperwork with them. I went to drop off my moody cell phone to be fixed. Then I loaded up the car for some future errands. Another nice thing about the car - it has a trunk. Hatchbacks are great for moving furniture, but it was so annoying to not have any private niche in the car. Now I have a trunk! Woohoo - it's the small things, I know. I'm like a kid in a candy store - I have a keychain remote control, power locks and windows, a car alarm, a sunroof, a functional radio station display with digital clock, and cruise control. My God, I've died and gone to car heaven. I absolutely love driving this car!
Sunday I ran some errands and got my hair cut and colored. Reddish brown. I'm trying to get used to it. If only it were a believable, human-looking pigment. I may just have to do what I never do. Go in and demand it be fixed. I want a natural-looking color. This red is for aliens I swear.
Monday night I called Chaunda and let her know I was in her neck of the woods. Dropped by a new bookstore that is the reincarnation of a now-closed bookstore I once worked at. Six of the people I worked with there either own, manage, or work at this new place. It's another adorable Cheers-of-the-bookstore-world. Tuesday night I went to comedy and then hung out at Beth's place for the first time. She has a cute house with two hyper dogs that would put any toddler with a sugar high to shame. There is no feeling quite like having a dog's tongue up your nose. I made up a song for the nose-digger to the tune of Barry Manilow's Copacabana, I was singing, "My name is Toby, the rat terrior. The cutest rat terrier on the planet." I started calling the little guys Ren and Stimpy. Though they both needed to be sedated, Toby is really stoic and dignified. Bear...well, Bear is just so ugly that he's cute.
Last night I went to a meeting and then watched an edited version of The Corporation that focused on the environment. My stomach was literally in knots. To think I didn't even see the entire film. I learned so many new things about RHGB's debilitating effects on cows, corporate patenting of genes, greedy traders' disregard of the tragedy of 9/11, conflicts over privatization of water supplies, and corporate complicity with Nazi Germany (I already knew about IBM but didn't know about Coke and some others). One of the main premises of the film is that if one were to evaluate corporations as if they were individuals, many would be diagnosed as psychopaths. Understandably so. It was nice to have a hero though. One CEO is trying to make his corporation sustainable by 2020. That's definitely a noble goal, one that I hope he can accomplish.
All in all, it's been a great few days!

This Place Is A Dump

Last night I found it disturbing that so many students left trash in the auditorium. Doesn't anyone around here have any regard for aesthetics? There is trash everywhere in this town. No one regularly cleans the roads. There's no campaign like "Don't Mess with Texas." I’ve never found this city to be attractive but after having walked down so many of its roads and spending so much time staring down so many others, I am repulsed. The dirth of sidewalks and lack of cleaning crews stand out more than ever.
Orlando's fiscal irresponsibility, dirth of sidewalks, numerous non-mowed areas, and widespread placement of ghetto and high-class neighborhoods side-by-side were inexplicable and disturbing. I mean what other city blows up a perfectly good city hall and sells the movie rights to the implosion so they can build the only skyscraper city hall in America? I remember all of the fanfare around the implosion - it was all over the news. Live coverage for hours. Orlando has issues. But this city has just as many.
I've always thought this city was rather ugly. I hate to say it, but I was trying to figure out if I've ever seen a city this large be this dirty. No, I haven't. New York City definitely had some trashy areas, but this city is trashy throughout. This is by far the ugliest large city I have ever lived in. And it's also the ugliest city I've ever seen. I hate to say that. I really do.

Update on humble frat boy...

The humble frat boy boxed (i.e. contacted) me. Said that if I was interested in younger guys that he was interested in me. My friend and I think we should toy with him. It was really funny that he said, "You used a lot of big words in your ad." I listened to my ad again to see what he meant. No, I didn't use big words. I used common words. There's only one word that some morons might not know. With all of his ums I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't know it. The word is "articulate."