I'm in a pretty damn good mood, considering it's Monday. Weird, I know. The stars must be aligned correctly or something. Hell, even my horoscope was dead-wrong today!

Friday night, Josh and I were supposed to play w0w, but he forgot there was Sharks away-game that night, so at my suggestion, he watched the game instead. I crapped around the house and on my computer. Saturday morning, I got up at like 9:45a, had my coffee, read my news, and then decided I would work on my id3 tag project. I did letters M-R, including 22 Rush albums! That evening, I picked it up again about 11p and started the S's and got to Sonic Youth before I had to leave for the airport. Josh and I spent the afternoon playing w0w, and then I took a shower/bath around 6p. Around 7, I went over to Hickory's and met his new 19yo cat (she's sweet) and had the most awesome jambalaya risotto. Actually, I had never had jambalaya risotto before, but damn, it was good! His risotto is the only risotto, next to Josh's, that I've ever liked. Most risotto just doesn't impress my palate. I went home around 11, worked on my id3 project til midnight, then went to the airport to rescue 3 stragglers I found in the international terminal. Everybody got to their respective homes, and I went to bed.

Yesterday brought some sleep, Lois for breakfast (but my usual waitress, Margot, wasn't there! wah!), more napping, and mindless TV watching. It was nice doing nothing all day.

And this week, I have *nothing* planned on my schedule except for having people over on Friday to watch BSG. Saturday, I'm going to a local show, and then on Sunday, I'm going to Santa Rosa (bleh) to get my hairs done. And boy, do they need it! They're starting to look groody.

I am feeling pretty good these days (since the beginning of last week even! One week out of my 3 before I have a party! :P), and that's awesome. My left side has been kinda bugging me for a week, so I went to the chiropractor this morning. I had something turned the wrong way, so he turned it back for me. I heart my chiro, even if he is a little strange. But I'm a lot strange, so there ya go. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a mellow week. Mellow is my M.O. these days.

(Reposted because it got updated)

I keep a ~4 gig playlist on my iPo of 'new music' that I need/want to listen to. Here's what I've been listening to lately:

Portishead - 'The Third': I am not really sure what to think of this album yet. I've listened to it 3 times so far. While nothing from Portishead is *bad*, I'm not sure what makes this album different than any of their others yet. I need to learn this album before I can give it a true thumbs-up or thumbs-down. But so far, it's looking to be a thumbs-up!

Dr.Toast - 'The Entanglement EP': Dr.Toast is a local SF DJ. He is teh awesome. I saw him for the first time at Field Day 2 last summer, and have hearted him ever since. This EP is a teaser for the album 'The Wave Function', which comes out tomorrow. This EP came out on Tuesday, and I downloaded it on Wednesday. I've been listening to this for days, and it's totally great. I can't wait for the new album to be available for download!

Bob Mould - 'District Line': Any Mould album has always taken me forever to get into. He's not an easily-listentoable kind of guy. But once you get into it, it's golden. I'm glad I stuck with Sugar until I fell in love with them. The album is pretty good so far, but I'm not hip to the gadgets he used on his vocals. I don't feel any of that crap was needed. The show was awsome, btw!

Puscifer - 'V is for Vagina': Oh, Maynard and his fucked up names and titles....I heart the guy. This album is great.

Sandra Nasic - 'The Signal': I absolutely loved Guano Apes, so I had to check out Ms.Sandra's solo album. Tho a teeny bit different from GA, this is still a pretty good album, and as time goes by, I find myself with her songs stuck in my head.

Information Society - 'Synthesizer': Ever since I saw them play in January, I've been on an IS kick. They're so poppy and clubby, I love them. Some of the songs are kinda goofy and ridiculous, but they're supposed to be. I like this album. Every time I hear it, I see a friend of mine 'rocking out' to it, and I laugh my ass off!

The Presidents Of The United States Of America - 'These Are Good Times People': As usual, PUSA puts out a goofy, but kick-ass album. I love these guys. They make me laugh. And if you can catch them live, do. You'll thank yourself!

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - 'Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars': Sure, this was released in 1988, and really not normally 'missy music', but I caught the boat late and jumped on anyway! This is a really good album. 'The Wheel', and 'Air Of December' are a few of my favorites.

NIN - 'Ghosts': 36 tracks of instrumental goodness. If you listen carefully, you can totally tell it's Reznor. It's also great background music. Official word is that Reznor is gathering up the troops for a tour, and they'll be in Oaktowne on 9/5. Now, let's just hope tickets are affordable!

Epic 45 - 'May Your Heart Be The Map': The Stupids gave me the 'post rock' bug. Bastards! If you can just ignore the Emo in it and listen to the music genre for what it is, it's pretty good. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this album, but it's pretty good so far.

Jean Jacques Perrey & Luke Vibert - 'Moog Acid': I like this album. It's kinda weird and trippy in parts, but I likes it.

Oingo Boingo - 'Best O' Boingo' and 'Boi-ngo': My love of 80s new-wave has no boundries. I love these guys. They're way talented, and their music just makes me want to dance. Another late discovery for me, but better now than not at all!

God Is An Astronaut - 'A Moment of Stillness', 'All Is Violent, All Is Bright', and 'The End of the Beginning': More 'post rock'. I haven't listened to any of these yet, but 'Far From Refuge' is pretty good, and Josh is really into these guys right now, so I'll have a listen to these 3 albums also.

The Heavy Circles - 'The Heavy Circles': This is Edie Brickell and her step-son's band. Shuffle hasn't brought this album up very much, but the few times that I've heard it, I've liked it.

Squelchy - 'Sometime Is Now': Squelchy is another down-tempo SF-Area DJ friend of mine from the TEC days. I really like the stuff he spins, and this album is pretty good so far! I'll hear a random song and go, "What is this?...oh, it's Squelch's stuff...that's why it catches my ear!".

Patrick Watson - 'Close To Paradise: I suppose I would describe this as 'mellow'. Not much to say, as I think it speaks for itself. I like this album.

Saturday Looks Good To Me - 'Fill Up The Room': Half-punky, half-indie, I kinda dig on it. The first song especially sticks.

The B-52's - 'Funplex': It's been a looooong time since 'Love Shack', but these aging new-wave icons still have it. I listened to this album 5 times in a row yesterday :P. I reccomend it for it's 'fun' factor.

Welp, that's it for now. It's getting closer and closer to 'okay, it's time for new music' time, so I'm sure I'll download a bunch of new music to listen to sometime soon!

Today is Friday. I'm so glad I could cry. Really. I survived the last 2 weeks! More importantly, I've survived the last month! A real humdinger of a month, too. (Humdinger? :P)

First up, my health: After surviving a burst ovarian cyst (god*dammit*, that was painful), and horrible stomach cramps (related to my digestive stuph), I am *finally* feeling at about 95%. I went and saw my G.I. yesterday. As I expected, the biopsies they took from the endoscopy all came back normal. Well, then why did my guts feel like they were trying to get out of my body? Turns out that I needed an adjustment to my meds. Apparently, the Critters I take produce gas, which I suppose makes sense. Take 900 billion of those every day, and you get a lot of gas. Add to that 10g of fiber (which I guess produces it's own gas or something that I don't really understand), and you get guts that are not happy. Or at least, my gut didn't like all that activity! I totally would have never thought of that on my own. So, doctor guy suggested cutting down from one packet of Critters a day to half a packet every other day, and to cut down the fiber from 1T to 2t. So, everything cut in half. He said that that should probly even things out. He also said that my constant stomach pain was due to the fact that my stomach doesn't contract as often as it should. He said that the average person's stomach contracts 4 times a second. Mine contracts half that. Oops. He also said that doctor's best guess is that it's nerve damage of some kind. He thinks that all the stress over the past year may have contributed to that, as well as my guts being a mess. He thinks that once my system settles down due to the new changes, that my stomach will repair itself as well. It's a wonder to me that they can operate on the brain and get rid of cancer, but they can't figure out why the human digestive system does what it does. On my own this week (after some reading that I did), I decided I would make a conscience effort to slow down when I ate. I saw immediate results in how my guts reacted. w00p! It's kinda hard right now, and I have to *make* myself take 10 minutes to eat a bowl of cereal, but I totally reap the benefits from doing so. If I can maintain good health for 3 weeks, I'm throwing a party. Really :P

Next: The Bob Mould show on Wednesday was *awesome*. It was me, Schreck, and his friend "C". She decided we were going to stand up front, so she marched her short little self with us in tow, to the front. The show was great! Mould was in a good mood, and they played a bunch of Sugar's material, which made me happy. The bass player was not only cute, but he could play his instrument *and* you could tell he was a big Bob Mould fan. I love those types of musicians. They're fun.

Last night, I went to Glen Park to hang out with my friend Stefan. I met him last summer and partied with him, but hadn't actually spent real time with him yet, and I wanted to do so. He's totally worth getting to know! We had sushi for dinner (which was really good) and then spent the next couple of hours drinking hot tea and shooting the shit. Just before I left, he took me to the roof to see a totally cool panorama of the city. I wish I had a camera with me! All in all, it was a very chill night, and I had a great time.

Tonight, Josh and I are playing w0w. Apparently, Hickory got custody of a 19yo kitty, and he wants me to come meet her, so I am going to try and do that this weekend as well. Old cats are cool. Tomorrow will bring sleeping in late, drinking coffee, and doing whatever the hell I want to do. I will probly attempt to take a nap at some point in the evening because I know that I will be up hella late. Assuming everyone's flight is on time, I need to leave my house around midnight to get to SFO to rescue people. It occurred to me in my sleep last night that fitting 3 people and 3 sets of luggage into my car/trunk is going to be tricky. We will all probly be fairly smooshed, but we'll make do! Sunday, I will do whatever the hell I want again. That's what weekends are for, right?

1. Do you like the season of Spring? What does 'spring' mean where you live?
I do like spring. It seems to be the one season that has any distinction to me. I like everything being green. I love the rain. I like that the days are longer. Spring is good. Here on Planet Bay Area, we live at about the same latitude as where I grew up in IN, so we still have seasons. Sorta. We have a distinct spring, but the rest of the seasons meld together. In the fall, some of the trees turn colors and leaves fall off, but not most. Where I come from, everything looks completely dead by October. I prefer the seasons and the weather here tho. They're subtle.

2. Do you have a favorite part of Spring? If so, what is it? Why?
I love Contra Costa County in the spring. It's the only time of the year when things are green. The rest of the year, it's this dead, lifeless brown color. But in the spring, the hills are green, the trees are full of blossoms...hell, even the *air* smells cleaner. Must be all those oxygenating plants!

3. Do seasons in general mean much to you? Why/why not?
Like I said up top, the seasons (except for spring) seem to meld around here. They aren't really distinct like they are in Indiana. And while I don't mind that, I kinda miss weather. Not the ice and snow, but waking up on a cloudy day and knowing that it's going to rain. It's not fog that'll burn off by 10a. Here (usually), it's either sunny or rainy. I like living west of the Oakland Hills because a handful of the time, I wake up to fog (I could not tell you why, but I really can't stand waking up and the sun being out. Too damn bright for me at such an early hour.) and the light is muted while I wake up, but then I drive the other way to work and the sun is out, bright and being obnoxious as the drivers getting in my way. Anyway, seasons are kinda seasons around here, and they're pretty seemless for the most part.

1. Do you like the season of Spring? What does 'spring' mean where you live?

3. Do seasons in general mean much to you? Why/why not?

Remember to post these in your blog and don't forget to post a comment letting us know where you posted them by posting a link here!

Alright, this is the stupidest fucking thing I've seen all week so far. Dr. Pepper offering free sodas to everyone (except Buckethead and Slash...again, WTF?) if Axl pulls 'Chinese Democracy' out of his ass? Are you fucking kidding me?

*shakes head*

Maybe they're pulling this stunt because they know it's unlikely that the world will ever see Axl's album. And it *isn't* Guns 'n' Roses, dammit. Guns 'n' Roses started dying when the first original member was ousted in 1991, and was finalized when the last person left in 1997.

It's been a rocky couple of days, but I made it thru in one piece! I had a big project at work that took me half of Friday and most of yesterday to complete, but it's done! OCD girl works well under organized pressure! I spent the evening just hanging out, and then Josh and I played some GH and Rock Band til about 10p, then talked until about 1a. Even tho I'm going out tonight, I'm going home early and going the hell to bed :P.

It's been a halfway productive morning as well. I read a few online comics daily, and one of the artists got his first MRSA infection, so I shot him an email letting him know about my own story, and how to prevent that from happening to him. This is so not something I would wish on anyone! Not only that, but I don't not want comics because he's got this thing! I'm selfish! :P. Next, thanks to my tax rebate, I was able to order some tea that I wanted, paid a co-pay from last week (the dr's office had just moved and didn't have their credit card thingy hooked up yet), and paid another medical bill that was apparently from last year. I got this notice from a collection agency last week informing me that I owed $90 for something somewhere. I'm sure it's legit because I have been under care pretty constantly since last February, so I went ahead and took care of that. It would have been really nice if I would have received a bill *before* being sent to the collection agency. Dorks :P. I have another one to take care of as well, but it's from the lady who misdiagnosed me, and I'm waiting for the 'right' mood to let them know that they will be eating that particular bill that I don't probly even owe them money for in the first place. There's no way you're going to misdiagnose me about something that has caused me further damage and then ask me to pay a bill because you can't bill the insurance correctly! NMFP! I also remembered to call Inticketing and get my Bob Mould ticket switched to will-call. Aparently, their servers don't like my domain name, and the mails don't land anywhere near me. Not even in spam boxes! This has happened twice now, so when I go to use that place again, I'll have to give them a non-HMQ addy. Anyway, my ticket is secured, and I'm looking forward to the show tomorrow! Also on the agenda today is getting my claws clipped because I could probly damn near put someone's eye out with them. Tonight is laundry/movie night with "M", and I hope to be home and asleep by 11p. Mesa tard.

Welp, I need a muffin and some jello.

(You = 3rd person)

I hate having the same conversation more than once. If you need clarification, fine, but specifically ask for clarification ("Hey, I just want to double check details.."), don't have the same conversation with me twice from beginning to end. I feel like I wasn't listened to the first time around. And even tho I'm sure that I'm wrong in assuming that I wasn't listened to, a different delivery could fix this. Like I said, state you're just going over details. Make me feel like I was listened to. At the end of the day, it's my perception that makes me feel a certain way about something.

Don't question my dedication to something. Wether it be my love for my music, my cats, my relationship, don't question why I believe what I do. I don't lie about these things. I have no *reason* to lie about these things. And nothing pisses me off more than when someone pushes my buttons about something related to this subject when their self-esteem is less than stellar for some particular reason that day. Don't insult me just to make yourself feel better. Especially when it's a subject that has been discussed on 150 million occasions, me repeating the same beliefs for something over and over. I am quite adamant when it comes to things I believe in. Again, mostly, this refers to my relationship, my kids, my music, and the way I live my life. Don't question my beliefs and intentions. Just don't do it. I take it as a personal slight against me.

Hrmph.

The Explosions In The Sky show on Thursday night was *awsome*. A very, very good show. The opening act was the guy with a loop machine and a guitar. And while his intentions were good, it was pretty torturous to me, and I kept counting the minutes until he got off the stage. Andrew Bird this guy was not. I was also not into the crowd. This was my firt emo show, and I suppose I was not ready for it :P. Bad hair, second-hand looking clothes, people who hadn't showered in days...and they were packing in the place, making me awful clausterphobic. And now I'm reminded of why I'm a meatal-head :P. Josh and I ended up moving to the back of the venue, which was fine because each member of Explosions (who looked like they were all on something, which I can see adding to the music in this case) were in their own world, and there was nothing to look at. Because there music is fairly complicated and pretty layered, I stood there for most of the show with my eyes closed just listening and moving to the music. It was *amazing*. And they play very well together. It's probly my *last* emo show (so very much not into this kind of crowd), but it was a good one performance-wise. I am greatful I got to see them play!

Friday, Josh and I went down to San Jose to see the Sharks play the Ducks. And they won! We came home and pretty much went straight to bed. I got up around 11a yesterday, had my coffee, and then when Josh got up, we walked to the auto parts store to get some carb cleaner for a glass-cleaning project I was working on. I spent most of the afternoon on-and-off with it, and finally, after a week, all is clean! I am proud of myself :). While I was puttering around the house doing various things, Josh mostly-cleaned his room. And no, I didn't tell him to do so! :P. Around 7p, we went to Target to get things to put together an Easter basket for Josh's niece. After that was a 9-minute (Josh timed it!) run for pet supplies at PetSmart. We came home and put away the stuff, Josh put the basket together, and we putzed around (watching TV and Josh playing video games) until I went to bed.

I hate waking up early on Sunday's, but by some freak of nature, I woke up at like 9:30a, had my critters & coffee, put Josh's Easter basket together (who am I to deny someone a basket full of candy?), read my RSS feeds, and played Guitar Hero until a few mins ago. Helen has spent the past almost 3 hours 'talking' to the squirrel outside. She's got an *awful* lot to say this morning! I was supposed to go to a house-warming party, but it's in a not-so-perfect part of Oakland, and "M" (who I was supposed to go with) isn't feeling well, so I think I'll just stay home and chill out. Josh is currently at the store getting goodies to make for something with potatoes in it for dinner, and he'll put all that together, and then we'll leave around 4p for Walnut Creek. I need to hit the bank, and the gas station before we head to his parents for dinner.

Work went from fairly dead to pretty damn busy in a a matter of weeks, so this week (at least the first couple of days so far) looks to be fairly busy. I've worked pretty hard at filling up my days and nights the past couple of weeks, so being busy is good! Tomorrow I don't have anything major planned. Tuesday is movie/laundry night at M's, Wednesday is the Bob Mould show, and Thursday I'm supposed to have dinner with my friend Stefan. Friday and Saturday I have nothing until midnight on Saturday. I'm picking up Ivan, Ben, and Rose from SFO and taking them all home. They're flying back from 2 weeks in Costa Rica. Luckies! I will be awarded breakfast later in the day....from (you guessed it) Lois :P. And piah! Can't forget the piah.

Welp, I think I'll make some hot cereal and then go take a shower and watch the end of 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'...party on, dudes!

Well, I made it thru the first half of the week, so that's something to write home about. Tuesday, "M" and I went to see PUSA. We got to the venue and I literally ran (he spilled half my beer!) into my friend Matt and his brother Tim. Matt bought me another beer, the show started, and all was good. It was a very fun and entertaining show! They played a few pieces off their new album (which I could recognize because I had been listening to it a few days beforehand), a few songs off other albums, and probly 3/4 of their first album. And since I totally love that album, it was a cool treat. 3 totally down to earth guys having fun....it was a great time. I got a shirt too, and was pleasantly surprised that they were only $20. Merch is always so expensive now-a-days, and I was glad that I didn't have to pay out the ass for a shirt this time around.

Yesterday, I had an endoscopy done. I didn't have to be at the hospital until noon, so I slept until 11. My body thought it would be a good day to do its thing, so I had an aggravating case of cramps. Josh drove me to the hospital, checked in, and when the nurse asked me what was wrong and I told her I had cramps, she told me they could give me something for that. "For cramps? I can really just grin and bear it, it's just annoying". Her response was, "Well, you're already going to have an IV, you're here, we're allowed to give them to you...why not?". Well, since you put it that way! A few mins later, I was feeling no pain. Hehe...I like cool nurses :). I guess the procedure went well, and I was home by 3:15p or so.

Josh had a hockey game last night, so I just chilled and watched TV and hung around the house until I went to bed at 9:30p. Tonight is the Explosions In The Sky show, and I am really looking forward to this! Tomorrow, Josh and I are going to a Shark's game. And by a stroke of luck, things came together enough that I get to go to the Bob Mould show next week afterall! Yay! 3 shows in 8 days....I'm down with that!

Well, lots to do today, and the work isn't going to do itself...

Name 3 issues/events/happenings in your life or in the world that you are thinking about these days. Explain why you care about them enough to write about it here.

1. My health. It keeps going up and down. Why? I dunno. It wasn't enough that my digestive issues were hindering my day-to-day life, but then I had that stupid ovarian cyst issue plague me for 3 weeks. Sure, it overshadowed my digestive issues because it was so damn painful, but then it makes me wonder wtf else is going on with me. However, the OBGYN seems to think it was a random occurance and probly won't happen again. I just want my body to finish making whatever changes it's making so I can move forward thru my life without any pain or discomfort.

3. Work. Work was way slow for awhile, and now it's picking back up again, and I seem to have troubles adjusting to it for some reason. I see the piles and I think, "Um...can I just take a nap underneath my desk instead?" . Why am I not motivated? It's not like the work is hard...hell, I *like* the work! And my boss is teh total awsome, so it's not that either. Why am I stalling? Maybe it's just because the past week has been difficult and I have one more week to trudge thru before things settle down. And maybe, my only choice right now is to put my head down and charge thru the work and the next week and know that everything will be cool. Cause, it will!

Name 3 issues/events/happenings in your life or in the world that you are thinking about these days. Explain why you care about them enough to write about it here.

Remember to post these in your blog and don't forget to post a comment letting us know where you posted them by posting a link here!

First off, Happy Boofday to Mr. Billy Corgan, who is 41 years young and still full of piss and vinegar!

I got up at 9:30a yesterday and had my coffee and critters, read my RSS feeds, bought my Yuri's Night tickets, and then took a shower. "M" picked me up around 11, and I introduced yet another friend of mine to the joys of Lois The Pie Queen. I decided to go full-on Southern and get chicken and waffles...and sweet potatoe pie (which I ate later in the day, and it was damn good). Man, what a good breakfast! I have no idea why I didn't try this combo earlier! Yum yum.

I got dropped off at home afterwards, and spent the afternoon hanging out with Josh until he and Kenny went to the Sharks game around 4. Josh had oral surgery on Friday, but aside from a swollen face, he's doing alright. After Josh left, I went to the laundry mat and started laundry. I decided to do not only my clothes, but the sheets and all of the cats' blankets (which number 4...my children are so spoiled :P). After I put the laundry in the dryer, I went to retrieve a piece of glass that I had promised to clean from "I's" house while he is away, and helped Damien move some things around so he could set up his music equipment. By the time we were done with that, it was time to go rescue my laundry. I got everything folded and got it all home, then Hickory and Taylor came over to hang out. We got Raj for dinner, and watched a couple of episodes of Planet Earth. Josh came home at some point and hung out with us for a bit. I kicked everyone out at 10:30p and went to bed. I was tard! So, it was a pretty productive, yet decently mellow Sunday.

I am feeling pretty okay today, and haven't had to take any anti-spaz meds so far, so that's good! Maybe this week will bring some answers. I'm going to see PUSA tomorrow, but their website never emailed me the tickets, so I called and got them switched to will-call, so that's taken care of! It looks like it's going to be quite a challenging day, and so as soon as I get thru it (which I will even if it friggin kills me), I'm going home and having a nice, heady Guinness. From the tap. That's sitting in my livingroom. Afterall, it *is* St.Patty's day! Being an adult has its advantages :P

Dear Steve Jobs: I heart my Mac and my iPo, but, fuck you! Your company's days of making me use specific software that you want me to use are over. OVER! Bite me, Missy.

:P

This morning, all I wanted to do was listen to my msic and wake up. Now, bear with me here as I explain this. With the Tivo software, I am able to listen to my music that's on my computer thru the stereo system in the living room. On a PC, this is fairly simple. You install the software on your PC, then you give the Tivo the IP addy to your computer, it connects, and you browse thru your directories and pick what you want to listen to. Easy as pie, right? On the Mac end, some idiot thought the most efficient way to listen to music thru the Tivo would be to look at the iTunes folder and instead of everything being in a nice, organized fashion, everything is thrown into one directory, and with 90 gigs, it's damn near impossible to find what you want to listen to. And if you do manage to find what you want to listen to, it's all duplicated for no reason. This is bullshit. It's an iTunes thing, and I have nothing but major loathing for it.

Well, last week I installed VMware so I could have access to a winblows machine. Mostly, this was so I could do my music project on my own machine without having to boot up the server in the living room. I got it all set up. Then I installed WinAmp so when I wanted to listen to music on my puter, I could use that instead of iTunes.

This morning, I wondered to myself if I could install the Tivo software on the virtual PC, and listen to my music how I wanted to listen to it. I actually had to do a search on how to uninstall a program on the Mac (which was way too friggin easy...friggin Apple :P), and got rid of the Tivo software on my Mac. I installed the Tivo software on the virtual PC, had to make a few settings changes, and wallah! I can listen to music again on the Tivo the way I want to listen to it! I won that battle!

I also installed Tag&Rename on the virutal PC so I can work on my music project directly on my puter. I won that battle also!!

So, yay! Music on the Tivo works again, and I can listen to music *without* using iTunes! Fuckin' rock on! The only time I hae to use it now is when I want to load my iPo.

So, all is well in my land today. Puter does what I want it to do, my gut isn't hurting as much today, and I plan on doing jack shit for the rest of the day. We may go to Trader Joes later because the house is void of food, but other than that, nothin'. Tomorrow, I think I'm going to breakfast with "M", and laundry in the afternoon (I have to go to the laundry mat because the washer and dryers are broken.....again....as usual.) when Josh goes to the Sharks game with Kenny. But all in all, it'll be a mellow day.

Lots of random shit to talk about today! But watch out, I'm a little more opinionated than usual, as I've got a few issues in my craw today.

1. Oingo Boingo: I have no idea why *now*, but I've been into these guys a lot lately. My introduction to these guys was, of course, 'Weird Science'. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I know most all of the lines to that movie, therefore, I know most all of the music as well. Doesn't hurt that it was the main title too! I heart John Hughes and his love for putting then-obscure new-wave songs into his soundtracks. It's obvious that one of Danny Elfman's influences was Queen and Freddie Mercury. And since I love Queen as well, maybe that's where some of the attraction lies. As I got older, I became a Burton/Elfman film, so anything those guys have done together, I've probly seen. When one listens to almost any film score he's put together, you can hear hints of the Boingo style. And then I start getting nostalgic. And then I start laughing because I'm sure he still gets kidded about being in an 80s new-wave band. Ah, I heart new wave. I was borne 8 years too late, dammit :P

2. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians: I never really got into this band. Everyone knows 'What I Am', and for a radio hit, it's not a bad song. When I went to college in 1994, one of my neighbors down the hall was on a total Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars kick, and I remember hearing the album in its entirety a few times and remembering that it wasn't too bad. And then I forgot about it until recently. And then a friend of mine who I can get to play for me from time-to-time busted out 'Circle', and I got that song in my head, which prompted me to go find the album. And so I've been listening lately, actually *learning* this album, and it's pretty good. I didn't think it would be quite my style, and while it isn't fully, I keep getting songs off the album stuck in my head. Due to me not knowing how to use my damn Mac efficiently (yet!), I somehow deleted all the music off my harddrive :P However, I had a backup on the PC machine in the living room. But anything I had downloaded before then was lost. This isn't that big of a deal since most of it came from TSMS, but this was one of the albums that wasn't, so I picked up a copy on amazon.

3. NIN's Ghost: Reznor's a fucking genius for putting this out in the manner in which he did. He doesn't tell anyone anything, and then one day, "Oh yeah...here's a 36 track album with art, extras, and anything else you might need. You can pay $5 and get it in 3 high-quality mp3s, or you can pay $5 more and get a double CD. You want more options? Okay, I can help you with that!", and goes on to give his fans even more options on how to get the album in the format in which we want. And then, he encourages people to create art to go along with his music. For free. In a week, he made something like $1.5mm. Thus proving once again that we don't really have a need record companies anymore. Ah, the end comes closer and closer. Reznor and his IT gang mis-judged the huge response this album would get, and they had a few glitches and ran out of bandwidtch, but it all got worked out in the end. I paid my $5, but ended up having to download the album from a friend. At least I had already paid for it and the transaction had already taken the money out of my account! A week later, I finally got an email with an updated download link, and I was able to get the album. It took 3 emails to get it, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they were swamped with similar emails. And hopefully, they learned from this 'glitch' and will have more counter-measures put into place next time they release something. Seeing that this *is* Reznor we're talking about, the next release should go off without a hitch. "I admire his efficientness", says OCD-girl.

4. Amazon mp3 downloads: I kinda like this option. I can get 256k mp3s of lots of albums for less than $10. They are DRM free, and they sound good. I couldn't find any Oingo Boingo (but I think I have some at home on a CD somewhere), but I found the Edie Brickell and a couple of Information Society albums. I don't mind paying for albums, I just want them in the format that I want them in. Reznor got it right in saying, "You want 320kbps mp3s? Okay. You want .flac's? I can do that also! You want shitmac lossless? Sure!", and I think that's a great thing. But making me pay $10 for 192's is bullshit, there's no way I'm going to pay that much for a shitty rip, and I'm more likely to go find a torrent of it instead.

5. Apple: Yes, I have become a Mac person. Kinda. I have a 160gb iPo Classic. I have a 20" iMac. But, the file structure on the iPo is not condusive to 160gigs of music, and doing certain things on the Mac is such a pain in the ass because of lack of decent software or some other factor that I've installed VMware so that I have (in theory) a windows machine handy. And even that is laggy. While I admire the slickness and mostly buglessness of Apple's software and hardware, I am still not into the fact that they control the user as much as they do. You're going to *make* me use iTunes? Fuck you. I'll fire up my virtual machine and use WinAmp instead. As a result, not only will I not use you're stupid-assed and truely piece of shit software, but I refuse to use your iTunes store as well because of the limitations, prices, and availability of the quality of the music that I want. If you want me to pay for media, I am more than willing to do so, but I will do it on my terms, not the limiting terms you put on me. I know I have the disadvantage of being a long-time computer/internet user and having certain standards, but you have to appeal to people like me as well. In conclusion, I really really really really really really really *REALLY* fucking hate iTunes. It's true! I tell Josh this information on a daily basis just so he doesn't forget :P

6. Music Festivals: As time goes on, there seems to be more and more music festivals popping up. Big-assed shows like the ocassional Lollapoloza, Rocklahoma, Coachella, Ozzfest, station-sponsored shows with 20 bands, etc. However, I really dislike festival shows for a few reasons. First, there are *way* too many fucking people at these shows. And when you get too many people in one space, things like sod and trash fights happen. If I'm going to pay good money for a show like this, I don't want to put up with such bullshit. Second, mulitple stages. So if two bands are playing at the same time, I have to choose? Isn't that gipping me out of my money and shafting me from seeing a band I paid to see? Third, the sound is usually pretty shitty. Fourth, at these types of shows, the bands have 30-45 mins of stage time unless they're headlining. Again, doesn't that screw the person who paid for the ticket? And also, doesn't that screw the band by limiting their exposure? Fifth, if it's something like Rocklahoma or Coachella, you have to pay for the cost of the expensive ticket, travel, somewhere to sleep, and if it's like Coachella, you have to buy everything you're going to need at the show, thus screwing you out of *more* money. Sixth, more than 2 or 3 bands at a show is kinda useless isn't it? Are you going to be able to remember all the bands you saw in a 2-4 day period? Are you going to be able to get to *see* all those bands? And finally, the weather. Most of these take place where/when it's fucking hot out. Personally, it just seems like these shows are a waste of my money, my time, and my comfort and I'd rather pay more individually to see these bands where it's going to benefit me the most. To those who are willing to put up with all of that, more power to them. However, I live in an area where most people tour, and I *don't* have to put up with that. And while I live in such an area, I won't.

7. Next week looks to be hellaciously busy. This is more for me than for anyone reading this:
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: nothing
Monday (3/17): nothing
Tuesday: Dr's Apt @ 1:45, PUSA @ 8p
Wednesday: Endoscopy @ 9a
Thursday: Explosions In The Sky @ 8p
Friday: Hockey game @ 7:30p
Saturday/Sunday: nothing

My reward for next week's barage of events is that the following week, I only have one dr's appointment on Thursday, and that's the extent of my week so far. And if I can help it, I won't let it get out of hand! Anyway, that's enough of my bitching today. The Donger need food!

Yesterday was the last straw in the pain that I had been experiencing for 3 weeks. My doctor conveniently doesn't work on Wednesdays, and the 2 calls I put into my G.I.'s office went ignored. So, I finished a project I was working on, and then at 12:30p, drove myself to the ER, which is a couple of miles down the road. Within 5 minutes, I was getting information taken from me. Within 25, I had my blood drawn by a cute guy, had an IV put in, and saw a doctor (who was also cute) who wanted to do a catscan (which means I don't have to have the one that I scheduled for next week). To do so, I had to drink this stuff (which they mixed with liquid jello and cranberry juice so it didn't taste bad...smart nurse!) which makes your insides glow. I had to wait 45 mins for that stuff to kick in. Then another cute guy came to pick me up for the catscan. Then it was another 40 mins for the results to come back. The results were mixed. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with my digestive tract, my bloodwork looks normal, and there's no infection. However, remember that cyst they found during my ultrasound that 'was no big deal'? Well evidently, it was large enough to be painful, and it popped, and all the fluid that was in there was just sitting in the area hanging out because it hadn't been absorbed by my body yet. Which meant pain. Lots and lots of pain. Cysts no big deal, eh? Most of the time, sure, but shouldn't they have possibly made that connection? I hate doctors who dismiss shit like that. So, after a few frusterated tears, I got dressed at 4:15p and went back to work. 3 hours from start to finish, most of it waiting for something, is not bad for an ER! Yeah, I know it was the middle of the day at White Man's Healthcare, but still. I've never had such fast, nice, and efficient service from an ER.

I went home and took 2 of the anti-spaz meds and no vicodin, and alone, the anti-spaz drugs seem to work better. Wish I would have experimented with that sooner :P Josh and I watched Syriana, which was good but depressing, and then I went to bed at 10. I feel 85% better today, so my body must be doing its job, so that's good. My intestines are still liquified because my doctor thought I was backed up and had me take these super laxatives, but I stopped taking them, so I should be back to normal by tomorrow or Saturday.

I've decided that my general doctor and my G.I. have to go. And, I need to see an OGBYN. I called my doctor's office and left a msg requesting the name of an OB to go see. Not only do I need the girl tests done, but I think it's time to get my hormones tested to make sure they're working the way they're supposed to, because I don't ever want to go thru something like that again. I will go ahead and get the endoscopy next week and get the results the week after, but come April, I think I will ask for a new G.I. My bosslady loves her doctor, so I may switch to her. It's time to get me doctors who know what the hell they're doing. Seriously. I do not think for one second that I've been treated like an individual from any of the 4 doctors I've had to go see in the past year. Healthcare should not be assembly-line-like.

I know it's all guess work in a white coat, but goddamn.

Name 3 cool things you've seen in the past 3 days and describe them. Why was the event 'cool' in your eyes?

1. This is a daily 'cool' thing that happens to me: Every morning, I get up, scoop up Helen if she's on the bed, shut the door, and go take my shower. Sometime during those 10 mins in the shower, she usually hops up on the tub and patiently waits for me to get done. If she's not sitting on the tub, she's sitting on the toilet. While I get ready, she either roams around the house, or stays in the bathroom. When I'm done, I signal or ask her if she's ready to go wake Josh up. She and I go back into the bedroom together and she gets on the bed and makes a round while I wake Josh up. Then I go to get my stuff to go, and she paces the kitchen until I leave, giving me that, "Er...mommy, how come you gotta leave again?" look. But, I like our little morning routine. I think it's cute!

3. This morning's drive into work was pretty surreal. I stepped outside and realized that it had been raining while I was asleep. It was also pretty foggy out. I got down the road and onto the freeway to realize that it was ubber ubber foggy at the Tunnel.We all had to turn our lights on, and I swear it was like we were all driving at night. I got thru the Tunnel, and it remained pretty foggy all the way to the last Lafayette exit. I like things like that. It mixes up the day a bit.

Name 3 cool things you've seen in the past 3 days and describe them. Why was the event 'cool' in your eyes?

Remember to post these in your blog and don't forget to post a comment letting us know where you posted them by posting a link here!

My digestive system has been giving me fits as of late, not making me want to do much of anything except for pop pain pills and lay on the couch. So, sorry for the non-posts. My system appears to be attempting to work today, so no pain meds unless the situation calls for it. I have an x-ray scheduled for 1:15p today, so maybe something will show up on that. But probly not. I figure that there's not a lot I can do until the end of the month, but after that, I think I will start putting pressure on doctors to either really figure out what the deal is with my digestive system, or put the pressure on to send me to someone who can really help me. This "well, we don't know what the problem is, so we'll just do all these tests that take time out of your day and come back negative" stuff is getting old. Seriously. It's affecting my quality of life. I'm tard of this shit! :P

Friday night, we just hung out at home and didn't do much. Saturday, Josh went to a game day at his work, and I was fairly lazy. Helen decided she'd dig up my newly-inherited-plant-from-work, so I had to put that back together, part of which meant going to get rocks to put on top of it. So, I went to the pet store, got some fish gravel, put it on top of the soil (an effective distraction to prevent digging-up) and moved the plant into Josh's office to the corner. It'll be left alone because Certain Helen's don't frequent this room much. I already left it outside and some of the leaves got scorched, then Helen dug it up once, so I'm sure the thing's in shock :P But, that's 2 plants that Josh has in his office now due to Helenification. Oh well...at least there's something alive in there now amongst the mess, eh? :)

Last weekend, Josh and I were out when his fone rang. We had left Squeeek outside because we weren't going that far, and he wouldn't come in. It was our live-in landlady, and she was calling because Squeeek was sitting in the hallway at our front door. Crying. Evidently, he came in thru the empty apartment across the hall, marched thru to the hallway, and knew exactly where he wanted to be. We asked the nice lady if she would let him in, and she said she would. We came home and Squeeek had this look on his face like, "What? I wanted to come in!". This past weekend, it happened again! I was cleaning up Helen's plant mess, and I hear a knock on the door. I opened it and Squeeek marches right in. *rolls eyes*. I told her that she could let him in if she wanted to, but that he knew exactly where home was, and that he was just being lazy. Ah, kids.

Saturday evening, I went and hung out with "I", and we watched a really bad Polly Shore movie, and it was good :P. I didn't do anything productive on Sunday except be lazy, which I guess is productive in its own way.

Yesterday, I crawled into the dr's office for him to tell me he didn't know wtf was wrong with me, then I worked, notarized something for someone, went to lunch (yes, I was bad), and then came home and just laid on the couch most of the night watching science shows with Josh. I know I should be attempting to be more productive, but I just haven't had the energy to do so.

I almost forgot! So, about a month or so ago, I had my first almost-really-bad commute experience. This guy literally shoved me over so that I was having to get into another lane of traffic to avoid being hit. Basically, he was just being an asshole. I decided no one was ever going to do that to me again, so when the lanes go from 4 to 2, I get in my correct lane and stay close to the edge so that will not happen anymore. It's pretty effective. This morning, this guy in this fucked up Honda (complete with license plate half falling off) thought he'd be cute and cut over without using his turn signal in front of me at this rather tricky merge right in front of the tunnel on the Oakland side. I was like, "wtf?", swerved, but misjudged, and he started pushing me over into the cones on the closed lane. Not about to be treated as such, I played his game, getting back in front of him after him realizing that it was either let me over where I was before, or hit me, totally pissing him off in the process. I hate rude drivers! He follows me thru the tunnel and as I come out, I get over into the far left-hand lane like I do everyday and go 80 while everyone else goes 60, minding my own business of getting to work. But, this guy was still pissed, so he tailgated me all the way into Orinda. I started to get bothered by that point and stepped on my brakes, making him get over into the 3rd lane so he wouldn't hit me. By this point, there are like 5 cars in my lane going 60, so I go around all of them, loosing said jerk guy in the process. But by the time I got to Walnut Creek, he was behind me again, but not being a dick anymore, so that's good. Maybe he was just having a bad day? Maybe he thought I was like most of the other drivers during this commute: too stupid and half-asleep to drive halfway normally. At any rate, I hate jerk drivers!

It can't rain all the time, so I'll try and keep that in mind as I go thru my week of cramps and idiot drivers. At least work and my personal life are good right now! The rest of the week looks fairly quiet. Josh is playing w0w tonight, so I think I'll watch a bad 80s movie and go to bed early. Tomorrow, we're watching a Josh-type movie, tho I'm not sure which one yet. Thursday, I'm going to go hang out with "I" before he goes on vacation for 2 weeks. I will try not to curse him while he sits on pretty beaches while I am at work :P. I have no plans for this coming weekend. I was planning on maybe going to Santa Rosa to get my hair done, but spending the weekend not doing anything sounds a little more appealing. I'll go the weekend after (Mental note: get on the website and schedule that!). Ug...or maybe not, since that next Sunday is Easter. Well, I'll figure it out, I guess.

I was gently reminded this morning that I had like 5 albums of pictures to upload, so I got off my ass this morning, tinkered with iPhoto, and wallah, here ya go!

From my Mac zealot who knows just how goofy I am :)

A preoccupied vegan named Hugh
picked up the wrong sandwich to chew.
He took a big bite
before spitting, in fright,
"OMG, WTF, BBQ!"

I did almost next to nothing last night, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I cooked a chicken breast and rice-a-roni for dinner (and am thinking that frying up some asparagus and throwing it in with the rest of the rice sound like a good idea for a meal), watched the news, watched a few crap programs, and by 8:30p, decided like bed was a great idea. I was in bed by 8:45p and asleep by 9. 10.5 hours of sleep is good! *Without* sleeping meds, even!

Tonight should be mellow as well, tho not as early to bed as last night. I think M and I are going to watch an episode of Firefly, sit in the tub, and then I'll come home. Tomorrow night, I have zero plans. Same for Saturday. I might go hang out with a friend Sunday, but that depends on when they get back into towne. I'm looking foward to a mellow weekend.

My stomach is still fairly cramped and spasming, but the anti-spaz stuff is mostly doing its job. I'm not a fan of the side affects (dry mouth/body, sleepiness), but I'll continue to use it this weekend. Also, you have to take it every 4 hours. My doc gave me a 2nd perscription for a different anti-spaz drug, which I may have filled Monday if this current stuff continues to do a mostly-okay job. Stomach cramps suck. And I need something that'll make everything stop freaking out so it'll heal. And something time-released would be nice so I don't have to take it all the time. I may call the dr's office about that. At least I'm functional and not freaking out like I was the other day. That sucked, and I think my doctor thought I was having a nervous breakdown.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a fairly mellow day. *raises tea mug*

1. Do you believe in creationism or evolution? Which one makes more sense to you? Why?
I believe in the theory of evolution. It makes logical sense, and there is proof that it is accurate. Science!

2. Which philosophy do you think should be taught in the classroom to the munchkins? Why?
I think now-a-days, kids (even in the classroom) are too sheltered. Why not teach both? Why not give kids all of the information and let them come to their own conclusion? Kids are far smarter than adults, so why not trust them?

3. Do you think the human race will evolve beyond what we are now? Why/why not?
If we don't kill ourselves off first, seeing how far the human race evolves will probly be fascinating. While science and technology have helped us evolve, I think it's maybe done a little of the opposite as well. And I find that interesting. But, only time will tell.

1. Do you believe in creationism or evolution? Which one makes more sense to you? Why?

3. Do you think the human race will evolve beyond what we are now? Why/why not?

Remember to post these in your blog and don't forget to post a comment letting us know where you posted them by posting a link here!

I had such a brain-bending, health-stressful day yesterday, that I don't really remember much of the evening. I remember what I did in chunks, but not the details. I know I filled up the cats food, set up a bigger water bowl from Helen cause she kept using the smaller one to wash her toys, and it would end up in the middle of the living room somehow. And I put their dishes on spring-easter placemats. And, I got a chance to talk to B because it was his boofday (and we're making an effort to talk again, which is cool). And, I had a talk with Josh about my health. And I had some leftover mac n cheese (Meijer brand..and it was damn good). And I tried playing some GH, but that didn't work out too well so I switched to TV. And I was asleep by 10:45p.

Josh has a hockey game tonight, so I'll probly end up just chilling out at home, going to sleep early because I can. Tomorrow, I'm going over to M's and I think we're watching the first episode of Firefly (which I never watched). And I believe there will be hot water involved, which after yesterday, I whole-heartedly welcome. Maybe I can fenagle doing a load of laundry too.

I put in a call to my mom this morning for some Meijer requests. Meijer is a super WalMart type store in the midwest. And just like any other big store, they have their own name-brand products. And I am in the market for their plain boxed mac n' cheese (the stuff mom sent before was the 'cheesier' stuff which is good, but I want the old stuff too) and black licorice jelly beans. I couldn't tell you why these two products taste any different from others, but they do. *shrug*

Anyway, that's about it for me. I need to call and make an appointment to get my oil changed, go to the tmobile store to look at fones, and i'm having lunch with my mac zealot today.

I went and saw my general doctor today because of the nasty abdominal/pelvic pains I've been having for a week. And ultrasound and a pea test ruled out being preggers (tho they're doing a blood test just to be 100% sure, plus for a few other things). From poking around and making me jump like someone had hooked me up to electrodes like in Ghostbusters, he is thinking that my intestines, bowls, and all that fun stuff in between are spasming, causing all of this pain. So, he put me on some anti-spastic stuff, and told me to see how that works. I hope it does, because not only does it make me not want to move, but i don't want to eat, or have sex either. And we all know that *that* is a dealbreaker for me. I don't care if both of my arms and legs are broken...if the parts work, they're still being put to use ;P

So, we'll see. Doc also wants to do a catscan, and then we'll go from there. I'm also considering after the endoscopy, getting a new G.I.

Seriously, I am so sick and tired of not feeling well or having something else pop up. It's such a pain in the ass. I just hope I survive it all.

Man, I'm trying really hard not to hurt someone today, but it's proving to be difficult.

I've been waking up the past couple days with abdominal/pelvic pain that is worse in the mornings. The ultrasound I had on Friday showed nothing of interest, yet I'm still in pain. G.I.'s office told me to call my general doctor's office, whose nurse said, "Well, we don't know what to tell you". For fucks sake, that is *not* something a medical professional is to say to a patient. So, I'm waiting on a call back from the doctor. It almost seems as if I may have to take a trip to the emergency room if no one can help me, just to get some real help. Stupid, especially for outrageously expensive healthcare, especially in my area, but I will win in the end. Idiots. I'm getting tired of my insides hurting.

Then, I had someone be rude to me this morning because they were caught not doing their job. When they told me "Well, I don't know what to tell you", I said, "Look, this is your position, and you have the power to tell PersonA what they need to do. You need to get this done".

Then, I went to download the new NIN album and 4 hours later, I *still* haven't been able to download it, tho I managed to get my hands on a copy anyway. For $5, Reznor is offering mac flac's, 320k's, and regular .flac's. A bargain at any price! I went to the site, paid, clicked on my download, and it downloaded a few megs, then crapped out on me. Then it told me I had exceeded my number of downloads (one). Dur? So, I put in a request to have it fixed, but haven't heard anything back yet. Apparently, this worked out way better than the 'in rainbows' thing, and overloaded the nin servers to the point of near-breakage. I hope they get it fixed! In the end, they have my measly $5, and I have my 320k's, even if I had to get them illegally. I figure it works out in the end :P.

But if one more person says to me, "Well, I don't know what to tell you", they're going to owe me one, possibly two, stiff drinks in addition to the ass kicking that will preceed said drinks.

Update: My general doctor called and said, "Oh, call your G.I.". As anyone who reads this blog on a semi-regular basis will know, this happens all the damn time with me. "I did and they said to call you! Now, do your job". So, I have an appointment at 11:30a tomorrow. Idiots.