Thursday, April 29, 2004

Malkovich? Malkovichmalkovichmalkovich. MAL-KO-VICH!

"It's! My! HEAADDD!!!!!!!!!!!

I will see you in COURT!"

-John Malkovich, in "Being John Malkovich."



I have RAGE!!!! I feel like Lauren's cat. I really do.



Short version- AllState (I'm in good hands, my @ss) is refusing to pay for $1,600 of the $4,700 bill to fix my car. I hate them.



To make matters worse, I got stopped in a routine traffic stop, and the officer oh-so-kindly pointed out that the registration of my rental car expired- oh, let's see- LAST SEPTEMBER. Yeah. Thanks, Enterprise. They gave me a free upgrade, though. "In exchange for accidentally renting you an illegal vehicle, we will give you a rental car with power locks." Super!



I am meeting with the claims adjuster at the mechanic's shop tomorrow. The mechanic also has rage issues, which means I will have to play "good cop." I'm bringing doughnuts in hope that the uber-carbs will make us all a little nicer. The adjuster told me he's doing low-carb, so I am taking him fruit salad. This will help him see what a considerate person I am, and he will agree to pay this bill, or I will raze him with my laser-beam vision of HATE and RAGE!!!



If he doesn't agree to pay, the guy who hit me is going to have to. He finally called me back, and told me he's feeling suicidal lately, so he'd rather pay me personally instead of going to court if it comes to that. Great.



In the meantime, I had to make 7 innovative photos of a puppet show this morning. It was a delayed production of the Easter story, including 12 disciple puppets that all chanted (in creepy puppet voices,) "He is risen! He is risen!" I think someone forgot to tell the kids Judas had hung himself by this point in the story. Anyway, the little kids loved it, (I don't think puppets are creepy until you turn 16 or watch puppet-related horror movies, whichever comes first) and the 8th-graders who put it on were proud of themselves.



Still though, between the rage and the puppets, all I can think about is the movie Being John Malkovich. I WILL SEE YOU IN COURT!!!!!!!

Malkovich? Malkovichmalkovichmalkovich. MAL-KO-VICH!

"It's! My! HEAADDD!!!!!!!!!!!

I will see you in COURT!"

-John Malkovich, in "Being John Malkovich."



I have RAGE!!!! I feel like Lauren's cat. I really do.



Short version- AllState (I'm in good hands, my @ss) is refusing to pay for $1,600 of the $4,700 bill to fix my car. I hate them.



To make matters worse, I got stopped in a routine traffic stop, and the officer oh-so-kindly pointed out that the registration of my rental car expired- oh, let's see- LAST SEPTEMBER. Yeah. Thanks, Enterprise. They gave me a free upgrade, though. "In exchange for accidentally renting you an illegal vehicle, we will give you a rental car with power locks." Super!



I am meeting with the claims adjuster at the mechanic's shop tomorrow. The mechanic also has rage issues, which means I will have to play "good cop." I'm bringing doughnuts in hope that the uber-carbs will make us all a little nicer. The adjuster told me he's doing low-carb, so I am taking him fruit salad. This will help him see what a considerate person I am, and he will agree to pay this bill, or I will raze him with my laser-beam vision of HATE and RAGE!!!



If he doesn't agree to pay, the guy who hit me is going to have to. He finally called me back, and told me he's feeling suicidal lately, so he'd rather pay me personally instead of going to court if it comes to that. Great.



In the meantime, I had to make 7 innovative photos of a puppet show this morning. It was a delayed production of the Easter story, including 12 disciple puppets that all chanted (in creepy puppet voices,) "He is risen! He is risen!" I think someone forgot to tell the kids Judas had hung himself by this point in the story. Anyway, the little kids loved it, (I don't think puppets are creepy until you turn 16 or watch puppet-related horror movies, whichever comes first) and the 8th-graders who put it on were proud of themselves.



Still though, between the rage and the puppets, all I can think about is the movie Being John Malkovich. I WILL SEE YOU IN COURT!!!!!!!

Sunday, April 25, 2004

Scary Pro-lifer, help me!

I'm still crashed at Gwen's house in DC after doing the March for Women's Lives this weekend. Alissa and I are sharing Debbie's Amazing Comfortable Bed before heading back up north tomorrow.



Participating in the march was really incredible, honestly. I had no idea *that* many people were actually going to come out for it. I figured that your run-of-the-mill scary-dead-baby-poster toting activists would be out and about, (although it's one thing to photograph them yelling at people I silently agree with, it's another having them yell at you and pray emphatically in your general direction.)



There have been all kinds of public acts of bravery this weekend- medical students carrying signs identifying themselves as future abortion providers, walking past a prayer vigil of people who just minutes ago were holding signs that said, "God hates you," standing up for beliefs, going on call-backs to understudy M@ry Stu@rt M@sterson, fastening one's heart onto one's sleeve and trying to kill one incredibly large (practically Jeff Goldblum circa 1978-sized) fly.



I have to say, though, I am continually amazed and honored by my friends. Last week, I was pushed to the edge of exhaustoin, unfocused and nervous and bitter and frayed. I'm putting myself on the line in a lot of ways at work, and I've been too close to the situation to realize that I'm, shall we say, too involved with the candidate selection process.



Getting the distance has been good. Tomorrow I'm going back, and I'm going to be brave.



Right.

Scary Pro-lifer, help me!

I'm still crashed at Gwen's house in DC after doing the March for Women's Lives this weekend. Alissa and I are sharing Debbie's Amazing Comfortable Bed before heading back up north tomorrow.



Participating in the march was really incredible, honestly. I had no idea *that* many people were actually going to come out for it. I figured that your run-of-the-mill scary-dead-baby-poster toting activists would be out and about, (although it's one thing to photograph them yelling at people I silently agree with, it's another having them yell at you and pray emphatically in your general direction.)



There have been all kinds of public acts of bravery this weekend- medical students carrying signs identifying themselves as future abortion providers, walking past a prayer vigil of people who just minutes ago were holding signs that said, "God hates you," standing up for beliefs, going on call-backs to understudy M@ry Stu@rt M@sterson, fastening one's heart onto one's sleeve and trying to kill one incredibly large (practically Jeff Goldblum circa 1978-sized) fly.



I have to say, though, I am continually amazed and honored by my friends. Last week, I was pushed to the edge of exhaustoin, unfocused and nervous and bitter and frayed. I'm putting myself on the line in a lot of ways at work, and I've been too close to the situation to realize that I'm, shall we say, too involved with the candidate selection process.



Getting the distance has been good. Tomorrow I'm going back, and I'm going to be brave.



Right.

Monday, April 19, 2004

Oy.

Yeah, last week sucked.



First of all, I am absolutely fine, not at all injured. But someone rear-ended me and my beautiful Grown Up Car, (the one I love and bought myself and still pay for and was trying to keep in excellent condition) to the tune of $3,300.



The other driver was fine. I'm fine. It could have been a lot worse. He has insurance. His insurance is paying for a rental car. My car will be ready to roll in two weeks.



My weekend was pretty good. I had to work a lot on Saturday, but Stephen drove a long freakin' way just to cheer me up. We rented a DVD, and he bought me dinner (with a strawberry shortcake sundae) at Friendly's. Alissa crashed here on her way to see her relatives in Newburgh, and Antje (her musician college roommate friend whose CDs I listen to with the devotion of a 10th-grade girl discovering Tori Amos for the first time) came here for dinner.



I am sufficiently cheered. :) Be safe, all of you.

Oy.

Yeah, last week sucked.



First of all, I am absolutely fine, not at all injured. But someone rear-ended me and my beautiful Grown Up Car, (the one I love and bought myself and still pay for and was trying to keep in excellent condition) to the tune of $3,300.



The other driver was fine. I'm fine. It could have been a lot worse. He has insurance. His insurance is paying for a rental car. My car will be ready to roll in two weeks.



My weekend was pretty good. I had to work a lot on Saturday, but Stephen drove a long freakin' way just to cheer me up. We rented a DVD, and he bought me dinner (with a strawberry shortcake sundae) at Friendly's. Alissa crashed here on her way to see her relatives in Newburgh, and Antje (her musician college roommate friend whose CDs I listen to with the devotion of a 10th-grade girl discovering Tori Amos for the first time) came here for dinner.



I am sufficiently cheered. :) Be safe, all of you.

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

YAWN.. hmm, what?

"Slow down, what's the hurry?

There's no rush today.

There won't be too many

Days like today.."

-Cheryl Wheeler



Rain + Day Off + Nothing in Particular to Do = Laziest Day Ever



It was sort of lovely. I blame the pets for being cute and cuddly all day, moreso than normal. I guess the desire to pull the covers over your head on a rainy day is sort of universal, or contagious, or whatever.



When I have nothing to do, though, I tend to worry about stupid stuff, like a mistake I made at work that has already been taken care of, apologized for, fixed. (Think: cover letter on a TPS report.) I wish I could just let that stuff go. I was too lazy to write stuff down on a piece of paper and burn it, though it might have helped. Anyone have any suggestions on how to beat those nagging thoughts back?



And my interview is this week. nervesnervesnerves



You know it's a slow day, though, when the most amusing thing you encounter is the HHS Band Alumni Newsletter. I sort of get a kick out of seeing who has written in (the Gerl@chs, for example, ALWAYS do: T!na's married name is W0lgemuth), and how their personal "news" has been mangled.



DISCLAIMER: I am not being petty. I am not trying to rekindle the Blog Wars of 2002. This is a direct quote, mispellings copied directly, except for the a/@ exchange in the last name. QUOTE: "Nich Longob@rdi has just moved to Louisiana after appearing in shows and films in NT, Ct and Pa. He also appeared in the film 'Nowhere to go but Up' with Audrey Tatton." They must have though L.A. meant Louisiana. That's probably Audrey Tautou, the French actress who starred in Amelie?



Also, Chad W!erschke works with heart and lung machinery. Who knew?

YAWN.. hmm, what?

"Slow down, what's the hurry?

There's no rush today.

There won't be too many

Days like today.."

-Cheryl Wheeler



Rain + Day Off + Nothing in Particular to Do = Laziest Day Ever



It was sort of lovely. I blame the pets for being cute and cuddly all day, moreso than normal. I guess the desire to pull the covers over your head on a rainy day is sort of universal, or contagious, or whatever.



When I have nothing to do, though, I tend to worry about stupid stuff, like a mistake I made at work that has already been taken care of, apologized for, fixed. (Think: cover letter on a TPS report.) I wish I could just let that stuff go. I was too lazy to write stuff down on a piece of paper and burn it, though it might have helped. Anyone have any suggestions on how to beat those nagging thoughts back?



And my interview is this week. nervesnervesnerves



You know it's a slow day, though, when the most amusing thing you encounter is the HHS Band Alumni Newsletter. I sort of get a kick out of seeing who has written in (the Gerl@chs, for example, ALWAYS do: T!na's married name is W0lgemuth), and how their personal "news" has been mangled.



DISCLAIMER: I am not being petty. I am not trying to rekindle the Blog Wars of 2002. This is a direct quote, mispellings copied directly, except for the a/@ exchange in the last name. QUOTE: "Nich Longob@rdi has just moved to Louisiana after appearing in shows and films in NT, Ct and Pa. He also appeared in the film 'Nowhere to go but Up' with Audrey Tatton." They must have though L.A. meant Louisiana. That's probably Audrey Tautou, the French actress who starred in Amelie?



Also, Chad W!erschke works with heart and lung machinery. Who knew?

Monday, April 05, 2004

Good St. Anthony, come around...

It's funny. I set this weekend aside to get something important done, figuring I would be by myself and work hard, and instead the "peace and quiet" drove me up a wall. I made a bunch of phone calls and checked blogs a bunch of times.



That said, the portfolio update 2004 is mostly done. I need some stuff off my personal laptop to really finish it. As it turns out, however, my laptop may have grown legs and walked away. It was supposed to be back March 27th. I called the Apple Store on the 4th, and they told me it was delivered back on the 27th and signed for by someone in the Nournal Mews Jailroom. Which means either it's somewhere buried in the mailroom, or it was sent to the wrong department, or a mailroom employee walked off with it (which I wouldn't have thought of if my editor hadn't suggested it.)



Blarg. Let's hope not.

Good St. Anthony, come around...

It's funny. I set this weekend aside to get something important done, figuring I would be by myself and work hard, and instead the "peace and quiet" drove me up a wall. I made a bunch of phone calls and checked blogs a bunch of times.



That said, the portfolio update 2004 is mostly done. I need some stuff off my personal laptop to really finish it. As it turns out, however, my laptop may have grown legs and walked away. It was supposed to be back March 27th. I called the Apple Store on the 4th, and they told me it was delivered back on the 27th and signed for by someone in the Nournal Mews Jailroom. Which means either it's somewhere buried in the mailroom, or it was sent to the wrong department, or a mailroom employee walked off with it (which I wouldn't have thought of if my editor hadn't suggested it.)



Blarg. Let's hope not.