Pretend It's Friday, September 29th

...The day that I spent at work going nuts and getting tipsy... and then later with two fabulous Guccini sisters. These photos are of the ladies at the Border (mm, deliciousness) and of two oldies in front of our table at Ryles for Racky's show. Sad that Racky didn't wear his signature hat. But amazing that I'm newly in love with his drummer, Mike, and his piano player, Dave Maxwell (whose CD I desire to buy and who you can also see in the photo). But about these oldies... I loved them. Apparently they moved after continually trying to shush the Starbucks crowd, and ended up in front of us. But I liked them because they were super cute and kept noozling noses and fake dancing in their seats throughout the night. Amazing.

A Tale of Two Kitties

I'm doing this post because the other day (when I actually wanted to post this but was unable) I noticed again how ridiculously alike my two cats look. And since no one else has seen both of them besides me... I figured it was very necessary to show people via pictures. Unfortunatley I don't have as many pictures of Lightning here on my laptop as I would like, but we're going to try to make this work. Lightning is on the bottom left, Lele is on the top right. Weird how both of their names started to fit them immediately. Lele is quite the jumper, I mean.

Remember When Blogger Sucked and Made Me Update Thrice?

Yeah. I do. My two blogs that I wrote on the same subject were just posted.. even though they looked like they had been erased. And this is my *actual* second entry of the day... to be dated for Wednesday, September 27th. I recently noticed that even though it's 12:30 am my time... this blog posts like I'm on the west coast. Very strange.

Anyhow, this blog post is a tribute to Steve. Steve when he was in Boston, that is. Remember the good old days? Why give Steve tribute? Egh.. cuz I've got him on my mind since my conversation with him tonight was cut short.

And since I had it on my mind, I decided to ask my dear dear friend, Justin, his opinion on the matter. And once I explained it to him, this was his response (at which I LOLed a lot):

Justin: wow, you turned into a girly-girl reeeeeeeeeeeally quick
Justin: i caution you that i am/was an awful long distance bf. and was completely unsupposrtive when it came to the phone
Justin: so my opinion may be worthless
(I mention my hatred of the hot tub)
Justin: now you're splitting hairs
(I mention Steve's phone dying)
Justin: god, this guy sounds a lot lik eme
Justin: when it comes to this at least

Damn all you penis-wielding bastards. You're all alike. Sigh.
And you make me miss you even when I'm mad and you're 3000 miles away. Grr.

In other, more hilarious and upbeat news, Justin also said this:
Me: My cat just curled up in my lap and tried to lick the bottom of my foot. She's freaking adorable.
Justin: put some peanut butter on your baked bean
Me: Uh. no.
Justin: HAHA

You can read shady Justin's blog at blogation-station.blogspot.com.

Think Fast... Trivia Style

This is a post in place of yesterday, Tuesday, September 26th, honoring our new trivia hosts, Peter and Dave. Who get to be hosts because they have a penis, not a vagina. (I was slighted and ignored by Ben due to my vagina.) But a post to honor them nonetheless because in all actuality, trivia was pretty surprisingly good. Kathy, Jill, Meredith (my Kappa sister), our new friend and teammate Lauren (who really really wanted us to know she was gay), and I all had a wonderful time. And even though I'm mildly bitter about not even being considered as a host on account of my gender, I think Dave and Peter have the potential to turn out to be very decent trivia hosts. Probably somewhere around Driscoll level. Maybe.

Anywho, this picture is for them, the new trivia hosts. Don't mind Steve in the photo. Clearly Steve is not a new trivia host... but if he were still here, I'm sure he would be since he has a penis and all. But he's not here. Because he's in L.A. And he sucks.

Think Fast... Trivia Style

Remember when yesterday (we'll pretend it's today, Tuesday, September 26th) marked the first day these asshole got to be trivia hosts at Sweetwater? They were pretty decent.. especially for their first time. I approve over all. But remember how they just got the job handed to them... because they have penises? And how I asked if I could do trivia.. and Ben ignored me? I remember that. Goodtimes. Anyhow.. since Trivia was pretty good, I'll honor them with this post. Yay Peter and Dave. Not Steve. Steve's not present. Steve's a haterpants. But if he *were* here.. he would probably also get to be a trivia host. Cuz, y'know, he has a penis. Not a vagina.

And Now for Today...

I'm currently sitting here watching the Saints game, which is kind of freaking great. Not that I've really been focusing on the football. Not that anyone has been, really. Well, that's a lie.. but there's so much other hoopla going on that it's definitely not the game that is the most important thing going on. But I'm excited about the Superdome and, well, everything. The entrance of the Saints was kind of weirdly awe-inspiring. With the song and the whole dome singing. And the crowd shots of all those people and all that space... and thinking about how it was filled with people running/hiding for their lives just a year ago. Dunno. Making me think more than a lot of things have recently. About last year, that is.

AND OH MY GOD, IT'S THE BUFF REF! Who could recognize him in that new uniform? Good Lord. ED HOCHULI IS THE MAN. Just sayin'. That will def be my photo for the night. I will find a photo of him in all of his hot manly refness.

Also.. I just had the most amazing dinner. Zoe and Meredith, I think you'd appreciate this. It's like a salad kind of with asapargus, cherry tomatoes, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and OJ. It's freaking delicious. And super crunchy and fresh. God, I love vegetables. Bryan actually made fun of me when he came in and saw me making only vegetables.. again. I also made some weird brocolli concoction that involves OJ and margarine and flour... but that didn't turn out as well. Which is a shame. As I love the broc so much.

Anywho.. BUFF REF! Lookit those bulging mucles!

So, I Was Shady..

And didn't update this for a day. Yesterday. For the first time since I got this damn thing, too. So, we're going to pretend like this update was done yesterday, September 24th.

Here we go. My day was freaking fabulous because I was social again. I did my laundry to get rid of the kitty vomit on my bedsheets and my bedroom carpet. I watched the devastating Steelers game. I met up with my lovely Kappa sisters for the social part before the Smoker where they chose the new pledges. I have a grand little... but more on that come Wednesday, when I'm actually allowed to write about it. And then I went to visit Kathy and Jill and Lily... with Lele. Shocking, I know. Finally, the kitties met. And it wasn't exactly the sweetest meeting ever. But it also wasn't really hostile or violent. It was just a little.. edgy. There was hissing and growling, but nothing physical. And at one point they actually both fell asleep in separate areas. That's what you can see in this here photo. Lele is asleep on Kathy's computer chair and Lily is sleeping on the couch. So at least they felt comfortable enough with each other to pass out while the other one was there. And that's something to build off of.

Promising.

Today I Had A Social Life!

Hooray! A social life for Sammy!

Social not only in person, but also via the telephone! Today I talked to the following people on the phone: Miss Zoedeth Carter, Miss Meredith McCoy, Miss Kimberly Johnson, Mrs. Norma McAfee, Ms. Katherine Charlene Dougherty, and Mr. Steven Lewis (but would you believe I spoke to Steve probably the least of all.. except for Meredith? Who I saw later tonight..).

And I saw... so many people I can't mention them all! But people I haven't seen in FOREVER! Like Mr. Seth Adam (who hates me for dating Steve and even knocked someone's coke out of their hand in pre-shock), and Mr. Andy I-can't-remember-his-last-name, and Mr. Brian McGackin, and the Rev, and all my lovely lovely Kappa sisters, including Bethany and Dunja who I haven't seen in *ages*. And of course I saw the most amazing birthday girl and bestest little sister ever, Miss SHAWN ELISE. Who I love. lovelovelovelove. And there was so much loving and hugging and flattery and ass grabbing and hair petting and dancing and drinking and photo taking... God. Tonight made me very, very happy.

And in honor of my happiness, I'm going to post not one but TWO photos of my good times. To see the rest, please look at my Facebook tomorrow morning/mid afternoon. :-p

I Saw A Class Ring Today..

Howdy friends.

I'm sitting here, waiting for Steve to call me back. Yes, back. Because he called me originally to tell me he'd call me later. Peaches 'n' cream.

So I decided to take the long trek through my old photos from my old computer (I have them on CD now.. cuz my old computer is D-E-D, dead) to seek out some photos. Why? Well I was on the T today and grumpy (I've been infinitely grumpy all day long)... and I saw this girl who had a beautiful class ring on. It was clearly a Jostens ring. I recognized the beautiful handiwork from having one of my own. Once. And so it made me very sad and nostalgic and made me again wonder if someday in the future when I've got enough money.. if I'll be buying a replica of my class ring like I promised myself I would. It was one of the greatest rings I've ever owned.

And I wanted to share the image of it with all of you, so I was thinking about how you could see it (because, for those of you who don't know the backstory, I lost it one month after the warranty against lost ran out). And I remembered that all through high school when I used to get my nails done (between November and February... when I was not involved in sporting activities) I would scan my nails right before I got them done again, so I could remember the super hott designs I made for them. So... that's what the following picture/pictures are of... my nails right before I went to get them filled (that's why you can see my real nail up by my cuticle) and redone. Note the class ring that I'm wearing on my index finger... because it was too big for all other fingers. Imagine that.

Enjoy.

And since I just realized that you can post more than one picture per entry in this shitter... a second picture to the left up there. It is of my nails *after* the acryllic nails were taken off entirely. My natural nails were quite long, but super super thin. Cuz they'd been covered in chemicals for 4 months. Anywho, they have TONS of nail polish on them to try to strengthen them.. but they look kind of awkward due to their thinness. BUT this is a really good scan for you to see the top of my class ring. I was able to get the stone to be hematite. And the letter on the stone is an old English version of a V, for Vincentian Academy, my high school. Man, it was a great ring.

Breaker Breaker... Where Are You, Friends?

So I'm updating at work again. And I may update at home again later, but I still haven't charged my camera. So maybe not.

The thing is.. I found this photo while I was wandering around through Kim's facebook photos earlier this morning and saved it on my work computer because it amused me. And looking at it now, I kind of feel like it's a metaphor for my life right now. I'm constantly trying to reach people and talk to people and hold on to people... and sometimes it feels like I really am just talking into a stuffed penguin that I won from a claw machine in Disney World.

And it doesn't matter whether it's friends still at home or friends from home who've gone elsewhere, or friends from Boston, or my family, or my roommates, or even people I see face-to-face occasionally. I feel like I'm constantly biding my time until I'm back together with all of you, so the days are flying by and I just don't even care (and the worst part about that is... most of you I have no idea when I'll see you again, if ever). It's Thursday already. Thursday. I don't even know where the rest of the week went. I'm kind of shocked every time it's a new day already and I have to update this with a new picture, or change my status on Facebook. When I was walking into work today it felt like I hadn't even ever left from the day before.

Breaker, breaker... what the fuck is going on?!? 10-4, good buddies. Sammy, out.

Found Objects.. Online at Work

Howdy again..
This may post numero uno of dos posts today, but I'm not promising anything. I just found this freaking fabulous illustration on one of the Pearson websites at work today and wanted to put it up in here. It is mostly relevant because 1.) it's from a website of the company by which I am employed, and 2.) we got this huge email today telling us about how we as textbook publishers were being represented in these MASSIVE Student Financial Assistance hearings they are having in D.C. now. They're trying to determine how to handle the cost of textbooks at universities (in many cases, they want to create a rental system where the colleges will buy the books for, like, 4 years or whatever, then *rent* them out to students for the span of that time... thereby not buying any new books or updating or finding any new software or ancillary materials or anything else for that span of time). It sucks and it's a very bad plan in terms of giving students the best and most updated education. April has to deal with a couple rental schools in Florida, I think, and it's a huge pain in the ass because they created no revenue for their rental period *and* the editors and sales reps associated with the school can't create any kind of long-standing relationship with the profs because they only need to communicate every 4 years to get new books. So it's like starting new every time. Boo.
My bosses actually saw that I found the mailing really interesting, so they asked me to read through it all and report back to them... so I may be doing that later this afternoon and consequently updating one of my gournals about it with more quotes. The reps they got to represent the various textbook companies seem pretty decent in terms of their points and forcefulness in disputing false, inaccurate claims, so I'm excited to continue reading.

Also, once upon a time I had this print out that told where each cent of the dollar you pay for your textbooks go... but for some reason I never put it up after the move to 501.. so unless I find it in the next few minutes, I can't share that info. AHA!

Of $1.00...
11.5 cents- Author Income
9.9 cents- Publisher General/Administrative (taxes and such)
32.1 cents- Paper, manufacturing, editorial costs by publisher
7.1 cents- Publisher's Income (after tax)
11.4 cents- College store personnel
1.3 cents- Freight from warehouse/bindery
6.7 cents- College bookstore operations (overhead)
4.7 cents- College bookstore Income (pre-tax)
15.3 cents- Marketing costs by publisher
_________________________
So in the end, only 23.3% of anything you buy ends up being income for any of the three big handlers of your textbooks. Devastating. And any income the publisher makes goes back into "new product development, author advances, market research, and dividends to stockholders."

Thank God this whole education thing is emotional rewarding.. cuz it's not really the most lucrative business ever.

Stuff On My Cat... Or.. The Reverse

Unfortunately, I didn't take any new photos today because 1.) my camera needs to be charged, 2.) I took a nap immediately upon arriving home, 3.) I didn't go to Trivia and so went to Jill & Kathy's to watch Deal or No Deal, and 4.) it is now 12:17 am.

So instead I will post a photo I took a few days ago of my cat on the back of the couch. This is different than the photo that appears in my Flickr. I post this photo because probably 45 minutes of my phone conversation with Steve this evening was looking at the amazing website www.stuffonmycat.com. It is highly entertaining and I definitely plan to take some photos and put Lele up there... but for now, I'm going to post a photo of my cat... on stuff, instead of the other way around. Enjoy!

Supper n' Stillers

That's right, baby. My post today is highlighting my meal planning and successful execution as well as my love of my boys. If you look closely at the plate, you might be able to make out a meal consisting of 1.) chicken fried steak made from scratch, and 2.) a sauteed vegetable concoction including onions and asparagus. It was delectible, and sums up my day because I spent prolly an hour at work looking up recipes once I got bored. Also, if you look in the background, you'll see that I just so happened to get a sweet photo of the game on in the background. This was, of course, the very beginning of the game. When it seemed possible that it would be a good game. But in reality, our offense is weak and our defense is too strong for Jacksonville. So the current score is 3-0, and we are the lone zero. I hope, in fact, that we score on this drive. That would please Sam very much. Until then, however, enjoy the summation of my day. Go Stillers!

Shopping Is Soul-Charging..

So yeah. I did it. Took my mom's advice and went shopping to fill the emotional void in my life with stuff. It kinda works a little. I'm really excited about the things I got because I actually needed new shoes.. and a more professional looking belt.. and stuff for Lele's litter box, etc. So yeah. And it was basically my whole day today, besides going to church and coming home to watch the Redskins v Cowboys game with Kathy and Jill. So here is my photo of my new shoes (professional-looking but comfortable work shoes to be able to wear with pants for the most part) and my new purse (my one splurge... but isn't it hott? Plus it has a smaller purse inside which will give my electronic equipment DOUBLE the protection from any future water issues). Hoorah!

Kitty on Carpet Tower

So.. I started this blog just so I could comment on Zoe's photos.
Kind of like how I joined Flickr just so I could look at Steve and Jill's photos and comment on them also.
I'm a joiner-by-association. And I have only you douchebags to blame. As a result, I will also post a photo for my day.

The above photo is to let you know the status of my apartment with my new roommates. In this picture, you see a huge mound of stuff where the trash normally sits. No, this is not trash. This is shit from Jim Sligh's room, who has decided to paint his walls deep dark crimson. So he's brought all of his shit out of his room and left it in our common living space. He is only halfway through painting and doesn't expect to be done until tomorrow night.
If you look carefully, at the top of the huge carpet roll (which you can't easy see because it's overshadowed by a huge box from Target that is a desk Jim Sligh still needs to put together), you will see a little furry black creature. That's my cat, Lele. She somehow scurried her way up the heap and sat in the middle of the huge carpet roll like a queen for about ten minutes this afternoon. Hilarious. But sad that there's so much junk there for her to do so on it. And once she got up there, she couldn't get down as easily.. so I had to go rescue her. And that's my story for today.