Gettin' Ready

So tomorrow is the first day of school! I opted to run errands today, which were kind of mandatory anyway. I could have gone to work I suppose, but at this point, I kind of feel like I'm not going to be able to work anymore, so why go today? I have classes 2 days, and then my internship for 2 other days, and I'll still need to work a couple of hours on a third day for my internship. So work does not look promising. Nor does a paycheck. So I went to Target, Whole Foods, my hospice patient's house, the office, and several banks. I ran briefly, and man is it hot outside! But I'm glad I got out there and did it. As the week progresses, I feel like the chances of me hitting New Orleans are diminishing rapidly. I haven't been here on a weekend in it feels like forever, and the gas bill is getting kind of pricey. Not to mention the eating and drinking that occurs in my favorite city!

So for now, I'm watching the season premiere of GREEK, which ABC Family has kindly placed GREEK right after The Secret Life of the American Teenager on Tuesday nights, giving me a nice 2 hour shot of relaxing bad television before classes. Nice! I fixed myself some salmon for dinner, and it was delish. Otherwise, not much else to report. I'll be updating tomorrow to let everyone know how school goes...

Awesome Weekend, Great Job!

So Rowan's visit was a complete success. She got in Thursday evening, we visited for a while and went to bed. I had to go to the second day of skills lab bright and early on Friday, so I gave her directions to some places she might be interested in visiting and headed to skool. It was a long day, even though we got out earlier than expected; mainly because we had to participate in role plays in front of our classmates. When I got back, we discussed our options, and decided to head to New Orleans for the weekend. We arrived and stopped at 45 Tchoup to visit with Debbie before heading to the Bulldog to have drinks with everyone's favorite ostrich. We saw Poopsi and Mickey, which was a treat, and they accompanied us down there. We scarfed down some chicken fingers, saw Talleywhacker, and met up with Mystery Guest there before deciding to embark on some pretty exciting adventures which included a trip to Le Bon Temps, a Tulane Law school party, and finally a trip to the Rendezvous where we devoured a large pizza from the Balcony Bar in about 5 minutes. Almost immediately after we finished the pizza we caught a cab back to my sister's house and had some rest time.

We woke up pretty early on Saturday so we could hitch a ride back to Joan Jetta with my sister on her way to work, but when we got around the block I realized my keys were at my sister's so we walked back over there, got the keys and then took the streetcar to the appropriate neighborhood. Then we ate at Slims, showered and went shopping. After a long day of shopping Rowan napped while I attended a fundraiser at the Kingpin and checked out my sister's new house. I picked Rowan up around 7:30 and we headed to Dick & Jenny's for a romantic dinner for 2 which included the viewing of a woman scratching her naked armpit very publicly. But I digress. I had the filet, she had the pork, we shared the oysters and the potstickers, and for dessert (!) I had the coconut lemon grass creme brulee, and Rowan had the key lime pie. Yum-E! We scooted on over to the Rendezvous to meet up with the usual suspects, and though we didn't drink too heavily while we were there, we stayed out REALLY LATE. We cabbed home and pretty much repeated breakfast, this time with Lesley, Kate, Mystery Guest, and Stephan and Hannah and Lucy at an adjacent table. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I heart slims. After that Rowan and I returned to my sister's and laid around for a while until we decided it was time to head home. In the pouring rain. But we made it home safely after a detour. And we sat on the couch and watched tv until it was time for me to go to bed, and then I really really hoped that when I got home from the last day of orientation Rowan would have been here and decided to stay one more night because of rain and fatigue, but she was gone. boo hoo. Rowan might send some pictures, but I forgot my dang camera so I've got nothing.

Why Rowan and I Are Friends

When Rowan arrived yesterday evening, I gave her a tour of the house, including the back yard. We came back inside and settled on the couch. I smelled something. I checked the bottom of my shoe. There was poop. There was also poop on the couch cushion. I removed the shoes and turned the couch cushion over. Rowan states that she may have been disappointed if I had actually gone to clean up the poop. Too much good stuff going on! I'll wash the damn cushion when she returns to North Carolina!

P.S.

Annie totally did the clean bed dance sometime in the middle of the night last night. It's a good thing Rowan loves Annie!

poof!

I'm worn out! I ran for the first time since that brief jaunt in Stone Harbor this afternoon, and I could fall asleep right now I think. Maybe I should! Tomorrow is a big day, my first day of skills lab and then Rowan arrives sometime tomorrow evening. I've got the bed in the guest room all clean and made up, I can only hope that Annie won't jump all over it and un-make it before she gets here. (chances are Annie will do just that...she thinks the guest room is HER room.) Gosh, I really am so tired I might just go to bed right now. More tomorrow!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Archibald, who has rejoined the world of blogging. We missed you!

It's Really Going to Happen

Yup. Skool will be starting next week. I met my advisor and field placement liason, which is basically a fancy name for an advisor for internship issues. We went over our part time/full time status, reviewed plagiarism stuff, heard from the faculty and staff, and all of that good stuff. We also learned that tomorrow's orientation activities are not required. Which is exciting! So I'll head back to work tomorrow and then back to school on Thursday and Friday for skills labs. Oooooh, skills. Perhaps I'll get to practice my active listening skills, and possibly catch up with the likes of Mystery Guest.

Speaking of, Mystery Guest has his first law school social event this evening, hopefully that will go well. Though I'm not worried about him, he doesn't seem to suffer from much social anxiety.

So for now I'm watching the Secret Life of the American Teenager, realizing that it is a lot like that crappy Nickelodeon show fifteen from when I was a teenager. It's horrible acting and implausible plot lines. These kids are dorks!

Hahahahaha! Check out the scholarly hedgehog!

Holy Guacamole!

Tomorrow is the first day of orientation! I better hightail it to my bed and review my NASW code of ethics! Dang!

Here's a picture of what I would look like in 1960, thanks to yearbookyourself.com

Petite Feet

Weekend Jaunt

So Friday night I met up with JK for a few drinks, which turned into a few million drinks. Seriously, should have called it a night early, but as I don't get much JK time lately, I guess I felt the need to keep it up. I woke up really early Saturday morning and got myself prepared to head to New Orleans after Joan's oil change. Got the oil changed and was on my way! I picked up Mystery Guest and we then picked up Hannah and Lucy and headed to Slim Goodies for some lunch. I guess everyone else had breakfast, but I had lunch. I love me some Slim Goodies. I make it a point to go 9/10 times that I go to New Orleans. yum! After lunch, we visited my sister at her place of employment, and then headed back to the ranch for nap time. I wasn't able to actually nap, but I did manage to lie really still and watch Shear Genius reruns. At about 5:30 or so we headed downtown to pick up some friends of Mystery Guest before heading to the game. It was a lot of fun! I also got to see my friend Michelle, whose email address I forgot and had no way of reaching. So now I have her email address and look forward to being in touch with. After the game, we returned uptown and had some pizza at the Balcony Bar before heading to the Rendezvous. Holy Good Timing! Got to see the Ponytail, who was a little inebriated, which since I wasn't at all inebriated made it really fun. The Ponytail doesn't get crazy drunk or anything, he just gets a little bit silly and really smiley and gets a mischievous glint in his eye. Slept in late this morning, or this afternoon to be more accurate, and then just kind of loafed around until it was time to head home. Mystery Guest was extraordinarily kind and went to Whole Foods and got us some sandwiches and I was allowed to just sit on the couch and watch tv and play on the internets! It was a really simple thing that I thought was super cool and nice. I stopped by my sister's before heading out and visited with she and Hannah, and now here I am, back at home. Awesome Weekend, Great Job!

Since I forgot the battery for my camera in Baton Rouge, you can enjoy this picture of Kate, Smiley Steve and I when Kate was here. It is obviously from the yacht rock party night. Kate doesn't normally have such special bangs.

Haulin' Junk

Today I took some old monitors and computers to the local computer recyclery. It's good to get rid of old crap! Plus it's better for the environment and stuff.

Yesterday was my last afternoon at the inpatient unit for a while, at least until I can get my schedule sorted out and figure out when I can go.

When I said I was trash sifting the other day, I wasn't getting rid of the good stuff, like the cards... Just other stuff, like 8 year old bank statements and GARBAGE.

I'm going to New Orleans tomorrow to attend the saints game with Mystery Guest. I am very thankful that he is allowing me to accompany him. I'm excited to see the saints play!

Whoops!

I was getting all quietly nervous over the fact that I had an orientation-type thing next Tuesday. Then I got an email that said there was another orientation-type thing on Wednesday. So I pulled out my little schedule and realized that I have orientation-type things Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Holy Shit!

I scheduled Joan for her very first oil change Saturday morning. It was either Saturday morning (boooooooo!) or Wednesday morning, which would interfere with orientation-type things. Oh well, I'm getting it done and that is all that matters, right?

So for now I'm watching some Project Runway before I head off to bed to do some reading. I bought some new books last weekend, and I need to read them because I enjoy reading new books. I've been trying to incorporate some garbage shifting in with my evening tv viewing, and it's been interesting sifting through all of the crap that used to reside in the desk at my parents house. I found a Christmas card that Em sent me way back in January of 2005. I also found a card that a friend's older brother sent me when I was injured in a car accident in 1993. I hold on to stuff for WAY TOO LONG, no? But then I have the joy of reviewing it all when I run across it again. I also found some blank postcards from the Grand Hotel that Em and I stole from the maid's cart when her mother took us there in 9th grade. I wrote one to Em's mom and it is waiting for the postman to pick up and deliver it to her. She loves to talk about how terribly bad we were on that trip. Stealing from the maid's cart and mocking the lounge singer in his ruffled turqouise tuxedo. What do you expect? We were in 9th grade!

Oh well, enough of that. Yesterday evening someone knocked on my door, and when I asked who it was they didn't answer. I gathered my dog and cracked the door. It was the Domino's man. He had a flat tire and was waiting for some help, but really needed to use the bathroom. "Just number 1, I swear" he pleaded. As it was just me and Annie, I apologized and told him that boys lived next door. Then I felt bad, but I'd feel a lot worse if Annie and I were tied up and abused. If it was just #1, why didn't he just go behind a tree somewhere? jeesh!

the end.

there's a photo of the grand hotel, one day when I get my printer hooked up to a compatible computer, I'll scan in one of those postcards.

ABC Family

Lately I have picked up a new bad habit. That bad habit is the ABC Family show GREEK. Who ever would have thought it would be so great? As I have explained in the past, work gets spread pretty thin towards the end of any kind of school break, so after a semester of only one class and a complete summer off, I've been digging through old charts again. With the digging comes a lot of internet television viewing. I officially completed going through all of the charts today. That's right, A-Z, no more extra charts milling around these parts. But back to GREEK. The dean is played by Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and in one of the episodes, they show a ZBZ trying to distract him by discussing the movie. It was a brief flash of humor, and you had to know Ferris and Cameron to get it. Today, I was watching an episode where all of the Sororities and Fraternities are fighting for their right to court-side basketball tickets. They're outside chanting, all of them yelling different things, when all of the sudden one of the Kappas yells out "Donna Martin Graduates!" repeatedly until all of the picketers stop and stare at him. Really, it was quite funny!

I have also started watching The Secret Life of the American Teenager. It's okay. There's some really bad acting, and some really implausible ideas rolling around, but I keep on watching. Seriously, what pregnant 15 year old would entertain marrying her new boyfriend (not the father of her child)? What father of what new boyfriend that would propose to his pregnant-by-another-dude girlfriend would support him in this endeavor. I don't know, it doesn't seem very realistic, but are any new shows realistic? It takes a while for any cast to get used to each other and their characters. I'm reminded of this whenever I catch a really old episode of Roseanne. Really bad! REALLY REALLY BAD! But eventually they all evolved into a fluid group that I truly believed were a family.

And for dinner I made that yummy pasta dish that is on the cover of August's Real Simple. I substituted spinach for the arugula, mainly because I don't like arugula. Otherwise things were the same. It was really good! I suggest you try it!

Departure Sadness Peppered with the Joy of a Visitor

So in addition to the excitement over the return of Mystery Guest, there was the sadness of the departure of Heather and Hounge. I never fully grasped the concept that H&H were really moving. I thought they were just going to go to Montana so that Heather could finish school and then they'd be back. I thought they were going to come for extended visits and summers. Then I showed up at her house on Saturday to help load the truck. It was an enormous truck, and it contained all of their belongings. Their bedroom, their kitchen, their office, their giant tv. Which leaves no place for them to sleep, eat, or do work when they come in for these extended visits that I anticipated. (Of course they always have a place to stay with someone, I just thought they'd have their place to stay) I feel fortunate, because I had the chance to dine with them one last time, and then spend some time discussing books as Heather and I packed up the library. I know they're on to bigger and better things, and I can't really be upset because I moved away a long time ago, but I can't help but miss them already. It won't be the same without them and Sophie. Heather's newly shiny bug and Hounge's post-Katrina retired bus. I'm excited for them, but also a little bit hopeful that they'll be back to stay someday, even though my return to New Orleans seems to move farther and farther away in the future as time passes as well. Best of luck to you, H&H! We miss you!

So with the sadness of the moving on of old friends, I received a phone call today from an old friend who moved on years ago. Rowan, who is the worlds WORST long-distance communicator, called to inform me that she's coming for a visit! Yea! I can't wait! One of my most favorite things about Rowan is that no matter where I live, she always loves my house as much as I do. She is the only person I know of who loved the house on Antonine as much as I did. She was more than happy to sit in the red chair as I sat on the red couch and watch Gilmore Girls reruns all day long. She's very crafty and noisy and likes doing weird things with me, like dressing like a bunny rabbit and handing out Easter eggs filled with condoms on the night before Easter. I can't wait to see her! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER! And this is not just to make her feel good about visiting, because as I said, she is the world's WORST long-distance communicator, and if she ever remembered that I had a blog and checked it, I would die of shock and our visit would not happen. I REALLY. CAN'T. WAIT. TO SEE HER!

and the photo is of Heather at one of her many bachelorette festivities, drinknig from a special coozie Lesley made for her. It looks like she's got a big fluffy pink beard! yea for beards!

In Support of Archibald

Just posting to show some support for the internets's favorite ostrich, Archibald, whose friend the Research Scientist passed away this weekend. While I never had the chance to meet her, I know that she held a special place in Archibald's heart, and I know that he will be needing the love and support of his friends to get by. We love our favorite ostrich, and look forward to continue following his adventures whenever he feels up to sharing them again. Don't be shy about visiting his blog and reminding him that we're here for him.

Fair Enough

Have I ever mentioned how I hate the phrase "Fair enough"? I find it to be really insincere. It's pretty much like saying, "I totally disagree with you, but you've made a few valid points and I'm just going to say this so that you shut the hell up." I don't know. It just bugs me. Like you're too lazy to argue your point or something. Poo! Meanwhile, look what a google image search of Fair Enough finds....

Go! Saints!

I raced down to New Orleans to watch the first pre-season game at the Rendezvous. Here I am. Yup. Made it.

Wow, and Yum!

Today when I got home, it was too hot to run. It's been to hot to run lately. I've gone for bike rides and walked Annie to the park, but today I decided it was time to tackle the yard. I spent about 2 hours edging my front yard. Yes, I realize that you can edge using a weed eater, but I don't know how to do that, so I have to go about it the old fashioned way, using a flat shovel and energy. It looks good. I look forward to another sunny afternoon in the near future to finish off my edging endeavors. I'll maybe take a picture when it's all finished so you can admire my work. I came inside rather dirty and sweaty and hopped into the shower, the whole time wondering what the hell am I going to have for dinner? I have some regular standbys that are really easy, but I like to convince myself that they're VERY difficult. But I was hungry and a bowl of Campbell's Chicken Noodle wasn't going to cut it. So I heated some refried black beans and put them inside a tortilla with some sauteed vegetables left over from last night's dinner. I sprinkled a smidge of cheese on top and rolled it up nicely and put it in the microwave for a minute. I don't know what it was about this particular bean burrito/vegetable surprise, but it was SO DAMN GOOD! Perhaps it was that it was black beans rather than the regular pinto beans... perhaps the veggies... perhaps the sour cream and avocado (which are normally included anyway, but maybe this was SPECIAL sour cream and avocado...) I don't know, maybe it was that I had just worked hard for 2 hours. It was delicious! Yum! That is all. And seriously, you should know who to credit the image with.

Some Answers

Some answers regarding Kim Vo, stylist to the stars. Viewable on Bravo!'s Shear Genius, which is actually damn good.

PS: I Am Obsessed!

How old is he?
Why is he so scary looking?
Please confirm he has had plastic surgery.

The Telephone

I hate the telephone. Have I ever mentioned that before? I'm not quite sure when I went from the person who loved gabbing on the phone to the person who cringes when it rings...but the change has occurred. Today at work I had to schedule a surgery, which I hate doing. I hate doing it because I'm not well seasoned at it, and I'm usually confronted by someone who treats me like I'm a complete dumbass because I don't know the answer to their question. Have I ever mentioned what my knee-jerk reaction to being faced with a question I don't know the answer to? It is to cry. I cry, cry, cry. People think I'm crazy. Maybe it is a little bit crazy that I don't cry when I'm angry or mad or STEAMING (Ste-Ven!) about something. I tried to make some parallels to what else is going on and told myself that I was really just sad about Em, but honestly. The time I am most likely to cry is when I'm caught in this situation. So. What ridiculous thing makes YOU cry?

Happy Birthday EP, AJ!

One day many years ago my friend Emily sat down at a table in a coffee shop in Baton Rouge. The table was already inhabited by a local photographer, known to this blog as Amy J. Emily introduced herself to Amy J., pointing out that they shared a birthday. It's kind of mysterious as to how Emily knew that she shared a birthday with this stranger, but the conversation evolved into a friendship. Through Emily's illness, I got to know Amy, and following Emily's death and Katrina, I found myself living in Amy's garage apartment. I consider Amy to be one of my best friends, and I feel very special to have earned such a special place in her life to have shared her sweet 16 birthday and Emily's 33rd birthday together having dinner at our regular dining spot. You're a fabulous friend, Amy J. And Em, you're always in my heart and I thank you for bringing us together so that we both have someone to spend your and her birthday with together. Love you both.

Happy Birthday JDC!

Yesterday was Darrell's birthday (and also JB's and LA's, so happy birthday to you too...) so we set out for a celebratory dinner. We headed to Albasha, a local Lebanese chain here in BR, where I had my regular gyro plate. After dinner we headed to a very special and magical place, where we had never been before. Khaki and JDC just moved to a new neighborhood, and noted a nearby watering hole. It was decided that we would visit this establishment after dinner, and it did NOT disappoint. We arrived and heard the band rocking from the parking lot...we entered the dark and smokey room to find a very crowded bar and a pot-luck style dinner. Here are some observations made by our group.
1. Absolutely NO take-out plates.
2. A band member giving a shout out to their good friend who was recovering from a recent hip replacement
3. A 90+ year old woman wearing a T-shirt that said, "SORRY! I'm TAKEN!"
4. A Juju K. alternate universe twin
5. Despite the sign on the door, several muscle shirts (note the photo for this post)
6. Take-out plate (big no-no!) used as a fan
7. Camouflage cargo pants on men and women

I know I'm leaving out a lot, so Khaki, care to elaborate?

It was awesome.

Today was Baby E.'s christening, which I did not attend. I'm a bad nanny. Tomorrow is Emily's birthday, she would have been 33. I'm thinking something special is in order. Also, tomorrow is Amy J.'s bday too. What's with all these birthdays?

Tim and Eric Awesome Clown, Great Job!

Soooooooper Saturday

Today was a fairly productive day. After walking Annie and completing my regular morning activities, I rode my bike down to the farmer's market to meet up with JK. Boyd accompanied JK, and since he's such a bitch they had to leave as soon as I got there. Party Pooper! So I perused the tables and walked away with some zucchini, some alfalfa sprouts, and some cut flowers. I also had 2 bottles of water because it's MFing hot out there. All for 12 dollars! I returned home and did some weekend tasks, such as starting the laundry, doing some sweeping, dishes, neatening, etc, before fixing myself lunch made entirely of stuff that I already had. I had forgotten that there was some frozen bacon, so I thawed out a few pieces and made myself a pita/alfalfa/avocado/bacon/tomato sandwich. It was good! Then I took Annie for another stroll, this time a little bit longer, and in the mid-day heat. We walked down to visit my mom at her store, and then walked home. My mom came over at about 2:00 or so to bring back my ipod, which I left at the store, and to take home some of my farmer's market stash. Now I'm almost DONE with the laundry, and have gone for another bike ride, this time topping it off with a wedding cake flavored snowball from a nearby snowball stand. Now I've got to go take a shower so I can meet up with some folks for a birthday celebration. Maybe there will be pictures tomorrow!!!!

Love. It.

I love it when I'm sweeping and I find a fake mustache amidst the Annie hair and dust!

August Changes

I'm going to make some changes on my Livin' it Up in Blog Heaven section. If you haven't posted in over a month, I'm taking you off. Not that this will compel you to update, but I have secret hopes that it will. It just means I want to see more from you. Also, I read this morning that To Whom It May Concern will no longer be posting on that particular site. She has a new one, Of Folly And Of Vice, that I will be checking out in hopes of a new entertaining take on her views. I'm also adding a link to a new blog that I find interesting, random, and funny (3 of my favorite characteristics in an entity...) Check out Dramazon and see what you think! Uhhhhhhhhh. Yeah, so that's it. I made the ginormous header a little bit smaller and messed with the colors, so hopefully it's less startling.