I am so money!!
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: 3 doors down
Topic: News
I won the Dashboard Confessional tickets!! Yay, me!! I got the tickets, meet & greet with the band, and one of 50 keys that could start a new Civic!!! Woo-hoo!!

Now the only problem is if (my cousin) Emily wants to go... I've already asked Kurtis to go, so I don't want to go back on that.

I posted a picture of the car... pretty money!
Here are all the details on the contest.


That would be so freaking money if I won the car... hey, a 1 in 50 shot isn't too bad!

my 200th post!
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: HFS -- trying to win Dashboard Confessional tickets
Topic: TV, music, movies, etc.
Dammit... I was just caller #8... so close!!


Ahh, I'm back to the fun of the American Idol MB... there is a rumor going around that they are going to raise the audition age to 18 (we can only hope)... here was the thread that I just HAD to jump on. ;)


Following are the pertinent messages in the thread:
249155.3 in reply to 249155.1
Audition info should be posted on the website in the next 2 months or say. The age limit is supposedly changing to 18. Keep checking.


From: clayaiken101 Jun-16 9:20 pm
To: *Mean Girl-LOL* (Kalika11) (4 of 18)
249155.4 in reply to 249155.3
it better not change! and the producers r dumb if they did change it

From: *Mean Girl-LOL* (Kalika11) Jun-16 9:22pm
To: clayaiken101 (5 of 18)
249155.5 in reply to 249155.4
It's not on the website yet, but I'm pretty sure it's true. It's b/c of the burden of schoolwork and chaperones for the minors. I'm not worried-I'm 23. I've still got this year AND next.

From: clayaiken101 Jun-16 9:37 pm
To: *Mean Girl-LOL* (Kalika11) (6 of 18)
249155.6 in reply to 249155.5
if it is true the AI producers r stupid! look at the top 3 this year 2 or the 3 were under 18

From: *Mean Girl-LOL* (Kalika11) Jun-16 9:46 pm
To: clayaiken101 (7 of 18)
249155.7 in reply to 249155.6
I don't know what to tell you, sweetie. There will probably be at least a few more years of AI left that you can try out for later. More time to practice!


From: gradgirl_06 Jun-16 11:20 pm
To: *Mean Girl-LOL* (Kalika11) (10 of 18)
249155.10 in reply to 249155.5
OK honestly great for you ,but i'm 16 do you honestly think the show will be around for two more seasons COME ON. I mean, I am a major fan of the show but think about it.


From: loveshoe Jun-18 11:16 am
To: ALL (13 of 18)
249155.13 in reply to 249155.3
Regarding the age limit changing, I know that a lot of people (those under 18 obviously) might be upset by it, but I think that it's a good idea. I don't think that most 16 and 17 year olds can handle rejection quite as well as 18+ auditioners. It's a huge emotional strain, something that everyone will struggle with, but those over 18 can usually handle it a little better.

The other reason they may be changing it is because they realized how big of an inconvenience it is that the minors need parental supervision while in Hollywood. I can imagine that there are a lot of legal issues that the producers just don't feel like dealing with... those over 18 would have the freedom to make their own decisions while parents would have to give special permission for some activities.

Does this all make sense??


From: gradgirl_06 Jun-18 5:19 pm
To: loveshoe (14 of 18)
249155.14 in reply to 249155.13
I understand what you are saying , but how are the people under 18 including myself who are expected to deal with school, maybe a job, and numerous extracurricular activities, which is not much
different as the person over 18 doing the same things, supposed to take being told that we can not handle the rejection. Imean come on we're high school students we deal with rejection every day. Life isn't fair, but maybe we should learn that for ourselves.


From: Halaitzmonek Jun-18 10:15 pm
To: loveshoe (15 of 18)
249155.15 in reply to 249155.13
ya.. thats stupid how you say a person younger than 18 will be hurt badly by rejection... so living 2 more years will build you up?.... the only way to deal with things is to learn from the past...

From: loveshoe 10:00 am
To: gradgirl_06 unread (17 of 18)
249155.17 in reply to 249155.14

ROTFLMAO!!!

I can't wait until you are in the "real world", because then you'll understand what I'm saying. If I'd known in high school what I know now through experience, I think I would have tried to enjoy school a bit more and not have as much (typical teenage) angst. I know how you feel, I was 16 not so long ago.

I really do think that the bigger problem is that those under 18 have more legal issues and it's more of a pain to have the parents/guardians around 24/7. I think that the producers of the show realized how big of a problem it is since quite a few of the final 12 were underage.



From: loveshoe 10:20 am
To: Halaitzmonek unread (18 of 18)
249155.18 in reply to 249155.15

Here's a lesson in maturity: Don't call other people's ideas stupid. It makes you look childish.

While I was auditioning, I kept a journal. Here is an excerpt that I wrote just after auditioning and from observing others:

I have to interject something in here about the ages that are allowed to audition... I do not think that teenagers (girls especially) 16-19 years old are emotionally prepared to handle an audition like this. I know that I was upset that I did not make it, and I think that I was barely emotionally prepared Im 23! I do think that I've handled things pretty well, though... at least better than I would have in high school. I went in with the attitude that the audition would be an incredible experience, and whether I made the cut or not, there isnt anyone that I know in my day-to-day life that has auditioned for American Idol. So just auditioning and having the guts to do it is pretty impressive, in my book. Not only are the kids heartbroken if they dont make it, their parents usually get involved as well. They are mad because their child wasn't selected and the kids are so overly optimistic that they will make the show... it just makes for a really bad situation. I think that less people would complain about the audition process if they would increase the age limit.


If there's anything I've learned from being on this board, it's that people complain no matter what.

Keep this in mind: there has been no official announcement that they will raise the age limit, so you guys may be working yourselves up for no reason.

The other thing that bothers me is that you can always get older, but you can't get younger. Those people over the age limit will never be able to audition! Keep that in mind.



I really shouldn't argue with these kids, but they just bother me. Most of them think that when they go in to audition, they'll be doing it in front of Paula, Randy & Simon... boy would I love to see the look on their faces when they get to the audition and find out what the process really entails. Not to mention when they're confronted by the reality that pretty much everyone who auditions is a fantastic singer.

That's it for now... I'll post about my weekend later on... it was pretty busy and I wish that I had rested more. C'est la vie.

BTW, my cousin Emily is in town this week and I'm hoping to get together with her.

look out America!!
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: Live
Topic: Artistic endeavors
Guess what I just found on American Idol's website???

American Idol 4 Auditions! Locations include: Alaska, Cleveland, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, St. Louis, Washington, DC and possibly more! Check back here as more details are announced.


If there was any doubt in my mind about giving it another shot, it has officially been conquered. This time it's going to be more for fun than actually seriously thinking I'll get on the show. Of course I say that now, who knows how I'll feel closer to auditions. The problem is that you always second-guess yourself and what you should do. You'd think by now I'd realize that being myself is the best thing to do. :-P~ At least now I'll know what to expect... I'm happy that it'll be in DC, because I'll know my way around the city. Not to mention there's no 12 hour ride home. I might still get a hotel room to shower in the night before auditions. Maybe this time I should try the pink mohawk?

I must get working on my outfit!! I should try writing a letter to Ashley, I haven't heard anything from her since Atlanta.

Well, it's time to go home... hopefully there won't be any more storms tonight and Kurt can grill for me tonight. :)

allergy testing
Mood:  surprised
Now Playing: Tori Amos -- Tear in your hand
Topic: News
Well, I found out that I definitely have allergies! :-P~

The testing wasn't too bad... it was a little uncomfortable and after the first round of needles I felt a little light-headed, but I was fine for the rest of the sticks. The first thing they did was called a scratch test... the nurse first numbered my arm and then used this needle thing and put about 16 scratches/punctures on my forearm... next to each number. Then she took an allergen solution and put a drop on top of each mark. After 15 minutes, she checked to see how many things I had a reaction to - I'll tell you my arm was itching like crazy! There was a Trees Group A, B, Plantain, Ragweed, Feathers, Dog, Mold Mix A, B & C, Cockroach, Cat hair, Grass mix, Bermuda grass, D.pteronyssinus (no clue), D.farinae (no clue about that one either), then a control of saline and histamine.

From those groups, they expanded their testing... they took needles filled with the different solutions, numbered my left upper arm (I think they did 16 or 17), then injected a drop of fluid right under my skin so that it bubbled up... it was kinda gross. Then they did the same thing with my right arm, then my left again, and then my right arm again. The whole process took about two hours with the testing, consultation with the doctor and physician's assistant took about 30 or 45 minutes.

Here's the big surprise: my tests show that I'm allergic to cats and dogs!?! How crazy is that?? I really don't think that they bother me, and the doctor said that unless I noticed that I was having problems in the winter, then the cats probably don't affect me TOO much. Anyway, here is all the stuff I tested positive for: birch, oak, elm, sycamore, plantain, ragweed, dog, alternaria (mold), hormodendrum (mold), cat hair, grass mix #5 (whatever that is), and Bermuda grass.

They told me that treating allergies should be a 3 step process; avoidance, medication, and shots. The medication shouldn't be a problem... they gave me flonase and some medicated eyedrops that should at least help with the outdoor allergies. Supposedly the only way you can get rid of the allergies altogether is to do shots, and those are a pretty big commitment. They mix 5 of your allergens together and then give you a shot with them... the idea is to decrease your sensitivity to them. The only problem is that it's very time consuming - you have to go 2 or 3 times a week for the first month or two, then once a week for a year, etc... something crazy like that. And not only do you have to have the shots; you have to wait 20-30 minutes after getting it so they can treat you if you have a reaction. I'm going to think about it, but I really don't think I can afford the extra expense, especially when I'm still adjusting to having a car payment and higher car insurance. My health insurance DOES cover the shots, but they are still $15 a pop, and that would come out to at least $120 a month (at twice a week). Ugh. I think I'll stick with the flonase, as long as it works. I've lived this long with the allergies, and the prescriptions should help. My next goal is to save up enough money for classes this fall. I haven't heard anything yet from the financial aid people, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to get it.

Got stuck at Food Lion last night for an hour during the torrential downpour. Mountain Road was all flooded; it was crazy. I made friends with the other 3 or 4 people stuck with me. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have waited so long... I shouldn't have been a wuss and waited. Consequently, we ate dinner close to 8:30 instead of eating at 7 or 7:30. :-/ C'est la vie. Hopefully it won't rain tonight. Food Lion has NY Strip steaks on sale -- $5.99 a pound!!! That's about half price right now... you can't even get it that cheap at BJ's or Costco. I'm going to try to convince Kurtis that we need the whole loin; it's only $4.99 a pound and that way we can cut them as thick as we want... yumm. Boy do I love meat! Must be all the sardines and popcorn I ate as a kid, hehe. I've turned into a bit of a food snob, I'm embarrassed to say. I'd probably never make it on Survivor. We've been watching the Food Network a lot... a few days ago I saw Emeril make this truffled crabmeat brie cheese in puff pastry... it looked fantastic. So I bought some brie and I'm going to look up the recipe to make this weekend... Arundel Seafood has crabmeat on sale.

Finally mailed the birthday cards to Stef and Tiff... I ended up just putting two postage stamps on them. Boy I'm lame! I should have just done that to begin with and they'd only be a few days late as opposed to a whole week late.

Well, I must get back to work. I have something to transcribe for Captain Jackass. Ta-ta!

P.S. We have a huge wasp flying around the office... I tried to kill him and I think that I just pissed him off more.

off to boston
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Weekend happenings
We're going to be leaving in a few minutes for the airport... everything is all f'd up... we thought that we had one person that could take us and now it turns out that they're not home, so we asked our neighbor Dave... he can't do it, so we asked Andrea who told me that she could do it last night, now she has company over and would prefer not to do it... Personally I don't think it's worth all the hassle and I think that taking a cab would be the easiest thing to do at this point, but that might be expensive. ARGH!

If I don't have internet access in Boston, I'll be keeping a written journal and will update when I get home.

Have a good weekend, everyone!!

this is too funny
Mood:  quizzical
Now Playing: Sports Junkies
Topic: News
I was checking out the latest on Snopes.com and apparently there is a rumor circulating that Andy Kaufman faked his own death and has returned to the public. Someone sure is very creative!

Check out the Andy Kaufman Returns blog... very funny stuff.

icky!
Mood:  accident prone
Had a beetle fly into my hair today... apparently didn't get it out on the first try. Discovered 15 minutes later that it was still in there, crawling around. Nothing worse than feeling something crawling in your hair and not knowing what it is. YUCK!

Engrish pictures
Mood:  silly
Topic: Jokes & Funny stuff

weekend
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Sports Junkies -- HFS
Topic: Weekend happenings
In less than 3 days I'll be in Boston! I'm getting excited about the trip... it's going to be so much fun. :)

Saturday I went with Brenda and we got our nails done... I ended up getting a french manicure... then on Sunday my nails started chipping!! I was so pissed... but the place was already closed, so I didn't get a chance to call them. I'll probably walk over to the place by my house tomorrow night and get them redone. If I get back early enough (going to the outlets in Queenstown) tonight, I'll get them done then. Have to have my car in to the shop tomorrow morning, so that's kinda screwing things up.

Yesterday I did a lot of laundry and attempted to do a french manicure on myself... rather frustrating.

That's it for now... I can't seem to get the picture posting thing to work, so I'll have to post the latest Engrish pictures them separately.

sweet roxy
Mood:  d'oh
Now Playing: Joss Stone
I don't think that I posted this before, but if you can believe it, Roxy's a/c problem appears to be ongoing. Thank GOD it's under warranty, it seems like it would be costing more than the worth of the car!

I'm taking her back in to the dealer next Tuesday (8th)... they're going to keep her while I'm in Boston. That way they'll have a whole week to monitor the situation and hopefully fix it for good.

Well, I'm busy today, so this might be all!