I actually composed this yesterday...
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Junkies
Topic: Introspection
I never got a chance to post this, but I'll copy & paste it up here. Today is Friday --woohoo! Bought my crabmeat last night for the pastry-wrapped baked brie with truffled crabmeat filling. :) $11.20 for a pound of backfin meat at Arundel Seafood -- not bad! It's from North Carolina, but that's still better than the overseas crap Phillips has been importing. I read somewhere that crab season has been going pretty well this year.. hopefully prices will drop some. I cut a chunk out of my thumb last night opening a tube of toothpaste... really! It bled a bit, too.

Well, onto the post I composed yesterday:

I was in a meeting this afternoon with Fuzz and two delightful people representing the United Way... one was the regional campaign director and the other was a politician, can't remember his name of course. Anyway, it was just so nice to be in a meeting with such nice, friendly, normal people. It further solidified my desire to get my degree so that someday I can stop working at Harms. I know that I'll be here for probably the next 3, 4... maybe even 5 years, but at least I won't be an admin forever. Don't get me wrong, there have definitely been good things about working here, primarily meeting Kurtis, and I have made some friends. I also make okay money... nothing to boast about, but definitely more than what I made at McDonald's, haha.



The people at Harms (for the most part) just aren't warm and fuzzy... in most cases, when they want to talk, it's just to gossip (fine in some cases, but it can get old when I keep hearing the same things every day), or brag about their sexual conquests. Half of the men here make my skin crawl (or just uneasy), and I can probably count the number of women I genuinely like on one hand. It would just be so nice to interact with some genuinely friendly, happy, outgoing people. Being around grouchy, irritable assholes just makes me grouchy and irritable. It rubs off. Maybe it makes me an asshole, too - I don't know. Or would that be bitch? I know I can be a bitch at times, but really in most cases it's when I'm at work or I have PMS, lol. I guess why people act the way they do at work is just a reflection of the people around them... they could probably do something to improve morale, I'm sure. But they won't, of course.



Well, that's enough of that! I'll try being more positive. Really, I will. I need to exercise more, that's one thing that's a definite. Kurtis is trying to convince me to get up early and walk... I really should. Maybe I can somehow become a morning person? Not likely. But it would help me wake up in the morning... now I just take 15 minute showers to wake up and then end up late to work because I move so damn slow. I guess that I'll start tomorrow! No, really... I will! :-P~



Went to Annapolis for lunch today, met up with Kurtis and we went to Macaroni Grill for a little treat. After lunch I went to Trader Joe's, because I've been looking for truffle oil. Apparently Emeril uses it in his recipes a lot - I did a search on Foodnetwork.com for truffle oil, and his show came up in about 70 recipes. I've looked in a couple stores for it with no success. So I found some at Trader Joe's, but it's called "Black Truffle Oil" and it has olive oil in it... I'm hoping it's the right stuff. I just did a search on the net and found both white and black truffle oil. I thought that my bottle was pretty pricey, but the stuff on the net seems like its less oil with a higher price. Why do I need this truffle oil you ask yourself? "SELF!" I am making a pastry-wrapped baked brie stuffed with truffled crabmeat! I saw it on Emeril a few weeks ago and thought it would be tasty - hey, anything with crabmeat and cheese has got to be good! I'm just hoping that the truffle oil doesn't taste so strongly that it kills the other tastiness that is going on in the dish. After all, crab and brie ain't all that cheap! I'll probably try Arundel Seafood and Kent Island crab company this evening... see who's cheaper. Arundel Seafood was having a sale last week, but I don't know if it's still on sale.



That's it for now!

1 day left
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Junkies
Topic: Miscellaneous goings-on
The picture in the last post was taken by an automatic photo thing.

Last night we saw Spiderman 2 -- what a great movie! Ebert gave it 4 stars, as do I. :) I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, and that it is also better than the first one. That movie makes my top 10 of all time list... it's right up there with the LOTR movies.

Well, the latest on the Britney Spears marriage... what a joke!

NEW YORK -- This time, she's marrying for love, Britney Spears said of her recent engagement to dancer Kevin Federline.

"Marrying Kevin was the last thing I was thinking about doing," Spears tells People magazine in its July 12 issue. "But then I said, `You know what? This is my life and I don't care what people think. I'm going to get married. I'm in love with him.'"

Spears, 22, and Federline, 26, began dating a few months ago, after her Las Vegas wedding to childhood friend Jason Alexander in January.

That marriage was annulled 55 hours later.

Of the quickie Vegas ceremony, "That thing was a total ugh," she says. "I was not in love at all."

This is different, says Spears, who's wearing a five-carat diamond set atop two slender platinum, diamond-encrusted bands on her left finger.

Federline popped the question on an airplane while flying with Spears from Ireland to New York after the European leg of her tour. "I'd known for a while that she's the one," he says.

"I kissed a bunch of frogs and finally found my prince," says Spears. "I feel like I've found my happily ever after."

Federline, who performed as a backup dancer for Justin Timberlake, Spears' former boyfriend, previously was involved with Shar Jackson, star of TV's "Moesha." They have a 2-year-old daughter and are expecting another baby.

"I plan to meet his daughter," Spears says. "I love little ones. I think the situation is good."

The singer says she wants children of her own someday. "I'm not pregnant. (But) I definitely want to have some kids. I see myself with four or five."

She adds: "We're starting with a dog. I just got a Maltese named Lacy."


What a freak... I predict they won't even get down the aisle... I guess that she's just trying to catch up with JLO! It's sad what a mockery of marriage hollywood has been making lately.

Here's a quote off of a Britney site on the marriage from Kevin's baby's momma:

Jackson has been quoted as saying the two are "made for eachother." "You both smoke, you both drink, and you both cheated on significant others after 3 years. There are 2 little kids -- she better be prepared to babysit."

Kurt's sister and two nephews are coming in from Ohio tomorrow... they'll be at his mother's for the first two weeks of July, and then they'll be staying with us from ~13th until 31st. It's going to be a full house!

I'm fighting with 13 year olds on the AI messageboard... they seem to think that 28 is old. The irony is that they are a Clay Aiken fan, who will be 26 this year.

oddly enough news for the day
Mood:  silly
Now Playing: maroon 5
Topic: News
BERLIN (Reuters) - A 13-year-old German boy took a joyride in his father's 40-tontruck, driving it for 50 miles before police stopped him on the motorway.
The boy knocked over a road sign and a traffic light in the city of Kassel, causing 10,000 euros ($12,000) damage. Police said apart from that he drove well -- possibly using the experience gained when he took a fire engine for a spin last month.

"He didn't say where he learned to drive, but perhaps he just picked it up," a spokesman said Monday.


This is the best one, though........

HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - They really said it -- notable quotes from the news:
"Years ago, I would have used this for something totally different. Cocaine is a hell of a drug."

-- "Super Freak" singer RICK JAMES considering the smooth glass surface of the lifetime achievement award he was given at the Rhythm & Soul Awards.

Too bad he forgot to say...
"I'm Rick James, bitch!!" (have you not seen the Dave Chapelle show??


Only in friggin' Canada...

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canadians went to the polls in a federal election on Monday with a firm warning from election officials: Please do not eat your ballots.
"Eating a ballot, not returning it or otherwise destroying or defacing it constitutes a serious breach of the Canada Elections Act," Elections Canada warns on its Internet site.

The issue was of sufficient concern to warrant inclusion in the site's "Frequency asked Questions" section, above answers to such inquiries as "Why should I vote?" and "Am I registered?"

Three Alberta men were charged with eating their paper ballots during Canada's last federal election, in 2000. The members of the Edible Ballot Society were protesting against what they said was a lack of real choice among candidates.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A traveling circus in Germany has been ordered to come back and clean up a pile of elephant dung after residents complained about the smell, police said Friday.
"We got a call and checked out the site and realized that the turds were far too big to come from horses. It had to be elephants," said police spokesman Wolfgang Heimann.

The circus left the site on the outskirts of the western city of Wuppertal four weeks ago and the dung had been ripening in the sun. "The stench was terrible," Heimann said.

"We've found the circus and they're sending someone to take it away. They've got quite a job on their hands."


Isn't it ironic?
DALLAS (Reuters) - Firefighters in a Dallas suburb returned to their station to find a fire started by potatoes they left cooking on a stove, officials said on Friday.
The fire caused about $125,000 in damages to the station in Lancaster, a southern suburb of Dallas, said Fire Marshal Ladis Barr.

The blaze was extinguished late Thursday night with the help of firefighters from other stations. It damaged the kitchen and living area.

Fire officials also wanted to remind the public to make sure not to leave food cooking before stepping out.

got a part!
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Evanescence
Topic: Artistic endeavors
Got a part in the film... I'll be playing "Katy", described as "a cheerleader for Eastern high school. Is a friend of Ariel, Jessica, and Michelle. Looks for romance in all the wrong places." I'd say I'm right in the middle as far as lines go... I have about as many as three others, less than the main two female characters. It's a party, so there are 17 cast members... 7 female and 10 male roles. I'd be curious to find out how many people auditioned.

Have to get back to work now... I'll post more tonight if I get a chance.

a possible audition... only it's tomorrow and in Herndon.
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: LMP
Topic: Artistic endeavors
I was looking at the actornews.com site today for the first time in probably a month or so and saw quite a plethora of new listings... one of the listings sounded right up my alley -- here was the ad for the movie:

Currently Untitled
DESCRIPTION:
Independent college age film about the stereotypes and comedy surrounding today's suburban party culture

BREAKDOWNS:
All types needed

REQUIREMENTS:
Our audition will consist of reading several pages of the script with other actors. Headshots/resumes not required.

TIMES:
SATURDAY, JUNE 26th from 4-6pm

ADDRESS: untouchablefilms@hotmail.com
MISC INFORMATION: N/A
STATUS: Volunteer
CONTRACT TYPE: N/A


I really need to start building my resume, so this is a perfect opportunity. Even if I don't get offered a part, it will be a good practice audition to get me back in the swing of things. I've never done anything on film before, but it can't be that much different from theatre, right? Besides, I was the anchor for our 6th grade news program in Elementary school, haha. I have plenty of experience. ;-)

Fortunately I'm a decent cold reader (at least I think so).

ANyway, I emailed the people and got this response:

Thank you for responding. Let me tell you a little about our project. This is a small indepedent film with an expected runtime of about 30 mins. The crew working on it is, for the most part, just out of various film schools. While we're young, we have much experience under our belts. We picked up two awards at small film festivals this past spring and we're now hoping to simply build up our resume and try and get some exposure.

The film itself is a comedy about suburban party life. We basically make fun of some of the stereotypes that exist by various means. The punchline of the movie is that no alcohol was being served at the party, so all these characters are called into question, their actions, etc. because they were not actually intoxicated.

The film is non-paying, non-union, and it's being done on a volunteer basis. Also, the shoot will be July 9, 10, and 11. Like many actors this age, we are also looking to build up our resumes and get noticed as well. We do intend to submit this to many film festivals once completed.

That's all the info for the project I can think of. Our audition is going to be this Saturday, June 26th, from 4-6pm at the Herndon Community Center in Herndon, Virginia. If you have any questions or need directions, please let us know. We thank you again for your response and look forward to meeting you.

It sounds even more up my alley now! Except that it's a bit of a drive (about an hour-hour & a half) -- but fortunately I have a dependable car now. The other problem is that July 9th is a) a Friday (workday) and b) the day Kurt and I were going to see Isaak play in Philly.

We'll see, I guess.

Well, unfortunately I did not win the car...
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: LMP
Topic: Miscellaneous goings-on


C'est la vie.

Not that I thought I would, but it was still a little disappointing. The way that the whole thing was organized was a little weird, too. We stood in a line and drew numbers out of a box... I pulled number 5. So I'm thinking, "Oh great, I'm going to be one of the first people to go..." I was wrong! That was just the order that we were going to line up again to draw the envelopes with the keys in them... that envelope was numbered as well - guess what I drew? 35! And 15 people who were supposed to participate were unable to for one reason or another, so number 35 was last in line.

After the car contest, we had the meet & greet with the band. The meet & greet was more like an assembly line with robots. The guitarist/keyboard player was the nicest of all of them, shook my hand and said hello... the bass player was just plain dirty, then the drummer and singer didn't even look up or say anything as they were signing my CD.

We left after the signing; about 4:30 - and went to Champp's at the Mall for some food. Their portion sizes are incredible! I ordered a fish sandwich and they gave me two fish fillets! Kurtis ordered a parmesan chicken dish and they gave him 3 chicken breasts. Next time we go there, I think that we'll just split a meal... it was way too much to eat, but we couldn't take it with us because we were going to the show afterwards. After consuming mass quantities, we walked around the mall for a little bit.

We were back to Merriweather around 6:30... there were two opening bands.. the first one seemed pretty good... the second one, Thrice was pretty crappy. It was really just a bunch of noise... I must be getting old! But what they were doing didn't sound remotely like music. Then Dashboard came on........ they were okay, but their songs seemed repetitive after a while and they seemed rather talentless as a whole. Put that together with the singer (Chris)'s pompous-smarmy-arrogant attitude and it made for a really sad scene. It just made me laugh to see him up there grinning and winking to all of the teenagers... Kurt and I quickly realized that we were not in the demographic of the majority of concert attendees. There were some girls a row behind us that kept smoking and it was really getting on my nerves... especially since you weren't supposed to be smoking. THEN they or someone near them started smoking pot and that's when I decided that I'd had enough. By the end of the night I was tired, cranky and had a massive headache. Not to mention that my nose was stuffed up pretty badly. I noticed as we were coming in that there was a sign appreciatory to the venue that raved about their perfect lawn. Of course they listed that they had Bermuda grass - the same stuff I just found out I'm allergic to. So that might have had something to do with the headache and stuffed-up nose.

I think that I've been spoiled by the Ram's Head concerts that I've seen. Smoke-free venue, better music... and I get to sit on my ass on a chair at a table - and usually right in front of the stage.

Well that's it for my concert review.

funny stuff
Mood:  silly
Now Playing: Joe Bonamassa
Topic: Jokes & Funny stuff
David Bowie was impaled by a lollipop while on tour in Norway! Check out the picture!! I found the pictures on a Norwegian site, so unfortunately I can't read the whole story.. maybe I should email Kibs and see if he'll translate it for me. :-P~ If you want to see the site, google "David Bowie" and "lollipop" and it's one of the first pages.



In other news, we'd better not let James out of the house... from the weird news today:

MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - The southern French city of Marseille called off a three-week hunt for a black panther on Tuesday after the animal sighted by several residents turned out to be a large house cat.

"The 'panther' is just a black house cat -- a very big one though," said a spokeswoman for the local prefecture, adding the animal was about 24 inches long and weighed some 22 pounds.

Police deployed dozens of searchers this month after reports that a blank panther was roaming around the nearby Calanques area, popular with tourists for its creeks, rocks and beaches.

Searchers finally caught up with the animal and identified it as a cat but were still unable to catch it, the spokeswoman added.


How the hell do you mistake a cat for a friggin' panther?!?!? Even if it was 2 feet long! I'm sure that James is at least that long, and I would have a very hard time mistaking him for a panther. If I lived in France, I'd be ashamed of myself.

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. :)