so far so good
Mood:  suave
Now Playing: David Bowie
Topic: Losing the blubber
Today is my first full day of diet & exercise. So far, so good. I had a very small amount of whole-grain cereal and a light yogurt. Last night I had a chance to exercise before it started raining... I walked and did some intervals of jogging and short sprints. I think what I'll do is do at least 20 minutes (I'm aiming for 30-40, but I'm not going to get down on myself if I don't hit 30 or 40 every day) of aerobic exercise, and 10-15 minutes of weight training each day. I think that walking with the jogging intervals will be good, then hopefully I can work up to longer jogging intervals... right now I'll just tell myself, "Okay, now we're going to jog to the end of that block..." and then push myself a little bit farther than I think I can go... then walk again. I feel more energized today, but that might just be because I overslept this morning, haha. Woke up at 8:30. I'm going to have to start setting the alarm if Kurtis is going to be going into work early.

I took my measurements last night and I was appalled! Not too long ago, my thigh size was the same size as my waist?! Sheesh. I know that I'll never look like a supermodel, I just don't have the right body type... but I can look better than I do now, and I'm determined to get back into shape... I'm too young to feel as old as I do now... and I'm sure most of it has to do with my lack of exercise. Ugh.

Well, I have to get back to work............ Kurt's mom is coming tonight and we're all going out to dinner for an early bday celebration for Chris and Kari. I'm going to stick to eating healthy, though... I'm going to be good. I already had my first test this morning... the survey crew had donuts this morning in the lunch room.. they had a Boston Creme in there, but I didn't eat it! I was good. I brought carrots with me to munch on in case I get hungry.

busy monday!
Mood:  chillin'
Now Playing: david bowie
As usual, I'm having a busy Monday...

This weekend was okay... Kari and I spent pretty much all of Saturday in Annapolis.. we went to a bead store, Great Harvest Bread co. (yum!), Macaroni Grill for lunch, then the mall.

Found out last night that a woman who used to work at Harms passed away... she was a sweetheart... it's really a shame. Her doctor hospitalized her a week ago, found out she had cancer, now she's gone. :-/

Need to do some laundry, I have no clothes, hehe. Speaking of clothes, I need to start exercising so I can fit into some! Think I can lose 10 lbs in 3 weeks? ahh......... I don't care about losing weight really, I just want to be in shape... it's been really hard with Kari and the kids here, because I have wanted to exercise after work, but I feel bad because they're here and I feel like I might be deserting them or something. Maybe I'll go for a walk tonight and invite them! Then I won't feel as bad, haha! I have it all figured out now. Oh, the other reason that my diet/exercise plan is screwed up is because they eat a lot of junk, and not really at set times. Kurtis and I are rather habitual when it comes to dinner; we eat right after work 90% of the time. It would just be nice to have a healthy meal instead of pizza, chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, spaghetti......... how about some grilled chicken and a baby spinach & arugula salad??? Funny thing is when you're eating junk, you actually crave healthy food! Maybe that's a good thing, then.

Must get in shape, so much depends on it! I guess that my weight is pretty evenly distributed, so if I tell people how much I really weigh, they don't believe it. No, I'm not telling you. It's horrible. Maybe I need my thyroid medication adjusted or something... who knows. I have a doctor's appointment anyway on Friday, I'll ask her to do my TSH levels... haven't had any needles stuck in me lately, so why not?

email to my mom, review, etc
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: LOTR - into the west
Topic: Work
This is from an email I just sent my mom:

No, you can send me stuff at work... they still haven't announced when they're going to implement the 'spy' software, and as far as I know, it will only keep track of internet usage, not email. Even so, I don't think that our email constitutes as being too bad... I think they're looking more for constant abuse and questionable content of things.

The review went EXTREMELY well... I don't know why I get so anxious about them, because every year things are fine, even if I've been slacking off! Mitch just asks me, "What's going on" and I tell him. I told him that I'm either bored to tears or up to my eyeballs and that to make me anywhere near happy, they're going to have to give me more/different work and projects. I also told him that I'll be taking classes, and he wants to see what my program of study will be so that he can see if they'll pay for any of it. Of course that means that I may have to finagle my classes somewhat... but if they pay for some of it, I can just put whatever they give me into CDs or some kind of bond so that when it comes to paying off student loans, it will have been there accruing interest.

Anyway, Mitch is going to put in my raise so that it will show up in my paycheck next week... that's about exactly how much I needed to keep me half a step in front of my car payments and credit card companies, haha!

Well, I have to get back to work and justify the raise that I was just given... :-P~ There are 3 people on my side of the building, there is hardly anyone here.



There really are 3 people on my side of the building (including me!)... normally 15 people sit over here... so that should give you an idea of how dead it is.

They've announced where the AI auditions are being held in DC; the Washington Convention Center. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to drive in or do the Metro... I think that I'll probably drive in, there is a 24 hour parking area (250 spaces) within a block of the convention center, but I'm betting it will cost me an arm and a leg to park there. The good thing about the location is that in relative DC terms, it's easy to get to; it's right on New York Avenue, so basically you just take 50 in which turns into NY avenue. Metro is right outside, too... it will be MUCH different from the Atlanta fiasco. I'm so glad that they're having it so close to me this year.

Well, that's it for now... hopefully I'll have time to post a little this weekend. We'll see. If not, hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Michael Moore
Mood:  quizzical
Now Playing: Sports Junkies
Topic: News
Is going to be on the Sports Junkies, 99.1 WHFS (Washington, DC station) at 9:10 this morning. I'm really curious to see what he has to say.

one more day...
Mood:  chillin'
Now Playing: Junkies
Topic: Miscellaneous goings-on
I was supposed to have my review today, but Mitch forgot that there was a PM meeting today at noon. I told him he was just delaying it because you're supposed to fire people on fridays. So we're going tomorrow at 1 p.m. instead. I hate to admit it, but I'm a little anxious. I just know that I'm going to be so pissed off if people have complained about me; especially with all the crap I see and put up with. People come and go all the time without signing out, people don't show up to work and don't call in... people sign out to job sites and go jet skiing, tanning, shopping. There are more things, but I'm not supposed to know about them... it just makes me sick with the amount of crap they let people get away with. Maybe that's one of the reasons I haven't felt very well the last two days (I woke up with another headache this morning)... now I have to refill my Imitrex. :-P~ I shouldn't get so stressed out about my review... the last two years have been fine... and last year I was even more worked up over it, and my review was 100% better than what I'd expected. The biggest problems I have with my job are this:
1. People think I'm stupid and I get hardly any respect.
2. Certain employees are getting away with anything they want.
3. I'm bored most of the time, but it's feast or famine. Some days I have absolutely nothing to do, others I have to bust my ass to get everything done. I can do my work with my eyes closed. During slow times, I procrastinate as long as I can, because the typical amount of work I get doesn't take me long at all.

That's about it, I suppose. Everything else is okay.

For the time being, I'm changing the comments to moderated, as I just had a lovely porn spammer type person give me a comment. If moderating ends up being too time-consuming or complex, I'll turn it back off. We'll see. So from now on, I'll have to review the comments before they're posted. Sorry if that's a problem for anyone.

In other news, I have another audition... here is the notice:

CASTING FOR FEATURE HORROR FILM
DESCRIPTION:
From the Filmmakers who brought you the
Artisan Entertainment release GhostWatcher comes...
THE MURDER GAME
Wanna play?
Attention Actors,
On October 1, 2004 our first feature film, "GhostWatcher," will be hitting the DVD shelves all over the country thanks to Artisan Entertainment. Pre-production on our second feature is in full swing and casting preparations have begun. We're looking for nine young, enthusiastic, talented and dedicated actors for our horror feature film production, "The Murder Game." Participation requirements, conditions and character breakdowns are listed below. If for some reason you are unable to comply with any of these criteria, please do not audition. All stipulations are non-negotiable. We're going to search far and wide to find the right nine people. So, please come out and meet with us.

BREAKDOWNS:
Character Breakdown:
Eric
A tall, slender, fit jock-type. Popular, sexy, arrogant, cocky.
Donny
An ordinary, average, every-man. Your typical nice, sweet guy. Not popular, but not unpopular.
Will
One half of the "burn-out" duo. Somewhat wimpy. Relatively unkept and not too concerned with his appearance. Non-confrontational. Very easy-going and fun. Enjoys the "occasional" joint.
Dexter
The other half of the "burn-out" duo. Unkept, unconcerned with his appearance. Definitely the more dominant one of the inseparable duo. Also enjoys the "occasional" joint.
Collin
Small, but tough. A loner, antisocial, quiet. Troublesome, with a troublesome past. Cares about his appearance, but for the purposes of repelling others. He deliberately looks like a gang-type thug. He has many piercings and possibly a few small, insignificant tattoos. Rings, chains and spikes are his most commonly chosen accessories. This dark, gritty exterior keeps people away. But, underneath, he may just be another confused teen seeking his identity. Then again, maybe not.
Sarah
Absolutely gorgeous, and she knows it. Not a completely snobby bitch, but it shines through from time to time. Very concerned with her appearance. Make up, looks, and revealing clothing are her priorities. Not stupid, but not the sharpest of the group.
Lucy
Not necessarily unattractive. But, she's unconcerned with her appearance. She might actually be pretty if she tried. Very tough and tomboy-ish. Doesn't need to be big or muscular, but must appear to be strong. As the only child of her father, The General, she's overbearing, sharp, and somewhat of a control freak.
Carrie
Petite, sweet, cute, but pretty ordinary. Not very tough. Kind of inexperienced in the ways of the world. She's innocent and na?ve. Easily frightened. Often depends on others for support and/or protection because she doesn't have the confidence to take care of herself.
Trish
Pretty, with a "bad girl" quality. Independent and somewhat of a risk taker. She's fun and likes to try new things. Pretty confident and sharp. She's witty and speaks her mind. Strong personality.

REQUIREMENTS:
Requirements/Conditions:
1.) Deferred contracts (no pay up front). Deferred compensation will be pro-rated by character.
2.) Non-SAG actors only.
3.) Must be 18 years of age or older to work on this film.
4.) Meals will be provided on set.
5.) Must have your own transportation.
6.) Lodging will not be provided.
7.) Must be available for night shoots from January 7 - January 15 for principle photography at Fullerton Mini-Storage, located in Whitemarsh, Maryland. All other photography is TBA and will most likely be on a weekend to weekend basis running through the following Spring.
8.) All characters are "teen" ages.
9.) "Sarah" player will require consent for very brief, partial nudity.
10.)"Dexter" player will require consent for a plaster cast of the head.
NOTE: Brief kissing/make-out scenes are required for "Eric & Sarah," as well as "Carrie & Donny" characters.

TIMES:
Saturday, August 7th from 10am till 6pm.

ADDRESS: Towson University, 8000 York Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21252, Media Center Building
MISC INFORMATION: email Robert at robert@murdergamemovie.com with any questions. Please bring or email headshot/resume if available.
STATUS: Volunteer
CONTRACT TYPE: N/A

I'm going to be auditioning for Lucy or Trish, although I'd rather play Lucy. She sounds like more fun. The auditions are on the same day that I'm having lunch with my mom, so that will turn out well. The negative thing about this project is that "night shoots" means they will be shooting from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. So if I DO get a part, I'm going to have to work out a new work schedule for that week & a half. Fortunately, it's being filmed during the winter break, I won't go back to classes until January 18th... so that should work out great. And if they have reshoots, that will just be weekends. I haven't mentioned it to Kurt yet, but I don't see how he'd have a problem with it. I'm going to have to get another cell phone, I think... especially since I'll be going back to school in the fall. I still have to take my math test... need to go up to the school, or call advising to see if I can get a practice test.

So much to do, so little time. The plus side of me being so busy is that I don't have time to go shopping and spend too much money, haha! I think that my car insurance company might have a discount for students, too, so I'll have to look into that once I'm more official. Ugh. What a pain registration has been! I'm thinking about changing around my classes, there is a health/gym class that satisfies one of my course requirements, and I can get in shape while fulfilling a class requirement... so that sounds particularly good to me. :) So we'll see about that. I'll make up my mind when I take my test... if I do decide to do the gym class, I'll probably take ENG Lit & Comp 2 instead of the psychology... I really have to get used to writing papers again, so I think I should take an English my first semester back.

Well, that's it for now........... time to get back to work!

just wanted to say
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Miscellaneous goings-on
That I'm feeling much better now........ a couple crackers and some ginger ale have fixed me right up... I also took some 'pain & ache' relief stuff that we have at work, it's like excedrin on steroids... powerful stuff! let's see... each tablet has 110 mg acetaminophen, 162 mg aspirin, 152 salicylamide, and 32.4 mg of caffeine. So basically you're taking one tylenol, 3 aspirin, (?? have no clue about salicylamide) and a bottle of Jolt! cola.

Work is better today, and McAnnoying actually found my typed up comment letter amusing... I started it out like this:


Dear Ms. Sanner:

Please give us our permits! We will do anything! We've made all the revisions with regard to your comments, so pretty please approve this submittal!


I told him he should keep it like that and see what they say. They might do it just because we begged! Who knows how the county works? We sure as hell don't. My review with Mitch is tomorrow. I hope that I get a big, fat raise! Not very likely, though. Maybe one day this place will pay me what I'm worth, haha! If not them, someone will recognize my extreme intelligence and obvious superiority.

Obviously my feeling better has nothing to do with my desire to leave this evil place.

BTW, I had a wonderfully prepared filet mignon last night as well as some fresh tuna.. Blaine caught it on Saturday off the coast of Ocean City. Tasty!

i feel
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: Junkies
Topic: Miscellaneous goings-on
like 10 different kinds of ass......... unfortunately I've run out of leave (more specifically, I'm actually in the negative!), so I came in this morning......... I had the beginnings of a migraine when I woke up, so I took an Imitrex.. couldn't find my Excedrin, though, I would have tried one of those first. I feel really nauseaus, too........ ugh. Right now I'm drinking ginger ale... feeling a little better, but not by much.

last night I got a letter in the mail from the company that I've been trying to cancel my credit card with (First Premier, don't EVER do business with them) and they're trying to royally screw me over... what happened was that they charged me their exorbitant yearly fee which caused me to go over my meager credit limit by a couple bucks, so then they charged me an overlimit fee, too!!! bastards......... on their bill, the small print on the back said that if you wrote customer service and cancelled your card within 30 days that the annual fee would be removed and you could pay off your balance. So I wrote them a nice letter, telling them that they'd gotten all the money out of me that they were going to get and to please cancel my card and remove the $100 in fees that I was charged. So I get the statement last night and surprise, surprise, my bill has nearly DOUBLED?!!? So I called them in my enraged state and the guy was like, "Oh, well your account was closed on July 13th...." So I tell him, "Well, gee, I sent you the letter requesting my account be closed at about this time last month, so are you telling me that it took over 3 weeks for that to be processed?!??!" Argh. Anyway, I was NOT a happy camper. I got him to take everything off, though, so that was good.

ughhhhhhhhhh I want to go home and go to bed!! :(:(

more nigerian scams
Mood:  mischievious
Now Playing: LOTR soundtrack
Topic: Uche, the idiotic scammer
I saw this article on Nigerian email scams today while looking at another Tripod member's blog. The website mentioned in the article, http://www.419eater.com/ I'm going to have to take a look at... this is from their website:

It doesn't matter if you are new to this 'sport' or a hardened veteran; if you're wasting the time of a scammer, or frustrating them in any way, well that's good enough for us!

So what is scambaiting? Well, put simply, you enter into a dialogue with scammers, simply to waste their precious time and resources. Maybe if you are VERY lucky you'll scam them out of some cash! Although this site concentrates mainly on the "419" type scam, we are happy to bait other types of scammers if and when the opportunity arises. Nigerian

Even if you are a 'newbie' much fun can be had. If you are new to this game and need to know what scambaiting is all about, please click on the 419 FAQ link at the top of the page. See also Baiting Tips for information on getting started on this great cyber-sport

We would encourage anyone to contribute to this site and the good cause of anti-scamming by joining in the fun on the FORUM where you can meet new friends and seek expert help, tips and advice.

Please feel free contact me if you have any suggestions for improving this site.

In the meantime, take a look around. I hope you enjoy your visit.


Time to head home... g'night!

P.S. If you are a new reader of my blog, you should check all of my "Uche Files" entries, as they will probably provide hours of mindless entertainment.

songs for AI audition
Mood:  lyrical
Now Playing: possible audition songs
Topic: Artistic endeavors
Songs that I'm thinking of doing for THIS audition, in order of my preference.

1. Sittin' on the dock of the bay
2. I can't make you love me
3. Nobody does it better
4. God bless the child
5. Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald
6. There will come a day
7. Torn
8. Live and let die
9. Every time you go away
10. I'm like a bird
11. I try
12. Into the West
13. May it be

I figure if I can stylize Sittin' on the dock of the bay, that might make someone interested enough in me to put me through to the next round. I need to think of a gimmick, too. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. I was considering a pink mohawk after auditions last year, but I'm thinking that might be a bit drastic... unfortunately with scooter girl, people are probably going to be more gimmicky this year and I'm also betting that there will be even more people at auditions (especially in DC) this year than last. Ahh... if only they would put us up in the club level of Fedex field! haha!

I want to cut and paste my last paragraph from the American Idol article I wrote for the Harmonizer... if you haven't read it and are interested in how the audition process goes, I would strongly recommend that you read it. If you're even more interested, you can read my actual written account of auditions as they were happening... that one is much longer and rambling, but it has some irrelevant day to day stuff in it that you might find amusing. Anyway, here is my closing paragraph from my article:

Even though I didn't make callbacks, I would audition again in a heartbeat. It was an incredible experience that not too many people can say that they've had. I knew that my chances were slim, but I took them anyway. Some people may think to sleep on concrete for two days is foolish just to get an audition in front of a non-celebrity judge who probably has secret criteria to select people by. In summary, I think that getting noticed at American Idol auditions are 40% luck, 40% look and 20% talent. Next year I'm getting a Mohawk and dying my hair pink - an instant rocket to fame! If that fails, then I'll have to rely on hard work, patience, and perseverance - but what's the fun in that?

odds
Mood:  quizzical
Now Playing: LOTR soundtrack -- may it be (Enya)
Topic: Weird shit
Found this on a site, thought some of them were interesting. Who knows how many are correct, though... I don't know where they came from, I'm sure over half of them are erroneous.

Odds that an American adult does not want to live to age 120 under any circumstances: 3 to 2

Odds of injury from fireworks: 19,556 to 1

Odds of injury from shaving: 6,585 to 1

Odds of injury from using a chain saw: 4,464 to 1

Odds of injury from mowing the lawn: 3,623 to 1

Odds of fatally slipping in bath or shower: 2,232 to 1

Odds of drowning in a bathtub: 685,000 to 1

Odds of being killed on a 5-mile bus trip: 500,000,000 to 1

Odds of being killed sometime in the next year in any sort of transportation accident: 77 to 1

Odds of being killed in any sort of non-transportation accident: 69 to 1

Odds of being struck by lightning: 576,000 to 1

Odds of being killed by lightning: 2,320,000 to 1

Odds of being murdered: 18,000 to 1

Odds of getting away with murder: 2 to 1

Odds of being the victim of serious crime in your lifetime: 20 to 1

Odds of dating a supermodel: 88,000 to 1

Odds of being considered possessed by Satan: 7,000 to 1

Odds that a first marriage will survive without separation or divorce for 15 years: 1.3 to 1

Odds that a celebrity marriage will last a lifetime: 3 to 1

Odds of getting hemorrhoids: 25 to 1

Odds of being born a twin in North America: 90 to 1

Odds of being on plane with a drunken pilot: 117 to 1

Odds of being audited by the IRS: 175 to 1

Odds of having your identity stolen: 200 to 1

Odds of dating a millionaire: 215 to 1

Odds of dating a supermodel: 88,000 to 1

Odds of writing a New York Times best seller: 220 to 1

Odds of finding out your child is a genius: 250 to 1

Odds of catching a ball at a major league ballgame: 563 to 1

Odds of becoming a pro athlete: 22,000 to 1

Odds of finding a four-leaf clover on first try: 10,000 to 1

Odds of a person in the military winning the Medal of Honor: 11,000 to 1

Odds of winning an Academy Award: 11,500 to 1

Odds of striking it rich on Antiques Roadshow: 60,000 to 1

Odds of getting a royal flush in poker on first five cards dealt: 649,740 to 1

Odds of spotting a UFO today: 3,000,000 to 1

Odds of becoming president: 10,000,000 to 1

Odds of winning the California lottery: 13,000,000 to 1

Odds of becoming a saint: 20,000,000 to 1

Odds of a meteor landing on your house: 182,138,880,000,000 to 1

Chance of dying from any kind of injury during the next year: 1 in 1,820

Chance of dying from intentional self-harm: 1 in 9,380

Chance of dying from an assault: 1 in 16,421

Chance of dying from a car accident: 1 in 18,585

Chance of dying from any kind of fall: 1 in 20,666

Chance of dying from accidental drowning: 1 in 79,065

Chance of dying from exposure to smoke, fire, and flames: 1 in 81,524

Chance of dying in an explosion: 1 in 107,787

Chance that Earth will experience a catastrophic collision with an asteroid in the next 100 years: 1 in 5,000

Chance of dying in such a collision: 1 in 20,000

Chance of dying from exposure to forces of nature (heat, cold, lightning, earthquake, flood): 1 in 225,107

Chance of dying in an airplane accident: 1 in 354,319

Chance of dying from choking on food: 1 in 370,035

Chance of dying in a terrorist attack while visiting a foreign country: 1 in 650,000

Chance of dying in a fireworks accident: 1 in 1,000,000

Chance of dying from overexertion, travel or privation: 1 in 1,428,377

Chance of dying from food poisoning: 1 in 3,000,000

Chance of dying from legal execution: 1 in 3,441,325

Chance of dying from contact with hot tap water: 1 in 5,005,564

Chance of dying from parts falling off an airplane: 1 in 10,000,000

Chance of dying from ignition or melting of nightwear: 1 in 30,589,556

Chance of dying from being bitten by a dog: 1 in 700,000

Chance of dying from contact with a venomous animal or plant: 1 in 3,441,325

Chance of dying from being bitten or struck by mammals (other than dogs or humans): 1 in 4,235,477

Chance of dying from a mountain lion attack in California: 1 in 32,000,000

Chance of dying from a shark attack: 1 in 300,000,000

Chance of having a stroke: 1 in 6

Chance of dying from heart disease: 1 in 3

Chance of getting arthritis: 1 in 7

Chance of suffering from asthma or allergy diseases: 1 in 6

Chance of getting the flu this year: 1 in 10

Chance of developing schizophrenia: 1 in 100

Chance of contracting the human version of mad cow disease: 1 in 40,000,000

Chance of dying from SARS in the United States: 1 in 100,000,000

Chance of American man developing cancer in his lifetime: 1 in 2

Chance of an American woman developing cancer in her lifetime: 1 in 3

Chance of getting prostate cancer: 1 in 6

Chance of getting breast cancer: 1 in 9

Chance of getting colon / rectal cancer: 1 in 26

Chance of beating pancreatic or liver cancer: 1 in 9

Chance of beating thyroid or testicular cancer: 9 in 10


I'm hoping that those cancer odds aren't right! THat seems awfully high.