Life with...

2011-09-09T22:56:00.002-04:00

this is gonna be an awful saturday. tomorrow is rex's funeral. how awful to die so suddenly, so young. i wasn't really good friends with him; rather he was part of the greater group of people that i know. i was better friends with his wife, cynthia...wow, has she had a really lousey 10 years. two bouts of breast cancer and now, this. following the mass, there will be a memory luncheon at st. johns. and the entire gang will be there. damn, can we ever get together again for a happy occassion?

tomorrow night is the michigan notre dame game in ann arbor, under the lights. and i won't be there, AGAIN. it still hurts that i'm not there. IMG really knows just how to totally demoralize a person and take the wind of of my sails. second year of this shit and i'm still brokenhearted. can't watch the games on tv without crying. i miss it so much. all of it. even tony yelling at me. LOL

2011-09-09T22:54:00.003-04:00

timely pic of maizey blue....in her maize and blue. hahahaha

2011-04-10T15:07:00.006-04:00

and this is my new baby, who gives the term, "holy terror" (holy terrier???) a whole new dimension!!

2011-02-28T19:05:00.002-05:00

i think that i found her...after being online, non stop for a week, checking all of the sites that list boston terrier puppies for sale...the puppy must be female and small. but, after seeing this one, i think that my size requirement needs to go away! 'cause she is just adorable.
there was one that i just loved in missouri, another in iowa, another in georgia, another in cincinnati....some were over priced, some were logistically not a good choice...
but, this one; this one is right here in the state of michigan, near linda's house.
i've asked myself if this is the time to shell out the bucks for a new puppy, since i'm still out of work. but, since i am out of work, i have the luxury of time to put into a puppy.
i'll meet the puppy this saturday and then, decide. er, see if the puppy decides on me.

2011-01-28T19:01:00.005-05:00

i was over at my friend bev's house on 1/1/11 watching the big 10 make compete asses of themselves on national t.v. the back of her living room is all glass, overlooking the vast outdoors. when the sun went down, there were massive cloud formations that just perfectly caught the colors of the sunset....

2010-05-15T14:11:00.024-04:00

i love photography--i have a closet-ful of old cameras, lenses, filters. i used to spend hours in the darkroom, making black and white and color pictures...i was very fortunate to go to a high school with a photography class, complete with a teriffic teacher and a wonderfully equipped darkroom. then, there was the "professional" darkroom at the observer newspapers that i got to use, on occassion-i knew the photography editor.

over the years, me and my trusty nikon fm (my 4th (?) camera went all over the place together;i chronicled my travels around the u.s., friends, rock concerts, events....i LOVED taking pictures.

then came the digital age....my first digital camera was such an eye-opener....it took fairly ok picturs, but it was a bulky, awkward thing to carry and the view screen was, maybe, 1 inch by 1 inch....i was getting frustrated carrying around all of my film camera equipent....it was heavy and i really had hoped that my new digital camera could be used as a replacement.

for two years, my bulky, awkward digital camera and i went everywhere....but, then, new security measures were implemented at michigan stadium and i couldn't get the camera in.

it was time for a new digital camera, one that was really tiny and thin...almost invisible. sprang for the new nikon s-9, being brand loyal; nikon made the best film cameras, so, conventional wisdom was that they made teriffic digital cameras.

i spent the next 3 years with the almost-invisible nikon s-9; 75% of the time, secretly grousing to myself, that the pictures that i was taking were, less than stellar. i blamed it on me, the light, the lack of light; the subject matter....but still aware that other people took beautiful pictures with their digital cameras. (joanne!!)

i shot over 800 pictures, last summer, when i was in new york and MAYBE 25 of them turned out ok...not great, but ok.

i got back from florida two weeks ago and looked at the pix that i took and just snapped (no pun intended).

i promptly went online, and researched digital point and shoot cameras under $300 (that's what i payed for my nikon s-9) and came up with:

PANASONIC F-20! and it was only $179 and, according to my research, TOOK TERIFFIC PICTURES IN ALL SITUATIONS!

the new camera arrived last week, and i haven't had time to really get out and test it, but preliminary pix look great.

in the meantime, i spent an entire evening going through my vast collection of pix that i've taken over the digital years and picked out the ones that a. came out the best and/or b. i just like them

these pictures are in my folder entitled, "suitable for framing"

2009-02-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

well, the best laid plans...the previous post with the video didn't work, which it too bad, 'cause i laughed so hard, that my mascara ran down my face and i hyper-ventilated.
if you're interested, it's on the onion website and it's a video about a new product from sony, that doesn't work.

2009-02-10T16:17:00.002-05:00

(i'm sorry; do NOT mean to offend anyone, but this is f***in' hilarious!!!)

ok, this damned thing may not work...so try this website...

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/sony_releases_new_stupid_piece_of

2009-02-07T16:40:00.003-05:00

today was the first day in 5 weeks that the temperature was over 20 degrees farhenheit. it's in the upper 40s and the sun is shining. it's amazing how a little warmth and sunlight can lift one's spirits. i didn't even realize that i was down and blue (no pun intended!). loganne and i went for walk in the park and loganne walked me! i even went to joanne fabrics, a craft store, and walked through their artificial flower department to look at all of the silk spring flowers. ohmygod, i canNOT wait until spring! BRING ON THE DAFFODILS!

2009-02-07T12:50:00.004-05:00

45 years ago, today, an airplane landed at jfk airport in new york city.

and the world hasn't been the same, since

(oh, and happy birthday, elizabeth...)

2009-01-13T12:46:00.000-05:00

2009-01-09T00:03:00.000-05:00

CONGRATS TO THE FLORIDA GATORS!!!

2009-01-07T22:27:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

2008-12-23T19:15:00.006-05:00

i always get very emotional around Christmas (YES, CHRISTMAS, not chanukah) thinking about all of the people who i have loved, people i still love, Christmases past when I made a huge deal about Christmas...and wishing, wistfully, that i could have a Christmas like i used to (before i became old, pragmatic and cynical LOL). i want so much for people, family, friends, to know what they mean to my; how much i appreciate how they flower my life.
so, in no particular order, these are the people that i think of whenever i hear this song: (and, if i've forgotten anyone, i profusely apologize)
mom, dad
aunt fay, uncle arthur
deborah
linda
barbara-jean
timmy, liske, molly, malin
marie, john, seamus, sean, colleen, dawn
bev, brad
all mcelroys
all einhaus'
S.S.P.S (you know who you are!)
betsy, bill, cindy, doreen, judy
phil
kim
julie
jess
andery
megan
melissa
dan
anna
tess
kristal
jojo
val
diane
ann
lady axe
eliza
my little black and white furball

i love all of you; thank you for being in my life
merry christmas, happy chanukah, and a very happy, healthy, safe and productive 2009

(and for those of you that are just a bit hard of hearing...here are the lyrics)

There are places i'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends i still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life i've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When i think of love as something new
Though i know i'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know i'll often stop and think about them
In my life i love you more

Though i know i'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know i'll often stop and think about them
In my life i love you more
In my life i love you more

2008-12-17T17:08:00.000-05:00

if i may be so bold, ill-bred and self-adsorbed....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

2008-12-16T13:18:00.003-05:00

well, my blogging peeps, here i am, STILL in michigan, not in new york and not in florida. i guess the bottom line is NEVER plan for time off during the "season". i was all packed, me, loganne, the car; i only went into work yesterday morning to tie up a few loose ends...and...WHAM!!! needless to say, i didn't finish 'til about 430p and was told that i'd have lotsa other things that needed to taken care of. so, no ice skating at rockefeller center, no sitting on the beach at daytona...if i didn't find all of this so amusing, i'd probably be in a deep funk, feeling sorry for myself, asking the powers that be, why this happens to me....but, it is funny. no matter what i do, there's always MORE to do and a more correct way to do it; it's almost as if i'm being set up to fail. i need to become more pro-active, but if i don't know what i need to be pro-active about, how can i be more pro-active? i'm that way about what i was originally hired to do; i'm always bugging advertisers and advertising agencies for new commercials when the current commercials are arriving at their end date. but, all of this new stuff...i just can't get my hands around it. so, no matter what i do, or how much i do...i think that i'll be unemployed very soon!
anyway, the upshot of all of this, i can't go down to see my mom until early to mid april. one of the reasons that i was going to visit her was to try to talk some sense into her...as if i could! she already went out and bought a new car which was one of the things that i wanted to discuss with her. (forget about having a conversation with her on the phone; she's EXTREMELY hard of hearing and, for whatever the reason, she keeps hitting buttons on her phone so our conversations are punctuated with constant beeps) i was hoping i could convince her to NOT buy a car; i don't think that she should be driving anymore.
ah, well, enough about my trials...how are all of you holding up during the onslaught of christmas?
i have cartons of tree decorations (yes, i know...i'm jewish!) but i can't put up my tree. why???
because 25 pounds of black and white fur-ball will just knock it down and decide to make all of the decorations her new chew-toys! a friend of mine suggested that i buy a child's playpen and put the tree in it to keep loganne out. pretty nifty idea but a playpen in my living room? my small living room is already crowded with a couch, entertainment center, 2 large floor stereo speakers (i can blow out a wall!!) a sofa table, 2 lamp tables and 2 tiger stadium seats. oh, and a rocking chair. so, until i win the lottery and can purchase a much bigger house with a living room that can be closed off behind french doors, no christmas tree for me. and it is a christmas tree, not a chanukah bush.
my plans for christmas day are sleep, chocolate, sleep, pistacho nuts, sleep, a vdo movie, sleep, more chocolate, sleep, home-made soup, chocolate and sleep. what plans do you have for christmas?

2008-12-08T17:01:00.006-05:00

there's an article in today's ny times about how many churches in detroit have been praying for the u.s. gov't- for that automotive industry bail-out. even that doesn't speak to the enormity of the situation. even when things were ok in the rest of the country, things in detroit were bleak and have been for years. it's sad that a city with so much history and so many people isn't able to thrive in good times; what the hell is gonna happen if there's no bail-out? i've never been one to think that the gov't should keep companies and governments afloat; if you screw up then the responsibility for and consequence of that screw up falls on you. not this time. without a bail-out...you can say good by to not only the s.e. michigan region, but the majority of the state of michigan's economy, the mid-west's economy and eventually, the entire economy of the u.s. which eventually, will effect the economy world-wide. but, i digress; i want to focus on the city of detroit. the majority of people who work in the city, live in the suburbs. so, except for work, they usually do not go into the city. oh, they'll go down for the tigers, the wings, the lions...maybe have dinner before or after, and then come right back home. as it is now, the wings are playing really well (we won't talk about the lions...) but there are lotsa empty seats at the joe. without the bailout? there'll be lots more empty seats. less people at the joe means less people paying for parking and less people eating and drinking at downtown establishments. and the same thing will happen in spring with the tigers. all of those mom and pop parking lots, corner bars, neighborhood restaurants will be forced to close their doors. so, i'm with the churces...please, GOD, let the gov't agree to the bail-out of chrysler, ford and g.m.!

oh, in unrelated news...
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM (who have done very badly the past few years) UPSET THE #4 TEAM IN THE COUNTRY, DUKE!!!
and
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN HOCKEY TEAM BEAT CROSS-STATE AND MUCH-HATED RIVAL, THE SPARTANS OF MICHIGAN STATE, NOT ONCE BUT TWICE THIS PAST WEEKEND
HAIL TO THE VICTORS, VALIANT!!

2008-12-03T21:28:00.003-05:00

loganne in her brand, spanking new christmas sweater.

hellooooooo everyone. yes, i've been away, yes, i'm back, sorta. it has been an intersting fall; interesting is the best adjective that i can come up with. if i need to point a finger at whatever has caused my malaise, well, that's easy:

WORK

most of you know that Fall is my busiest time of the year. getting football on the air and then getting all of the other sports on the air. and keeping them on the air and keeping everyone happy and making sure that everything and everyone are where they should be...blah, blah, blah...so, wouldn't it be just a delightful thing to DOUBLE my work-load? (and at the same pay, who knew?) i'd say that i've been averaging 50-60 hours per week. AND to top it all off, we get a brand new computer system, which sucks, at best, AND we "inherited" about 2 dozen clients from u of m, whose contracts need to be entered into the sucky computer system, which isn't set up to reflect what inventory we sell...not to mention that the double work-load is doing something that i've never been trained in, do not totally understand, and in the process, "letting" things fall through the cracks. needless to say, i find myself in a very scary situation; fearing for my job. a year ago at this time, i was so happy with my job, fully confident, knowing that what i did was important and that i was very good at what i did. now? i'm just barely passable-the affiliates and the talent sing my praises; little do they know...i've forgotten to order press credentials for the basketball crew, written live commercials for basketball leaving in the word football, wrote a live commercial for big boy restaurant wrong, thank goodness, jim caught it before he read it...i even forgot to send out the football format to the affiliates...because i'm just too damned busy doing OTHER things when i should just be doing "broadcast operations" which, yes, even i admit, am very good at. but, a sales assistant, knowing about net and gross and invoicing, billing dates, payments due....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! if i want to keep my job, i gotta learn it. in the meantime, i'm terrified about my job security. AND with all of the overtime and all of the days off that corp is giving us around christmas that i can't take off, i was going to treat myself to the birthday celebration of birthday celebrations; spend my birthday in new york; ice skate at rockefeller center, eat chocolate, steak dinner at peter lugar's, eat chocolate, shop for useless items, eat chocolate, see a concert at lincoln center...you get the picture. i've already planned my wardrobe for the trip, paid for the hotel room, booked loganne into doggie camp...guess what? my mother, who should NOT be driving and should be living up here totalled her car...and she was injured. so, new york city will need to wait-i'm going to florida instead. yep, loganne and i will be on the beach at daytona on my birthday! and i think that i'm gonna need to be a real bitch and threaten to have her declared incompetent so that i can take control and get her ass up here! hmmmm, not sure if i can do it or even how. me a bitch?? uhhhh, yeah (just ask frappuccino pam!!)

2008-09-15T22:28:00.000-04:00

2008-08-03T11:36:00.004-04:00

ok, all of you bobby goren-vdo fans. i have a little announcement to make, one that i'm sure will make all of you collectively gasp and wring your hands.

i will NOT be staying home tonight to watch the latest epi of our fave man!!

i am so sorry to be such a disappointment to you. but, i've decided to spend the evening with friends, sipping wine and munching on brie and crackers at the meadowbrook music (outdoor) theater, listening to the detroit symphony orchestra perform. i had to make the tough decision, here. on one hand, gorgeous, interesting, compelling man. on the other hand, my friends. suffice to say, my friends won out.

we'll be sitting on the lawn above this pavillion, on the grass...surrounded by pine trees. it's a spectacular setting.

AND i checked tv guide-tonight's episode will be repeated this wednesday night on usa...so, i WILL get to see it, just not with all of you.

i truly hope that you can find some way in your hearts to forgive me!!!

2008-08-01T18:24:00.002-04:00

i've received a few emails about the comment that i made on val's blog or was it the cat? (my memory is shot to hell-too many drugs in my 20s, ya know?)

anyway, let me tell you...i have a theory about some men. and it goes like this: guys who drive really powerful, souped-up, loud cars usually are compensating for something, like a teensy tiny vienna sausage of a penis. (like "jones", remember???)anyway, this guy who lives behind me, made some rude comment about loganne being a boston terrier and his ex-wife has/had a boston terrier and it was a bitch just like her. and they're such bitchy little dogs.? well, HE drives a really loud souped-up mustang...hence my comment

the prick!

insult me, ok, but loganne??

i don't think so!!!

2008-07-29T23:00:00.002-04:00

so, tess and i had a lively, intelligent discussion tonight about...
jock straps and athletic protective cups.
tess, having a brother, at least has actually seen one, in person. i, never having even dated athletically inclined men, have never seen one, in person.
i pondered the concept of size; do they come in different sizes? as we all know, men are not all the same size, so shouldn't jock straps come in different sizes, too?

oh, i know it's a crass subject; it came about because of an article that tess sent me from the omaha newspaper about a fantasy football day for some university of nebraska football fans. some of the attendees were former players and one of them talked about an embroidered jock-strap that his team received for playing in one of the post-season bowl game. can you imagine? who the hell did the embroidering? but, it made me think; i have an entire wardrobe of university of michigan clothes-coat, jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, t-shirts, pants, shorts, sweatpants, shoes, socks....what i don't have is u of m underwear. well, guess what? victoria's secret has a licensing deal with the ncaa and they've started to sell women's panties with several universities' logos. should i? of course, who would see me in them? i can't very well prance around the pressbox in them. and if i did wear them, would i walk differently? stand differently?
ahhhh, reality renders me helpless in this matter; 3 panties for $26.00. 26 DOLLARS!! for $26 i could buy 2 dozen panties at walmart. but, maybe my next boyfriend and i can have matching, uhhh, matching jock strap and panties.
tess, they have univ of nebraska panties; jojo they also have univ. of washington panties...kris, no notre-dame, yet!!

2008-07-29T22:48:00.002-04:00

SUSAN'S SELF-INDULGENT BITCHFEST!

why, oh, why do idiots, morons and brain-dead people INSIST on driving in the fast lane, when they're driving 20 mph BELOW the speed limit? I-696, 8 lanes; 4 lanes east, 4 lanes west, speed limit 70 mph. both of the left 2 lanes, the "fast" lanes, were blocked by some moron in a chevy pick-up truck, going about 60 mph and a really old beat up cadillac going about 50 mph in the other lane. loooonnnnggg lines of vehicles trailing behind both of them. no one could get around them in a safe fashion, which caused people to dangerously swerve around them into the right 2 lanes...i barely missed being side-swiped by an impatient driver. and i'm no angel on the road, either...i get impatient and tend to want to get around these slow-driving morons, but i'll conciously take a deep breath, turn up the radio and just wait and wait and wait and wait. eventually, i'll get to where i'm going. in the meantime,

GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!!!

2008-07-24T21:08:00.009-04:00

i just got off the phone with my friend, julie. it was of the most urgency...she had a question for me that needed the most life-altering answer:
question:

what was the name of the ranger on the old yogi bear cartoon?

ok, anyway, today i made the 200 mile trek across the state to niles to visit kris and her children. (her hubby was at work!). it took me 3 hours to get there and when i did, i was met by 3 very happy children. not a shy one among them. but, they are sooooo well behaved. they'd take a teeeeeny step towards maybe acting out and kris would sternly admonish them and WHAM! they'd stop in their tracks!!! kris and i took them to play mineature golf. (play is too strong a word. try beating the crap outta the ball and hoping that it falls into the cup!)

isiah and isaac taking a breather (actually, waiting for lily, kris and me to hurry up and hit the ball!)

lily doing her best to tee offkris and her beautiful children

after abusing the putting greens, we went down to the state line of michigan and indiana to the dairy queen for ice cream. yummmmmmmm!

by the time we got back to the house, it was time for me to get back into my car and head back to detroit...and loganne was soooo happy to see me; of course she was-she needed to go out AND she was hungry!

2008-07-23T21:18:00.016-04:00

i'm off work, this week. since i'm saving for my NEXT trip to nyc, i've just been doing stuff around here. monday, julie and i went to lunch, godiva chocolate and then to the movies to see "the dark knight".
yesterday, i took loganne down to belle isle; i wanted to see the lighthouse there and the weather idiots said that it would be really nice out. WRONG! it was HOT, HUMID and poor loganne panted and panted and sucked down all of the water that i gave her!

we rested on a bench along the river. (she rested; i took pictures!)

looking north (east?) into lake st. claire

and this? this is the lighthouse. it's a light on a stick!!! NOT what i was expecting.

and this extremely sad picture in the de-construction of a major league baseball landmark; tiger stadium, the home of the detroit tigers from 1902 til 1999. so many people banded together to save the stadium...and we all lost. those orange seats that are just hanging from the 2nd deck coulda been the seats in box 340...a favorite place to sit and watch the tigers play. wjr had tons of season tix at the ballpark...340 were the absolute best. wjr also had box 119, downstairs, just behind the tiger's on-deck circle; i coulda just reached over and pinched lance or gibby or tram in the butt!!

i have pictures of the tigers and the stadium all over my living room. it is so sad that this has happened; and it'll be happening in nyc after the end of the 2008 baseball season; yankee stadium will be coming down as well.

ok, on to today. i went out to the u of m-matthei botanical gardens and green house

this wierd thing is called a sausage tree.

after walking around the gardens and greenhouse, i walked one of their nature trails. it was lovely; a way to surround myself with nature, get some exercise, contemplate life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...

then i went into ann arbor to hang out, see the sites and eventually eat late lunch/early dinner.

tomorrow, i'm driving to niles, to visit kris!!! yay!!

2008-07-22T16:33:00.003-04:00

(hello....how are all of you? tess? diane? kris? jojo? val? ann? axe? dukes? timmy? kim? anyone i've missed???)

so, most of you know that i've had myself on a tight budget for the past 11 years of so, due to my untimely demise from radio station, wjr. working at starbucks and partime for michigan made me be rather conservative with my spending. now that i'm with michigan fulltime (and still not being payed very much!) i'm still very careful with my spending. that's why what happened on saturday night, really tossed me for a loop.
a few of my starbucks kids and i went out for a going-away-dinner for one of the "starbucks kids"- "perko" (that's her nickname) just graduated from college and has found a teaching job in the d.c. area and will be re-locating to maryland. so, we went out for dinner at this restaurant-bar called champps. (that's how it is spelled). i had a salad and 2 drinks. the drinks were just vodka on the rocks. the salad that i ordered was @$8.99. when the bill came, my portion was...

23 dollars!!!!

that meant that each of my 2 drinks was 7 dollars....for a shot of vodka on the rocks!!! had i known they were that much, i wouldn't have ordered them. for the price of both drinks, i coulda gone out and bought myself an entire fifth of vodka....not that i woulda, i don't drink these days...it's fattening AND F****N' EXPENSIVE!!! gotta be able to keep gas in my car, ya know???

2008-06-19T19:14:00.001-04:00

hey, for those of you who are interested, the 2nd installment of my trip to nyc is AFTER the expensive purse for auction post!!!

2008-06-15T16:31:00.004-04:00

(i know that i haven't posted the pix from day 2 in nyc. i will)
WELL, SHOULD I BID ON THIS?

2008-06-12T21:20:00.114-04:00

DAY 2 OF NEW YORK!

i woke up really early, saturday, so that i could get into the city and have as much time as possible to hang out and see as much as i could in 1 day! i hopped on the nj transit train, got off at penn station and took the subway down to 14th street in chelsea; garcia enjoyed the ride

this is the station at which i got off the subway, 14th street on the west side, in chelsea

looks kinda creepy, doesn't it? i suppose it is, but i just LOVE the subway system in ny; i wish that we had something similar, here in detroit, but, the automotive industry would NEVER let that happen.

the mosaic tile at this station; the nyc subway system is rife with mosaic signs. some are almost 100 years old.

the plan was to go to the chelsea market for breakfast. just pick up some cheese, a loaf of freshly baked bread, a cup of coffee and walk around and see what other foods i could pick up and sorta have a walking smorgasbord. i figured that 8 am was a good time to go; the farmers markets in detroit and ann arbor are in full swing by 8 am. so, imagine my surprise at walking into chelsea market...and NOTHING was open yet. on a saturday morning. WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING??? so, i walked around the EMPTY market; there were lots of sculptures and other things to see.

not sure what this was supposed to be; it looks like a bed and i sat on it...most uncomfortable.

(geez, i sound like mr. spock!)

there was also this exposed pipe that had water gushing out of it-sorta a plumbers fountain of sorts.

i took about 10 pictures of it; this was the best one; it was really hard to get 'cause the lighting was so dim, and the water was, of course, MOVING and i couldn't get the right setting. i set it on auto, changed it to manual, fiddled with the "speed", the white balance, the type of lighting...sometimes i really miss my old nikon fm FILM camera!!!

on the other side of the "fountain" was this sign.

imagine; well water in the middle of the city! who knew?

one of the CLOSED shops in the market sold fresh seafood. this was outside of the shop.

still, another CLOSED shop was a tea-house with "outdoor" seating. i really liked the buddha; gave it a rather soothing and peaceful setting.

i finally got around to asking a guard when did everything open? he told me, 10 am.

10 A.M.????

WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?

so, i took off for new york city's newest playground:

yes, my vdo blogging peeps, chelsea piers, home to wolf studios...but, the piers are so much more than that. there are restaurants, there's a golf driving range, a gym, a fieldhouse, an ice rink, a trapeze school, an indoor pool...and just tons of so much more!

one interesting, historical note: this pier is where the titanic was to have docked after her "maiden voyage" across the atlantic...

several of the city's excursion boats dock here as well

i'll take the yacht for one million dollars

i walked all around and through and there were lotsa just plain new yorkers walking about, to and from the various offerings of the piers. not to mention all of the people out, just walking their dogs. one lady was walking 2 australian shepards, another lady was walking 2 yorkies, a really cute guy was walking his pug...and other people were jogging or walking on the paths; still others were biking on the bike path. and then i saw something that hockey-loving-midwestern- girl- that- i- am has never seen: 2 asian men, carrying HOCKEY gear, heading to the rink. russians, slavs, canadians, americans, swedes....never asians!! but, good for them! during this walk through the piers, i noticed that the temperature and the humidity were rising at an alarming rate. it was only 9 a.m. and already i was sticky and sweaty and hot and in need of air conditioning. oh, well, i'm made of sturdy stuff. hell, i'm a midwesterner; i'm used to heat and humidity!

back to reality, though. being that the piers ARE the home to our fave show and detective, i started looking for ANY sign of their existence there. this is all that i found:

sorry that i couldn't do any better than that, but, it was saturday and they don't do any filming on the weekends. (right tess and diane?)

by this time it was almost 10, so i walked back to the market and found a few of the shops had already opened. i strolled into this bakery that was loaded with all sorts of breads, rolls, pastries, muffins....i could go on. everything looked delicious. i ended up buying a "mini" french baguette which was anything by mini; it was about a foot long! but it was warm and soft and yet crusty all at the same time. i wandered into a little grocery store and bought a wedge of sharp cheddar cheese, but made from goat's milk. and unlike regular cheddar, this was much softer; almost spreadable as it turned out. another shop specialized in italian food items and already brewed italian coffee. i bought a hot cup of coffee. i put the cheese and the bread in my tote bag; my strolling breafast was complete. now, i could do the next activity on my agenda; eating my breakfast while i walk across the brooklyn bridge.

i hopped back on the subway and took it further downtown to the city hall station at the end of centre street.

another really nice mosaic. there's another portion of this station which is closed to the public. it's the old and i do mean old cityhall station that was built about 100 years ago. it's supposed to be beautiful: (pictures of the old city hall station and accompanying commentary are from "forgotten-ny.com")

(look at that gap between the train and the platform!!)

"City Hall was the ceremonial terminal of the first subway project in New York, the place where the mayor could show off the subway built with the people's money to benefit the greatest city in the country. Not at all characteristic of the first subway, it has a sharply curved platform, a Guastavino tile arched ceiling, skylights (blackened in World War II), and plaques praising the work and those involved. The official start of construction took place on 24 March 1900 at the front steps of City Hall, on the site of the station.
Unfortunately, for all that, it was never an important station. It was located on the turning loop for local trains from uptown, and both those and the express trains could be easily taken at the very nearby Brooklyn Bridge station. The curve was noisy, and the gaps it left at the platform were unsafe. The station was closed at night, when the local trains ran to South Ferry loop instead. When it was open, it was an entrance only.
In its last year, a peak year for subway travel, only 600 people a day used it, a small number in New York, and they paid their fares by ticket in a chopper, because the station had never even had turnstiles installed."

i easily found the sidewalk which is sorta a ramp that becomes the bridge pedestrian walkway.

it's about a mile and an eighth across. the walkway was packed with walkers, joggers, bikers; and did i mention that it was HOT? and muggy...H-U-M-I-D. thank goodness for suntan lotion with spf 50!! i started looking for a bench so that could start munching on my bread and cheese. along the way there were ice water vendors, how lucky for me? it was sooooooo freakin' hot! by the time i found a bench i was exhausted. and sweaty. so much so that my feet were soaked and i was wearing sandals!!! my feet were so hot and sweaty that the leather coloring was coloring my feet! it had to in the high 90s...WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING???

i sat down (collapsed is more like it!) on an empty bench and opened up my tote bag, tore off a chunk of bread and grabbed the cheese which, as you can imagine, was....soft, spreadable...delicious! i munched on my breakfast, sniffed the breeze, glanced down at the east river and just felt so right; i was in new york; i feel at home there in a way that i've never felt in detroit.

this is looking back at "downtown" manhattan.

GARCIA!!!! don't jump!!

this is the manhattan bridge, which also connects manhattan to brooklyn. there's a neighborhood of brooklyn, right at the beginning/end of the manhattan bridge called D.U.M.B.O. which stands for Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass. there are tons of weirdly named neighborhoods in new york; tribeca, soho, noho...

someone left this on the bridge; this little bag with flowers in it.

the arches of the bridge, close up.

i walked to the brooklyn side, turned around and walked back across the bridge. it took me abou 2 hours, with numerous stops to take pictures, chow down on my bread and cheddar, to catch my breath and do something about my sandals which were, by now, so wet, they were chafing my feet!

what to do next? i knew that union square on saturdays had a farmers market and arts and crafts vendors, so back on the subway and up to 14th street again but on the east side. when i got off the subway and got outside, i heard a commotion; in the middle of the street was a man and a woman fighting, LOUDLY. and they were all over the street. they'd go from one side to the other, back to the middle...all the while, taxis and cars were swerving around them and honking their horns. and in typical new york fashion, no one was paying attention to them. i, on the other hand, was fasinated at the loss of control and the utter carelessness that they apparently had about airing their dirty laundry, as it were.

i walked around the square and found this artist who did pastels. he did scenes in and around union square. there was one that caught my eye and i bought it.

well, lunchtime was just around the corner; and i wanted to check out the authentic, imposter, replica designer purses sold on canal street which seperates chinatown from little italy. yum, italian, chinese and fake handbags!!! i had to get back on the subway and go back towards downtown.

ohmygod!!!! canal street is fake, imposter, replica designer heaven. handbags, "tiffany" jewelry...stall after stall after stall... i headed up mulberry street into little italy. so many italian restaurants with outdoor seating; their menus were displayed outside on placards. everything looked so delicious....but, IT WAS SO FREAKIN' HOT, who the hell could eat pasta in this weather?

in the meantime, i saw a handbag that was really cute; dolce and gabana for the rock bottom price of $22. wow, such a deal. i bought it! i really was on a mission to find a fake chanel handbag for colleen; meanwhile, did i mention how HOT and MUGGY it was? my left ankle was blistering. i kept walking, thinking that the lure of wonderful italian food would overcome my heat angst. and look what i found:
LOVE to eat here!!!

finally, i just gave up on the italian food, except for....

CHOCOLATE GELATO! how yummy, how refreshing, how delish...i ordered a medium and got what i'd consider a large. 3 huge scoops of the chocolatey stuff, billowing a full 2 or 3 inches above the cup in which they served it. and, of course, it being so HOT, i watched it immediately start to run down my arm!!! i don't think i've ever finished that much ice cream/gelato in such a record time. talk about brain freeze!!!

this is hester street in littly italy.

ok, enough is enough; i had to get outta the heat and.....go......where.....a museum, maybe? except, i really needed to sit down for a while....all of that walking and the heat and humidity had really sapped my strength. oh, hell, just get back on the subway and go back up to midtown; maybe something would appeal to me. at least, the subway was air conditioned and i could sit down and just....breathe and rest. i keep forgetting that i'm not 25 anymore; i don't have the energy and stamina that i used to have when i'd hike up mountains, and other strenuous stuff.

i got off at 42nd street in midtown on the east side to check out grand central terminal. i hadn't seen it since they restored it. the last time i was there it was dingy, dirty and croweded. well, it's still crowded, but WOW, did they fix it up. the ceiling was restored to its former glory; it was a fresco of zodiac signs, but i only found 6 of them....and the sagittarius archer was missing. hmmmmm.

grand central handles all of the trains running on the "metro north" lines, most of which either go "upstate" or up into connecticut. (penn station, on the west side of manhattan handles new jersey transit trains, amtrak trains and long island railroad which still uses a ouija board to figure out arrivals and departures!!)

i walked all over and through...they installed a HUGE food court downstairs, a market in one of the corridors, shops....and scattered all over the place were BIG COMFY CHAIRS, which were all being used (sigh). i finally found a starbucks (what else?) and i bought a large iced-coffee, 'cause, remember, it was FREAKIN' HOT!!!

i wanted to head back downtown to the very bottom of manhattan, the battery. so back i went on the subway. i took the line to the very end, called south ferry. i got out and thought that maybe i should just get on the staten island ferry and veg out for about an hour or two. i just missed one leaving and another one wasn't due in for 3o minutes or something like that. so, i walked up lower broadway to trinity church.

this is the third trinity church built on this site. this on was built in 1846 and at the time, was the talles structure in new york city. since then, it's been dwarfed by sky-scrapers. the streets down here are very narrow. as they were in the 1800s when there were only horse and buggies. they never were widened. as such, the much newer sky-scrapers do create a man made canyon of sorts.

and right out front of the church was a circus. ok, i'm being mean. it was a wedding party with 12 bridesmaids in very loud green dresses with ruffles and bows, i kid you not. and matching the bridesmaids were 12 groomsmen in matching green bowties and cumberbunds. then just down the block was this man and a HUGE carton of, you guessed it, handbags for sale. i turned around and went back to the battery to walk around battery park. all around the fringe of the park were art vendors all selling the same photos of nyc, the same photo of john lennon in a nyc t-shirt...i walked to the water's edge and saw:

the staten island ferry coming in for docking. about 10 years ago, i arrived in nyc by driving onto staten island and then driving the car onto the ferry. i stood at the very front of the ferry and watched as lower manhatten emerged outta the mist (really!) and got closer and closer and bigger and bigger. it was such a wonder to see.

also from this vantage point, i could see:

the statue of liberty. i never was up in the torch; but, i was up in the crown on her head when i was a little girl. it took f o r e v e r to climb up 'cause it's only a very narrow circular staircase. i remember my mom being annoyed that it took so long, 'cause it was probably FREAKIN' HOT back then, too!

and, yes, this is a real person, draped in a statue of liberty costume. actually, there were 3 such people, all standing on crates or boxes so that they'd stand out. you can't see it in the picture, but there's a little cup beside him/her. if you dropped some money in, then he'll/she'll strike the above pose. needless to say, i dropped in a dollar. i asked him/her how long he'd/she'd been standing out there in the FREAKIN' HEAT...he/she just shook his/her head and smiled.

this statue was, originally, just outside of the main entrance into the world trade center. as you can see, it's damaged. it will remain in battery park until the completion of the new freedom tower at the old wtc site, when it will be moved there. as is .

and this lovely building is 17 battery place. without it, i wouldn't exist. my mom was working in this building when she met my dad...and the rest, as they say, is history!!

there was one restaurant, uptown, that i wanted to eat at for dinner. it's called serendipity and they're known for, (are you ready for this?) FROZEN hot chocolate.

so, back down into the bowels of manhattan and back uptown i went. the station is on lexington and 63rd...right next to BLOOMINGDALES!!! normally, that would have been reason to celebrate, but i'd really had it. i walked towards 2nd ave to the restaurant and...stopped. i couldn't face food, NOT EVEN CHOCOLATE! my last fiber of whatever, had evaporated. i turned around and walked back towards 5th ave., turned south and walked to the nearest subway station that would take me directly to penn station. i bought a ticket for the next jersey bound train that would take me to the correct station and walked to the "waiting room". holy shit!!! picture a corral filled with 100s of cattle, just mooing and milling around. that's what it looked like; 100s of people, waiting for the same train as i. we all knew it was coming, but the track # hadn't been posted. there were people draped over bannisters, on steps, on the floor, on pedestals, in doorways...and the cacophony of sound of all of these people was just magnified in this large, vaulted room. then.....suddenly....THE TRACK NUMBER WAS POSTED...THE TRAIN HAD ARRIVED!!!

move 'em out, c'mon little doggies, <>rawhide!!!!

STAMPEDE, STAMPEDE...this huge room packed with people all converged on this little door that opened up to a little staircase that went down to the train platform. i just stood back and let the wall of humanity disapate and then i went down, too.

i got back to my hotel room by 8pm, packed my suitcase, got into my jammies, took a sleeping pill and went to bed!!!

next morning, i was on the road at 6:30am. and i made it home, 605 miles by 4:30pm

i'm going back. i'm not gonna let so much time go by without being in nyc. so....i'm gonna save money NOW so that i can go back in december. i wanna go ice skating at rockefeller center for my birthday!!!!

2008-06-12T13:21:00.001-04:00

(ya know something? i just noticed that ALL of my pictures from my trip are tilted slightly to the right. either it's 'cause i'm lopsided OR I CAN'T KEEP THE DAMNED CAMERA STRAIGHT!!)

2008-06-10T17:50:00.061-04:00

DAY ONE

i left loganne at the boarding kennel; and she just looked at me and then saw the cookie in the attendant's hand and off she went, with nary a whine. ahhhh, my little baby, so independent...they grow up so fast.
i wanted to avoid the ohio and pennsylvania turnpikes at all costs...literally. if i'm paying $4 a gallon for gas, then i want to avoid any and all toll roads. plus, because they have limited on and off access, they just seem so forbidding. as such, i plotted, what i thought was the best route to washington, d.c.-i needed to get down to I-70 the best, most convenient and fastest way that i knew. that meant taking I-75 to findlay, ohio and then take the road to (horrors!) columbus.the last time i was on the road to columbus was in 1990 when i drove down with tony for the michigan-ohio state game. WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?? the closer i got to columbus the slower and more backed-up traffic became. ok, take a deep breath, just get through the traffic and get to I-70 in one piece. i finally reached I-70 and drove eastbound. the further east i drove, the prettier the passing landscape became. the little ups and downs became rolling hills which became the foothills of the appalachian mountains. by the time that i reached the ohio river and wheeling west virginia, I-70 was at a 6% upgrade; i was surrounded by down-shifting trucks. i crossed over into pennsylvania and got on southbound I-79 to west virginia, again. i picked up I-68 at morganstown, w.va. the former home of u of m's new football coach, rich rodriguez, and u of m's semi-new men's basketball coach, jon beilein. i took I-68 into maryland and the scenery was really beautiful. i was up about 2900 feet. it boggles my mind how they were able to build a highway through the mountains. i stopped at a rest area to drink some water and just stretch my legs. as i drove into the rest area i saw a deer! just munching on some grass as if it was the most normal place in the world for it to be eating.

i've been at rest areas all over the u.s...NEVER saw a wild animal in a rest area.

got back on the road until I-70 (again!) and took it south into the washington, d.c. area. did i mention that it was very HOT and MUGGY? my lovely eastern european hair was sticking out, all over in every direction. i hit d.c. at about 7:00p. in detroit, rush hour is DONE at 6:00p. not in d.c. i got stuck in traffic jam from hell. my hotel was across the river in alexandria, va., only about 4 miles away; it took me 30 minutes to get to the hotel, which i couldn't find. i ended up calling the hotel to ask specifically where the hell it was. by this time, i was sweating so much, my undies were wet! (love to be able to say that it was because of something, or rather someONE else!!) i checked in to the hotel and realized that i probably packed really badly for this trip-i needed t-shirts not sweaters. and probably another pair of cotton shorts....i was so frustrated that, of course, i found nothing. i went back to the hotel and crashed.

next morning i went to arlington national cemetery. again, a place that you can see from the road but are unable to get to 'cause the roads go everywhere, not marked very well. all of these old cities are just not set up to handle modern traffic. so the roads all come together and go off in other, different directions in a small area to fit in amongst monuments, and parks and memorials. suffice to say, i did NOT accomplish my objective. the kennedy grave sites were blocked off and closed to the public. of course they were; did i really think that i was the only person on the planet who thought to visit rfk's grave on the 40th anniversary of his death?? WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?? of course, it would be closed off for a private ceremony for the family!! i walked around the cemetery for a while; it was so peaceful. and it's very moving, to think that all of the people buried there made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that liberty and freedom are protected.

i left virginia and headed up I-95 to..........NEW YORK CITY. but, first i had to get through d.c., in and outta baltimore and wilmington, delaware, and up new jersey. ya know that expression of highway robbery? this is where it was invented. between the tunnel beneath baltimore's harbor, the maryland tollroad, and the new jersey turnpike, i payed$16 in tolls. then came the real fun; getting to my hotel in jersey.

it was the hampton inn at newark airport. again, another place where all of these roads come together. (I-95, I-78, u.s. 1, local AND express, u.s. 9, local and express...)the synopsis of this is i went around FIVE times; i could see the hotel, all five times, i just couldn't get to it. after an hour of going around in circles, i took this little road that wasn't even on the map. guess what? i got to the hotel!!!! i tossed my suitcase into the room, washed my face, brushed out my hair, picked up my tote bag and off i went. the hotel's shuttle took me onto the airport's property to the airport's light rail station was. it's sorta like the monorail at disneyland. it took me to the new jersey transit train station which i boarded for penn station in nyc. i kept straining my neck, my eyes, for that first glimpse...i saw in the distance what i thought was lower manhattan. at this point in jersey, it's kinda hard to see 'cause the jersey palisades are in the way. i just happened to look to the left; i gasped. there it was, surging up stark, from the distant landscape; the empire state building. even after the world trade center, the sears tower in chicago and all other "tallest" buildings, the empire state bldg has always been the tallest in my heart; when we lived there i'd go up on top alot, 'cause it was there and my aunt's office was in the building. it has always been, to me, the most visible symbol of the city. the train went through the tunnel, under the hudson river and into penn station. i couldn't get off the train and outta the station fast enough. i ran up the stairs and out to 8th ave., turned the corner at 34th street and saw:

the darkish, kinda semi-round building in the foreground is madison square garden, home of the ny knicks basketball team and the ny rangers hockey team. at the old madison square garden (i think there have been 4 of them!) i saw ringling brothers circus with tickets that i won at some children's thing up in the toy dept of macy's.

i walked down 33rd st. to 5th avenue and strolled up to rockefeller center. just past the center on the right is st. patrick's cathedral, the home of the catholic archdiocese of nyc. it's where robert kennedy's funeral was held, 40 years ago. it's also where, when i was a little girl, i wanted to have my wedding...yeah, i know, it's catholic and i'm jewish. when you're 5 years old, you don't think of those things. oh, and that building to the right of st. pats? that's the flagship store of saks, fifth avenue.

the plaza at rockefeller center
there are 3 restaurants there; in the winter, it's turned into an ice rink; that's where i first learned to skate. the statue is promethius giving his gift of fire to mankind. and the building behind promethius is the rca, oops, the ge building.

the ge building is also the home to the nbc television network (the today show, law and order, the office...). when we lived in ny, the "top of the rock" was not open. i never went up. so, this trip i bought a ticket to go to the top.

this is the channel gardens, looking back towards 5th avenue

a better view of the plaza and it's restaurants. speaking of weddings, this is where i wanted my reception to be, music provided by the ny philharmonic. i had a really over-active romantic imagination!!

this is a chandelier that you walk up and around on the staircase that takes you up to the special elevators that take you to the top

the view from the top. oh, and let me introduce you to my friend, garcia. i try to take him on all of my trips so that he can experience all that i experience.this is the view south...and my first time seeing a view, in person, without the wtc

view looking north over central park

looking southeast. that's the met-life building, which used to be the pan-am building. it's built on top of grand central terminal. and peeking up just to the left and above is the chrysler building.
another view south of the empire state building
garcia looking through the distance viewer. i think he's checking out the girl bears in the central park children's zoo.
one of the antenna arrays on top
ok, this is kinda hard to explain. there's this room on top which responds to sound and motion. on the floor, ceiling and all four walls, lights and different patterns appear randomly. i don't know if it was responding to me or to the other people in the room, but this is what appeared on one of the walls when i walked up to it.
i stayed up there for an hour, taking picture after picture of the empire state building. i don't know how many i might need. LOL. finally, i went back down and with my stomach grumbling, i knew that it was time for dinner. i had heard of this little french restaurant on 8th at 48th st that had delicious food and was really affordable, by nyc standards. it's calle pigalle. it's very small and intimate inside and yet, very warm and friendly. i ordered a peach bellini (YUM!) and an onion tart as an appetizer. holy cow! the tart was deeeeee-lish. onions were cooked in this cheesey cream sauce and then baked in a light and flaky pastry crust. in the meantime, my main course, an australian ribeye steak was being cooked. it was served with these really excellent diced potatoes and spinach. yeah, i know, sounds gross, but it wasn't! i couldn't finish. i had them pack it all up so that i could take it with me. too bad, the dessert menu was to die for!
after dinner, i walked over to broadway and began the walk through times square. over the years, ny has really cleaned up times square. when i visited in the 70s, the square and side streets were rife with sex shops and burlesque. it was unsafe and dirty. now...it's a giant amusement park. and i found the absolutely perfect shop for me to die in: can you tell what they sell here?
OHMYGOD! it was almost too much chocolate. they sold gift baskets of hershey products. and tin cans with hershey products. and 4 bags of hershey kisses, or other hershey candies for $11.00-mix and match. they had a 5 pound hershey kiss and huge bars of chocolate....i could go on. i bought a little bag of kisses and that was it. i surprised myself that i was able to restrain myself from buying more.

and to make matters worse, the m & m store was across the street. are they trying to kill me with chocolate????

looking north in times square

looking south in times square

a sign for the subway station. sorta glitzy compared to the rest of the stations around the city

the empire state building at sunset. it just glimmers and glitters and shines

2008-06-08T19:57:00.002-04:00

i'm home; i drove 605 miles in 10 hours. i'm tired, thirsty, tired....BUT BOBBY IS ON TONIGHT!!!

i'll post about my trip with pix tomorrow!

2008-06-04T18:34:00.004-04:00

ok, my blogging peeps (jojo, is it ok of i use your word?)

i'm leaving tomorrow morning to drive 9 hours to arlington, virginia so that on friday, 6/6 i can go to arlington national cemetery and pay my respects (finally) to robert kennedy. i'll be dropping loganne off at "doggie camp" at 8a on the way; i'm already dreading the goodbye scene with her. she'll start to scream, i'll start to cry and we'll make such a pathetic (and loud) scene. AND, always, before i leave on a trip, i start to imagine all sorts of terrible things that could happen to me (and loganne) on the trip. and i do have a really overaactive imagination, so you can imagine all of the awful images that are FREAKING ME OUT!!!

i'll get to the cemetery early friday morning, pay my respects and leave; sorta a long trip for 15 minutes of reflcction. so.......instead of coming home, i'm gonna hit I-95 and drive 3 hours to the north-northeast and GO TO NEW YORK!!!! i am so geeked; i haven't been back in years, mainly 'cause as of 2 years ago, i have no place to stay anymore. everyone is either dead or moved someplace else. and hotels in the city are prohibitive. i decided that if i wanna see the city, then the only think that i can do is to stay in jersey...right be newark airport. BUT WHO CARES??? i'm gonna folic at rockefeller center, light a candle at st' pats., dance down b'way, eat like a pig, take the subway from the battery to yonkers, bike around central park, eat like a pig (oh, i said that!), maybe take in a b'way show or a yankees game...or both....

i'll take lotsa pix and post them when i get home...i'll make it home sunday night for the new epi of CI...

"new york, new york, it's a wonderful town, the bronx is up and the battery's down; the people ride in a hole in the ground..."

2008-06-04T09:19:00.002-04:00

i receive tons of garbage emails; from department stores; insurance sellers; companies that "wanna enlarge my penis", organizations that want to give me financial aid; deals on computers; coupons deals from circuit city...i could go on and on and on. i delete them all, without even reading them.
this morning, i received an email from neiman marcus. normally i would just hit the delete button and >click<, it's gone. however, in the subject line, in large caps, was the word: VINCE. of course, that stopped me in my tracks. the remainder of the subject line read: Fall trunk show + FREE SHIPPING.

OOOOOH, WHAT DELICIOUS THOUGHTS THAT CONJURES UP!!

2008-05-30T10:28:00.013-04:00

KEARNEY, NEBRASKA, Thursday, May 29, 2008

(now i'm REALLY thankful that tess and her family are ok!!)

2008-05-29T20:37:00.003-04:00

don't know if any of you have been aware of the nasty weather conditions that passed through central nebraska; 6 tornadoes touched down in kearney, where tess lives; she's ok. she's lucky 'cause she has neighbors that have lost their roofs, their porches, buildings have been swept away, entire homes are gone, and someone's flooring is now in tess' front yard. all of you who believe in a higher power, please pray for the people in nebraska and the rest of the central united states AND give thanx that tess, her cats and her parents are ok.
(and that nasty weather is moving EAST, towards the great lakes....and michigan...)

2008-05-28T22:23:00.002-04:00

(ok, ok, i know that most of you won't understand this...i just HAD to do it...

GO WINGS!)

2008-05-25T13:41:00.004-04:00

you've heard of march of the penguins???
well, here is march of the geese!!

awwwwwww...

2008-05-19T12:46:00.003-04:00

oh, and congratulations to the Kearney, Nebraska Bearcats!!!! (that's where tess went to high school!)

2008-05-18T19:03:00.008-04:00

THE BLACK T-SHIRT OF HOTNESS

now, all of us have been exposed to the black t-shirt of hotness, and agree that there really isn't anything quite like it. vdo certainly looks scrumptious.

and i, for one, have many fantasies about him (and me!) in that beautiful hot black t-shirt

and i'm sure that we can all agree that never has a hot black t-shirt looked so deeeelish.

now, having said that, i need to add something; as most of you know, i am a woman of a "certain age" and i remember a time, for the sake of arguments, say 44 years ago, when there was a man who looked ALMOST equally hot in a black t-shirt of hotness. i expect that i'll receive alot of flack from some of you and for that, i'm truly sorry; i would never want to take anything away from the hotness of vdo (well, maybe his clothes!) and his black t-shirt of hotness. but i think that the following picture just might give vdo a run for his money. ladies??? would you like to weigh in on this???

2008-05-14T12:24:00.004-04:00

loganne had to go to the vet and get her teeth cleaned; that's when they discovered that one of her teeth was broken. it was suggested that either she should have it removed or have a root canal. since she's 12 years old, i really hate having her put under and if we did the root canal, she'd have to go under again. i told the vet to remove the tooth.

i brought her home and gave her an antibiotic and a pain killer. well, the pain killer was a total bust; she was in pain all night, crying and whimpering, and not being able to settle down to sleep. we were up 'til about 4a.m....poor thing.

but, the thing that really blind-sided me was that in doing the blood work for her before they cleaned her teeth, they found that she most likely has the same disease that fenway had; cushing's disease. it's treatable. but, unlike fenway, loganne has no symptoms. so, i'll be discussing all of this with the vet; what treatment options, etc. he'll probably run more tests to see which form of cushing's she has and we'll go from there. i may just end up taking her up to michigan state to the vet. school and see if there are any new treatments. i just want loganne to not suffer and to continue having a full and happy life...i guess i'll go out and buy a new pair of socks for her to take off and destroy!!

for you moms

2008-05-10T23:44:00.001-04:00

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2008-05-09T20:12:00.003-04:00

most of you know my penchant for bike riding. i enjoy being outdoors, communing with nature and, of course, i'm still trying to lose my baby fat and get thin and cute so i can get a guy and f*** like a rabbitt!! but, i digress. the weather this week has been perfect for biking; in the upper 50s/low 60s, light breeze, no or very little clouds. tonight was no different. except for my damned bike chain.
not only did it fall off, AGAIN, it became royally stuck. REALLY stuck. i couldn't do anything, as much as i tried. i'm on the side of the street, pieces of chain all tangled in my hands, my hands covered with bike grease, trying to wedge my housekey into the gear to try and loosen the chain where it is jammed in, to no avail. a little black scottie came to my rescue. of course, he was attached to a leash which was further attached to a man. then, ANOTHER dog came up, followed by his human. (dogs just love me...!) the human with the 2nd dog picked up my bike and took it around the corner to his garage where after much effort with a screw driver and pliers removed the errant chain from where it was stuck, freed it and put it back into the spokes where it belonged. pretty cool, huh? his wife brought me a towel to wipe my hands on; they were both so nice. and being the ditz that i am, i wasn't paying attention to where i was, so i can't go back and thank them again, 'cause i'm not sure which house they lived in. oh, well. it's just so reassuring that there still are people out there who are kind and caring and helpful and are good people.

2008-05-06T13:29:00.009-04:00

we had the most beautiful weekend; the weather and the scenery were posters for what spring should be-i worked in my garden, planted some perrenials in the front and cleaned up the back. i went biking in the park and found the quintessential spring scene; blooming red bud trees against the gossamer background of pale green.

on my way back i found that other lovely symbol of spring, daffodils, my favorite flower.

yesterday i accomplished a feat; i biked to work for the first time this season. it's about 8 miles one way and there are some hills on the bike path that almost killed me! but, i made it. coming home, i hit a large bump and the chain popped off and got stuck in the gears. so, there i was 7 miles from home on a bike path with no way off, save walking my bike either 1/2 mile north or south to get back to civilization OR i could figure out a way to get that damned chain un-stuck and back into the gear spokes. you shoulda seen my hands. they were completely covered in bike grease, but after much maneuvering, i managed to yank the chain out, popped it back onto the spokes and away i went. i was so wiped out that i fell asleep on the couch at 9p and slept until 830a this morning. thankfully, my entire staff is away this week for a sales seminar, so coming in late to work was no big deal.

now some messages to some of you:

jojo...get your ass back onto a computer! (oh, and thanx for the nudge into facebook)

tess-diane...uh, uh, days with no posts on the 'cat are NOT allowed

kris...hope you find your way, again

axe...sorry that you're feeling so bad...things will get better

ann...your life is tooooo busy...slow down and do for YOU

val...isn't it awful how much we rely on our compters for, well, life?

tim...(if you're reading this blog) when are you and the family travelling east???

everyone else...happy spring!

2008-04-29T14:03:00.003-04:00

and just for the record, the 2007-2008 u of m broadcast season has officially ended. we can now, start looking ahead to the 2008-2009 broadcast season-i just sent out an email to the entire football broadcast crew telling them that we gotta have a meeting; we can always make improvements on how we present u of m athletics to the listening audience. in the meantime, it is officially summer playtime for me; trips to lake michigan, bike rides, snoozing on the patio, taking loganne to the dogpark to meet other puppies, field trips to cedar pointe, night games (and day games if i wanna play hookey!) at tiger stadium, oooops, comerica park. and of course, that elusive entity-the perfect icy-cold summer drink; think blender, vodka, cranberry juice..yummmm
and on a more sober note, my pilgrimage to arlington national cemetery on june 6 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of robert kennedy's death. if i can drive 1138 miles to daytona, i can drive 530 miles to the d.c. area to pay tribute to a very great and sadly missed man.

and if i'm feeling really adventurous, toss some friends in the back of the car (tie them to the roof, if i need to!) and go to toronto for the day...the very L O N G day.

2008-04-29T09:53:00.003-04:00

I'M BAAAAACK!!!

...and the coffee coming back up I-75 was just as bad as going down. and some of the truck stops even promoted their coffee on huge billboards. ("best coffee in tennessee" or "real, freshly brewed coffee" or "gourmet coffee".) and it still tasted like really old bong water. i realize that my coffee tastes are, how shall i put it without sounding superior, a bit advanced due to 8 1/2 years as a starbucks barista, but even so...coffee should not evoke the resonse of...

opening the window and spitting it out! even loganne looked at me like i was crazy (well, i am...).

the dreaded conversation with my mom went very well; she agreed that she should move back up to michigan; her main concern was, aside from selling her house in florida, re-adapting to the cold. and snow. and ice. and wind. and the cold, icy, snowy wind. and the tornados (that confused me; she lives in florida...they have HURRICANES!) and what would she do in michigan? (i don't know, mom, what do you do in florida?) the timing of all of this really sucks; the housing market in this country is awful and it's really bad in florida. (well, it ain't much better up here!) so, not really sure when this will happen; she's dead-set against moving until the florida house is sold; but, i want her back here asap, 'cause (and here my selfishness is rearing its ugly head) my window of opportunity to do the actual move is between NOW and august; after august 1st, i'm stuck in my really busy time; u of m football starts on 8/30 and it takes a good month to get football on the air. then there's hockey and then there's basketball, so i'm outta the loop until NEXT mid-April. (like i'm complaining...go blue!)

plus, what if something happens to her, again, like last year, when i had to run down there with an office in the back of my car? it worked, sorta, but, not really. oh, well, que sera sera. (no, i'm not going to do my doris day imitation.)

anyway, the highlight of visiting my mom was, of course, her birthday dinner; she picked a very expensive seafood restaurant on the water in daytona. normally, she opts for really inexpensive (read: tacky) places to eat. i packed accordingly. the dressiest item i packed was a denim skirt. i went into panic mode. i could NOT wear a denim skirt to an extremely elegant restaurant; my mom told me to chill ;that this was daytona and no one ever dressed up for anything. shoulda listened to ma!!! this place was draped in white linen, beautiful crystal, menu items in the $40s...and patrons in shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops! so, i really fit in. the food was exquisite; i had salmon and my mom, WHO CHOSE THIS SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, ordered prime rib. (hello, what's wrong with THIS picture?) nevertheless, we had a lovely time, and she made many a trip up to the all-you-could-eat caviar bar (BLECH!! i do oysters on the half shell but NEVER in a million years would i do caviar...i'd rather drink the bong-water coffee of I-75!!)

one thing that i want to mention...prior to leaving on this trip, i talked about this project that we've all been working on to present to the university; all the effort and the overtime that was put in. the morning before i left for my trip, i came into the office, just to make sure that no one needed anything before i left. on my desk were two envelopes; one from a co-worker for whom i did a report and one from my boss. the envelope from my co-worker contained a thank you note AND $100 towards the trip. the envelope from my boss also contained a thank you note AND 2 visa gift cards for $150 towards the trip. i was absolutely blown away...and speechless (and for those of you that know me, know that that NEVER happens!) it's been a very long time since i've worked with and for people who showed their appreciation. not since the old days at wjr...

and loganne was so glad to be home, she peed in the living room just as soon as we arrived home!!!

next up: TRIP TO NEBRASKA FOR ME AND KRIS TO HANG OUT WITH TESS!!!

2008-04-20T11:35:00.005-04:00

hello, everyone,
i've been up and down I-75 for the last 20 years, ever since my parents abandoned me, oooops, moved to florida. and ya know what? I-75 COFFEE SUCKS!!!. it sucked 20 years ago and it sucks now. IF i can find a sbux, then it's ok, but in the middle of the mountains, at country bob's gas station. super fireworks, adult entertainment and food emporium, forget it. the coffee always tastes as if it's brewed with someone's old gym sock.
for you non-americans; I-75 is Interstate Highway #75 which runs from the canadian border all the way down to miami, fla. for 1786 miles if it's not the longest interstate it sure is in the top 3-it's probably the only thing in this country that's longer than, well, vdo's pants python!

i don't know...you be the judge (thanx for the pic, tess)
anyway, i traveled 1137 miles in the last two days...and i'm not as young as i used to be...these long drives really take alot outta me, not that i had that much to begin with. i am trying to re-coup the last 3 weeks from work; we've been working on this HUUUUUUGE project and it's meant that i've put in alot of overtime, and done countless re-writes and re-this and re-that; the future of our little network was at stake, so 99% of the time i did it whole-heartedly, happily...there was that 1% of the time when i was biting down really hard on my lip and one of my co-workers told my boss, "i think she's on overload!". that made me chuckle internally. but, finally we finished and my boss and HIS two bosses took the entire thing over to the university and did their presentation. so, all we can do now is wait and hope. i took this opportunity to get the hell outta dodge; i tossed loganne into the back of the car, loaded up on beef jerkey and drove down to florida to see my mom...and to convince her to move back to michigan which will be a really interesting conversation.
in the meantime, it is after 12 noon, and she's still getting ready for the day; i've been ready for 3 hours. IF we ever get outta the house, we're going to the daytona beach flea market which, for whatever the reason, simply fasinates me. i can buy 6 pairs of sox for $4.00 or a fake louis vuitton purse for $20...or a really nifty (i.e., tacky!!) t-shirt which proclaims me to be a hot florida mama!!

(ya mean, i'm not????)

2008-04-08T09:06:00.001-04:00

Awesome Graphics and Myspace Layouts at pYzam.com

TO OUR WONDERFUL FRIEND, TESS!!!
have a wonderful day and a wonderful year!!

love ya!!

2008-04-06T18:32:00.002-04:00

ok,ok, i'll update...geeeez, you guys are relentless.
truth is i've been under the weather since the end of 2007...my company was bought out by another company; our health insurance changed and the new insurance wouldn't cover my "happy pills".
i have/had a friend who, when i mentioned a few years ago that i wanted to start a blog, commented that blogging was done by people who used blogs to "spill their guts" and whine and complain and vent and are just looking for attention. well, as someone who for 30 years rarely shared any of her deepest, darkest secrets, i found her negative, judgemental comment somewhat offending. nevertheless, except for tess and kris, i just didn't think that it was appropriate (?) or even a nice thing to rant on about; that i was feeling unhappy, sad, depressed and weepy. i know, i know, some of you are very trusting and very open when you are going through your bad times, and i feel as if i've done some of you a disservice by keeping this to myself. but, after much fighting between my doctor and the insurance company (for over 3 months!) they finally relented. but, not until i became really good friends with my couch, blanket, tv remote control on a regular basis. i'd come home from work and do nothing. i still am having those inclinations, but, not as i did. of course, having the weather cooperate helps, as well. i know that many of my friends, here, have been a bit ticked off at me for avoiding them; i haven't given them any explanations. summoning up the emotional effort to get the hell off my couch and get out and DO something, anything, is difficult. but, i'm getting closer to my old self; i always perk up in spring, anyway-it's my favorite season. and, my really busy times at work will be coming to an end after next saturday; u of m hockey will be finished for the season and i won't have to start thinking about 2008 u of m football (see countdown clock!) until the beginning of august. i have two weeks of vacations plus 5 other days; i'm taking off to visit my mom in florida in two weeks; then in june, kris and i are taking a roadtrip to nebraska to turn tess' world upside down. (anyone wanna go with us or meet us there or be picked up on the way??? we'll pass chicago, the quad cities, des moins, omaha...)

now, that's outta the way.

spring has finally arrived...in my garden are snow drops and crocuses...i used to have lotsa daffodils (my absolute fave flowers!) but, over the years, the bulbs have been dug up and hauled away by squirrels, groundhogs, woodchucks, raccoons, hobbitts, lepruchans, munchkins...took loganne for a long walk; she freaked out two longhaired white furrballs, being walked by a girl, no older than 10...they started to run towards me and loganne, pulling this poor little girl who stumbled after them, trying to pull them back.

guys, i'm not completely back, but will be...i'll post, i promise!

2008-03-17T13:14:00.001-04:00

FANCY GENS IS BACK ONLINE!!!

fancygens.com

2008-03-15T20:20:00.001-04:00

2008-03-14T12:37:00.010-04:00

for all of you V-Vixens out there; this one is for you!!

src="http://www.layoutcodez.net/support.gif" alt="Myspace Layouts" style="position:absolute; left:0px; top: 0px; z-index:9;" border="0">

YOUR SECRET PORN NAME:
1. take your middle name
2. add the name of the very first street on which you lived.
that would make me: (drumroll, please!)

harriett blossom

now, does that sound like a porn name to you?

what's yours??

2008-03-11T20:17:00.003-04:00

jojo did this quiz on her blog, so i thought i'd give it a try:

WHAT BREED OF DOG ARE YOU?

Border Collie
The Achiever
You've heard about this "second-place ribbon" thing, but really don’t ever plan on getting one. Not a chance. Highly competitive, you keep one eye on the Best in Show prize and one on the rest of the pack, making sure you're always at least one paw ahead. You love your family and enjoy the company you keep, but you'd trade all of them in a heartbeat for a corner office and some meaty stock options. When you're not licking your professional coat, naked skydiving and triathlons keep you entertained. You idolize the top dog and will do so until you sniff out a way to take over the company and do a little "restructuring." Learn more »
FAMOUS BORDER COLLIES: Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters
LIKELY PROFESSIONS: CEO, Banker, Manager, Astronaut

uhhhhhh, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! i am NOT very competive and i would absolutely never trade in anyone for a corner office and/or stock options. AND i do NOT want to take over any company. Astronaut? yeah, right, this is the person who was sobbing hysterically in fear while boarding a plane.
http://www.dogster.com/quizzes/what_dog_breed_are_you/
this is a stupid quiz!

2008-03-08T08:05:00.004-05:00

uhhhhh, it's 10 degrees farenheit, it's really windy, it's snowing (AGAIN!)...what is wrong with this picture?
(fat little bugger, isn't he?)

2008-03-07T22:15:00.002-05:00

these are the few of my favorite things!

fancygens.com

2008-02-27T19:45:00.004-05:00

i swear to god i am THIS CLOSE to losing it. is there a sign outside that says, "come here to grocery shop if you're braindead, can't count, are selfish, self centered, narcissistic, think that you're the center of the universe and can't/won't control your children. i just ran in there to pick up two items...TWO, that's one, two. it took me less than 5 minutes to get what i needed. then i stood in line, the EXPRESS-less than 12 items self-check out line. i stood there for 20 minutes. the line feeds to 6 checkout stations. let's look at the assholes in line:
1. oh, look, she has only 10 items, good for her. OOPS, she's on her cell phone, she can't multi-task. she puts one item on the scanner, then stops and talks somemore, and talks and talks, then puts another item on the scanner...and talks and talks and talks...
2. that woman obviously has dyslexia...instead of 12 items, she must see it as 21 items, 'CAUSE SHE HAS MANY MORE THAN 12!!!
3. that woman wants to teach her children how to use the self-checkout. how cute. "see, you put the item beneath the scanner, url codes up and facing the scanner so it can be read by the scanner, are you watching? are you listening? no, you can't have a piece of candy. watch me now, put down that chocolate bar. come back here, stay away from the gum machines, no you can't have a frozen coke, see how the scanner picks up the item's name and price? no, i've already scanned this item, please put it back in the bag..."HELLO CLUELESS IDIOT! THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU JUST 'CAUSE YOU HAVE CHILDREN!!! did you happen to notice the really long line that's getting longer or did mother-hood deprive you of all of your common sense dealing with the immediate world?
4. that man is just staring at the scanner screen. he's got his money in his hand, but he looks, scared?? confused?? deranged??
5. oh, look at that...over those 2 women...the light is red and blinking. what happened to their order? what price is wrong? what do they not understand? what the hell are they doing in the self-checkout if they can't do it???
6. here comes the person who "oversees" the express lanes...oh, she's going to another of the express checkout stations 'cause it has a large red light above it that is blinking. she looks at the screen, mumbles something to the moron who's using that station, who loudly proclaims that he doesn't know what he did, she mumbles back and does something to the screen, pulls out a key and unlocks something, does something else on the screen, the light stops blinking red, turns green, and she walks back to her place. the moron continues to scan his items...OH, DAMNIT! the light turns red again and is blinking...
and, i'm standing in the line, tapping my foot and whistling (yes, whistling out loud) my tune of frustration, "oh would you rather swing on a star" but, with the lyrics that were written by a girl in my dorm, "oh would you like to sit on my face, it's a most enjoyable place..." (more on that another time!) and fuming that the bag of frozen veggies that i'm holding are fast thawing out to a pile of green mush and wondering if i'm gonna make it home before the end of the next millenium before i commit mass murder.

2008-02-26T15:09:00.002-05:00

this is what i was doing on saturday night...cheering on my wolverines against msu, in front of 20,000 insane people at the joe louis arena, in downtown detroit...that's a picture, just as time ran out.

just saw this on cuteoverload.com and i couldn't resist. that's a hedgehog with his little heady stuck inside a toilet paper roll.

2008-02-26T11:02:00.000-05:00

regarding the blank post from sunday...

i never dreamed that i could write so eloquently; so deeply felt sentiments; so meaningfully.

NOT!

i have no idea what happened with this post.
maybe i posted something so hot about vdo that it burned itself right off the blog.

what do you think?

2008-02-24T23:01:00.002-05:00

2008-02-19T19:52:00.003-05:00

FOR TESS

Comment Graphics at pYzam.com

hope that nasty flu leaves you!

2008-02-15T22:32:00.003-05:00

this has been a rather sad and unsettling day. first was what occurred yesterday at northern illinois university, about an hour from chicago. a former student just walked into a large lecture hall and started shooting. when it was all over, 7 people died, including the gunman who killed himself. i keep thinking about all of those students who were just there to take notes, to learn, just innocently there when this idiot decided to just randomly shoot people and then himself. if he'd just wanted to end it, then he needn't have taken those other people with him. hey, i'm all for personal choice; if you're that unhappy and want to kill yourself, fine, just do it, but don't kill anyone else in the process. i'm not unsympathetic to these hurting people; i swallowed an entire bottle of aspirin my junior year at msu; so i have some understanding of what can drive a person to that end. but, to take others with me? never. i feel so much sadness of the lives senselessly taken by this idiot. young lives with so much potential, with families left behind to wonder at the senseless violence of it all...for no other reason than he was off his medication. why?
the second reason i'm a bit sad...CBS (yes, THAT CBS) owns 6 radio stations in the Detroit market. in the last two weeks they've "consolidated" some of their operations, i.e., they've let go dozens of people. some of these people had been at their respective stations for decades...and as i've worked in this market for over 25 years, i know some of these people who are now jobless in an economy that is already screwed up, especially here in detroit where ford, general motors and chrysler and related companies have laid off, literally, tens of thousands of people. radio used to be a really fun industry in which to work. but, that was back when the federal communications commission regulated the industry by letting broadcasting companies ONLY own, 7 AM radio stations, 7 FM radio stations, and 7 television stations. then, they got it into their heads that it was time to de-regulate the industry. so, instead of 1000s of little broadcast companies owning only a few stations, you have just a few broadcast companies owning 100s of stations; run by corporate bean counters, not radio people. it's been a disaster; it's done away with competiton, it's created monopolies, and it's destroyed local programming...you can drive anywhere in this country and tell which stations are CBS, ABC (Citadel), ClearChannel...but i digress...these talented people, loyal, hard workers, dedicated, all gone and replaced by already over-worked employees who are looking over their shoulders wondering when, not if, the next round of layoffs is coming and if they'll be caught in the fallout.

2008-02-14T15:33:00.001-05:00

Your Candy Heart Says "First Kiss"

You're a true romantic who brings an innocent hope to each new relationship.

You see the good in every person you date, and you relish each step of falling in love.

Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a romantic dinner your sweetie cooks for you

Your flirting style: friendly and sweet

What turns you off: cynics who don't believe in romance

Why you're hot: you always keep the romance alive

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

2008-02-14T10:14:00.008-05:00

this came in my email this morning from that new rising musical star, Lady Axe!!

Happy Valentine's Day, Ladies!!

2008-02-13T16:29:00.012-05:00

ok, ok, jojo...i'll update

blah, blah, blah....blah, blah,...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

don't understand that? alright, i'll translate.

THE STRIKE IS OVER...BOBBY WILL BE COMING BACK (i hope!).

IT'S ONLY 37 DAYS UNTIL SPRING

saturday, i'm FORCING myself off the couch and outta the house-i have a goal; i have something fun to do. i actually am looking forward to doing something...i'm going into ann arbor to this really funky shop and look for old postcards for jojo...then i'm gonna go eat a veggie reuben at one of my fave restaurants, seva's.

and NEXT saturday, i'll be doing something else fun...i'll be heading downtown detroit (did you know that forbes magazine just came out with their list of the most miserable cities in the u.s.? you'll never guess what miserable city topped the list...give up?). my beloved wolverine hockey team will be playing those nasty spartans of michigan state in what has come to be known as, "college hockey at the joe", the "joe" referring to joe louis arena, the home of the national hockey league's detroit red wings hockey team.

wow! fun things to do, two weekends in a row!

can i stand the excitement???

(and thanx to val? eliza? diane? for the bobby pic)

2008-02-01T15:48:00.000-05:00

oh, they were wailing and carrying on; wringing their hands and tearing at their clothes; snow, blizzard, white-out conditions, stay home, schools closed, businesses closed, flights cancelled, power outages....

wanna see what happened? what it looked like when it was all over?

you woulda thought that this was going to be the second coming of the apocalypse or the storm of the century.

it was tabloid reporting (fire, pestilence, frogs, locusts...)by the u.s. weather bureau and the local media. i purposely stayed home until rush hour was over. imagine my suprise when i just backed outta my garage, pulled outta my complex and just zipped up the street to work. as my boss told me when i walked in, "hey, you live the closest and we made it in before you!"

2008-01-30T11:54:00.000-05:00

well, after much struggling and gyrations look who has a new sweater.

and this morning, i found the sweater on the stairs...no dog in it!

2008-01-27T18:59:00.000-05:00

it's beginning to look alot like christmas.....

my new boyfriend

isn't he just precious?

2008-01-24T16:51:00.000-05:00

i found this today on a site called Bella Online-The Voice of Women...

Since a very long time ago, people have searched for the meaning of love.But even the great philosophers, with their profound definitions, could not fully touch its true essence.
In a survey of 4-8 year olds, kids share their views on love.But what do little kids know about love? Read on and be surprised that despite their young and innocent minds,kids already have a simple but deep grasp of that four-letter word.

"Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way."
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
"When someone loves you, the way she says your name is different. You know that your name is safe in her mouth."
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs."
"Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but you don't yell at him because you know it would hurt his feelings."
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss but they look happy and sometimes they dance in the kitchen while kissing."
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
"Love is hugging. Love is kissing. Love is saying no."
"When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared she won't love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only does she still love you, she loves you even more."
"There are 2 kinds of love. Our love. God's love. But God makes both kinds of them."
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they've know each other so well."
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
"Love is-if you hold hands and sit beside each other in the cafeteria. That means you're in love. Otherwise, you can sit across from each other and be okay."
"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken."
"Don't feel so bad if you don't have a boyfriend. There's lots of stuff you can do without one."
"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
"If you want somebody to love you, then just be yourself. Some people try to act like somebody else, somebody the boy likes better. I think the boy isn't being very good if he does this to you and you should just find a nicer boy."
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
"When you're born and see your mommy for the first time."
"Love is what makes people hide in the dark corners of movie theaters."
"Love goes on even when you stop breathing and you pick up where you left off when you reach heaven."
"My enemies taught me how to love."
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
"You have to fall in love before you get married. Then when you're married, you just sit around and read books together."
"I let my big sister pick on me because my Mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her."
"Love cards like Valentine's cards say stuff on them that we'd like to say ourselves, but we wouldn't be caught dead saying."
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."
"Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."
"You never have to be lonely. There's always somebody to love, even if it's just a squirrel or a kitten."
"You can break love, but it won't die."

2008-01-23T10:35:00.000-05:00

after an absolutely lousy, crappy day (the computers, AGAIN!) i drove home and saw this coming up in the east...my camera takes lousy night photos, but, you get the gist...it was huge, and perfect and round and glowing (no, not my face!)

and that's the moon's reflection on the roof of my car!...the red streak is a car driving by.

2008-01-16T18:39:00.001-05:00

hello

how are you?

i am fine

i know that i've been, uhhhhhhh, suspiciously quiet lately. no real reason. i've been sooooooooo busy at work-you'd think that once football was over that it'd be really slow. NOT! first of all, two more people have quit. then, there's still men's bball, women's bball, hockey and our new show on monday nights (LIVE, from damon's grille in ann arbor!) the men's bball coach's show. then, today, we had/have computer network-email-internet problems....and i spent most of the day on the phone with the helpdesk, to no avail. i come home from work and i have no grey matter left to blog, talk, create anything verbally interesting...plus it's dark, dreary, cold, and curling up on the couch with loganne under a blanky, watching rerun bobby is wayyyyyyy too easy to stop doing to do something as mentally challenging as blogging! i'm lazy and self indulgent...haven't done laundry in weeks...i ran outta clean undies over the weekend. instead of doing the laundry, i ran out to meijer and bought a dozen new pair! i can write my name on the tv screen and there are about 10 pairs of socks strewn around the living room, thanx to loganne!

i only rouse myself to a. take loganne out, b. refill my crystal lite, c. run to the bathroom 'cause i drank too much crystal lite in a short time!, d. look for the tv remote that disappeared while i was in the bathroom (LOGANNE!), e. go upstairs to go to bed.

anyway, i thought that i really should post; and do it before it's time to watch rerun bobby! (sounds like mattel's new doll-the all new, rerun bobby, now with a red ferrari, and a pack of chocolate flavored condoms!) oh, that's right...no bobby tonight...rerun mike.

then i've been quiet on the phone front, as well. my last cell phone bill arrived; i opened it and just did a cursory glance at the amount due and put it down. then the amount-due number registered in my brain. oh, it's my mortgage payment. WHAT!??wait a minute, let's look at that again. HOLY SHIT! MY CELL PHONE BILL IS MORE THAN MY MORTGAGE PAYMENT!!

ya know, it's one thing to sorta know that you are chatty cathy; it's another thing to actually see just how much you yack, on paper, seeing the minutes of each and every call, incoming and outgoing and then seeing the dollar amount. I TALK MORE THAN MY HOUSE IS WORTH IN A MONTH! (chatty cathy, for those of you youngsters out there was a doll with a string that you pulled outta her back, and each time you pulled the string, she'd say something really clever and relevant like, "let's play house" or "do you love me" or "i want to go to school" -clearly an unhinged creature!)

kinda cute in an ugly sort of way, don't you think? love those cross eyes!

on another front, i wanted to do some more cyber-stalking...i'm looking for a man...ok, who isn't? actually, i'm just looking for his email address-i've been looking for 2 years. i thought i'd check out facebook. the only way to do a thorough search is to create your own facebook profile and page. so, i did. ohmygod, facebook becomes this multi-tentacled creature, going into my aol address book and finding who in my address book, has a facebook account then telling me about them and their friends....and telling them about me! it's exhausting. anonymity no longer exists. hello, my life is now open and available to the immediate world. my name is susan and i'm certifiably abnormal. oh, and HE isn't on facebook....the scum sucking pond slime.

and, along the line of ann's post about toilet paper....

no, it's not loganne, but she's done this and worse...i found this on cute overload. did i ever tell you about the 1 pound bag of frozen veggies that she tore apart? (and ate)

good night and don't forget to watch rerun mike, he comes with an old moth eaten overcoat and a bottle of vitalis!

2008-01-06T14:53:00.000-05:00

ok, i apologize if some of my posts are not completely understood...it's not a language thing so much as it's a job language thing. so to atone for my acts of inconsideration and thoughtlessness, here's is a word that all of you will more than understand:

BOBBY!!! (complete with pictures!)

i atone, i atone....

with much thanx to val, eliza, diane....without you guys, we'd never have any apologies with pictures!

2008-01-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

(i've just finished tomorrow's u of m men's basketball game, and sent it out to the affiliate stations and to our "flagship" station)

"you wanna add HOW MANY commercials to tomorrow's game???"

2008-01-01T21:21:00.000-05:00

THANX FOR THE MEMORIES, LLOYD...

2007-12-31T20:44:00.000-05:00

as it is now a little over 1 hour 'til the start of 2008, i thought that i'd post MY hopes, wishes and prayers for the new year:

first and foremost, an end to all of the bullshit in iraq, afghanistan, pakistan, the rest of the middle east...and bring home all of our men and women in the armed forces.

a drastic change in this country. a huge boost in the economy would be a great start. i know that it's bad all over the u.s., but, here in motor city, it's especially awful. there are houses for sale all over the place and stores going out of business...we need jobs and a way to get everyone back to work, to REALLY re-build detroit...i'm sick of the little band-aids that are put over the open heart surgery that is needed to help detroit.

an end to all of the children who are neglected, abused, unloved, unwanted.

that people would read and abide by the 12 items or less sign at the checkout lanes at meijers, walmart, target...

one of my biggest personal hopes for 2008 is that i'll be able to talk my mom into moving back up to michigan...the thought of her being 1200 miles away and suffering another misfortune scares the hell out of me.

i really hope that me, kris, jojo and tess can meet next june and have a vdo vixens weekend...and maybe do a little beading and cooking as well!

a return to ncaa football greatness for my beloved wolverines...the better they play, the more advertisers we get, the more revenue we generate....and an increase to my paycheck! at the very least, a victory over the buckeyes!

i'd like to see an end to our dependency on fossil fuels.it'd be so nice for an alternative re-usable fuel for everything. in the meantime, $3.00 a gallon is killing me....i can't imagine what it's doing to people who are really in financial trouble.

and i really wanna win the lottery, so that i can plan and pay for a vdo trip to nyc for me, tess, jojo, kris, diane, val, ann, eliza, madi, axe...and anyone else that i've left out...sorry, i've had too much chenin blanc.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU...YOU HELPED TO MAKE 2007 A WONDERFUL YEAR...ALL THE BEST IN 2008 TO ALL OF YOU!

lotsa v-love
and, go blue!

2007-12-27T21:42:00.000-05:00

THIS IS FOR SOMEONE WHO WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS!!!

2007-12-18T15:28:00.000-05:00

geeeez, i re-read my post...and i aplogize for sounding so anti-detroit. i guess a bit of me is. but, it is the city to the suburb in which i live.

addendum...this was on the front page of the ny times, today...how fitting
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/business/19detroit.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

2007-12-18T13:57:00.000-05:00

HOW I CELEBRATED MY "29TH" BIRTHDAY!!!

i started celebrating on 12/15 by going out to ann arbor to eat, drink, play and be merry with my friends, julie and andery. we began at about 1030a at schocolade, this wonderful store that makes their own chocolate candies. and all of you vdo ladies....THIS IS A CHAMPAGNE TRUFFLE!!! i saw that and knew that i just had to taste it.

we then, left the chocolate place and headed over to connor o'neills, the irish saloon in town.

ahhhhh, after TWO "hotty totties". no not the two women sitting beside me, the drinks that we had...jameisons irish whiskey, hot water, ginger, lemon...ummmmm, yummy. and, since it was sooo cold out and starting to snow, we drank these for medicinal reasons, only. that's andery on the left and julie on the right and a very numb but happy me in the middle!!

BUT THE BEST THING...I RECEIVED THE ABSOLUTE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT...A NEW FOOTBALL COACH FOR U OF M...RICH RODRIGUEZ!!!

and next august 30 canNOT come soon enough for me

yesterday, the actual birthday, i went downtown (detroit) to skate, and do more eating, drinking and playing. i dressed and packed for the day, with the essentials...long undies, lotsa charcoal warmers for my skates, boots and gloves, i-pod, camera, phone, chapstick, leg warmers that i was too embarassed to put on, 'cause they were left over from the 80s and looked it!

the ice rink is one of detroit's ideas of trying to make detroit into a destination. hmmmm. well, not to be negative, but, new york city it's not. middle of the day, during the holidays and the sidewalks of woodward avenue, detroit's 5th ave., was empty. all i could think of was that if i was in nyc on 5th, it woulda been just packed!

after i was done skating, i walked up woodward, just looking around, i passed the empty place which is actually an underground parking structure and i remembered what used to be there: the 14 story j.l. hudson building, an absolutely beautiful department store. this was to detroit what the state street marshall field store was to chicago and the herald square macy's is to new york.

i had lunch at a very wonderful little restaurant named "small plates" which makes very small portions, so that you can order more than one tasty item. below, is my chocolate martini and the spring roll i ordered...they were yummy!

the penobscott building, which for decades, was the tallest building in detroit. the tower on top, at night, lights up to look like a christmas tree.

after lunch i walked over to "greektown". for decades, this is where the very large detroit area greek community shopped. now, most of the greek-owned businesses are gone. the ones that are left still attract tons of people, such as the astoria pastry shop...the absolute best desserts in the state!! doesn't it look positively deeeeeeelish?

and what, you may ask, did i purchase for dessert?? it was some chocolate cream and chocolate ganache, dipped in chocolate, stuffed into a chocolate cannoli, dipped in chocolate, drizzled in some other chocolate, with chocolate sprinkles, dipped in more chocolate....

i've always loved this sign...and they make the best greek salads. it's so worth the drive.

For those of you who are gordon lightfoot fans, this is the church that he mentioned in his song, "the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald":

("In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral. The church bell chimed, it rang 29 times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.")

and just to the left in the picture is the entrance to the tunnel that takes drivers UNDER the detroit river to windsor.

this is another of detroit's projects over the years, designed to bring people downtown...hart plaza. there is an amphitheater, fountains and a pathway that goes along the river. they hold festivals there in the summer months and the amphitheater used to be flooded in the winter so that people could ice skate.

when i was a little girl and still talked like an easterner, i'd pronounce words like florida and orange like "flahrida" and "ahrange". so, when my parents talked about canada as being a "farin" country i said that it wasn't...it wasn't far, it was right across the river from detroit! oh, and here's a bit of info that meets with great disbelief. at this point in the geography of the united states and canada, canada is actually SOUTH of the u.s.! cool, huh?!

getting into canada is a piece of cake. you either take the tunnel or the bridge. their customs just ask you what you're doing over there and that's it! coming back into the states, well, that's another story. they can and do detain you for everything and anything!

this is the renaissance center-the "ren cen". it was built with massive funding from the ford motor company in the late 70s and opened up in time for ronald reagan to be nominated as the republican party's choice for the u.s. presidency in 1980! the ironic thing about the ren cen is, if you look really closely at the top, you'll see the general motors insignia there...ford sold the entire complex to general motors a few years ago...and g.m. now uses the ren cen as the g.m. world headquarters.

ok i take GREAT exception with this sculpture....it's a fist. now, really, let's have a pacific sculpture in the city. a fist connotes so many negative things. but, there it is, at the base of woodward avenue for all to see. it's supposed to be the fist of the famous boxer, joe louis, who is from detroit. yeah, i wanna be from a city that likes fists as one of its symbols!

after i was done walking around downtown, i found my car (i forgot where i parked it!) and drove up to belle isle, an island park at the mouth of the detroit river. it's a lovely place, especially in the summer. there's a conservatory that i like to visit. at the west end of the island are great views of downtown.

inside the conservatory

after i left belle isle, i headed over to "detroit's largest art object", the fisher building.

i spent 20 years of my life working first on the 22nd and 23rd floors and then on the 8th floor. it's where the studios of wjr radio are and have been since the late 1920s.

the above pic is the main lobby. the doors on the right are the entrances into the fisher theater, detroit's big venue where we can see musicals and other shows. the lobby is just beautiful. hand painted ceilings, art deco fixtures, gold leaf everywhere...after 25 years, i'm still blown away by it.

so, that's how i celebrated my birthday. thanx to all of you who called, sent cards and sang happy birthday to me.

2007-12-16T00:25:00.001-05:00

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRIS, HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

2007-12-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRIS...HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

2007-12-10T15:35:00.000-05:00

loganne in here christmas finery!

2007-12-10T15:18:00.003-05:00

i've had some questions about the chairs that i purchased from old tiger stadium, 'cause i haven't mentioned anything about them.they arrived about 3 weeks ago. they weighed a ton...i could hardly get the box into my house. after much struggling, i sorta rolled it up and into my foyer. the box was made of a very heavy guage cardboard which was stapled together with, you guessed it, heavy duty staples. it took me over 15 minutes to even semi-remove one of the staples. so i grabbed my sharpest carving knife and cut the box open. and there they were, in all of there blue-plastic glory...2 attached seats from our beloved tiger stadium...what the hell was i thinking? as i fought with the chairs, trying to semi remove them from the box as i tried to slice away at more of the cardboard box, one thing really stood out: all they did, was unbolt the seats from the cement at the stadium and then boxed them. the seats were filthy...and i do mean filthy. they'd been out in the elements for 7 years. there was a layer of dirt all the way around the seats, a small pile of bird s**t...thankfully, there wasn't any gum underneath the seats!!! for what i payed for the seats, they coulda included the seat usher man with the cloth to wipe off the seats for me! ok, quit bitching and just deal with it. lay newpaper beneath them and start cleaning. i have an "asthmatic condition" (that's what the doctor calls it), which kicked in with a vengeance as i cleaned the seats. plus, loganne thought that the seats were her new toy. anyway, they've been cleaned of all of the filth. the only thing left to do is to work on the rust on the metal frames, but, that's gonna have to wait. in the meantime, they've been moved to their place of honor, and draped with the detroit tiger throws that i bought for them...

2007-12-10T14:53:00.000-05:00

NEWS FLASH!!! (beep, beep, beep) BULLETIN (beep, beep, beep)

KRIS AND SUSAN, STRANDED IN BATTLE CREEK-

FILM AT 11!!!

at least, that's what i thought was going to happen, when kris came over to my car to tell me that her car battery had died!! but, as it happened, kris is an old pro at using jumper cables...

but, i digress.

yes, kris and i met halfway between niles and detroit, michigan, about an 85 mile drive for the both of us, in battle creek (home of kelloggs of battle creek...EVERYONE, SING: "k e double l, o double good, kellogs best to you"). driving towards downtown battle creek, i noticed several high rise buildings, much to my surprise. one of them was a hotel. my snobbish snarky side rose to the surface and i thought, why does battle creek need such a large hotel? who would come here? there's nothing to do here except to make corn flakes!!! ahh, stop it susan....

anyway, kris and i met at this lovely restaurant, called "claras". it was housed in an old railroad station, decorated with all sorts of cool stuff...an electric trian went around the inner entrance, and there were little sparkling white lights everywhere for the holidays. on the walls were lotsa old photos of battle creek and of kelloggs and their contribution to the building of the city. (the city that tony the tiger built!) we were talking so much, that the poor waitress had to come back about 6 times to take our order...we just couldn't stop yakking. sorta like that song from the music man..."pick a little, peck a little, talk, talk, talk..". then, once our food arrived, it took us over an hour to eat, 'cause we couldn't shut up. but, we managed. and 'cause we were celebrating our birthdays (kris' is the 16th, mine is the 17th), we xchanged presents and then ordered this reeeeaaaallllly sinful, mushy, chocolatey, ooooey, gooey, pudding-cake like thing that was drizzled with , you guessed it, more chocolate. and just to prove that we were not only together but that we were thinking of all of you...

2007-12-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

OBEY THE BOSTON OR DIE!!!

2007-12-06T14:46:00.000-05:00

"There's not much to add to this other than "ha ha, you got penis'ed", but we're somewhat curious as to how this thing went down. Was this a prank from a rival school? Was it self-inflicted? Is this their mascot? (Go Fighting Wangs!) Is it still there? We suppose it's pretty apropos that the school is located on Shaft Road"

hmmm, saw this on popurl from gizmodo

2007-12-05T16:27:00.000-05:00

people in my office, today, asked me if i lit the menorah last night. i told them that i didn't and then i told them why...
about 30 years ago, my mom and dad went to new york during the holidays, leaving me home...alone...now, i was 19 so, i wasn't a little kid.
what most of you are not aware of is that there are 5 billions types and styles and designs of menorahs out there (i've counted them all), but, only 2 types of candles. getting candles to then fit into the menorahs becomes quite a challenge. but, when you're 19 and your parents aren't at home, well, you just do the absolute bare minimum to get by. the menorah sat on the formicad kitchen counter-i put the candles in, lit them, saw that they didn't fit well, but, aw, heck, i wanted to watch something on tv which was in my room on the other side of the house.
about 30 minutes later, i smelled something burning...came out, ran into the kitchen to find that the 2 lit candles had fallen out of the menorah, onto the formica which was bubbling nicely.

i had alot of explaining to do to my parents when they came back AND pay for half of the new formica counter.
so, i do NOT light real menorahs anymore. i light mental ones!

2007-12-04T13:28:00.001-05:00

FOR TESS!!!

HOPE YOUR DAY GOES A WHOLE LOT BETTER!!

2007-12-03T15:35:00.001-05:00

WE'RE GOING BOWLING!!!
michigan will play the university of florida 'gators on jan. 1, 2008 in orlando, florida in the Capital One Bowl.

2007-12-03T15:31:00.000-05:00

guess i should xplain the last post. or, maybe not, it may be too obvious. i just meant that in the real world of proper and polite society, to be a woman without a man is still treated with disdain, disbelief and even contempt. having said that, it would be nice to finally be in a warm and loving relationship with a man. even though i am blessed with friends, i'd still like to feel that connection that only happens between a man and a woman...ya know? and, as tess said, it does get a bit difficult during the holidays. so, i do appreciate what all of you said; thank you so much.

2007-11-28T21:37:00.001-05:00

JoJo wanted to hear my favorite Christmas Song. OK...it's called, "the bell that couldn't jingle", by burt bacharach...and it appeals to me 'cause, and i apologize for the self-disclosure but, i identify so much with that little bell; for my entire life, i just can't seem to jingle, and i've never been on the sleigh, either. so, each christmas, i get hopeful that it'll happen....and pray that i'll join the human race.

2007-11-28T11:51:00.000-05:00

ok, that's much better! i never thought that i'd say this, but sometimes, too much IS too much!

2007-11-28T11:49:00.000-05:00

IT'S TOO MUCH STUFF....STOP!!!!!

2007-11-27T07:38:00.000-05:00

2007-11-23T21:08:00.000-05:00

20 years ago, today, well, maybe not the exact day, but, it was the day after thanxgiving, i was walking around st. augustine, florida with my mom and dad. they'd just moved down to florida the previous summer. this was my first trip down to see them. i was just walking into this lovely gift shop named the captain and his lady...and it hit me: there was this man at home that i'd become very friendly with...and i knew at that moment that i would never love anyone else the way that i loved him.

self-fulfilling prophecies are the absolute worst, ya know?

2007-11-21T17:19:00.000-05:00

oh, and one more thing to be thankful for....

2007-11-21T16:53:00.001-05:00

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i know that thanksgiving isn't until tomorrow, but, i wanted you all to know that one of the things that i am so thankful for are all of you...even those of you from other countries who are not celebrating thanksgiving day with us. all of you have touched me in some way, made me laugh, made me see things in a new light, made me feel beyond my own self. anyway, i hope all of you have a great day, no matter how you spend it; but, take a moment to reflect on all that you have and be grateful.

mental hugs to everyone

-susan

2007-11-21T09:31:00.000-05:00

i was tagged by jojo...
post my earliest memory:
#1 Clear enough to include three details.
#2 Give your age.
#3 Pass it along to some other folks.

boy, you asked for it!

my mom, dad and i were in the car, coming back from my dad's aunt's house...and all 3 of us were in the front seat of the car. i became sleepy, so i layed down and put my head on my mom's lap, she stroked my hair; and on the radio was wnew-am...it was the top of the hour so they had to give their legal identification. i musta been fairly young (and small!) if i was laying down in the front seat between both of my parents. i also remember my dad swearing under his breath as we went through the toll booth. (nyc is rife with toll booths!)

jojo, does that suffice???

i tag, dukes, jess, kim, the girls at wjr and "anonymous" in rancho penasquitos.

2007-11-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

ok, so what happens if the missouri tigers play the lsu tigers in the bcs championship game?
"the tigers have the ball on the tigers 25..." i mean, really, even the broadcasters are gonna be confused!

2007-11-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

i don't know, what do you think? should i get my hair cut?

2007-11-18T09:11:00.001-05:00

we lost.
tony, kenny, mike and me tore out all of the broadcast equipment, packed it up, loaded up tony's suv and my car and left. they start construction today, getting readyto build the new pressbox or whatever they're doing.
i was home at 630p, fed and took loganned out and then and went to sleep.

2007-11-15T16:52:00.001-05:00

getting ready for the "BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR"!!