Saturday - TOO Busy!

Saturday was Fiona's birthday party. Our day was busy from start to end. I dropped Fi & Oliver off at Fi's Judo/Self Defense class at 9:30. Went to pick up Bailey from her dads house. Took Bay back to our house to pick up James & Sky.

Then we all went to Savers to look at pretty, pretty, princess dresses for Bailey's Halloween *slash* birthday party costume. We settled on a very lovely yellow strapless dress that made my already fantastically beautiful daughter look a bit to grown up for comfort. It is easy to get past the grown up look when you watch her body language. It is still that of an awkward teen girl. She was so cute admiring herself in the mirror. I really think it was the first time she looked at herself and realized how pretty she is. I was both saddened by this next stage in her life and delighted at the self-confident young woman that she is turning out to be.

We left Savers, picked Oliver & Fi up at 11:25. We then went to drop off Sky & James back at the house. Oliver, Fiona, Bay and I went to Blue Moon for coffee. No time to sit and enjoy, just dove in, got coffee and rushed out. We rushed so fast that I spilled my coffee on my shirt so we had to stop back by the house so I could change into a different shirt.

We went from the house to Rainbow foods where we had to finish up some food shopping for Jessica (Fi's mom). We then dropped the groceries and Fiona at her mom's house at 12:15 PM. From there we went to Target to get a frame for a picture that Oliver was making for Fi, hair clips for Bay's costume and some soda. We left Target and went to Walgreen's because Target didn't have the right hair thingees. We finally got home at about 1 PM. Since the party was scheduled to start at 2 we had only a short period of time to do Bay's hair. She has WAY too much hair. We curled all of it in ringlets and then pulled it up on the back of her head. It looked great.

Oliver, James & Sky left at 1:50 to go to the party. Bailey and I finally left the house at about 2:10. We got to the party at about 2:30. It was a kid filled extravaganza! There was a ghost hunt, a Pinata, play-dough making, snacks, presents and cake.

Bay was scheduled to meet her friends at the movies at 5:15 so she and I left, went home, she changed her out of her costume, I put a roast in the oven and we hit the road. EVERY freaking street I needed to drive on between our house and hers was closed for construction. I was so anxious by time I dropped her off at the theater. It was crazy.

I left her at the theater, headed home, finished making dinner, ate, cleaned up, watched Meet the Robinson's (great movie!) and went to bed. I fell into such a deep sleep that it was crazy!

I got up this morning and basically started over again! More relaxed but just as busy! I am so ready for bed.

**To see all of the pictures from the party check the "My Hellish Photos" link.

Friday Night Humor! Dinosaur Comics.

By Ryan North @ www.qwantz.com

Lab Results Are In.

So apparently I am deficient in my B-12. Funny to have a Doctor ask me if I am a vegan/vegetarian. I laughed out loud. I think my chart my mention my MANY allergies to fruit and vegetables about 2,000 times!

My B-12 deficiency falls under the "dangerous and severe" category so I will have to go in for a shot, or two. Seems simple.

Never having dealt with this issue before I did a bit of research on the topic. Here is a list of symptoms for those of you wondering. Notice how similar it is to the list of Hypothyroid symptoms. There are some new and improved ones on this list - like prematurely greying hair. Now I have an actual culprit for my increasing amount of white hair. Or at least a good scapegoat!

Symptoms can include:

• Lack of appetite, weight loss of 10-15 pounds in about 50% of patients, due to lack of appetite
• Low-grade fever
• Anemia
• Half of all patients have a smooth tongue which may may be painful and red. Burning and soreness on the tongue may also be accompanied by changes in taste and loss of appetite.
• Constipation or several semisolid bowel movements daily
• Numbness and tingling in hands and feet
• Nausea, vomiting, heartburn
• Flatulence, diarrhea
• Sense of fullness, abdominal pain
• Fatigue, weakness
• Pale skin, pallor, lemon-yellow waxy appearance to the skin
• Impaired smell
• Bleeding gums
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
• Loss of bladder control
• Impotence
• Clumsiness and unsteady gait (worse in the dark)
• Irritability, personality changes, memory loss
• Delusions, hallucinations
• Premature whitening of the hair
• Rapid heartbeat

Sorry to turn my site into "Hypochondriacs-R-Us" but I figure some of this information may be helpful to someone other than me.

Enjoy! Happy Friday!

Crazy Joe Strikes Again.

You have to read this freaking email! I posted an earlier example of an email from him but this one may be even better. If anyone can give me a solid psychological diagnosis I would love to know what you think.

2,597 words! Really? Just nuts, very nuts!

Another_Psycho_Joe_Email.doc

Crabby, Crab, Crab.

Why do I want to go back to bed so badly? I just can't concentrate on anything. I don't want to deal with clients, I don't want to help my co-workers, I don't want to answer emails, and if I am forced to be polite to one more rude person I will have to scream.

I truly am not fit for human consumption today. I am crabby, irritable and completely unstable. I feel very sorry for the folks around me. Please let me make it through the day without any big disasters.

Health Update.

I know you are waiting with bated breath to find out if I am falling apart or not. Well you will not be losing me anytime soon. I have tendinitis & Carpal Tunnel in my wrist (although they are going to re-evaluate the Carpal Tunnel because the original diagnosis was so long ago) and will have to visit an Occupational Therapist twice a week for exercise instruction and therapy.

As for the Charlie Horses - which, in case you are wondering is NOT something that is a recognized diagnosis in the CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) world - are believed to be caused by my thyroid (TSH) levels being completely wiggy. We will find out if this is true once my levels are normal.

If you are wondering just what your thyroid does you should look it up and if you have a fully functioning thyroid you should say a little thanks to it every day. Your thyroid is a gland that produces hormones. Thyroid hormones help the body make energy, keep body temperature regulated and assist other organs in their function.

Some of the symptoms of Hypothyroidism are:

• Fatigue - Constant need to nap, always feel worn out? Yep, me too.
  
• Depression - Crazy crying at Hallmark commercials? May not be PMS!!
  
• Modest weight gain - Modest? My ass - I have gained 28 pounds in the last 8 months!
  
• Cold intolerance - Below 72 degrees? Get me out of here.
  
• Excessive sleepiness - Did I mention I need a nap?
  
• Dry, coarse hair - This sucks with the curls - makes them harder to deal with.
  
• Constipation - Well, what can I say?
  
• Dry skin - I own stock in Neutrogena!
  
• Muscle cramps - Did I mention the Charlie Horses?
  
• Increased cholesterol levels - I have been lucky on this one. So far, so good.
  
• Decreased concentration - And I thought is was my ADD.
  
• Vague aches and pains - I truly thought that those "vague" pains were because of Oliver!
  
• Swelling of the legs - Well, doesn't this come with the "modest weight gain?"
• Hoarse or gravely voice - I am starting to sound like "That Girl"
  
• Can't remember things - What is that actress's name that plays "That Girl?"
  
• Need to yawn to get oxygen - Breathing through you nose is for sissy's!
  
• Tinnitus (ringing in ears) - Is that the door bell?
  
• Restless - Hold on, I will be right back.
  
• Moods change easily - Wow, what a beautiful day!
  

There are actually several more that could be listed here as well but these are the primary ones. It sucks, it's hereditary and I have it. Yea! for me!

Charlie Horses STILL Suck.

Day two of the Charlie Horse from Hell! My right leg is killing me. The only thing keeping me going is that I get to go to the doctor after work. I am not going for the C.H's (as I like to call them) but I will add them to my list.

Charlie Horses Suck!

I have been getting weird spontaneous charlie horses in my feet and legs for the past month or so. I was told that I needed to eat more potassium so I have tried that. It didn't work. They are getting worse and worse. I currently have one that is working its way from my little toe on my right foot all the way up to my knee. It won't go away. Oliver tried to run it out for me but he is WAY to hard on my poor sore leg. Apparently you have to be tough on them to get them to go away but also apparently I am a big wimp.

I guess I will dose up on some Ibuprofen and go to bed. There is, after all, a heating pad in there calling my name.

Is this what it is like to get old?

Leftovers are a glorious thing

Yummy! Chicken, stuffing, potatoes, gravy and sweet potatoes! I love leftovers!

Going home!! Yippee!

This was the longest day ever. I was antsy and crabby and didn't want to be at work. In the midst of all that I did get a ton done so at least I felt productive!

I get to leave in 7 minutes...

Monday Morning Blues.

I have been fighting (or rather ignoring) a pretty bad case of Carpal Tunnel for about 6 years now. It seems that spending my whole adult life in front of a computer caught up with me and everyday I am reminded of it. Today is exceptionally bad. I have been sleeping in a wrist immobilizer for the past couple of months (not every night but a few times a week when things are bad) and it really helps. I wake up in the morning feeling like I have a normal wrist. It has been quite awesome. No need for doctors, no need for surgery - I can treat myself, right?

Wrong. Last night I slept in the brace and when I got up this morning my wrist hurt worse than it has in a year, maybe more. It is terrible. Every key stroke makes me want to cry. I would kill for narcotic pain killers!

I guess it is time to call the freaking doctor and schedule the surgery.

Website Color Updates. What a Pain!

I got it in my head that I wanted a new palette for Ye Olde Website. Seemed like a bright idea. I have grown tired of the old one in the three short weeks I have had it. I searched around the web for a palette site that would give me what I wanted. Pretty colors with lots of contrast for easy viewing. It took me the better part of two days to find the one I went with. I love it. Let me know what you think?

As for the palettes sites - well I was familiar with Colourlovers.com but couldn't find one on there that I liked. I found Color Palette Generator in my searches and thought is was pretty cool but a pain in the ass because you have to have the image hosted online in order to make it work. On the site with the Color Palette Generator it has a link to Colorhunter.com which is FREAKING AWESOME! This is the site I finally used. It lets you upload your own photos to it and generates both the vibrant and dull palettes.

I uploaded this picture of the Weisman Museum and got the basics for the palette you are seeing. I did change a few of the colors but only a touch. I love ColorHunter! I think I uploaded just about every picture on my computer.

I am the best cook ever!

Of simple but good meals, anyway. For dinner I made a roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy! It was fantastic. The Tryptophan is kicking in now and I want to sleep!

Still in Love with My Couch.

It is 2:00 on Saturday afternoon and I am still enjoying lying on the couch as much as I did last night. The only difference is that now I have a terribly tight chest, the onset of a sore throat and I think I am catching the ick that the others in the house have got.

Ooh - Aah. A Couch is a Lovely Thing.

I made it through the day from hell. I didn't cave into my desire to hurt anyone. I didn't go screaming like a mad woman out of the office singing the La La song or yelling "I can't hear you." I would say that I was successful in maintaining my gainful employment.

I left work on time today for the first time in weeks and had anyone gotten in my way none of the above would still be true. I got home at about 5:30 and have been on the couch ever since. I watched a movie, drank half a bottle of wine (wishing I had more!), napped and am now gleefully surfing the interwebs. If not great I can at least say that life is good at the moment.

Tomorrow I think I will skip bathing and stay on the couch all day. Perhaps I won't brush my teeth either!

Home Sweet Home.

Today has been hell. We have had one fire after another with current projects at work. Just when I feel like I have enough water to put out one another one sparks. I can't keep up.

On top of that the dreaded PMS has set in. I am emotional and have been fighting the urge to cry all day long. Every time someone looks at me sideways I feel like they are judging me. It is one of those bad mental days where I am sure that everyone around me thinks I am incompetent. I try to reassure myself with self-affirmations like "you know what you are doing," "you are good at what you do, it is just that sometimes things are out of your control," and "it's not that bad, at least you haven't killed anyone yet." I wish I could say that they were working but they are not.

I have started to hear phantom voices in my head. I am less worried about these voices now then when they started several hours ago. I have finally identified who they are - my pillow, my blanket and the bottle of rum in my cabinet at home. They are saying things like "drink me," "rest your head on me," and "sleep, sleep now, it will be ok."

If only it were that easy to make my clients go away and leave me alone.

I tried to find a better way.

Some of you know that I belong to Meetup.com. I have organized some quite successful groups on there in the past three years. I can currently boast about having 3 of the largest 10 Meetup groups in Minnesota. I would be wrong if I didn't point out that currently I don't do a heck of a lot in the way of actual organization - I have WONDERFUL assistant organizers that do all of the work.

I have had folks ask me over the last few years whether or not I have run into any weird people on there. Well the answer is a resounding yes. There are many of them but I find that the awesome people outweigh them substantially. It is really too bad though that occasionally one of the crazies decides to stand out in the crowd.

There is one in particular that we call "Psycho Joe." We have a long catalog of stories about him even though very few of us have ever met him. I know a few people who have met him and they describe him as a "somewhat shy, awkward kind of guy." Well you would never know that he was shy from his emails. I have decided to share his most recent with you fine readers (I think there are two of you now!).

I was going to link a PDF into this post so that you could read it without my post being 20 pages long but I am technologically retarded today so here is the text from his email. It is almost 2,000 words long but well worth the read. I am interested in the diagnosis you would give him.

For your enjoyment:

To:	diningout-213-announce@meetup.com
Subject:	[diningout-213] Raising Hell! (Recap of Hairball event at the Blue Fox)
Date:	Tue, 9 Oct 2007 13:02:02 -0400 (EDT)

(Impersonates voice of "K Billy Bob, Radio DJ, from the motion picture "Resevoir Dogs")

"Hello, and you are tuned to a very special weekend edition of K Belly Bob's "Sounds of The 80s, "bang your head" Heavy Metal Hour" . Since we are on the subject of hair metal rock let's tap into a very special year of mine for all you Twins Fans, 1987. The year is 1987, the antidepressant Prozac is introduced, a gallon of gas was 89 cents,Twins win their first world series championship, and Tawny Kitian is strutting her stuff in the latest Whitesnake video "Still of The Night" with her much too older looking "BO" David Coverdale, lead singer of Whitesnake. I still think he looks like he's 50 even back then.

Don't forget the tenth caller gets free tickets to see "The Meetup" Guy in his long awaited Karaoke Around Town next month at Elsie's Bar and Grill in NE Minneapolis. More details pending after our first of a long stretch of Metal hits from Whitesnake, Guns N Roses, and AC/DC.

Anyway, this shout out goes to the Mpls Dining Out/Having Fun Group" of the Meetup.com whose love for nylon cuout spandex pants, long hair, and continuous hair metal rock was felt last Saturday Night at The Fox.

Here's to you all who attended, Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!"

(DJ sound bite from Insane Clown Posse's "Madhouse" )

"Welcome, welcome, to the MADHOUSE!"

(Intro to Whitesnake's "Still of The Night")

"In the still of the night
I hear the wolf howl, honey
Sniffing around your door
In the still of the night
I feel my heart beating heavy
Telling me I gotta have more

Now I just wanna get close to you
An taste your love so sweet
And I just wanna make love to you
Feel your body heat..."

(Meetup Organizer does the supporting vocals) In THE SITLL OF THE NIGHT......STILL OF THE NIGHT...STILL OF THE NIGHT!

Even though I was dissapointed Hairball swung and miss from hits coming from Whitesnake but its this type of music and "Hairball" rocking mayhem that we encountered.

(Insert movie quote "Waynes World")

Wayne: No way!

Garth: Way!

It's funny that I threw in a Wayne's World quote in there because the band "Hairball" was reminiscent of the various band scenes from Crucial Taunt, the fictional hair 80s metal rock group from the early 90s SNL comedy classic.

(Insert movie quote "Wayne's World")

Garth: "That bassplayer is a babe, she makes me feel kind of funny, like when we used to climb the roof in gym class"

Except in Hairball there was no female lead singer, just a "Flock of Seagirls" desiring to rush on stage decked out like Madonna and Pat Benatar to be with this Midwest 80s Hair Metal monstrosity of mayhem.
(Insert movie quote "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Splinter: "I made another funny, ha ha ha!"

Well I can't begin at the beginning of the concert without going to the beginning. Soo much gossip, so little time to write it. First of all, I'd like to say a big thank you to a long time friend of mine Mickey who attended last Saturday night's main event.

(Impersonating Al Pacino from the movie "Donnie Brasco)" Hey I want you to meet my friend Mickey, he's a friend of mine. When I introduce him, I'm gonna say, "This is a friend of mine." That means he's a connected guy. Now if I said instead, this is a friend of ours that would mean he's a made guy. A Capiche?

I've known him ever since grade school and we pretty much graduated on up to High School. Luckily enough, we have managed to stay in contact from college on up to present day time. I know not everyone of us is going to stay in contact with at least every single friend from high school. I can guarantee that you will try to stay in contact with ones you shared the most time with.

Last Saturday night's event I saw the success of the meetup from a different perspective. I already knew our music meetup was going to improve from the success of our previous dinner meetup at Bar Abliene. So I knew the right amount of people would show up to make it work last night. However this time I got much satisfaction just seeing this meetup through the eyes of my friend.

When I was a Meetup Organizer from a now defunct group "The TC Singles Friendship Connection. I had brought my friend Mickey one night to a movie meetup featuring "The Departed". We must have had 6 others slated to show up but due to a change in theatre time for the show and given it was a worknight no one showed up. I had struck out with a meetup with my friend.

A few weeks or so later I re-schedule a movie meetup on the weekend this time to go see "Fast Food Nation" at the Lagoon Theatre in Uptown. My friend then gives me a second chance to redeem myself. All I can remember is standing in the lobby holding up our table top "Meetup Signs" pleading for the 8 other participants to come through the door. They never came and we ended up watching the show alone.

So you can imagine how difficult it was trying to get my friend to come again knowing I had a track sheet filled with failed meetup events. However, he manages to give it one more chance thinking "this is your last chance Joe, either produce the desired numbers of guests or you better think of something better to propose to me".

We arrive at the Blue Fox at 7:30 p.m. to avoid the cover charge and obtain a table seat for the group. My idea of the two balloons plus three additional meetup table signs really helped make us stand out from the crowd. Everyone came and everyone really put my friend in a state of euphory.

My friend was so "Thunderstruck" that he could only help but soak up the "Meetup Experience" watching everyone dance and possibly he was singing in his head too kicking back.

(Insert Audio "Thunderstruck" - AC/DC)

"He'd beeeen....THUNDERSTRUCK! YA YA YA THUNDERSTRUCK

I remember driving him back home asking him cheerfully "So Mickey, what do you think of Meetup now?". My friend was convinced that with the 700 of us proud, brave men and women dancing that this was definetly the type of function that he wanted to reschedule his workweek around.

Get this I drop him off at his house and the first question he ask me "So when is the date for the Stella's Dining Event". Now I had asked him prior to the Hairball event about the dining event but he complained about the menu prices. Honestly, I think he was still holding back due to those last meetup failures that I had...what a year ago.

(rests back in his chair "Ferris Bueller style and quotes from the movie) Yeah I won another one over. "Life moves by pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around, you could miss it.

NOW...on to the JUICY EXPLOITS from the "Hairball" slamarama mosh fest.

Hairball re-created the 80s hair and metal rock era. Their group dressed up in different costumes and wigs to recreate the different 80s metal artists from David Lee Roth of Van Halen, Brett Michaels of Poison, Freddie Mercury of Queen, and Dave Evans from AC/DC.

I'm going to run down a few of the key highlights of the night. A small fight had occured but was immediately broken up immediately after it started. After that, our concerns for public safety were put to rest. Although I couldn't say the parking lot pavement was safe, but rather slick. Yeah, a few drunk men and women decided to beat the bathroom traffic and relieve themsevles outside.

The band however, put on a few memorable costumes that are priceless. The first was when they were singing AC/DC's "Big Balls. The lead singer put on this big white stretch costume that covered his entire body. For a minute, I thought he looked a cross between a human napkin or the Pillsbury Doughboy. Well turns out, he dressed up as a fallice

(Insert movie quotes "Austin Powers and The Spy Who Shagged Me")

Radar Operator: Colonel, you better have a look at this radar.
Colonel: What is it, son?
Radar Operator: I don't know, sir, but it looks like a giant...
Jet Pilot: Dick. Dick, take a look out of starboard.
Co-Pilot: Oh my God, it looks like a huge...
Bird-Watching Woman: Pecker.
Bird-Watching Man: [raising binoculars] Ooh, Where?

Yeah I spare no expense in finding top talent around town. Well during the song whenever the lead singer sang "I've got the biggest balls of them all" he used some sort of air pump that would pump up the suit to look like the fallice head expand and expand.

(Insert movie quote "Grumpier Old Men)

John: So tell me, was it more of a hold up than a stick up?

Awww....yeah. Now that we got that out of our system on to the second of our highleet reel. During the evening as they were singing "Eye of The Tiger" (Theme Song from the Motion Picture Rocky III by Survivor), the lead singer came up on stage dressed up in a muscle suit complete with a big black wig, american pinstripe shorts, and big boxing gloves.

My last highlight comes not from the band but from the crowd. I am here to admit we had a Hulk Hogan sighting. There was this guy who appeared to be your image of a sterotypical bodybuilder. This guy had wide arms, chest the size of superman, and giant calves the size of tree trunks. He was all decked out in Hulk Hogan "Hulkamania" 80s apparell. He had a red bandana, red shirt, grey gym shorts, and giant yellow construction boots. His speciality was walking across the bar flexing his muscles back and forth.

I wish I had a boombox available I could have played a tape of "Real American by Rick Derringer"

(Insert Audio The Hulk Hogan Theme Song)

I am a real American
fight for the rights of every man
I am a real American
fight for what's right
fight for your life

Awww...man my friend couldnt have come at a better time. As John Cougar used to sing "A Wild Night is calling" and thats what we got. I felt like I was in a time warp with all the Madonna and Pat Benatar soldiers walking around. Hey its alright because I'm saved by the bell. I should have brought my Bayside Tigers shirt and fake blonde wig.

An incredible 10+ + to the infinity funkmaximus. If you thought this event rocked the house, just imagine what the "Hairball" Halloween event will be like. Yes, seats are still available please act now and RSVP at your nearest Mpls Dining Out/Having Fun outpost.

Until then, we'll have our little cooldown at Stella's Fish Cafe coming up sampling and feasting on some fine seafood. Then its back to the "Boneyard" with a Halloween edition of "Hairball" at Champps in Woodbury for those that missed out last Saturday.

Then on to the superbowl of our meetup events coming in December...a Bar Crawl. We're raising the lever here one month at a time. For those that couldn't come, hope your weekend was pleaseant, and wish you all a good rest of the week. Look forward to seeing you all at our next meetup function.

Joe
Mpls Dining Out/Having Fun Organizer

Instant Messaging & Stupid Men on the Web.

I am often logged onto the Yahoo instant messenger for about 18 out of every 24 hours. I use it to chat with my "boyfriend" during the day and to keep up with my kids. I have few other folks on there there I chat with. I have a couple of friends from a former company and a couple of former tech support folks from a software company that every now and then pop up with a "hi," other than that, I can go for days without a message form someone I know. I wish I could say the same about the messages I get from folks I don't know.

Being a woman with a profile that says I am single gets me all sorts of attention. Sometimes I ignore it and sometimes I play along for a few moments. It really depends on my mood. Even on the days when I "play along" I am irritated by this. I just don't understand why men think that just because a woman is online and logged into an instant messenger that she wants random IM's from guys looking for cyber sex. Can someone answer this question for me?

I thought that for your amusement I would give you a sampling of the kinds of opening lines I get. So, for your enjoyment, here are a few:

This is JCK61384, his Yahoo profile says he is 21 and lives in Southern Minnesota:

jck61384: i love older woman...i saw you were single and was hoping you would give me a chance..just to chat

jenn_a_carlson: Not really interested in someone as young as you or anyone who would say "I love older women"

jck61384: do you want to chat?

jenn_a_carlson: Sorry. No.

jck61384: i have this fantasy of being a boy toy for an older woman..but i'm sure that doesnt interest you?

jenn_a_carlson: You don't interest me.

This is a "Real Man" apparently. The following are messages I received on 3 separate occasions over the course of four months. I am not sure what that means but if you have an idea please let me know.

Random IM from "Real Man" number One:

real man: hey jenn what's up? (***Note: the use of my first name, as though he knows me)

real man: **insert smiley face here

real man: Hello? why not chat with me?

real man: hey what's up?

real man: wana see my cam?

real man: **insert smiley face here

jenn_a_carlson: please leave me alone. I am not interested.

Random IM from "Real Man" number Two:

real man: you like to watch guys masturbate on cam?

jenn_a_carlson: LEAVE ME ALONE.

Random IM from "Real Man" number Three:

real man: what's up?

jenn_a_carlson: what part of leave me alone did you not understand from last time you im'd me?

real man: sorry

real man: just saying hi

Occasionally when I get a random IM I like to look at their profile so I can have something to give them crap about. This guy had nothing. Here is his explanation:

schi0246_2: how are you doing?

jenn_a_carlson: How come you don't have any info on your profile?

schi0246_2: my old profile got hacked and just made this new one

schi0246_2: sohaven't yet gotten to it

schi0246_2: i'm 30 m from minneapolis mn

jenn_a_carlson: I think either we have chatted before or "my profile got hacked" is a common line among men who IM random women on Yahoo.

schi0246_2: i swear its true

schi0246_2: my old id was schi0246 so i added the _@

schi0246_2: _2

schi0246_2: but we haven't chatted before

jenn_a_carlson: Hmmm...well that "hacked" line has been used about a dozen times from other random guys who I have asked why they have not profile info.

schi0246_2: well what would you like to know

jenn_a_carlson: Whatever you want to tell me.

schi0246_2: i'm an open book

jenn_a_carlson: I like books on tape - they do all the work.

schi0246_2: well i'm 30 from minneapolis i work as a chemist , never married and no kids

schi0246_2: lol

schi0246_2: what about you (**Note: My Yahoo personal says my name and in order find out I was online he had to search these, he knows how old I am already.)

schi0246_2: married?

schi0246_2: single?

schi0246_2: what do you do

If there are any men reading this who can shed some light on why men think it is OK to send random messages to women please let me know. I would love to know what the mentality is behind this behavior.

Zombie Pub Crawl!

Photos can also be found via my Flickr account.

"Accept the Good"

I saw the movie "Things We Lost in the Fire" tonight and it damn near ripped my heart out. It was very well written, perfectly cast, well performed and really made you think, to say nothing of the crying that it also induced. I love movies like this. Even if I don't have a direct connect to the subject matter I am still able to glean something from the story, how translates how it relates to my life.

What I took away from this movie was how much more important people are than things. While this is not a new concept by any means it is sort of nice to have it smack you in the head every now and then. This movie was tragic to say the least. The story depicted in this movie is a much harsher reality than me or any of my friends will likely ever have to face but we each have obstacles in our lives that we have had to overcome. In their own way they were likely as tragic and heart wrenching as anything that Hollywood can throw at us.

I left the movie thinking about all of the people in my life. How I met them, the things we have shared, the ups, and the downs. I can't really describe the feelings that I had; they were very roller-coaster like. I realized that I may not always make the positive impact on the people around me that I should. I have not always been as supportive and accessible to them as I should be. Am I selfish? Have my motives in friendship been self serving? I don't think so.

I really believe that my relationships follow a pattern that started before I was old enough to understand what a pattern was. I push people away. I doubt them and myself and question everything that they do or say. I want to know their motives? I want to know what they see in me? What do they think I have to offer? Why do they want to spend time with me? Am I an amusement to them? These are the questions that swirl through my brain more often than not. I realize that this makes me seem a bit paranoid but it really isn't that - it is more about self-doubt.

In the movie there was a recurring line "Accept the Good." I have realized that I don't do enough of this. I am going to try harder from now on.

I have also realized that perhaps I over analyze the movies I see...character flaw? Or perhaps I just think too much!

Afternoon Antsy Pants

I am antsy! It is making me crazy. I suddenly feel like going running. WTF? I hate exercise. I just have too much energy right now. I am making the folks in my office crazy because this is as far from productive, focused energy as you can get! I want to goof off and disrupt anyone I see actually working.

To make matters worse - it would seem that all of my friends are away from their computers and not answering emails. How dare they make me wait.

I need a plaything, now! *stomping feet with balled up fist*

Shiny Things are my first love.

Today is a beautiful day! It is gorgeous outside and everyone around me seems to be in good mood. I wonder if they truly are in a good mood or if I am rubbing off on them. I hope a bit of both.

My day started off great and is just getting better by the minute. I woke up on time, I didn't need to iron, I drove to work and got here early. I actually had time to buy my cup of coffee on the way to the office instead of going back out for it. I felt so efficient.

The best part of my morning so far has been my drive to work though. I know, this seems odd - rush hour, parking downtown - the usual irritants but trust me it was awesome. I love the way our city skyline looks from the view I have on my drive in. I get on Hiawatha at 32nd Street. Each and every time I make that right turn onto Hiawatha I see a different version of our city. The light quality, the clouds in the sky, the level of the sunrise and the time of year always make it look slightly different.

This morning I caught the skyline at the most perfect moment. The sky was clear and the sun has just finished clearing the horizon. The city was lit up and completely reflective of the sun. The buildings were replaced by pure silver, nothing but shiny. It was absolutely breathtaking. I wanted to stop right there, mid turn, to enjoy it until the effect vanished. I don't have the words to describe just what a wonderful image this was.

Head Lice - is that two words or one?

One of the joys of having children is going through the list of childhood illnesses and checking them off one by one. You do so with little or no real discomfort because you know that most of them occur once and then you are done. Hell these days most of them are cured before they get them as long as you make sure their immunizations are up to date. So, unlike our parents parents we get check off the potential illnesses without giving them much thought.

There is one childhood "illness" that we always hope our child will not get. There is not immunization for this one and short of making them live in a bubble you can't prevent it. HEAD LICE!

Between O and I we have 3 children (I use this term loosely because my kids are 14 and 18). They come and go from their perspective parents houses and stay with us when it is our turn. Well since May we seem to adopted a few additional unwanted kids. These freaking little bugs will not go away. We were pretty sure that O's daughter and my daughter were handing them back and forth over the summer. We finally had a clean bill of health on both of them and quit worrying. Never gave it another thought...

Until about 4 days ago when Fi started itching her head again. We peeked at her scalp and it looked fine. Well tonight was bath night and while doing the "did you wash your hair good enough" inspection O found yet another creepy crawly. It is terrible. Poor Fi is so upset and the rest of us, even though we all seem to be clear of them, are suffering from phantom itching!

I am not sure how I made it through the whole summer without getting them. Sheer luck? Hair dye - the ultimate killer? Too much hair to detect them? I don't know but I am itching from head to toe right now and it is making me crazy! This is the 8th time we have had to do the floor to ceiling clean, bag up the soft toys, wash all the bedding. Ugh! I am so done with them. Someone please make them go away!

Radio Commercials That Inspire Rage

Buick

Recently, due to my inability to drag my ass out of bed in the mornings, I have found myself driving to work more and more. This means I have more exposure to the local radio stations. I typically listen to my iTunes library or some internet station. It also means that not only do I get to feel the slight agitation of driving in downtown during rush hour but I get to sit through the same radio commercials everyday. Mostly I am able to ignore them but there is one that makes me want to rip my radio out of the dash, throw it out the window and drive back and forth over it until it is completely FUBAR.

The Buick Enclave..."Oh Buffy, how could you buy that car, we will have to fire our servants and daddy will cut us out of his will."

Are you fucking kidding me? This is what passes for marketing? Really? I am not sure why this commercial rubs me so wrong but it is absolutely amazing how quickly it gets under my skin. It makes me want to track down the originator and shove an Enclave Luxury Crossover up his or her ass! I really shouldn't have to feel this way this early in the morning!

Oh, and am I crazy or does the Enclave look just like the Hyundai Santa Fe?

Hyundai

Cool Ass Shit!

I would love to take credit for finding this video but it just wasn't me. It was another "Hey Jenn, watch this. You will like it" moment in my house. He was right - I loved it!!

Stupid People.

In an age where we can get updates on things going on all over the world at our fingertips I often wonder how anyone can be ignorant of what is happening around them. I work with a guy who is completely oblivious to everything beyond 4 feet of his face. I guess really he is ignorant of everything not directly related to HIM but I am trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I mentioned my hatred of British Petroleum (thanks to the education I received from my live in Brit) and how I had a coupon for $.10 off per gallon of gas but was unable to justify using it. I said "Well I have a choice, save $1.20 on a tank of gas or save the Polar bears." His response was "You might want to check your facts, the pipeline is in the Arctic and the Polar bears live in the Antarctic. I think you are confused."

WTF?????? I wonder if I could pay his wife to smother him in his sleep.

Chicken Soup for the Cold Bug?

Note to self – when they say that chicken soup will help you feel better when you are sick they DO NOT mean Chicken Wild Rice. Something about the very cream based aspect of this soup I don’t think is getting along with my bug very well. Now I ache, have the chills, my head hurts and my stomach is upset. Nice combo. I want to go home and go back to bed.

Publically accessible blog #2

I find myself spending more and more time with folks in the local blogosphere. They are interesting, clever, funny and I truly enjoy them. The problem is that I get asked at least once at every get together "So what blog is yours?" Well I never quite knew how to answer. I had a blog but it is filled with some deeply personal information. It is not that I don't want to share this information but probably not this early in our friendship. So, I have started a new one. I needed to finally use this domain for something anyway. This gave me a good reason.

I hope you enjoy my ramblings.