Year in Review Meme

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?Hmmm… what did I do new this year? I stayed in a bed and breakfast, that was fun!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t recall making resolutions. I had been telling myself that I was going to give up regular soda for New Years, but I know I won’t stick to it. I’m going to set the bar very low and say I’ll exercise
at least 5 minutes 3-4 times a week. I’ll probably still fail. Whatever.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A bunch of people I knew in high school did. And the Twin will sometime soon, but probably in ’09, unless she goes into labor to spite me for writing this.

4. Did anyone close to you die?My grandma.

5. What countries did you visit? Here… here… here. Fuck, I need to get out more.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A shitload more money and a car that doesn’t break down every six fucking weeks.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Arbor Day. No, seriously, I have no idea. There will be things to remember, but not a specific day. Maybe January 20, because that’s when Grandma died.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Hmmm… I managed to take care of myself for another full year, which was nice. I’ve sustained a happy relationship, which is also good.

9. What was your biggest failure? Not keeping my apartment clean and not managing my money better.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?Nothing major. The biggest one was falling down in my apartment and skinning the piss out of my elbow. I’d forgotten how bad that shit hurts!

11. What was the best thing you bought? Tickets to see Flogging Molly with Jon.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Jon’s been awesome, despite his insane amounts of stress, and his mom is a lovely person. The Twin for surviving pregnancy! Obama’s, for being awesome, winning, and coming to Indiana a whole bunch. Oh, and Indiana went blue, so that’s pretty awesome!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Sarah god-damn Palin, Stupid ass California’s Prop 8 bull-shit.

14. Where did most of your money go? Away. I wish I could figure it out better.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I get excited by stupid-ass things, because I’m essentially a six year-old off the ADD meds. But Liss being pregnant is pretty damned awesome, and Jon ponying up and saying he loved me was also a highlight.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? I’m Yours, Jason Mraz. He’s bad-ass. And anything by Flogging Molly.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Probably happier, in all likelihood fatter, and almost definitely poorer. Oh well.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Cleaning, knitting.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Being completely and pointlessly idle.

20. How did you spend Christmas?At my sister’s, then with my dad, then at Benihana with Jon and his mom.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Yep, every day.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Countdown, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Also Pushing Daisies. (Stupid ABC) And 30 Rock and The Office. I watch too much TV. And Jon and Kate Plus 8.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? You betcha! I didn't even know about Sarah Palin last year. (Sorry, Queen, your answer is too good to get rid of. And also true!)

24. What was the best book you read? The Poisonwood Bible. I also read a lot of good non-fiction, whose names all escape me now.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Flogging Molly and Ingrid Michealson.

26. What did you want and get? I got another visit to the Wild Animal Park. I think the is the first time I've returned to a place I had vacationed before.

27. What did you want and not get? A lot of money and for my car not to be dead.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? The Dark Knight was pretty awesome, as was Wall-E

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? It rocked, actually, though I had to check my blog to verify it. I got roses from Jon, and the A&E Pride and Prejudice, which I’ve watched three times through, a giant poster to color (which I’m still working on!) and fun books, and had good meals with people I love. I turned 26.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having more money. Keeping the apartment clean.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? “Is this clean? Have I worn it to work this week?”

32. What kept you sane? The pets, Jon, cable and Zoloft. Also Julie, my counselor.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Barack Obama. Smart is hot.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? The election in general, and Prop 8.

35. Who did you miss? Mary, my grandma, grandpa and Aunt Ruth.

36. Who was the best new person you met? I think my co-worker Ned. I can’t think of other people I’ve met really.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. I honestly don’t know. I just try to show up every day and be myself as best I can and hope that works for people. My biggest thing I guess would be to express love whenever possible and not hold onto stuff too much.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. “I been spending way too much time checking my tongue in the mirror/and bending over backwards just to try and see clearer.”

No on Prop 8 Video

This is hilarious!

On another note, how does one embed a video, if it's not from Youtube and therefore idiot proof?

YES WE CAN!!

What an amazing feeling. I can't wait to see what we can make of this.

Edited to Add: Congratulations and Kudos to Senator McCain for speaking and acting with such grace last night. The other party is never the enemy, and Senator McCain loves America, too.

Commencing with the breath-holding

Come on, results! I need to know! *taps elbow crook for a vein*

I need information!

ahem

On this, the eve of a truly historic election, I'd like to put two things out there:

1. I hope that Senator Obama's grandmother rests peacefully, knowing that her grandson has done so much good even before the vote counts are in.

2. Jesus was a liberal community organizer. I'm just saying.

Good Lord

I babysat five nights this week, including right now. The little girls I watch are twelve, eight and five. They are good, smart and funny kids.
And sweet baby jeebus they're driving me crazy. Actually, the five year-old is fine, and today's the only day I've watched her. Eight, by far, is the one who bugs me the most. She repeats everything. I've actually started limiting the number of times she's allowed to repeat phrases. Also, she whines about everything. Last night she whined about her candy bag being too full! What a crock! And the shrieking and scream laugh. And being so irritated by these things makes me feel like a horrible person, because she's a little girl. But dear god, so irritating.
And Twelve? She's usually my girl, but I must tell you this: I never want to hear about the Twilight books again. She's read two of them this week and it is ALL she talks about to the point where I hate the books, I hate the author, and I may even hate vampires now.
In short? Babysitting makes me cranky and in need of a nap.

Well...

It's a boy! Tyler Nicholas is due around January 22! I'm going to have a nephew!!!

Towering

Nothing I could say about today could be said as eloquently as it is here. My heart is in New York today!

Baby update after 3:30, which is the time of my sis's doc appointment!

After this, I'll shut up about politics for a while

Ok, just in case there's anyone who looks at or reads my blog who's not going to vote, or is thinking about voting, or whatever, I'm just going to spell out why I'm voting the way I am in November. You can figure out for yourself who I'm voting for by my priorities. If your priorities are similar, maybe you could kick a couple bucks to the campaign. This election is extremely important and I don't really want my heart broken again!

So. Things that are important to me:

1. Equality for all people who are in love. Neither candidate is where I would like them to be on this, but one candidate gets a lot closer to where we should be going than the other. Any two persons, regardless of gender, should be allowed to get married and have the legal rights of spouses.
2. Choice. I hope to god I am never in the position where I would need to decide whether or not to have an abortion, but I don't feel comfortable making that decision for anyone else, and I don't think the government should either.
3. The war. Like it or not, we're in it now, and we need to get out in the cleanest and most fair way possible. However, transparency must be the name of the game in future administrations, and agendas should be made based on the good of the country, not on the good of the few. And Americans should never be asked to give their lives based on lies.

There are lots of other reasons I'll vote the way I will, but those are the big ones, and things I really, really care about. Seriously, if you haven't, please do some research on the candidates and make decisions based on facts and not fear. We've had enough fear-mongering masquerading as politics, and I'm sick of it. I hope you are, too.

Teh Happier!

Sara realized, as I think that I would, that a house without a dog is empty. And so she got a new dog from the Humane Society! Meet Franny:

Franny's a sweet pea who got abandoned in the Humane Society dog run, so she's a bit shy still, but she's a doll. She licked Sara's feet while I met her this morning, and then very gently nommed her big toe. I like to think Buddah brought Sara Franny. Also, please note the slightly flopping ear, which is too cute for words.

Teh Sad

My friend Sara had to put her dog Buddah to sleep this morning. He was going into heart failure, and couldn't breathe much anymore. His picture's right below. Ain't he a little cutie pie?

There are very few things I find sadder than losing pets. I know losing people is awful, too, but there's something indescribably different about being the one who decides that it's time to give someone you love something that will put them out of pain and put you in a tremendous amount of pain. It's a pretty awesome responsibility.

I told Sara that I believe God gave us pets so that He could show us how much He loves us. I hope that's true. I used to be so sure about there being a God, but these days I just don't know. But I hope there is one, and I hope I'm right, and I hope Buddah's chilling and getting treats in a big park in the sky.

a cheer

Rat shit, bat shit, dirty old twat!
69 linemen tied in a knot!
Hurray, lizard shit, FUCK!

Hey, George, here's hoping God recites the seven words with you. Happy trails, and may Buddy Christ greet you at the gates.

Also, universe? Maybe enough with the taking of awesome people who should have had more time. Between Ledger, Carlin and Russert, you should be occupied for a while.

Hip Hip Huzzah!

I heard a story on my way back from lunch on NPR about the first gay and lesbian couples getting married in California, prompting me to draft the following short notes:

Dear Gay and Lesbian Couples,

Mazel Tov! Many happy returns of today's joy.

Love,
Angie

Dear California,

Right on. Keep 'em coming!

Love,
Angie

Dear Damn Near Rest of the U.S.,

Seriously, get with it. It's 2008. All people deserve equal rights

No Love,
Angie

Opinionated

Or: Why Abstinence-Only Sex Education is STUPID.

I heard a story on NPR recently about sex-ed and heard yet another person spouting off that teaching abstinence-only sex ed is the best and safest way to teach kids about sex and sexuality, and to keep them from engaging in risky behaviors. This is a bunch of horseshit. Let me explain via metaphor:

Let's say you take a 15 year old boy, otherwise known as a human vacuum, to a buffet, one with all sorts of awesome food all over the place and so many options the kid's eyes just kind of glow with excitement. Then you tell the kid, "So all of this looks awesome, but you should really just eat from the salad bar. It's definitely the healthiest for you, and all that other stuff, the fried chicken, the mashed potatoes, the steak, the soup, the sushi, all that stuff you'd really like to try, should really be saved for a special occasion." And the kid asks "So I can't eat any of this other stuff?" And you say, "Well, obviously, you can, it's there. But you shouldn't eat it. You should just have some salad."

So the kid rolls his eyes at you and comes back with ribs sandwiched between pizza topped with a brownie. And you say "But I told you you should just have the salad!" And the kid says "Yeah, but there was all this other stuff that looked really good." And you say "But it can kill you!" And the kid says, "Oh, please. I'm not going to have a heart attack or a stroke or anything like that. That crap's not a problem for me." And you say, "But you can have that stuff if you're smart about it! If you eat that stuff and salad and bread and fruit, you just need to use your head about it!" And the kid says, "So it's not about just eating salad forever, or only eating rib-pizza, it's about using good judgment?" And you say, "Yes!" And the kid says, "So why didn't you just say that?"

That's why abstinence-only sex ed is stupid.

Birthday Comparisons

Last year on my birthday I:

• rear-ended someone on my way to work
• had to deal with my parents splitting up
• felt like the day was barely acknowledged and felt kinda bad for myself.

This year for my birthday I:

• Went to Starbucks and had coffee with my bosses who rock, and who gave me fun books, a giant poster to color, and markers to color it with
• had lunch with more coworkers and had Snickers ice cream
• got a dozen loooooong stemmed roses from Jon.

This year has sucked a lot less!

Real blog with opinions and stuff soon!

CAR-rap...

Or: "The Saga of My Car Trying to Make Me Lose My Goddamn Mind." (And, apparently, sapping my desire to blog.)

Ok, so I mentioned last time that my car was having transmission issues, right? Which sucked ass. So I found out eventually that getting the transmission rebuilt would be the cheapest option, at the bargain price of $1300. Bah. So through a divine intervention (read: startlingly large loan from someone who was very kind, and who had no reason to help me, thank you, good Karma I've managed to amass!) I was able to get that done. The car place that rebuilt the transmission does very good work, but they're also quite slow. So it took ten days from the time they got my car to have it ready for me, which was already two and a half weeks after it already died. Bumming rides is actually terribly degrading after a while, or at least very frustrating.

So, last Thursday, they finally called and said it was all done and I could come get my car, and so I did, with much triumph. And Friday, I triumphantly drove my car into work, where it triumphantly began spewing white smoke and the temperature guage shot up to high. My direct quote? "Oh, you mother fucker." (Pardon my French.) An hour and a half later, I drove my "cooled off" car down to the car place, where it proceeded to overheat again, and then froze up and would not start. BLEH. The nice car guys picked me up and drove me home, where they told me that my radiator had a hole in it, that likely was started back when I rear-ended that dude on the shitty birthday of doom. So much for having my car for that weekend.

But Monday evening, they called again. You're all set, come get your car, that'll be a hundred bucks. Tuesday morning? Car wouldn't start. Lovely car place? Jumped it, and after letting it charge/warm up for a few minutes, I drove myself to school, where the battery proceeded to die again. I called my dad, cussing a blue streak, and ready to Thelma and Louise my freaking car off the nearest available cliff, and was informed that it would most likely be an alternator. GAH. So at that point, I had the car towed to the other garage I use. The good news? The car was fixed in six hours. The bad news? $300.

Mind you, I paid $3000 for the car, which I do love. But if anything else breaks on it? I'm giving that bitch the Mythbusters treatment.

And the icing on the crap cake? I've been driving with a suspended license (I know, I suck) for an unpaid (so they say) ticket for... well, way too long. So no license, expired plates, every time I saw a cop car, I'd basically say a Hail Mary and hope for the best. This morning, a mile and a half from school? Pulled over by a cop. I was practically crying before he could even get to the car. But the cop was actually really nice, gave me the cheapest ticket he was allowed to do, just for the expired plates, and totally gave me the giant kick in the ass to get to the BMV and get stuff straightened out. So at the other end of the story, I emerge triumphant, with a running car with valid plates and a valid license, and all's well that ends well. Expensively, but well.

But I'm going to a b&b tomorrow with Jon, so that makes up for most of it. Well, if not, I'll at least forget it for a few hours!

My Car is Poltergeist

So my car is wonderful and I love her, but she is getting more and more weird and ghetto. Over the summer, it started to be that if I tried to roll the passenger window down with the door unlocked, the door would actually pop open. If I lock it, I'm safe, but then it only rolls halfway down, which is great in July when you don't have air conditioning. My cruise control only works about half the time. My windshield wiper tank is busted, meaning that I squeegee my windows at gas stations a lot, particularly this time of year because I can't see squat with all the snow and salt junk on my windows.

But the car's newest oddity is by far it's most irritating. The radio is possessed.

It started last week. I was driving home from work and decided to flip from NPR to a music station. Then my radio turned back to NPR. Spontaneously. It did this like 4 times. Then it stopped letting me change stations altogether. I can change channels intermittently, usually near the beginning of getting into my car, but it sometimes still changes on it's own. And better yet, it changes two of the pre-set buttons to whichever channel it's currently on. So NPR is now programmed into two buttons instead of just one.

Someone needs to find me that short lady and Craig T. Nelson, STAT.

Make a Wish!

Just a quick schill: This local radio station is doing its annual Make-a-Wish Request-a-thon as we speak. As of 9:36 EST, since yesterday morning, they've raised almost $160,000 and granted 27 wishes. I know it's a tight time of year because of Christmas, etc, but if you have an extra couple of bucks, you might consider giving, to either this or your local Make-a-Wish. I do the Wish-Makers club, which is a small, monthly deduction. I don't miss the money that comes out of my bank account, and I really like the organization.

Consumption

Oh, what the hell is going on worth writing about? Hmm.

• I'm learning to knit! I sort of suck at it, because I drop stitches constantly and I have no idea how to pick them up if they're on the ends of rows or whatever. But still! I sit down at night and watch stuff off the DVR and I feel all Little House on the Prairie, minus the horrible clothes and never-ending life lessons. It's totally gratifying.
• I've been reading Helter Skelter, and am almost done. I like true crime, particularly Bugliosi, and I've found this pretty fascinating. It's kind of incredible to see how powerful someone can be personality-wise that people were willing to lie, steal and kill for him. It boggles my mind, but it's interesting. Plus, I'm totally convinced that I could be brainwashed into a cult pretty easily, which is nerve-wracking. Anyway, it's good stuff.
• Fall premiere time! Hooray! On my roster for new shows: Reaper and Pushing Daisies both look really good, Chuck has potential and... crap, I'm drawing a blank. I watch too much TV.

As odd as it sounds I was pretty in favor of President Ahmedinajad visiting the US, but it sounds like that's gone over for crap, which is terribly disappointing. I don't want to go to war with another country who might blow us completely up! Ack!

...and I've stopped being interesting. Oh well!

Tattoo Idea: Creativity Needed!

I don't have a ton of readers, but I've got a fair handful, some of whom are artists (Ahem, Marc.) I thought of an idea for a tattoo I would like to get. I want to get something that represents the Divine Spark, that notion that there is a little piece of God/Creator/Whatever in all of us. Problem is, I don't know what it should look like. Any ideas?