lagomorph

So I'm sort of obscenely excited right now. I think I'm going back to Pittsburgh soon. (I hope, I hope.) The bf looked at an apartment today that's in the building right next to the one where we were sharing with the evil roommates. It sounds pretty decent, and the move would be easy, and we could go ahead and leave all our crap in the basement of the other building. Supposedly he can sign the lease tomorrow, and I dunno when he'd be moving exactly, but probably next week, or the week after. Then I guess I'll have to convince someone to drive me up there. I'll have my pets back, and my privacy, thank god. Of course, the way my mind works, I had about 30 seconds of feeling relieved about this and then started worrying about how we don't have a couch..heh..but we'll see how everything goes. Staying with my parents has been..challenging. My mom and I have never really gotten along. She's one of those people who thinks she knows everything, is always right, and the world couldn't function without her interfering. She lives to put people down, criticize, and find things to get pissed off about for no reason. My showers are too long, I don't eat enough vegetables, my hair is too dark, my bf should call his parents more, yada yada. Long story short, it sucks. At the moment she's having a fit of self-pity because no one's coming for Thanksgiving. Or well, my brother is coming, I think, but my sister isn't, and mom's especially upset because it's my nephew's (7th? 8th?) birthday on Friday and she wanted to have a party. It's also disturbing being here on another level, because being around my dad makes me totally paranoid. He's 63, and every time he's feeling a little under the weather, which seems to be sort of often, I start having these visions of him having a heart attack or something. Anyway, as much as I want to leave I feel sort of apprehensive about telling them that I want to leave. All in all though, I have to say

So if anyone was interested, I'm still sitting at my parents' being useless. Out of all the jobs I applied for, no one wants me. I have never watched so much television in my life. My parents, on any given evening, have 3 programs that they keep up with, and another 2 or 3 that they record and we watch some afternoon when nothing's on. I find myself eagerly flipping through the TV guide when it arrives in the mail to see if I can find any hints on what's happening this week, and I really care if someone gets the villain on General Hospital. It's so very sad. Yesterday was my parents' 25th anniversary, and they went out to dinner and bought some champagne and so forth, and my mom made a cake. I felt bad that she was making her own cake, but I'm a complete disaster at stuff like that. I had helped her look last week for a card, and we couldn't find anything that wasn't just a generic happy anniversary message, so she finally gave up and got one of those. When my dad gave her his card, he looked really proud of himself because his said "25 years in love" on the front, but when she opened it, it said "Congratulations to both of you." Apparently he didn't have his glasses with him when he bought it and couldn't read what it said inside. It was kinda cute, actually. And I called at least 20 different bakeries and flower shops trying to find a cake topper that said 25th, and all I can say is that some people should not be allowed to answer the phone. I'm from around here and I can't even understand some of these accents. So yeah, that's all that's really happening around here. I'm hopefully going back to Pittsburgh the first of December, and some of my brain cells will start functioning again.

I did not buy it! And I'm not on crack either!

Well this is a pointless entry really, where you can all shake your heads and call me weird. I was watching tv the other day and discovered that Ken dolls are getting hard to find because Barbie has a new boyfriend. Apparently he's an Australian boogie boarder named Blaine. Here's some pictures: http://www.manbehindthedoll.com/BLAcaliguy.htm I almost ruptured something laughing about it, but for some reason no one else thinks it's so funny. :wacko: I just had the thought that Barbie dumped nice, stable Ken, who I always figured for some sort of businessman, so she could run off with this guy, chasing waves and smoking pot and not wearing shoes. So, there you have it.

Well there's nothing terribly interesting going on here, but I had to feed my egotistical need to post. I'm still waiting for someone to call me about a job. I had an interview Saturday but the lady seemed terribly concerned that I was too stupid to figure out the cash register, after I told her I'd never had a retail job before. I wasn't very impressed with her either, after I found out that she hadn't even looked at my application before I came in. I don't think I'll be too disappointed if she doesn't call back, but I sure hope someone does. I've been drafted by my mother for writing out instructions on how to use the Internet for my uncle, who's never really touched a computer before. It's amazing how many steps there really are to describe for someone checking their email. When you have to describe how to click on something, for instance, it can get a bit lengthy. My mother isn't all that computer-savvy herself, but she can check email and so forth, and she's convinced that she knows everything. If I've used the computer earlier in the day and she gets online and her sound isn't working or something, she starts screaming at me about how I must've done something to break her computer. I'm nice enough to refrain from mentioning that "her" computer is actually MY old laptop, and that I taught her how to use the damn thing in the first place. Here's hoping I have something to report tomorrow. Val

Since I'm only gonna be here temporarily, I'm not looking for anything too great. Mostly clothing stores, dollar stores, couple gas stations, a few banks. It seems like everywhere I go, my mother knows someone. 'Oh, the person who owns that place was your assistant volleyball coach in 10th grade" or "My friend's sister does the hiring there." I'm so tired of being in the car at this point, because this is two days in a row I've driven to a town about 40 mins away, and tomorrow I have to go back again. Although if I end up working there I guess I better get used to it. I keep running into people I used to know. You can't go anywhere without recognizing at least one person, and going to Walmart is like a high school reunion or something. In case there was any doubt, I hate it! But money is good, and my parents are definitely less insane than the roommates. Oh, and my dye job was apparently kinda crappy (I'll blame that on the bf, he did it for me), cause by Saturday I had blue showing through. I just told my mom "Wow, I guess it was some kind of weird reaction from having my hair bleached before" and she totally bought it. Two more boxes of brown later, and I look normal again. Val

Well, this was my second full day with the parents, and it's not too bad so far. My only real complaint is that I'm really tired, because they aren't nocturnal and I'm being forced to completely reverse my sleep schedule. I got something like 12 job applications today that I'm turning in in the morning, and hopefully one of them will pan out. I've got an 'in' at a few of the places, beacuse my mom knows practically everyone in town. One of the very few advantages to being from such a small town. Anyway, we'll see how that turns out. The weekend was good, I had a lot of fun at the festival and got to spend all day Saturday with my bf. It's already been pretty rough being apart, because he's picking up double shifts now and we're trying not to run through all the minutes on the cell phone this early in the month. Apparently our roommates think I dumped him or something, despite his trying to convince them otherwise. I told him if they're gonna think that, he should at least tell them that I left him for a swarthy gardener type. I'm not sure he was amused. When I got to my uncle's house on Saturday morning, it was about 6:45 am and everyone but my mother was still in bed. (We were planning on leaving the house at about 7:15 to go to some of the festival stuff.) Apparently Friday was my cousin's 21st birthday, and his dad and my brother took him out drinking. For a couple hours all I could get my mom to tell me was "They're lucky no one's in jail" and then my brother staggered out of bed and I noticed he had a split lip. He got into a fight with someone, he thinks, but he can't remember who or why. And at some point he lost my uncle, who finally turned up at home around 4. Then later in the day we ran into my mom's ex-husband (my brother's dad) and his new girlfriend, which was weird anyway, and then he and my brother got into it over something stupid and my mom ended up telling him off. Well, I must sleep. More later. Val

So, I am now in possession of the rental car. Chevy Cobalt. And it has a CD player. Whoo hoo! I'm not too fussy about cars, as long as they can make it up hills (essential in WV) and the brakes work, so I'm happy. I'm wondering if I got ripped off though, because the original estimate for the weekend was about $62, and I ended up paying $110 because my insurance is liability only, and they made me buy their collision insurance. The guy insisted that I had no choice, but I don't know. But...being the passive (read:chicken) person that I am, I didn't really argue it. Mostly I wanted to get the hell out of there before it got any later and traffic got worse. Nothing like driving an unfamiliar car in rush hour traffic in the rain to get your blood pumping. It's supposed to rain all day today and all day tomorrow (both here and in WV) but supposedly most of the stuff at the festival is still on. I've got a bunch of laundry to do, and I'm writing this as an excuse to put it off. We're leaving at probably 3 am or so, so it's not like I don't have the time. And here's a little confession, I hate going down to the basement! It's scary and dark and there's a lot of spiders. I usually make the bf go down there and do the laundry. But I guess it'll only be worse after dark, so I should probably stop wasting time. Oh, and the hair is dark brown now. It covered the blue, thank god. Val

I'm feeling particularly murderous at the moment. Had to go to the grocery store in the middle of the day, right when all the kids were getting out of high school. (The store is between the school and the city bus stop, so I guess it's a good excuse to make your kids do the shopping for you.) This group of like 50 of them got into the store just ahead of me, and they were everywhere! They just wandered around, being in the way and standing in front of my cereal. Grrr. And of course I got in line ahead of some 90 year old woman complaining about how much salt is in tomato soup. This is why I only go shopping in the middle of the night. Anyway, I am going to that festival this weekend, and I'm coming back in about a month. I decided to go to my parents' for a while. We'll see how long it takes me to regret that decision. I will have internet, even if it is dialup. I bought hair dye while I was out (brown..*sigh*) so I have to take care of that tomorrow. I just really hope it covers the blue. My brother is supposedly meeting us this weekend, which is cool because I haven't seen him since...Christmas, I guess. He's I think 15 years older than me, so I never really spoke to him until not that many years ago. I'm possibly a little too excited about the fact that I'm renting a car for the weekend, since it's about a 3 hour drive. I just haven't been able to drive my car more than like a block without freaking out ever since I had all that trouble with it. It doesn't help that it makes all kinds of weird noises anyway, and it develops a wobble at about 55 mph. Yay for Enterprise! Val

Baseball, definitely. And tennis, although I like playing that more than watching. Val

I'm not too proud to admit that I was up until 4 am watching Encino Man. Ah, mindless entertainment. At one point I asked, "Ok, what was the point of that scene?" and my bf just gave me this incredulous look and said, "Did you really just say that?" It made me feel really old watching it, because everyone looked so young. At least Sean Astin sorta went on to better things. We have a new addition to the household, a tiny little orange kitten. He usually stays shut up in my upstairs roommate's bedroom, to keep him away from the baby, but I was actually sociable today and hung out with my roommates for a while and got to play with the kitty. He actually seemed to be afraid of the baby-he'd stalk up to her and she'd kick her legs and he'd run away, over and over again. Hours of fun. I'm trying to convince my parents that it's worth their time to drive up here and get me this weekend, so I can go to a festival with them. It's about an extra 2 1/2 hours past where they're going, and they didn't seem too keen on the idea. The downside for me is that I'd have to dye my hair a normal color, or I'd have to listen to snide remarks from my mother for the next 20 years. If I don't go, my roommate has some extra tickets to the college football game and invited the bf and me along. I know, I know, I said I hate football, and I do, but hey, it's free and it gets me out of the house. I'm absolutely refusing to go out today, because it's over 80, and it's hot enough inside. It's supposed to be in the 60s over the weekend, though. My dad and I are both the kind of people who go out in the snow in shorts, so I'm never really happy until winter. I think it's time for a nap, although maybe I deserve to be tired. My penance for watching a Pauly Shore movie. Val

I know we have a lot of sci-fi fans around here, so I was wondering if anyone else was looking forward to this movie "Serenity." I had never even seen the series before until this year, but one of my boyfriend's friends is completely obsessed with it and made us watch the DVDs. I thought it was an absolutely hilarious show, and hopefully the movie's going to be good. (It opens on the 30th, at least around here.) For those who don't know, the movie is based on the short-lived series "Firefly," created by Joss Whedon. I found a sort of primer about the plot and characters here: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2...-serenity_x.htm Val

So one of my roommates got hit by a car today. Not really, more like tapped by a car, but still. He was in a crosswalk at a stoplight and this lady just forgot to stop. He came around to her window to yell at her, and I guess she was afraid he was going to beat her up or something (this is the totally a**hole roommate I've mentioned, so I can't say I blame her) so she just took off. He's okay, he walked home and everything, but he was in an even worse mood than usual.

Congratulations Lore! I'm so happy for you. Val

I didn't go in, but I think they only rent films, and no books or CDs. And apparently they are not recruiting for their cult. I wonder if anyone's ever asked about that. Val

I was walking to the bank this afternoon and saw a little storefront I hadn't noticed before. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and just stared at it in shock, because the windows said "Foreign GLBT Cult, Free Membership." My boyfriend was laughing his ass off at me and I couldn't figure out why, until I realized it was a video store. What can I say, I didn't get any sleep last night.

Hey, no flirting in my blog! And thanks for the input, Michael. I am trying to stick to places that are relatively inexpensive (ha!) but I'm also looking for schools with a particular concentration, and that limited me a little. But, I think I've more or less got it narrowed down, finally. Val

This is my bunny, Emeril. I got him from the shelter about 2 years ago. I think he's 2 1/2 or 3 years old.

1. Who are you? Val 2. Are we friends? sure 3. When and how did we meet? um, a while back in chat 4. Do you have a crush on me? don't think so 5. Would you kiss me? nope 6. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it. How about just viv? 7. Describe me in one word. fun! 8. What was your first impression? you were the peacekeeper between the teenagers 9. Do you still think that way about me now? yep 10. What reminds you of me? giraffes 11. If you could give me anything what would it be? heh, the same thing you said for me 12. How well do you know me? not very 13. When's the last time you talked to me? last night 14. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't? no 15. Are you going to put this on your blog and see what I say about you? already did

Happy birthday Red! Val

Dolph Lundgren...HAH! I got: Jenson Button 99% Jonathan Woodgate 98% Christopher Masterson 98% Jason Segel 97% Jake Lloyd 97% The only one of those people I've ever heard of was Jenson Button, and I thought I was one of maybe 5 people in the US who had any idea who he was. Val

Ew, cold pizza is terrible. We actually stopped off in this 24-hour restaurant and my bf was smart enough to get breakfast food, but I was still fuzzy enough to think that I wanted spaghetti. And then I left my keys on the table and had to run back in and get them. Oops. Val

I'm looking forward to it. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, with another new director. Everyone's been freaking out because the movie got a PG-13 rating, and they're afraid that'll keep away a lot of the target audience. Personally, I think it means it'll probably be a better movie. Val

I curse the Yellow Face for coming through the window and waking me up. I could sleep all day if it wasn't for the sun. Actually, I have to take a shower right away. It's the only thing that really makes me alert, since my stomach can't handle coffee. Val

Well, I just finished watching the movie, and I have to agree: quite worth it. Very weird and funny.