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11/30/2007

The First Decade Of Jodi

Wrapping up NaBloPoMo 2007 with a timeline* of the first decade of my life. I've had fun posting every day this month, even though many days it was just to post something. But, I did it and that's what matters.

Year 1: I obviously don't remember, but according to my family, we lived in a "shack" in Northern Virginia. I really wanted to see it later on, but there is a road where it once stood. My Mom strung popcorn for our Christmas tree and mice ate at it. We did have indoor plumbing (I asked).

Year 2: Again, I'm not remembering too much of this time, but I know we moved to the "beach house." The one with huge staircase I tumbled down resulting in my first (and so far, only) ambulance ride, but no injuries.

Year 3: I became a big sister. I don't really remember my sister too much as a baby. There will be stories later though.

Year 4: Because of an autumn birthday, I started kindergarten. I walked to the primary school, which was very close to my house. Sometimes, my Mom substitute taught in my class. I got in trouble at nap time for giggling and it took the entire school year for me to learn how to skip.

Year 5: I had a cool blue coin purse shaped like a fish. The mouth of the fish is where it opened. I tried to sleep away from home for the first time (literally, right down the street), but had to call my Mom to take me home around 10 pm. My parents got divorced.

Year 6: My best friend, Vickie, and I had a crush on the same boy. This went on for a while until he moved away. I'm not really sure how he felt about either of us. I participated in my town's Bicentennial parade.

Year 7: I was a cheerleader for the local equivalent of Little League for football. We had HUGE white pom-poms and thought we were hot stuff. Practice was often held in my back yard. Go Eagles!

Year 8: Moved up from primary school to secondary school, which meant that I got to ride a school bus. I also got paddled in front of my entire class for laughing when someone else got paddled.

Year 9: I caught the chicken pox from my sister on Halloween (she broke out the next day). It made me cancel a sleep-over. The good thing was that my friend Carol, who lived down the street, caught them the same night, so we got to play together while staying home "sick" from school.

Year 10: My Mom got remarried and we moved to a big city. I had my own room for the first time since being a big sister. I also got to experience the first of several times of being "the new girl" at school. I learned to never get a home perm the night before starting a new school ever again.

*Timeline idea from page 51 of:
No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog.

11/29/2007

A BALD Monkey?

We went to a 25th anniversary screening of E.T. tonight by 'The Academy'. The only big screen I'd ever seen it on was one at a drive-in back in '83 with my sister and grandmother. It holds up pretty well and the new print we watched looked great. I'd wager that 99% of the audience at least got a little misty by the end of the film, aside from those who were sniffling quite loudly. A Q&A followed and included several crew members as well as Dee Wallace and Henry Thomas, little Elliot all grown up.

I was a bit astonished that someone coming to the gorgeous theater we were in, complete with giant Oscar® statues at the front of the room, would bring a baby with them. A noisy baby. Security eventually kicked them out, thank goodness. Oh, and there of course was the couple of cell phones that went off during the movie. I guess it's now just part of the moving-going experience. Ugh.

11/28/2007

Phone Home

Total cop-out, poorly written moblog as I won't be home by midnight. Rules are just to post though, right? Sorry if I don't pique your interest.

11/27/2007

The Devil's In The Details

I really enjoy the show Reaper. Sure, it's silly and often predictable, but whatever. I like it, shut up. Ray Wise great as Satan. I'm also quite fond of the lead, Bret Harrison. I got a kick out of him back when he was on Grounded For Life. Now he's all grown up and quite funny.

bret

The show kind of makes me home sick in a way. Yes, because I'm a spawn of the Devil. No, seriously, Bret Harrison looks a lot like my youngest brother. Or vice versa. I don't have a good current photo, but here's a not-so-good one from a couple of years ago.

tracykyleguy2

Hopefully, the similarities end there and K isn't having to spend his free time capturing souls who have escaped from Hell.

*Update: Swiped a more recent photo of my brother from MySpace:

kyle

11/26/2007

Sniffly

No, I don't have a cold. Just a little weepy. I'm okay though. I just saw a fantastic film, that I knew I wanted to see immediately upon seeing the trailer a few weeks ago. LACMA did a preview screening tonight.

Seeing as I just got home and I need to eat, do laundry, take out the garbage, watch Heroes, and post this by midnight, I'll share more later.

P.S. RIP Peanut.

11/25/2007

Bitey

I screamed and nearly bit E tonight as we drove by the actual Hollywood Tower building on Franklin Avenue. I swear, I'm traumatized for life.

11/24/2007

Crap Fair

Geez. The Tired Girl Collective's first real 'craft fair' experience could not be summed up as successful. Granted, I'm not too sure many of the vendors who participated in the Handmade For The Holidays show did gangbusters business. It was pretty pathetic. Several sellers didn't even show up today. We were optimistic that today would be much better than Black Friday. It was worse. Worse. Between the three of us, we did not even make the cost of the table back in sales. Eep. I don't think we were completely a wrong fit for the event, which though fairly well organized, suffered from timing, lack of promotion, and location.

All was not completely lost. The lovely Nina, who professes to really dislike crafts, stopped by to say hello anyway, along with her mom. I also got to meet a certain Ambitious Hamster's dad! That was a fun surprise. I also did have a couple of completely insane-for-hamsters customers.

I guess one of the benefits of not selling out of merchandise, as I'd hoped to, is that I already have prizes to send to my two contest winners: Nanette and Nicole! Not that it did anything to boost comments. In fact, I got fewer than on some other posts. Maybe I should not try to bribe folks!

11/23/2007

What Now?

Reading: Roasting In Hell's Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay. It was a blast to see him in person this past week. It was a little disappointing to not have him yell at me. I'd probably cry though, so it's for the best.

Listening: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon. This is a great album and I can't stop listening to it. We saw them live a couple of weeks ago and they were fantastic. I was really happy they had a horn section on stage.

Watching: Pushing Daisies, one of the newer shows I like and will miss when all of the current episodes have aired. It's wonderfully quirky.

Selling: Hamster balls and Hamster Haiku with the Tired Girl Collective at the Handmade for the Holidays Craft Fair.

Dreading: Work tomorrow. Ugh. I'd rather be at the craft fair (see above).

Dreaming Of: Sleep. I will be fulfilling this very, very soon.

11/22/2007

Moblog From Disneyland

Went on the Tower of Terror ride @ California Adventure. I hate rides like that and got talked into it. I bit Eric on the arm. After punching him in the same arm "about 12 times." (That's his count).

11/21/2007

Just Plain, No Whipped Cream Please

Even though I can hardly believe it's Thanksgiving tomorrow, I'm suddenly craving pumpkin pie really badly. Hopefully, there will not be a repeat last year's incident though. We shall see what happens.

11/20/2007

I Love My Hamster, But...

...I thought I was going to commit rodentcide in the wee hours of the morning. Now, Ami's prime workout time usually begins between 1 and 3 am. No big deal. He runs in his wheel, which is actually pretty quiet, and does this running back and forth and over and under circuit training between the two habitats that are connected as his luxurious home. Fine.

Well, this morning, sometime between 1 and 2 am, I was awakened by this noxious gnawing and crunching sound. I'm not an especially light sleeper, so this was LOUD. I realized that Ami was trying to chew through his thick plastic wheel on the outside of one end of his condo. I hop out of bed, using my cell phone as a light and try to reason with the little dude.

Snuggled back under my covers, drifting off, he started up once again. I yelled at him, "AMI! STOP!" The two dogs who were curled up on the bed with me confirmed how crazy this sounded with looks of disbelief before they went back to dreamland. I got up, turned on a light, and opened up the container containing All Things To Amaze And Delight Your Hamster. I grabbed a tiny cob of corn, yogurt covered blueberries, sunflower seeds, and two wooden chew toys. I tossed them in the house. He sniffed each item, looked back at me, and went to the lower level of that section, ignoring the treasures I'd bestowed upon him. Lights off and back to bed I went and sure enough, the little brat started with the chewing again. Ugh.

In the end, the hamster lived and I slept...at least a little. He's so darn cute and it's in his nature to try and escape from captivity, as all good hamsters do. You all know I'd never hurt him! At least on purpose. Let's hope he's forgotten about that time I dropped him.

DSC04805

"This pumpkin is shit."

***Don't forget! You still have just about 24 hours to enter the contest by leaving a comment! On that post. Good luck!

11/19/2007

The Strike Affects All Of Us

I am in support of the Writer's Guild and what they are trying to accomplish. No, I'm not a writer or even in The Industry. But, as the WGA strikes, we are all affected, in some way or another. I have some very good friends who are actors, another who is an Emmy winning editor of a very popular television show, and one who works post-production on a drama. They are feeling the pain of their livelihoods being completely shutdown.

But, let's talk about ME and how this whole thing impacts my life, or specifically how it had a direct effect on things this very night. About a month ago, I got word from fellow SoCal Duranie (shut up!) that we could get free tickets to an outdoor mini-concert Duran Duran was to do in Hollywood. I secured my two tickets and found a friend who was excited to go along. This free event was in conjunction with the band's appearance on a late night talk show and they were going to perform five or six songs on the stage behind the building on Hollywood Boulevard.

Of course, due to the strike, the program is in reruns and so...no free Duran Duran show. So, as you can clearly see, we can all potentially suffer and should get involved to get this industry moving again.

Granted, I haven't even bought the new Duran Duran album and probably didn't deserve a free show after all. Part of the reason is that I didn't really like the first song I heard. I blame Justin Timberlake.

11/18/2007

You Got To Leave Me Now

Feeling melancholy about seeing Nickel Creek for possibly the last time ever. More later.

11/17/2007

Fragged

My computer has been defragging for HOURS. If I can even get into it before the end of the day, I'll do a real post.

11/16/2007

Cheap Trick

In the spirit of holiday giving, needing a post for NaBloPoMo, and wanting more comments, SnarkyDork Blog is having a contest! Yay! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by next Wednesday, November 21st by 11:59 pm. You do not have to have an account or enter any verification codes. You can even log in anonymously, but then it'd be hard to get your prize to you. So, no excuses for not leaving a little note here. And hey, you may just get something in return.

So, what do you get? Well, two lucky, randomly picked visitors will get a one-of-kind handmade hamster ball, complete with an optional Santa hat if you want, and a signed copy of my book, Hamster Haiku. The hamster ball can make a cute ornament and both things can make great holiday gifts if you aren't so into adorable little fluffy rodents yourself.

Comment away and good luck to you all!

11/15/2007

Bore, Bored, Boring

I'm completely bored with the look of this blog, not to mention the content, but that's another topic all to itself. I've played around a bit with templates that made it even bleaker, so I switched back to what you see. I'm not talented enough to do something completely awesome and custom on my own, and I'm too cheap to pay someone to do that. If anyone has any good, easy, and free tips, I'll gladly accept.

Instead of updating my blog, I really should be making hamsters for an upcoming craft fair. No, not Felt Club. I didn't get accepted into that one. However, I will *sort of* be a part of Felt Club this coming Sunday. At the event, there will be the "all-new" Maker Square, a scaled down version of the Maker Faire that we participated in this past Spring. E was invited to participate with all of his exhibits, including our Dorkbake oven, so I'll be there to help out. So, if you are stopping by to see the crafts, come say hi.

Speaking of crafts...it's time to makes some hamsters.

*I obviously changed the look of this place after posting the above.

11/14/2007

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

When I lived in places that actually had significant weather, I like watching the Weather Channel. It fascinated me. Especially when we lived on the coast of Texas and had hurricanes threaten us, I'd check in frequently for the latest status. Keep in mind, this was pre-internet.

Now, whenever there is the least bit of earth trembling, I log in to this site to see where the earthquake was located and its magnitude. Some kind of sick fascination? Maybe. More likely, I just like to be informed.

Naturally, I love a Firefox addon called eQuake Alert that I recently discovered. Every time the earth shakes somewhere in the world, your browser shakes and the magnitude and location show up in the bottom of the window. Besides the major activity in Chile today, there's been quite a bit of 2.5-3.0 shaking in Central California. Good to know.

11/13/2007

Blow Out That Cherry Bomb

So, we're winding down on the birthdays around here. We had a good time celebrating E's transition to the next decade this past weekend, in spite of me getting sick toward the end. We hit an artsy street fair in Burbank and chowed on some Hawaiian food Saturday afternoon. Then we went on the Neon Cruise, which was fabulous. At some point, I'll be posting photos, but I haven't downloaded them yet.

On Sunday, we got a later start than hoped, but enjoyed running around the Rose Bowl Flea Market for a couple of hours. E had a conversation with someone he had met 22 years ago and also picked up an old game from his childhood. I found a $3 pink dress for Cosette to wear when I get around to doing some photos for her 15th birthday, which is today.

After that, we ran a couple of errands then headed home to get gussied up for the Magic Castle. The night there was a lot fun as we celebrated with 10 of our friends. I'd heard the food has vastly improved since we'd eaten there before and it's true. Now, I've never eaten a fancy gourmet meal like Jenn and Nanette have, but I do appreciate a good filet mignon from time to time, which is what I ate. It was one of the most tender steaks I've ever eaten. We also had really good performers, so the evening ended with great entertainment following the fantastic meal.

Unfortunately, I'm still under the weather and will be heading back to bed now. I hope you, my loyal three readers, are all better than I feel.

11/12/2007

Blah

Well, I didn't listen to a certain ambitious hamster and put my mantra in positive terms and I got sick. Boo. A nasty head cold that I'm hoping will pass with fluids, vitamins, and rest. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully, loud music will help too since I have a concert (seated, thankfully) tonight.

In the meantime, in an effort to not fail NaBloPoMo, I'm blathering on about nothing in particular. I had a couple of post ideas, but instead I'm just being boring and annoying myself. I'd better sign off.

Here's to feeling better tomorrow.

11/11/2007

Sign Of Rain

We may actually get a drizzle today (they are calling it a "storm" on news reports, but only .02 inches are predicted). That won't put a damper on E's birthday festivities though, dammit. I'm hoping this cold that I'm starting to develop won't either. Ugh. Bad, bad timing.

So, I'm interrupting this blog post-which honestly was going nowhere fast-to chant today's mantra over and over:

I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick.

11/10/2007

The Weekend Of The Big 4-0 Is Upon Us

We are celebrating the 40th anniversary of E's birth this weekend. Well, I'm forcing him to celebrate and he's going along with it, sort of groaning all the while. Yeah, getting old sucks, but it certainly beats the alternative. Last night, we saw Blade Runner: The Final Cut. We could be more like the Replicants and only have a four-year life span, you know?

Tonight, we'll be freezing our asses off on enjoying a three-hour open top double decker bus neon tour of Los Angeles. Yes, we sort of did this before, but it was for a private party and therefore, abbreviated. We've been wanting to experience the whole thing. I just have to dig out my hat and gloves. While the days are still quite pleasant and warm, the nights are getting to be a little chilly. I'm still sleeping with a fan though. Go figure.

E's actual birth date is tomorrow, Veteran's Day. Weather permitting, we plan to go to the Rose Bowl Flea Market early in the day. Later, we have a group joining us for dinner and magical good times at the "world famous" Magic Castle. My goal is to prove to E that you can be as old as dirt, but still get out on the town and have a great time. Ha!


11/09/2007

Ho, Ho, Ho...No, No,No

Maybe since Christmas is promoted earlier and earlier each year, or so it seems, I get scroogier earlier each year. I'm not ready for the bombardment of ads and seeing the decorated tree and Santa setup at the mall. I'm still munching on candy corn, for crikey's sake!

I need to get it together a little though and at least pretend to feel festive. In a couple of weeks, the Tired Girl Collective will be participating in the Handmade For The Holidays Craft Fair. It's November 23rd and 24th at Fairfax High School. So, it's time to break out the hot glue because I've got a lot of hamster ball ornaments to make before then.

This should prove to be an interesting undertaking, as I'm currently reigning as The Laziest Person In The World.

11/08/2007

English Blood

Another outtake from my non-unicorn decorated dream journal:

08/26/05:

We're somewhere with a group of people. At one point I think it's Sundance and wonder where D. is. For some reason, I go to a doctor. The nurse draws some blood, but says it isn't enough.

All of as sudden, I'm getting an IV hooked up to me and a bag of blood for a transfusion. I start freaking out and say, "I won't ever be able to donate blood again since we're in England!"

Someone says to me, "Well, you probably shouldn't have eaten that cheeseburger either."

11/07/2007

Sure, Mr. Poop

Michael: Children cannot lie, they are innocent and they speak the truth. Out of the mouths of babes, Michael Scott is freakin' cool.

I love kids. Other people's kids. I work with children and am quite often amused by them. I have a particularly animated and funny (all boys) group right now. One of them has taken to quoting Nacho Libre, which I've never even seen. A younger boy is now imitating the one who started it all, so we have a 9-year old and a 6-year old going around saying things like, "I believe in science!" and "Don't be judgin' me." There are a couple of teenagers who also get in on the act and yes, I guess you have to be there, but it gets silly and makes me giggle.

THE word of the past couple of days has been "whatevah," said with some sort of Brooklyn accent. I'm not sure where that one came from, but the One Who Is Six now greets me that way, complete with a dismissive hand wave. This afternoon he told me how for lunch he ate, "A whole chicken. Even the bones," while chuckling gleefully. I suggested that he might have also eaten the feathers, but that was too much and was deemed, "Ew."

Besides the Funny Ones, there is the Confused One who cannot ever remember my name. Each day, he runs through a list, "Lesley?" "Stephanie?" "Christina?" At some point, I cue him, "It starts with a J..." and he continues "Janie?", occasionally getting to "Jodi," but often not until I've given him the first sound, "Jo..." and then it's usually "Joanna" as the first guess. Yesterday , after a few tries, he grinned and said, "Oh, I know! Big Head! Yep, that's your name. Big Head." So, maybe he's not so mixed up after all. I mean, it's a fact that I do have a big baby head!

11/06/2007

Phoning It In

Not sure I'll be home in time to post. Long terrible day. No lunch. No dinner yet either. Blergh.

11/05/2007

Attention Hamster Fans!

...or those of you who just want to humor me...

A couple of delicious links of hamstery goodness:

Check out this adorable webcomic called Hamleto The Hamster.

For something a bit more twisted, I give you Hamster Deathmatch!

Introducing the Mark II model of the Hamster-Powered Paper Shredder.

And of course, hello to all from Ami:

Ami

11/04/2007

Pretty Pretty Princess

I smell like a wet dog. Charming, I know. Rusty gets bathed regularly for his work as a therapy dog. Cosette and Little Guy were way overdue for a good scrubbing. It wasn't just washing, but also teeth brushing, claw trimming, paw hair clipping, and lots and lots of brushing. Neither of them enjoyed the process too much, but they certainly look--and smell--much better. I collected the equivalent of a small dog in fur from Cosette. She is now dematted and looks slimmer.

Fourteen and Sassy

In a little over a week, my forever "puppy girl" Cosette will be 15. She's a tough girl, who survived an extensive cancer surgery nearly three years ago. Even though she's mostly deaf and at times a little spacey, she is still pretty smart. And while she indulges in more naps than usual, she definitely has spunk and gets pretty energetic at night.

Easy Breezy

It only seems fitting that for Cosette's upcoming birthday, I should get her a pretty princess dress and do a photo shoot at the fountain on Los Feliz. That's what most girls celebrating their QuinceaƱera do, right?

11/03/2007

It's Only Day 3....

What

...and I'm already resorting to a photo. Crap. This posting every day thing is gonna be harder than I thought. What was I thinking?

11/02/2007

Brain Overload

I was up super early today, normally my day off, to go to a continuing education course in the O.C. I go back tomorrow and Sunday as well. It was an informative day in which I learned new things and validated some things that I already do. I actually stayed awake for all of the lectures, even when the a/c broke in the afternoon, causing the auditorium to heat up.

I'm attending the class with one of my favorite co-workers, which makes it fun. Even if we did get rear-ended on the way home this evening. Her car, not mine. Only a scraped bumper, which she did not seem too concerned about. I'm driving tomorrow, so I'm hoping for a little less excitement.

11/01/2007

Halloween Recap

or How I Could Never Be A Street Walker...

Once again, I enjoyed a marathon Halloween. I read over last year's post to make sure I wouldn't be too repetitive, as some things are sort of tradition. As much as things stay the same though, it's always different.

In terms of costumes this year, Halloween was quite easy and economical. My department at work voted to do 101 Dalmations. A smaller group of us had done that 10 or 11 years ago and fortunately, I kept everything. For nighttime, E wore his Ro-Man costume from last year and I dressed up as the space girl that accompanied Ro-Man in the Dorkbake competition. Unfortunately, I've gained some weight since then and tore the dress a little putting it on. A quick sewing job took care of it, but I'd prefer to lose some pounds before wearing it again.

We didn't really have many trick-or-treaters this year. Of course, a group of greedy people only with babies did come by. I gave them candy, but wasn't happy about it. The fact that we didn't decorate this year might be one reason why the crowds were thinner.

Once the trick-or-treating had died down, we donned our costumes and made a couple of local stops before heading to West Hollywood. E had promised to show off his outfit to some friends. We then stopped by a house with an elaborate animatronic yard display put up by another friend.

The West Hollywood Carnaval was as wild as ever. Lots and lots of people. Tons of fantastic and creative costumes. We walked up and back along Santa Monica Boulevard for three hours. We were both hit on by men. No kidding. Damn were my feet killing me! I had on my silver platform boots, which nearly killed me after all that time. I resorted to taking them off at the end, stepping on pavement gingerly with my sore, raw feet. I ended up sitting on a curb in Beverly Hills while E walked the remaining few blocks to get the car. I don't know how hookers, trannies, and go-go dancers do it.

All in all, an enjoyable Halloween that has come and gone. The only disappointment is the fact that I did not take a single photo.
 

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