Done with the April Showers

Wow.

It’s 9:30am, and I have nothing to do. This is not a promising situation here.

A few updates:

1. I did get stuck in a group with the annoying kid from yesterday’s post. And listen to how it happened: He came in late, so I didn’t have to talk to him, so I thought I was free and clear. So class started, the professor started talking about groups and he says “we have a group formed—it’s me, Brit, and the three Jennifers.” So I didn’t even get a chance to escape! The man is crazy! At that point, I figured there wasn’t much I could do, so looks like I’ll have to suck it up.

2. Recycling Guy: Haven’t mentioned him in a while—but there’s not much to update on. It’s still the usual witty banter, but that’s about it. He did come in the nick of time to get a wasp out of my office last week, though. It was stuck in the one window in my office that doesn’t open, and I’m allergic to bees (or at least I used to be…I haven’t been stung in years), so I was standing outside my office contemplating what to do when he came by to get my recycling. So he trapped it in a cup for me and let it outside. There’s something sexy about a guy that takes care of bugs for a girl, what can I say? I guess even I need to be rescued once in a while.

3. I am going to go buy myself a new digital camera this weekend! Mine sucks balls and takes horrible pictures, so it’s time to upgrade. I’m going to the camera store so I can be sure to try them all out, but I’m leaning toward this one. I had originally wanted this one but the lovely Madge suggested a Coolpix, and after cruising some pictures taken with Coolpix cameras on Flickr, I think it’s the way to go. I'll still check out the Kodak one, though. In a stroke of luck, my dad had about 60 bucks worth of gift cards for Ritz Cameras from when he bought a new digital last year, so I’ll be able to use them! Shweeeeet.


On this beautiful Friday, I would like to give you some entertainment. Another one of those "Funny Cat Videos" that are beyond silly, but always manage to make me laugh anyway:



PS: OH. MY. GOD.

It's going to start raining again

Items of note on this Wednesday:

~ I am so in love with the bed I bought, but it makes it very difficult to get my rear in gear in the mornings. I mean, if you were sleeping on clouds, would you want to get up?

~ I have successfully made Zuppa Toscana soup at home, and it tastes every bit as fabulous as it does at the Olive Garden.

~ I absolutely cannot stand Country Crock commercials. I don’t know what it is about them, but they drive me completely crazy. The cheesiness factor is too overwhelming, I hate their “let’s not show the actors’ faces” thing they have going on, and the voice-overs make me want to gag. And the chick sounds like maybe she was once a man.



~ I am currently reading Mountains Beyond Mountains for a class, and it is really excellent. Have any of you read it? The sub-title for the book is The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. I mean, that alone tells you you’re in for something crazy. I’m only 1/3 of the way through, and it’s already making me feel bad about myself because of all the incredible things this man did by my age. That’s not the point of the book, of course, but it’s really good. Go read it.

~ I’ve decided that this guy in my class would really hit it off with my best friend. I don’t know the guy very well, though, so I’m not really sure how to approach it. Should I just say “OK, I know this sounds weird but I think you’d really like my friend?” I suppose it’s worth a shot. Any suggestions on how to go about this? Usually when I hook people up I know both of them well so I can organize a group outing.

~ Why do some people have common sense while others have none at all? For example: A few weeks ago, we had a staff meeting that happened to fall on a coworker’s birthday, so we had cake at our meeting. Someone brought the extra cake and the knife used to cut it to the back room so people could graze the leftovers. When the cake was done and gone, however, whoever put the knife away did not bother to wash it. We wanted to use it today and it was covered in crusty old chocolate from weeks ago. I mean, hello!

~ And what would a Junniper post be without a statement of some item that I bought that I didn’t need nor can really afford?? But it was so pretty:

I mean, it has polka dots on the inside lining! Now Spring needs to get here so I can wear it.

~ Funny video for the day:




~ That’s all.

State of My Union

George Walker is giving his cowboy speech State of the Union Address at the moment. I watched the first part of it, but now I can only listen from afar. I find that my blood pressure rises considerably when I watch him speak. Bastard.

But there was that beautiful moment when, for the first time in U.S. history, the melodious words were spoken at a national address:

"Madam Speaker..."

I will admit publicly that I teared up a little. Hey, I'm probably PMS-ing.

Anyway--

Look at this beautiful bundle of joy:

Yes, it's my bed. Yes, I realize it's weird that I just posted a picture of my bed, but it's NEW!

I bought it this weekend and had my first glorious night in it last night and it was heaven. It was a very adult purchase, I must admit. I decided to forgo a new digital camera or the lambskin rug in favor of this much more luxurious item.

It's fantastic. No buyer's remorse whatsoever.

Jane was pretty ticked when I had to shut her in the bathroom when the guys came to set it up. As I was shutting the door the bed-man looked past me and said "Holy shit! Is all that yours??"

I turned to see what on earth he was talking about--

Oh. It was my outrageous jewelry collection:

"Kyle! You gotta check out this girl's jewelry!"

[No, I'm not kidding]

So Kyle comes in, and the two of them gawk at my stuff while I look in amazement that this is actually happening. They actually start discussing my taste in earrings.

"So...did you want me to leave you two alone?" I asked with only a hint of bitchy--

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

I'm the first to admit that yeah...maybe I have a little too much jewelry. But that's just how I am. A woman has a right to her jewelry.

Ahem.

OK, I'm done now.

I leave you this---my Jane, looking quite tuckered out after the ordeal of having to change beds. Oh! It's so hard to be a cat!

Achoo!

I cannot stop sneezing and it’s driving me crazy.

Crazy, I tell you!

I can’t tell if this is just healing or if I have actually been stupid enough to catch a cold. I just can’t tell! And sneezing doesn’t exactly feel good on sinuses that have just been roughed up.


::::::

So I’m taking another weekend class where I have class one weekend a month for three months—it’s terrible sitting in class for so long, but it’s a good way to get a class in without a weekly commitment.

Anyway, it’s something about advocacy training in the public sector, and it centers around speaking in public. Now, I’ve never had trouble speaking in public, so this class should be a breeze. BUT—I looked through the textbooks for the class and I swear they’re like self-help books for people who can’t do public speaking.

Now, I know it’s very difficult for some people to speak in front of others. But if you’re working on your MPA, a fear of public speaking is not a great attribute. And having to take a class about “finding your center” and all that is not appealing to me.

Oh well. Should be an easy A.

Speaking of speeches, the annual Tom McCall Forum has been canceled, much to my dismay. It’s a debate put on annually by my alma mater where they invite two political figures—one conservative and one liberal—and they debate over a set issue. It’s always a blast. I went last year with Tom Daschle and Pat Buchanan (I would link to my post but it was pre-hijacker). This year was supposed to be Jack Kemp and John Edwards! Since Edwards has put in his bid for the 2008 presidency, he had to cancel and previously scheduled paid appearances. Bummer.

::::::

I was glad that the little boy lost in Missouri was found—and even gladder that the other kid that was missing for four years was found. But the behavior of the families seems a little weird to me. I mean, if my son that was lost for four years was just found less than a week ago, the last thing I would do is a damn media tour. But this Shawn kid’s parents are dragging him from network to network and they’ve even already had an exclusive Oprah interview.





GO HOME AND BE WITH YOUR SON. Oprah and Company can wait.

::::::

I think I’m going to get this rug:

It’s pure lambswool heaven. It’s expensive ($150!), but the same rug sells elsewhere for over $500—no joke. My step-mom has the same one and she paid over $500. And it’s oh so soft and cozy. Now I just need a fireplace and we’ll have the perfect seduction location.

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And now this is too cool---I found this at Tristan's Brilliant Blog.

Turn yourself into an M&M!



Here is my self-rendition, M&M style--