Tuesday October 31, 2006: A day of frustration.

I am being driven crazy by the General People I work with. I keep having the same conversation over and over with different groups of people I work with, including my boss' boss.

Them: "Well, just bring your laptop and we can work on it while we're in there." (or varying other permutations of this same statement)

Me: "My PC is a desktop--I'd bring it, but I think it might be kind of heavy! ;)" (With the kidding mostly to defuse my growing frustration at having this same convo overandover)

Them: What!?!?! Really?? You're kidding!

So, since my desktop is heading slowly for the great computer lab in the sky, I brought up its eventual replacement with my boss. She said that when I started this job, she had requested a laptop for me, but they ended up just bringing my old PC along from my old area. She also said that when the time comes, to request a laptop.

So, today I talked to our admin to find out what to do when that time comes, and she said that she believes that people of my level can't get laptops--only managers and above.

Sighhhh. So they should post this somewhere so people stop acting shocked when I don't bring my laptop to a meeting. It's starting to get on my nerves (and honestly it's making me feel a little weird).

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!

..................click or cut/paste...if you dare (muhahaha)....................

http://www.americangreetings.com/view.pd?i=418960190&m=4616&source=ag992

Happy Halloween!

Scare-edith

PS--Cover your speakers so the screaming doesn't scare your neighbors.

J.L. of Wauconda has requested a baby update...

...and, since we're full-service here at mairzydoats (and customer service is my number one priority*), I will oblige.

Dave has now completed his medical form journey. I am mailing the forms to Rockford today, so that the homestudy can be finished and sent off to DCFS. We have one more form that needs to be picked up at the Dr's office for him, but it's not needed for the home study.

Then:
The 171H immigration form is applied for and received back (6 weeks)
The dossier gets put together and sent to Chicago for US and Chinese authentication (2 weeks?)
The dossier gets sent to China and is translated (2 weeks?)
We get a Log In Date (LID)
We wait. (13 months, currently)

Also, last weekend (not this one just past, but the one before that), Dave and I were in Madison WI for a mandatory so-you're-adopting conference put on by our agency.

Now, let me preface this report by stating (in my own defense, I think) that I have limited patience for other people explaining things to me. I am very patient when it comes to my explaining things to others--this bothers me not at all. However, for myself, I can't even stand to read the directions to a board game (this will not surprise my mother, Dave or any others who know me well).

So, the conference... Mostly, it was about 30 of us sitting in the church part of a United Church of Christ in Fitchburg WI, listening to a series of people talk from 830 am until 430 pm. Ugh.

Reasons why it was OK:
1) They had a pediatrician come in to talk about the varied and different issues internationally adopted kids have. He was cool and it was interesting. It was mostly stuff I have not read about already, which I like.
2) They had a pair of recent new parents come in to talk, and although I thought they were nambypambys, they had a few interesting things to say. Plus, their daughter was cute! She had learned American Sign Language (ASL) even though she wasn't deaf and she was signing away. So cute!

Reasons why I hated it:
1) I can't sit that long in one place
2) Except for the pediatrician and a little bit the parents had to say, I had already read every thing that was talked about online
3) Some of the other parents-to-be were sissies**
4) The presenters talked too slowly. If I'm going to be forced to rehear things, at least give it to me quickly, huh?

Anyway--it was required and now it's over! Yay!

We did get a chance to have dinner with my aunt/uncle/cousin who live up that way, so that was really nice :)


*that and world domination

**
Exhibit A: I couldn't find any organic formula in Hong Kong, wahhhhh!
Exhibit B: I don't travel well, wahhh!
Exhibit C: We never eat candy and that's all we could find to eat in the airport., wahhhh!
Exhibit D: The thing that worries me most about adopting is the travelling to China, wahhhh!

Fellow adopters, those things aren't even on my top 100 of things to worry about.

As is mentioned in one of my favorite comedy shows ever--No Cure For Cancer--I did think of buying each of my compatriots a copy of Dr. Denis Leary's book: Shut the F*ck Up.

"he just told me to shut the f* up and I felt much better about myself. it was amazing"

Something that would not surprise Dave:

You Are 60% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side.Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

Like I just told Meg, I think this mostly has to do with vengence and wishing harm on others. And enjoying setting things on fire. Picking evil over stupid, fistfights, prank phone calls. Killing bugs, breaking the law. And shooting a gun (well, in my defense, they didn't specify where or how). Oh, world domination. Let's see, what else?

But not so much on the vandalism and illegal downloads, though. You know, so there's still time.

E.L.O is my new boyfriend

Okay, it's more of an old flame. I dug out my ELO's greatest hits yesterday and remembered that I love them! Then--Turn To Stone was on the radio while I was out at lunch :) (german shorthaired pointer!*)

ELO's greatest hits--a good Xmas present for people who don't hate them.

So, everyone except communists.



*I was walking and talking with a friend of mine once about dogs and what different kinds of dogs looked like. I mentioned that I really liked German Shorthaired Pointers, but was having a hard time successfully describing what they looked like. Five minutes later, one ran past.

Hence, anytime something happens right after you were just talking about it? --> German Shorthaired Pointer.

Guess where i am?

I'm in the bathtub! Yay mobile posting! (Although maybe not for you...) Anyway, it's snowing again- Yay snow!

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

Looky, l'm at Panera for lunch!

York Theatre (Elmhurst, IL), Theatre Visit #2

Dave and I visited the York on Sat 9/30/06. We were supposed to be attending the Toby Keith concert (Dave's company does work for TK), but there was a ticket snafu. Since we had already checked into the hotel, we looked around to find something else to do in beautiful downtown Elmhurst...

The York Theatre is beautiful and a lot bigger than I expected. I guess being used to the Woodstock, I expected it to be smaller. The screen where we saw our movie (see the Jack*ss 2 review) is the second picture down on the left in the link below (the pic with the organ). It was huge!**

http://www.classiccinemas.com/history/york.asp

The theatre is on a street that has a bunch of little old shops and streetlights, so, again, the ambience is old-timey and nice :)


It's funny--the whole place smelled like both popcorn and my paternal Grandma's house (which did not smell like popcorn). It was so nice and comforting, even though I don't know exactly what it was that made it smell like Grandma's.

(As opposed to my maternal Grandma's house, which smelled like roast beast. Mmmmm.)

Which one will we visit next? Will it be St. Charles, Carpentersville, Elk Grove Village, Fox Lake, Oak Park, Freeport, Kankakee, Naperville, or Downers Grove?

Only I know. Moohoo-hahahah!




**I may have forgotten to mention in my Jack*ss 2 review, the guy who barfed on the floor--twice--during the showing. Maybe he was drunk, maybe he had a weak stomach? The part of the film during which he hurled really wasn't gross (offensive, maybe, but not gross), so maybe it was the demon rum? Who knows... I'm just glad that the room was big enough for him not to be right next to us. Yuck.

Woodstock Theatre (Woodstock, IL), Theatre Visit #1

We've been to the Woodstock Theatre a million times--it's one of our local theatres. The history of the building is linked below.

It's a 3 or 4 screen theater (4, I think) with a petite lobby full of popcorn(!) and an old-fashioned outside ticket booth. It's located on the beautiful Woodstock Square, which really lends itself to the old-timey illusion. The theatre is also featured in the movie Groundhog Day, which was filmed almost entirely on the Square (the place where the groundhog comes out? Woodstock Square).--> http://www.silverscreens.com/cinesaucine/en/groundhogday.html

There are a bunch of great restaurants nearby, including the Public House right next door (non-smoking, bonus!), plus a Starbucks and DQ within walking distance.

I thoroughly enjoy any visit I make to CC's Woodstock Theatre!

(I'll post a picture the next time I drive by!)


http://www.classiccinemas.com/history/woodstock.asp

Embarking on a brand new quest: Classic Cinemas

Classic Cinemas (http://www.classiccinemas.com/) owns/has helped restore various old movie houses in the Greater Chicagoland Metropolitan Area (Becky and Susan will remember this general area from our college days).

Currently there are 11 theaters in their collection and most have that old marquee look--they're really neat! The have gift certificates called Reel Money available, which I think is so cute!

I've decided that Dave and my new hobby is going to be visiting all 11 of the grand old ladies (or gentlemen?).

Two down, 9 to go!

NewPhone is desparately trying to curry my favor...

I've discovered 2 features about NewPhone that I think are really cool (one I can vouch for, one I haven't tried yet).

Cool feature1:
It has a D-Day counter. You put in the event and date, and NewPhone counts down (and displays on-screen, if you like) the number of days "until". 18 days til Halloween!

It's a little weird/creepy that they actually call it a "D" day counter, but...

Cool feature 2:
MusicID. You're listening to the radio or a commercial or a band in the park. You hear a song/piece of music you like, but can't identify it. You can record a snippet of it with your phone and send it to MusicID via your phone, and MusicID will identify it and text you back the name.

That is the coolest thing ever! If it works as well as it seems (and if it doens't cost an arm and a leg), it might be even cooler than the internet itself!!


You might be trying to get on my good side, NewPhone, but one of these features is having the best. week. ever.

Kidnapping is bad.

The other weekend, Dave and I were in Elmhurst at the Classic Cinemas (more on that later). While I was in the ladies' room, I saw a woman walking through the bathroom holding her hands over the eyes of her 8-9 year old son.

It didn't bother me--I'm immodest, it wouldn't have bothered me to share a bathroom with a grown man--but I was a little amused and a little saddened.

It was funny to see the mom's expression as she wheeled her son through the room, but the reason that she felt the need to do so is sad commentary on our childrens' safety.

Might a 9 year-old boy be kidnapped or molested in a movie theater? Yep. And that's really sad.

I once ran into a man in Gurnee Mills who looked like he was trying to make the same decision about his little girl (5-6 years old?). I said I'd keep an eye on her in the ladies' room and he took me up on the offer.

I did say that I'd give him my driver's license while his daughter was in the washroom with me, but he declined. I figured it was a fairer trade--he'd want his daughter back in one piece and I'd want my ID.

I don't think I would have declined my offer, if the situation had been reversed.

I heart this blog from anywhere stuff.

I'm on my cell right now!

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

Testing my cell phone blogging ability!

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

Am I still having alignment issues?

Ack! It works!

I'm so excited! If my cell phone had juice, I'd try that too (c'mon eBay accessories!).

Tomorrow--cell phone blog experimentation begins!

Appparently one can bold and underline things, too.  Oh now I'm really never going to stop talking...

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Breaking a Chicago record for earliest measureable amount (3/10 inch @ O'Hare).


YAY SNOW!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to marry Radio Shack and eBay too.

Radio Shack and I really should have gotten married long ago. I even still have my first tiny AM/FM/tape player that I got for Xmas (it's in my linen closet).

It's not that RS is the first place I stop--it's really expensive--but, if you can't find it at RS, it doesn't exist. If the video-game-playing technowizards they've got working there can't dig it up out of their collection of obscure catalogs (or fish it out of their online morass of electronic widgets), it simply hasn't been invented yet.

(Just don't look directly at them, ladies, they get flustered).

My most recent purchase there was a car cell phone charger that doesn't require one to buy an entirely new charger when one gets a new phone (fortuitously, in my case). You just get a new nubbin adapter. And where else have I seen this cool gadget? Uh, nowhere?

Speaking of the specter of accessory-buying that I may have to do if I wish to use all the features of my red-headed stepchild phone, I will never again buy an electronic accessory from a real store (except, of course, RS if I can't find it anywhere else).

I am an Ebay cell phone accessory convert. The "holster" I bought for OldPhone? $16, because they said that no one else sold one for that phone (at the time. liars, I'm sure). An OldPhone extra home charger at the Cingular store (which I refused to buy)? $29.

A rapid car charger, rapid home charger, and case on eBay? Buy It Now for $2.46


I have learned the error of my ways.

NewPhone is here.

First things first--NewPhone arrived yesterday. It's okay. I'm snubbing it, though.

All right, I suppose it's a perfectly good phone, except for these things:

1) Even while I was picking this phone, I was feeling like I should pick the other phone. Always do what you think you should do.
2) It's an mp3 player, but in order to use it, you have to buy the memory card and usb cable. Not surprising, but sucky.
3) When I send a text message, I get a confirmation tone. I can't turn it off and it annoys me.

Maybe it'll grow on me.

But I doubt it.

Llama llamas taste like llama...

...llama llama duck. The song has taken up residence in my head. Even humming Hawaii 5-Oh hasn't budged it, and that's really saying something.

More Google fun!

Go to Google and type in--> [your first name] needs

Then hit enter.

[My real first name] needs...
...to mind her own business
...written and oral communication skills, too.
...to be given medication throughout the day
...a huge break into the publishing business
...to finish her doctorate and make scads of money
...a new facility specifically designed for continuing education


I'm going to marry Google.

NewPhone did, indeed, fall thru the cracks.

As I suspected, something associated with my Monday call to Cingular got lost in the translation. BUT--they're sending NewPhone to me via 1-2 day express shipping for free to ameliorate my inconveeeenience.

I am wheel, hear me squeak.

Llama, llama, duck.

Just in case you needed something stuck in your head.

It's PG, but beware your sound volume. It's stuck in my head and I can't even remember the words!

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php

Today is my 5th annivarsary!

Yep, five years ago, on a day just like today, David and I got married! Awwww.

Cute pictures of animals!

Cam across these slide shows of animals on msnbc. So cute (except for the walrus, but then it's amazing she knows how to use the phone, so it all comes back around, really).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6356101/?GT1=8618

My new phone (should it ever show up)...

...will be an LG Cu500--> http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=951. I haven't gotten the usual, "yep, we're replacing your phone" email from Cingular, so I'm a little nervous that my call has fallen thru the cracks.

I really wanted the Pantech C300--> http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=886, but it would have been a downgrade from what I'm turning in (--> http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=547), and that just doesn't make good financial sense. NewPhone does have an mp3 player, so that'll be something new and different to fool around with.

I've been really happy with Cingular's customer service (I think between my woes and switching my parents' cell plans, I've called them every day for 2 weeks now). I'd recommend them.

Maybe I can find a Pantech cheap on ebay and just have 2 cell phones.



...like I don't have enough to do without having 2 cell phones...

Interesting image labeling game

You sign in as Guest and then you (and a random person from the internet) each try to think of descriptors for various photos you're both shown.

Apparently, Google uses any labels you 2 agree on to fill out its image search engine, but I just think it's fun!

http://images.google.com/imagelabeler/

Movie Review: Jack*ss 2

I must begin by saying if you already don't like Jack*ss, you will not like this movie. It's no different from the TV show or 1st movie. Honestly, watching it is a total waste of brain cells. But I did laugh...

As a disclaimer, it depends on what you find funny. I thought the crashing-into-things parts(particularly the skateboard gauntlet and anything involving the lake) and the pranks they pull on each other are the best. The injuring-themselves-on-purpose (like any piercings) and scatological parts? Not so funny. (I covered my eyes at one point)

Cute Persons to look at (0-5): 2. Depends on your preferences and whether you can separate someone potential cuteness from the twisted things they're doing to themselves, but I, personally, think Bam Margera is cute. Well, maybe pretty, rather than cute, but worth a look. I actually think he might have eyeliner on...

There are no chicks in the movie--cute or otherwise. Sorry, guys.

A Satisfying Ending (0-5): N/A. As much as a lot of people wish there were an ending to Jack*ss (ha ha), it's not the kind of film that has one. Although at one point, Bam does pray that there's not a Jack*ss 3.

Action/ adventureness (0-5): 3. Lots of action, not much adventure. But not the same kind of action as, say, a pirate movie. ...for example...

Love storyness (0-5): 0. I don't think anyone is expecting a love story. Unless you consider thinly veiled post-adolescent homophilia a love story.

Good Scaryness (0-5, optional): NA. You might cover your eyes, as I did, but it's not scary.

Kissing (1-5): 0. There's not any kissing. And if there was any kissing I've forgotten about, I'd like to let it stay that way.

Cinematography/Special effects (0-5): 0. There aren't any special effects. Everything you see is, unfortunately, real.

Laughs (1-5): 4. I don't even know how to grade this one. Did I laugh out loud more than almost any other movie I've see this year? Yeeah. Am I embarrassed about it? A little. So if I count only the fact of laughter and that as defined by the disclaimer above, there are a lot of laughs. *shameful, shameful laughs

Extra Credit (10 points): 1. It's lowbrow and disgusting, but I laughed. A lot. (At the parts that didn't horrify me)

Total: 10/30.