They're a local cover band, much as Modern Day Romeos are. I think the 2 bands have actually played together, if I remember correctly, and they're pretty good and really enjoyable.
Their concerts do have the distinction, additionally, of being the only 2 places in the whole world I have ever been hit on by another chick.
So, there you go, if MDR and The FJs play together again, there will be a little something for everyone.
I just, uh, hope there's a little less for me next time.
Friday, March 30, 2007
I love technology, but not as much as you, you see, but I still love technology...
...
now and forever...
Last time I was at Farm and Fleet, I recorded (with my cell phone) the baby turkeys that were residing near the cash registers. I really wanted to use their cute voices as a ringtone, but NewPhone said that the .amr file was non-acceptable content.
Why the phone would create audio files in a format that it itself can't use, I do not know.
I really wanted that turkey chick ringtone, though.
So I emailed the .amr file to myself from my phone, downloaded SmartAudioConverterPro to get the .amr into .mp3 file format, only to find that although NewPhone will play .mp3s, this particular .mp3 was still non-acceptable, then downloaded Audacity (with an accompanying .dll file) to convert the unusable .mp3 to another, virtually indistinguishable, usable .mp3 file, which I then reloaded on to my phone using the USB adapter and MicroSD card/SD adapter I got from Singapore via eBay.
Voila, turkey chick ringtone.
And I'm a biology major.
The Internet: Helping Normal People Sound Like Nerds Since 1992.
.
now and forever...
Last time I was at Farm and Fleet, I recorded (with my cell phone) the baby turkeys that were residing near the cash registers. I really wanted to use their cute voices as a ringtone, but NewPhone said that the .amr file was non-acceptable content.
Why the phone would create audio files in a format that it itself can't use, I do not know.
I really wanted that turkey chick ringtone, though.
So I emailed the .amr file to myself from my phone, downloaded SmartAudioConverterPro to get the .amr into .mp3 file format, only to find that although NewPhone will play .mp3s, this particular .mp3 was still non-acceptable, then downloaded Audacity (with an accompanying .dll file) to convert the unusable .mp3 to another, virtually indistinguishable, usable .mp3 file, which I then reloaded on to my phone using the USB adapter and MicroSD card/SD adapter I got from Singapore via eBay.
Voila, turkey chick ringtone.
And I'm a biology major.
The Internet: Helping Normal People Sound Like Nerds Since 1992.
.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Part 2: The Makeup Chick
So I did promise to finish up my MT experience.
Apparently "new" customers of MT get a free makeup application when they get a facial. I didn't really care, but I guess some people are uncomfortable about going back out into the world sans makeup.
Not me. Course, I was pretty shiny at this point, so maybe it was for the best.
So the makeup chick, Mia, sits me down in her chair. She says she's been doing makeup for 4 years, but she looks about 22, so who knows?
Now, I'm occasionally a little bit sarcastic, so I was picking on her a little for the obsessive brush aligning she was performing before she began work on me, but I could tell that she didn't get that I was picking on her, so I just switched over to normal nice person behavior (yes, I'm capable--it's just not my default).
She then laughed and said, "You're cute." Which I thought was weird for a 22 year old makeup chick to say to a 32 year old female stranger, but hey, maybe she really thought I was cute*?
For the next few minutes, the conversation went as follows, and I finally burst out laughing.
Mia: What color eye make up do you usually wear?
Me: Well, usually cool brown or brownish-gray shadows and brown or charcoal liner.
Mia: Okay, hmm, how about gold eyeshadow.
Me: ...uh, okay?.....
Mia: And what do you usually wear on your lips?
Me: Oh reddish-brown or brownish-red. Not usually anything that would be in the fuschia family, though
Mia: Okay...let's see what we have [pulls out a bunch of lip glosses]. How about this color lip gloss? [Holds up a tube of bright freakin pink]
Me: [Bursts out laughing, in a somewhat If-you-walk-away-I-will-immediately-begin-making-fun-of-you sort of way]
She asked me why I was laughing and I finally told her that if she just wants to do what she wants to do, then don't ask what I want to do. For the most part, if you ask someone, "How about we try some gold eyeshadow", they'll probably say OK.
So, there's Mario Tricoci in a nutshell**. FWIW.
:)
*Now, if we were at Fabulous Janes show, I wouldn't be so surprised.
**No, this is MT in a nutshell: "Help, I'm in a bloody great nutshell!"
Apparently "new" customers of MT get a free makeup application when they get a facial. I didn't really care, but I guess some people are uncomfortable about going back out into the world sans makeup.
Not me. Course, I was pretty shiny at this point, so maybe it was for the best.
So the makeup chick, Mia, sits me down in her chair. She says she's been doing makeup for 4 years, but she looks about 22, so who knows?
Now, I'm occasionally a little bit sarcastic, so I was picking on her a little for the obsessive brush aligning she was performing before she began work on me, but I could tell that she didn't get that I was picking on her, so I just switched over to normal nice person behavior (yes, I'm capable--it's just not my default).
She then laughed and said, "You're cute." Which I thought was weird for a 22 year old makeup chick to say to a 32 year old female stranger, but hey, maybe she really thought I was cute*?
For the next few minutes, the conversation went as follows, and I finally burst out laughing.
Mia: What color eye make up do you usually wear?
Me: Well, usually cool brown or brownish-gray shadows and brown or charcoal liner.
Mia: Okay, hmm, how about gold eyeshadow.
Me: ...uh, okay?.....
Mia: And what do you usually wear on your lips?
Me: Oh reddish-brown or brownish-red. Not usually anything that would be in the fuschia family, though
Mia: Okay...let's see what we have [pulls out a bunch of lip glosses]. How about this color lip gloss? [Holds up a tube of bright freakin pink]
Me: [Bursts out laughing, in a somewhat If-you-walk-away-I-will-immediately-begin-making-fun-of-you sort of way]
She asked me why I was laughing and I finally told her that if she just wants to do what she wants to do, then don't ask what I want to do. For the most part, if you ask someone, "How about we try some gold eyeshadow", they'll probably say OK.
So, there's Mario Tricoci in a nutshell**. FWIW.
:)
*Now, if we were at Fabulous Janes show, I wouldn't be so surprised.
**No, this is MT in a nutshell: "Help, I'm in a bloody great nutshell!"
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Mario Tricoci, Part 1
So, my sissy and I got MT gift certificates from our mom for Xmas presents, and last weekend, we went to the spa for some luxuriating!
We decided to get a facial, manicure, and pedicure each, you know, so that when it turned cold again 3 days later, we'd be able to cover up our pretty new skin and nails with closed-toe shoes and wool coats. Freaking March.
Anyway. The facial. I had never had a facial before, and although I am not a huge fan of traditional chick pampering, I thought, hey, might as well stave off the crow's feet for a few more years with some decent skin care, yeah?
Aside from the impressive level of claustrophobia I experienced (more on that later), it was good! They cleansed and exfoliated (my brain always wants to say defoliated, but that's a whole 'nother thing altogether*) and steamed and moisturized and toned and sunproofed.
I came out feeling good, but very, very slimy. I'm not sure my face has ever been that shiny. It was almost to the point where I wanted to let people know that my face didn't usually look like this.
The claustrophobia was something else entirely, and apparently it wasn't just me, b/c my sister asked me after I came out, how I fared with the smotherfication! See, here were the problems:
-- I'm claustrophobic to begin with
-- You change out of your clothes into a velcro towel sort of minidress thing, which I had velcroed too tight, such that it kind-of restricted deep breathing...
-- The table is a kind of sculptured thing that you're sunk into
-- I'm claustrophobic (AHHHH!!! HELP ME!!!!)
-- You're under a sheet and blanket
-- ...I couldn't fix the towel b/c the esthetician** had lotioned my hands, put plastic bags on them, and put them in these giant heating pad oven mitt things
-- At times I had warm, heavy towels on my shoulders, face and or neck (can't breathe...)
-- At other times, my face was covered with scented goo
-- A steam wand was blowing steam on my face (...stealing...my...air...)
All of these things combined to have me reassuring myself silently, "you're still breathing, you're still breathing". Kind of like Amanda K getting her hair washed, "Don't cry, don't cry".
I survived, though. Which is nice.
So we then had MT's Signature pedicure and manicures. They were your standard, good, salon mani/pedi***. A heated vibrating chair, a bubbling foot bath, lots of scented scrubby and lotiony things, pretty polish. The Elizabeth Arden polishes, however brown they may look, are a lot redder once they're out of the bottle, so, you know, caveat pedicur-or.
*"That's a whole 'nother thing"****
**That's what they call people who do facials and waxing and stuff--estheticians. Apparently the money they make somewhat compensates for the icky parts of their job. At least that's what she told me...
***I have to say that I don't go to the storefront nail places. I know a lot of people do go, and they don't have any trouble, but I know too many people who have gotten infections from places like that. And those nail infections are sooo hard to cure! Plus, some places use those callus shaver things which are, I'm pretty sure, illegal, and, according to those who've seen them, result in pieces of your foot being shaved off such that they look like slices of parmesan cheese. Eww.
**** 5 points to the first to identify the movie! 10 points if you're younger than 25.
Tomorrow: Part 2, The Makeup Artist
We decided to get a facial, manicure, and pedicure each, you know, so that when it turned cold again 3 days later, we'd be able to cover up our pretty new skin and nails with closed-toe shoes and wool coats. Freaking March.
Anyway. The facial. I had never had a facial before, and although I am not a huge fan of traditional chick pampering, I thought, hey, might as well stave off the crow's feet for a few more years with some decent skin care, yeah?
Aside from the impressive level of claustrophobia I experienced (more on that later), it was good! They cleansed and exfoliated (my brain always wants to say defoliated, but that's a whole 'nother thing altogether*) and steamed and moisturized and toned and sunproofed.
I came out feeling good, but very, very slimy. I'm not sure my face has ever been that shiny. It was almost to the point where I wanted to let people know that my face didn't usually look like this.
The claustrophobia was something else entirely, and apparently it wasn't just me, b/c my sister asked me after I came out, how I fared with the smotherfication! See, here were the problems:
-- I'm claustrophobic to begin with
-- You change out of your clothes into a velcro towel sort of minidress thing, which I had velcroed too tight, such that it kind-of restricted deep breathing...
-- The table is a kind of sculptured thing that you're sunk into
-- I'm claustrophobic (AHHHH!!! HELP ME!!!!)
-- You're under a sheet and blanket
-- ...I couldn't fix the towel b/c the esthetician** had lotioned my hands, put plastic bags on them, and put them in these giant heating pad oven mitt things
-- At times I had warm, heavy towels on my shoulders, face and or neck (can't breathe...)
-- At other times, my face was covered with scented goo
-- A steam wand was blowing steam on my face (...stealing...my...air...)
All of these things combined to have me reassuring myself silently, "you're still breathing, you're still breathing". Kind of like Amanda K getting her hair washed, "Don't cry, don't cry".
I survived, though. Which is nice.
So we then had MT's Signature pedicure and manicures. They were your standard, good, salon mani/pedi***. A heated vibrating chair, a bubbling foot bath, lots of scented scrubby and lotiony things, pretty polish. The Elizabeth Arden polishes, however brown they may look, are a lot redder once they're out of the bottle, so, you know, caveat pedicur-or.
*"That's a whole 'nother thing"****
**That's what they call people who do facials and waxing and stuff--estheticians. Apparently the money they make somewhat compensates for the icky parts of their job. At least that's what she told me...
***I have to say that I don't go to the storefront nail places. I know a lot of people do go, and they don't have any trouble, but I know too many people who have gotten infections from places like that. And those nail infections are sooo hard to cure! Plus, some places use those callus shaver things which are, I'm pretty sure, illegal, and, according to those who've seen them, result in pieces of your foot being shaved off such that they look like slices of parmesan cheese. Eww.
**** 5 points to the first to identify the movie! 10 points if you're younger than 25.
Tomorrow: Part 2, The Makeup Artist
And now, a shameless plug for my cousin's custom greeting card business...
What's the point of having a blog, if you can't do as you please.?
My cousin (in-law) Jill is a graphic designer, and she and my cousin Michael have launched a website for her custom-designed greeting cards--> http://www.jilizart.com/
Jill and Mike have been to a couple of the parties we've had at our house, so some of you might have met them. They live in Arlington Heights and Jill's cards are super-purty :)
So, there you go. Super-purty cards made with love by someone I like :)
What could be better? Huh?
My cousin (in-law) Jill is a graphic designer, and she and my cousin Michael have launched a website for her custom-designed greeting cards--> http://www.jilizart.com/
Jill and Mike have been to a couple of the parties we've had at our house, so some of you might have met them. They live in Arlington Heights and Jill's cards are super-purty :)
So, there you go. Super-purty cards made with love by someone I like :)
What could be better? Huh?
BIL Nick brings us another cool thing about Google!
My BIL Nick showed me a very cool Google trick this weekend!
You can get phone numbers (and even addresses!) from Google via text emssage, without paying the $2 it costs to call directory assistance. Plus, for you agoraphobes, you don't even have to talk to anyone! It costs only what your cell phone company usually charges for text messages.
Here's how-->
1) Compose a text message with what you need in the body of the message--in my case, I typed "Westlane Bowl Crystal lake".
2) Then, send it to 466459 (spell out Google).
Soon, Google will send you back what it can dig up from directory assistance.
I love Google!
....even though it's probably secretly planning to destroy the world....
You can get phone numbers (and even addresses!) from Google via text emssage, without paying the $2 it costs to call directory assistance. Plus, for you agoraphobes, you don't even have to talk to anyone! It costs only what your cell phone company usually charges for text messages.
Here's how-->
1) Compose a text message with what you need in the body of the message--in my case, I typed "Westlane Bowl Crystal lake".
2) Then, send it to 466459 (spell out Google).
Soon, Google will send you back what it can dig up from directory assistance.
I love Google!
....even though it's probably secretly planning to destroy the world....
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
So I said thank you?
What else do you say to that? Huh? I think the optometrist may have blushed a little :)
Yep, I got fitted for contacts yesterday....and no, I've not relaxed my stand on the corrective vision aids I'm not going to wear. I rarely relax my stand on anything! (Really. Ask Dave.)
I came across fun Halloween/costume party lenses on the internet recently and I thought I might as well get measured so that if I ever wanted them, I could have them at a moment's notice.
It wasn't so bad, but I would recommend asking if you can put them in yourself--even if you've never done it before. Funny thing how your eyes do exactly as they're designed to do when a stranger is trying to stick his finger in them. THEY CLOSE! Every time! Eventually, with lots of involuntary tears and voluntary kleenexes we got the test lenses in and they fit fine.
So, next he had me put in some colored lenses, b/c they'e more similar to the size of the novelty ones. I chose blue, since they're the most dissimilar to what I was born with.
You can't believably change brown eyes to any other color, but like I told Dave, if you met someone whose eyes were this blue/brown color naturally, you'd marry them immediately. The dark brown stayed brown and the lighter specks turned blue. It was really fascinating to look at.
Getting them out sucked. Apparently my tight lids make it really hard to get contacts out, so all day yesterday, I felt like someone had taken a toothbrush to the insides of my eyelids.*
*Or maybe that was just the whiskey from last weekend. It's hard to tell...
Yep, I got fitted for contacts yesterday....and no, I've not relaxed my stand on the corrective vision aids I'm not going to wear. I rarely relax my stand on anything! (Really. Ask Dave.)
I came across fun Halloween/costume party lenses on the internet recently and I thought I might as well get measured so that if I ever wanted them, I could have them at a moment's notice.
It wasn't so bad, but I would recommend asking if you can put them in yourself--even if you've never done it before. Funny thing how your eyes do exactly as they're designed to do when a stranger is trying to stick his finger in them. THEY CLOSE! Every time! Eventually, with lots of involuntary tears and voluntary kleenexes we got the test lenses in and they fit fine.
So, next he had me put in some colored lenses, b/c they'e more similar to the size of the novelty ones. I chose blue, since they're the most dissimilar to what I was born with.
You can't believably change brown eyes to any other color, but like I told Dave, if you met someone whose eyes were this blue/brown color naturally, you'd marry them immediately. The dark brown stayed brown and the lighter specks turned blue. It was really fascinating to look at.
Getting them out sucked. Apparently my tight lids make it really hard to get contacts out, so all day yesterday, I felt like someone had taken a toothbrush to the insides of my eyelids.*
*Or maybe that was just the whiskey from last weekend. It's hard to tell...
Things that sound dirty when they're not...
Me: Ugh, I'm really having a hard time getting it out. I feel like I'm going to scratch myself to death.
The Dr: Try sliding it over to the side where it's less sensitive. Then you should be able to grab it with the meat of your fingers.
Me: Oh, it's not that--it's rubbing against the inside when I move it. That's the part that hurts.
The Dr: Yeah, I noticed that when I was trying to put it in while we were in the other room.
You've got really tight lids.
The Dr: Try sliding it over to the side where it's less sensitive. Then you should be able to grab it with the meat of your fingers.
Me: Oh, it's not that--it's rubbing against the inside when I move it. That's the part that hurts.
The Dr: Yeah, I noticed that when I was trying to put it in while we were in the other room.
You've got really tight lids.
Monday, March 19, 2007
China update 27942
The decent news:
We got a letter from Immigration saying that they're ready for us to go get our 3rd fingerprinting.*
The no-so-decent news:
We have to go to Waukegan to do it. Booooo.
And, the wait for a babe is now up to 17 months from the time you get your paperwork in to China.
*The fingerprinting story, in case you don't remember. And, apparently, no governmental agency can "share" fingerprints with any other agency, even though they're the same fingers I had a year ago.
http://mairzydoats.blogspot.com/2006/02/valentines-day.html#links
http://mairzydoats.blogspot.com/2006/02/y-m-c.html#links
We got a letter from Immigration saying that they're ready for us to go get our 3rd fingerprinting.*
The no-so-decent news:
We have to go to Waukegan to do it. Booooo.
And, the wait for a babe is now up to 17 months from the time you get your paperwork in to China.
*The fingerprinting story, in case you don't remember. And, apparently, no governmental agency can "share" fingerprints with any other agency, even though they're the same fingers I had a year ago.
http://mairzydoats.blogspot.com/2006/02/valentines-day.html#links
http://mairzydoats.blogspot.com/2006/02/y-m-c.html#links
A St. Patrick's Day arithmetic lesson...
Now get your pencils out.
The Friday before St. Pat's Day + lots of good friends + a fun bar and dancing + Larry, beer, and a sharpie + Meredith, whiskey sours, and a strangely missing "T" in her signature...
...minus both of our spouses exercising their sworn duties as monitors...
equals?
The Friday before St. Pat's Day + lots of good friends + a fun bar and dancing + Larry, beer, and a sharpie + Meredith, whiskey sours, and a strangely missing "T" in her signature...
...minus both of our spouses exercising their sworn duties as monitors...
equals?
Sr. Ann Therese always said, if you want to keep track of something, you really should write your name on it.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Florida vacay pics (so far...)
71 degrees at 1109pm on February 23rd? You can't beat that!
The beach at Bahia Honda state park (can't remember what Key this was on)
.jpg)
Me @ a harbor in Miami
The sunset @ Malloy Square in Key West. Everyone gathers every night to watch the sun fall off the edge of the earth here. The next bit of land is Cuba!
It seems--along with giving me other problems--my Florida post
got eaten by the post-monster.
So--for those I haven't seen since then, Dave and I were in Key West from 2/23 - 2/26. It's such a nice place to vacation. :) It was warm (high 70s, I'd say) and sunny, we strolled up and down Duval St, got a new toe ring from "The World's Most Comfortable Toe Ring" store (still wearing it, which says a lot, considering my past history with toe rings!), swam in the pool and @ Smathers Beach, rented an electric car and zipped around the island.
Went to Hemingway's house. Spent a few days in sandals and a tank top. Didn't see any fish, though. All in all a great place to vacation!
We also spent one day in Miami, and while South Beach was interesting to see (all the people dolled up and the Art Deco hotels and the velvet rope nightclubs), the whole city was under construction, which made it SOOO noisy. Like vacationing on the Dan Ryan. Yuck.
I also found a swimsuit store on Islamorada called Lion's Lair that had underwire swimsuits that fit (!!). I'm so happy!
I'll post a few of the cell phone pics I have. Don't have the real pics back yet.
So--for those I haven't seen since then, Dave and I were in Key West from 2/23 - 2/26. It's such a nice place to vacation. :) It was warm (high 70s, I'd say) and sunny, we strolled up and down Duval St, got a new toe ring from "The World's Most Comfortable Toe Ring" store (still wearing it, which says a lot, considering my past history with toe rings!), swam in the pool and @ Smathers Beach, rented an electric car and zipped around the island.
Went to Hemingway's house. Spent a few days in sandals and a tank top. Didn't see any fish, though. All in all a great place to vacation!
We also spent one day in Miami, and while South Beach was interesting to see (all the people dolled up and the Art Deco hotels and the velvet rope nightclubs), the whole city was under construction, which made it SOOO noisy. Like vacationing on the Dan Ryan. Yuck.
I also found a swimsuit store on Islamorada called Lion's Lair that had underwire swimsuits that fit (!!). I'm so happy!
I'll post a few of the cell phone pics I have. Don't have the real pics back yet.
*Sniff*
Mmmm, it even smells like spring outside. And so what that it's going to be back down to 32 this weekend--spring is on its way!
Finally.
Finally.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
