June 2007 Archive

June 29, 2007
Hmmm.
I had planned on going out tonight. But I'm restless...and bored. And I just didn't feel like doing anything at all. My plans to look at houses tomorrow have been cancelled. My m-i-l's house was hit by lightning...again...so she has a ton of things to try to get fixed tomorrow. And I hadn't heard from my realtor anyway. She apparently didn't get my email requesting to look at these houses, and she left me a message this evening that she has a wedding to go to Saturday. And since Origins is next weekend, I won't be looking at houses then, either. So I suppose it'll be in a couple of weeks.

Guess I'll get up and go to the gym in the morning, and maybe I'll hit the pool with Tanya during the day.

I watched Ratatouille tonight, and it was pretty decent. In my opinion, it's the prettiest PIXAR film to date. Absolutely gorgeous. And it's pretty decent for adults. Despite the half dozen screaming infants in the theater, I still managed to enjoy it. Never, ever go see a movie with me or Kevin. We're cursed. Of all three screens I did checks on tonight, this one was the only one with infants, and there were seriously about 6. Two of them wailed and fussed through the entire movie. I just can't understand why people think it's acceptable to bring a child under the age of 3 to a movie, even a kids' movie. They just don't have the capacity to pay attention and sit still for that long. It's cruel, as far as I'm concerned, to try to force a baby, or even a toddler, to do it.

If a kid is still shitting his pants, leave him with a babysitter. He doesn't need to be in a theater.
posted by Karabou at 11:59 PM EST
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June 27, 2007
In the pages of a blue boy magazine
Hit the gym after work, raced home, showered, ate some cereal, and ran to the theater to do trailer checks on Die Hard. Hitman, starring the drug dealer from GO!, looked very so-so. Superbad actually looks like it could be funny, and having an R rating makes it that much more tempting. And for the first time, I'm actually interested in a Jodie Foster movie. For some reason I totally connected with The Brave One; maybe we all have a little vigilante in us.
We finished the first season of SPACED last night and started on the 2nd one tonight. I watch it and long for my life to be a wacky sitcom with well-written dialogue, quirky characters, and Simon Peg...well...we won't go there.
I'm beat. Gotta hit the hay. Kev and I have to go to Mom's tomorrow after work for some family birthdays. Zzzzz.
posted by Karabou at 11:13 PM EST
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June 25, 2007
The dawn of stupidity
I called my grandma last night to wish her a happy birthday. When you get in your 80s, they're always a surprise. Heh

We watched the first 4 episodes of the BBC comedy SPACED that's made by the Shaun of the Dead folks. I <3 Simon Peg. He has the best facial expressions. Unfortunately, it's not available in the US because they're having problems with US licensing for the music in the show. But "we know a guy," and we have some fairly nice region-free DVDs of it. But this show is fantastic. We laughed all the way through all four episodes. The 3rd episode gave them the idea to make Shaun of the Dead, and it's very apparent. If you can get your hands on this show, watch it. It's fantastic.

On another note, the hub and a couple of coworkers took a new temp to lunch last week. During lunch, the temp guy quipped, "If I don't get hired, I'm coming back and shooting everyone." The hub laughed it off as this guy's dry humor, but one of the other guys got REALLY upset about it, took it up with management, and got the guy fired. Why, in this day and age, someone would think it was acceptable to say something like that to coworkers at a brand new job is beyond me, especially being a disposable temp. People just have no sense. Kidding or not, he was amazingly stupid for saying it. Now, the building is on lockdown, and no one can get in without going through security if they don't have a key.

Kev said he sees some of the temps just do amazingly stupid things. When you're a temp, you follow the rules, you jump through their hoops, and you're on your best behavior. He said he's got temps that come in late, take extended lunches, and leave early…because they see full-time employees doing it. Well…it's different when you're a temp, and you just suck it up. Kev didn't wear shorts or anything far outside of business casual. Now, along with the other full-time people, he'll wear shorts and flip-flops on occasion, but he never did as a temp. You have to impress people to get hired.

And he loves it when new temps come in and start grilling him on "what it takes to get hired." He said he has no idea how to answer these people because it should be apparent. 1) Be on time. 2) Do your work. 3) Volunteer for overtime occasionally. 4) Don't take extended breaks or leave early. 5) Don't dress/smell like you found your clothes in a dumpster on your way to work. 6) Don't threaten to kill people if you don't get hired.

I mean seriously, how much common sense do those things take? It amazes me. posted by Karabou at 8:17 PM EST
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June 24, 2007
stray cat is crying so stray cat sings back
I wrote a contemplative blog entry, and I did something to lose it. My usual practice of copying just to be safe was thwarted by me copying something else without thinking, therefore overwriting the entry. /sigh

Anyway, short recap:

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee--good but depressing. I'm a white devil.

Kev's been gleefully playing Guitar Hero II in the living room while I play Oregon Trail on my Apple II emulator. I died of both Cholera AND Dysentery.

Where the hell is my life going? Kev and I agree the days are too short, years are passing too fast. I was just snogging boys at REBOS last year...not 14 years ago. No desire to re-live those days, just wondering how soon I'm going to wake up and be too old to pee without assistance.

The End.
posted by Karabou at 11:12 PM EST
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June 19, 2007
Wanna be the first lady of infinity
Despite sleeping that hour and a half yesterday evening, I still fell asleep at 11pm and didn't wake up until 7:30. Good god. And I've been sleepy all day. What's wrong with me?
We started watching MI5 last night. Mmm. All I can say is Matthew MacFayden, heretofore referred to as Agent McSucculent, is even hotter than Mr. Darcy in the 2005's Pride and Prejudice. Good god. I remember Kev trying to watch it back when it was on A&E a couple years ago, but without Tivo, we just couldn't catch it. So I've seen bits and pieces of the 4th and 5th episode, but I don't remember much. Why can't America produce shows of this caliber? The pacing, action, dialogue, and acting are all phenomenal. Unlike Heroes, something actually happens each episode.
Hex is still good and full of snogging, though I wonder how it's going to wrap up. I want more Footballer's Wives; that show is so over-the-top soap opera it cracks me up.
posted by Karabou at 10:58 PM EST
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June 18, 2007
Set the summer sun on fire
Weird day.
I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning.
Got the ball rolling on the potential fixer-upper to find out if 1) it's already under contract or still available 2) can we secure the proper financing for a fixer-upper 3) inspection prices and the order of which we should proceed with them. If this place has ANYTHING more than aesthetic issues, we're passing. But if things are as they seem, it would be a fantastic buy, if we could secure an FHA 203k loan. If not, we're passing. Momma's no fool.
I could barely make it working out 25 minutes after work before I felt all weak and lousy. I thought maybe I hadn't eaten enough today, and I skipped working out most of last week due to my ankle being jacked up. Shortly after I got home, I felt extremely dizzy and thought I was having a panic attack. Took one of those crazy magic attack-stopping pills, and it helped briefly, but then I went right back to the dizziness. It got so bad that I passed out on the couch for over an hour and a half, just waking up about 20 minutes ago. Now I'm probably not going to be able to go to sleep tonight. bleh.
I don't know if it was fatigue from constant running for the past 10 days or if I screwed up my eating royally. Just weird.
I didn't feel like posting anything on Father's Day. I've been oddly numb to it and not nearly as bitter about it as last year. Although, every time I saw a Father's Day commercial this year, I thought, "At least you bastards HAVE fathers to give something to." So maybe I wasn't as not bitter as I thought...but still better than last year. I just never knew what to get him.
posted by Karabou at 10:40 PM EST
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June 17, 2007
Squeals and giggles...
I just got back from taking Kev to look at my diamond in the rough. Even though I was clicking my heels together and squealing, he felt a little daunted at the work it needs, but almost all of it is merely aesthetic. You just have to live with certain minor things as-is, until you can get around to it. Few normal people get to have what they want right when they want it. It's going to take time, but we could really turn that place into something amazing.

We want grown-up matching furniture, but that's so low on the list of things we need to do that as long as we HAVE furntire (and it's still nice), we can focus on the things that will increase the value of the house.

And I'm preparing myself to be told that we can't have the house because the bank is a big poo-head with no vision. But even so, at least now I know what kind of house we can look for, even if it has no basement. This place has so much potential it makes me want to explode.
posted by Karabou at 1:46 PM EST
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June 16, 2007
Into the basement and through the musk...
After a day of house hunting, I'm pooped. The theory of buying a house within our original price range with a basement that either CAN be finished or IS finished is pretty much out of the question. The houses in that price range are too old and too musty, and all had evidence of water in the basement. Not to mention that all of them were finished by DIYers, which if they knew what they're doing wouldn't be a bad thing. But these people obviously did NOT know what they were doing. Looking it up on the internet is not the same as having someone experienced teach you to do it. So I don't know where that leaves us.

My favorite was the basement with the wood paneling that looked like a "wacky-wall" room in a funhouse--the paneling was so warped and bulging from moisture that the realtor made a comment about feeling like she was on drugs. Another had a drop ceiling with light fixtures installed...that were burning the drop ceiling. And one of the 1/2 baths was a toilet shoved into a cutout in a wall in the basement. What people think passes for aesthetically acceptable amazes me. I would honestly rather have a basement with a tile floor and un-paneled, un-finished walls than a ramshackle job of slapping up some half-assed materials.

After what Kev's mom went through when her finished basement flooded, I don't think I even WANT carpet in a basement. We had to cut out 1' x 2' sections of sopping wet, stinking carpet in the middle of February because both her sump-pump and back-up sump-pump failed. It was horrible.

On another note, my realtor has a bad history with my mortgage officer (who I decided I hated before I even met my realtor), and she thinks we can get a better deal through Wright Patt for being first-time home buyers. So we're going to look into those options once we make a decision.

I did find a house that is truly a diamond in the rough. I'm not giving any details because I don't want to risk jinxing it. But with a little TLC, this house could be MAGNIFICENT. I'm taking Kev to look at it tomorrow, and his dad is coming along to give us an estimate on visible defects that need repair. I was exploding with excitement walking around the place. I was afraid that would happen--I'd find THE ONE while still trying to get some extra money saved up. But at the price we could likely get it for, I already have the necessary 5%, so I could feasibly do the 80-15-5 loan on it. We need to talk to a bank that doesn't suck balls.

But if this place were to pass inspection (and the bank saw we had the funds to make the repairs to meet minimum loan requirements), I'd move on it immediately. I can't believe no one else has had the vision for the place that I do. I have some homework to do this week on what it would take to make it happen.
And now, I'm putting on my nerd hat to go play some WFRP.
posted by Karabou at 7:38 PM EST
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June 13, 2007
Earn more tips by sleeving
Oh god. I. am. so. tired.
Tanya and I went to King's Island today through my company's Family Fun Day. Free tickets. Free parking. Free lunch. How can you pass that up?
I am so tired, I'm seriously thinking about just going to bed. It was 90 and sunny, and despite the decent breeze, the heat was just sapping. And not having worked out much over the last year because of my blasted ribs has seriously reduced my stamina and endurance.
I got my Dippin' Dots. I got my Smurf cone. All is right with the world. What's odd is that all the Hanna-Barbara stuff is gone and replaced with generic signage. My Smurf cone was originally that. Then it was a Huckleberry Hound cone...now it's Ice Cream. Kind of sad, really. But I guess kids now-a-days don't know who the hell McGilla Gorilla, Huckleberry Hound, and Snagglepuss are. The times...they are a-changin'.
We hit the water park at K.I as well. And I would just like to point out that walking around barefoot at 12 is not the same experience at 31. At 31, women work to make their feet soft and pretty. You've lost all your calluses, and I don't even go barefoot in the house, for the most part. So my feet are about as tender as can be imagined, and the textured pavement and ridged mats in the waiting areas seriously almost made me give up and wear sneakers with my swimsuit. I wanted to die about halfway through the line on the waterslide tower. Next time, I'll invest in a pair of $5 flip-flops and avoid that hell.
But I'm planning to go to the Beach Waterpark with Tanya sometime in July with her boys. Flip-flops will be the order of the day. I don't think I've been there since 5th grade. But it's still sounds fun. I <3 water slides. And body image be damned. Life is too short to not have as much fun as you can while you can. Who the hell cares what people think of your thighs?
And check out this website: Mr. Lee Cat-Cam. I snagged it from NikChick. It's a guy who attached an auto-firing digital cam to his cat's neck to document his adventures. Pretty funny.
posted by Karabou at 8:48 PM EST
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June 12, 2007
Bored
Watched way too much Last of the Mohicans this weekend.

Also watched Hidalgo right after it, only because it followed it, I was busy sewing, and I was too lazy to change the channel. It wasn't a bad little adventure flick; I'd compare it to the vein of Indiana Jones and the like. But it was a good 45 minutes too long. There was some side story about rescuing a helpless princess that really could have been cut, and the movie would have been better paced and more entertaining.
I've been bored out of my skull in the evenings lately, and I really don't know what to do with myself. I don't like to hike alone, there haven't been any movies I've particularly wanted to go see, and I don't really want to spend any money. So, I'm screwed. I spent 4 hours last night turning a T-shirt into a tank top, just to see if I could do it. I did... And I'm well ahead of schedule on my current editing project, so no rush there.
We have lots of movie Tivo'd, but summer has me restless. I've been working on scanning family photos lately, but that can be kind of draining for obvious reasons, so I have to kind of pace myself.
This Saturday, My m-i-l is going with me to check out 5 or 6 houses my realtor sent me listings for. Since the m-i-l has a background in realty, I figured she could help me steer clear of money pits and help us pick a good investment property. For now, we're just looking. The jackass bank we got pre-approved through has decided we make FAR too much money to qualify for their first-time homebuyer's program (NOT an FHA loan), and we have to have 5% down to avoid having points on our loan, which will jack our interest rate.
After all this dumb mortgage hoozatch has put us through, I'll go to Wright Patt and apply for the actual loan there if we don't get a better rate. Why not just get the loan through our own bank if we're not going to get a better rate?
posted by Karabou at 10:22 PM EST
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June 11, 2007
Hotdogs and wine
Hell of a weekend. I don't even know where to start.
Did the Goth Prom thing Friday night and had a pretty good time. I couldn't believe the club was packed when I showed up at 11:15; it's usually pretty dead until after midnight. I got home around 3am, woke up at 6am, fell back asleep at 7:30am, and finally got up at 9:30am.
Saturday morning, Mom and Tanya met me here to go to the Yellow Springs Street Fair at 10:30am. That was the busiest I have EVER seen it. A perfect 80 degree, sunny day without a cloud in the sky apparently brings out everyone and their 5th cousin. We were complaining about the traffic on the way into town, but when we left, it was backed up for almost 4 miles out of town with people trying to get in. It was like trying to get into Disney World in 1986. Despite the huge crowds, it was still a nice to walk around. I go mainly for the food, since the Cajun place closed in town, and they only do catering and festivals now. So it's the only time I get to have my sausage jambalaya.
I was thoroughly disappointed in my lemon shake-up, the staple of all summer festivals. I should have known better than to go to a booth manned by frat boys. Not only was he annoying, he made a lousy lemon shake-up. After that, Tanya and I hit the Kettering Water Park for a few hours. After using the restrooms there without sandals on, I fear my feet will never feel clean again. That was just dumb, dumb, dumb. I felt nauseated for a good 10 minutes afterwards, and every time I thought about it for the next 12 hours.
After that, I went to Leah's graduation party. I was completely freaked out, since I had no idea what to expect, other than that the only other parties Mike used to talk about consisted of club rats running around completely topless and offering "favors" to the male partygoers. But thankfully, it was more my style of party--laid back, Wii-playing, and talking about movies. I'm just not into partying, and when I was, He Who Cannot Be Named wouldn't let me. So, that boat has pretty much sailed. I'm just not into it much anymore.
I went to bed at 1am and still woke up at 6-fricking-30am. I refused to get out of bed until 9:30, so I just laid there getting trampled by angry, hungry, bored cats. I have felt so exhausted and wrung out today it isn't funny. I worked on taking in 3 shirts today, and spent the evening working on a skirt made of the leftover velour from my prom dress. I'm not sure that's going to turn out, being my first full-on sewing a garment from scratch...and I'm not using a pattern. But it's good practice, and I did learn a few things about the process just from trying. It's not like the fabric cost much.
I'm looking forward to King's Island on Wednesday. Tanya is going with me, and we've been discussing actually hitting the water park there. I LOVE water parks, and I haven't been to one since I was probably 12. I told Tanya if she takes her boys to The Beach this summer, she better call me. heh
And now, I'm half falling asleep, and I'll probably still wake up 6am or something. /sigh
posted by Karabou at 11:04 PM EST
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June 7, 2007
Knocked Up: Spoilers
Kev and I saw Knocked Up tonight for a much-needed comic-relief date night. It was really funny, although not 40-Year-Old-Virgin funny...but still really funny. These movies always spark big discussions between me and Kev afterwards. One thing I hate about relationship movies are the stereotypes of women and men. Granted, there are women out there like the main character's sister, but I like to pretend that most women have a friggin' clue what men are like and aren't pathetic needy I-have-no-life-without-you types of people.
Honestly, I didn't get what was so awful about Paul Rudd's character, given the situation he was in. She throws him out because he's NOT cheating no her and is really only sneaking out to play Fantasy Baseball because if he told her he wanted to play Fantasy Baseball she'd tell him no? WTF? Get some friends and quit relying on your spouse to provide your entire social life.
Yes, guys like to have "guy time." So what? So long as they accept that we need "girl time," who cares? I'm a huge believer in having separate lives. We live together and spend time together, isn't that enough? Do we have to do every single thing together to be happy? I think I'd freak out.
He Who Cannot Be Named may have been a lot of things, but at least he was always bluntly honest about what guys want and how they think. And amazingly, 99% of them weren't part of his warped abuse. And Kev has always been up front and outright about issues without any drama. I've had many a conversation with him and others about The Great Secrets of Men. When The Great Secrets of Men were revealed to me, I kind of shrugged and thought, "Really? Ok." They weren't outrageous, just different from how women think. And if you can understand that men and women perceive and react to things differently, then it's really no big deal.
Although, the fact that I think more like a guy and less like a woman probably puts me in a slightly different category.
But all in all, thumbs up. Go see it.
posted by Karabou at 10:34 PM EST
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June 6, 2007
Oh, daddy, dear,
You know you're still number one
I know you and I have been on the outs lately, Dad. Maybe it's just the anger stage of grief, or maybe it's just the way it goes with fathers and daughters. I don't understand a lot of things anymore: myself, the future, my relationships. It's just been thrown up in the air. And every day, I ask myself "How much longer do I have to feel this way? When do I get to stop hurting?"
I've been numb for the last couple of months. I really couldn't feel anything. I'd laugh, smile, get pissed...but really, there was nothing, absolutely nothing. I feel like I let one relationship slide in particular that I should have tried harder at, not that it's too late. But I've never been good at chasing people, and sometimes I just can't make myself do what needs to be done, either out of fear of rejection or fear that it might make me feel something other than nothing.
I don't think I was ever the person you expected me to be. Fierce, tom-boyish, and more interested in riding a horse full gallop across a field than playing Barbies. Were you proud of that? Did it break your heart when I eventually had to follow the beat of my own heart and find my own way in life? When I left everything we shared behind to machete my own path through a jungle you couldn't relate to?
I really don't know where we stood before you died. What did you think of my life? My choices? Not that it particularly mattered--I've never been one to bend to the expectations of others--but now I'll never know. I looked forward to you helping me out with a new house. It was going to be a chance for me to spend time with you. And now, I'll be navigating those waters on my own. And I wanted for my children what my brother got to have, even if only briefly.
I've never expected life to be fair, but this was crueler than anything I could have anticipated. And some days, it still doesn't feel real, like it was just yesterday that I screamed as I hung up the phone after I was told. I feel broken, and I don't know if I'll ever be the same. I try to smile and pretend everything is fine; it's what people want to hear. I learned that a long time ago. Other people's emotions are messy and unsightly, better to lock them away with a smile.
People think that because you're "strong," you're fine. And it couldn't be further from the truth. Sometimes I think strength makes it worse because inside your mind, you wonder, "Why am I feeling this way? I'm stronger than this." But really, you're not. You're just as weak and tired as everyone else when it comes to this--you just hold up a better facade.
Anyway, Happy Birthday Dad. With any luck, I'll get to have more than you did. Love you.
posted by Karabou at 10:29 PM EST
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June 2, 2007
Meeeow
We watched Grandma's Boy tonight. It started out a little slow, but it got pretty funny about halfway through and stayed funny. And that's better than most comedies can pull off now-a-days. Nick Swardson KILLS me. His gay roller-skating taco waiter on Reno 911 is hilarious. While only a supporting role, I think this is the biggest role he's had in a movie, and he didn't disappoint. It's a good rent for when the kiddies are asleep.


I'm thrilled the new BBC season has begun. I Tivo'd Hex tonight, I've got Footballers' Wives set up, and Graham Norton's BBC show is back after his American version failed terribly. I love Graham, and I couldn't stand his American show. *yawn* And I just realized that the main character of MI5, which is going to air on BBC this summer, is Matthew Macfadyen from the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. I might have to watch that show. Kev loved it but missed a big chunk of it when it was A&E or Bravo or one of those channels a year or two ago. I've got enough snogging, slapping, and supernatural cat fighting to last me till fall.
posted by Karabou at 11:47 PM EST
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