Last night there was this show on The History Channel (best. channel. ever.) about the Pentagon. It was really quite interesting. (Did you know that around 25,000 people work there? It blows the mind. In 1943, 33,000 people worked there--its highest population ever.) Anyway, it made me all sad, because my grandfather worked there in the 1950's and I really would like to talk to him about everything he did, but I can't, because he died in 1997. You know, just when I get to a point I can appreciate my grandparents and everything they've done, they have to go and die. It's really upsetting. My grandpa Dickson was so cool, too. Ah well. I guess we really don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Which is why I'm happy that I'm actually talking to my parents.
Anyway, 24 hours from now I'll be winging my way to London. YAY! I just need to get through work today. Time is just dragging by...argh.
Current song in my head:
"There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer
Today is going slowly. I only hope that tomorrow goes faster. I'm trying to keep my excitement level to a minimum, but it's not working very well. Hmm, maybe I'll check on my ebay auction...
Times sure do change, and this was brought the forefront of my attention (huh?) this weekend by two things: a song and a story. I was on my way back from Richmond and listening to my Dr. Demento tape and the song "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun." I've always been amused by this song; it brings to mind my high school's talent show, when a bunch of kids acted it out. And while it's still somewhat amusing, it borders more on disturbing, seeing how school shootings are practically common these days. And while none of the shooters have been popular Homecoming Queen types, that doesn't make the song okay anymore. Which is sad. Because I really liked that song.
The book that also made me think along these lines is Rage by Stephen King (under the pseudonym Richard Bachman). It follows a young man as he shoots a couple of teachers, then takes his Algebra II class hostage. It's really interesting and pretty good (though not King at his best), but still, I keep thinking, "This has happened. Kids bring guns to school." Ruins the illusion.
I rememeber senior year talking to a couple of perspective students and them talking about the security measures at their schools. I think we maybe had a security guard when I was in high school. Ah, back in the good ol' days.
Current song in my head:
"Penny Lane" by the Beatles
You know who's just awesome? Rhett Butler. Ignore the fact that he's fictional and the somewhat freakish obsession with Scarlett O'Hara (and his overly aggressive advances towards her). I want one of him. He says he's a bad lot and selfish and not a gentleman...and he may not be a gentleman, but he's certainly not selfish, and definitely not a cad. He has far too many soft spots--for Melanie, for Scarlett, and he's so cute when he's with Bonnie. He always comes through when you need him, he knows how to hold and kiss a woman, and is full of snarky goodness. Scarlett so doesn't deserve him. And when he leaves her at the end of the movie, he's coming into the future to sweep me off my feet, figuratively and literally. Sigh. Damn Turner Classic Movies for showing this.
Well, at least Gone With the Wind is a quality movie. The Next Karate Kid is also on. Zen bowling anyone? [Jody: I caught a bit of the beginning. She lives with like her aunt or someone but they're all teenage-angsty, so she goes to stay with Miyagi. Or something like that. We see the adult woman sending her off at the airport.]
Current song in my head:
"Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners (What, don't you see how that relates to Gone With the Wind? Okay, neither do I.)
Today was Carla's baby shower. Nice, because it took me away from work for an hour and a half, and there ain't nothing wrong with that. I also met her husband, Jonathan, who teaches 6th grade science. A really sweet guy (see previous entry about how he sent her a card at work). He helped reinforce my belief that it would be good to marry a teacher. They just seem like nice guys, in general; that probably explains why I'm friends with a number of male teachers.
You know, it's weird. I'm living day-to-day. I keep meaning to get involved with something--theater, a book club, something. But I'm very much bogged down in my daily routine. I so totally live by rountine. And once I find a routine, I don't want to change it. So I think about what I have to do at work, what I'm going to have for dinner, what's on tv...and that's about it. It's not that I don't ever think about anything else, but really that's all I'm concerned with. It's like, "I want to be involved with a theater production, but God, will that make me miss The West Wing or Buffy?" I know, I know, that's why I have a VCR. But still. I really need to move beyond this inertia. The problem is, I always think, "I'll get involved after..." and give myself a time. But then something else comes up. Right now, I don't even want to think about anything like that until after I get back from England (which, okay, is a week and a half away), and I don't really want to get involved until after my sister's wedding. I guess that's the whole commitment thing. I have to go to Ohio for Kathy's wedding and I don't want to let anyone down by going. Oh well. I think I'm going to go back to planning and jotting down things to look into and do. And hopefully get around to doing them. I'm just proud of myself that I actually did join the Jane Austen Society of North America. Go me!
Anyway, home this weekend. That'll be nice. And tomorrow is my parent's 33rd anniversary! Yay!
Current song in my head:
"Centerfield" by John Fogerty
Weirdness...I'm reading the recap of last week's Survivor (yes, even though I watched the episode, I also feel the need to read the recap; it's because it's amusing, okay?) and in the middle of it, the recapper wrote, "All your base are belong to us." It's weird because I would've had no idea what that was in reference to, except that this weekend Becca and Mattchew explained it to me. Hee! I'm all happy now.
Anyway, I hate rain. It's ucky. Can I go back to bed now? It doesn't help that my workload is fairly light at the moment. Suzanne gave that project to Carla (whose workload is also fairly light). I have stuff to do, but definitely not enough to fill the next three days. Of course, Friday is Krishni's telecommuting day and Carla's compressed day . . . so my slack-off day.
Current song in my head:
Radio is at commercial. This blog brought to you by Pizzeria Uno (mmm, Pizzeria Uno...)
So today at lunch I was looking across to the Bethesda Metro Center and I noticed that the ice skating rink is no longer there. It's kind of a nice thing; it means it's spring (as of 8:31 this morning). But for some reason, and I don't know why, it made me kind of sad and think of this line from Ragtime: "Each day the maids trudge up the hill, the hired help arrives. I never stopped to think they might have lives beyond our lives . . ." Maybe it's because I spent a lot of time watching people down there skating--the whole issue of being a spectator. I don't know.
Anyway, now I'm watching Buffy and it's all about Joyce and finding out about the tumor and there was this sequence of her getting a CAT scan and I got all weirded out, because it was far too much like seeing her being dead in The Body all the time. Freaky.
Current song in my head:
None, happily. A combination of a headache and the tv being on is keeping music away from my brain.
I was going to complain about how Krishni told Suzanne to just go ahead and give me work, and didn't bother asking me first, but then I realized that a) my workload is pretty light at the moment, so I actually welcome work; and b) it's right after lunch, so I pretty much lack any sort of motivation to be vehement. So I'm just going to accept. Though allow me one gripe, unrelated: there's a woman here who works in Marketing who says "supposably" instead of "supposedly." At first I thought I heard her wrong, but no. So I have to kill her.
Anyway, I'm happy that today is going quickly. I thought it would seem really long, because I got up an horu and a half early. But everything went fine at the passport agency (they didn't even ask to see my itinerary--just accepted it when I told them the date I was traveling). And work is going well, too. So that's happy. And I'm getting sucked into the High-Low Jackpot game on Mix 107.3. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.
Current song in my head:
"Back 2 Good" by Matchbox 20 (because it's on the radio right now)
So this weekend rocked. Totally. It was just so great seeing everyone again--particularly Matt Bange and Damien, seeing how I haven't seen either of them in a while. Okay, "a while" is putting it mildly where Matt is concerned. I haven't seen him since August of 1998. So it was really cool. I last saw Damien...I guess at Homecoming, so last October. It's amazing how all of our lives could change so much, and yet it still be so great and natural hanging out. Good times.
So I got home and, besides expending energy on trying to avoid collapsing into sleep, I'm like, "I want to talk to people!" I have to restrain myself from picking up the phone and calling somebody. I miss college--having my friends so close all the time. But gatherings like this are really awesome, too, because I certainly didn't spend that much time with Tim Funk in college. And the fact that we all stay in the same place. Like in college when we went to Warrior Poets concerts, the next day we probably wouldn't see each other (because it would probably be a Sunday). Now we all go out to lunch and hang out and talk. It's so cool. Plus, besides Jody (and possibly Amy), we don't have to worry about things like homework. We do have to deal with the fact that we're far apart. Which is sad. I miss my friends...we should get together more often than we do.
And a special shout-out to Mike Harp. It's really cool finding out someone that I didn't expect was reading this.
Song, not stuck in my head, but I heard on the way home from Gettysburg and found appropriate:
"Drink With Me" from Les Miserables
Selected lyrics:
"Drink with me to days gone by, to the life that used to be
At the shrine of friendship never say die
Let the wine of friendship never run dry
Here's to you, and here's to me."
The other day Carla's husband sent her a little card, and sent it here--to the office. Just a little note saying, "I love you." When I get married, I want to have a husband who does stuff like that for me. He doesn't have to take me to expensive restaurants and all that...just little notes showing how he feels. Aww.
Current song in my head:
Happily, I don't have one
Today is going quickly, which makes me happy because yesterday was The. Longest. Day. Ever. Maybe it's because I got up early to go to the DMV. I don't know. And today I came to work and actually found a bunch of stuff I have to do. Plus, making plans for future excursions...it keeps my mind occupied. Frantically sending lots of emails is fun!
And I'm thinking I'm going to make cookies tomorrow night. I've been craving oatmeal scotchies for a while and now I have a perfect excuse to make them. Whee! Plus, I'm all content because I went to the grocery store last night. And not just a "I need bread and milk" trip. This was a full-out, go nuts grocery shopping trip. And I finally subscribed to The Washington Post for Sundays. It's about time I got motivated to do that.
Current song in my head:
"This Kiss" by Faith Hill because I just glanced down at my previous entry and it got stuck it my mind
So I finally got Maryland license plates for my car. Yay! I was at the point where if the woman at the DMV (or, MVA as they call it here in Maryland) had told me it cost $1000 to register my car, I would've forked the money over without complaint (okay, complaints only in retrospect). I'm just so happy to have it done with. What a relief. One less thing to worry about. Now I need to get Chuck's oil changed...
Work is somewhat slow, but that's okay. I'm enjoying it, knowing that even though I can't think of anything that will keep me busy in the future, something will pop up. It's a good thing. I like the unpredictability of my job. Makes it all very exciting. Of course, that being said, I'm not too pleased that since I didn't get into work until 10:10, I'm skipping lunch and staying here until 5:10. Uck. And then--the grocery store. Will the excitement ever stop?!
I am in a happy mood, though. It's a good thing. Maybe it's the sunny sky. I don't know. But it's definitely good. I only wish that Becca could be happy too. And all of my friends. But hey, we have this weekend--Buckleys and some late night LDs. Life doesn't get any better than food, drink, and good friends.
Current song in my head:
"This Kiss" by Faith Hill
My bad. "Bye Bye Love" is, in fact, by the Everly Brothers. Oops.
Anyway, I am now officially awake and very bouncy and happy. Jody, Lucy and Carrie know why. Whee fun! :)
You know what's bad? Always living in the past...or in the future. I've always been like this. "This time yesterday I was . . ." "A week from now I'll be . . ." It's just one of those things and it only leads to misery, really. I guess looking forward to things is good, but constantly looking to the past...just doesn't help anything.
Of course, coming home to an empty apartment that was full of friends when last seen isn't exactly a pick-me-up either.
Current song in my head:
"Bye Bye Love" by Buddy Holly & the Crickets (I think), thanks to the fact that that's what I'm currently watching
This weekend kicked ass in all sorts of ways. Best time I've had in a long time. Of course, I'm paying for it now...I want nothing more than to put my head down on my desk and go to sleep. The concert last night was lots of fun. And let me emphasize how intelligent it was for us to move out of the large mob on the floor into the stands. I may not have gotten to see Everclear and Matchbox Twenty as clearly as I saw Lifehouse, but at least I wasn't fearing being trampled to death. And the crowd surfers? Scary. Plus, being in the stands meant we could beat the crowd getting out of there.
I think a lot of it was just being able to kick back and hang out with the girls. Not that I don't love my male friends (I do, guys, honestly!), it's just that sometimes I really need to socialize with other females. The smorgasbord at Bennigan's on Saturday night rocked...it's been so long since I've had a real dessert. Mmmm. There was just this complete lack of pressure about anything the whole weekend. Lovely.
And if I learned one thing this weekend, it's that Dan is the exception to every rule. Dan + Cindy Forever! Damn Making the Band marathon.
Current song in my head:
"Push" by Matchbox Twenty
Okay, any motivation I had this morning (which admittedly was not much) completely flew out the window once I got to work. I found a bunch of emails and a voicemail from Krishni giving me a bunch of things to do. And I really wasn't pleased that one involved finding out information after an author said we didn't have to bother. Krishni was like, "No, that's okay, Barb can look into it." Grrr.
I really should go work on the nine remaining practice guidelines. I actually am motivated enough to do that. Though I might not turn on the fan. I'm already a little chilly.
Current song in my head:
"Mysterious Ways" by U2 (because that's what's on the radio right now)
There was no reason for the foreboding yesterday...well, nothing that I know of yet, anyway.
Weird happening of the day: I woke up with the song "LA Song" by Beth Hart in my head. I don't know why. Then, on my way to work, when I only ever hear maybe two songs, one of them was "LA Song." Just bizarre. And then they talked about! I must be psychic. That's the only logical explanation.
Ever have a totally random giggle fit? It's a ton stranger when you're completely alone. I was watching the movie 2Gether on MTV and it completely amused me. I think it was because I kept thinking, "Hee hee, Chad is so cute!" and then realized what I was thinking and the patheticness of it all. See, 2Gether is cool because they're so aware of what they're mocking that it's just perfect. I mean, they're like the Monkees, but the Monkees didn't really mock anyone (they were meant to be the American Beatles, but they didn't mock the Beatles). Plus, the 2Gether songs are really funny. Boy, that was rambly and weird?
And I'm excited to see people this weekend. It should be fun. Whee! And the socialization will be good for me.
Current song in my head:
"Calculus (U + Me = Us)" by 2Gether (which, by the way, I can now do the hand motions to)
Have you ever been fairly content, but had something nagging at the back of your mind but you don't know what? That's where I am right now. Like there's something I have to do. I don't know. Or maybe it's foreboding. Hmmm.
Oh, I forgot to add this...I was reading this trashy romance novel last night, and one of the lines in it was, "Words were not her forte." And who says there's nothing redeeming in trashy romance novels? That line made me laugh out loud.
I'm in an oddly chipper mood. I don't know why, and I'm not going to question it. Maybe it's because it's sunny, and warmish (yeah, at what, 36 degrees when I came in). Or maybe it's because I have work to do, and the prospect of more work later (yes, this makes me happy). Maybe it's because I'm finally getting my hair cut today. Maybe it's because Carla told me her sister and brother-in-law are moving to Gettysburg. Maybe it's because the office seems more awake and not so quiet today. Maybe it's a combination of all these things. Probably. Again, I'm not going to question it. Just accept.
Current song in my head:
"Do-wa-diddy" (or however you spell that)
Okay, if I hear people complaining about weather forecasters any more, I'm going to scream. Like it's the fault of the forecasters that they can't control nature? And I don't know who or what other people were listening to, but every forecast I heard totally emphasized how completely unpredictable this weather system was. It's not the fault of the forecasters that they were saying, "This may change, but right now it looks like we might get up to 12 inches," and people were hearing, "We're going to get over a foot of snow! It'll be the worst blizzard ever! Better go to the grocery storey." And everyone's complaining like it's the fault of the forecasters that the storm missed us and nobody got the day off from work. Because meteorologists can control nature. What. Ever.
Current song in my head:
"Angel of the Morning"
Okay, I don't know where it's coming from, but it smells like yummy melty nacho cheese in here, so now I have a big ol' hankering for nachos. You know, the ones smothered in cheese and salsa and jalapenos and meat and onions...mmmm
Current song in my head:
Theme from "Silver Spoons"
I beat the system. AOTA had forced us to download a certain, AOTA controlled version of Internet Explorer, allegedly so people who telecommute can access the intranet. It was bad--slow and it wouldn't let me open pop-up windows (all I would get was a blank window with an error message at the bottom). But I downloaded Netscape Navigator this morning. Whee! I love Netscape. Now I just have to log into mightybigtv again so it can put me where I last read in the forums.
And kudos to Brent for letting me rape him of his mp3s last night. I now have the Peter, Paul & Mary version of "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Excellent.
Current song in my head:
"It's My Life" by Bon Jovi
You know, going up 18 flights of stairs is really tiring on the legs. I read about this theory of exercise that you lift weights or whatever until you're basically dead. But you do that like twice a week and it does amazing things. I've decided that climbing the stairs is a good way to go. I just have to remember to bring arm weights with me. Yay for living in a high rise!
I'm just happy now that I no longer have "Oops, I Did It Again" in my head. I did earlier, at work. That sucked.
Current song in my head:
"Roll to Me"
It's funny--nobody wanted to come to work today. Even Krishni was hoping for a snow day. So I guess we all really are still little kids inside. It's still snowing at a pretty good clip, but it's not sticking to the roads, so I'm thinking no early dismissal for me. Which is sad. I'm going to hope for a short day tomorrow, though. It's supposed to be icy, too!
Anyway, Ragtime yesterday was great. I always love seeing shows (well, any show, really) that I've been listening to for a long time. I had images in my head of what I thought it would be like. I was talking to my mom last night about it (she had read the book), and she said that it was more of a woman's story than a man's. It really is a lot more character driven, I think. I can't really put my finger on it. Oh well. I felt that Coalhouse could have been more passionate. I mean, on the cast recording, with Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse, I could really feel the despair that drove him to desperation. The Coalhouse we saw seemed a bit too...quiet. But I thought the woman playing Mother was excellent. She totally did justice to "Back to Before." Mother's Younger Brother had kind of an odd voice, as did Tateh.
Melodie should totally hear or see this show. She would love Mother's Younger Brother. He very much had the whole Enjolras thing going on (or is that Enjorlas?). They just need some cuter guys to play him. I mean, I was looking at the program, and none of the guys who play MYB are cute. Dammit.
Anyway, I should get to work...but I totally don't feel like it. Any motivation I ever had is totally gone. I can't say that time goes quickly when I'm busy, because it doesn't always. I've had very busy periods that have just not taken as long as they should have. I think for time to pass quickly for me, I have to have things being thrown at me, not just one task to sit down and do. Ah well. I'm going to put doing permissions crap off until this afternoon and work on other stuff this morning.
Current song in my head:
"Breathless" by the Corrs (damn them!)
I'm not sure why, but lately I've had this urge to do ghost tours again. I sure can't explain it. It's probably a combination of watching too much History Channel and a yearning to be in college again. Today I was watching a show about the Civil War on the History Channel (what a shock! The History Channel--and a show on the Civil War?! What's next, Hitler?) and they were showing clips from the 1999 re-enactment at Gettysburg, then they were showing the Remembrance Day parade from '99 and you could see the Ghosts of Gettysburg building! And I got all nostalgic, because I was actually standing in front of it, watching the parade. If I had taped it and paused, I might have been able to see myself. Whee!
So today Krishni realized that a deadline for submitting a book for consideration for this certain award is tomorrow. And she started freaking out until we realized that it only had to be postmarked by tomorrow. So we heaved a sigh of relief. I then started looking at information I had on other awards we thought we might be able to win. The deadline for one: today. And it had to be received by today. So I frantically filled out the applications, and Krishni's like, "Could you please drive it out to their office?" (in Rockville, the next town over). So I got to drive around the lovely suburbs of D.C. instead of doing actual work. Whee! That killed a little over an hour.
In other news, I started saving for the future. Today was payday, so on my way back from Rockville, I stopped at the bank and transferred $50 from checking to savings. Not a ton, I know, but when you add it to the money I already had in savings, then consider $50 for every paycheck...it'll add up. I just don't want to have to touch it for a long time.
And I finally got Instant Messenger to configure itself to my home computer. Yay!
Current song in my head:
"Ragtime" from the show Ragtime
Okay, so this morning I came in and thought, "I'm going to just plow through all this permissions crap and not goof off or play around on the Internet." So I did. I just did a quick email check and started working. I thought it would make the time pass faster. Boy did it just not do that at all. It's only 11. This is the longest week ever. How can it only be Thursday? Argh. And authors are stupid. I vote for getting rid of them all and going with my boss Krishni's idea of just having everything done by medical editors. Works for me.
I just got this craving for New England clam chowder. I'm going to attempt to resist the temptation of going to Pizzeria Uno for lunch and just have some chowder for dinner.
Current song in my head:
"In a New York Minute" by Don Henley (courtesy of last night's The West Wing)