I snagged this from Sylvana's site. It's interesting...

Your Linguistic Profile:

55% General American English

20% Upper Midwestern

15% Dixie

10% Yankee

0% Midwestern

I guess I fit in perfectly with the Yankees and the Rebels equally. Nice to know! I also suppose that Colorado is considered Western & not midwestern? I think I got my Dixie Speak from Rhonda who's parents were from Alabama. I picked up a lot from her when we were growing up.

Also, I'm having lunch today with two friends that I went to school with. I've been friends with Billie Jo since we were cheerleaders in junior high and recently started hanging out with her again a year ago but Troy I haven't seen since high school. I've known him since 3rd grade, as long as I've known Shanon! I have another friend named Troy and I found out that both Troys have the same birthday..same day, same year...both their last names start with "ST". I mentioned the coincidence to Collin and he asked, "Are they the Troy & the Anti-Troy? Maybe if you get them together, they'll explode."

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May 19th is drawing closer. Call me a geek if you must but I'm so excited about Episode III of Star Wars that I've taken to giggling like a madwoman whenever I see anything about it!
Darth Vader has always been my favorite villan since I first saw Star Wars at my Dad's theatre in the cramped confines of House 3 of the Cinema 70. It also started my fascination with Harrison Ford long before his adventures as Indiana Jones. Speaking of, there's going to be an Indiana Jones 4!! Too much excitement in one post, I can't take it!

Yesterday, Collin sent me this link and while I'm pretty sure May 19th is a day I have off (I'm nowhere near a calendar), I thought this excuse from work or school for the premiere was classic! I would actually use it if my cool boss was still my boss. She would get a kick out of it.

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I'm in a dress-up mood today. I'm wearing a long skirt, heels, sweater...I actually curled my hair, put on make-up and painted my toenails (silver). When I was done with all that I rubbed glimmer lotion on my legs. Jordyn asked me what that was so I showed her how it sparkled. She loved it so I rubbed some on her hands and arms.

Me: Your hands are dry.

J: I know - that's why I'm itchy a lot.

Me: When you get out of the bath, you should rub lotion on you. You might not be so itchy then.

J: I don't have any lotion.

Me: Well, then, we'll have to get you some.

J: The thing with that is I don't have any self-control.

At least she knows!

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Somewhere at the top of my list of things I hate are pot lucks and pushy people. When the two come hand in hand it's all I can do to keep a civil tongue in my head.

There's a man I work with who is constantly trying to organize pot lucks here. He's under the impression that these dinners will make us a tighter-knit group. Well, I've got news for him: he's been trying for three years and it's not working! We've always been the most quiet and most independent shift of the four. We're all happy to go our separate ways for our dinner breaks, me most of all!

The last time we had a pot luck was about 4 months ago. It was okay. It was a cultural thing where we had to bring a dish that displayed our heritage. I brought Swedish meatballs. Since I don't cook, I simply bought 2 family size boxes of Marie Calendars Swedish Meatballs and nuked them before I came in. I hated every second of it.

Now he's back on the pot luck train but this time he wants to get a giant sub sandwich for which everyone has to pitch in $3 PLUS bring a side dish. I'm all for the giant sammich but I'm not to keen on bringing a side. If he's collecting $3 from everyone, that should be enough to supply the sandwich, chips and drinks! I said I'd participate and even thought of wrangling my Dad into making his World Famous Sopapilla Cheesecake and bringing that as my side. But the more I think about it, I don't wanna.

Tonight he sent his trainee, who I actually like in normal situations, around to tell everyone that he expected the $3 to be given to him TONIGHT! When she went up to Prescilla, she actually said, "Mike needs your $3 by tonight." No asking, no please, just a demand. Prescilla told her "No. I'll bring it Saturday since the pot luck isn't until Sunday. He doesn't need it before then!" Go Prescilla!!

Then it was my turn. She came up and said, "Will you be bringing your $3 tomorrow?" Now, I'm in the grip of what is commonly known as Three Days Before Pay Day Blues. That consists of one major factor: I HAVE NO MONEY! I'm usually a pleasant person and try my best to be nice to everyone but when these Blues hit, I can be a little sharp. I simply barked out "No!" She looked shocked and asked if I was planning on participating. I told her yes but that I had no money and wouldn't be able to bring it in until Saturday. She seemed to accept my answer and turned to walk away. Then she turned back and said, "You don't even have three dollars?? You must really be poor."

I wanted to say, "Look! Some of us don't have a sugar daddy husband who'll buy us brand new cars with heated seats or $800 gold and emerald rings (she just recently acquired both of those. Or 3 if you count the sugar daddy!). Some of us have to eat and pay rent and buy gas, thank you very much and DO NOT have the money nor inclination to participate in your trainers idea of a good freakin' time!!!" But I didn't. I merely smiled and said, "Yep. Pretty broke."

What really gets my goat about this whole pot luck thing is that Mike (who I blogged about last year as the guy who said he was afraid to talk to me because I always looked mad!) is trying so hard to play up the angle of togetherness for his reasoning behind these stupid dinners and he never talks to a single soul! It's irritating!!

Betcha couldn't tell that, could ya? :)

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Oh my, God!! I can't stop sneezing! It's the worst thing! I've never had allergies before (knock on wood & point like Fred) so I don't think that's my problem. I was just sitting in my living room Sunday afternoon reading while Collin made some upgrades to my computer when suddenly...

You know how when you have a giant booger that just moves and you feel it inside your nose and it kinda tickles? Well, that's what happened to me except it had a stinging quality to it. I started sneezing violently and couldn't stop until after 7 sneezes! I usually only sneeze twice. About an hour later it happened again. This time 5 sneezes. All afternoon & evening I was beset upon by this horrible sneezing! And when the stinging tickle comes, it makes my left eye twitch & water.

The last time it happened (so far anyway) I was walking up the hall here at work & ran into the security guard right after my fit. I'm sure he thought I was high... my eye was red and twitchy and watering. I hope it goes away soon.

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It's time to reveal the answers & the winners!!

Wednesday's answers:

1) Apple was The Beatles record label. The Iveys (who were later Badfinger) were the first group signed.

2)Grand Funk Railroad did a cover of "Locomotion."

3) All About Eve

4) Gwen & Gavin

5) Catherine Back played Daisy Duke in The Dukes Of Hazard

6) The Gellar Cup was made from a Troll doll

7) Magrat became Queen of Lancre

8) Mary Higgins Clark held all three positions

9) Lady Jane Grey

10) Little Cabbage

Thursday's Answers:

1) Oingo Boingo

2) Jim Carrey. Guns N Roses was the band who made the cameo.

3) Richard Grieco

4) Nora Roberts

5) True

Friday's Answers:

1) All of the above

2) Brett Favre

3) Maggie

4) Jackie Collins

5) Valeri Kamensky

6) Mark Jackson

7) Jeremiah Castille. Tony Lilly got the credit on the radio call.

The points break down like this:

Jenn - 1 (for playing)
Justin C - 5
Leesa - 9
Andy K - 12
Collin - 13 1/2

So congratulatins to Collin!! See what happens when you play every day? :) Thanks to all who played. A big raspberry award to my brother who NEVER played. Except the first day & gave all silly answers! :P


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Since it's the last day, I'm adding a couple of extra bonus questions in! I'll keep the quizzes open until tomorrow then I'll tally the points and post the answers & the winner! Thanks for playing! Hope you had fun!!

1. What artist or group has had a cover of Badfinger's classic "Without You?"
a) Harry Nilsson
b) Heart
c) Mariah Carey
d) All of the above
e) A & C only

2. What NFL star had a cameo in There's Something About Mary?
a) John Elway
b) Brett Favre
c) Steve Young
d) Peyton Manning

3. Who shot Mr. Burns?
a) Smithers
b) Homer
c) Marge
d) Maggie

4. Which author introduced the character Lucky Santangelo?
a) Mario Puzo
b) Jackie Collins
c) Tom Clancy
d) Heather Graham

5. Who scored the first goal for the Colorado Avalanche?
a) Claude Lemieux
b) Valeri Kamensky
c) Uwe Krupp
d) Joe Sakic

6. Who caught the touchdown pass thrown by John Elway at the end of The Drive?
a) Vance Johnson
b) Ricky Nattiel
c) Mark Jackson
d) Clarence Kay

7. What Bronco caused The Fumble a year later against the Browns? Bonus point if you can tell me who got the credit on the radio call. Once again, no choices for the bonus question.
a) Tony Lilly
b) Dennis Smith
c) K.C. Clark
d) Jeremiah Castille

Good luck!!

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I got this from Jenn. She stole it from Celti. I just really like these kind of things. Fun to answer, easy to post!! :)

do you/have you....
like the taste of blood = You know, I don't think so but I never think twice about sucking it off me when I cut myself...maybe I'm a vampire and don't know it!

believe in love = Of course I do!! I'm in love so deeply right now, I'll never get out!

believe in soul mates = Yes.

believe in love at first sight = Yes, but not for me or else I would have fallen for Collin the first time I saw him. As is stands, I still can't remember anything about that first meeting (at Derek's wedding rehersal) and I hate that!! I need a time machine!

believe in god = Yeah, I think I do.

ever cried over a boy = All the time...not lately, though. I think the worst time was when I was madly in love (or so I thought) with this guy at college and I went all out for him at Christmas and he got me a yo-yo. I cried for days!!

ever lied to someone = Well, yeah. Doesn't everyone?

ever been arrested = No! I pray to God (I guess I do believe in Him, huh?) that I never am!

ever dated anyone who's in your friends list/links = Yes but only one. And we're still dating.

kissed anyone on your friends list/links = Yes. How could I not kiss him? We're dating for crying out loud!!

ever considered dating anyone else on your friends list/links = Someone's not paying attention! I'M DATING COLLIN!! He's first on my links list!!!

ever been in a fist fight = Shockingly, no. A lot of pushing fights and screaming matches, though.

you have a crush on someone = Yes. See the top of my links list!!

what...
are you scared of = Clowns that want to eat people, spiders that want to lay eggs in me and bees that want to sting me.

what are you like in relationships = Yikes!! I'd like to think I'm cool and sweet and fun! {crossing my fingers}

you wish you could live somewhere else = Yeah, a house with a library! I need room for all my books!!

others find you attractive = I know one person does and that's all that matters!

you smoke = eeyeew. It stinks! No way! I went to lunch with a friend who smokes the other day & I smelled it the rest of the night! I had some pineapple body spray in my locker (I was at work) and then I just smelled like barbecued pineapple! Bleck!

you like roller coasters = I've only been on one and that was about 20 years ago. I think I liked it. I survived so it couldn't have been all that bad!

you write in cursive or print = Depends. Usually cursive but sometimes I get tired and just print.

for or against....
long distance relationships = I...don't...know...

using someone = That's not nice.

suicide = Coward's way out.

killing people = I'm not sure I could...that would depend on the circumstances, though. Kill or be killed...or if someone was threatening someone I loved...

doing drugs = drugs make you stupid.

premarital sex = My MOTHER reads this! I'm not talking about that!


Well, that was fun! Don't forget to take the quizzes down below!

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I was going to post the answers to yesterday's quiz today but decided to keep it open for others who just might want to try their hand at it. (*coughDerekcough*)

Here's today's questions. We're back to 5.

1. Danny Elfman, who does music for The Simpsons, belongs to what 80's band?
a) Scritti Politti
b) Johnny Hates Jazz
c) When In Rome
d) Oingo Boingo

2. Who played rock star Johnny Squares in the Dirty Harry movie, "The Dead Pool?" Bonus point if you can tell me the hair band that had an appearace in the funeral scene. ( no choices on the bonus question. You just have to know it!)
a) Jim Carrey
b) Keifer Sutherland
c) Lou Diamond Phillips
d) Sebastian Bach

3. Who played Booker on 21 Jump Street?
a) Johnny Depp
b) Richard Grieco
c) Peter Deluise
d) Holly Robinson

4. What romance writer uses the pen name J.D. Robb to write mysteries?
a) Johanna Lindsey
b) Nora Roberts
c) Jude Deveraux
d) Julie Garwood

5. True or false, MASH actor McLean Stevenson is the nephew of politician Adlai Stevenson.

Good luck, have fun!!

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Okay, okay...so I'll continue with the quiz! :) Since I didn't post any questions yesterday I'll do 10 today & I'll try to keep them easier than the last ones.

These are the answers from Monday's quiz:

1) LAMB, it stands for Love Angel Music Baby which is the title of her solo CD. Which rocks by the way!

2) He won for Cat Ballou. He played Kid Shelleen & the bad guy who's name escapes me at the moment. Derek, you really should have known that!!!

3) Ralph Hinckley was The Greatest American Hero. When John Hinckley shot President Reagan, they started having him called Mr. H.

4) Here you go, Jenn - stop racking your brain!! :) Richard Bachman.

5) Barbara Cartland - Mistress Of Cheese.


So, on to today's questions! Good luck! In fact, I think I'll make it multiple choice to even the odds a bit!

1) What was the name of The Beatles record label?
a) Apple
b) Cherry Pit
c) Bananarama
d) Abbey Road

2) What classic rock band had a cover of Little Eva's "The Locomotion?"
a) The Who
b) Grand Funk Railroad
c) Bubble Puppy
d) Argent

3) In what movie did Bette Davis say "Buckle your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night?"
a) What Happened To Baby Jane?
b) All About Eve
c) The Watcher In The Woods
d) Queen Christina

4) What famous couple had a cameo in Zoolander?
a) Jennifer Aniston & Brad Pitt
b) Harrison Ford & Calista Flockhart
c) Simon & Garfunkel
d) Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale

5) Who played Daisy Duke in the Dukes of Hazard?
a) Farrah Fawcett
b) Heather Thomas
c) Catherine Bach
d) Charlene Tilton

6) In the Friends episode "The One With The Football", what is The Gellar Cup made from?
a) a Barbie head
b) a Troll
c) G.I. Joe
d) a Superman figurene

7) In the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, who became Queen of Lancre?
a) Nanny Ogg
b) Susan
c) Magrat
d) Granny Weatherwax

8) What profession did author Mary Higgins Clark hold when she was young?
a) stewardess
b) advertising executive
c) radio copywriter
d) all of the above

9) Who was Queen of England for only 10 days?
a) Catherine of Aragon
b) Catherine Parr
c) Lady Jane Grey
d) Anne Boelyn

10) By what nickname did Marie Antoinette call her son?
a) Little Cabbage
b) Little Munchkin
c) Little Prince
d) Little King

Okay, there you go!! I hope the multiple choice makes it better! Let me know what you think!

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I'm going to hell. My seat in the hand-basket has been booked and confirmed. It's just a matter of when!!

Collin & I were talking on the phone last night while I was at work and he mentioned that a Pope Vote had been taken but the smoke was black. I said, "So that means there's no new Pope, right?" I was trying desperately to remember what I read about how they went about choosing a new Pope from what I had read in Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons." I did know that when the smoke from the smokestacks was white, a new Pope had been chosen.

"I think that's what it means," he answered. "Throw him on the fire, if he burns black, he's not the Pope for us!"

I couldn't help it - I know it was wrong but it just popped out. "If he burns black, send him back. If he burns white then we're all right!" Collin laughed at my rhyme. Then I said, "Don't they lock all the cardinals up in a room until they pick a new one?"

"I think so & then after a certain amount of days they feed them nothing but bread & water?"

You'd think that I had learned my lesson the first time but no! My mouth opened again: "See? See what you get by being choosy? If you had picked a Pope last week, you could be having steak and potatoes right now!!"

And then Collin had his seat next to mine confirmed. "Yeah, come on, which one isn't the Antichrist? Don't you think that the smoke would burn red if the Antichrist was chosen?"

All this papal talk got us curious so he looked up the actual events online. It turns out that they don't get punished with bread & water if they don't pick one soon enough, so yay them! But the voting reminded us a bit of Survivor: Vatican City. Each cardinal places his vote on a silver tray & Collin wondered if they had to face a camera afterwards and tell why they chose who they did.

Apparently the front runner to be the next Pope is a German named Ratzinger. He's 75 years old. Do these people not listen?? After two more popes die, the world ends!! Why are they even thinking of voting someone in who's 75????? I really would like the world to continue on as it was.

Apparently there's no chance for an American pope. That means Andy can't be elected so we're safe on that front.

Oh!! And then there's the deal with bonking the poor Pope on the forehead with a silver hammer to determine whether he's dead or just sleeping. If he was just sleeping, he'd probably be dead afterwards! What a custom! If it is true - Collin said that as of last night on Snopes.com that the status of that story was still undetermined.

Despite all the humor that surrounds this picking a new Pope, I find it all quite fascinating. It's history.

And P.S. Since no one wanted to play my game with me, the trivia contest has been set aside. Have a nice Tuesday.

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I've decided that I want to do another trivia game like I did a few months ago with the music questions. This time, however, will be a little different. Every day I'll post 5 questions (music, movies, TV, books & misc.) and at the end of the week, whoever has the highest total score wins.

The rules are that no online searching is allowed. Place your answers in the comment box. Good luck & have fun!!

MONDAY'S QUESTIONS:

1) What is the name of Gwen Stefani's clothing line and what does it stand for?

2) What movie did Lee Marvin win the Best Actor Oscar for playing dual roles? Bonus point if you can name the roles he played.

3) What was the original last name of The Greatest American Hero & what was it changed to?

4) What other name does Stephen King publish under?

5) What bestselling romance author is Lady Diana's step-grandmother?

There are your first questions! 5 more tomorrow!!

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-Did you know that today is the 93rd anniversary of the sinking of The Titanic? When Derek was little, he was totally obsessed with ships, especially The Titanic. He drew a buttload of pictures of the ship...in transit, hitting the berg, sinking...he also drew a picture of Captain E.J. Smith without ever seeing him. It turned out to be eerily close to what he really looked like!

-Did you know that Abraham Lincoln died today?

-Last night I went to see Phantom Of The Opera with Mom. We both loved the movie - the sets, the costumes, the music...it was enthralling. I shared a large Coke with her so by the time I got back to Collin's, I really had to go to the bathroom. Jordyn asked me where I was going and I told her, "I have to pee." She then cheered me on: "Pee! Pee! Pee like God would pee!" "How does God pee," I asked her. She shrugged. "Well...I don't know!"

-Today I took Jordyn with me to Hooked On Books. While I was paying, she took notice of a bucket of wooden garden decorations. She looked up at the lady behind the counter and said, "Hi, what's your name?" "My name is Mary." "Well, Mary, what are these exactly?" Mary went on to patiently excplain that they were lawn decorations. As we were leaving, I asked Jordyn how she got to be so friendly. She shrugged. "I don't know. That's just how I was designed."

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I went to New Panda about a month ago with my friend Troy. There was no one crouching behind the counters or screaming obscenities that visit but rest assured it wasn't a totally uneventful trip. When our food arrived, Troy asked for chopsticks. The waitress brought both of us a pair. I can't use chopsticks, never got the hang of it so I didn't open mine up. I left them sitting by my plate while I ate with a fork. While we were talking, I looked down at the packaged sticks and saw there was writing on there. I found what it said highly amusing. Here it is:



I love that they don't cater to any one restaurant. As long as it's Chinese, you're good to go!! Plus I applaud the manufactuers by assuming that all Chinese food is "nice." It's the last sentence that has me scratching my head. What is "glonous?" Is it supposed to be "Glorious?" I'm pretty sure that "cultual" is meant to be "Cultural." Whatever they are, they're typical & traditional. For unskilled Americans like me, there are directions. Thank God there are pictures illustrating how to do this cuz their spelling leaves something to be desired. Is this how they think we spell & talk in the U.S.?



I mean, if there wasn't a picture of a thumb, I might think they were trying to spell turnip. And they can't even spell CHOPSTICK which is the product they're pushing!!! Wait, they spelled it right on the bottom section...who was their proofreader? Do they still have child labor in China? That would explain the spelling. But it's nice to know that once I master the art of holding the chopsticks, I can pick up ANYTHING!! I still have the chopsticks in my purse so I'll have to practice and then use them when I go shopping or cleaning house...who knew chopsticks were so versatile?

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It snowed Sunday. Not just a pretty, sparkling Springtime snow... a full-fledged, wet, heavy, 60 mile-an-hour-gust BLIZZARD! We haven't had an actual blizzard like that in about 7 years. The last time we had one was the day I went to Atmel to take the test to see if I was eligible to be hired. They shut the plant down while I was there. They haven't closed it for snow since!

Anyway, back to Sunday. They started issuing blizzard warnings Saturday and by the time I woke up Sunday at noon, it was a mess! I was hoping that Atmel would close and I would get an extra day off. No such luck. Atmel is in the southern part of the city which was getting the hit by the weakest part of the storm. I was in the eastern part which was getting hit pretty good! The wind was howling, the drifts were piling up... Collin & I walked to 7-11 and the drifts were past my knees. I decided I wasn't going in, with a little cajoling from the boyfriend.

"Your Mom would agree with me," he told me. "She wouldn't want you out in this!" I figured he was right and I called in. My supervisor was very cool about it and said he understood. After I talked to him, I called Mom to make sure she made it home from work okay. (Mom has a very strong work ethic. Takes more than a blizzard to keep her away!) She had made it fine; her store is on the south side of town as well and the roads were fine for her trip. I told her I wasn't going into work because it was so nasty where I was and she said, "Do you want me to come & get you? I'll take you to work." Once a manager, always a manager!!

The guilt ate at me for about three hours until I looked out the window and saw how bad the storm still was. The streets were covered in water from the heavy snow and the expected low was 20 degrees. Knowing that the roads would be sheer ice at 7am when I would have been coming home & not having a working cell phone at the time made my guilt evaporate. I snuggled up on the couch with Collin and finished watching the first season of 24 and got into the 2nd.

By Monday night at 8pm when I went on my first break at work, you couldn't even tell we had had a blizzard. Colorado weather is so weird. It's only predictable in it's unpredictability!

***********

Bonus: Saturday night, we were at Mom's playing games. During a lull between turns, she started to tell me about a dream she had had the night before.

"I had a dream that I had a new baby. He was a fully-formed human being but he was only this tall... (she put her fingers apart about 3 inches)... boy, was he hard to dress!"

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Good. You know your music. You should be able to
work at Championship Vinyl with Rob, Dick and
Barry

Do You Know Your Music (Sorry MTV Generation I Doubt You Can Handle This One)
brought to you by Quizilla

Whee, look at me go!! I'm a music goddess!! LOL!

Labels: Music, Quiz

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I sooooooo rocked at this quiz! Anyone who considers themselves an 80's music guru (Andy Kelly, I'm looking in your direction!), you HAVE to take this! It's not an excuse, just a reason but I would have sone much better if Collin & his son weren't playing Doom 3 next to me and screaming & squealing in fear every two minutes! There are 100 questions plus 3 extra credit at the end. It's a tad time consuming but a ton of fun of you love music!

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We have a maintenence guy at work named Vern. He's considered the #1 guy there because he really knows his stuff. If you want something fixed fast and right, you call him. I hesitate to page him, though, because he mumbles and I have a hard time understanding him. When Christina worked with me, she would tell me that when he'd come to fix her machine and he would ask her something, her stock answer was always, "I did that" because she had no idea what he was saying. Sometimes he would nod and walk away, other times he would give her an odd look.

Last week, we went through a lay-off and 3 of our maint guys (including the one I called my back-up) were cut from our crew. I was talking to Nancy, one of my co-workers, about how now I would be forced to call Vern if Fred (MY #1 maint guy) was ever unavailable. I told her how Vern mumbled and about how Christina always just told him, "I did that."


The very next night I was on my way to lunch and Nancy stopped me, laughing hysterically. "Heather, Heather, you'll never guess what! I was running corr and Vern came over and asked me something...I understood the first three words but then it trailed off into mumbles so I just said, 'I did that.' Apparently it was what he wanted to hear cuz he nodded and walked away!"

I loved it!! I emailed Christina immediately to let her know of the legacy she's left behind!

It's shaping up already to be a very blah day. Hopefully things will perk up! And I hope you all have a great Thursday...it's Collin's Friday so that should make HIM happy. Well, it makes me happy, too...and I'm blathering so....

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Today's my sister-in-law's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!! And to her sister Shannon out in Las Vegas!! Hope you both had a great day!!

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You Are Ed Wood From "Ed Wood."

You definitely have your name in history,although probably not for the reason you believe. Yet you are very accepting, non-judgemental and optimistic almost to a fault. You also have a thing for angora sweaters. How aound anyone not like you?

Take the Johnny Depp Quiz



Once again, I've stolen something from El Sid! This one was cool since I adore Johnny Depp!! And I'm quite happy with my results!


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I was so immersed in the fact that I puked on the trip home from Junction that I forgot about this.

We were coming up on a small mountain town called Alma. It so tiny that it takes about 5 minutes to drive through the whole place. There are no stoplights. There are some small houses, some stores, a couple restaurants and bars. But no people. Never any people.

Dad pointed out this observation when we hit the edge of town. "You never see any people in this place. It's kind of creepy. It's like a ghost town." I had never realized it before but he was right so I started looking hard for a human being to point out. At the opposite end of town in front of a restaurant there was a minivan. In the back seat was a little boy who looked to be about three or four. He was waving at the road.

"There's someone!" I cried.

"Where," Mom & Dad asked in unison.

"In that van." We passed the van and climbing into the passenger side was an older guy with long white hair and a long beard wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt. "And there's a long-haired hippy Grandpa!"

"Where," they asked again.

"Right there in that minivan!"

"I don't see anyone," Mom said. Dad agreed.

"They were right there," I argued. "The hippy was getting in the van and the little boy was waving."

"Was he waving at us," Dad asked.

"Nooooo...he was kind of waving blindly." Dad then started flailing his arms about in an attempt to make fun of me. "You didn't see them?"

Mom and Dad exchanged looks. Then Dad said, "She sees dead people."

"I did NOT see dead people! They were there, how could you miss them?"

And all Dad would say after that was "She sees dead people."

It really kind of creeped me out. Were they real? Or were they phantoms from a time when people really did walk the streets of Alma, Colorado?

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I was craving Chinese food something awful the other night at work. Luckily, there's a wonderful Chinese restaurant just up the road from here - New Panda. So I called up and ordered me some dinner: lemon chicken, for those who are curious. I've been eating there for about 6 years; it's close to work, the food is excellent and the service has always been good. There's only one waitress and she's really sweet and remembers what I order. At one point, Christina & I went there so often that she would see us walking through the parking lot and have our drinks ready for us when we walked in.

There's a girl that works in the back, though, that's not as sweet. I think she may have Tourette's... at least I hope she does. That's the only explanation I can come up with unless she's flat out crazy. Either way, I've noticed she's never allowed up front. I can't count how many times I've been sitting there and suddenly an obscenity to make a sailor blush will come floating from the kitchen. And this girl's not quiet! Sometimes she just flat out screams bloody murder! The last time, she did this while Collin & I were ordering and she scared me so much I actually jumped. Our sweet little waitress apologized and looked so embarrassed.

So! Groundwork laid, on to the story!

I got to the restaurant and as I'm walking up to the doors, I see this guy that works there crouching behind the counter as if he's hiding from me. I thought to myself, "You better get up, boy, cuz I'm coming for my food!" But he didn't get up. He continued to squat there behind the cash register, his back against the wall. Finally this older woman came out from the kitchen and I told her I was here to pick up my order. She turned around and said, "Take out for Heather!" And Tourette Girl flipped her off and yelled, "F*@! you, I know!" Whoa.

So the lady comes back with my food, hands me the bag and I hand her my money. She had to STEP OVER the guy on the floor to get to the register! He never moved! I'm thinking that maybe he's on break but come on! There's better ways to spend your break then squatting on the floor! Sit in a booth, eat some rice, something!

I realized as I left that I must really like their yummy food to keep going back to that crazy place! But the lemon chicken was perfection so I forgive them for being wacko!

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We got back from Grand Junction Saturday afternoon. Usually, the traveling to & from is my favorite part; the scenery, the games, the music...


The going to Junction was fine - we hit some snow on Hoosier Pass but the roads were clear. After that it was all sun. Derek made us an MP3 for the trip which Mom & I thoroughly enjoyed but Dad wasn't happy about the large quantity of Weird Al on there! We also played the Alphabet Game which I lost by one lousy letter to Dad. All in the all the journey was amazingly uneventful.

I wrongly assumed the trip home would be the same.

I had to work Saturday night so I tried to get some sleep on the way home. I managed about 2 hours and woke up as we pulled into Frisco. I realized that I didn't feel so hot... my stomach was a mess. I tried to deny it for about an hour then realized I better warn the parents. "I think I'm gonna puke," I told them.

"Seriously?" They chorused.

"Well, not this second but probably sometime real soon." So they gave me the Zale's bag that Mom's birthday present had come in. It was small and had the holes at the top cut out to make handles. Mom informed me that I should "hook them over my ears." I declined.

We drove through some pretty twisty, turny roads and every time we hit a curve I thought that would be it. Luckily, my stomach didn't betray me. We stopped on Wilkerson Pass and I walked around in the cool mountain air for a bit, thinking that would help. I did feel better for about 15 minutes and then it returned.

We passed a road sign that informed us that Colorado Springs (HOME!!!!) was only 38 miles away. Yes! Surely I could hang on that long! After a few more miles, we passed a sign that said "REST AREA 1 MILE." Mom asked me if I needed to stop. I assessed my tummy and decided that I could make it. No joke, 20 seconds after I said that we took a serious curve and that was all she wrote! I stuffed my face in the Zale's bag and started to puke. Too late I realized that the puke wasn't going in the bag - it was shooting out through the handle holes!!!

"F---! F---! Bleeeeeaaahhhh!!" More on me, my GIR pillowcase and my Dad's seats. "Sh--! D--- it! Bleeeeeaaahhhhhhh!" Even more not inside the bag! Mom whipped the Vue into a church parking lot (by this time we were in Woodland Park) where I jumped out and found that I was now done puking. Of course.

I did manage did get SOME in the Zale's bag but most of it ended up on me and the car seats. Fortunately, Dad had some orange wipeys in the glove box and we were able to clean the car up. Sadly, there was nowhere around that I could change and had to ride home in my puke-encrusted clothes, sitting on my GIR pillowcase that was now defiled. After a while, Dad said, "25 miles from home, you couldn't wait?"

"I'm sorry," I told him. Then a thought struck me. "I guess I *should* of hooked the bag over my ears."

"Imagine some preacher finding that bag we left in the church parking lot," Dad said.

"Yeah," I agreed, "He'll be all excited: 'Ooo! A Zale's bag... AAAHHH!!!" Dad & I laughed - Mom didn't think it was all that amusing. I was also informed by my father, King Of Cuss-Words, that my language during the puke-fest had been atrocious! Sorry, but it was all reflex!

I do believe that that ranks as the #1 worst trip home EVER! EVER, I say!

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I've mentioned many, many times how I hate spiders, they ook me out big time. I've kind of forgotten what it's like to have to deal with them, though, since I've been in my new apartment. But here in Junction at Grandma's house in the country, I've been reminded.

Last night I was getting ready for bed and I noticed there was a spider on the wall by the bed I sleep in. It was big and ugly, the body about the size of a nickel, the legs long and icky. I stared at it for a long time, wondering what I should do. Should I smush it with my tennis shoe & not only have gross spider guts on my shoe but risk missing the creature and having him scurry under the bed? Should I go screaming upstairs for help?

I realized then that I was on my own. Mom was just as, if not more, afraid of spiders than I am. Dad has been bitten twice and not about to voluntarily face another, even if it *was* to save his only daughter. And Grandpa is blind...so I was stuck. I finally decided that it appeared that this spider was facing the window and maybe he would crawl out if I left him alone. So I got into bed and started reading.

The problem now was that I was reading Conspiracy Club by Jonathan Kellerman and there was a scene where a doctor was describing how a rare beetle had laid eggs inside this guy and he had a bunch of baby beetles squirming inside him. All I could think of was that this spider was just biding his time, waiting for me to fall asleep before he laid his eggs in me. {shudder} So I peeked over the book and saw that he had moved...and not towards the window. He was coming for me!!!! I had to kill him.

But he was behind a chair and I knew that now if I moved the chair he would scurry. But I couldn't reach him where he was. I was doomed. So I got up, cleaned my stuff off of the bed on the other side of the room and slept there. I figured I was safer away from that wall. He was gone when I woke up.

I haven't felt anything squirming inside me yet so I think I'm safe. I'll let you know.

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