On October 3rd of 2005, I posted the following right after it happened:

Sunday morning Prescilla & I went on our usual 5:30am jaunt around the lake. At this time of year it's quite dark and when we run into other walkers or joggers it's usually a shock because we don't see them coming. Yesterday morning was no exception; we ran into (not literally!!) a kid who looked to be about 20-21 walking towards us with crazy curly fly-away blonde hair, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his denim jacket and a petulant look on his face. He was really staring both of us down. I usually don't get freaked out if we meet anyone in the dark - just say "good morning" and be on my way - but this kid freaked us both out. We kept looking over our shoulders after he passed. There was just something wrong about the vibe he emitted. After our little creepy run-in, we rounded the bend by the tennis courts. Suddenly I felt a blast of warm air like I was in front of a space heater. Then it was gone. A few steps later, the sensation returned. "Do you feel that warm air?" Prescilla asked. "Yeah," I answered in relief, glad it wasn't just me going crazy. It was a huge difference from the normal temperature and it lasted for about 2 minutes. Then it went away. I decided that it was from the jets of the alien spacecraft that dropped off that kid as it landed. Prescilla just laughed at me. But then on the east side of the lake we saw something green glowing on the waters surface. There was no one around doing any early fishing, just this odd green blob glowing on the lake. I told her that was residue from when the alien morphed into the human kid we had passed. She didn't take to that idea very well. But it makes sense to me! Maybe the pulsing and rippling that's happening in my temple right now is some sort of alien mind control.....

So, tonight, just a few days away from being the exact anniversary of that weird happening, a co-worker of mine, Scott, went walking with me around the neighborhood. It was about 11:45pm and we're walking towards the lake and we feel a blast of warm air. He wondered aloud where that came from and I proceeded to tell him the above story. Then the lake came into view and damned if there wasn't a glowing green glob floating by the rocks.

"Oh my God, look," I cried, pointing it out. We stopped and peered down at it then I noticed there were two more over by the dock.

"Wanna go see what they are," he asked. I agreed then he said, as we're walking towards the lake, "You realize that we're like the typical stupid white people in the horror movies who go looking at what they shouldn't."

Well, we got down there and we're still not quite sure what they were. They were shaped like pellets and they glowed a bright green color...it almost looked like they had little skeletons inside them but it might have been my over-active imagination. They were bobbing along in the water and at first we thought they may have been lures for night fishing but there was no one around and they weren't attached to a line or anything.

It was just plain weird.

Labels: aliens, stories

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This picture cracks me up!

I'd be crying too if I had to look at Mathieu Schnieder. :)

Labels: Funny, Pictures

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This was the first Calvin & Hobbes cartoon I ever read and it still makes me laugh out loud.



Enjoy!

Labels: comics

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So...last weekend, Christina & I traveled down to Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico for Metal Mania at the Sky City Casino/Hotel. The mania consisted of Quiet Riot and Skid Row. It was a 6 hour drive, give or take 30 minutes and as we pulled into the parking lot, who do we see but Dave Gara, Skid Row's latest (and in my opinion, BEST) drummer. He was friendly and talkative and took the time to take a picture with Christina. When she reached out to shake his hand, he grabbed her and said, "Give me a hug!"

Now this hotel/casino was pretty small and it was awesome to sit in the lobby and watch these rock stars saunter by. The concert was great and loud - we were in the front row right by the speakers so we were incredibly deaf by the end. But! Our position meant great pictures! We'll start with Quiet Riot:



New guitarist Alex Grossi on the left and original lead singer Kevin DuBrow on the right. That man can still sing - I was never a big Quiet Riot fan but he really impressed me! Now I know you're looking at his suit and saying, is that velvet leopard print? Well.....


Yes, it is! How 80's is he still? And sometimes I felt like I was watching Rod Stewart...it's the hair.

One good story from the QR show - in the front row center was a huge man and when the show started and everyone was throwing metal horns around, this guy started flipping the band off with both fingers. He continued it throughout the first 3 songs and finally security told him to knock it off. He replied, 'It's called free speech!' Whatever...he kept doing it so at the end of the 4th or 5th song, drummer Frankie Banali got out from behind his kit with a $20 in his hand, grabbed the mic and told the guy "Here's your ticket money back, get the fuck outta here!" It was great - but this guy was so big (easily 6'5", 250) that it took 4 guards to drag him off!!

Now! On to the reason for our trip: Skid Row!!!!

Bassist Rachel Bolan - he was on the opposite side of the stage as I was, hence the crookedness.


Snake Sabo - my favorite. He was right in front of me so I got a lot of shots of him throughout the night. This is my best shot of him, I think....


Johnny Solinger on lead vocals. A MySpace friend told me this was my "money shot."


But this is what I consider my best shot. Scotti Hill on lead guitars...on fire!!!

So that's the show...afterwards in the hotel we got to talk to all of the band members with the exception of Kevin DuBrow (he walked by us numerous times but looked so untouchable that I couldn't bring myself to say anything to him) and Snake & Scotti (they just never came down). But all the other guys, including Snake's guitar tech Brett who moonlights as the singer for Kreep, were awesome and took time to talk to us and take pictures. If you wanna see more, go to my MySpace and click on "pics" under my picture.

Labels: concert, skid row

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On September 1st, my friend Shanon gave birth to a baby girl named Annaclaire Jeanmarie. She weighed 6 lbs, 9 oz and she's absolutely beautiful.


Here she is with her big sister Elena:


And getting to know her Daddy, Chad:


See how pretty she is? Congratulations to Shanon, Chad & Elena on the perfect new addition to their family!

Labels: anna

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Yet something else I snagged from Kathleen's always fun site:





The One Thing





1. If you could recommend only one book for others to read, what would it be and why? Yikes! I don't usually read deep, profound books. I always read for my amusement but what amuses me varies so I go through phases like romance, mystery, history, biography, etc etc etc. But! I suppose if I had to recommend one it would have to be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone just to get others obsessed with HP like I am!





2. What is your one favorite song? Why? New Generation by Skid Row. This song oozes power and flippin' cool guitar riffs. Plus Johnny's voice is incredible.





3. What is the one thing that is the biggest time saver in your life? Microwave Oven. Seriously. I don't cook and this little gadget has kept me fed over the years.





4. What is one gadget you couldn't live without and why? iPod. I'm at a loss when I don't have music going and at work before Collin gave me his I was going nutters!





5. If you could recommend one film for others to see, what would it be and why? The Grass Is Greener with Cary Grant and Robert Mitchum. One of the cutest and romantic films ever made. It's always good for a laugh when you're feeling down and don't have that Care Bear book handy!!





6. What is the one cure or preventative measure you believe in and for what ailment? Swishing Listerine over toothaches. It works and I don't question it!





7. What is the best advice you've ever received and from whom? One day I was down - seriously depressed - and my friend Christina said "You bring everyone else down when you're down." I've always remembered that and so now, even if I feel down, I keep a smile on my face and that alone usually helps improve my mood.





8. If you could introduce the entire world to just one band/musical artist, who would it be and why? Badfinger. I love them and everyone else should, too! Their music is up and fun and genius...





9. If you could convince others you meet or know of one thing, what would it be? That Pete Ham was the best musician to ever live.





10. What do you believe is one of the greatest ways of wasting money and how do you combat it? Wasting money, for me, is easiest on movies and music. I combat it by going to the library and checking out what I want to hear or see and that way, if it's good enough for me to watch or listen to again, I know it's worth the money.

Labels: Quiz

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Found this over on Kathleen's site and it looked fun. The idea is to answer the pre-colon words/phrases using one word.

Yourself: Blonde
Your partner: Cute
Your hair: Blonde
Your mother: Funny
Your father: Genius
Your favorite item: Pets
Your dream last night: Weird
Your favorite drink: Jazz
Your dream car: Mustang
Dream home: Now
The room you are in: Maverick
Your fear: bees
What you are great at: writing
Where you want to be in 10 years: married
Who you hung out with last night: Collin
You're not: Smart
One of your wish list items: Books
The last thing you did: Talked
You are wearing: Capris
Your favorite weather: Gloomy
Your favorite book: Mummy
Last thing you ate: Chocolate
Your life: There
Your mood: Anxious
Your best friend: Cool
What are you thinking about right now: Titanic
Your car: Ion
What are you doing at the moment: Watching
Relationship status: FUN!
What is on your t.v: Nada
When is the last time you laughed: Today

Labels: Quiz

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And a new list begins. Here's my books for August - again very slim:



25. Anchored In Love - John Carter Cash: This was a good book chronicling the life of June Carter Cash written by her son with Johnny Cash. It was interesting but too short.



26. The Many-Colored Land - Julian May: Collin's so excited that I started this series and I am, too, now that I started it. It's a sci-fi series and it's wonderful!! It's my Book Of The Month, as well.



And the movies....



105. Almost Famous - I had only seen this once and Christina picked it to watch one day. I had forgotten just how much I loved this one! Jason Lee as a rockstar is too cute!

106. Pan's Labyrinth - A great film by Guillermo Del Toro - very dark, very beautiful.

107. Hot Fuzz - Made Justin watch this one...Just as good the 2nd time as it was the first!

108. Driving Lessons - This is a cute little coming-of-age movie starring Rupert Grint who plays Ron in the Harry Potter movies. It was nice to see him not being Ron for once and he did a good job. It co-starred Laura Linney as his religious-nut mom and Julie Walters who plays his mom in the HP films.

109. 40-Year Old Virgin - Had to watch this one again...too funny!

110. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone - I started watching all the movies over once I saw the lastest one. Funny how young the kids were...

111. The Simpson's Movie - The Movie of the Month hands down. This film was hilarious!!! I couldn't stop laughing - they can get away with so much more in a movie than they can on TV and what they did was awesome! Not enough Mr. Burns for my taste but Homer made up for it.

112. Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets - I love the flying car sequence.

113. Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban - Mmm...Gary Oldman....

114. Walk The Line - Dad was laid up after his ankle surgery so I took this movie over for him to watch...he loved it. Of course.

115. Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire - Yeah, this is a good one...I love the ball sequence with Jarvis Cocker playing and then there's Ron's "tuxedo."

116. Mean Girls - I almost didn't want to ever see this but Christina said I should and I agree with her taste in movies 99% of the time so I watched it and I loved it. I'm not the biggest Lindsay Lohan fan but she was good and I love Rachel McAdams as the lead bitch. "I know, right?"

117. Driving Lessons - Christina needed to see it. That's a good enough reason to watch it again, right?

118. Hot Fuzz - Now we had to make Christina watch it. 3rd time was just as good!!!

119. Employee Of The Month - Hey Derek - I LOVE DANE COOK! This is a funny movie despite the fact that Andy Dick is in it. Jessica Simpson isn't even annoying!!

120. Snatch - It had been years since I watched this - I had forgotten how hilarious this is! Brad Pitt - genius!

121. Live Free Or Die Hard - This was a fun movie. I really like Bruce Willis and taking out a helicoptor with a car? AWESOME!

122. Pirates Of The Caribbean 3 - At World's End - Mom hadn't seen this yet and was dying to see it and who am I to say no to Captain Jack??

123. The Simpson's Movie - Christina wanted to see it so we went. There were so many lines I wanted to remember and can't so I'll have to see it at least 10 more times!! Ha!

123 1/2. Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix - It's numbered as a 1/2 because after The Simpson's I dragged Christina into the theatre next door to see about 30 minutes of it - yeah, we snuck in. But I wanted to see Ron and Bellatrix and the fight in the Dept Of Mysteries. :D

124. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie - Funny little movie - weird in spots like the show...I like Frylock's voice...

Labels: Books, movies

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