And the Winner Is...

Todd, for the funniest moment of our 1-week vacation at the River (with Donna & Nicole in tow).

Here it is:

We were all playing a game called Talisman. An oldie that was out of print for about 15 years, then suddenly got a major reprinting in 2007. Gorgeous. Somehow Todd managed to get three of these new ones for Christmas. Thanks, Amazon's Shitty Wishlist!

I digress.

So while we were playing, we were listening to my iPod on speakers; my playlist of 1980s gems. So at one point, Bonnie Tyler's throaty (and cheesy, I'll give you that) Total Eclipse of the Heart was radiating out of the speakers:

Every now and then I get a little bit angry
and I know I have to get out and cry
(Turnaround)
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
but then I see the look in your eyes
(Turn around, bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around, bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart...

Todd turns to me and with a completely straight face asks, "So, is this song about Planet of the Apes?" And I'm totally puzzled like, "...whaaat?" And he says, "Bright Eyes? That was Zira's pet name for Charlton Heston." And then I started screaming, flailing, and choking from laughing my guts out.

1st Runner Up: Weird Al Yankovic for the following line uttered during the Rifftrax for Jurassic Park. The scene: Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill are in the green car waiting to begin their tour of the park. Goldblum tries to explain 'chaos theory' to Dern by caressing her wrists and dripping water on her hands. Here's the line:

"If you wanna see a creep grope your girlfriend, just go to the Jersey Shore!"


PS: I finally have some color! I was beginning to look like lumpy oatmeal. Now I look like lumpy toasted oatmeal. :-P

One Down, a BAJILLION To Go

I forgot to mention that before I left for VA, I finished a baby blanket for a professor at work whose wife had a baby (a boy). I knew I was going away and he only teaches 2 days a week. So I stayed up one night until 2:30 in the morning (not even kidding) to get it done.

It's done in the Log-Cabin pattern. Overall, I think it turned out ok. I used Bernat's Denim Style yarn, which is 70% acrylic/30% cotton blend. Very soft. I used the stonewash colorway, which was a grayish blue with white. Instead of doing all garter, all the way, I mixed it up a bit by using seed stitch for one trip around, and then double seed stitch on my last go around. Since it was in monochrome, I really wanted it to have something at least a little interesting about it.

Oh and I just have to say, I fucking hated picking up the stitches. But after this, at least I am good at it. Still hate it, though.

The professor seemed happy with it!

Here are a few pictures. Incidentally, this was really hard to photograph!































So now I just have to finish knitting for the 48 million other people that seem to be having babies. I started another blanket for a colleague at work who had an adorable, teenie-tiny baby girl (a little bit of a preemie). Then another colleague is having a baby in October. And I just found out that my long-time friend from grade school is 5-months pregnant with her second child! HELP MEEEEEE.

I'm Sure I'm Doing This Wrong

But I saw this meme on Kenny's blog. And I thought it looked interesting, so I am attempting to "tag" people into doing it as well.

Nosy Meme

“The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.”

Ok here goes:


1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

Ok, so 10 years ago was 1998. July 1998. GAH. What WAS I doing? Well, I was working at CHF. I was just about to move out of my parents' house and in with my sister. And I was in a pseudo-relationship with a guy who never wanted to admit that we were ever in any kind of relationship, pseudo or otherwise. He was weird. Librarian. Canadian. 'Nuff said.


2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

Go to BJs to buy Fiber One bars in bulk and birthday cards. Seriously. Cards are 50% off there.
Pick up Donna from my parents.
Do some laundry.
Pack for the River.
Knitting, of course.



3. Snacks I enjoy:

If it's food I'll eat it, unfortunately. So, I am back on WW again. I've had a very good 2 weeks into it, so I guess that's positive. But that means my snacks are limited. However, some WW-approved snacks that I love, love, love: popcorn, blueberries, pretzels, sorbet.


4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Pay off everyone's debts that I know and like.
Build a huge animal sanctuary here on the East Coast, kind of like Best Friends in Utah.
Hire a full-time personal trainer, nutritionist, and chefs.
Hire full-time people to play with and take care of our cats.
Travel all around the world to all the places I've ever wanted to go.


5. Places I have lived:

Philadelphia, PA
Bear, DE
Wilmington, DE
Claymont, DE

not much there LOL.


6. Peeps I want to know more about aka, the "tagees":
Katie
Marsha
Beth
Nicole
Michelle
Corinne

Stupid Rental Car

I just sent this on the "customer support" page of Budget Rental Cars:

Several things:

1) I entered a coupon code online to receive 10% off this rental and I did not receive it.
2) I never received an e-mail confirmation of this rental until 4:49 pm on the day I picked up the vehicle, which happened to be 49 minutes AFTER my scheduled pick up time.
3) The car, while fuel-efficient and suitable for my needs, smelled horribly like cigarette smoke. I clearly stated (it's on my confirmation, too) that I wanted a non-smoking vehicle. This made the 2 hour car ride to my destination less than enjoyable.
4) Upon return of the vehicle on 7/13, I was greeted by a very grumpy representative who was unhappy that I returned the vehicle 20 minutes before the actual "opening" time of the Budget office. She didn't even bother to offer me any options as to what I could do to return the car without having to have a representative check me in. I had to ask her and she grudgingly gave me an answer. I filled out the front of the rental-agreement envelope and put the keys on the counter and asked "Can I just leave this here?" She didn't even acknowledge me with a response. I can only assume the car was returned properly, as I received an e-mail from Budget asking me to enroll in the RapidRez program.

Eddie Izzard on Eating While Aboard the Death Star

Seriously funny.