I have nothing to say

Is it ever going to stop?

2005-12-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

Holy crap. I can't WAIT for this semester to be over. Along with all the shit in my personal life that's been going on, I have school to deal with. I am soooo not meant for academia. I'm lucky I'm smart. Getting a 4.0 doesn't require too much effort. All I'm concerned with is getting a certificate that says, "Yeah, you chose a shit career, but at least with this you can make the most money in the field".

What I hate most is group projects. Why does my friggin' grade have to depend on someone else's performance? I happened upon my worst nightmare this semester. The male version of me. A complete procrastinator. AND he's MY partner. C'mon, at least when I procrastinate, it's only my pressure I'm dealing with. NOW, I have to deal with my procrastination stress AND his...and guess what? He's a worse procrastinator than me!!!

One more week. I just keep telling myself, "One more week".

The ALL NEW Suicide Text Message!!!

2005-11-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

Now, for all you suicidal peeps! No need for an old time pencil and paper suicide note! No more lying around dead waiting for loved ones to find you...NOPE! Not anymore!...

Now, you can use your handy cell phone to text a suicide message right to your loved ones while you are in the course of offing yourself!!! That's right folks, you can even leave a tearful goodbye voice message to boot!

AND...for the truly gory and dramatic, why not send a picture of your fateful act?? You can send a Picture Share of your empty bottle of pills, or how about a picture of your bloody slashed wrists???

You can even send your message from an undisclosed location, so your loved ones can wring their hands in anguish knowing that you were alive when you sent the message yet they have no idea where you are!!! Nothing says goodbye world like a SUICIDE TEXT MESSAGE!!! Send yours today!

Matt and Me

2005-10-12T23:18:00.000-07:00

Okayyy! I told Matt I wouldn't post any baby pics but c'mon!...isn't this the CUTEST!!??

Family Pics

2005-10-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

Check it out! It's Dad and me!!! This was taken in March of 1972. I was 6 months old in this pic. Dad was 29, I think. He looks SOO much like Matt, doesn't he??

Missing Otis

2005-09-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is Otis. The awesomest turkey ever hatched. I had the privilege of being a part of his very short life in the spring of '05.

The safety officer (Al) at my job has taken on a project/hobby in the recent past...raising birds on the campus. We've got guinea hens, peacocks, bantam chickens, polish chickens, and turkeys. Quite a menagerie, to say the least.

Last spring, I began visiting the project for two reasons...I loved the birds and Al was hooking me up with the sterile eggs for my pysanky. He incubated the fertile eggs and in the early spring he had hatched a half a dozen peeps, a bantam chicken, and a turkey. I began to visit every day, and I became particularly attached to the turkey. I would take him out, hold him, and play with him. As a chick, he would fall asleep in my arms as I stroked his downy feathers. (Turkeys are much cuter when they're chicks!) As the weeks went by, he would see me coming and get all excited. He would puff up like a grown up turkey and prance about...it was such a comical sight!
Sadly, mid-June I received the news that something had attacked Otis in the night and killed him and the bantam chick, most likely a raccoon.
As unlikely as a turkey might be seen as a cuddly pet, I assure you, Otis was a special little dude...and this post is a tribute to one of my kindred spirits.

It's a small world...if you're on the NJ Sex Offender's list!

2005-09-11T23:15:00.000-07:00

Wow! So I was just bee-bopping around on Lud's blog. One of her links, "Any creeps in your neighborhood?" caught my attention. It's the link to the NJ Sex Offender Internet Registry. I don't know why I was so fascinated by it, but I was scrolling around looking through different counties in NJ, checking out registered sex offenders. I guess being able to look at the pictures and read the modus operandi's is pretty cool. What was interesting to me is that there are juvenile offenders posted on the list (as young as 13 that I saw!)...I'm not sure how I feel about that. I have mixed emotions, considering the population I work with. Juveniles need to be protected. But so do potential victims. But, that's not the point of this entry, although feel free to comment!
Craig wanted to know what I was looking at, so I told him, and he was like,"let me see, maybe I know someone from working at the pharmacy and at Lowe's and hanging out at O'Connors". Whadya know, he recognized a guy who had forcibly sexually assaulted a juvenile male. Eeek!
Then, I was scrolling through my county, and I happened across a familiar name. Sure enough, it was the older brother of a boy I dated in high school!!! Offending since 1980, exposing himself to females, breaking into homes and pleasuring himself while victims were sleeping...eewww, freaky.

My extended birthday party!!!

2005-09-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

Finally!!! Last night Lud, Kristin, Karen and I finally got together for my birthday. It has taken me YEARS to orchestrate a night out so that my dearest friends could get together and meet each other. We went to hibachi and had a great time.
Toward the end of dinner, Lud whipped out these pictures of the day that Matt and I packed up all our stuff and moved down to New Brunswick into an apartment with Lud (and various other characters!). We were starting college at Rutgers. The pictures were so nostaglic, I got all sappy and started crying!!! Haha...and I looked so young and skinny! I'd have posted the pictures, but after I regained my composure back here at home, Lud wouldn't let me see them because she was scared I'd lose it again!
We all had a great time, I hope it's not another 5 years before we all get together again!

Krissy's business

2005-09-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Krissy's business card. She received her Master's in Holistic Health in May, and she's starting her own business as a Holistic Health consultant. Feel free to call her to set up a consultation!

Birthday Time!!!

2005-09-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Dad and Judy came down last night to celebrate my 34th with me. We had a lovely dinner at the Frog and the Peach. As usual, my favorite, the tuna sashimi was THE BEST!!!

I hate Verizon.

2005-09-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

I can not believe the substandard customer service that Verizon wireless offers. I have been engaged in an ongoing battle to have my broken phone issue resolved for literally a month now. A month ago the screen on my Samsung a670 phone began malfunctioning. I brought it to the dealer, and they had a "replacement phone" sent to my home. That phrase is key. A replacement phone, also referred to in the industry as a Field Replacement Unit or FRU phone, is a refurbished phone...a USED-once-broken-and-now-"fixed"-phone. I brought my "replacement" phone to the Verizon dealer. Unfortunately, there was something wrong with the sound on this phone. The rep told me to send the phone back, and another phone would be sent to my house. Sure enough, 2 days later, I received another "replacement phone". I brought the SECOND "replacement phone" back to the dealer (my 3rd visit). The rep downloaded the software to the replacement phone and sent me on my way. Allllllllright. All set. Or so I thought. Get the phone home, throw it on the charger and, ???, it's not holding a charge. Good grief. I go BACK to the Verizon dealer (trip 4) and explain that this is my second "replacement" phone and it's not holding a charge. The rep proceeded to inform me that it was my battery or my charger that was the problem, and that my battery was no longer under warranty. I stated that this wasn't the case. I hadn't had the problem with my old phone, my old phone held a charge. The rep expressed there was nothing he could do, short of having another "replacement" phone sent. Unacceptable. I asked to see a manager. I NEVER saw the manager. The rep came back and offered to sell me a battery at 1/2 price. I was exhausted from arguing so I just bought it. I get the 2nd phone home, WITH the NEW battery, plug it into the charger, and whadya know? It's STILL not holding a charge. I was FUMING! I called customer service and spoke to a woman who was very nice and seemed genuinely concerned. She sympathized with me and told me that I should absolutely get a new phone or, since I was having such problems with the Samsung, that the dealer should offer me a new phone that was comparable to the Samsung. GREAT!!! She told me she'd make a note in my account, and that if I had any problems, NOT to leave the store, and to call customer service from the store. Ok, trip 5. BACK to the dealer. Get to tech support, explain my situation, and they pull up my account. The rep tells me there is nothing noted in my account....WHAT???!!!
Ok, I call customer service back from the store, as instructed, and the customer service rep on the other end of the line tells me that she can offer me either an early upgrade ($) or another "replacement" phone. I was like, "NO WAY, UNACCEPTABLE!!!" I argued with the rep, I asked for her name (SEVERAL TIMES)...she REFUSED to give me her name!!! She told me she would have her supervisor call me back. I said good luck trying to reach me on my broken phone. No supervisor ever called.
Tonight I called Verizon customer service again to get names of upper management...the President of the Northeast area, and everyone else I could CC. The rep asked me why, and I ended up recounting everything again. I know, I know....I'm a big sap. I didn't get addresses. She just seemed so helpful. She scheduled a follow up. She told me she noted my account and I would receive a NEW phone, not a FRU phone. I'm skeptical about what will happen. Verizon is notorious for poor customer service relations. What now? I think I will still write the letter.
BTW, the logo above is an actual website dedicated to all the people who have gotten screwed by this corporation. I liked the logo, so I'm plugging it.

Adieu to summer

2005-09-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

Today was the "last hurrah" at the Hook. We were there by 6:30, and there were already cars in the parking lot! It was truly a BEAUTIFUL end to an incredible summer. The beach was packed, the weather was perfect (82 and sunny), the waves were challenging, and no one got arrested. (No really, it happens a lot, I think mainly because some people don't know how to be appropriate.)
Craig and I listened to Howard, did the crossword, and soaked up the sunshine. We had cocktails, swam, toasted the wonderful summer we had, napped, swam some more, watched some people, napped, swam, and then we reluctantly packed up to face Labor Day traffic....and...we didn't hit ANY! The day couldn't have ended better.

"Satan's little helpers...."

2005-09-04T00:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it!~I've been here all of 2 days and I've been "spam-commented"! Yes, someone made a comment on one of my entries, "I really liked your post, check mine out at
www.i'mtryingtosellyoucrapandi'mthelowestpieceofshitonthisplanet.com"
In the words of the late Bill Hicks, "if you're in advertising or marketing, KILL YOURSELF, it's the only way to save your fucking soul, KILL YOURSELF."

2005-09-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

The joy and amusement of a well trained dog

This is Buka. No, she's not my dog, she's my friend Karen's. I did get her certified as a therapy dog, so she comes to work with me a lot. This is one of her tricks...she'll sit like that until you tell her she can have that treat. It's very popular with my students.

Happiness is no tan lines.

2005-09-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Sandy Hook tonight. Ahhh...what a great place. First and foremost, it's great to be naked in nature...lying on the beach and swimming in the ocean is the best! Also, people are 10x more interesting when they're naked.
This is our camp...we were the first ones on the beach! (A little known secret is that if you get there before 7, it's free to get in, instead of the $10/car.)
Haha...and our shadows are naked.

Okay, I can't resist....

2005-09-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, this may actually turn into something...at least I know I'll have one fan checking me out!!! Let me give a shout out to Luda! So, I'm not sure the path that this journal will take, but if nothing else, it will be a chronicle of my quirky existence.

No really...

2005-09-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

...I have nothing to say. Everyone else in the world has a blog. I'm jumping on the bandwagon.
Really, I just want to be able to heckle people.

2005-09-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

I needed to put something up!