michelle's useless information

Busy

2006-12-04T14:22:00.000-05:00

Busy...trying to figure out why the BCS sucks so badly.
Busy...working on a million events for work.
Busy...getting ready to buy a new home.
Busy...applying to grad school and thinking about selling new home.
Busy...getting ready to host Christmas dinner.
Busy...figuring out how I can visit my family in El Paso for the Sun Bowl (Missouri is playing)
Busy...playing with this blog.

Just so busy.

Magg-nificent

2006-10-20T15:10:00.000-04:00

This picture was taken at the mall about 14 hours after he hit the gaming winning homerun! We are so pumped for tomorrow! We are going to start tailgating at 9:00 am with the rest of peeps from our baseball family! Go Tigers!

1968

2006-10-19T23:55:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of grounds crew at Comerica Park painting on the logo this morning. I knew back in August it would be important that the AL won the All Star game! And now it begins! I have to hate my friends, former college buddies, for an entire week and possibly a year! So this is the conclusion I have come to...the Tigers must win so there is no hate!

I have to book a flight to St. Louis for next Tuesday! Since that is going to cost a ton plus our game tickets, which one of my kind friends wants to house us?? Anyone???

Here is to 1968 part two!

The Godfather

2006-09-18T14:45:00.000-04:00

Amongst a million other things that have been occuring on a daily basis in our household (new jobs, freelance jobs, housing issues, etc) yesterday was a very interesting day in the search for Justin's actual family tree.

You see, Justin's dad's last name really isn't his biological father's last name. It is actually the last name of Justin's Grandma's first husband. We found out yesterday for the first time that his dad's actual biological last name is Vascassenno. Yes Justin is offically a member of the Sopranos. Justin's dad's dad "peaced out" as Justin puts it, when he was just a kid and has never talked about it to his kids until just now.

So, like any good natured person would do when they find out that they have a whole other family out there that they don't even know about we got on the internet last night and looked him up. And sure enough we found information out about his grandfather and his great uncle. His great uncle, Vito. Oh the jokes don't just stop there. Vito had a son Vito and he is the Director of Operations for Fazoli's. Justin is a huge fan of Fazoli's cheesecake.

This is the single funniest, most screwed up family tree I have ever seen. So on top of everything else going on right now we are digging to find out just how close to The Godfather Justin really is.

It's time to go to the Mattresses!

The Money Pit

2006-08-29T14:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a huge day for me. A huge day for Justin as well. A huge day because yesterday for the first time in both of our lives we became home owners! Yes, we bought that house that we had been looking at for awhile and decided that we wanted to make this our first house together.

We are extremely excited about moving in to the home and have already made a decision on our first two projects: refinishing the hardwood floors in the home so they are a really deep, rich, dark brown color and building the bar of our dreams (a sports/baseball themed bar of course) in the basement.

So as of November 1 we will finally be settled which is something that both of us feel like we have never had. He has felt like ever since he was 16 he hasn't had a place to call home. We talk about it all the time and it makes me so happy to think that I could do this for him. And in the same token without him I wouldn't have stayed here in Detroit to buy this house. Trust me when I tell you I would have taken the job out in Boston that I was offered.

But here we are at a good place. A new place. And I am excited.

The Only Word I Know: Busy

2006-08-15T13:17:00.000-04:00

So, since the last time I took time to write on here I was in some bullshit job I hated, living in a house that was ok, I guess, and American Idol was still on TV. In that amount of time, I left my job at the IAOD because it was literally the worst organization I had ever worked for and wasn't worth the pay (though not a small amount of money, still wasn't worth it). I have been doing my own event consulting ever since then and love working from home everyday. I have been shopping my resume out across the east coast as well (DC and Boston) and have gotten a couple of good hits (one in Boston and one in DC). I am planning on going out there in the next week or so to take the interviews and then see what happens. Who knows, that is my philosophy right now. As long as I like the position, I will take it. If not I will just continue to do event consulting work on my own.

Other than that, Justin and I found a home that we absolutely love and are looking to buy. It is in Pleasant Ridge (for all of you not in the Metro Detroit area, that is about 15 minutes North of the city and only about 5-10 minutes from our current house). We are sort of in limbo right now on whether to leave the state at the end of October or move to this house. Just another address to have to give out for Christmas Cards.

Last but not least, I got a new car...a VW Beetle! It rules and totally fits my personality. I have named it Zippy because it is bright yellow and I can't seem to go slow in this car to save my life. We are planning on taking it to Chicago in a couple of weeks for a baseball game. (We would bring it to NYC but god only knows where it would be parked.)

So that's about it...I promise to really blog soon, just wanted to let you know that we hadn't fallen off the planet. Oh and let me tell you that this is offically the hardest week in baseball for me. Who do I cheer for: Boston or Detroit?

Da Vinci, McDisgusting, and Detroit Baseball

2006-05-16T23:58:00.000-04:00

I know, I know...you are probably wondering what the hell I am talking about here!

Easy...the three things I am currently interested in as of this very moment.

1) Da Vinci:
Well I fell for it and fell for it badly. I have been a book snob for the last three years that this book has been on the best seller's list. I always thought it was for people who liked to read John Grisham novels like my mom (oh yeah! she has even read this book.) But here I am a week out of the movie's release and reading like a mad dog to finish the book before the movie. Because as a book snob, "the book is always better than the movie." Though I have to say the movie made me make this my next book choice. It was also on my New Year's resolution list of 20 books I was reading by the end of the year. And how is that going...so far I am at one and a half. (I will blog about my last read later.)

2) McDisgusting
If you have been hanging out with me long enough (ok since February) you will know that I got suckered into American Idol. Yes, I said it...American Idol. You will also know that I was beyond pissed off that Chris got kicked off last week and that for every week since the beginning I have hated Katherine McDisgusting. She can't dress and she should be in some off Broadway show for people who were famous once, like Corey Feldman. I swear if she doesn't go tonight I want my $3.60 worth of text messages back.

3)Detroit Baseball
To all of you out there that have made fun of me for still being a Tigers fan...Shove it where the sun don't shine! We are tied for 1st place right now in the Central with the defending Champs. (Not that that says a lot!) And to top it all off, despite the Yankees crazy comeback last night, the Red Sox are still in first by a game. So here is to a great baseball season...so far!

Boston You're My Home

2006-05-04T11:50:00.000-04:00

So I know that I haven't really been good about blogging lately. I just got done with a huge event for work and then we spent this past weekend in Beantown. (You can view the photos of the trip here and here.) I have to admit it was a little bit hard to come home after such a wonderful vacation. Justin's friend Greg was such a wonderful host and we couldn't have asked for a better Red Sox v. Yankees game to go to.
I miss it there so much! The people, the city, the lifestyle, the Red Sox caps everywhere. It made me want to move back right then and there. Justin agreed that it would be a great place for us to be and felt alot better that he could move out there and start his business there because Greg and his roommates had contacts in the business to do so.

So where does that leave us now? Well, I am on Craigslist today looking for lofts, etc. Maybe, just maybe, we will finally find somewhere that we both want to be! Oh and I hear they have a pretty good baseball team! Though it will be hard to give up the 1st place Tigers!

Moving Back

2006-03-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

So J and I started talking yesterday about moving back to the east cost. I was asked to come back to the company that I used to work for before my dad passed away, but more than that both Justin and I really are just sort of played out on the whole Metro Detroit thing. I am excited where this takes us. We will be in Boston at the end of April and I am going to spend some time out there looking for a loft and meeting with my old co-workers. Who knows where this is going to take us but I am really excited about it.

I am even more excited that he really wants to do this. For it to be his idea before I even brought up the job opportunity was great. I know when we first met we both talked about moving out there. To see it start to come together is even better!

Oh and Pete Rose was great last night on Bill Maher. I highly recommend checking it out!

Why I Hate Them Continued

2006-03-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

Must read last post to think this is funny:

I just thought everyone would find the email that he sent in December regarding New Years to be oh so funny...once again if we can't do it then no one should. Everyone just bow down to us! Fuck you if you ever think I am going to be like that! And that is all I have to say about that:

December 23, 2005:

A reading from the first letter of Zeus to the Drinking Team: (Totally douche if you refer to yourself in this manner in an email! Anyone else with me on that one?)

In light of the new finacial estimates I believe Brittany and myself out for
Toronto. We have, however, come up with a alternative for others like
ourselves. We are opening our house for a preparty ( I know that puts us
over the limit for friends over, but hey, Nate alone puts us over the
limit). Around 7 or 8, or whenever is deemed neccissary, we shall be
chauffeured by the drunk tank to a local drinking establishment to make
complete fools of ourselves by dancing and drinking. We could then walk
home or get a taxi. Either way HOME is the key word. No expensive hotel.
No expensive party tickets. No 5 hour drive.

Britt and I are thinking Boogie Fever. (The lamest bar in Ferndale or in general..you take your pick!) We have not been there in a while
and it should be good for dancing and drinking and yes, Chris, you still
might be able to pick up hookers given the proximity to 8 mile. (Yes because I love spending New Year's Eve at a bar that I could go to on any given Friday!)

Just a thought, but I don't need to drive 5 hours and pay $300 to hang out
with you guys. (I know I should be paid $300 to hang out with these idiots!) I do that every day for free. Let me know what you think.

Week from Hell

2006-03-09T16:15:00.000-05:00

So this very well could be the week from hell. It is really such a shame because I was excited about this week. I was excited that I have been really focused lately on Justin and I. Not our relationship in the traditional sense of things but about our future...careers, moving, money, etc. It has taken away a lot of the resentment I was starting to feel.

Then came Tuesday...

On Tuesday morning I received this wonderful email from Justin's supposed best friend: (bold is my own commentary on the subject)

Well, Michelle, I am sorry that it had to come to this. I have to write you an e-mail because you will not return anyone's phone calls and I don't know if Justin even gets the message. (He has called us once since the first week in February but whatever!) So I am writing this to get everything off my chest. I think this grudge you are holding is ridiculous. Brittany and I were and still are willing to forgive you for all those nasty things you said about us when you were talking to Lyzz before new years. (What? The things that I said that were true about them...like they can't do anything unless it is their way, that they have both been nothing but rude to me and make me feel uncomfortable...I said them on purpose because they were true!) We were standing right there and heard everything that was said. (No shit! Why do you think I said them?) Then when Brittany tried to talk to you about it you denied everything. (The bitch pinned me in my bathroom, at my house, at 2:00am on New Years Eve, when she was not welcome in my home in the first place, to talk about how she has no friends in Detroit and we were going to raise our kids together or whatever she was blabbing about! Seriously we aren't in college anymore and I was never the girl who had conversations in the bathrooms when I was there!) We don't even care about that though. (If you don't then why are you bringing it up?) It is water under the bridge. All I really care about is my best friend, Justin. It is kind of sad that I saw more of him when he was living with his mom in Oxford and when I was living in Chicago. Now, when we live within walking distance of each other, I have seen him about three times in the last six months. It sucks that someone that I was considering for my best man will not even call me back now. Why is that? What has changed? We have not. (You're so right...It is me the heartless bitch that has changed everything!) Justin, Britt and I have all been together since juniors in college and now somehow Justin doesn't like us anymore? (Yes precisely! He has grown up and you haven't! Black jokes, and drinking at Mike's house every weekend...not cool anymore!) I find that hard to believe. If there is something else going on let us know. I have talked to a lot of the other guys and they are feeling the same way. (One other guy does not constitute "a lot" by the way!) I do not want to lose a friend, my best friend, because of a stupid new years eve party. Please have Justin call me. I would really like to sit down and talk to him somewhere. We really need to see if we can figure this out now before it is too late.

So I of course replied to the email as such:

Justin actually controls my cell phone. He has it in his possession at all times and I rarely use it. He has received all of your voicemail messages and has actively chosen not to respond to them.

This is something that needs to be settled by the two of you. I have nothing to do with his decision to not call you back.

The two of us have made an active decision not to hang out with anyone for the past couple of weeks because putting together Justin's books for his business, getting his taxes finished, and finding a loft downtown have been bigger priorities for us. I don't feel that either of us need to justify that decision to anyone.

And then got this back:

I think you missed the point of the letter. (I didn't miss the point, trust me on that one!) It was not an attack on you or asking you to justify anything. (Yes it was! Don't try to back out of your accusation now!) We are all busy but still have time to at least call people back. (Don't you get the hint when someone doesn't!) And I only wrote you because I know you check your e-mail and I don't think he does. (My ass that is the only reason you wrote it to me!) You do not have to be so defensive. I am trying to make peace. (Peace...like George Bush makes Peace?)

I honestly can not think of anything funnier and more immature than this email. I was sort of reminded of those days back in high school where shit like this happened. And then to top it all off all that kept going through my head was a comment that my friend Jocelyn once made when I lived in DC "E-mail is not a valid form of communication."

What a fucking copout! I don't understand why he wasn't willing to just say it to my face, in front of Justin for that matter, that he feels I am the reason that Justin doesn't talk to him anymore. (No sarcastic undertone there!) I mean it is obvious in the email that is what he was implying and to try and cover it up with "I was just trying to get in touch with him" in the second email was bullshit! Does he think I am stupid and wouldn't pick up on it? Honestly!

And speaking of honesty...my shady boss that I have told you all the wonderful stories about (Like he tells me he knows the President or he charged his roof on the company credit card...yes, we are a non-profit) tried to accuse me of lying to him about coming in for two hours one weekend about a month ago. This just happened about an hour ago. Is he being serious? I told him that I didn't need to be accused of lying and that I was leaving the room. Which I did and I have been sitting in my office with the door closed for the last hour and plan to finish the rest of the day like that.

What a wonderful week, huh? And to think I am still optimistic about things to come. I just wish sometimes that I could go back to the east coast and move into the loft of my dreams with Justin and our dog. I know that I would be so much happier out there with other fun, young people and not stuck in Detroit with a crazy boss and the best friend from hell! ARRRGGGGHHHH!

Life, Love and Four Words

2006-02-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

I realize that I haven't posted here in quite sometime so I guess I will use this post to do a little life recap and a little thinking about the future.

First of all last week's Valentine's Day was nice. Yeah, I used the word nice. Justin did a great job of cooking me dinner and spending time with me that night but for some odd reason I really wish we had done something else. Ok, I know what you are about to say, "You should be thankful for what you have!" and really I am. I just wish that Justin would think outside of the box sometimes. When we were first dating he used to always say the right things to me and take me out to dinner. Now that we are living together we never go out to eat just the two of us and especially not to somewhere fancy. He conviently never has money when it is Sweetest Day, My Birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day...I guess I just want a little romance in my life. Some that I didn't have to suggest!

Second, I fucking hate my job. I hate it. More than I hated my job with the Pistons, more than I hate Kobe Bryant, more than I hate Justin's old best friend. I hate my job! My boss is crazy, steals money from the organization and is a pathological liar. Can you blame me for hating it so much? I have never come home from work and been so tired everyday from the verbal abuse that I get in the office from my boss.

So with that being said I am once again beginning to try and figure out where my life is taking me. I feel that Justin and I need to start making decisions about our future. If there is such a thing as our future. (I sometimes think I have given up part of my "I" to be a part of this "we" and it has been frustrating.) I am starting to sit down and write down my life goals and what makes me happy so that I can focus on myself for a bit. I need to be focused on my career, but more importantly on what I want out of life. How can I expect to be happy when I don't know what I want. (I hate being the kids of the hippie generation! None of us are happy!) It has been hard for me in this respect because Justin loves having his own company and I wish we lived in Boston. How we are going to compromise on this one should be interesting.

But no matter what is going on in my life right now at least I get to utter these four words at least: Pitchers and Catchers Reported!

Super City, Super Bowl

2006-02-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

I honestly can't tell you how much I fell in love with my city again this weekend. I fell in love with motown again. I fell in love with Kid Rock, Em, KISS and the White Stripes. I fell in love with Woodward, with the skyline, with the people that frequent the streets of Detroit. And more than anything I am proud and excited for the city that I call home. I am excited for all the things that this city has in store. So to everyone out there in cyberspace, come, visit and share in the excitment that the Super Bowl brought to Detroit.

Now....Are you ready for some football? I have put together three photo albums on my website (link to the right) that show photos from the whole week. Now I am just waiting for my friend Mel and her scrapbooking talent to help me with some ideas of how to put them into some sort of scrapbook.

Coretta Scott King

2006-01-31T09:22:00.000-05:00

Today is yet another sad day in American history. This morning it was announced that Coretta Scott King, wife of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., passed away. Though I wasn't alive during the rise of the Civil Rights movement I am definitely part of the next generation, whose responsibility it is to carry out what everyone fought so tiredlessly for.

With her and Rosa Parks passing and tomorrow being the first day of Black History Month I started thinking to myself...What has my generation really done to keep the fire of Dr. and Mrs. King's words alive?

We tend to sit aloof watching this president take 18 and 19 year old men and women to war, allowing them to risk their lives everyday and he can't even give them or their families a good reason why they are there, dying so senselessly at an astounding rate.

We tend to sit aloof watching on our little cable boxes the struggles of low income (poor) people as they couldn't even afford to find a way out of the city during Katrina. And instead of just helping them with monetary donations we should be creating a national debate about our inner cities and the socioeconomic disparties of this country. Instead we feel better just donating on the internet.

I believe, in my humble opinion, all Dr. and Mrs. King wanted us to do is to treat each other as equals because under the eyes of God that is all we really are...equals. Equal despite your color, religion, sexual orientation, economic class, etc.

Our generation is so devoid of feeling because we constantly are only thinking about ourselves that we are allowing the unequal treatment of others to happen around us constantly. When is our generation going to give a damn? When are we going to be willing to stand up for what is morally right and wrong (not morally according to the Bush agenda either...the most backwards morality I have ever heard of!) When are we going to get off of our iPod's and TiVo's and actually care. If we don't then I am fearful of the future of our society, our country and its people.

The Auto Show Charity Preview

2006-01-29T18:15:00.000-05:00

I know these photos are long overdue but I wanted to post some pictures of Justin and I at the North American International Auto Show Charity Preview. It is one of the biggest nights in Detroit (of course.) It is where all of the car company, political hot shots and over all rich people get together to drink, eat and look at cars.
Boy I love that Mini Cooper
Justin and Piston guard Lindsay Hunter (by the Bentley's of course)
(The $184,000 Bentley)

Pictures of the Puppy

2006-01-26T10:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, everyone has asked for them and here they are...pictures of our new puppy.

Sorry I would have had them up here sooner but it looks like blogger.com didn't want to be my friend last night.

Mr. Fenway

And then there was Fenway

2006-01-16T16:54:00.000-05:00

So this weekend Justin and I did something out of the ordinary for the two of us. We got up on Saturday morning (after a long night at the Charity Preview for the Auto Show. I know that this is not a big deal for anyone other than Detroiters but wait till I post some photos of the cool new cars up here) and spontaneously decided that it was going to be the day that we purchased a dog. Yeah you heard me right, a dog!

I have wanted a dog since I was 10, but my mom never let my brother or I have pets (the goldfish we brought home from the fair and the ducks I hatched in Bio in high school don't count) so this day has been coming for awhile now. I really just couldn't believe that we did it together.

This is a huge step in this relationship for me. I know that all my friends tell me that Justin is the right one but to know it and start acting on that have been more difficult for me than expected. The decision plays a bigger role in our relationship than I think it leads on to.

Let me explain further...
First, Justin always thinks everything through about 20 times before it gets done. You should see the two of us in Target! I am the one who is like "these chairs would be great for the dinning room table," and he sort of looks at them, doesn't say anything and then moves two aisles over and we forget about it. He is so damn picky about everything. We had been discussing getting a dog for awhile and for him to just act on that decision and not be so undecided was a great thing for me.

Second, I have been working a lot on me lately, trying to figure out what I really want out of life. Why I am happy or unhappy with myself and how that causes problems in my relationship. So to go forward with buying a dog was a real big step in that direction for us. It basically indicated to me that I wanted to be something more with this man than others in the past. (You would have thought the house covered this part!)

Last, It was great to see Justin and I seeing our lives as more than something in the present. I know we talk about getting married and we talk about the future but to actually act upon that future by bringing something else into our lives is a huge deal for me. I have been so hurt by men in the past and to trust Justin enough to think about a future makes me so excited!

I know, I know...it is just a dog but for me this meant so much more. Slowly I will heal from the past and at that point I can't wait to see what this relationship has in store for me.

Girls, Girls, Girls

2006-01-10T16:31:00.000-05:00

I don't know about the other women out there in cyberspace but I can sometimes use it to find out information that I quite frankly just don't want to see.

For example, I knew of this girl that Justin had a relationship with at one point and being the sneaky little online bitch that I am when I went to view his myspace.com page I found her on there as one of this friends. So I of course read her page and realized two things:

1) Both of us love Gore Vidal and graduated with Political Science degrees.

2) I hate knowing who the other women are.

It has left me with a bad taste in my mouth ever since I knew it was her. Could it be that I know they had some sexual past? Could it be that I think he might have wanted to be with her more than me? Could it be that we as women, always make it out to seem that no one can want to be with us.

I am definitely decision C. I think I just can't believe that Justin would have picked me, the non-snowboarder, Franklin Planner carrying, political person that I am. When will I realize that he likes that person, just plain me. As a matter of fact, he loves her. And then it is realizing that THAT girl, the one who is only on a website, has nothing on the one who shares his life with him.

I am still waiting for that day...

The New Year

2006-01-09T10:10:00.000-05:00

So I know I am a bit late here on the posting the New Years Resolutions thing but I thought that if still posted it here than somehow cyberspace (and not just my little red Franklin Planner) would keep me true to my resolutions.

This year opposed to in year's past I felt that it was important to develop life changing resolutions. I mean most of the time people come up with things that are good for the moment but aren't really life changing things. So with that in mind I read the Time magazine People of the Year edition right before New Year's and decided that this year was going to be different. I was actually going to do three things that were going to be life changing developments for me.

First:
1) I have decided to regain my healthy living lifestyle. That means no fast food, no crap going into my system. Now this has already been hard going to the bar and having one drink if that. It is hard getting up in the morning and getting to the gym on time before work but I look at it this way...I have two options right now while I am 26. I can live a healthy life and give myself the best chance at staying alive past 50 or I can just eat shit and gain 20 and be totally disgusting. I choose A! I just watched my dad pass away because he didn't do this and I won't let it happen to me.

Second:
2)I have decided to take a mission trip to Africa and travel more this year. I realized a couple of weeks ago that I hadn't been out of the country in ages and for that matter I hadn't been anywhere outside of the midwest since last spring. So I am going to go and visit my friends across the country this year. I am going to see those ballparks I talked about in my Christmas news letter because though I have no money and will never have a savings account with more than 100 bucks in it at least I will have great memories with the ones I love. And as for going to Africa...it is about damn time I stop talking about Americans doing something for the rest of the world and actually do it myself.

Last:
3) Being inspired by my friend Jenny I have decided to read 20 books this year. I have so many great books sitting on these wonderful shelves that Justin built me in our house that haven't been read. They are just there right now to make me feel like an elitest, but I thought this year I would actually become an elitest and read them. So I leave you with the current list of selections. Some have already been read but I feel like reading them again, others I have never touched. Suggestions are of course always welcome and I will give updates as the year goes along.

1) A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
(How can you not want to read this book a million times?? It is about time someone actually gave a real history lesson)

2) Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
3) Watching Baseball by Jerry Remy
(It's almost that time of year again...better start getting ready!)

4) War of the Worlds by HG Wells
5) Madam President by Eleanor Clift
6) Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
7) 1776 by David McCullough
8) Three Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger
9) One Day at Fenway by Steve Kettmann
(I am hoping to get to this book at about the same time I am going to Fenway!)

10) Don't Think Like an Elephant by George Lakoff
11) Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
(Had to re-read this one in order to appreciate her new one. By far one of the best books I have read.)

12) Bait & Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich
13) I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
14) Imperial America by Gore Vidal
(My favorite author...also check out Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace and Dreaming War)

15) Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky
16) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
17) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
(I am finally giving in and reading it like the rest of the world...trying to before the movie comes out and ruins it.)

18) On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt
(One of the best rhetoric books I have read.)

19) Women Who Make the World Worse by Kate O'Brien
(Just couldn't pass up reading some conservative full of shit women...Can't wait till some man takes her job.)

20) Are Men Necessary by Maureen Dowd
(Reading it to get over #19)

The Ferndale Drinking Team

2006-01-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

I know that I haven't posted in awhile and that probably those who read on a regular basis have left me now, but I know there are some folks out there who are still interested in the useless things I have to say.

So here is what I have to say on this 6th of January (the Epiphany and First Quarter Moon if you will...I knew that Happy Bunny calendar in my office would serve me right.) I have started another blog with the fellow members of the Ferndale Drinking Team and I think you should check it out.

We should have some photos from New Year's Eve and our Christmas Sweater Party up there sometime soon.

Ode to Thanksgiving Eve

2005-11-23T14:15:00.000-05:00

So I have been seriously slacking on my blogging skills lately due to the job and current moving drama, but today as it snows outside on this day before Thanksgiving (and I am the only one still stuck at work) I decided to write a little bit about my favorite holiday:

Thanksgiving Eve

So why is Thanksgiving Eve my favorite holiday...

1) It is the biggest bar night of the year. It is the one time of the year where everyone just decided to get in their SUVs and Hummers and drive their semi-drunk asses to the bar to get even more tanked and then attempt to drive home in the SNOW! I mean if that isn't a great holiday then I don't know what is!

2) It is an opportunity to give thanks to the gourgeous men in your local community. I mean for one night out of the year they get all dressed up in their striped shirts and Express Jeans to spend a little money on the ladies in this world hoping that the ladies will just give a little thanks back and go down on them in their car in the parking lot!

3) Last but not least...It is an opportunity to run into all those fucking idiots you went to high school with who want to know all about what you are doing not because they care but because they want to tell you how cool their life is! My philosophy is if I really cared what you were up to I would have stayed friends with you in the first place!

As it snows here in the Metro Detroit area and I am writing this blog I am beginning to get eager to watch all of Justin's male friends (Chris, Mike, Jamie...) attempt #2 above with all my friends that I have invited to go out to the bar tonight. Oh how great it is when you have become your boyfriend's friends pimp! And where do I fit into all of this? I will be drunk alongside my man knowing that no matter if my ass is big or I throw up outside the bar he is going home with me!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I hope that everyone out there gets the chance to dance to a little Ashlee Simpson for me tonight! Or in Jayna's case Kung Fu Fighting!

Oh and I will post photos from tonight online this weekend...new haircut and all!

Busta Move

2005-11-17T17:27:00.000-05:00

I am sure that everyone has thought that I fell off the face of the planet lately but really I have been just super busy with my retarded job and working on this house of mine. I have to say that domestic living isn't necessarily where it is at. I don't forsee me being the next June Cleaver...though I do cook dinner every night for Justin and I! I might not be June but I am definitely Rachel Ray!

On that note, I felt like blogging because last night I went to a Karaoke bar for the first time in something like a year and of course Justin's crazy friends, Cousin Mike, Chris, Jamie and Joel convinced me that singing Busta Move would be a good idea.

I have to say that I am not as good of a white rapper as I thought I was, but the greatest part of the evening is that in two weeks we are going to do it again.

I will be sure to post pictures from the upcoming Karaoke night where I will be found by Simon Cowell and starring in next season's American Idol!

Why do we have to have boyfriends?

2005-10-28T15:54:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I hate my boyfriend and today is one of those days. This past week Justin chose to go over to his friend's house and help them tile their place before their carpet was laid on Friday.

You are probably thinking to yourself...Michelle that is fine he was just helping out a friend! Did I forget to mention to all of you out there that we have a bathroom in which Justin has ripped all the tile off the walls and floor and has not gone with me to choose the new tile so we can lay it and be able to shower normally for the first time since we have moved in? Did I also forget to mention how much I dislike his friend? His friend has been nothing but impolite to me since the day I have met him and Justin's excuse to me for his rudeness is, "He'll come around."

I am sorry but I just don't have any patience for it. I am waiting to move my clothes and things into the space but because Justin has a million projects going as well (one of them not being the dishes by the way!)I haven't even been able to do that.

I am finally at my boiling point. I have clamly discussed it with him twice this week and then we have had two serious arguments about this. There is a point in time where certain priorities just have to be number one and I am beginning to find out where this house and myself fit into that priority list. The problem is that the house and I are underneath Justin always having to be the guy to do everything for his lousy, no good, asshole friend! Sometimes I wish that he would just grow some balls and tell people No! But I guess that will be the day...

And on that note I am going to check my email and get the heck out of this office! Too bad my weekend will be spent at a party with Justin and some of his no good friends (DISCLAIMER: Only the one friend sucks! All the rest are just great! Oh except the one who lives in New York...he sucks too!). I really wish I could come up with an excuse like I am allergic to Halloween costumes so that I didn't have to go. I hate that they are ruining my favorite holiday!

Bono is a God!

2005-10-25T17:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I went with Justin's friend Jaime (I feel that after last night he can officially be my friend too) to see U2 in concert here in Detroit!

Once again they totally exceeded my expectations. They have by far put on the two best shows I have ever seen in my life. I felt like Johnny Drama from Entourage when Bono came out of the stage at the beginning of the show. He couldn't have been two arm lengths away from me. Seeing the sweat beading down his face and listening to his voice utter some of the most amazing lyrics of all time I just couldn't help but fall in love with them all over again.

Everytime I go to see U2 in concert I feel inspired to make a difference in this world. Not only are they musical geniuses' but they are the world's biggest humanitarians. And because of them I have spent the day organizing an event in Michigan benefiting the ONE campaign. I urge everyone to go the site and sign the declaration! It is so important to eliminate poverty, Third World debt and AIDS in this world. He reminded me of what a wonderful place this world can be if only one stadium of 22,000 people could make that much noise to change it!

I am so proud of all of those celebrities worldwide who are willing to lend their hand to such an amazing campaign! Now all we have to do is work together and this dream can be a reality. And I thank people like my friend's Jenny and Brendan who hooked me onto them a long time ago.

ONE love. ONE blood. ONE life. You got to do what you should. ONE life. With each other. Sisters. Brothers. ONE life. But we're not the same.
We get to.
Carry each other
Carry each other
ONE

Hey, Hey Hockey's Back

2005-10-21T09:25:00.000-04:00

Tonight I am going to be venturing off to my first Hockey game in almost a year and a half. I have to say if you are a Detroiter you love hockey. You eat, sleep and breathe it. It is a way of life around here, but ever since our early departure in the 2004 Playoffs, the Detroit Pistons 2004 Championship and a year of no hockey, "Hey, Hey Hockeytown!" has become "Who gives a shit town!"

I know because I am one of those folks. I am more excited about tomorrow's pending Missouri v. Nebraska college football matchup (Go Tigers!) than I am about going to a hockey game in the Mayor's suite tonight. I just don't care anymore. I have changed myself from a diehard hockey fan to a person who is going for the jumbo beers and the bus ride from the Ole Shillehgh.

But how can you care? These players and owners haven't given you a chance to care because they decided it was better for them and their bottom line to be locked out last year than about what the fan, who pays an average of $45.00 a game on just a ticket, has to say about it.

Professional sports bends all of us over time after time but we love it so much we just keep coming back. So this is my pledge to stick it to the man for the rest of the hockey season...I will not purchase a ticket. I will only go if someone offers the tickets to me free of charge. I will not purchase merchandise or concessions while there. If someone else offers me a beer I will drink it glady. (Disclaimer: I should be intoxicated before I arrive at the Joe tonight) And last but not least I will not wear my Red Wings jersey and or shirts unless I am going to a game.

This might not seem like anything but I have to start somewhere. I mean the money I shell out on Detroit sports teams is crazy. And when is the last time one have them has done anything good for me. (Ok, 2002 Stanley Cup. Ok, 2004 Pistons Championship. Ok, 2005 NBA Finals. Ok, Ok, I get it some have done something.)

Corona Man

2005-10-19T23:34:00.000-04:00

Ok so he is going to hate me forever for posting these photos on the internet but one drunken evening this summer I took these of him and I just can't help but put them up here. I mean just because he looks like a WT fool no problem.

I am Corona Man and when I made my head I couldn't even see straight to make the eye holes in the right place!

I Want To Be a Europeon Worker!

2005-10-19T10:37:00.000-04:00

Oh my God I am going to kill everyone in my office today! I get here and no sooner have I sat down at my desk to do my morning blog search and email check than my boss comes in changing his mind on who we are going to have our marketing material designed by. Granted this shouldn't even fall under my job title but someone just left our office last week after being here for three years and her job all of a sudden became mine.

Of course lets have the new girl do everything and not hire anyone else. I mean really I just got a $5,000 pay raise that is it and I now have three jobs in one. Because that was an even trade! I can't even get a good grasp on the work or come up with the Development plan I was working on so we just don't fly off the seat of our pants any more because now I have double the work load. It just sucks knowing on Wednesday that I am going to have to come into the office this weekend.

And on top of that I have been trying to be really good at leaving work at work and home at home so that I don't totally have a breakdown. I mean moving and a new job! Crazy!

That got me wondering a bit...Why do we as Americans do this to ourselves? Why do we go crazy over jobs and positions that don't do anything back for us except fire us? Why do I have a need to be one of the Top 40 under 40 in Detroit and join the Women's Economic Club? Why do I want to be so successful in my career that I am willing to put other things (important things) to the side for it?

The problem for me is if I am not in that fast paced, crazy job I am bored out of my mind. What the heck is my problem...Do I really need counseling or am I doomed to be a yuppie, overachiever all my life?

A Call to Red Sox (I meant Red Bird) Nation

2005-10-18T11:04:00.000-04:00

I watched a remarkable baseball game last night. I felt like I was watching the ALCS from last year when everyone in Boston and around the country thought we were down and out and then out of nowhere a rebirth began. I stolen second base (A hit by Eckstein.) And then a power punch by Big Papi. (A monster homer by Pujols -- Medium Papi, if you will. :) )

Last night Albert Pujols gave this Red Sox fan a reason to watch the LCS. He gave the country a reason to watch the post season. But most of all he gave the fans and the city of St. Louis a reason to get off their butts, come out in their Red and make sure that what was 1 out away is now another pennant title for their team.

To the city of St. Louis and their fans! I lend my voice, my heart and my hands in cheering on the Red Birds for the rest of this season!

(I mean at least I want to see some team that can kick the White Sox butt! And it would be a different I-55 series now wouldn't it!)

Random Thoughts

2005-10-14T11:41:00.000-04:00

I have had so much on my mind lately that I can't say I have been a very good and productive blogger. I really haven't written on the subjects that I said I would discuss like Ronald McDonald and the McDonalds corporation. I mean in the amount of time it takes me to write this blog someone in America has just got fatter. I must watch Super Size Me again soon. It is such a good flick!

Or I haven't written about The Daily Show and my secret love for Jon Stewart (Amazing how a man becomes incredibly hot when he is funny and knows politics.) I can't wait to get TiVo so I can watch the show on a more regular basis. I can't stand it when I miss it.

And how about how I can't wait to get the new iPod with video. When I heard about it I almost went crazy. I was going to buy the new Nano for the man for Christmas, but now I just think I will give him my mini and get myself one. Way to go Apple for always looking out for us! I really should be in a marketing piece for the company since I have never wanted to play on my computer as much as I do since I got an Apple.

Or how about Netflix. Another great invention. That is all I plan on doing this weekend is watching Netflix movies. I love it! How lazy am I?

I also haven't written about the League Championship Series in Baseball. What the fuck happened in that Angels v. White Sox game this week? I was watching it online, since we don't get cable until today, and it looked a bit weird to me. Also I can't say it enough but both series don't look like they are going to be easy roads to the World Series.

Last but not least I haven't talked about Gabe Watson, The University of Michigan football player who during a Make A Wish visit with a little kid gave him his Outback Bowl Championship ring just because he felt like he should give him something. He was quoted saying that his father taught him that if you have something to give you should give it. I can't say there are many people in the world who would have done that. I have a new found respect for Gabe and for college athletes. I guess not everyone is out there to be a superstar asshole. (I mean Kobe Bryant still is but...)

Ok, I think that about covers it for this weekend. I am going to post some photos soon of the new house and all the wonderful painting Justin has done but first I have to find the camera...

Happy--Finally!

2005-10-11T11:40:00.000-04:00

We have the key to our house, finally! The Yankees lost last night, finally! And I got a really nice paycheck on Friday, finally! I mean really what else could be better than that?

Well let me see...my friend Melanie is going to be in town this weekend and I will finally get to see her and her husband! Yeah! Saturday's Michigan v. Penn State game is going to be at 3:30pm...I love night games under the lights and with Penn State undefeated this should be a lot of fun. I am on Amazon.com right now because I want to purchase the 2004 World Series and ALCS Red Sox games so I have something to watch in place of the most boring baseball playoff known to mankind. My best friend from the east coast just let me know that she is going to come and visit me in February! I am totally pumped about that!

My life is great! And I get to start painting my house tonight. How did my life go from wanting to kill myself when I lived in the Windy City to this? I am just so happy and had to share it with you...sorry to be so excited and annoying. I promise to be more sarcastic and east coast like tomorrow!

The Big Move

2005-10-10T10:16:00.000-04:00

This week is moving week for Justin and I. It was so weird to go back to his house on Sunday and see that his whole room was packed up and ready to go with us to the new place. I really, honestly can not believe that we are moving in together.

I was never sure over the years that I would ever find anyone that I would want to live with and think that it could work out in the end. (I mean anyone other than my friend Jocelyn who I am pretty sure had no plans of a Lesbian relationship with me.) It has really been a good week for us after the nervous breakdown I had because we were moving in together. I finally realized that it is going to be ok because for the first time in a really long time I am finally getting the chance to settle down. No more moving or feeling like I have no place to call my own. We are talking in adult talk like, "We need to redesign the kitchen and rip out the cabinets and put in new ones." I mean really does that sound like me? The normal words out of my mouth are, "What time does happy hour begin?"

Getting over my youth and realizing what age I really am has totally changed my outlook on life. I have realized that there really is no need to be scared. Justin is a good person and if we don't work out it will hurt but I will have learned from it and that is the only way to go into a relationship...with no fear of being hurt. (Easier said than done!)

I do have to say though that I am happy and content with my life right now and you know what...that is just fine with me.

Same Play, Different Base

2005-10-09T13:25:00.000-04:00

I have no reason to watch playoff baseball any longer. The team that I love that has taken me to the point of so many heart attacks and painful headaches have lost to none other than another team that has waited for ever to be the World Champs, the Chicago White Sox.

Can't say I love or hate the White Sox...quite frankly I just don't care about them that much. I have sat at Chominsky (I mean US Cellular) field and didn't think the fans were all that much but hats off to them and their team for once again proving everyone wrong so far this season.

The problem that I have today doesn't have to do with who we lost to or why we lost for that matter but instead with Bill Buckner. I know, why am I bringing back up the 1986 disaster of a World Series. I am doing it because less than four days ago it happened to us again. How can professionals not know the basics of baseball? Of course I understand being excited and overwhelmed by the game and things happen but still they happen to us and in the same way over and over. I can still hear it: "So the winning run is at second base...with 2 outs, 3 and 2 to Mookie Wilson...little roller up along first, behind the bag! It gets through Buckner! Here comes Knight and the Mets win it!" Vin Scully...it sends chills down my spine. It is beyond frustrating. It is annoying.

Every one of the New England faithful thought that we had finally gotten over being the losers of Major League baseball. We thought that we were done with curses and suffering and lousy playoff loses but I guess we were wrong. The baseball Gods might not have completely forgiven us yet. And on that note I begin to wonder what we will be doing in the off season that maybe just maybe the baseball Gods will finally once and for all forgive us.

Here is to February of next year when pitchers and catchers report...

She's Having a Baby!

2005-10-06T10:00:00.000-04:00

This morning I was leisurely looking through my email when a fellow blogger Alex (great baseball bullshit on his site!) told me about this great site Phat Phree.

So of course I have nothing to do at work (or something like that) I went to the site to see what was up and low and behold the scariest thing happened....I found out that Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are expecting a baby!

What the fuck is wrong with these two? I mean honestly they are crazy. It is as if one morning each of them woke up and took crazy pills and then conceived a child.

It is people like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes that make me want to apply for the Secretary of Procreation position. I believe we should develop this government department and when you want to procreate you come to me and I will tell you yes or no. For example, I live in a house that moves and have five kids...NO. I have two baby daddies and one I am not sure about...NO. I am a celebrity that has a crush on someone from Top Gun...NO. Really it is an easy process.

As of today I officially put my candidacy out there for Secretary of Procreation. Come on Mr. Bush I know you want to pick me!

All Work, No Play

2005-10-05T17:35:00.000-04:00

It is only my second week on the job and I can tell you right now that I got myself into something bigger than I thought. I can never just take a job somewhere that I can get out at 5:00 pm and have a normal life. No...Instead I am in a position where I leave the office on average at 6:30 pm and go home and work some more there.

I am your typical red blooded American worker. Type A personality that never wants to put a project off. I would rather work through the evening to make sure that it got done on time, right then. When I worked for the Pistons I was there until all sorts of un-Godly hours of the night. And when push came to shove it was easier to just let me go at the end of everything.

I am getting frustrated but I think the same thing could happen here if I am not careful. If I put too much time and effort into rebuilding this organization and then find out that the organization really didn't care I am not sure I am going to be able to handle it. There are only so many times you can not let that effect your work ethic. The hardest part is I can't just not care! I always want to do a good job. It is in my blood to be an overachiever. What I have come to realize though is that there will definitely need to be beer and wine in stock at my house if this keeps up at work!

And just a side note...14-2...Can't believe it! Come on Red Sox!

1 Hour and Counting!

2005-10-04T14:57:00.000-04:00

A reminder from the Ghost of October's past...Just Read This! This guy's blog on last year was just too good not to put up there today!

Here is to October and the Playoffs! 1 Hour and counting until my boys play! Let's go Sox! (Red not White!)

Where Do We Go From Here

2005-10-04T14:08:00.000-04:00

So the last couple of days have really been hard on Justin and I. I would like to think that it is his fault that he doesn't pay enough attention to me or that he doesn't do nice things for me, but frankly that is a bunch of crap.

It has been hard on us lately because I am nervous about moving in together. I know I shouldn't be. He is the best thing that has happened to me. He loves me, genuinely cares about me and most of all respects and treats me as an equal in this relationship. We have the same ideas about how we want to raise a family, what kind of marriage we want, and the plans we see for our future.

I just can't understand my extreme desire to constantly pick fights and cause arguments with him. I never really did this with my ex-boyfriends. I mean Brendan and I fought a bunch but I am not sure if it is the same thing that is going on here. Maybe it is my personality. Maybe I just can't allow myself to be happy or I think constantly that soon the man in the relationship is going to show who he really is and leave me.

I have been thinking about it all day since I had a nervous breakdown this morning in the car and the only thing I can come up with is I amazingly am self confident in my life but not in this relationship. I constantly think he is going to leave so I test whether or not he will leave and in turn cause extreme dysfunction within our relationship.

I mean I know there is something wrong when I can't stop thinking about him and his ex's. I really don't even care about their emotional relationships as much as I care about their sexual relationship. I don't understand what the hell is going on with me! I have never cared about other people my ex's slept with, why do I care now?

I love this man. I can't deny that. I have never felt this way about a single human being in my life. I worship the ground he walks on and though we argue I can't see my life without him. I just wish I could figure out what I could do to change the way I think and feel so that I could be 100% a part of this relationship.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2005-10-03T10:55:00.000-04:00

God I love baseball! Everything about it. I love the smell of fresh roasted peanuts and ballpark franks on the grill. I love watching mothers and fathers holding their small child's hand as they set foot into a baseball stadium for the first time. It is the most amazing thing to watch a little kid sit in their seat with their glove in hand, hoping just hoping that one of their idols will hit a foul ball their way.

Baseball is America's pasttime. It is what brings our country together. Generation after generation have set foot in the greatest ballparks in the world. Baseball allows us the opportunity to share something with our grandparents, our parents and soon our own children. We love to worship, feel frustrated, let down, hurt and empowered by the same teams as our grandmothers, fathers and friends do.

It gives me chills every time I hear "grounder to Foulke and for the first time in 86 years the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions." I can't wait to have kids and take them to Fenway Park. Fenway Park is my heaven. It is the one place in the world where I know that life is good. It is the place I go to feel alive again. Though I could not be there this weekend in person, watching it on TV and seeing the skyline of my city sent chills down my spine. It reminded me of what our country can be.

People who are not fans of the game don't understand how you can cry when players of new and old can say goodbye to a field that has brought both sorrow and happiness as in the case of the St. Louis Cardinals and their beloved Busch Stadium. People who are not fans of the game don't understand how generation after generation parents have walked their children through the tunnel leading into some of the most exciting places to watch a game...Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Camden Yard, Yankee stadium.

These people will never understand why every time I hear James Earl Jones voice in Field of Dreams I get goose bumps and begin crying. And so on the eve of the Post season I leave us with the greatest movie speech ever. The speech that reminds us all of why the boys of summer, the men of October have such a special place in our hearts.

James Earl Jones as Terrance Mann:
Ray, people will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you have a look around," you'll say. "It's only twenty dollars per person." They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it; for it is money they have and peace they lack.
And they'll walk out to the bleachers, and sit in shirt-sleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game, and it'll be as if they'd dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they'll have to brush them away from their faces.
People will come, Ray.
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again. Ohhhhhhhh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend

2005-09-30T11:56:00.000-04:00

I love diamonds! All kinds of diamonds. I mean I am a woman and how can you live your life without diamonds.

Last night, Justin and I started talking about my two favorite diamonds. I know strange conversation for two people who are nervous about moving in together but it happened. I don't know if it was the fact that I found out that two of my friends are pregnant yesterday or that my married friends Melanie and Andy are in town now, but we were online looking at my two favorite diamonds.

So I leave it up to you my loyal friends and readers to decide which diamond I should be more in love with right now. I mean October begins tomorrow and everyone knows how much I love the fall so maybe it is the right time of year to be talking about why I love diamonds.

Choice A:

Choice B:

I Caught You A Delicious Bass!

2005-09-29T21:05:00.000-04:00

Great Friends

2005-09-29T15:27:00.000-04:00

Today I had lunch with one of my really good friends Shannon. He always brings a smile to my face and there is never a dull moment during our conversation. The funny part about today was that we hadn't gotten the chance to talk in so long and we just picked up right where we left off. In fact I don't think we had seen each other since his Dad's funeral in December.

I love friendships like that! Ones that don't require a lot of hard work or effort. There are just certain people in your life that you can always depend on...Jocelyn, Melanie, Jayna, Bridget. Then there are those friendships that you sometimes lose track of due to time and effort but know that when you finally do get together you won't be able to stop talking. Frienships like Shannon's! Like my friends from college Kristen and Julia who I hadn't seen in years but since we saw each other at a wedding this summer have done nothing but email and blog with each other like old times.

And to talk about those kind of great friendships, my friend Kristen (really I met her through my bro) called me for the first time since the Winter yesterday to go to a concert on Saturday night. It was so great to hear from her and I am excited about hanging out again.

I wasn't sure about moving back to Detroit but it just seems that every time I doubt my life great people come into it to remind me how great it really is. I am truely for the first time in a long time starting to be happy again.

Now if I could just get that boyfriend of mine to send me some flowers like Melanie's husband...

New Job, Crazy Life

2005-09-28T10:40:00.000-04:00

So I finally got onto my new computer at work. I have to say that it has been an interesting couple of days at the new job. I am not really sure what they want me to do yet so I am just diving into it. I am hoping to sit down with my boss this week and develop a strategic plan. I just don't want what happened in the old job to happen again here. Specific goals are always a good thing.

Justin is doing well. He has work all the time now with his business. That is always a good thing. His dad is still being a jackass. They got in a huge fight this weekend (one where his dad threw him into a wall...don't get me started on it) and he decided to shut off his phone to retaliate. It is bullshit that a 40 something year old man is that retarded! Typical self-centered male.

Other than that we are getting ready to move into our new house. I am just upset that moving weekend is the same weekend that my friend Melanie is coming to visit her husband who is up here looking at the Michigan Med School for his residency. I pray every day that they end up here. It would be great to have someone to watch Missouri football games with (by the way check them out on ABC this weekend...glad they are going up against Michigan v. Michigan State up here (barf))

Well I guess I should actually get something done this morning work related...

It's My Birthday...

2005-09-23T17:14:00.000-04:00

...and I can complain if I want to. And that is exactly what I plan to do here on my birthday. Where should we start???

1) Today I was reading an article in the New York Times about what professional athletes gave in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It was so interesting to see the athletes that stepped up to the plate (Warrick Dunn giving $250,000) and who did not. I mean come on, like they don't make so much freaking money that they can't give a little back. The Cincinnati Reds, team and coaches, gave one day's pay to the relief. That is the least these spoiled brats can do. I mean really they drive around in their Esclades but can't give money to people in need...

2) Why seriously do I always have to pick teams that like to let me down to be in love with. I mean look at me. One week away from the end of the season and the Red Sox are screwing me again. I mean really when will they ever learn. Did Babe Ruth not finally die last year? Come on for crying out loud. And then there are the Missouri Tigers...My beloved university has every chance every year to win the Big 12 and do they???? Of course not. I really need to find new teams.

3) Justin's dad blows still...Giving his mom a hard time about money and settling things. I am just happy to see her go to a lawyer to get this all figured out. I mean he just pushes her around and she totally doesn't deserve this. Her first priority should be with her kids and her cancer treatments. Sometimes I want to just wind up and punch him. Don't you think that I at least deserve one punch? I mean come on it's my birthday!

4) I hate that it is my birthday and all my close friends are so far away from me. I mean they of course always remember me (Melanie/Jocelyn), but I wish that just once in awhile we could all go out to dinner and have a drink on my birthday. Maybe next year when we are all rich and famous we can go on some sort of cruise for my birthday. I mean 27 is a big one! (barf)

5) Last but not least I finally moved all of my things back from Chicago and am settled and ready for my job to start on Monday. Well to a certain extent...we are offically moving into our new house in two weeks so my stuff is technically in the basement of Justin's house but at least I am done with Chicago. Done with my stupid, old roommate who would send me ridiculously stupid text messages all the time about moving. She was such a baby and obviously not a good friend. I wonder if I would have been so rude and unpleasant if she was the one wanting to move. Whatever...I don't care!

So those are my complaints. Another year older...on the downward spiral to 30 now, but I look at it this way...I am 26, I haven't died or have any diseases (that I know of) and I have friends, family and a man who loves me. How much better can life get? Ok, maybe a little bit once that paycheck comes in!

Music that Actually Meant Something

2005-09-21T12:44:00.000-04:00

Today I was helping Justin out with one of his work projects when on our little portable bullshit radio came on one of my all time favorite songs. It isn't just one of my favorites because it has an amazing sound to it or that I love the voice of the artist. But it is one of my favorites because every time I hear it I close my eyes to listen to the lyrics.

I love that music used to mean something. It was a reflection of what was going on in society. It talked about war, suffering, civil rights and the outrage towards the system. Now, we all just roll over and sing about screwing someone or how much bling we have or how proud we are to shop at Wal-Mart.

This man, Marvin Gaye, had something to say about society about how we should live as one. It is such a shame that he left us so soon. I love the music of the 70s, Al Green, Barry White, Curtis Mayfield, Issac Hayes, and of course, Marvin Gaye. So to honor the man and his message for all of us. I have listed the lyrics to my favorite: What's Goin' On.

In the society we live in right now, with the War in Iraq, our civil liberities being shredded and the horrific government reaction to the defenseless people during the Hurricane, it seems now more than ever his poem, his song for the world to unite, resonates in my heart.

Mother, mother, there's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother, there's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today, hey
Father, father, we don't need to escalate
War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh what's going on, what's going on
Yeah, what's going on, ah, what's going on

Ahhh....
Mother, mother, everybody thinks we're wrong
Ah but who are they to judge us
Simply 'cos our hair is long
Ah you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
What's going on, yeah what's going on
Tell me what's going on, I'll tell you what's going on

Three Things

2005-09-20T15:50:00.000-04:00

I had three things to share with the world today and here they are:

The Sox

Honestly why does this team hate me so much. Why do they like to torment me! At one point over the glory days of summer they were 7.0 games up on the disaster of a baseball team, the New York Yankees. Now with only one and a half weeks to go in the season they are .5 (yeah that is right, a half) game up on the Evil Empire. I can't believe they are ready to break my heart again. Another Bucky "f-ing" Dent moment is about to happen to us. How much more can I take before I have a heart attack? I wake up every morning hoping that we didn't screw it up somehow (yes, NESN is blacked out for the most part up here) and that the Yankees did, but with only a week or so to go it looks like we might just go into the end of the season tied with a chance to blow it in the final series. Where is the final series? You guessed it...NEW YORK!

JOB
So the waiting and torment is over! I finally found a job. I am so pumped about it and am ready to get going. I am starting next week as the new Development and Grant Manager for the International Association for Organ Donation. I am very excited to get going in the position because there is so much room for growth and forward mobility. I mean you always love when you come into a job and they tell you that in five years if you aren't the Director of Development with 5 people under you then you have done something wrong. Also they were willing to pay me what I wanted and medical benefits were included. This is a great day over here let me tell you. And did I mention that I get my own office finally!

My Birthday
Last but not least is the fact that Friday is my birthday and yes I will be 26 years of age. I can't believe it. I always thought by 26 I would have a grand life in some big city. I would be married, of course, to Ben Affleck and be having his baby...ok, maybe I just want to be Jennifer Gardner? Anyway, I am asking everyone out there in the blogging world how they think I should spend my 26th birthday. I mean please keep in mind I am 4 years away from 30!

a) Party like a rock star by drinking as many beers as you can and go to a Tigers game with the boyfriend.
b) Go watch brother coach high school game and then go out to eat and drinks with the fam
c) Screw them all...go out by yourself and just get hammered!
Yes, sadly these are the only current choices I have for how to celebrate on Friday. I will be taking a poll through Thursday at 5pm. How sad has my life become? :)

The New Mrs. Richman (barf)

2005-09-16T09:36:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, on September 11th actually, my boyfriend's brother proposed to his girlfriend. I am sure that not many of you think there is a problem with this at all. Did I mention that they are 20? Yeah, they can't even legally drink at their own wedding at this point.

Of course being the totally non opinionated person that I am I was totally pissed when I heard the news. Not only do I think they are ridiculous and way out of touch with reality but I really don't like her and if I am even considering possibly becoming a member of this family I really don't feel like seeing her at Christmas dinner....And here is why:

First of all, she is from the South. Now you all know my strong distaste for those located below the Mason-Dixon line. She is the kind of girl who went to college for a semester to meet her future husband. You know the MRS degree. We all know the type...they were all over Mizzou too. Well she totally suckered Aaron (his brother) in and I think part of it is because he really wants to devoid himself from everything else that is going on in their family right now.

Second reason is she somehow plans to plan a wedding and move up here to Michigan within this year. She has no college education, currently works at Best Buy and thinks they are going to be able to afford a house to live in, pay Aaron's college tuition (yeah he is still in school) and afford groceries, etc. They are nuts. Right now Justin and I are figuring out our budget for the house we are about to move into and it is going to cost us our two combined salaries in order to make it out there. This isn't North Carolina sweetie it is the North...cost of living is double up here!

The next reason directly relates to the reason above. The sad part about them is that they are totally out of touch with reality and when they realize that they have put themselves into a total financial hole and Aaron has to stop going to school (because we all know it is going to happen) so he can make some money to support them guess who is going to have to hire him? You got it, Justin! Which just makes me so mad. I know we are going to end up being that couple in this family. The successful ones who have their own house, an education and money because we didn't rush into anything too soon (including kids which I don't even want to get into when it comes to them.) I just don't want to have to support them in the long run because they made this retarded decision.

Last but not least, ever since I came into the picture with Justin I think she is extremely jealous. I mean granted she doesn't really have a personality and is totally bitchy and I am outgoing and not immature and 20, I don't understand though why she felt that there was a competion between us. I was nothing but nice to her when she came up here for the first time since I met Justin. I love Aaron to death and he has always been nice to me so I wanted to return the favor. But from day one she was upset when his 11 and 9 year old brothers paid more attention to me, or when I knew more about sports and would talk with Justin and Aaron. I really feel she wanted to be the first of the brothers to be engaged so that she would have something to one up me on. I wanted to be like sister I will have three times the size of your ring, four times the wedding, and seventeen times the marriage so don't mess with me. I mean everyone knows she picked the wrong person to compete with my friend. I just find it a little ironic that she was going to surprise Aaron this weekend by flying up here to Detroit for their one year anniversary (yes they have only been dating for a year) and accidently spilled it to him. Then out of no where they get engaged...hmmm...interesting...I am just the new Sherlock Holmes over here!

I think across the board both Justin and I feel like this is a huge mistake for him. I mean I really can't see Justin and I's kids wanting to go over to that house and play if they are anything like the two of us. She is just not fun or cool which is really just a same! But if we are going to be family in the future I guess there is nothing I can do about it....Oh except go to my mom's house on Christmas!

Angelina Jolie Saves The World

2005-09-15T09:28:00.000-04:00

I must be in a serious political mode this week because that seems to be all I can blog about.

It was brought to my attention for the millionth time this past week that sometimes we, as Americans, living in the richest country in the world, just overlook the severe problems that are facing our world until someone has to pull our teeth in order to open our eyes to them.

That someone that got to me this past week was amazingly Angelina Jolie. Yeah, the Brad Pitt stealing, Maddox's mommy, botox lipped, actress who I have made fun of all the time not only because I think she is a horrible actress and just don't find her attractive but because I thought she was just one of those celebrities pretending to give a damn.

Pretending is not something that Ms. Jolie does when it comes to her other job as Humanitarian and UNICEF Ambassador. She not only gives a damn but will do anything in her power or fame to open our eyes to the larger problems facing our world.

Yesterday on MTV Ms. Jolie aired her diary (You think you know but you have no idea!) about her trip to Africa with Dr. Jeffery Sachs. It has to be one of the most interesting MTV programs I have ever watched. I was not only intrigued and could have watched another hour of the show but instead it made me want to go out there and do something about the crisis facing Africa and many other impoverished nations.

While the world leaders are here in the United States discussing poverty and the millennium goals of the United Nations, it needs to be our job as citizens of the world to continue to push our leaders here at home to provide the funding necessary to allow every child across the world at least a meal a day. I know that the economy sucks (I am the one without a job here!) but to think that cutting back by not purchasing one CD or DVD a month you could be giving a child a meal...how can we be so selfish?

During the MTV program, Ms. Jolie pointed out how one mid-day meal has increased enrollment and retention in one African school because the parents know that they can not turn that meal down for their children. Get a meal and maybe an education! How awesome is it that something that simple could help shape the lives of so many children? One of those children might just be the one who solves the African AIDS crisis and it all happens because of one meal.

It is our turn as the future leaders of this country to get off our Gen X,Y,Z (whatever you are) asses and become citizens of the world before it is too late. We don't have to put up with our government taking away our freedoms just because they say it is important to the security of our country. (Yeah my email about making out at the bar last night has a lot to do with terrorism!) We don't have to put up with Corporate America and their raping of the world. (Seriously shopping at Wal-Mart not good!) We don't have to put up with people who think that women, minorities, gays or other people are second class citizens because it threatens their place at the trough. (We still out number them!) We don't have to put up with it any longer...It is our job right here, right now to go out there and make that small but incredibly significant difference in this world!

If we don't who ever will?

March of the Penguins

2005-09-13T11:14:00.000-04:00

I just had to blog about this today because well it was just too good to pass up...

I was reading in the NY Times this morning about how conservative groups across the country are embracing the movie March of the Penguins because it reinstates family values in this country. They believe that God is speaking to them through this movie about the fact that there is no such thing as evolution and that the movie reinstates the value of monogamy.

Ok people, I saw this movie and really it was just about some f-ing Penguins! I mean honestly...I didn't watch Win a Date with Tad Hamilton and think that Matt Damon was going to come and marry me for good press!

I hate that they are politicizing a great film. It was a brilliant documentary and I highly recommend it but not because you are going to receive some sort of divine intervention from watching it. I believe if the movie has a statement to make it is that we live in an incredibly amazing world. And no matter what you believe we, as citizens of the world, have to learn to respect it and cherish what is here before we completely destroy it. I mean really don't you think you can stop driving your gas guzzling SUV for one day at least!

Now you are going to think that I am some sort of crazy, liberal person with no value system...blah, blah, blah. When in fact I am a crazy, liberal person. I believe strongly that the earth is a precious gift that we need to learn to respect and coexist with the other creatures that are here. Now you probably will be amazed that I am also a Christian and I feel that God of all the entities in this world would be so disappointed to see people using the amazing space that He created for political gain.

Listen we don't have to agree on much on both sides of the isle because let me tell you there are few things that I agree on with conservatives but come on...the EARTH! Can't we just agree that driving the cars we do and throwing away the trash we do and letting oil companies drill in places where these Penguins live and breed is just wrong! I want my children to breathe clean air and be able to play outside or go hiking in forests that haven't been cut down.

I really just wish that there were people out there that realized what this administration and their corporate America counterparts are doing to the beautiful place we call home! They aren't just killing the economy...they are killing the environment too and I just can't stand for it any longer!

BO CO MO

2005-09-09T12:21:00.000-04:00

Today with the brisk fall breeze coming in through my window I started thinking about good ole Columbia, Missouri. My college town. The place where a beer on a Friday night was a $1.75. The place where you could eat a great Mexican meal and have Margaritas for less than $10. Columbia was like a haven for the poor and I wish I was back there.

I miss Bambino's, El Maguey, McNally's, Big 12, Harpo's, and even the Vu. I miss walking to the Diner late at night or going through the Hardees drive through after a rough night at Shiloh.

I strangely wanted to grow up so fast and leave Mizzou. I wanted out of college and into the real world where I could get up in the morning and have my Starbucks Cafe Americano while reading the New York Times. I wanted to live in my chic city loft where I was able to afford everything from Crate & Barrel, but I soon realized that all of that was such a myth.

Maybe they feed you that lie to make you leave college because honestly who would want to if they knew that there was no money, no jobs and serious problems out there. Who would want to leave if you knew that all your coworkers can be cruel heartless bitches and that the men in this world were doing nothing but trying to keep you from reaching the top (oh and trying to sleep with you.)

No one would leave. I wouldn't have! I would have taken my sweet time. I would have actually paid attention in the useless Geology class because it is better than being at work. I would have woken up and gone to Bio 10 because at least there I was using my brain waves for something.

It is just amazing that now that school is over I wish I was back there because trust me when I tell you that the books and papers were not at all bad compared to the job market today!

Can Men Ever Grow Up?

2005-09-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

My boyfriend's dad is a prick. And not just a prick because he is a typical man who just doesn't understand the needs of a woman, but instead a prick who cheats on his wife, pushes her around and then takes it out on his family.

I can't stand him! I have never even spoken a single word to him and I wish he would rot in hell. In fact every day of my life I get more and more pissed off that his family even some what allows him to still be a part of their lives. I don't understand how women now a day will allow men like this to control their lives. In fact I can't even believe that men like this still exsist in this world.

I am going to list all the bullshit he has handed down over Justin's lifetime and I would love your feedback to see if you even think that there is a chance in hell that you would allow his man to stick around.

- He has been cheating on his wife for a least three years and just recently moved out. About six months ago his wife caught him in the act while they were still just separated.

- He gives her little to no money to feed her family which includes a 10 and 9 year old.

- Leaves his wife while she is in the middle of cancer treatment and is now creating problems when she is about to go back into treatment.

- He is threating to kick out his oldest (Justin) because he just doesn't want to have to have pay for him and also to see what he can get away with.

- He lied to Justin and pulled him out of college to work for his business and then never made him a partner, got him an office space, or business cards for that matter. He also didn't pay him the amount he had promised him.

- He never attended a single sporting event or school function for Justin.

I had to blog about this today because I just can't imagine that there are still men in this world that can be this selfish and ridiculous. If you don't want to take care of your kids and manage your life keep your dick in your pants!

I feel so lucky at this moment that I had such an amazing father who loved my mom, brother and I more than life itself. I can only hope that there are more men like my father and not like Justin's!

Just A Chick and Her Pole

2005-09-07T09:59:00.000-04:00

I have always dreamed of being a stripper. I know...I have already heard it from everyone I know that they think that I am crazy and wasted a hell of a lot of money on college if the only thing that I wanted out of life was to be a stripper, but this dream goes way beyond an occupation for me.

I love strippers because they actually have the guts to take their tops off and dance provocatively in front of completely strange and helpless men. I can go about a minute and a half attempting to be sexy in front of my boyfriend and then I just fall over laughing. (or is that him laughing?) I just find it so interesting in this time of women's liberation that we are still so self conscience about our bodies. Especially in front of people who have seen us naked and by this point don't really look at us for all our imperfections. I just keep thinking to myself if I was that comfortable with my body and my sexuality the sky is the limit. I mean I could fake put myself through college about a million times.

I also want to be a stripper because every time "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard comes on at the bar, in my car, on my iPod at the Gym I want to find the nearest support beam and dance as if I had been doing it for years. You know the dance...You toss your hair around like it doesn't give you a headache, you grab your only other secure friend and pretend as if you are lesbians, and then you pull your shirt, tank top, etc. up just to the point that every man around you thinks they are going to see tit. During this year's Eastern Conference Finals for the Pistons I had one night where I had one too many pitchers of beer and seemed to draw a crowd which gives me hope that my dream just may come true.

Last but not least, you can't tell me that it isn't every man's dream to sleep with a stripper. Five months into my current relationship and my boyfriend felt comfortable enough one night to tell me he almost got a stripper when he was in NYC with his friends. Amazingly he was proud of this as well! He met her in the VIP room one afternoon at the strip club (I know what a high roller, huh?) and went out for a drink with her after she got off. He gave her his number and she actually called him. Somehow from that phone call he concluded that she was going to sleep with him but what man doesn't? Based on that I had a thought is it the stripper with her fake big boobs that they dream of sleeping with or is it just that strippers seem confident and so they see it as a competition to get with them?

If I don't find some sort of professional job soon I might actually just have to start working out a bit so that I can actually fulfill my dream and then my man can finally fulfill his as well.

In the Beginning

2005-09-06T11:25:00.000-04:00

Back in March I showed up for work one morning wearing my favorite brown suit. It was just a normal day for me. I had gotten up that morning and went to the gym as I did every day. I came into work not thinking that anything was going to happen out of the ordinary that day. In fact I was sort of in a bad mood because I knew that it was a Friday night and instead of being out on the town with friends I was going to be at work late because we had a game against the Indiana Pacers.

Yes, it was the first game back in Detroit after the infamous brawl at the Palace and for me it was going to be a PR nightmare all night long. The million questions from national and local media about the arena, security, etc. Little did I know though that my job should have been the least of my concerns that evening because on that night I met the one...the guy!

I just happened to sit down in his row next to his friend after finding out that the game was delayed due to an in house bomb threat. Not only had I been at work all day but now I was going to have to be here longer trying to spin this incredible mess. And to top it all off I seemed to be the only one in the arena without a drink. Of all the places in all the world this is how I met the one. It is one of those stories you just know you can't wait to tell your kids in the future or the 95 million family and friends that will ask about it for the next year or so as they get to know him. It is a great story and I was excited to get to go back and reminisce today when I found a picture of my friend Jayna, him and I at the first basketball game we went to after we had met.

It was Toga night against the Sacramento Kings and I had bought tickets for Jayna and I to go to the game when she was coming into town. After meeting him I just happened to also pick up the two tickets next to us so that he and his friend could join us. And on the way to that game we kissed for the first time. And not in that oh so romantic way that everyone imagines it would happen but instead on an almost 8th grade dare did I lean into the back seat and kiss him.

I could think that from that moment I was just putty in his hand but instead our relationship has been filled with ups and downs. Moments that prepare you for spending the rest of your life with someone.

Troubling times, but great times as well. And I can't imagine going through these times with anyone else. In these troubling times in our country we should remember it is not the material things that we should cherish but the people. The people who come into our lives and touch our hearts.

That is what Justin has done for me and I am forever grateful I leaned into that backseat and that he said yes to going to a basketball game with some friends that one Friday night!

To the Fall...

2005-09-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

I love the Fall! I worship it. I love the smell in the air of the Fall...the smell of tailgating and leaves burning. I love the changing colors of the leaves on the trees when it provides colors of red, orange and yellow that only happen in Fall. Most of all though I love the glorious end of baseball season. The division and wild card races that keep everyone on the edge of their seat. Even those people who can't stand watching April through August. And with the turn of the season comes nothing other than football. High School kids getting ready for their moment of glory on a Friday night, or tailgating on a brisk Saturday morning before sitting in stadiums that mimic where the Gladitors once stood. I just love the Fall!

Tonight I am going to watch my younger brother coach high school football and I am sure some of you think that it is crazy at 25 to be watching high school football. But let me tell you there is nothing like watching the expressions on these young kids faces when they acheive victory and even more so when they have overcome adversity to get there. It is exciting to be sharing these nights with my younger brother. Football is more than a game to us. It is something that connects us as brother and sister, but most of all as friends. It brings us back to memories of my father who each and every game even though we don't say it we miss. The fall reminds us of him. When he too was a high school football coach and would pace the sidelines like Joe Paterno. When he used to wake us up at the crack of dawn to tailgate for 3:30pm Michigan football games. When he would yell at the TV during Lions games as if they could hear him. When he would call me all the way at Mizzou to let me know who we had just recruited.

The fall is the most glorious time of the year for my family. It is full of the noises and excitment of going back to school even if you aren't. It is filled with new coats and sweaters. It is filled with birthdays for both my mother and myself. But most of all it a way to connect back to everything that is good.

I love it to the point that I got up this morning and counted down the minutes until the first college football game was on TV tonight. And when I checked my email this morning it was the glorious sound of the Red Sox being up 2.5 games over New York.

Here is to the Fall!

So Hot!

2005-08-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

I know it has been a long time since I have gotten a chance to write anything here. I have so much to share about being poor despite having a degree, about Major League Baseball, about college footbal, etc., but I have decided to instead say it with a photo. To say goodbye to Chicago and to wrap up the summer here FINALLY is a picture of the man and I from my mom's trip to Chicago earlier this month. I know through this blog you all are dying to finally know who this one is. The one that brought me home.

I also know that a lot of you out there could care less but there are those college friends (Mel) that are just dying to see a photo! So here it is...

And I do promise to actually write later on this week! Oh and to those out there in Beantown please don't hate him because he has that hat on. I promise he is nice!

Happy Birthday baby...I love you!

Laguna Beach

2005-07-28T13:15:00.000-04:00

This blog might be a bit off base from all those other ridiculous blogs lately about being in love, etc., etc., but I just couldn't resist not talking about my new favorite, semi-reality based TV show...Laguna Beach.

Now, I know that it isn't exactly a new show, but I just recently found it again while they were airing the entire first season preparing for the second season premire on MTV. There is a lot you can learn from that network while being in the process of packing and moving back to Detroit. And one thing is for sure Laguna Beach is a hit...one I got hooked on right away!

I am not sure if I fell in love with the fakeness of the girls or the ridiculousness of the people. I mean I honestly don't think that they realize there is something after high school but weren't we all this stupid once? (Insert sinister, alumni, buffy laugh here.) All I do know is that I can't stop watching it once it is on the TV screen.

So from one Laguna Beach fan to the world here are my viewing tips coming to you live from the "Real Orange County"...

1) Kristen is a bitch! It is just necessary in every crazy, high school reality based show to have that Junior girl that has a Senior boyfriend and causes all sorts of trouble amongst the ladies on the show. In this case it would be Kristen. And now in the second season it is wonderful to see her unhappy now that Stephen has sort of moved on with LC. Yes it is true everyone I am that involved in the show!

2) Casey will cause wonderful trouble for Kristen! Casey is the new girl...you know the one with bleach blonde highlights though you can see the brown underneath. She already has Kristen calling her fake across the board in the season premiere...because yes Kristen you are totally not a fake human being at all!

3) Naming your child Talan is so OC of you! There is a guy on the show named Talan. According to the season preview Kristen will be hooking up with Talan amongst the many men she hooks up with. But that isn't even the best part about it. The best part is that Talan's parents had to do something so orginal that they named him Talan...You know those blue state, crazy weathly, former hippies always have a way with names!

And last on the Laguna Beach viewing tips...

4) I am secretly in love with Stephen! I mean last season I just couldn't believe that he would allow himself to be fooled by such a weak minded idiot. God Stephen! I mean I know you are a surfer and everything but really you should have known better or did you take one too many falls out there in the ocean? It can do that to a person you know!

A Leap of Faith

2005-07-13T14:14:00.000-04:00

Since Zsa Zsa Zu and I attended my good friend Jenny's wedding about a month ago, things have drastically changed between us. I not only started to realize that I was in love, but I started to believe in that awful thing that all my married and engaged friends shared with me. You know, the phrase used by all people in love in order to justify why they are going crazy for another person. The wonderful phrase, "You'll know, when you know."

Yes everyone...I have officially dove in head first in the world of "You'll Know, When You Know." I mean there are moments when I can't believe that we are there. That I can single handedly care about someone so much that I would move back to Detroit...Yeah I said it! That I would move in with someone. That I would uproot myself and try and find a new job in the city I so badly wanted to leave. But I guess that is what love does to a person.

I mean I love the Boston Red Sox, I love U2, I love eating hot dogs but I never knew that I would love another person so much that I would change my life. But isn't that what it is all about anyways. I mean we sit here our whole lives waiting for that one person we can share our lives with and when it comes along we get nervous. (Sometimes we move to another city to avoid it.) We get scared to take the dive.

So in this sad, ass blog I am reaching out to the world to let them know that I am not scared anymore. I am excited to take that dive with him. I am excited to see where it is going to take us. But most of all I am excited about sharing my life with someone....especially him!

(Oh my god I think I am in love!)

The Blogging Vagina

2005-06-23T18:29:00.000-04:00

So basically I have been posting on this blog for a month now and last night while walking home from dinner my roommate and I decided that if I had to write my own Vagina Monologue it would be entitled....My Vagina likes to Blog. I bet you are wondering where the hell is she going with this one.

The very thought of writing my own vagina monologue made me think about how much we as a society are scared to talk about sex, body parts, our own human nature to want each other. I know we all know the Purtian excuses for being scared of sex, but by 2005 you would have thought that we had evolved from that thinking. The more and more I thought about my girlfriends and their views and ideas about sex I realized one thing...we are still scared to really be open about what we want.

The days of women being treated like sluts just because they like to get some now and then have almost vanished but what still exsists is our inability to let our partners know what feels good, how we want something, or whether or not we liked what they did. And due to this we aren't really able to fully hit our sexual peak.

On that note my Vagina Monologue would have to start...My Vagina likes to blog about everything I can't say directly to my partner. And I ask it all the time, "How can you be so open to the millions of readers on the internet but not to the one man that can make you happy?"

Eighth Grade and Beyond...

2005-06-22T11:43:00.000-04:00

So last night while laying in bed watching the 900 channels that I now receive on my DirecTV, Mr. Zsa Zsa Zu himself and I were talking about the first times we had sex. I know, I know strange topic but interestingly it turned out to be a revelation that I was not expecting at all. I know he had told me that he had sex for the first time when he was 15 but not that it was in eighth grade. Now I can't quite figure out why that freaks me out so much or why I felt like I was sleeping next to some sort of child molester last night but honestly eighth grade?

To me, my middle school years were filled with cheerleading at boy's basketball games, watching Roots in American History class, riding my bike to the mall and roller skating parties....Not sex! After learning about his "early" arrival into manhood, I began thinking about if I had even seen a penis by that point in time in my life. I think in eighth grade I thought it was totally a big deal because I had kissed a boy and we were "going" together.

And then after thinking about it a bit more I realized how incredibly judgmental of me to think that something was strange about his sexual past because he had gotten laid in grade school...I mean I have probably doubled his partner number due to all the wonderful years I spent on the east coast and over seas. I can't even remember the names of half of those people and he hasn't judged me on that. Why am I being so judgmental about this?

So that gets me to thinking, how does a person's sexual past really effect a new relationship? Can we really get over the number, the people, what happened between them? Why do we feel we need to measure up to someone we don't even know, who we have never met, who doesn't even matter to that person anymore?

And why did his eighth grade adventure make me feel so inadequate as his current partner?

Perfectly imperfect!

2005-06-06T13:45:00.000-04:00

Last week I officially moved to Chicago. This was the move that I advertised to everyone I knew as the beginning of the rest of my young professional life. Strange enough though a bit of a loop was thrown into the move when I accidentally fell for a man two weeks prior to the depature.

Yes, the "lack of zsa zsa zu" man won me over, but not with his wonderful charm or romantic gestures, but instead with just being perfectly imperfect. I know it is a weird concept but I think that for so many of the relationships I have been in I was looking for this perfect, white picket fence, 2.5 kids, college educated, love of my life. When in turn I have realized that all those things are totally an illusion of what we think we have to be with. Zsa Zsa Zu (that's what we will call him) walked into my life right when I wasn't looking for him and for that matter didn't even think that he could ever meet all the demanding qualities I wanted in a man. Instead he meets the exact qualities that I want:

Someone who calls me out on my bullshit...Someone who wants to watch baseball with me and just sit around laughing...Someone who thinks I am intelligent and smart but not for the job I have or the books I read but because I continue to grow in what I think and how I feel about things.

This man has totally blown me away lately and in turn has got me thinking about the concept of Perfectly Imperfect. Why do we as single, young people have such strange demands on what we or who we date? I know that I struggled for a long time on the fact that Zsa Zsa Zu didn't have a college degree. But what is that piece of paper really...Does it measure the man himself? Why have I been indoctrinated into thinking that one thing should be such a huge part in who I want to spend the rest of my life with? And for that matter why do we all have these little quirks we think are so important?

Take my friend Baker for example. I truly believe that he has this perfect image of who he needs to date or end up with. She must be the country club golfing, Britney Spears (pre Kevin) thin, needy woman that he has always been with. He would never admit this because that would indicate that he is swallow, when really it just indicates that this imagine has been embedded into him by his surroundings of what he should be with. Baker recently met a strong, intelligent, funny woman and the moment she told him that she was moving away he all of a sudden realized what he would be missing. Now he is taking the time he should have been taking for months to prove to her that he cares for her.

She isn't his ideal image, but she is good for him in more ways than I can explain in this stupid blog.

Each of us is perfectly imperfect and I just hope that Zsa Zsa Zu realizes that those imperfections are what drives me wild about him.

Pet Peeves

2005-05-19T12:25:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago I visited Chicago to look for an apartment with my future roommate Rebekah. While in the car, driving the oh so wonderful drive between Detroit and Chicago, we began to talk about pet peeves. Everyone has them...people who give a play by play throughout a movie, 21 year old girls who can't stop giggling, those stupid Von Dutch hats and short skirts worn at Pistons games (sorry about that...those are my pet peeves.) While talking I realized that I have three pretty important pet peeves that I felt were worth sharing with the world...

1. People who drive slow in the fast lane
I mean honestly people there are at least a good two to three other lanes to drive your slow ass automobile in. I just can't believe that no one learned in driver's ed that the far left lane is for passing....passing, not driving 55!! It was invented for individuals that are always late to things and need a lane to be able to at least go 85 in. I mean God was amazing when he invented this idea so don't go messing it up for the rest of us who are always in a hurry to get places. Or in my case just like to beat everyone else on the highway to wherever I am going.

2. People who press the elevator button more than one time
It ain't coming any faster if you push it again! I love to watch people at hotels and office buildings that are in such a hurry that they feel that pushing the elevator button is going to make the elevator stop what it is doing and come get them right away. In case people didn't realize that the elevator is a mechanical device and does as it is told probably by a computer system and not by your insistent pressing of the button. This one also goes for people who ride the elevator one floor above or below them. Seriously lazy, fat ass.....use the stairs!

And last but not least...

3. People who bring babies/kids to eat at date restaurants.
I understand when I go out to somewhere like Chili's or Bob Evans for that matter I am going to run into families eating dinner. It happens and that is cool! But when you tote your kid to PF Changs or Capital Grille where I am more than likely on a date I want to strangle you. Do you really think that two people who are potentially attracted to each other who are more than likely thinking about having sex that night really want to see and listen to the possible result of said sex? It really is just unfair to the rest of us who are out on nice dates to have to listen to it and pretend that it is cute. I don't know if you have heard of another one of God's wonderful inventions but I hear babysitters still exist and actually can be called to eliminate this problem!

The Zsa Zsa Zu

2005-05-18T13:12:00.000-04:00

I met this wonderful guy about two months ago that meets all the check list items on my "perfect" guy checklist. (Even if we as women try and tell you that we don't have a checklist we're lying because each one of us does.) He is thoughtful, pays for me when we go out, opens doors for me, loves to watch baseball and even held my hair back last night when I was puking in my lawn. (Hey give me a break it was Game 5 - Pistons v. Pacers.) He should be perfect for me and everyone that I hang out with tells me that.

So that proably leads you to think, "What is the problem then?" Even though he meets every checklist item there is just no zsa zsa zu! You know...the thing that gives you the butterflies in the stomach feeling when he kisses you. The excited feeling you get when he is going to come and get you to go out on a date. The zsa zsa zu is so critical to every relationship. It is what makes us want to be with that person years later when all the puppy love is gone and there are no more first's to experience with them.

Now don't get me wrong...It isn't like he is some horrible kisser or anything. I mean as a matter of fact I enjoy making out with him and laying next to him. He makes me laugh and allows me to just be myself around him, but that leads us back to the fact that the feeling is just not there. Why am I so nervous to get involved in something when there is no zsa zsa zu?

But that gets me thinking...Do we really need zsa zsa zu? I know that it is critical but how critical? I have had it in a lot of other relationships and they just don't seem to ever work out. How important is it in a relationship? Is it really enough to not take this to the next level...

The Summer Wedding

2005-05-17T11:00:00.000-04:00

So it is about that time again when you realize that you have 1.2 million weddings to go to this summer and not enough polite male friends to drag along for the free drinks. I mean really people...weddings...the single worst event for the single woman. And of course you have to go to them and pretend you are really excited for your friend, even though you are thinking in the back of your head that you have sat on the Crate & Barrel website one too many times thinking what can I buy them that doesn't look cheap but isn't really that expensive.

I know...I have been there way too much lately!

I have two weddings to go to this summer, on back to back weekends. I will have to travel all the way back to Detroit from Chi Town and honestly that is a lot of time, money and effort on my part to sit at the "rejects at table nine" table, which is but of course filled with single people and their dates chating about retarded things like, "So how do you know (insert bride name here)?"

Here is an idea for all of you out there thinking about getting married and dragging your friends to the event. We honestly don't want to be there! We have better things to do on the weekend...like meeting single men and getting laid! So plan a destination wedding, send me an email with the photos and don't worry I will still send you something from Crate & Barrel.

First Post

2005-05-17T01:38:00.000-04:00

So this is blogging...My first attempt at what many have told me to be the best part of their over-bearing, corporate america, hour lunch break, sit in commuter traffic life! I, on the other hand have decided to take up this blogging thing as a chance to fill time in a year of my life that I thought would be much more exciting.

Yes, this is the year that I turned twenty-five and somehow, just somehow, I thought, as I suffered through my quarter life crisis, that this year was going to be different. I believed that at twenty-five that this was going to be the year to live the yurban-ite (yuppie, urbanites in case you were wondering) dream...wake up every morning to go running at dawn while listening to your $300 iPod, come home to your loft apartment in downtown (insert big city here) to get ready for work, hit Starbucks (Au Bon Pan can be substitued here) on the way to work and grab a New York Times for the mass transit commute to your dream job as an up and coming PR specialist, cocktails with the girls after work where you meet hot baseball loving man (preferably a Red Sox fan who likes to buy the 32 oz. beer at the game) who takes you home that night for amazing sex...then you wake up to do it all over again!

After sitting and wondering why that was never going to be possible in my life and why it was taking forever to get there I came to the amazing conclusion...of course it was never going to work for me!!! I currently live in Detroit, Michigan where the men are few and far between, you need to drive your environmentally sound SUV to the closest Starbucks, and where happy hour is the time you spend on the phone talking about your friends wedding not getting hammered at the bar attempting to troll for men!

Based on that amazing conclusion I will be moving my sports fanatic, progressive, breaking the glass ceiling one of these days personality and now blog to Chicago...Chi Town as some like to call it or perhaps the Windy City, as it is better known! In the upcoming days, weeks and months I am excited to share my thoughts on all sorts of things as well as some of the crazy moments we will be having in Chicago. You will get the opportunity to meet my roommate, our cat and of course the many men we know will be in and out of our lives during that time.

And really we all know what this blog is really about...not growing up!