crap.

I did the smoking scene today and now my mouth tastes like crap.

OOOOO. Today I got new jeans and a polo from J. Crew in the mail. I also got a package from Jocelyn. I sent her some of my panties for an art installation. So she sent me pics of everyone's panties from the installation along with their answered questionnaires. It was interesting because so many women sent in panties and then did not put their names on their questionnaires. They're just your undies folks. Well, I guess I shouldn't judge. But I do think that overall, women could be more open about their panties.
In other mail things, Mike and I received our mileage statements from Delta -- apparently there was some other stuff, but you know, I was out and Mike got the mail.
I also talked to Andrew tonight. That was a lot of fun. He's in San Diego right now filming women having babies. So far he's witnessed numerous C-Sections and some live births as well. Kind of willd, I think. Terrence is also in San Diego and he apparently asked Andrew if I was pregnant?!? He had heard that from somewhere and Andrew was like, nooooooooooo -- at least I don't think so. Which I'm not...at least as far as I know. But my theory on the whole rumor is that someone told someone else that Andrew was working on Maternity Ward and that I got married. Then that somehow turned into Megan is pregnant. Logical? Right?

And now for more of the same. Mailbox: Flyer from the Actors Coop, Credit card offer from IEEE, a flyer from Toyota of Knoxville reminding me to get my car served. Hmmmm...did they forget about the $2 grand I just spent?

I decided to change the name of the blog -- although I liked the reference to Ubu Roi, I felt it did not leave me with a positive outlook. This, on the other hand (Ok, the fact that I wrote "on the other hand" there is Anc. Greek seeping into my writing), provides me with life as it is. I must admit that the title itself is not origininal. It's something that Mike's fellow employees used when he first came down here (makes a bit more sense since he is Connecticut Yankee).

French goods face U.S. backlash

Sofitel hotels, fearful of anti-French sentiment, take precautions; some vendors report ambivalence.
March 13, 2003: 3:33 PM EST
By Parija Bhatnagar, CNN/Money Staff Writer


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - French opposition to a war in Iraq appears to be creating a backlash against all things French in the United States.

Products decidedly French, such as wines, cheese and even French-owned hotel chains like Sofitel, have been on the receiving end of some angry American consumer sentiment lately.
 
Sofitel Hotel in midtown Manhattan replaced the French flag with the Stars and Stripes.

If the backlash explodes into a boycott of French products, it has the potential to affect $47 billion of bilateral trade between the United States and France.

French flags no longer are flying high and proud outside the Sofitel Hotel in midtown Manhattan. The French-owned hotel chain, part of the French hotel company Accor, whose units include U.S. motel chains Red Roof Inn and Motel 6, replaced the flags with the Stars and Stripes as a peace offering to its American guests.

Sofitel spokesman Paul Charoy said the company last week decided to remove the French flags in front of all eight of its hotels in the United States as a "precautionary" measure and replaced them with a combination of the American flag and city and state flags.

"We wanted to calm down the situation a little," Charoy said. "We were getting some severe feelings and threats directed toward the safety and security of our employees and customers."


OK, this is getting out of hand. I mean, it's just France. And hey, isn't anybody else taking notice of the plethora of anti-war posters, signs, t-shirts, graffiti here in the U.S. Oh, what am I saying -- why would anyone do that?

Hmmm...I wonder if this means that Mike won't be spending Aprill in Paris after all.

The coupon from Pier one has cupcakes on the cover. MmMMmmmm...cupcakes.

And now once again it's time for
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
Megan must admit that she's getting pretty sick of this series and that it may suffer from cuts in the next few days.
A new MBNA credit card to replace Mike's old one. I don't think we've used it since August.
A coupon for 20% off at Pier One.
PIctures from the wedding (yes, our wedding) from Matt and Cloe -- awwwww!
And that's all for today's rendition of:
bah dup bah dup bahhhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?

an onion-like article inspired by the words of Lisa Renzi -- if you haven't read my 3/11 entry, read that first

Teenagers at Local High School Claim that French Kissing is Not Patriotic

Jeremy Velasco (17) and Lily Wash (16) have given up French kissing because they believe it does a disservice to their country. The two have been dating for over three weeks and recently made the decision not to French kiss. Jeremy says "I just can't do it anymore. It doesn't feel right after what the French are saying about America." Lily agrees, "I mean, I hear my friends talking about who they French kissed last night and it just makes me mad."

When asked what they do instead of French kiss, the couple happily replied that they "Freedom Kiss." "I mean, I know we're just in high school, but I feel it's a way to support our troops in the Gulf" says Lily. Jeremy agrees and says that the Freedom kissing trend is catching on. "It just feels better -- more American."

Another couple at Ulysses S. Grant High School just switched from French Kissing to Freedom Kissing last night and feel much better about the whole thing. Julie Sheets (15) said, "It used to make me feel dirty -- like a traitor. Now I feel great." Her boyfriend Bobby Williams (16) confided, "I can't wait to see her in her freedom bikini -- oh boy! That will be a day to remember."

bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
A flyer from Rick McGill's Airport Toyota saying that if I buy a new car I can get free gas for a period of time.
bah dup bah dup--- wait that's it? Megan goes out to check her mailbox a second time, just in case they decided to bring more mail yup, that's it.
bah dup bah dup bah dahhh dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?

It's articles like these that make me check two or three times to make sure that I'm reading CNN.com and not The Onion?!?


House cafeterias change names for 'french fries' and 'french toast'

Move reflects anger over France's stance on Iraq

WASHINGTON -- The cafeteria menus in the three House office buildings changed the name of "french fries" to "freedom fries," in a culinary rebuke of France stemming from anger over the country's refusal to support the U.S. position on Iraq.

Ditto for "french toast," which will be known as "freedom toast."

The name changes were spearheaded by two Republican lawmakers who held a news conference Tuesday to make the name changes official on the menus.

Across the country, some private restaurants have done the same.

Ummmmm....does anyone else think that these guys have way too much time on their hands?

mmmm....today I went and purchased some clothing. I have not done anything of the sort aside from b-days and x-mas since August, when I purchased a cardigan on sale at Old Navy and July, when I purchased some work out clothes at Old Navy. Oops...I forgot...I did buy a nice lacy shirt at Christmas time for Nutcracker attire, but that doesn't really count because I sold some clothing to a thrift store in Knoxville -- it evens out.
But this, this was a real shopping spree. I got two polo shirts, two black sweaters (one of which I may be returning), and one fabulous pair of light jeans -- all from J. Crew. Now, this may not seem exciting to you, but it's very exciting to me -- especially after being po in grad school for two years.
At any rate, guess what it's time for:
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
A credit card offer for Mike for a Capital One card.
A bank statement from the credit union.
A flyer from Toyota of Knoxville!
Newsweek -- the cover of which features a pic of Saddam Hussein made out of flames with a whole bunch of funs, flags, and hands at the bottom. Title -- "CounterAttack -- Biological Weapons and Urban Warfare: How Saddam might fight back."
And that's it for today's edition of:
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
Hasta luego.

By the way Lisa, I'm so proud of you. Way to take a stand!

Mike and I saw two movies this weekend. The first was The Ring, and that scared the shit out of both of us. Mike thinks it has something to do with the sound. I think it was just freaky. Luckily I'm not having nightmares about it. The second movie that we saw was Gangs of New York. It was fantastic! It's actually the best movie I've seen in a long time (well, for the first time anyway--as you know, I've been watching Rushmore, LOR, and Dr. Strangelove). It's definitely the best movie I've seen this year (sorry 2 Towers, but you ruined Faramir's character for me). Anyway, I highly recommend it.

I decided to go home. Without the webpage, I really don't have much to do at work. So guess what it's time for?
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
A credit card offer from Sony Citicard -- I already have a fucking Sonycard from them--it's our only credit card. What the hell?
A letter from the University of Kansas Department of English saying that I've been nominated for some scholarships. Wow, they like me so much they'll nominate me for scholarships even when I don't go there. I wonder how that works.
A wonderful letter from Becky -- she wrote it on the back of a worksheet from school and it has a frog, a cardboard box, a pig, and a dog all saying how wonderful Megan is. I think it needs to go on the fridge!
And that's all for today's version of:
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
Ciao, everyone!

The CEB just nixed my webpage again. Not because they don't like it, but because people are still upset that I get to do the page instead of them. Well, perhaps they should have thought of that before hiring me in the first place and having me spend God-knows-how-long on the damn thing.

And yes, folksies, it's time to review
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What was in Megan's Mailbox yesterday?
A phone bill from BellSouth.
A rejection letter from NYU.
Thanks for joining us for yet another fruitful editon of
What was in Megan's Mailbox yesterday?
bah dup bah dup bahh dah dup.

And now for a Friday edition of
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
AAA Going Places Magazine
A letter from Direct Loans granting a deferment for Mike because he's in school.
A rejection letter from Stanford.
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
bahh dup bah dup bahhhh dah dup

Well, I guess I know what that black cat was for.
Anyway, here is my quote of the day--some lyrics from Tool--in case you don't know, this is a song about California falling into the ocean -- as you may note, I've admitted some parts that are a bit strong (and that I can't understand what the hell he's saying).

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
fret for your figure and
fret for your latte and
fret for your lawsuit
fret for your hairpiece
fret for your prozac
fret for your pilot
fret for your contract
fret for your car
it's a bullshit three reign circus sideshow....
learn to swim
learn to swim
learn to swim

P.S. If I don't get into any schools, I'll probably move to Cali, but for now I'll just remain bitter.

oh shit. I was just driving and a black cat crossed right in front of me. oh shit.

And YES, ANOTHER edition of:
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
A coupon for 20% off to Bed, Bath & Beyond.
An invitation to a reception for the new President of Trinity college. The reception is taking place in Kansas City.
Thanks for joining me for
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "AAAaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHH!!!!!!!" - the sound of an applicant to grad schools being tortured by not receiving news

And now for yet another edition of:
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
A bill from Knoxville Utilities Board.
A paystuf from the University of Tennessee.
A Summary of Charges from Mike's old Credit card.
A credit card offer for me from Fleet!!!
And that's all for today's edition of:
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
Adios.

No, really. The movie Pumpkin is bad. You shouldn't see it.

I filmed my second scene tonight. It went much better than last night. Note to self. Be careful about doing a film the night after you do a play. Crossing mediums is not a good thing.

There's all my archives yo! I guess it wasn't my fault that they were hiding...just a strange blogger occurrence.
oops, I forgot to mention that yesterday I received a postcard in the mail announcing that Jocelyn and Jeff are getting married. Yay! I'm pretty excited because the wedding is going to be December 28 next year in Hartford. That works out really well for Mr. Guillorn and me. Plus, it gives me an excuse to buy a sexy, wild, artsy winter dress next year.

No I didn't fix things. I can't seem to figure out how to make an archive page instead of having them listed -- and yes, folks my day to day job is web design. Boy am I blond (actually I blame blogger).
But now it's time for
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
Newsweek with "Bush & God" on the cover.
Tennessee Alumnus magazine.
And the Vegetarian Times magazine. Mike and I have no idea how we started getting this. Maybe someone subscribed for us and forgot to tell us???? Anyone?
And that's all for today's rendition of
bah dup bah dup bahh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?

hmmm...did I fix things?

ok yo, where's all my archives?

When I came home today at 6:00, there was nothing in my mailbox. But then when I was walking out the door to go to the film, there was something. Since when does the mail come after 6:00 at night?
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
A flyer full of coupons to fast food places!
A reminder for Mike to send his biographical information in to the Alumni Directory for UT!
IEEE Spectrum magazine.
AAA Horizons Magazine.
An offer to get Theatre Journal (I think I might actually subscribe to this one!)
And that's all folks. Join me tomorrow for another edition of What's in Megan's Mailbox?
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
Ciao everyone!

Maura -- I'm certain you look absolutely gorgeous in your new brown 1930's suit!

And now for today's edition of:
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
A credit card offer for a Visa from Bank of America!
A bill for a donation made to AmVets!
A postcard from Emily and Eva from Phoenix!!!
A rejection letter from Brown!!!
bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
Thanks for joining us for this edition of:
What's in Megan's Mailbox?

Yes, I'm quite upset that I didn't get into Brown. It was one of my top 2 choices. And I would like to say that Brown is for bastards, but I can't, because my beloved Paige is there and that's wonderful. At any rate, I was feeling a little down today, but it was warm in Knoxville and Mike felt that it was necessary for me to get some ice cream at the yummy ice cream place. I agreed wholeheartedly and after I ate ice cream we went for a walk in the rich people park in Knoxville. There were TONS of dogs there. I mean, we felt so estranged not having a dog that we thought about borrowing one.
Then we went to the mall so that I could find a Spring coat. But they don't really seem to sell such things in Knoxville because well, there isn't much need for them. And I really don't want to buy a jean jacket even though they are "hip" this year. I want something a little wilder and a bit dressier-- we'll see what I end up with.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "What's cooking on the threat board? Nothing?!? - General Turgidson

oops I left work early today. That means I have three hours to make up next week. But I couldn't help it. Despite my Toffee Nut Latte, I was so tired that I actually began imagining what the people in the pictures I was editing could be saying. Whew. At that point, I thought it better to go home and take a nap. Anyway, you know what it's time for????
Bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
What's in Megan's Mailbox?
Bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
A credit card bill from Sprint including....the two grand Megan spent on her car!
A reminder to donate to the Knoxville Fire Fighters Association!
A Sprint long distance bill!
A credit card offer for Megan through Discover!!!!!!!!!!
Bah dup bah dup bahhh dah dup
And join us tomorrow for another edition of What's in Megan's Mailbox?

Today I went to Planet Xchange (which is a hip place to buy used clothing in Knoxville) and I tried on clothing for the film that I'm in. That was quite fun. The costume designer and director both work there and that means they have access to all the clothing--so they put some stuff aside. It was fun, but I just don't think that tight jeans look good on me when they don't have a bootcut or flared bottom. It's that whole, being short thing -- but I'll wear them for the film.
Other than that, I've just been doing homework and work. I've made improvements to the webpages and if you want to look, you are welcome to.
CEB Main Page
CEB BioMicro Page
CEB BioEnv Page

bah dup bah dup baah dah dup (music)
And now folks it's time to play What's in Megan's mailbox?
bah dup bah dup baah dah dup (music)
Oh, the excitement!
The first thing in Megan's mailbox is..........
.....
.....
A credit card offer for Mike!

The second thing in Megan's mailbox is.......
.......
.......
A credit card offer for Mike!

And that's it for today folks. Stay tuned tomorrow, when we will again play What's in Megan's mailbox?
bah dup bah dup baah dah dup (music)

And the sign at the Broadway Baptist Church says:

The Lord is our Shepherd.

Is He yours?

And now folks, it's time again to play What's in Megan's mailbox?
bah dup bah dup baah dah dup (music)
A credit card offer from Delta skymiles for Megan!
Mike's paystub!
A flyer full of coupon's to fast food places and other fine corporate chains that Megan and Mike never go to!

...and that's it for today folks. Tune in tomorrow for more of What's in Megan's mailbox?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I don't know how well I could stand up to torture." - General Ripper, Dr. Strangelove

my desk is a mess. I don't mean my desk at work...I mean the one at home. How did it get this way? Where did all this stuff come from? Today Mike and I woke up early, did laundry, a little food shopping and then came home. After some housework, I decided to take a nap. I do so love naps and I was very disappointed that I was too hyped up to take one after work last night. Anyway, the sound of the mailman woke me up from my glorious nap.
Mailbox -- credit card offer from Delta skymiles for Mike, Newsweek -- an issue on black women being more progressive job wise than black men, and a GNC catalogue.
Now mind you, I do buy vitamins from GNC and I think that they are quite lovely, but good Lordy!!! Who wants to glance at a GNC catalogue? I mean, who really delights in looking at the thing. I just don't know.
I think that now I'm going to eat some tasy Newman - O's and do my Spanish or Greek homework.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I like your hat." - Miss Cross, Rushmore

Today.
Classes. Work. Mailbox -- Credit card offer from American Airlines for Michael. Letter from Cornell saying I'm waitlisted. Good sign? Well, there was a personal note on there from the Director of Graduate Studies saying how strong my application is -- good sign.

Hmmm...top five favorite albums...this is really difficult, because I would like to put a Billie Holiday album on here, but that wouldn't be right because my favorite songs of hers are spread out over her career -- and "best of" albums aren't really albums. So keeping that point in mind, I will list other albums in no particular order.
The Fugees -- The Score
The Beatles -- The White Album (trite? perhaps, but I don't give a fuck -- it will always be at the top of my list)
Beck -- Mutations
Cubanismo -- Malembe (but ask me another day and I would say "Reencarnacion")
Pavement -- Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Weezer -- Weezer (the blue album)
Van Halen -- 1984
Hmmm...there are more, but I'll have to include them later.

ALSO CONGRATS TO CAROLYN FOR GETTING INTO THE M.A. IN PUBLIC POLICY AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY!

CONGRATULATIONS TO MAURA CROWLEY, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW!
Where are you working Attorney C?

Yesterday.
Work. Classes. Work meeting. Work. Play. Mailbox -- Sprint PCS bill, SAFECO Statement, junk mail from AAA.
Today:
Sleep. Eat. Shower. Sleep. Mailbox -- Credit Card offer from Capital One.

For the first time in a long time, I received the Trinity Reporter yesterday in the mailbox. I also got a J.Crew catalogue, a JC Penney catalogue, and an offer for DSL from Earthlink.
Last night was the first performance of the play. Mike went last night and felt that the play itself was bad, but the acting was fairly good. I sort of feel the same way. Oh well.
In the meantime I'm working while breathing in whatever it is those huge airvents spout out next to my window. Yummy.

"The network stretched the final episode of "The Bachelorette" to two hours, and it unfolded like a 500-page Hallmark card." - CNN.com

"Bad dates." - Sallah, Indiana Jones

Perhaps I should change the title of this blog to daily updates from my mailbox. It's almost like a Letterman skit. What's in Megan's mailbox.
Today I checked and I found two Delta frequent mile statement for Mike and me. There were also several offers for credit cards and some sort of science journal.
Not in my mailbox but received today.
I got the results back from my first Spanish exam of the semester. I got an 80 -- yikes!!! That makes me just a bit sad. But then I looked at the exam and I realized that I actually did sort of well. The problem came when on the section where I was supposed to find errors and then explain why they were errors -- well, on the review we did in class we didn't have to explain why these things were errors, we just had to identify them. And I in the fashion of a dumb blonde did the same things I did on the review sheet and I didn't read the directions. So I got an entire section wrong for that. POOP.
Also, today was final dress and we had a "fill in" light board operator. She accidentally pressed "go" on a light cue in the middle of my big speech. And everything went black. It was actually kind of funny in a way because I kept going in the dark. In the future, I've decided that I'm going to complain about my brother not paying the electricity bil. I guess you would have to see the play to think that's funny.

Maura, I'm glad you appreciated the quote I chose for "my day" yesterday.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I wrote a hip play and directed it, so I'm not sweating it either." - Max Fischer

Today the mailbox included a rejection letter from Berkeley. Ah well, I kind of figured that one would be a rejection.

So I came home today after my six hours of work, my two hours of class, my five hours of rehearsal, and my one hour of the gym to see the thing that I was anticipating all day -- my mailbox. And what was in there? What was there??? Nothing. It's President's Day, dumbass.

The anticipation is great.
It feels strange now that I have finished all my applications to grad schools. I mean, I have the same feeling I did when I was in high school and I had applied to college. And yes, I applied to two schools last year and that did bring on a feeling of anticipation, but not one this strong.

Well, my eight hour rehearsal is over. I actually spent quite of bit of time on the floor sleeping. I also painted and made a run to the store for some people. It was actually kind of fun. Of course, now I have a whole bunch of work to do tomorrow.
Last night I decided that I was going to watch Gone with the Wind. This of course was around 11pm. I actually did manage to stay up and watch the whole thing. I have never seen the film before last night and it was quite good. But of course, it had many...issues. Mammy especially was a fascinating character. Her face seemed to be treated as a mask -- grotesque at times, comforting at others. Anyway, my viewing of the movie ended at 3. There went my idea of going to bed on the early side.
Right now I'm finishing up my ravioli dinner while listening to some Bluegrass music. I think that I'll begin to study for that exam I have in Spanish now.
Adios.

Happy V-Day everyone!
P.S. That's for Vaginas and Valentine's!!!

First of all, I don't think that my list is that highbrow because, well, because of Dune. I enjoy Dune with such a sense of humor. I mean, Dune may be David Lynch, but it is definitely not for the film snobs. Are Rushmore and The Big Lebowski? I suppose to a certain extent they are. Oh, by the way, I should add my favorite cartoon movie to the list.
The Secret of Nimh (WITHOUT A DOUBT)
Oh my goodness, and how could I forget
The Dark Crystal!!!!!!!!!!!
Both of these should have been on the list to begin with. I guess I wasn't in a childish mood. And I'm sorry that I can't pick just ten movies.
So I'm trying to decide what to do tonight. I came home from work early today because I was tired damnit and it's very hard to work in front of a computer in an office by yourself near a window with vents spouting carbon monoxide. So I put in one hour instead of the 6 I was supposed to today. And I think that means that I should try to get up early tomorrow and put in a couple hours before my eight hour rehearsal (YIKES!) tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow I have eight hours of tech and I'm not super-pleased about it, but I'm keeping my mouth shut because I'm not a bitchy actress. And I would much rather have this part with the eight hour rehearsal than not be acting at all -- one must always keep that in mind.
OK, so I think food shopping, Panera Bread and the gym it is. Mike is away for V-Day, but we made a pact awhile ago not to go out to dinner on this holiday -- why you ask? Well, one needs only to discover how awful their favorite restaurant can be when making mass meals for mass couples. Yuck.
Plus, I got BEAUTIFUL roses today. BEAUTIFUL!!!
QUOTE OF THE DAY (never tiring of quotes from Rushmore): "I got punched in the face. What's your excuse?" - Max Fischer

Ten most favorite movies of the moment -- because they do change.

Rushmore
Dr. Strangelove
Casablanca
Empire
LOR - Fellowship
Requiem for a Dream
City of Lost Children
BladeRunner
The Matrix
The Usual Suspects
The Elephant Man
The Big Lebowski
Dune

That's more than 10. In fact, it's 13 and there's more I want to add, so I'm just going to stop there. And I'll leave you with a quote.

"Wait! Truce! Truce!" - Dirk, Rushmore

Ugh -- car trouble. On Sunday after brunch Mike and I returned to my parking spot to discover my car leaking fluid -- heavily. So I used the Subaru to drive M to the airport (he has to do research at Cornell for the next week & 1/2) and then came back. I was going to tow the car on Sunday, but decided it would be smarter to have it towed today. So this I did after the AAA guy spent a while bending down over my engine examining my car while smoking a cigarette (made me just a bit nervous). He exclaimed that there was nothing leaking and I was sort of politely pushing him just to shut the hood and bring my car to the dealer. I mean, he was a nice guy, but I've discovered that AAA guys know very little about cars. And boy was I right this time.
Matilda (the Camry was named this by my sociology roommated in Knoxville -- and I happen to think that it's a damn good name for the car) has heavy leaks in three different areas. And they are all fucking expensive ones. So she needs about two grand worth of work done on her. YIKES!!!! OK, so on the bad side, paying that much for car repairs sucks. On the good side, it happened this year when *knock on wood* we've actually been able to save enough money to pay for that. Oh yes, that was heading toward a downpayment on a house (a long, long way down the road), but hell -- who can really afford one of those these days?
One word: POOP. but thankfully not SHIT.

And no, you shouldn't see Pumpkin to determine how bad it is. Just trust me. It's bad -- stay away from it.

She wore a raspberry beret.

I forgot to mention that I saw the movie "Pumpkin" Friday night while MIke fell asleep. It turned out that falling asleep was definitely the better option. I wish I could explain how horrible the movie was, but I can't. It literally amazed me in its...its...many issues.

I've discovered that the only way to do taxes is while listening to the best of Prince. Purple rain. Purple rain. Give me my fucking refund Georgie and just add to the deficit more.
Sadly, I miscalculated my refund the first time around because I did not have access to form 8863. Now that I've gone through that form, I realize that my refund has decreased. That's OK though, because I still have yet to do my state taxes. And damnit, I should get a refund in MA and possibly in KS too!
This is what it sounds like when the doves cry.

Well now I'm back from Californ-i-a and I must admit that I loved it! It's so beautiful there and the campus of Stanford is muy bonito. I also loved the program and I'm trying really hard not to love it too much becase it is so hard to get into. There were three other people visiting the day that I was and they were the type of people I would like to take classes with. We decided that they should accept all of us. Anyway, I'm trying not to think about that and to just think about my experience. I got to talk to Carl Weber about my production of Hamletmachine and I mean, what could be better than that. I also was able to see my friend Kris (currently in the program there). I went to Garzienice with him and it was really wonderful to see a familiar face.
Also, I got to spend a little time with Siggy. And I do mean that I got to spend a little time with her. I basically just flew in and flew out and I wish that I could have stayed for longer.
At any rate, now I sit in Tennessee awaiting admissions decisions and awaiting one last W2 form from the Discovery Channel Store. Apparently, it got sent to Quincy. When I get it, I can finally finish up my application to Tufts!!! And do my taxes!!!
"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

What did this weekend involve for Ms. Shea and Mr. Guillorn? More Lord of the Rings -- what else? This time we watched the extended version of the Fellowship and discussed which parts were necessary and which were just thrown in. Our greatest discussion involved the gift-giving in Lothlorien which we both agreed was portrayed poorly, but yet necessary to the film. We were thinkin that perhsps it might have been better to use voiceover or something with a little more action than Ms. Blanchett simply handing out some gifts -- that just doesn't have the magical power necessary to if. Anyway, I better stop yapping. I sound like I'm about to write some Lord of the Rings fan fiction or something -- which I"M NOT!!!
Ahhh...tonight I drive to Nashville so that I can travel to Californ-i-a tomorrow for an "interview" at Stanford. Yikes!!! I'm a bit scared. I must admit. But I know I shouldn't be. I mean, they'll either take me or they won't, right? Anyway, the good thing about it is that I'll get to see Ms. Wohlrab's abode.
Quote of the day: Many men who live deserve death. Some who die deserve life. Can you give it to them?" - Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring -- admittedly this is a loose quote, but I think I should get it down pat and email it to Georgie because he seems to forget these things.

By the way, there are more disturbing elements to that cat dream that involve people eating off that table, but I'll spare you the details.

Well, it turns out that the FAFSA isn't due until the 15th and it's a good thing too because I still have yet to receive a single W2. Yippety skippety.
I could write much more about cats but yesterday I had a very disturbing dream about a cat that seemed like Today Is Tomorrow giving birth on a kitchen table -- only she (sex change I guess) was at the edge of the table and thus the kittens would fall if I did not catch them. Also, the kittens were in skinlike sacks and at times there were two or three of them in one gross sack. Anyway, it was pretty nasty, so I'm done with cataloging kitties for now.
This weekend I have rehearsal for the play, a movie and Mike has a full day of recording on Saturday. On top of it all, we have to do laundry. The rehearsals are fun. The laundry is not. I long for the day when I have a washing machine and dryer. Oh me oh my won't that be wonderful.
Oh, and by the way, for those of you who have been fans of Wonka's chocolate all these years, you might want to check out the news in The Onion this week. Perhaps we should get a petition to Georgie going.
Quote of the day: "You're going to show Winky!" - Best in Show

After two hours of class, seven hours of work and three hours of rehearsal, I returned home and examined my mailbox. Why am I so interested in my mailbox these days? No, it's not the news from PhD programs I'm expecting this early -- it's my damn W2 forms. I worked three different jobs with W2 forms and damnit! none have arrived as of yet. You may think, well that's no big deal. Taxes aren't due until April. Yes, this is true, but actually the problem is I have to fill out a FAFSA by Feb. 1 and well, I can't do that until I'm sure of exactly how much I made. Poop.

I'm not exactly certain how many hours of Lord of the Rings documentary footage Michael and I watched this weekend, but let's just say that we spent a considerable amount of time doing that. In fact, I woke up this morning dreaming that I was part of the cast and crew and that I was travelling in a bus in New Zealand. After watching all this documentary footage I have two main comments to make: (1) Liv Tyler seems like one of the most generous and pleasant people ever and (2) I really admire the amount of work the cast & crew did -- it seems endless.
On a completely different note, I looked at Lisa's blog today and noticed there were three entries from three different days this past week. And I thought this was strange, because I checked her blog Friday and there were none for Tue and Thu -- but T&R have suddenly appeared. I also checked Maura's blog and her last entry (which I read previously) had disappeared -- but I refreshed and it came back. So what sort of strange things are going on with blogger?
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Great. Where are we going?" Pippin, The Fellowship of the Ring

A note to Ms. Crowley -- I'm not mad, I kind of figured you would open them all, but I thought you might last at least a couple days. '^)
A note to others -- the above note is about Maura's belated Christmas present, which contained a Christmas gift for every month.
A note to myself -- I should stop writing notes and study for my quiz in Ancient Greek.

Snow has once more made Knoxville a beautiful place. It has also made me hesitant to travel early to work tomorrow, but I will have to re-examine that situation tomorrow.
Today is the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and I listened to a very moving documentary on NPR about abortion that gave voice to many different views. Some of the stories on there simply blew my mind and I must admit that at times I could not work (I was at work) because of what people were saying.
On a lighter note, I did a quick estimate of our taxes tonight and damnit if Georgie doesn't owe us some money. It's interesting how when you are a student and have little money you have to pay a lot (it seems like a lot!) in taxes whereas when you finally have a job and can pay for a higher quality of food than peanut butter sandwiches, you get money back. Kind of sad...and dare I say -- unfair? But I must add that I enjoyed checking that "married filing jointly" box on the 1040. Kind of spices things up a bit.
Speaking of spicing things up, please feel free to check out the wonderful work I've been doing for the Center for Environmental Biotechnology. This is a prototype (if you will) of a webpage design (e.g. it's not done yet!). Also, note that I have yet to design the pages that link to the main page -- those are the old design. At any rate, here is the happy site.
By the way, I did see a cat today but as it was somewhat dark I could not tell if it was a gray tiger or just a gray cat. So no name for this one yet...
Quote of the day: "He was some kind of man. What does it matter what you say about a person?" - the Fortune Teller from Touch of Evil

Where have all the cats gone? I just don't know. I wonder if they all froze during the storm, or if they tried to migrate south. Whatever the cause, the cat sightings are no longer as frequent. Of course, with the Spring weather soon to come along, I suppose they'll be lots of new kittens appearing in the near future.
This weekend involved watching the documentaries on the Lord of the Rings DVD -- not the one's on the new special edition, but the old one. Most of the documentaries were quite enjoyable but I must admit that they were more than a bit repetitive. They all loved quoting Cate Blanchett about "passion" and wanting to have elf ears.
I also watched Rushmore (again) and Touch of Evil (for the first time) this weekend. If you haven't seen Touch of Evil (and perhaps I'm the only one) then I highly suggest you rent it for (1) the first shot, which is one of the most amazing things I've seen and (2) Charlton Heston as a Mexican -- que bueno.
Anypoop, I've got to get back to work. I'll be spending my break mailing various things, including Maura's Christmas present, which I have finally managed to amass.
"sic transit gloria. Glory fades." - Max Fischer, Rushmore

It's amazing how pretty Knoxville looks in the snow. Somehow all the oversized corporate plastic signs (most likely manufactured by plastiline) disappear and what's left? Snow covered victorian houses, large gorgeous Southern trees, and children making snowmen. :^)

Upon heading to the car to breakfast at IHOP (sadly, we can't seem to find any non chain store breakfast joints in Knoxville that offer pancakes, french toast, hash browns and that sort of thing), we viewed and orange cat walking across a lawn in the distance. I said "I think that's Today Is Tomorrow" and Mike replied, "It is...he has a certain...walk." For a few moments we stared mystified at the cat. Then we left for the West side of town.
I have no cats to add right now, though I did run into three more on Saturday. But I thought it would be wise to save them for later. More importantly, on Saturday I purchased my lovely printer. It is an Epson Photo 820 and it is simply fabulous. The purchase of this printer has also allowed me to finally switch from Mac OS 9.2 to OS X and now because of OS X life is a beautiful thing. Ah... how I love the Mac.
Classes also started this week and in a strange twist for a large state University I'm taking two classes with the same to professors I had last semester. This is muy bueno porque me gusta estos profesores mucho. Luckily, they not boring and they are fair. Though I must mention that I have a Greek quiz tomorrow -- the second day of class!!!
Adios all and look for more cats tomorrow. Oh, and by the way Lisa, you are definitely a Sophia, NOT a Dorothy.

I must make a correction. The cat is called Today Is Tomorrow, not Today is Tomorrow. Note the capital "I" please.
I saw two more cats last night. One is white and fluffy. He is often around and I shall call him Puff the Magic Dragon. The other is a gray tiger, kind of older but damn tough. Her name is Stealthwalker.
Right now I'm at work and although I should be doing many more things I am not. My big fear with this job is that when I decide to leave everyone is going to realize that I'm leaving and suddenly give me all the work they were supposed to give me months ago. Well, too bad for them if that happens. Too bad I say.
The suspense for my applications is killing me. I turned the first two of them in a month ago and although I'm sure it's not near decision time yet, I feel like it is or should be or something like that.
On the good side of things, I'm going to buy a new printer this weekend and that makes me very excited, because just as soon as I get that new printer I plan to switch over to the lovely and luscious OS X. I'm hoping that everything will be beautiful when I make the switch...ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, the power of a charming mac.
More news from Today Is Tomorrow, Puff the Magic Dragon, Stealthwalker, and myself soon...

"What will you give Jesus this year?" is the sign outside the Broadway Baptist Church this week. It prompted me to imagine some sort of Indiana Jones II like scene where they tear hearts from bodies for the Gods. Personally, I don't think that's what Jesus was looking for, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's what the Broadway Baptist Church had in mind.
I've decided to keep track of the cats around our house. As some of you know, cats are plentiful in our area and they often change from week to week and even day to day. The cat of this week (and mind you, I reserve the right to make at least 2 cats Cats of the Week when I, or the cats, so choose) is an Orange Tiger. If that is not a technical term, forgive me. At any rate, I'd like to call this cat "Today is Tomorrow" after a character in the Tom Robbins book I'm reading. Today is Tomorrow likes to hang out underneath our back porch and indeed, on our back porch. But Today is Tomorrow is also a bit a afraid of us and he runs when he hears our footsteps.

Ahhh...just four applications to send out tomorrow. But this time (knock on wood) there are no little extra essays. Just revisions of my statement of purp -- which I constantly fear. Do people actually write a really nice sop? Or is it all just a sham? Like cover letters...blech.
On the wonderful side of things, Mike is flying back tonight after a one and a half week stay at Cornell. We get to spend time together until Friday, when I leave for MA on my two week vacation. Go me! Sadly, it's unpaid, but you know, that aspect of it gives me something to look forward to. Someday I will be able to take paid vacation (OK, I did already do so when I worked at Baker Donelson and it was just fabulous). But I feel that the future possibilities of paid vacation are a long way away.
I also hope to begin Christmas shopping tomorrow. I've gone to shops, but the shopping just hasn't started yet...with the exception of a few things bought online--oh, and one calendar at Border's.
Anyway, it's back to work for me. Lisa, I hope this entry assisted in your own procrastination.
Quote of the day: please imagine a raspy hissing voice "Bagginssss, Shhhhyerrrrr" - a Black Rider, The Fellowship of the Ring

I think I need to get back to the quote of the day thing. So here goes.
"Is it secret? Is it safe?" - Gandalf, Lord of the Rings; I think we'll be seeing quite a few more of these quotes as I'm greatly looking forward to seeing the film

A Knight out in Knoxville
Ahhh...tonight I had a wonderful night attending my law firm's old office party. We danced a bunch all night -- many people got a little tipsy, but it was all in all enjoyable. Unfortunately, the dj sucked. I mean, he didn't have BBD -- what kind of DJ does not carry around a little Bel Biv Devoe. Plus, he would play a song we requested, such as "Push It", and then after finally getting everyone out of the dance floor he would go into a slow song. OK chicos and chicas, this is an office party at a law firm and we're not interested in hooking up! This is not a prom or a wedding. Lordy. On the good side, the assistant to the office manager got really drunk and went right up to him to tell him that he was fired. She's funny.
In other things, I worked on some brochures today and spent an hour scrubbing my kitchen floor with tilex. The latter left me with one certain conclusion: do not ever buy a light colored tile floor and more importantly, never use light colored grouting because that stuff just doesn't come clean, no matter what you use!

DONE.
DONE WITH FINALS. DONE WITH THE SEMESTER. DONE WITH TWO OF SEVEN APPLICATIONS. And now my compatriots, I shall write a few lovely Holiday Greeting cards and then climb into a warm bed and listen to Harry Potter books on CD.

Does anyone else think that California schools' application due dates are way to early? Because that is wholly and completely my opinion. I mean, here I am in the middle of finals and the Berkeley app is due on the 13th. Come on folks, most people are in the middle of finals right now!!!
Aside from the ever-looming task of completing my applications, things are going well right now. Thanksgiving was loads of fun and I managed to go to Connecticut and come back a strawberry-blond. My hair looks lovely, though I think I drained my mother-in-law a little too much the night before Thanksgiving. I didn't realize it was going to take three and a half hours. I swear I didn't!!!!
And so returned, stricken with guilt to Massachusetts, only to almost get into a bar fight Friday night. No fun. On the good side, we went to Boston Beer Works and I enjoyed our time there even though I accidentally sunk the eight-ball just when I was getting good at playing pool!
Upon our return to Tennessee I entered into a mad work week, mad study for finals, and a mad rush to get these two applications done. All the same, I still had time for a nice date with Mike. We went to see "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" which was fun, but a little tiresome in parts. Now back to the apps. Blech.

Another Exciting Weekend in the Life of a Massachusetts Yankee and a Connecticut Yankee in King Bubba's Court
Sleep. Work. Sleep. Work. Go to the new Harry Potter movie. That was about the extent of this weekend. Oh, and I cannot forget to mention that we rented the DVD of the first season of the Simpsons. Ah...what a wonderful way to procrastinate.
It's the end of the semester and I've almost got one semester of Greek behind me. I honestly wonder if there is a harder language out there. Actually, I don't. I'm sure it would be much more difficult to study an Asian or Arabic language. Nevertheless Ancient Greek ain't too easy. And of course, I'm working on on the difficult tenses in Greek at the same time that I'm learning the subjuntivo en español. Ay dios mio! But soon the semester will be over. Just one day of classes left!!! And I will be on a lovely winter break.
Most importantly, Lord of the Rings will be coming out SOON. And I am desperately looking forward to watching it. The Two Towers is my favorite of the books and I'm hoping the movie comes out at least as good as the first one. Well, at least it can't be as bad as the new Star Wars movies...right?
But even sooner I will be flying to Massachusetts so that I can then drive to Connecticut for Thanksgiving dinner. The most exciting thing about this is that it will be the first Thanksgiving dinner that Mike and I will have together. I'm looking forward to turkey and yummy pies...though admittedly I will miss Aunt Anne Marie's Banana Bread, my Mom's Pumpkin Bread, and the little pilgrim boy and girl salt shakers.

This weekend I went to a theatre conference. It was pretty exhausting. Although I have been to micro-lithography conference and sort of a postmodern conference before, I had never been to a theatre conference. To tell you the truth, I was a bit on edge the whole time. I mean, here I am talking to a number of top scholars in the field, and these people are going to be deciding my applications in the next few months. I guess I shouldn't have been so nervous, but I was. Oh well, it was a good thing that I was there, right?
The other interesting thing is that the conference was essentially a theatre history conference and there was only one paper on Ancient theatre. And I certainly did not meet any graduate students studying ancient theatre. I'm hoping this is a good thing...I mean, everyone needs an ancient theatre scholar...right? And hopefully, someday I'll be one and there will be an abundance of jobs awaiting me. Yeah right. But truly, everyone now is studying feminist, a form of Asian theatre, a form of African theatre, Asian-American theatre and African-American theatre. And I think that they will fill up all the jobs in those areas before I get out. Anyway, I'm rambling.
I'm excited to go back home for Thanksgiving next week even though I will be going to Mike's Mom's house this time around. I will at least get to see my parents and go out with friends (a novelty that I also experienced at the conference, but have yet to experience in Knoxville).

No, I did not get blown away in a tornado last night.
Luckily, I live close to the mountains and mountains are a tornado deterrent. Though I must admit that one of the tornadoes came fairly close to Knoxville. But as I learned in Kansas, if the tornado is two towns over, there generally ain't a chance in hell that you're going to see any part of it...especially if you live in a hilly town.
Well, this weekend was good. The video store had a special and as a result, Mike and I rented 5 movies. No, we didn't watch all of them, but we did manage three in one weekend and I think that's pretty good considering how busy we are. We watched UHF, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Erin Brokovich. Drop Dead was probably the worst of the three. But I would not go so far as to say that it is without merit. There were certain parts of it. Parts that I don't want to give away...that were pretty damn great. Other parts were so so. It was trying desperately to be a Christopher Guest type mockumentary and it just didn't make it that far. I forgot my rating system already so I guess i"m not going to rate it. (By the way, I've moved The Usual Suspects up to six stars -- mostly because of Benicio Del Toro's performance).
OK, I enjoyed Erin B. and UHF. I have a funny feeling that I saw UHF long ago after one Thanksgiving dinner. I believe I watched it with my elder cousins, though I can't remember exactly. I must have been very young. Too young to understand the "sex with furniture" thing.
Anyhoo, it's time for computer class and I must go.

At least when you listen to the results of elections on public radio, the announcer sounds like he's telling you that someone just died when he announces that the Republican gubernatorial and senatorial candidates are in the lead.

Who's that badass lawyer over there?

It's Maura Crowley!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay to Maura, for passing the bar exam and eating a stew of her enemies. I must say, Attorney C. I really like that image. It was very Roman of you. My only sad thought is that I would like to be able to participate in eating the stew. I have a feeling that many of your enemies are the same as my enemies. But mostly, I would just chomp away on your behalf. Then someday, perhaps you could feast on a stew of my enemies. Of course, that stew will not be made for a very long time. Sigh.

And to celebrate Maura's passing the bar exam, I will post a little part of my screenplay. I think I wrote this part around this time last year...or perhaps in January, but it has much relevance now. Note: My main character does not have a name yet, so I just call her Jenny. And I'm just going to copy it in story form without all the details of the shots. And finally, none of the other scenes are this self-righteous. I had to make Jenny have a bad day -- overall she is a very sympathetic character -- if this ever gets filmed I want to play her. This is one of Jenny's bad days. She is looking for a job after being layed off from a screen door factory.

CUT TO Jenny is on the bench at the mall drinking another Raspberry Lime Rickey. This time she has a bag next to her. She opens up the bag and pulla beanie baby out. She stares at it. The beanie babie stares back at her. She looks up at the clock. It's 5:45. She sighs. She takes an application out of the bag. She looks at it while she sips on her Raspberry Lime Rickey. She gets doen to the bottom and ocntinues to sip so the schl---- noise is heard. She throws the Lime Rickey away and takes the application over to the counter where the ATM machines are. She fills out the application on top of the deposit counter. After she fills out her name and address she begins to get frustrated. she reaches into her bag and gets some gum. She puts it into her mouth. As she does this a gloriously woman dressed nicely approaches -- This is Lucy. Jenny looks at Lucy.
FLASHBACK TO HIGH SCHOOL
She is standing on a landing with some football jacket guys and one other girl. Lucy (looking a bit awkward and dorky) runs by with a friend. They are carrying a pizza and laughing hysterically. They look back and a shot of more people chasing them can be seen. Shot of Jenny standing with football players.
Jenny: Ugh. Nerds!
Shot of Lucy making eye contact with Jenny and then continuing to run.
BACK TO PRESENT TIME
Lucy gets a deposit slip out and takes out a check to her from a law firm for a lot of money. Jenny looks at the check and stops chewing her gum. for a moment -- then goes backto working on her application. Jenny has to reach over to get a different form.
Lucy (to Jenny) Excuse me.
Jenny looks up.
Lucy - Oh hey -- Jenny! I didn't recognize you.
J - (as if she just noticed her) Hey Lucy. How are you?
L - I'm great -- great! What are you up to?
J - Oh, I'm just -- you know -- applying for jobs.
L - Oh, yeah -- I always hated doing that.
J - So what are you up to?
L - Well, I'm just up visiting my parents' for the weekend.
J - Up from where?
L - Boston. I'm there working at a law firm.
J - You're a lawyer now
L - Not yet -- it's my last year of law school and I'm working as a summer associate.
J - Oh, that's great!
L - Yeah thanks. How's Harry?
J - Oh...he's great thanks.
L - You guys must be thinking of having kids soon.
This catches Jenny offguard.
J - Well I -- we don't -- yeah, sure...
She looks down. Lucy reads that something has hurt her and is awkward.
L - I'm sure everything will work out.
Silence
L - Well, it was nice seeing you...I'm going to deposit this now.
J - OK
Lucy goes over to the ATM machine. Shot of Jenny looking down at the application . . .

And here it is folks:
http://homemarket.knoxnews.com/homemarket/index.cfm?action=detail,listings,listings&id=288668&type=residential&CFID=3575522&CFTOKEN=63721208

Tonight I learned the true significance of "best man." I was reading about Ancient Greek wedding and funeral rituals when I discovered that the groom's best friend would often stand outside and guard the door while the marriage was being consummated.
This weekend went well. Mike and I once again ventured into and exploration of another movie that had to do with serial killing. But luckily, it wasn't exactly the same as well, Insomnia, The Cell, and From Hell. This film was Brotherhood of the Wolf. I feel that it was good, but not great. Parts of it were very interesting and I wish that it wasn't resolved in the way that it was. I think it kind of tried to explain too much and make things seem both real and supernatural at the same time. Mike enjoyed the Italian Whore. I, sadly, had no man in the movie to enjoy. Perhaps I would have felt a lot better about the film if Johnny Depp made a cameo.
I mentioned this to Debby (one of my paralegal buddies from Baker Donelson) and she agreed. I actually went out to lunch with two of my paralegal buddies today and learned lots of gossip about the huge house in Knoxville. For my readers, I'll explain that it's about the size of an estate that say, "Madonna" would have. It's bigger than any house I've seen in Quincy or Belmont. No, I'm not exaggerating. It's huge. In fact, I just asked Ginger and Debby if it was an actual house or some kind of huge building. Ginger told me that it was a house lavishly and tackily built by a man who was just married. He then had an affair with the decorator. She became pregnant and lived in another section of the house without the wife even knowing she was there. Eventually, the wife found out. Hubby and wife got a divorce and wife got the house. Now she lives there alone. Well, probably with servants, but you get the idea.
And there you have the Knoxville gossip. If I find a picture of the place on the web (it's for sale now) then I'll post it here.

I dyed my roots last night. By myself. I found it quite fun. You see, the enjoyable thing is that you smush all this black stuff into your hair all the while fearing that it may get into your eyes. Then you walk around for about a half hour with odd hair -- witchlike and scary hair. Like gel on black hair gone horribly wrong. Yes, it's quite enjoyable.
Other than that I've mostly been making brochures about scientific creations. I've been using the computer lab. I'm not sure if this is illegal or not. I have all the software I'm using. It's just that I don't have one computer to put it all on. So if I use the same software somewhere else...is that so wrong?
Halloween is coming up soon and I want to dress up as something scary. Why? I think it's the dark hair. I always tried to be scary with blond hair, but it just never worked. Now I really have the chance.
My upstairs neighbor is using some crazy tool. It's not a vaccuum. It sounds like something that vibrates (no, not a vibrator you perverts) and goes all over the room. Almost like a lawnmower. Weird.

la vida extraño
The police were across the street Monday night again. But the funny thing about me saying that is that they are never across the street in the same place. Last week, they were across the street on Washington and down a few houses. Monday they were across the street on Monroe (we live on a corner) between the house that the crackwhore burnt down and the house with many people and cars. There were three cars that were all parked with their lights shining on an alley. I saw a man roaming around in the light of the headlights and heard a cop ask "you don't have a phone book?" My goodness, the South is strange.
This past weekend's movies were:
The Usual Suspects (which we had both seen before at Trinity) - *****
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - ***
The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover - ****
My rating system really has no rhyme or reason to it. But I think it goes from no to six stars. And those six star films would be oh say, like Dr. Strangelove, City of Lost Children etc. Five star films are simply classic films that are almost on the level of Stranglove et al. Four star films are really excellent films. Three are excellent. Two are good. One is medium. Zero is not worth the time of day. Negative stars would imply that the movie made me want to hit my head against the wall.
I just made that all up now so we'll see how it works out.
Other than movies, Mike and I are having quite an ordeal with the dentist Mike's advisor recommended us to. Here's the situation. Mike began going to them last year and when he originally went, he had not been to the dentist in a year and a half. He was also in desperate need of having his wisdom teeth removed. So they told him that he had at least 6 cavities and ALSO needed two crowns. Plus, of course, he had to have the w. teeth out -- this warranted a comment from Anne, the smiley receptionist. "I don't know why God gave us wisdom teeth." (My answer to Anne would be that it probably had something to do with that highly detested thing called evolution.) At any rate, another employee who works with Mike also went to this dentist and they recommended that she have thousands of dollars of dental work done. Now, none of this seemed to raise red flags because Mike hadn't been to the dentist in awhile and he didn't possess an intimate knowledge of this woman's teeth. Then, I went to the dentist in September and low and behold -- I have to get thousands of dollars of work done -- including two crowns. Plus, just like Mike, my teeth are so bad that I have to come back in four months instead of six for a cleaning. Hmmmm.... And the funny thing is that I had been to two dentists in the past 6 months: (1) my beloved dentist in Revere for a cleaning and checkup and (2) a dentist in Kansas for a filling (in my sleep I was grinding my teeth and I chomped into a filling that broke). And neither of them noted my 7 cavities and two crowns. Hmmm...
I'm interested to see what my two lovely lawyers think about this one.

Today is study day. I am studying for a Greek test I have tomorrow. Also, I have to begin studying for my Spanish midterm. That means that my life consists of looking at index card with little words on them. Sigh.
Recently, both Mike and I were sick. The day after I visited the lawfirm I came down with some sort of flu-like thing. Then, of course, I gave it to Mike. The whole ordeal was no fun for both of us. I'm somewhat suspicious that we picked the dreaded flu-like thing up from Panera Bread. I remember seeing "the man that keeps it all going" (an employee that makes that Panera Bread particularly fast) ill outside on the Panera Bread patio. Of course, it could also be West Nile...one has to wonder.
During our feverish outbreaks, Mike and I rented two films aboutt serial killers. One of the films was "From Hell" and the other was "The Cell." "From Hell" was a good movie for both of us -- Johnny Depp for me and Heather Graham for him (but sadly her performance was so-so, or bad).
"The Cell" was much better than I expected. We didn't realize until after that it was over that it was directed by the man who directed REM's "Losing My Religion" video. As you can imagine, the look of the movie was intense. I highly recommend it. Last night we saw "The Way of the Gun" which, thank god, is not about serial killers of women, just murderers. I would rate this as a fairly good film. Benicio del Toro's performance was truly something. But then again, it always is.
In other things, my big chest of drawers finally arrived this weekend. It truly made my day because it means that I no longer live out of the suitcase I had been living out of for the past two months. All that clothing that lived at the bottom of the suitcase has now reminded me of it's presence.
Adios all.
"Silencio. Silencio. No hay banda. No hay orchestra." -Muholland Drive
"

"A woman and her truck. It's a beautiful thing." - bumper sticker I saw today while driving around

I went into the lawfirm today with strikingly black hair...no, I wasn't working. I shipped a package from J.Crew there. Why, you ask? Well, it's quite convenient because there's always someone there and the mail room is inside. If I had shipped it here, well, the mailman would have left it on the porch where rain, cats, and anybody who wanted it could get to it. (Our porch is typically Southern and enclosed. In fact, it's big and Victorian, but sadly, not a wrap-around.) OK, so back to the law firm -- I got a lot of "Oh my goodness!"'s going on. People stood and just marveled at how dark my hair was. Some of them liked it; others did not. And I was a little embarrassed at all the attention.
When I went into the science office on Monday, however, I enjoyed the fact that people actually talked to me for a change. OK, maybe just a couple people, but still, that's progress.
Speaking of the science work, I just got into my office yesterday. I'm a little disappointed. Mev (this means on the one hand in Ancient Greek) it's probably bigger than any office I'll ever have as a theatre professor, de (on the other hand- AG) it's very dirty and stuffy. It's window is positioned directly outside from the vents from the HUGE UNIVERSITY SIZE CENTRAL HEAT AND AIR units. So the unfortunate thing is that my office is extremely stuffy and I cannot open a window because that will simply let in more Carbon Monoxide. So I've learned...big office does not a happy Megan make.
Therefore, today I'm taking a Photoshop 4 class and I'm charging time for it damnit!!! Sadly, I must have the slowest computer in the entire scientific research program so I doubt I'll be able to run happy Photoshop. Way to get the web designer the tools she needs.
Adios.
Quote of the day: "I'm going to punch George Bush in the face." -Homer Simpson

Alas, I found a way to publish on blogger again last night. And I actually kind of like the new look of my site. So in the life of Megan Shea some interesting Tennessee things have happened. One, Mike and I came home from a nice dinner out to find a crackwhore being propositioned in front of our house. We decided it would be smarter to enter the house from the other side (incidentally, our apt has four doors to the outside -- that means there is a door in every room with the exception of the bathroom and the bedroom).
Also, a freight train derailed and spilled sulfuric acid all over the wealthy part of town (incidentally, you may have guessed from the crackwhore that I live far away from there). About 100 homes had to be evacuated and the news was so exciting that the Knoxville News Sentinel (local paper) the next day read THOUSANDS FLEE FROM TOXIC FUMES. Hmmmm...let's see 100 homes -- 10 people in each home, oh wait thousandS!, it must be 20 people in each home... Anyway, you get the point, I think the newspaper just got a bit ahead of itself there.
And in terms of my life...well, not much is happening. The job is going OK though the scientists still don't seem to desire to speak with me. This especially sucks because Mike is away right now...so it's like I go to work and don't converse with anyone, then I come home to an empty house. I think for this reason my participation in Spanish and Greek class probably seems particularly annoying. I am jumping at the chance to discuss -- anything.
Well, since not much exciting happened in my week, I decided that I'm going to dye my hair black (i.e. super dark brown) tomorrow. And then I'll have black hair and I won't have to worry about bumps in my ponytail. Yippety skippety do.
Also exciting is my foray into the Simpsons. We don't have cable here, so i have been renting Simpsons episodes. Oh, how I want to see the one with Knoxville featured in it. But I'll have to wait quite a while for that. It's in the 7th season (tks. for the Simpson knowledge on this one Becky).
"No TV and no beer make Homer go crazy." -The Simpsons Halloween Episode entitled "The Shinning"

As you may have guessed from the change in look, blogger suddenly stopped publishing for me and I finally found that if I changed the template, it would publish.
Rat bastard, you've got a nerve!
Anyway, I must attend to my unceasing Ancient Greek homework now. More later...

pleasse

I shall try again.

Please work damn you!

Why blogger why? Why won't you publish what I write?

Oh, by the way, you can see the results of my flash 1 course by visiting my web page

When will Job Bob Schmob stop?
Well, I finally started at UT, though there seems to be some confusion as to how I should be classified. Originally, I was supposed to be staff, then GRA, and now - unbeknownst to me, I was switched to student assistant. I ask you...where have all my benefits gone?
Also, I ended up saying nay to the Crew. Sorry, no new coats for all of you. It's more beneficial to me to spend some time working at the law firm.
In terms of other things here, not much is happening except UT football. Typical for Tennessee.
I had my birthday. That was pretty fun. I tried to make it last the entire weekend, because I feel one day isn't enough to celebrate a quarter of a century of Megan. A year really wouldn't be enough, but who am I to say?
When Mike and I returned from a lovely dinner out last Friday, a crackwhore was being propositioned for her services right in front of our house. Then yesterday, a train derailed and spilled sulfuric acid all over a wealthier part of Knoxville. I guess that made me feel a bit better. I'd rather have the crackwhore.

Floopy the cat.
As for the job thing . . . many things are still hovering up in the air. Looks like I will be starting at UT next week. I've still got J.Crew hanging on the line, so to speak, but I think I will just drop them. It seems like more of a pain to train with them and start working, then stop in November. Plus, I am filling in at my old law firm now and making a pretty penny more than I would at the Crew. On the down side, there's no free clothing involved and I'm in desperate need of a lovely new winter coat.
This weekend Mike and I made a mammoth driving trip to VA on Thur., CT on Friday, MA on Saturday, back down to VA on Sunday and TN on Monday. It was maddening. It was even more maddening for Mike because we were driving a rented vehicle and I'm not permitted to start driving such items until next Monday. For it is on that date that I will reach a quarter of a century in years of age. (Can you tell I've been reading Lord of the Rings? It's changed my speech pattern quite a bit.) Anyway, aside from my wild job search in Tennessee, not much is going on. I could tell you about my dentist, my headaches, and my color copying, but I will wait till I post again.
"One ring to bring them all and in the darkness, bind them."