TGIF

It's Friday, that is soooo wonderful. I'm going to stay up until 2am, then sleep until noon, like I do most weekends. Can't help it, it's genetic... I'm a night owl.

I am happy to be ad free. This will motivate me to do something more unique with the design of my sight... eventually.

I have nothing witty to say for today, but for a very good chuckle, read Daniela's blog.

AD FREE

I'm free, I'm free (advertisement free, that is)! At least I will be soon...

The Weekend

Friday night rented Miss Congeniality. Seems that Sandra Bullock can be made to go from homely to gorgeous just by plucking her eyebrows (see also "Love Potion #9"). Oh, and Benjamin Bratt... well HELLO... didn't know he was hiding such a nice bod under his suits.

Saturday went to Bahama Breeze (yum) with Jenny, Aaron and Abby, then we went to see Evolution. I liked the movie, but cringed heavily during some of the worm scenes (YUCK), so did Abby as she yanked her feet up off the floor, seemingly SURE some creepy crawly was going to wiggle it's way between her toes. Also rented "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" with George Clooney and John Turturro... I like him though I'm not sure what else I've seen him in.

Sunday was a day of "around the house". Planted more flowers. Touched a slug that was on one of the flower containers. Screamed like a girl.

Monday

Today I had to endure a 5 hour meeting...very painful... those quarterly meetings put me in a very bad mood and make me question my mediocre existence at a major corporation. They make me feel like I should be doing something more interesting, like putting on my leotard preparing to dazzle the crowd as I stick my head into the lions mouth... or something like that.

Incredibly Insightful Joel

I had given Joel the nickname "shitcan Joel" because he tends to... let's say... question the validity of an idea. In most cases he has very valid points that stem from experience and rationality. But it certainly is fun to call him "shitcan Joel", even if he IS right.

Today I was reminded that he and Jenny are in a contest through Herman Miller that could win them 3 Aeron chairs... and I'm pining for that third chair. I realized rather quickly that calling him "shitcan Joel" will not earn me enough, if any, good-grace points to get the chair, so I am giving him a new nickname, "Incredibly Insightful Joel".

I hope that, along with the fact that I am his Rosie's Pizzelle supplier, will help my case.

The Morning After

Well, after yesterday's festivities, today is a bit of a letdown. The E.A.T. Team will have to work hard to out-do ourselves. If you have any great ideas, let me know...

Oh, and Jo pointed me to a really cool trailer for the upcoming Pixar movie Monsters, Inc.. Check it out!

Flamingos on Parade

We had the unveiling of Flamingos on Parade at work today. (Background: as part of the Employee Action Team, we came up with this idea in honor of the Horses on Parade around Rochester. Sixty people in kodak.com signed up to receive and re-invent a pink lawn flamingo) The results were amazing! Some really impressive work on the flamingos. We also threw a party, handed out leis (or as I like to say, gave everyone a cheap lei), made smoothies, provided pizza and ice cream cake.

I think our coworkers think we're on a mission to fatten them up. What they don't realize is that a good portion of the E.A.T. team (oh, the irony) are actually food addicts and our motives are very self serving. Either way, it was a huge success. Matt makes a mean-ass smoothie!

Here are some pics of the flamingos, though the pics don't really do them all justice. There's some amazing detail. They are, in order of appearance:: Elephant-mingo, inspired by Moulin Rouge, by me; Flowermingo by Jenny; Flamin-go by Joel, Count Dramingo by Jo, Plantmingo by Abby, Punk Rock Flamingo by Matt, Spidermingo by Aaron and Placido Flamingo by Marianna and LuAnne.

   

   

Paper Flowers

I really wish I had hopped on a plane to make paper flowers with Daniela, Su, and Heidi. It looks like so much fun and I miss the them [sob sob].

Normal is a Myth

I'm all settled in my new office, it's rather nice. I have my "Normal is a Myth" postcard attached to my computer so I can be reminded every five minutes or so. This will come in handy since Tony is a pod-mate of mine. (Pod: large triangular area with one office in each corner. Jo is my other pod-mate)

Jenny is on the other side of the wall from me, so I keep climbing on my desk to see her and talk to her. I hope I don't fall and break an arm. We had a guy, Gary Diana, do that while hanging Christmas lights 2 years ago and he hasn't lived it down. If we see someone doing something unsafe, we say, "don't pull a Gary Diana". I used to stand on a chair to talk to Abby over the wall, but she's a little too far now =( But at least she's just down the hallway.

On that "Normal" note, I had dinner at my Mom's last night and it just reinforced what a totally wacky family I have. My crazy* Aunt Del asked my Uncle John, "what's that stuff that takes off nail polish?" To which he replied (wondering if this was a trick question), "nail polish remover?" We all laughed at how stupid the question was, then my Mom and my Uncle Pete took turns making up their own questions for the next 5 minutes in a successful attempt to mock the hell out of my Aunt. Here's how it went:

U. Pete: "what's that thing called that toasts bread?"
Mom: "what's that thing that irons your clothes?"
U. Pete: "what's the name of that kind of sweater you pull over your head?"
Mom: "what are those things you slip on your feet at night that are all cushiony?"
Mom: "what's it called when it's time to go to bed?"

These exchanges, while bringing me side splitting laughter, make me question how I got to be so normal... then wonder if I really am. Maybe I'm secretly insane.

*Background on Aund Del: she really is a bit crazy. She was in a very bad car accident about 20 years ago, had to learn to walk and talk all over again, and has been manic depressive ever since.

On another note, I also realized where I got both my food addiction tendencies and my need to push food on others. Here's the list of the food Gram brought to Mom's last night:

Pepperoni Pizza
5th Avenue candy bars
Mounds candy bars
Heath Bites candy
Chocolate Oreos
Stella Doro cookies
Pizzelles
and Gummi Bears

... all this AFTER knowing I was bringing Strawberry Shortcake for dessert! I should be the size of a house with this family!

Limited Edition

I just bought a Mystery Poster Bunny t-shirt from Jenny's store. The inside word (straight from Jenny's mouth today at her Strawberry Shortcake shindig) is that she is going to change the wording to "Mysterious Poster Bunny". So I thought I'd join Squibnocket and get one of only a few limited edition versions before Jenny changes it, becomes famous (she WAS mentioned in USA Weekend!) and people are clamoring for them.

I'm envisioning a scenario where I'm walking around on Park Ave in my Mystery Poster Bunny t-shirt, I pass someone and they stop me, jaw dropped, and exclaim, "that's MY bunny, why are you wearing MY bunny?" Then I spill the beans on Jenny. That's as far as it goes in my mind... though I'm pretty sure Jenny would win any lawsuit brought against her by mystery-poster-bunny-posting-mysterious-artist because said artist did not reveal him/herself on said poster. AND, the lawsuit would probably cause CNN news to do an interview with Jenny, then she would be bigtime for sure (and the value of my and Squibnocket's Limited Edition Myster Poster Bunny t-shirt would skyrocket in value)...

Hip to be Square

In Japan, they are making square watermelons. First seedless, then yellow, now square. What next, miniature kiwi-size watermelon? Yes, I think I'd like pocket-sized watermelon.

I was going to buy a square watermelon but they're $85 and since I just dropped $300 bucks on a Visor Edge (woo hoo), I can't afford it. Chuck (hubby) is going to inherit my cracked Visor Deluxe and now the burden is on him to get it fixed. The best part about it... it was all his idea, he urged me to do it... I love that man. Here's the damage (finally got pictures working):

Great weekend, East End Festival (party in the streets), Elixir at Club Red (an event by RJ Reynolds to promote Camels by luring unsuspecting people with bellydancers, fortune telling and free drinks), cake sampling (to help my sis Sherri decide where to get her wedding cake), dinner at Bahama Breeze (my new favorite restaurant) with Jenny and Aaron, then off to see Moulin Rouge (a funny movie, worth seeing).

Oh, and according to the fortune teller, I am "very bubbly, have alot of friends, am very happy, people look forward to seeing my smile... and (yikes) will be pregnant by September and will have a girl". I believed her until I realized she seemed to be alternating between stating the obvious (yes, after 3 drinks I'm VERY bubbly and happy) and guessing based on norms (married but no kids yet, so probably trying... etc.). It was a fun experience though. She knew some uncanny stuff about others, so you never know... Want your own, try an online Psychic reading.

Insider Cake Trading

In offering to help my sister with some of her wedding planning, I've realized that it is rather easy to solicit free or almost free cake from virtually every bakery in town. I called four bakeries on Friday and 3 out of 4 offer free cake on any given day and 1 offered 7" sample cakes for a mere $2.50. I bought one of the sample cakes and it was scrumptious. My sister says, "let's just order the cake from Wojtczak's so you don't have to keep running around." I said, "you can do whatever you want but I'm still going to go taste free cake, you can't stop me."

I have pictures to post and my Guster heart (graphic) is broken dammit. Can you all see my Daily Bite banner? The site Jenny recommended to me told me I don't have cookies. I HAVE COOKIES dammit. Ugh. I want to post the depressing picture of my cracked Handspring Visor. I dropped it on the floor last week. It costs 85 bucks to get it fixed, about half the price of a new one. UGH. I found a place that sells replacement glass for $50 but you have to install it yourself (not to mention I think it has Palm icons, oh joy). Chuck thinks he can do the install. I don't know if it's worth the risk. And just when I was getting really attached to the damn little thing.

Daniela posted in her blog that she tried and did not like Kettle Korn. Saying "I didn't like Kettle Korn" after trying it only once is like saying "I didn't like sex" after trying it only once. Kettle Korn can vary greatly from vendor to vendor. Sooo, a word of advice... do not write off Kettle Korn without at least sampling from a few different vendors first. You may find one that makes it really good. Don't let one bad experience rob you of a lifetime of enjoyable activity (eating Kettle Korn).

Eddie Card Plea

Eddie actually called me today and chatted for about 20 minutes. He sounded great and had me laughing to tears. He was telling me about how strange it is to be on morphine and how he woke up and realized he was sort of talking to himself and had his finger up in the air, pointing, as if to say "excuse me, waiter". Though he sounded great, I think he's still in rough shape. He mentioned that they have a tube in his back because his spinal cord is leaking. He called me back later to say that the day had gone downhill after he talked to me... a nurse had come in and told him to stand up, so Eddie stood at the end of the bed for an hour and a half, alternating between sitting and standing, before the guy came back to check on him. It turned out Eddie wasn't actually supposed to be up AT ALL yet. He said he was ok, but they had the nurse taken off assignment to Eddie's room (Eddie probably would have used every last ounce of strength to strangle the guy).

If anyone (all two of you who read this) wants to send Eddie a card to cheer him up, I think that would be great. You can just note you are a "Friend of Tina's" if he doesn't know you. He's not sure how long he'll be in the hospital, anywhere from 3 more days to 3 weeks, but his wife can bring his cards to him if he's still in, so here's his home address. He has a twisted sense of humor, much like me, so feel free to send him funny stuff.

Eddie
9025 W. Desert Inn Rd #103
Las Vegas, NV 89117

Happy Anniversary

Friday Chuck and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. It was wonderful. Though we weren't really supposed to exchange gifts because we want to take a vacation to celebrate, Chuck still brought me home a beautiful bouquet of flowers that had Calla Lillies in it... like my wedding bouquet. He also got me the damn near cutest little lamb you've ever seen. So soft, so sweet, so cuddly. Quite a gesture since earlier on in our relationship he (Chuck, not the Lamb) refused to buy me stuffed animals because he "didn't see the point in them". Well, it's only taken 16 years to change his mind on that one, but hey, every success counts. Imagine how much progress I'll make by 2012! ;-)

We went to Bahama Breeze and sampled the food. It was fabulous! I've been waiting 4 months to have a Bahamarita and it was worth the wait... mmmmmmmm... yummy!

After dinner we met up with Abby at Chrome, a new club near work, then were joined by Tony and Ange. Chrome had a cool decor - high ceilings, unique lighting, cool couches... but it sucked. The first thing that killed me was the $8 price for a martini. Helloooooo, this is ROCHESTER we're talking about here, not New York City. Give me a $3.95 Bahamarita any day. If I order an $8 martini in Rochester, I expect it to be the size of a big gulp. Then there was the crowd... the look-at-me-I'm-so-beautiful-in-my-leather-pants-and-sequined-tube-top-from-TJMaxx girls and the I-work-out-and-go-tanning-and-am-trying-to-look-like-I-just-walked-off-the-set-of-the-Sopranos guys. Not my scene at all. Not that I'm against looking good, I'm all for it, I just don't think it should be someone's main focus. I mean, if you look too good to dance, what's the point? Sheesh.

U2, Me Too

Thursday I went to see U2 with Abby (thanks to Ab buying an extra ticket) and though we spent the first third of the show in a bad spot on the floor, surrounded by ignorant drunk people and 10 foot tall dumb blonds, when we finally moved and spent the rest of the show on the stairs with a beautiful view of the elaborate stage, I really began to enjoy the music and the experience of seeing U2 live. They were incredible!

The highlight was when Bono (why is this man so sexy??) pulled a girl out of the audience, hugged her VERY tightly, then proceeded to roll around on the ground with her rather romantically. All I can say is, if I was that girl, not only would I spend the rest of my life reliving that moment, I would never wash those clothes again and probably would not be able to function as a normal human being anymore. I still can't stop thinking about it and it wasn't even me! (Hello, my name is Tina and I have an obsessive personality).

Update

My brother Eddie is ok after his back surgery but the titanium disc hadn't fused so they had to do the more extensive surgery, which means an incisions in his back, hip, and stomach... and he woke up to find a hole in his neck (from an iv/catheter or something) which he's not happy about, actors shouldn't have too many scars. He called my Mom this morning to say he felt good but was very tired. I'm going to go order him up a cookie-gram or something yummy like that.

Background info (I'm going to start doing this so my blogs have more context): My brother Eddie lives in Las Vegas, while the rest of the family lives here in Rochester, NY. Eddie is 33 now, became addicted to drugs shortly after graduating high school, had Hodgkin's Disease when he was 21, his first back surgery at about 25, his second back surgery last year, and his 3rd back surgery yesterday. He's a Scorpio who ended his man-slut days to get married last October and celebrated 2 years of sobriety last month. There, that should catch you all up.