Oh, Right... Its Halloween!

October Purchase of the Month

You know what's kind of dumb? Buying vinyls when you don't own a record player...

I have three...

In my defense, two of them are picture disks. You know how they can put photographs on cakes now? Well, they can do that on vinyls as well! Who knew?! I have one of Ms. Murder, and a 7" of Love Like Winter. I had every intention of framing them in shadow boxes or something but I never got that far. It's been 2 years. I'm really lazy when it comes to hanging stuff on my wall.

It makes sense to by picture disks right? I mean, it's like buying prints or posters... Which is why I didn't buy December Underground on vinyl- even though it was a collectors edition... on 4 7"... each sleeve printed with a pic of the member... oh, and it was on clear vinyl... and on clearance... damn, I should've bought it.

But I didn't... 'cause it's stupid to buy vinyl when I don't have, and never will have, a record player. We had one growing up. I remember buying a few records during yard sales and trying to recreate a Norman Rockwell kind of moment, hot cocoa, Christmas carol, flannel PJ, etc. I loved the crackly sound, you know what I'm talking about? And that kind of old school tinny sound... so awesome.

Erik once told me that sound on vinyl is far superior to any other medium. Really?! No way! According to him, the sound is purer 'cause the needles is in direct contact with wax, where as, in CDs, it's laser so there's that layer of air between the CD and the eye. I told him that every record I've listened to sounded crackly and tinny.
"Were the vinyls scratched? Where you listening to them through crappy speakers?"
Oh! Good point! If I judged MP3's solely based on the sound coming out of my laptop, I would think it was a step down from cassettes.

I still think the best part of listening to vinyls is the crackly sound. It makes me think of winter... and hot cocoa.

A couple of weeks ago, we got in a shipment of The Downward Spiral on vinyl. Special edition, gate fold, double disk, 180 grams... The Downward Spiral. I could feel its magnificence humming- hummmm.... Oh my goodness!!! It took me back to freshman year in high school, when I first bought the CD. I remember being in awe of the packaging- it was the first CD I bought that was something more than just a jewel case and a 4 page liner note. Even before I put the CD in my crappy little CD player, I knew, I knew the CD was going to special. Oh the excitement! Eeep!

!!!

Eric was all, "Are you going to buy it?"
I'm all, "No... it's $24..."
Eric: "Yeah, but it's The Downward Spiral."
Me: "Yeah... but it's $24... and I already have the CD.... and I don't have record player, what am I going to do with it?"
Eric: "Frame it."
Me: "Augh, records are square... I'll have to get it custom framed or something."
Eric: "Dude, they sell record frames... Target has them for like $5."

Eric lied, they were actually $10.


I decided to hang it over my bookcase.

It's a double disk and each disk came with their own sleeve. I'm thinking about framing them as well. Well, not this one:


But I do like this one:
I thanked Eric for the Target record frame suggestion. I also told him that the whole thing was so thick, I had to take the vinyls out and just frame the packaging.
"... That's what you're suppose to do..."
"Really?"
"Yeah... otherwise how would you listen to the vinyls if it's in a frame?"
"...Oh...That makes sense..." I wouldn't know these things, not owning a record player.

I think I'll buy another record frame and try framing an old t-shirt. I definitely have some graphic tees that I never wear but keep around 'cause I like the graphic.

Rewind

I just finished catching up on my tivo while folding the laundry.

House getting all slobbery with Cuddy?

?!?!

That just... yeah... hmmm...

Why didn't my brother tell me? I told him about Wilson getting back together with House.

Bookmark Clean Out!!!

Michael told me that Obama paid a whole bunch of money to have a whole crap load of networks run a 30 minute Obama ad. I kind of thought he was making it up (or exaggerating) but no... it's on a lot of channels... kind of obnoxious.

Oh well, on to Bookmark Clean Out!

9 Awesome Places to Have Sex (and the Horrific Consequence)- It pretty much sums up what I've always thought... The world is a filthy, filthy place covered in a fine layer of fecal matter. I was pretty surprised to read that women's bathroom has a higher amount of fecal matter than dude's.

Bizarre Protest: Woman Changes Name to a URL to Protest Dissections- Why are all the crazy name changing people from Virginia? There was some dude (also from VA) who changed his name to KFCkillschicken.com or something like that.

Let Them Eat Cake!: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Recession- "Recessionistas"? That's a new one.

Pepperidge Farm Opens the Largest Fuel Cell Plant in the US- I swear they once had a commercial for those gold fishes where some dude sang, "The only cracker that smiles back... until you bite their little heads off". Kinda morbid.

Faces of World Poverty: 20 Arresting Photographs- Depressing.

Study: There is All Kinds of Nasty Crap in Your Bottled Water- Jamie was the first to tell me that most bottled water are just filtered municipal water. Back in like the 80's, or early '90s, I think watered bottle were a bit of a status symbol. Now, you can buy a pack of 24 for like $5 or less at Target. I stopped buying water- not good for the environment you know.

Samantha Parkington, RIP- NOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo!!!!!! I remember my first American Girl catalog. It was back when they only had three characters, Kristen the Swede immigrant, Samantha the rich Victorian girl, Molly the '40's girl. Oh man, I read that catalog like it was the Bible. I probably had it memorized. I knew there was no way in hell my parents would buy me a $175 doll ($175 for the doll, the first book, and a starter accessories kit- I forget how much the doll costs alone). There was no point in even asking- all I could do was dream.... someday, someday!

Halloween- A public service announcement to all y'all who thinks it's hi-larious to put on H'ween masks and take pics... Snap away if you wish, whatever... Just remember that at least 50 ppl have tried on that exact same mask. They have breathed their germs into that mask. They have stuffed their nasty, oily, dandruffy hair into that mask. As a matter of fact, I happen to know for a fact that the last person to try on that mask was some acne ridden 14 year old dude with mouth sores and the inside of that mask is now all smeared with his pimple oil. I'm just saying, I thought you might want to know.


Ten Films to Watch This Halloween- The last time I watched a scary movie on Halloween it was about... four years ago I think. I rented 28 Days later and Audition. Scary movies don't scare me. A lot of "scary" movies are in fact, just gory. I'm disgusted, and I don't have the stomach to watch movies like Saw, but I'm not scared. Well, someone had told me that that Audition was seriously scary. I figured it would be pretty fucked up scary since it's Japanese- Asians do scary movies well. Um... yeah... wow. I did not get far at all. About 30 minutes in, as soon as that bag moved... OH MY GOODNESS! I freaked out, turned the TV off, and that was it. I later finished watching it... in broad daylight... with lots of distractions... and my eyes tightly shut and ears properly plugged during that scene. Yes, I have never seen that scene and I never intend to. Here's the condensed, non-scary version of the movie:

Early MCR is not so good... Early Gerald is not so hot...

9 Ways to Tough Out Tough Times- Or... you can do what I'm doing... crossing my fingers and hope that a "high interest" yielding savings account is good enough...

Hold On to Your Hats and Sunglasses, Here Comes the Credit Card Meltdown- The housing meltdown doesn't seem to have effected this area so much. I have a feeling that the credit card meltdown is going to hit a lot of people hard around here.

The (Ex) Biggest Heroin Dealer in the Whole Wide World- Interesting story.

Waste From Gut Bacteria Helps Host Control Weight- "The number of bacteria in our gut far exceeds the total number of cells in our bodies," said Dr. Yanagisawa. GAAAAHH!!!

AA Will Make You Look Like a Fat Hooker- Slut Machine did not look anything like I thought she would. Does she still blog?

Real

Okay, I know I'm being ignorant but, when I think of McCain supporters, I think of this:


I got that clip from here.

Now, I realize that there lots of non-racists, well informed, McCain supporters, and I know it's wrong, but it's the first image that comes to mind.

Of course, McCain's camp with their "real America" spiel isn't helping me change my mind. First his brother calls us Communists, then his senior adviser calls us fake:



Screw you Nancy Pfotenhauer.

To imply that we're just a stomping ground for DC immigrants, dirtying up the state with our Liberal, anti-American values, and that the "real Virginia"- southern Virginia, would be more receptive to pro-American values, is insulting.

"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working, very patriotic, very pro-America areas of this great nation."- Palin.

Screw you Palin, and whoever you meant by "we". Screw you and your "real American" values.

Wasn't America found on the idea of immigration? Religious freedom? New ideas? Democracy? Freedom from oppressive, closed minded, church ruled government? Hard work? Capitalism and the "Great American Dream"? Social Enlightenment? If so, Northern Virginia is "real". We're full of immigrants who achieved the "Great American Dream". We love religious freedom (and freedom from religion). We're extremely hard working- every other grown person over the age of 25 is permanently glued to their Blackberry. We love capitalism (and materialism...). We're socially enlightened enough to be comfortable with the idea of a non WASP president.

Haters.

Creamy Pasta Primavera

Sometime when I cook (or bake), the very act of preparing the food turns me off the idea of eating it. You know how you don't want to know what's really inside those chicken McNuggets? You have a rough idea that it's nothing but processed chicken goop made of tendons and eyeballs and skin but it tastes so good, you don't care... as long as you don't know... for a fact... that it is in fact chicken goop.

I have no problem with most ingredients. I don't mind handling meat- as long as it's not a whole fish... or a bird with a bag of organs shoved up it's butt. What bothers me is when I see how much sugar, oil, butter, etc. goes into a dish. Now, I'm not a health nut by any means but still, even I have my limits. Sometimes, as I pour 2 cups of sugar over 3 sticks of butter to cream, I'm thinking, "Dude, this is so wrong..." It's gross! I know it's going to taste good but it's gross!

There's one dish, however, where I don't care. Not only do I not care what goes in, but more bad stuff the better. That dish is creamy pasta primavera.



2 tsp of olive oil? Let's make it 5! Olive oil is good for you, right? Only 1.5 cup of Parmesan cheese? How are you even going to taste it? Let's make it...3 cups... and shave another 1/4 cup of cheese on top later. 3/4 cup of heavy cream? Just pour the entire box, other wise it'll just sit in the fridge until it goes bad. 6 slices of bacon? 6? Lets make it an even 10. Just keep going until your heart tells you to stop.

The result is a primavera so creamy, it almost tastes like dessert. Oh but don't worry, I also throw some spinach in there. Spinach is good for you.

Creamy Pasta Primavera
Yields 6 servings

1 lb fettuccine
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 (10 oz) package of frozen baby peas, thawed (really, any green vegetable will do)
1 (10 oz) package of grape tomatoes, halved
4 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
kosher salt
black pepper
6 slices of cooked bacon

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 3 Tbsp. of pasta water, set aside pasta and water.

Heat oil in large non stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in peas and reserved pasta water and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook just until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

In same pasta pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in cream and cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook sauce, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add vegetable mixture, pasta and bacon, and toss together until well combined. Serve warm.

Tan Anne Klein Knee High Boots

I got these at Steinmart in Richmond. I could be wrong, but I think I paid close to $100, an unheard of amount for me. That can't be right... I don't spend that much on shoes... Of course, I was pretty thrilled to find a pair that fit. Not just a pair but two, this one and black. I chose on the tan pair because I figured I can wear it with black and brown stuff.

I just checked the box, $139 (originally $159.99). No way! No way I would spend $139 on boots! They must have been on further markdown.

All in all, I'm a bit disappointed in these boots. I haven't even worn them that often, a couple of times a year, and it's already crapping out on me. The leather is starting to discolor, you can kind of see it in the picture, near the toe part. If they were cheap $30 Target boots, I would understand. Hmm... maybe I wore them in the snow and the salt ruined the color? I can see that happening.

Despite the crappiness of the leather, I still like them. I need to figure out how to wear them more often. I always think of knee highs as being a fall thing (winter being too cold for skirts) and fall lasts about a week here. I think it's already over. Two weeks ago, it was about 80 degrees and now it's really cold.

Kung Pao Chicken

Home cooking isn't always the cheaper option...


You know, I thought Kung Pao chicken were hunks of breaded chicken drenched in some mildly spicy sauce, but it's not. Or, it is, but I didn't make it right...

I made a few modifications to the recipe...
1) I used 1.3 lbs of chicken instead of 1lb. It was the smallest package of chicken I could find and I didn't feel like storing .3 lb of chicken.
2) I doubled the amount of garlic. It's always a good idea to double to amount of garlic, maybe even triple it. Trust me on this.
3) I went a bit crazy with the pepper flakes. Had I known how hot those things are, I probably would have stuck with the 1/2 tsp.
4) I used regular apple cider vinegar instead of rice wine. I didn't have a bottle of rice wine vinegar and didn't see the point in buying a bottle of vinegar that I'll rarely, if ever, use. I mean, for the most part, vinegar is vinegar, right? Hmm... maybe not... Some things aren't interchangeable, like oil. There is a huge difference between sesame oil and olive oil...

The cheapest thing of peanuts I could find were heavily salted. I just rinsed them with water for a few seconds and they were good. The chicken turned out surprisingly moist and not hard and chewy (a rarity when I cook chicken).

All in all, it costs me about $10 to make this dish. At first, I was all "Lame!" I mean, I could order a thing of Kung Pao chicken for the same price. Isn't the whole point of home cooking to save money? Don't get me wrong, I like to cook... but I like to eat out just as much. In fairness, $10 did result in a lot of Kung Pao- probably two of those Chinese take out box worth... maybe 2.5... and I did like my non breaded chicken version better.

Of course, I can buy a bag of frozen Kung Pao chicken for $5 at Trader Joe. I think $10 will net me the same amount of Kung Pao goodness.

Jessica Simpson Black Stilettos

Jessica Simpson... I don't like her, but her shoes are pretty rad. It's vampy, pin-up-ish, and makes me feel pretty rad- for about 30 minutes, then my feet start to hurt... a lot. Still, nothing beats the sensation of walking on stilettos. They were a present from Jamie, thank you Jamie!!!

Stamps!

My dad had a stamp collection. Growing up, I would look at them and go "Oooh... pretty pictures!" He taught me how to soak it in water to dissolve the glue. I have his stamps now... just not sure where they are. I think I know where they are... no I don't, wait, I do... I think...

I like sticking pretty stamps on letters, even if it's just on bills. Pretty, interesting stamps costs the same as the boring kind and I can order them on line. There is a $1 shipping and handling fee but I'd gladly pay a dollar to avoid the post office.

The stamps I ordered came in today!


You are looking a tank of gas worth of stamps.

I'm It!!!

I've been tagged by the likkle girl! She has an awesome blog with pretty pictures of all the interesting things she's into.

I used to LOVE playing tag when I was little.

In random order:

4 Shows I watch Over and Over
House- Sigh~
Star Trek Voyager- Cpt. Janeway is my hero.
Coupling (The UK version)- It's been a while since I've watched it (since my CD/DVD drive is toast) but it's always fun to watch when I'm bored, it's so funny! I so love the Jeff character.
Invader Zim- Again, something I haven't watched since my CD/DVD drive went kaplooey but oh man, Michael and I used to watch this over and over and over again.
4 of My Favorite Places to Eat
I haven't really been to a lot of "real" restaurants since my resolve to be more frugal. The following are places that we go out to eat when we want good, cheap food.
Chipotle- Tacos can be bought individually (about $2 a piece for chicken tacos). I usually get 2 chicken tacos with rice. They load on so much stuff, it's like getting a third taco for free.
Don Corleone's- Their brick oven pizza spoiled me, no other pizzas compare. A generous slice is about $3, an entire, medium pie can be had for $10. Their margherita pizza is to die for. I heard it's run by a family of cult members. The secret ingredient must be God.
Tokyo Sushi- They have really good lunch specials, bento boxes starting from $7, including one with a generous portion of sushi for $10. Their salmon is so buttery soft and delicious!
Ashburn Cafe- Technically, they're on my boycott list after they slathered on a mountain of mayonnaise on my cheeseburger after I told the waitress like a million times, "No mayo, please". Still, their french fries are so amazingly awesome that I can't help but eat there.

4 Places I Go to Over and Over
Trader Joe's- One of the best grocery store ever. Even though it's about 20 miles away, I still go there like twice a month.
Wegmans- The other best grocery store ever. I feel like a gourmand just walking inside.
Target- My favorite place to shop for pretty much everything that's not food.
Manassass Salvation Army Store- I love all the pretty vintage purses they have. They also have some really awesome furniture from the '70s (that I'm too scared to buy). It's just an awesome thrift store all around.

4 Cheeky Thing I Did this Week
Cut this meme to 4 of 4- I like even things, square things, so 4 of 4 seems right.
Sleep in until 10 am today- Granted, 10 am is my usual wake up time on my days off/days when I close, but I usually don't pass out at 11pm. I guess sleeping for 11 hours is more lazy than cheeky... let's just say "decadent".
Stuff David inside the cage:
Wear my highest heel to go grocery shopping- Sometimes, I look at the girls who get all dolled up just to go shopping at the mall and I think, "Just who do you think you are missy! Who are you trying to impress?" I started the day in Chucks but, half way through, thought, "Hey, it's my day off, why not wear the highest heel I own?" Besides, I have a bad habit of dwaddling inside grocery stores so really high heels made sure that I would be out the door before my feet starts to hurt.

Purchase of the Month: September

Confession: I am one of those girls who never leave the house without putting on some make up first. I don't go all Tammy Faye, me without make up doesn't look that different than me with make up. I just need some foundation, powder, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner- maybe mascara. All in all, it only takes me about five minutes to put my face together.

It's not a vanity issue. I really don't think I look that much better with make up vs. without. I'm not talented enough to pull off some impressive visual effects. It's more of a self esteem issue. Bottom line, my skin and I are not friends, nope, not friends at all. For this reason, foundation and powder are a must. If I'm going to wear foundation and powder, might as well wear all the other stuff as well, right?

My skin's actually not bad- it's just not perfect. And yes, I do realize that all those perfect skins in magazines are air brushed. There was a photo spread (on Jane I think?) that showed models in their bare skins- huge pores, small break outs, un-even complexion, etc, just like me! But perfect skin is possible. I know people with perfect skin- flawless expanse of poreless-ness. Why can't I have that?

Why?!?!?!?

Lord knows I've tried all kinds of face wash, lotions, potions, wipes, scrubs, etc...

And then I found this:


My skin's less oily, more even toned, and smoother. I am now almost, almost, comfortable enough to leave the house make up free.

Almost.

I just slather some on, wipe off excess, voila! It works better than any face lotion I've used in the past. It's also all natural. I'm not hugely concerned with chemicals, I'm not on the whole organic band wagon, but, if I can get better results with an all natural product that works better and costs less than some chemically concoction, why not?

It was purchased at Trader Joe's, btw!

BP Black Pointy Toed Heel

I don't remember why I got these but I do remember buying them during my lunch break when I subbed at Banana Republic. Did I feel I needed a pair of pointy toed heels to fit in? Were the heels I originally wore too painful to be on my feet for so long? I really don't remember.

I thought about getting rid of them since I very, very, very rarely wear them- they are way too pointy. And yes, I know, pointy heels are good 'cause they elongate the legs but, honestly, I feel like the Wicked Witch of the West. I decided to keep them in case I end up getting a pair of wide leg pants. I think round toes with wide legs looks a bit funny.

Navy Bruno Magli Pumps

I paid about... $4.99 for them at the Goodwill down in Richmond. I did some on-line research and they retailed for like $300. Not a bad deal!

My only problem with them is that they are a skoosh too tight. Or at least I think they are... I don't know. I'm used to wearing shoes that are a half size too big so I can't tell what a proper fitting shoes feels like anymore. Besides, aren't you suppose to buy leather shoes a bit tight 'cause they stretch out with wear?

Why's He so Angry?

Eric asked me if I heard about the Blaqk Audio line up change.

What?!

"Yeah, now it's Davey and some mushroom head."

Humpty Dumpty?

This graffiti can be found in the back loading dock of the Manassass Salvation Army. It's no Banksy but it's not exactly a tag either. It's been up there for months.

Poor guy, he looks so sad... maybe 'cause he drove all the way down hoping to score some great deals on uber cute vintage bags but only found crappy Nine West and Liz Claiborn cast offs.

2009 Goals

AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

I need more money. I really do.

Sigh...

I'm not really going through a financial meltdown, it's just... very very frustrating. By all means, I have a lot to be proud of. I upped my 401(k) contribution to 10%, I managed to save quite a bit, I learned a lot about personal finance, etc, etc, etc. Still, it just doesn't feel enough. Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day, or something to that effect, right? It's just that my ability to save lately has been... not so impressive... at all. Oh well, what' done (or not done) is in the past, time to look forward!

I expect Nov. and Dec. to be a wash since Christmas is coming. So, my goal for 2009:

1) Continue to contribute 10% of my pay to my 401(k). The company's going to start contributing starting 2009 so it's going to be tempting to cut back. I have some catch up to do so... it's best to just keep putting away 10%.

2) Switch to a cheaper phone plan. 2 years ago, I talked on the phone way more than I do now. My contract should be ending soon so I'm going to switch to the cheapest plan... maybe add unlimited text....

3) NOT buy coffee every day at work. Sure it's only $1.52 a day but that adds up pretty quick.

4) Pay off my car. This one's going to be hard... I will have to pay an extra $200 every month. Yikes. This goal kind of seems arbitrary. I'm sure that extra $200 a month (if I can even find an extra $200 a month) would be better spent on buying some investments or further adding to my retirement fund or something. However, I would like to buy a house in the near future so, paying off my car will make my Fico score even awesomer and not having a car payment will free up some wiggle room in my monthly budget. Any extra money like bonuses, tax refunds, etc. will go towards my car.

5) Maintain my 2008 saving goal into 2009.

6) Learn more about personal finance. It's very vauge, I know.

7) Make more money. This one, I go back and forth on. I need to make more money, there's no doubt about that, but I really love my job so... we'll see.

It's pretty realistic. I'm not setting any lofty goals like, "Only eat out once a month" or "Only buy used things".

Book Mark Clean Out!!!

Is a $10 Starbucks gift card an adequate goodbye gift for an awesome person that I've only seen/worked with a handful of time or was I too cheap? What if this person gave me three, still in their box- unopened, afi figurines? Damn, I should've gotten her a $20 gift card, shouldn't I? Damn!

Oh well, too late now I suppose... It's not like I can go back and say, "Here's another gift card!"

On to bookmark cleanout!

Benny Lava- Normally, I'm really not into watching videos on line (unless it's a music video). For instance, I've never seen Lonely Girl, Chris Crocker, or Charlie the Unicorn. This video however, oh man... I don't know what's wrong with me but I can watch it all day. I have no taste, I know.

Jamie-Lynn Spears: Stolen Breastfeeding Photo is Pornography, Says Fed- If I were breastfeeding and somone took a picture- dude, I would so pissed.

Food Makers Want to Sell You Cheap Foods for Big Profits- Condensed soups? Blech! Oh, I take that back, you can actually make some pretty good casseroles with those "cream of" soups.

More on Baking Soda in the Bathroom- Most of these, I was already familiar with. #10, however, surprised me a bit. Prevents stains after making a "deposit" eh? Um... stains? As in stains from the "deposit"? This happens...? I don't want to know.

Baconfest and Blogroll- More bacon as desserts.


How to Find and Utilize a Mentor, No Matter What You're Doing- I've always wanted a mentor. I've had former bosses that I've gone back to for feedback, help, and advice but... not really what I'd call a mentor. I guess Cheryl's the closest thing I've had to a mentor but I haven't talked to her since she tried to recruit me to Target.

10 Aggressive Tactics to Turn the Tables on Credit Card Companies- Are articles like this really neccessary? No one's forcing anyone to use a credit card. No one is to blame for consumer debt except for the consumer. If you really want to screw the credit card companies, don't charge, and if you do, pay yours off every month.


Budget Hero- This is such an AWESOME game!!! Okay, maybe a bit depressing but, still fun. It's also a good way to learn more about the pros and cons of different political issues, like universal healthcare, different taxes, troops in the Middle East, etc, and how they will effect our budget.

Circuit City is Hemorrhaging Money: How Would You Fix It?- There's a new "The City" that opened in Leesburg. It was actually pretty nice! The staff were friendly! I would gladly go their instead of Best Buy (blech!) but the only time I go to those places are to buy CDs and "The City" does not carry CDs.

Do You Keep an Achievement Book?- I know it sounds really hokey but it's actually a good idea. Cheryl recommended I keep an achievement book to make my annual self appraisal easy. That was a really good idea... but not when your new boss is Wayne. I never got my annual appraisal from him. I had to hound him for some personal feedback and even then he never wanted to talk to me about my developement. Worst. Boss. Ever. Anyhoo... I should go back to keeping an achievement book. I have my mid year appraisal on monday. If I had an achievement book, I can be all, "Well Erich, in March..."

Recycled Halloween Costume- Mr. Baby man is pretty f-ing scary.

$1.75 eBay Bid Gets Home- I've seen houses like these in older parts of NoVa. I've always wanted to buy them and remodel. Old houses are so cute!

Corn Chowder- Nordstrom used to sell these really awesome chicken and corn chowder. I'm pretty sad that they no longer sell soup. Maybe I'll try to make my own.

Berkeley Breathed Says Goodbye to Opus- NOoooooooooooo!!!

Wood is Good

Alton Brown said I need some wooden spoons and spatulas so I went and got a wooden spoon and spatula. They've changed my life. They are far superior to plastic and silicons for several reasons:

1) They don't stain. Have you ever cooked curry? Curry is some scary shit- it turns plastic spoons green... can you imagine what it's doing to your insides? Oh, but it tastes so good with rice! Wood is impervious to weird curry stains.
2) They don't melt. I can leave it in a frying pan and not worry about a toxic melt.
3) They don't conduct heat. I can leave them in a pot of sauce and when I pick them back up, it's not scorching hot.
4) They don't scratch non-stick surfaces.
5) They don't bleed out yucky plastic chemicals into my food.
6) They're non-stick. Have you tried cleaning out crusty egg residue from plastic spatulas? Not fun.
7) They're cheap and they last forever.

I had grand plans to leave them to my kids and have them passed down generation after generation... then I realized that I don't think I want kids. Oh no, who will I bequeath my wooden utensils and my cast iron skillet? Maybe my nephew...

Social Collision Silver Rude Fit Jeans

Can you believe these are men's jeans? Really, they are! Honestly, I don't know how dude's can wear they 'cause it's pretty snug in the front... not much room there.... Of course, I'm guessing most dude's don't have a butt like mine so I guess that would give them some room in the front.

I had a female customer tell me that she buys our dude's jeans 'cause they fit better and they're cheaper (by about $5-10). I decided to give it a go. I mean, all we carry are skinny jeans in manorexic hipster sizes so, why not? I like them a lot, it does fit really well.

On a side note, you know what annoys me? When retailers decide to brand their jeans by giving their fit weird names that don't tell me anything. Really? What does "rude fit" mean? Or "indie" for that matter? Or "diva fit", "flirt", "emma", "tristan", "madison" etc. Just call them what they are, "skinny, low rise", "baggy, at waist", "flared, just below waist" etc.

Love/Hate: Starbucks

I'm done with the Dulles Town Center Mall Starbucks. At this point, I'm not even expecting decent service, I just want service. THREE TIMES they have told me that they can't sell me what I want 'cause it either takes too long to make, they don't know how to make it, or they're out. Keep in mind, I'm not one of those people who order super complicated orders! All my orders are very simple. "I would like a tall hazelnut signature hot chocolate please."

Speaking of which, have you tried their signature hot chocolate? Sooooo good! I like the hazelnut one the best but the salted caramel is also very delicious.

But yes, I am done with that Starbucks, I hope they burn if hell. It's probably a good thing, that place is so filthy and gross. Considering it's a kiosk Starbucks, and everyone can see your drink station, you'd think they'd take extra care to keep it looking sanitary at least. Blech. Do they not care that there are flies all around your dirty dishes?

I love Starbucks, I really do... always have, and probably always will. When I travel, it calls to me and finding one is like finding a home away from home. Daria and I once made a pit stop to... Cincinnati (was it?) on our way to Wisconsin just to look for a Starbucks. It's a city, they must have one, right? I don't mind the prices, I think it's fair (well, competitive at least). I don't think it's douchey that they have their own words for things, like "venti" and "barista", it's just part of successful branding. I do think some of their drip tastes kind of "burnt", but just their more bolder blends.

Still, it's a love hate and I've found myself going less and less... The only time I really buy coffee is during work, and there's no way in hell I'm giving my money to that horrid kiosk. Besides, the Nordstrom folks know me by drink and they have this really hot guy working there. Oh my... that boy is so beautiful. Outside of work, if I want to hang out at a Starbucks, I have to think about who's working where. There're Starbucks that I avoid 'cause their store manager's an idiot, or their shift is gross, or most of their baristas are incompetent, or I know that they almost failed their health inspection, that they are severely understaffed and all the baristas are miserable, that their assistant's on a final written, etc.

I think I'll just start going to Caribou instead. I don't know anyone that works at Caribou.

Oh, and some Caribou Coffees have these bear ottomans that are so cute!


Daria kicked one over once, on purpose!!! I can't believe I'm friends with someone that cruel.

White Clam Sauce

I LOVE pasta! Oh my goodness, I love pasta- especially fettuccine. It's weird, bread- blech, rice- meh, pasta- YUM!!!

I usually end up with more pasta than sauce so what to do, what to do... I don't want to have to prepare another batch of sauce...

Answer: White clam sauce!


It's like the only store bought sauce that I don't feel compelled to add a whole bunch of stuff to so I can just pour some on top of left over pasta, microwave for like 2 minutes and YUM!

The Luckiest Girl

I love cheesy teen romance novels. You get all the cheese-tastic gooey love without the giggle inducing sex scenes.

Back in college, there used to be this used bookstore under the parking garage in down town Harrisonburg. Outside, they would have a box of free books that anyone could just walk by and take. Most of the books were old text books but sometimes, you could find novels. Jamie and I would sift through and pick up anything that we thought might sell on half.com. Back then, you could sell your stuff for 10 cents and make a small profit off the shipping fee. One of the book I grabbed (to sell!!! I swear!!!) was this cheesy romance novel about an FBI agent sent to England to seduce some down and about Duke who was suspected of something. I told Jamie that, if I happen to die, throw the book away before my parents came to clean out my room and retrieve my stuff. I didn't want my parents to think that I read romance novels... that would be kind of embarrassing.

Teen romance novels, however, are pretty rad... especially the really old ones written during the 40's-'70's. It's so innocent and cute! It's also interesting to see what life was like back then. For instance, in the one I just finished, The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Clearly (yes, of the Ramona fame and Henry fame), the main character has a huge fight with her mom over slickers! It took me awhile to figure out what those were. The "huge fight" involves the daughter grinding the roses (that her mom had cut from her rose garden- I guess back in the days, fresh flours were de rigueur) in the disposable! No, "I hate you! You're a bitch!"

Oh the dating customs back in those days! Getting pinned... wearing letter man jackets... going out for like three months before mustering the nerve to finally kiss... sharing a root beer float... I'm sure a lot of it is white washed. According to Susan and Gladys (who grew up during those times) there were a lot of scandalous things going on... tsk tsk tsk. Still, it's nice to read about puppy love and not, OMG!!! Does Michael expect me to "give it up" on prom night?!?!?! (yeah, I'm referencing you Princess Diaries- but don't worry, I still like you).

The next time I go thrifting, I'm definitely going to spend some time in their book sections.

Finished off With Crackle Paint...

I get free greeting cards all the time from different charities that want my money. I honestly can't remember the last time I actually had to pay for a thank you card, or a get well card, or a Christmas card.

Granted, the cards aren't something that I would normally pick, but hey, it's free. Well, most of the time it's free. If the charity has a good rating I'll donate a few bucks but, usually, the kind of charities that send out nice free things are usually the ones with the crappy ratings.

What's starting to annoy me are the charities who send out cards with pre-printed message about how the recipient will be remembered in prayers by some monks or fathers or nuns and such.


The cards arrive with a letter stating their mission statement and a plea for donation. They also come with a little form you fill out with the people you want the charity to pray for. You send both in to the charity and send the greeting/Christmas/Easter cards to your friends and family to let them know that some friars are praying that God will heal their ear cancer. I usually don't donate to religious charities 'cause they're not rated (something about not having to disclose their tax records or something) and I don't know that I agree with their cause.

What annoys me about these cards is that I can't use them. I don't feel right sending out cards that say that someone is praying for the recipient when they're not, you know? At the same time, I don't know... it just kind of feels sacrilegious to trash something with Jesus on it...

I've been ripping off the cover and saving them... For what, I'm not sure, maybe a grand Christmas craft project. Maybe I'll decide to go all Christopher Lowell and decoupage the crap out of a breakfast tray or something.

I Can Love a Gay Man

So, have you heard yet? Clay Aiken is gay.

No, really, he's gay. He came out of the closet.

Is anyone surprised? Apparently so! A response from one of the "Claymates".

"This is really shocking news as I had no idea he was gay," read a comment posted by "Sheridansq." "And now I have to deal with this. I am not sure what to say to people who know I was a fan. ... I didn't go to work today and am not answering the telephone."

Lady, lady, lady... it's not the end of the world. If you truly love someone, you love them for who they are. I mean, people are always telling me that Davey's gay. Maybe he is, maybe he's not, but you know... it doesn't matter.



Hilarious video by the way, the song is from some broadway show.

I would totally love Davey regardless of his orientation. Our marriage can be an open one- I'm progressive, I'm okay with that. We can go shopping at MAC together, our love will be built on a glittery foundation of smudge pots and limited edition palettes.

What I'm not okay with, however, is the possibility that Davey might be a Nazi lover.


OMG! Davey's wearing the Nazi SS-Totenkopf emblem! Made famous after Walmart put it on a t-shirt and started selling it in stores. I couldn't believe my eyes! I'm sure he didn't know, or maybe it's suppose to be ironic. Oh Davey, why? Why?! Nazis were so not cool with homosexuals.

Not that you're gay or anything... I mean, obviously you're not:


But it's cool if you are, I'll still go into work the next day.

CA Trip Pt. 3

Sunday! The last day!

We started the morning off with some classes. It's kind of like high school where you pick your classes and they do their best to accommodate but sometimes, you end up getting classes that you didn't really want. As hokey as the classes can get at times, they're pretty helpful. Like last year, one of my classes was on goal setting.

Now, I (used to) HATE goal setting, I always thought the whole concept was kind of stupid, lame, and well, stupid. I think the real reason I hated goal setting was because, if you set a goal, you kind of have to meet it or you're a failure. You can't fail if you never try, you know? After taking the class (which was more of an inspirational speech) I kind of changed my tune. I'm still not big on goal setting but I know how to set real goals and effective goals and I see the point now.

This year, the most interesting class I took was Music 101. I learned about the genesis of lot of genres and sub genres, as well as learning about some new bands that I've never heard of before.

After the class everyone skips dinner in preparation of the Award Ceremony. No one really cares about the awards, every one's just kind of psyched about getting all costumed out and, of course, the big surprise concert at the end!

This year's theme was "Musician of the Future" and our district decided that, in the future, everyone will be zombies.

I didn't want to put fake blood on my hair so I used red clip on streaks. A small part of me loves those fake clip on hair now but I think I would feel too lame wearing them outside of a costume.

A random chest wound.

Do zombies suture? This pic was taken after the party so the little staple bits started to slip off. I found a package of iron on studs in the craft section of Walmart and used eyelash glue to attach them.

My homage to A Clock Work Orange.

I had originally bought these for a Lenore costume but never wore them 'cause I couldn't find the right dress. I decided that my hair was too pretty for a zombie so I worked in a lot of shaving cream (I didn't have anything else) into my hair and go a nice piecey, chunky, look.

Every other scars and wounds came off in the shower except for this. No joke, FIVE days, that's how long it took for it to completely come off.

This is the complete look.

So far, all the pics were taken after the party, this is what it looked like fresh. Note the bleeding gums and, you can't see it but, I had bleeding cuticles as well.

Best part: All this was achieved with a palette of red lipsticks from Sephora (an old one I've had forever), a tube of red lip gloss from Target (already owned), black eye liner (already owned), black eye shadow (already owned), and nude lipstick (already owned). Oh, and fake eye lashes- I had to go buy those. It didn't cost me anything (other than the price of the fake eye ashes and the studs) and it came off without any problem (except for the claw marks on the shoulder!).

I got so many compliments from strangers that night, it was pretty awesome considering I was a zombie noob.

I saw some really clever costumes that night but a vast majority of people dressed up as Amy Whinehouse and coked out/drunk/pregnant Britney Spears/Ashlee Simpson/Hanna Montana. I don't know what it is... last year, when the theme was Musical Hero, it was the also an Amy Whinehouse convention.

OH! The surprise concert! It was Marilyn Manson. Kind of lame.

Yeah, I got pretty close to the stage (3rd person from the stage) but after like the second song, I got out and decided to give a true fan a chance to be close. I guess it's pretty cool we got MM, and a lot of people were about to piss themselves from excitement but... I don't know, I'm not really a fan.

He kept the show really tame (by his standards) so I can't even really say that I saw Manson live. He's kind of like Gwar, the lewdness is part of the whole live experience, you know?

As soon as Manson was done, I went back to my room, cleaned up, and was going to go to sleep but Kim (my room mate) came in and wanted to know if I wanted to go to the bar downstairs for some midnight snack. I had a lot of fun talking to Kim while chowing down an awesome big plate of bacon cheese fries.

Book Mark Clean Out!!!

I cleared out some space on my bookshelf and now I have an itchin' to go to a bookstore and buy a whole bunch. Must... resist!!! So.... hard!!! I'm only working a half day on Wed- I think it's due time I bring back the Wed. Thrift-a-thon!

Speaking of books...

Bookmark clean out!

How to Make Your Own Canned Salsa- I love salsa but I don't know about canning- can't you get botulism or something from improperly canned stuff?

Autistic Women: A Life More Ordinary- Sometimes, I get female customers that makes me wonder, "Oh good golly... how do these women run a family?!" This answers a lot. I'm not being sarcastic... this really might be the reason that some women just seem... a bit out there.

Cleaning is Not a Substitute for Sex- Well, now that you mention it...

6 Brainwashing Techniques They're Using on You Right Now- The big boobed girl has rabbit teeth.



World's Most Disgusting Apartment is in Houston- Makes me look Martha Stewart clean! It reminds me of this blog post... wait, I'm not going to link it yet. I want to make sure you understand that what you are about to see might make you dry heave- I'm not even being sarcastic. Okay... ready? Enter at your own risk! I remember when I first came across it, I read a few more of his posts and found that this Shay chick died, I think she managed to kill herself.


http://view.break.com/575834 - Watch more free videos

Four New Penny Designs Unveiled- I admit I was pretty stoked when the whole quarter thing started. I lost interest after like the 6th design.

How to Dress for Success and Still Spend Less- I fear that, sometime soon, I will have to work at a place that requires me to "dress up". By the way, I don't really recommend any of the tips unless you're trying to look like Pam from The Office. Nothing against Pam from The Office but... does anyone really need a tutorial on how to look bland? Besides, she never once mentions cardigans!

Miley Displaying Diva 'Tude- I don't really care about her " 'tude". I am, however, curious as to when flashing the England's version of the middle finger became like the go to gesture for teen's when getting their pics taken. I see a lot of kids in my store, and, when they're all freaking out about shutter shades and trying to take their myspace pic du jour, they all flash the palms in V sign. I wonder if the Brits find our teens to be very vulgar. Maybe it's no longer a big deal there. On a side note, I find it a bit surprising that Winston Churchill took advice from Aleister Crowley.

PETA Urges Ben & Jerry to Use Human Milk- They're getting to be about as annoying as those truth people.

Man Sues Doctors After Penis Amputated- Um... what?!

Find Class Action Settlements at Topclassactions.com- Yes. Yes, I am a hypocrite. I will whine and complain about people's sense of entitlement and how everyone feels they're a victim but I will turn right around and file a claim for some free makeup.

The Apple Dumpling Gang- It just so happens that I have a crap load of apples right now. Oh good golly, anything with baked apple is just divine and this looks so ridiculously easy... and I already have everything I need!

Shipping Containers Could be "Dream" Homes for Thousands- It kind of reminds me of the trailer that we camped in one summer. I actually wouldn't mind living in a trailer except for the negative stereotype.

CA Trip Pt. 2

Saturday morning we woke up early, got into a bus, and headed towards HQ.

California roads are filthy! I guess littering's no big deal over there 'cause man... trash everywhere. We did drive by Compton so I guess it's not the toniest area but still...

Oh, that's where we should've gone Friday night, a little night time haunt in Compton- what could be better, right?

Straight outta Compton, a crazy motherf-er named Ice Cube,
from a gang called N-ers with Attitudes.
When I'm called off, I got a sawed off,
squeeze a trigger, and bodies are hauled off.
You too boy, if you f- with me.
The police are gonna have to come and get me
off yo' ass, that's how I'm going out,
for the punk motherf-ers that's showing out.

Seriously, I know all the words to several NWA songs, I would totally fit in, right? Right?

HQ's pretty rad. really, truly, it is. I don't know why we don't submit pics to one of those "Coolest Offices in the US" contests... much better than Digg, Yahoo, or those other tech firms that always ends up winning.


The rows of windows in the back looks into the "family room" where, bands just stop by and play free shows. Well, I'm sure they don't just swing by... probably come in to pimp their albums, get a whole bunch of free stuff, pose for store signings- and play free gigs.


These are 2 of the 5 themed meeting rooms.

We had several presentations on what to expect for the Holidays, music, merch, clothes, and marketing wise. During lunch, Escape the Fate put on a show for us. It was raining outside so I didn't stick around.

We also had Sothis play a few songs during the meeting. I don't like death metal but it was actually palatable. If I liked death metal, I would think they were awesome. Of course, they were playing back to back with Millionairs and anyone playing right after them would seem awesome by comparison. No joke, the refrain to one of their song was, "Let's get fucked up! You can buy me some alcohol! Let's get fucked up! A-L-C-O-H-O-L!" If I had a kid, I would much rather they listen to death metal songs about... well, death I guess, than some 14 year old looking girls jumping around and singing, "You'll buy me drinks but you won't touch my tits! You're going to pay but you won't get laid!" or something to that effect.

Back at the hotel, we had our regional dinner. This year, our Regional Manager decided to theme it red carpet so I wore my black velvet dress and the following:


I'm not going to lie, it was pretty beast to finally have a chance to wear elbow length satin gloves.

Blood Gets EVERYWHERE!

Cleaning up after a brutal slaughtering is kind of hard.



Augh, it never fails, when ever I wear white, I end up getting something on me.

So this was my DIY zombie shirt. It turned out pretty well but, as you can see, I made quite the mess. It got on the grout and so, in parts of my shower stall, it looks like I haven't cleaned my bathroom in like years.

I just took an old wife beater, a bottle of $1.66 red paint from Walmart, and a squeeze bottle. I mixed the paint with some water, added a bit of black (to give it that dried blood look), and went to town on that poor wife beater.

If I can find a cheap prom dress, I might use the same technique to go all Carry for Halloween... or not... clean up was so very not fun.

Pornographic Work Environment

So yesterday, this stereotypical NoVa mom comes into my store, walks up to me, and tells me, with relief, "You're the first normal person I've seen here!"

Sigh... she's one of those...
I smiled politely and said, "Oh, we're all normal here."

Her: "Oh, but, everyone else looks so... different!"

Granted, a lot of people who work for our company looks very punk, goth, emo, metal, whatever- tattooed out, big honkin' gauges, crazy hair, etc. My store, however... With the exception of Josh, who has long flowy hair- we're a boring boring bunch (in terms of dress). Always have been... since I've been there... for the past 2 and a half years... (eeps, has it really been that long?!).

I should've just let it drop but ignorant comments piss me off so I said, "Oh, we all dress pretty normal."

She gave me exaggerated incredulous look and said, "Oh, I've been here before... "

Me: "Really... and what were we wearing?" And then comes my favorite part, the one where she's thinking and thinking and thinking and realizing that she's wrong.... I mean, what's she going to say, that we were wearing t-shirt and jeans?

So then she changes subject...

Oh man.

Before I go on, take a look at this:
This is Metallica's new album- it's what the album cover looks like. We have a big poster of it on the door, announcing that it's on sale. Okay, got it?

So then she tells me that her 12 year old daughter loves this store but she's afraid to bring her in here due to all the obscene imagery in the store. I think she's over reacting, but we do have some stuff that could be considered "obscene" so whatever. She says, "For example, that Metallica poster you have up... the one with all the iron shavings... That's just pornographic!!!"

Wait, what? What? Huh?

I guess I looked very confused 'cause she continued to elaborate- "You know, iron shavings? The kind you move with a magnet... like in those childhood games where you make a mustache?"

Right right right... still not getting it...

"Well, that' poster! It's so pornographic! I mean, really!"

What?!?!?!? I still wasn't getting it but I figured it'd be a bad idea to ask her to elaborate so I was just going to try to figure it out on my own after she left but no, she decided to elaborate without me asking her to...

"Well, you know what that's a picture of, right? It's a picture of... you know... you know..."

Uh...?

"It's a picture of... you know..." and she starts to subtly point between her legs...

OH!!! Lady!!! That's just... oh... man! NO!!!! No, no no no no!

I tried explaining to her, NO! The album is called Death Magnetic! You know, death- coffin, magnetic- iron shavings...

She just gave me this look like I"m so naive, "That's what they want you to think... But I know... You know, it's so hard to raise a child with pornography and obscene imagery everywhere!" Maybe she sees pornography everywhere 'cause she's a dirty minded kook!

Thanks a lot filthy minded lady- Now every time I go into work I'm going to see... wait, what did Sookie call it...? Hoochie! Yes, that's it.

CA Trip Pt. 1

Every time I get on a plane, I think, hey this isn't bad! I should fly more often! After about the first hour, I'm reminded why I don't...

Reasons I Hate Flying:
1) The recirculated air... ewe.
2) The disturbing thought of who sat in that seat before me... is the plan properly disinfected?... did I mention the recirculated air?
3) The stranger sitting thisclose next me making funny noises/emitting bad smells/drooling while sleeping, etc.
4) How it's impossible to find a comfortable position to sit in for a long time and or sleep.

Does anyone get on an airplane bright eyed and bushy tailed, relaxed and excited? I think everyone's anxious and or dead tired.


After we landed, we caught the shuttle to our hotel. We ate, unpacked, and joined everyone for the general session.

I really wish I had taken pics of "us", that is, the throng of other managers. I mean, I dress pretty "normal" but I'm a rarity. Other store managers are a lot more expressive with their styles, that's very awesome and jaw dropping. They really use this trip as an opportunity to peacock so you see a lot of exaggerated styles.

Oh and the ENERGY!!! WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! What? That's lame! WHOOOOO!!!! Not good enough! WHOOOO!!!!!!

So the general session was pretty cool. The Q&A session was annoying, as always, but I think they did a good job of cutting it off kind of short. Black Tide performed a few songs for us, which was nice but I'm not really a fan so I found it to be a bit meh.

After the general session we had dinner and decided to just stay in and not trek out to the heart of LA. Some of us hung out at the bar but, after about half an hour, I decided to go back to my room. Jet lagged and tired, this was the best site ever:

OMG, the BED! This hotel has the most comfortable bed ever! Very comfortable mattress, super soft cotton sheets, poofy-comfy down comforters, down pillows... Amazing. So fantastic. Granted, everytime I've gotten into said bed, I was dead tired so I'm sure a hay mattress would seem like sleeping on clouds but... When I start to have anxiety over going to the Manager's Meeting, I think of the beds and it calms me.