Monday, August 29, 2005

Ovaries for Sale!

Seriously.

I HATE PMS. I'm tired, bloated, craving all kinds of food and my boobs hurt.

*places lock on refrigerator and puts on her sweatpants*

I Love E-Bay

Thanks to PCJM's blog entry about childhook lunchboxes on e-Bay, I managed to find mine. At least, I'm pretty sure this is the one I had. (Hey, I was five and it was 23 years ago. Gimme a break.

If MomTook had the link to this blog she could either confirm or correct me. Because woman? Has a memory like an elephant.

And hey - this was decades before Jessica Simpson tainted this fine show, so don't judge.

(Edited to correct the link. Thanks, Dr. House.)

Friday, August 19, 2005

My Life Rocks Sometimes

Once in a very great while, something totally cool happens.

I had just finished a rather poor round of Ultimate Fighting with KoreanSweetie (who always kicks my ass) at Tae Kwon Do and was watching the guys spar when the Stones started practicing in Fenway Park for their Sunday concert. There is NOTHING like watching some fighting while Mick and the guys sing "Start Me Up" live.

This was followed by actually catching the Braintree train just as it arrived. (As opposed to the twenty minutes I usually end up waiting.)

For one brief hour, my life rocked.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

My Hard Work Has Paid Off...

As you know, I've been working my ass off and going crazy because I was told a couple months ago that I was a "maybe" for testing in September. (As opposed to waiting for the next test, which wouldn't be until December.)

After three hours of Tae Kwon Do last night, UsedCarSalesman pulled me aside and asked, "Has anyone spoken to you about the Black Belt Test?" I took a deep breath and said, "About whether I'm testing or not? No."

He then proceeds to kill me by saying, "Actually, let me double-check" and conferring with Grasshopper, Grandmaster's right-hand man. It was probably only twenty seconds, if that, while they conferred, but it felt like an ETERNITY.

Finally UsedCarSalesman turns back to me and says, "You must have been doing something right, because you're testing in September." I wanted to retort, "It's called killing myself busting my ass in here every damn night" but wisely restrained myself.

I told KoreanSweetie and PerfectJumper after I found out. Unfortunately TeenageAdult was right behind me when I told PerfectJumper (which I didn't realize). I felt really bad because she's also been working towards testing in September but hasn't heard anything.

So it looks like I'll be spending more time in the dojang than ever.

Monday, August 08, 2005

Weekend Update

Boy did the weekend fly by. I usually have absolutely nothing to do during the weekends. (I know...a hot chick like me home on a Saturday night...amazing!) This weekend, however, was relatively busy for me.

Friday night was spent at TKD, as usual. I was there until I was kicked out at closing. Forms went well - my fellow red belts said that my Choo Mu and Hwa Rang forms had really improved from last week. Full-Range Sparring was okay. I really have to learn how to get in close enough to taller opponents so I can wreak havoc.

Saturday I went to the pharmacy, then got a call from StarWarsGeek confirming that he was coming over to check out the new digs after I got back from TKD. I started frantically picking up and went to TKD for a vast majority of the afternoon. It was a Black Belt Test Review, where I was once again reprimanded about my lack of power. We were also told to talk to UsedCarSalesman at the front desk, who would either recommend us for testing in September or not. The Grandmaster would then review the list of recommendations and then decide who would test. (This is for those of us who are "maybes," not definite "yeses" like PerfectJumper.)

When I got home, I finished cleaning up the apartment and finally hung my framed "Starry Night" print in the dining area, where it looks Most Fantastic. I met StarWarsGeek at the T stop and we walked over to AppleBee's for dinner. I then showed him my new apartment, which he was impressed with. We hung out until about eleven, when he had to leave to catch the bus.

Sunday I met up with my old college roommates Caitism and SalemGirl. We had lunch in Fanueil Hall, braving the tourists. After that, we headed to Chinatown for the Chinatown Street Festival, which was pretty cool. Caitism commented that it looked like every Asian in Boston had come. (For reference, Caitism is Chinese.) We then did some bargain shopping in Macy's and Filenes, where I got a gorgeous shirt for $8.50.

I finally got home around 6:30, and before I knew it, it was Monday again.

On a final note, rest in peace, Peter Jennings. You will be missed.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Post to Laura

All right, Dugan. You say, and I quote, "The Yankees are way better than the Sox."

For the Jury:

Exhibit One:

Red Sox: 62-45
Yankees: 57-49

Exhibit Two (For the shallow crowd):

Red Sox:




Yankees:


I believe I have made my case.

Misc Friday Crap

1.) It is HOT outside. Not "average temperature but 145% humidity" hot like it was before, but a dry, "Well, now I've been self-cleaned" heat. I'm very happy it's going to be 70's and dry tomorrow.

2.) The nosering situation has been fixed. I went back to my regular piercer, confessed infidelity and he put in a ring. Much more noticable, but much better for healing. I also talked to the tattoo artist there about me Dali shoulder tat. I'll bring the book with the picture so he can draw it up when I go to buy a new stud in a month or so. It's funny - I originally thought that no one cared that I had the nose piercing. Now I'm finding out they just didn't notice the little stud.

3.) I am SORE, y'all. Aside from the usual TKD training, I started weightlifting again to build up my power. I used to bench 70 pounds but now am using little 15 pound dumbells. It's amazing how quickly you lose muscle strength. No wonder I haven't had any power in my techniques!

Well, have a good weekend everyone!

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

The Worst Day of My Life

Well, the only good thing I can say about yesterday is that it's over.

1.) I had an early meeting with my boss, where she reviewed everything I needed to work on to get a good review. It was basically "Everything Pip sucks at" time. In and of itself not great, but not too big a deal until...

2.) I get to Tae Kwon Do and suck during the first class. The Grandmaster scrutinizing me doesn't help. Second class, forms, there are only four of us, so the Grandmaster can really pay attention to everyone. After PerfectJumper, a fellow red belt, critisizes my jumping sidekick, the Grandmaster then critisizes my stances. At the end Perfect Jumper then criticizes another technique. I leave almost in tears feeling like I'm never going to be a black belt. Definite different feeling than I was getting from everyone the past couple weeks. I've been killing myself to get ready for the September test and I don't think I could do it for another three months.

3.) It's bedtime. After the Parade of Things Pip Is Doing Wrong, I'm cleaning my new nose piercing with Bactine, the last thing I do before going to bed, and thinking, "Thank god the day is over. Now nothing else can go..." and boom. The Q-tip gets caught and my stud comes out. I try to get it back in to no avail. Luckily I can get a regular (and completely straight instead of bent) ear stud in, but now have to go back to the piecer because a straight stud will come right out.

At least today is decent, thank God. And since today's my last day in the office I can just put a ring in the nose until it's healed. Not as dainty a look, but much easier to clean and no risk of falling out.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Badda BIG BOOOM!

(Points to anyone who gets that reference)

I was woken up a bit past midnight by the most intense thunderstorm I've ever experienced. This includes the ones I saw out in Tornado Alley when I lived in the midwest for a summer. The sky literally stayed lit up by constant lightening for almost an hour. Some of the strikes were VERY close by the sound of it. Amazingly, I did not lose power at all.