J and M are originally from southern California. J has lived here in WV (for college) for 4 years, and he is moving back next month, after the honeymoon. He's also the singer in Phil's band. M met him in Cali and followed him out here; she's been here for a little over a year. We've all been great friends for quite some time. They are awesome and funny and completely different from most people around here. We will miss them a lot when they're gone.
At first, we didn't think we could go to the wedding anyway because we didn't receive an invitation until the end of September, and J and M can be... flaky. Flight prices have stayed down though, so we thought maybe we could go after all. So we looked at it harder when we actually got the invitation. But then we figured the airfare plus cab (or rental car) plus the hotel plus food and expenses, blah blah? No can do.
But when we told M, she said that if we could swing the airfare, we could stay with them at the beach house for free. We got it all figured out: cab rides, coordinating departing flights from Cali to Pittsburgh, etc. I was a little excited again. A wedding! In Laguna Beach!! Directly ON the Pacific Ocean!!!
I sat down to buy the tickets yesterday afternoon and was at the "seat selection" phase when Phil suggested that we swing up to Oregon as part of the trip, to visit his sister. We left a message with her (his sis) and I got into the shower without buying the tickets.
I'm SO glad that I didn't buy the tickets right then, because... while I was in the shower, M sent a text telling us not to buy the tickets because it turns out that J's snobby (wealthy) mother won't let us stay at the beach house. Meg feels bad, but I've been in similar situations before: I've promised friends something seemingly innocent, but my mom ended up veto'ing it for no good reason -- just because she could. This situation smells exactly the same.
M had also extended the same invitation to her other really good friend and her friend's boyfriend (both are also friends with J and M), but they couldn't swing the airfare. Not that it would matter if they could. Because J's mom feels like being a bitch. I realize it's her house and she is allowed to dictate who can and cannot stay there, but man this is a big bummer.
So M won't have two of her best girl friends at her wedding because we can't afford to go, and because J's mom is a big meanie-head.
I wanted to see the Pacific. Phil hasn't seen it either, and neither have the other two people who also can't go. Boo. :(
The upside: if we go to Oregon anyway, we'll have more time to hang out and explore the place. There's still the potential of us moving out there. Who knows?
ETA: Meme from
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blotWhere is your significant other? @ home
Your hair? curly
Your mother? one: ultra-religious, other: drunk
Your father? one: dead, other: anonymous
Your favorite snack? cookies
Your dream last night? can't remember
Your dream/goal? inner peace
The room you're in? quiet & warm
Your hobby? currently lost, being found
Your fear? the future
Where do you want to be in 6 years? more comfortable with myself
Where were you last night? in the studio!
What you're not? confident
One of your wish list items? debt-free
Where you grew up? one-stoplight country town
The last thing you did? work
What are you wearing? clothes (sneakers, jeans, embroidered tie-dyed shirt)
Your pet? which one?
Your mood? bummed out
Something you're not wearing? a tuxedo
Favorite store? Cool Ridge?
Your summer? reaching, stretching, trying, no progress
Who will answer this? anyone who feels like it
- Mood:
bummed - Music:The Police - Miss Gradenko
- 02:43 Just got back from studio, Phil's band's last recording session. Late night/early morning but SO worth it. Fed cats, going to bed. #
- 12:30 I swear these tech guys eat more pizza than anyone I've ever known, and I always have to smell it, lol... EVIL! #
- 13:33 Gmail's new math problem thing would ensure that I never send any e-mail, ever. Not sure if that's good or bad. tinyurl.com/4vf5ek #
- 14:47 @Zeute Some of my best e-mails have been drunken ones! ;D #
keori and river_cadence are awesome and they posted this video in their LJ, so I'm doing the same. Will you?
"Rampant like herpes ... but for positive." LOL. Who is that lady?
- Mood:
nervous
- 15:34 Retweet @chrisbrogan & @NextInstinct: plz chk out this story & digg, retweet: US Military may kill soldier's dog tinyurl.com/48v9mf #
- 10:05 Dear Vista: if you keep losing my desktop and everything on it, I will reformat and replace you with XP. It's not funny. Stop it. No luv #
- 15:45 Maybe a silver lining on bailout: it includes a provision which requires health insurance co.s to cover mental illness: tr.im/704 #
- 10:23 Another WVU football game, another $55 for our parking spots... adventures in front-porch marketing! #
- 10:28 The pawpaw fruit on my desk smells great. Gonna tear into it in a minute. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawpaw #
- 11:59 @wildcelticrose Hah, glad to help, sorry about the earworm. :D Pawpaws are weird but awesome. #
- 14:48 Some days I cross the crosswalks without looking, hoping someone hits me and I survive w/no disability & live off the insurance money. #
- 18:50 Any biz people out there recommend a good telephone answering service? #
My ideal world
doesn't exist:
a collective (un)consciousness
asleep alone in the dunes,
dreaming of waves
washing in
and out
forever.
* * *
One cool thing: last Wednesday I made myself go to a poetry thing at a local cafe where I'd never been before. It was the group's first meeting in years, so only 4 of us showed up and it turned into a "member acquisition strategies" brainstorming session. I liked it anyway. 2 of the people read some of their stuff and it was awesome. And I had a homemade mug of homemade chai tea. Full out hand-crafted: cooked for 4 hours, left alone for 24 hours, and the lady won't give the recipe to anyone.
( As you can see, it rocks really hard. )
Man I'm fat. Working on that. Trying not to hate self. Why is it so hard? It feels like I fight any self-expression like it's a disease: the moment it pops up, I automatically (unwittingly?) send a whole army of anti-expression... cells? Thoughts? Vibrations? ...whatever... to squash it ASAP. I don't understand this. Perhaps it's important to acknowledge it, anyhow.
Gonna hit the "Post entry" button even though I don't want to. This is an exercise. Stretch.
- Mood: restless
- Music:Jeff Buckley - Dream Brother
- 15:12 Feels weird that nobody's tweeting about the economy. Ignorance is bliss, perhaps... #
* * *
With all the turmoil in the market today and the collapse of Lehman Bros. and Acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, this might be some good advice. For all of you with any money left, be aware of the next expected mergers so that you can get in on the ground floor and make some BIG bucks.
Watch for these consolidations in later this year:
1. Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W R. Grace Co. Will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
2. Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
3. 3M will merge with Goodyear and become: MMMGood.
4. Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and become: ZipAudiDoDa.
5. FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become: FedUP.
6. Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become: Fairwell Honeychild.
7. Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become: PouponPants.
8. Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become: Knott NOW!
And finally...
9. Victoria's Secret and Smith & Wesson will merge under the new name: TittyTittyBangBang.
- Mood:
amused
I read this in an e-mail this morning. I think it's an interesting idea. What do you think:
What Congress is being stampeded into doing, again, is EXACTLY
backwards. Would you buy a "hen protection plan" from one of the
foxes? There is a real simple solution to this whole mess. These
institutions are in trouble mostly because they were looted by their
own corporate executives. We march an army of forensic accountants in
there, and tell those Wall Street pigs that if they don't find the
money fast they are all going to jail.
And then we file negligence lawsuits against them all, to recoup
every dime that disappeared. Our dear Secretary of the Treasury
Paulson pulled down hundreds of millions all by himself. And now he
wants the American people to make up the difference out of OUR
pockets? He can practically finance the bailout PERSONALLY. And if
there were any justice in the world he would.
- 14:01 Watching Mountaineer fans walk by the house. 2 parking spots: made $50! #
It's 76 F outside (24.4 C) and mostly cloudy. 59% humidity. Trees juuuust starting to think about turning colors. Fall is upon us!
Across the street, WVU is playing Marshall, who(m?) we hate almost as much as we hate Pitt. We're winning. Tens of thousands of fans are enjoying halftime, the radio sports announcers recapping the first half. I can clearly hear the sound system from here. We made $50 from selling our two parking spaces.
Phil's downstairs working on his bike. He'll probably ride 100 miles tomorrow. (For fun. I think he's crazy, but I know that it's because he loves cycling, and that rocks.)
The kitties are sprawled in various locations throughout the house, snoozing happily, trilling at me if I go by.
I've got a beautiful pot roast on the stove, seared and simmering in red wine and Guinness, plus bay leaves and garlic and stuff. I'll add carrots, potatoes and celery pretty soon. And right now, I'm drinking the other half of the Guinness.
Weekends like this: the reason I keep going.
- Mood:
content - Music:Mountaineer Field in action
- 14:53 Website content transfer... so... boring... brain... melting... need... Friday... #
- 15:31 @barefoot_exec nope, but I have dayjob-flict, which also sucks. #
- 17:33 @NextInstinct ...huh? #
- 17:52 @NextInstinct that bit about the inanity consuming the far left. :D #
- 18:26 @NextInstinct "We" the people disagree so profoundly, it's hard to find common ground. Lefties can feel powerless nxt to hordes of fundies. #
- 12:30 "Be patient with yourself as you explore and unfold the unique giftings that you alone possess, (cont'd) #
- 12:31 and 2 wrap those gifts and talents into yer products, the services u offer, and your marketing, so that NO ONE can knock you off." PMarshall #
- 16:56 @Zeute Hiiiiiiii! I didn't know you're on Twitter! w00t! #
- 16:59 And also Hiiiii to @carlskipper :D #
- 15:26 1.3% CTR on my #30dc blog's product since Sept. 15. Decent, but this thing just ain't *converting.* #
- 17:54 Oh. Well. Lookit that, isn't that special. I hereby officially give up on fully trusting anyone I can't physically reach out and smack. ☠ #
- 18:43 Way upset. Working off negative energy: did TT beginner bodyweight workout B, off to gym 4 20min cardio. @craigballantyne #
- 20:03 Back from gym; 20 interval mins = enough to tire me out physically, but I'm still rather agitated. Proud to get workout in, though. #
- 21:12 Retweeting @Pittsburgh_Pens: 10 Pens Games Already Sold Out!! 500 tisx avail for other 30 games. Holy crap!! ☻ tinyurl.com/4wf8g6 #
