Dead and Gone Like Me

Actually this title comes from a t.v. show I just discovered via Sci-Fi, which I now want to go out and rent the entire first season to watch. It's totally the type of shows (movies) I like. Dark Comedies are the defence mechanisms of the mundane daily existence for the rest of us I guess. Dead Like Me is an interesting premise with a well written script and it is also well acted. I caught this last night while my father and I watched t.v. and mom and I played Scrabble ( i beat her 219 to 216. yes, that's right TOm, I BEAT someone at Scrabble, imagine after all these years playing with you online, I simply needed the board in front of me to win, though I don't count a 3 point differential "kicking ass" or anything.)
In other news the "gone" part. I will be gone to Okoboji Iowa this weekend, through Tuesday for my family reunion. Much rejoicing and such will occur (or so I hope) though this gal has to apparently stay out of the sun! WHAT!?!?! stay out of the sun on a LAKE? are you kidding me? Doctors are on crack btw. Or at least those I apparently wind up seeing. I've been on an antibiotic (which I'm posed to be on for the whole month which says on the bottle "avoid prolonged exposure to the sun) okay, well, fine, I heed bottle warnings. I was out for all of an hour on Monday, wearing a new bikini (which makes me self-conscious enough anyways right?) and low and behold about half an hour later, I start to itch on my stomach...well surprise....rash city! lovely right? so I'm thinking, okay, go see the doc. Tuesday morning, i see the doctor, and he's like, stop taking that antibiotic, this is a photo-sensitivity rash, and you can develop allergic reactions to drugs even after taking them for a week and a half. so, tah-dah, I stop taking it call the doc that prescribed it, and she says, "NO, keep taking it, it doesn't cause photo-sensitivity." - Except that it has to, b.c otherwise they wouldn't put a label on the bottle warning about it right? and besides the other doctor that saw me actually saw the rash and diagnosed it...so I go with his answer.
I seem to have rotten luck with health these days :( blah. otherwise everything else is going well...still looking for that full time job, so I can move out of the basement, and the ability to pay rent somewhere else (perhaps moving in w. laura or pete or cassi? who knows!)
anyways, the "gone" part also means I'll be in Naperville next weekend - going to see the King Tut exhibit with Erik and his folks...hooray. I am looking forward to that. and I promise I won't collapse in the museum ---been there and done that already.
Hope all is well with the rest of you out there.

What do I do with free time??

Greetings faithful viewers, readers, gawkers, movers and shakers. I am now back in IC, for a few days, until flying to San Fran for a few more days...then back here.

So, I've got some free time on my hands, while I search for a job (primary goal now that XML is finished.) So, much to your liking..a blog post counts as a use of free time.

I've watched alot of Wildfire. It's addictive, it's about racehorses, and it's fun to pick out what they mess up about horseracing (after all it IS a t.v. show)

I also got to visit Hilary in Waconda, IL and see the Lake County Discovery Museum (heh, kinda fun, though my health does seem to want to really co-operate these days)
did anyone else catch word that this is the highest pollen count season on record so far, in both Iowa and Indiana? (perhaps Illinois as well?) and moving from state to state hasn't helped my allergies settle down at all. Regardless, I've had a good few days visiting folks, and culturing myself up a little.

Now for the rest of my relaxation I will read some books --surprise --and download some classics on to the ipod from a casting site, to listen to on the plane.

I promised someone that I would actually try to do Alcatraz this time, so that's on the list, along with visiting the asian art museum, napa valley wine tour by train (with the rents) and hopefully enjoying a few days in California sun (do they have pollen there also??? I hope not)

Official graduation celebration starts tomorrow night - so feel free to send your congrats and such my way ---change from the sofa does count in my eyes also :)

in a related note --if anyone realizes they need to simplifiy their life of material possessions, even with sentimental value (and we know who we are) I think I shall write a book someday entitled "why don't you want to part with that croucheted blanket with the hideous orange and lime green flowers?" (the back cover of the book will then host the reply of "my grandmother made it!!") --it will be a self-help book about coming to terms with realizing that one person just cannot possibly hold on to every sentimental object/article of clothing given to them over the years --especially those of us in our mid-twenties moving around alot.
(*note to self: you probably have already defeated the purpose of your future book by continuing to possess scrapbooks full of birthday cards from ten years ago...*)

In a not so great coincidence, holding on to PHOTOGRAPHS should be paramount in all one's endeavors...especially when your laptop gets sent to the best buy service warehouse WITHOUT them backing up your files like you told them to...so those of you with CDS of images that i've made (over the last year..i.e. new years eve, misa/casey's visit...halloween, etc) might be kind enough to send me copies of those copies??/ that would be fab....because images on the computer - and slim-cased cds full of digital images take up very little space in homes of 20 somethings...:)

that is all for now...

Because Storyhill played in CR this past Spring, to my surprise and enjoyment, I was at B & N in CR to find some cd's...because the IC store doesn't, and I get my employee discount on cd's at B & N, I discovered the "regional artists" section, and peppermint records has a few artists getting some local promotion. So hooray for that, I got Dovetail for cheap :)
Saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Sunday night with Adam and Cassi (after watching the new episode of Family Guy AND pimp my ride) - we've decided that Pimp My Ride should totally do an episode where they pimp a cambus....all of you IC ppl that read this - or U of I students should start a write in campaign for this...
To my dismay, while the movie was really great, and very much the Tim Burton style I've come to expect, and love, and a great performance by Johnny Dep, and not so frightening Umpa Lumpas, my co-worker still kept calling the movie "Willy Wonka's House of Chocolate"
I went and found the orig. book on the shelves that very evening, and produced it, for him to notice, and yet, still, I was unsuccessful in my attempt to make the point. The movie, while very different from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (ala Gene Wilder - also a great film) was still very enjoyable. ;) so it gets a thumb's up.
The Changing Book conference was this weekend, also was fun, though somewhat disorganized as far as my volunteer position was concerned. Suburban driving anyone? I can totally tell I will not fit the soccer mom role any time soon....quite scary that I can drive that big ass attempt at a school bus in training.
okay, that's the update.
peace.