December 29

What a weird dream, I dreamed I was going to the Moon, not on a space shuttle but as a tourist, because there were people up there that lived like we do. There were these turnstiles (sp) like at the MARTA Station you had to go thru, security wasn't that tight. Then we're strapped in a subway with these rollercoaster harnesses for the trip, probably because we flew upside down, then the anti-gravity kicked in and we're floating. I met this guy who offered me some rubber solution for my feet that would make me jump 10 feet in the air like the coyote or something. There were these crazy little suburbs, which I wish I could remember more about, and I had a nice little space age apartment. It's been a while since I had a dream like that.

Christmas was great this year, we all got together, and everyone liked what I got them, I got a cool digital camera and over $180 in cash, which I put in my savings account. I also got a couple of books and some nice hair care products. Everyone in the family seemed to have a good time and I saw my little cousin Thomas for the first time in over 2 years. I'll have to post some of the pics I took with my sweet new camera.

December 22

I have finished wrapping my presents and I am now looking forward to the 7.5 hour drive home to Northern Kentucky. No, not really, but I am looking forward to going home for Christmas. My Grandparents are doing well, and I think they'll like what I got them. I certainly didn't spend much this year. About $20 altogether for 3 people. My Grandparents don't expect much, it doesn't take a lot to make them happy. My uncle Kenny on the other hand, I had to put a little more thought into his gift, hopefully he'll like what I got him. Nice that gasoline has gone down again, just in time for my drive home. I think I should wash & wax my car beforehand, I hear you get better mileage that way. Hopefully the cd I ordered off of Amazon.com will get here before I leave.

December 15

I think I'm done with my Christmas shopping, maybe a few small items for my Grandfather & my uncle Kenny. Neither are particularly demanding, I could probably give my Grandfather a can of shaving cream and he would be happy. Last night I played poker at the 2nd game where there's a buy in, and won $15 for third place, that was fun. I only went in because one of the organizers asked me to come in and offered to pay the buy in for me, I reimbursed her and still came out with $15. I'm wanting to see New Orleans, the French Quarter, since it wasn't destroyed by Katrina. Now that gasoline is cheap again, maybe I can go after Christmas. I don't want to go by myself though, I need to find a driving buddy.

December 11

I was finally accepted by the Red Cross to donate blood, the bloodmobile comes around every 3 months, and every time I try to donate they turn me away for having low hemocrit, it's just below the cut off, but this time they measured hemoglobin instead and I was allowed to donate for the first time. They must be getting desperate, if they lowered their standards like that, but I'm just glad I could finally donate. I'm still looking for a house or condo, hopefully will hear from my realtor sometime today.

December 5

It's that time of year again, when every possible expense hits me, from car insurance to Christmas presents. I just had a tune up & oil change for my Cavalier and discovered that all of the fluids need to be flushed out, so I had that done last night, fortunately I got a pretty good deal on the coolant system. All of these expenses couldn't come at a worse time, I'm trying to buy a house and would like some money in my account for repairs, paint, etc. This is a good time to buy, since it looks like the interest rates are going to be down for a while, there are houses in Stone Mountain for under $35 K, which is right in my price range. It seems that I need a new back tire, this one's balding and about to pop. I usually just wait until they blow before I replace them, it seems less wasteful, and I'm pretty good at changing tires, I can do it in under 12 minutes flat, I had to do it so many times for my last car.

November 30

Thanksgiving was nice, I had an easy drive up to Kentucky to spend with my Grandparents, it was 1:00 in the morning when I arrived, I expected to find a dark house and to quietly let myself in, but they were both awake and partying after I was in bed asleep. My Grandmother loves her XM stereo, she blasts it like a teenager. My Grandfather was watching a Clint Eastwood western on his big screen tv. That thing is the size of my couch. Anyway, the next morning I was up early to watch the parade like I do every year. Had to wait for the rest of the family before we could stuff ourselves with the annual feast, just like every year. I'm back home now, and I didn't even gain any weight so I'm happy about that.

November 24

I have pulled another muscle and I have no idea how. It just started hurting. Makes it difficult to work out or go running. Perhaps tonight I will catch up on the shows I've recorded and haven't gotten around to watching yet. I still haven't seen Batman Begins and it comes on FX later this evening. I should probably watch the original before I see Dark Knight, like I've been wanting. I just read somewhere that James Franco is attending Graduate School at Columbia University, I need to look into getting my Master's degree, perhaps in something useful this time, like business or Human Resources.

November 19

Hooray, I am finally out of the second cell phone contract that I set up for my former friend. I am down to one phone line and I even get to keep my same phone number. My cell phone bill will be cut signifigantly and I only have a year left on my own contract. Doesn't matter, I'm pretty happy with T-Mobile, I don't think I'll leave. It is nice having that weight off though, I will NEVER try to help someone like that again, if there's a chance I'll get stuck with a $225 bill in overage charges, not to mention 3 months left on a contract that's in my name. It's over and now I can forget about it.

November 17

Panama City Beach was great, too cold to actually go in the water or do any boogie boarding, but I took my shoes and socks off and played in the surf a little. We went to a bookstore for a Twilight premiere party and to a bar called "Coyote Ugly" where hot chicks danced on the bar. I actually made pretty good time on the drive back, 6 hours, not bad at all, considering how long it took to drive down with traffic and lousy weather.

November 13

I only went on Facebook for the first time a few days ago and there were a ton of people I recognize from high school, including one of my best friends from back home, haven't talked to her in 15 years. I've changed a lot since then, thank the goddess. Most of these people wouldn't even recognize me anymore. Looking forward to my trip to Panama City Beach this weekend, of course, I have to find someone to cover for me at the animal shelter I volunteer at on Saturdays, shouldn't be too hard. I also need a new tire iron, mine's broken. Heaven forbid I should get a flat tire in Tennessee somewhere and not be able to fix it.

November 11

Pet Peeves. We all have them. Like rich people that complain about paying taxes, or white people that try to sound black, or older people trying to use the same language and catchphrases that teenagers use because they think it makes them sound hip. It makes them sound ridiculous and they're usually not fooling anybody. People who talk on their cell phones when they're supposed to be driving or moving ahead in line at the store, etc. Static electricity, the scraping noise people make with their utensils on porceline dishes, that kind of thing. Obnoxious DJ's on the radio that think they're being funny. It makes you want to just stay at home all the time and just avoid people altogether.

November 10

I love my new flat screen tv. It's not huge, only 22" but it's hi-def and digital. I was able to get rid of the huge tv stand I used to have for the outdated monstrosity I used to have in my living room, since my new one only weighs about 15 lbs. I sold the old one on Craigslist for $25, the people who came to buy it had a truck and were able to lift it one-handed and that tv must have weighed 60 lbs. One less thing to worry about if and when I ever move out of my studio. I also sold my Betty Boop leather jacket, which was about 2 sizes too big for me. A fellow collector came by to buy it from me, only she comes to my door, sees Luci and steps back saying "Oooh, I don't like cats." Her body language told me she was AFRAID of cats. How could anyone be afraid of Luci? She doesn't even have claws. I put her in the bathroom while we made our transaction. Poor kitty probably thought she was in trouble and getting a time out. Anyway, this upcoming weekend I've been invited to spend a couple of days at a friend's condo in Panama City Beach. I've never been and I'm really looking forward to walking along the beach for a couple of days. It's supposed to be about 70 degrees, maybe too cold for a swimsuit, but definitely warm enough for walking around. I need a better digital camera so I can take some good shots.

November 6

Coldplay was great, the seats I had sucked, I was thinking they were lower level, but they were as close to being nosebleeds as you can come. I actually felt dizzy. The opening act wasn't all that great, I kind of wished I had stayed home until 8:30 instead of getting there early. My picture phone didn't really take very good pictures, but at least they came out, you can sort of see the band when they walked out into the crowd to do an acoustic song. One thing about going to concerts at Phillips Arena, why are the concessions so expensive? They had anything you could want to eat or drink if you had just won the lottery. $6.50 for a glass of wine? I can buy an entire bottle for that much. $13.50 for a single premium, which I think is like Captain & Coke or something. Good lord, I don't know how anyone can afford that.

I think Grissom and Sara are going to break up tonight on CSI, just as well. I always wanted to see Gris with Lady Heather anyway.

November 5

We did it! I knew we would win by a landslide and we did, in all 3 houses. I was extremely disappointed in California for voting in favor of discrimination, but that vote could be set aside by the Supreme Court, and the existing marriages would be "Grandfathered in" Looking at the final vote tally it was like looking at a map of the United States during the Civil War or something, they way it was divided by North & South. I was pretty upset at what a large margin Georgia lost to McCain, after standing in line to vote for almost 3 hours. I know this is the deep South and Atlanta isn't typical, but I let myself get excited when I saw all those Obama supporters in line at the courthouse. Record numbers at the polls, just like I thought.

November 4

Tomorrow is the big day, I'm going to see Coldplay! The seats aren't great, but they're lower level and better than nothing. They weren't even that expensive. Some of my co-workers had to take a personal day so they could go and vote, I am so glad I voted early. I sure wouldn't want to use up a personal day if I didn't have to. On a bright note, I am just two weeks away from getting out of the cell phone agreement from when I added a second line to my account for my former friend that ran up $225 in overage charges. It expires two weeks from today and I am back to only paying for my own line. I think I would like one of those LG Flash phones with the mirror surface, those look cool.

October 31

I love Halloween, it's one of my favorite hollidays. I don't have a costume for tonight's party at the Stagedoor, I suppose I can swing by the Party Store on the way home and buy a simple mask or maybe some surgical scrubs. Last night I voted for Obama, it took 2 and a half hours but it was worth it. I really wish I had looked over the local issues a little better before I had gone in, but I think I chose all the right ones.

October 28

Last night I decided to go to the Netherworld Haunted House off of Jimmy Carter Blvd, none of the people I talked to wanted to come with me, so I just went by myself. After standing in line for some time, I went thru the shorter house first, The Mangler with a group of young black men standing behind me in line, which was interesting because they were talking tough and trying to sound "gangster" while we were in line, of course I could tell just by looking at them that they were more middle class than I was. Anyway, as soon as we go in, I was first in line so we start taking in the haunted house which was done up to look like a crime scene. My new "gangster" friends started shrieking like a group of young girls or something, it was hilarious. One actually gripped my shoulder like a shield or something, too funny. The second house was more like a haunted museum, a much longer tour, but it was fun. As soon as I came home, I finished watching 2001 Space Oddessey by Kubrick, I'd never seen it before, it was okay.

October 21

Last night, Marcia Brady herself, Maureen McCormick did a book signing in Midtown at the Outwrite Bookstore, and I got to meet her. She was really nice, I was 130th in line so I had to wait almost 3 hours, but it was worth it. She signed my book for me and we talked about Celebrity Fit Club and what a jerk Dustin Diamond was on the show. My uncle was supposed to come with me but he no-showed. I'll have to call him tonight and see what happened. Of course tonight is poker night, so hopefully I'll make the final table like last time.

October 6

October has always been my favorite month of the year. The weather is still warm here in Atlanta, and there's less foliage to change colors like back home but it's still my favorite time of year. Riding the trains has been such an experience. One day I was sitting on the southbound when a young woman came in and launched into some spoken word. At first I thought she was just some crazy woman, but then she tells everyone her family is homeless and she's selling incense to get by, so good for her, she probably just wanted to get everyone's attention. It worked, I saw a bunch of people buying incense from her. On another occasion we were serenaded by a young R. Kelly hoping to be discovered, or at least that's what I heard him telling the friends he was riding with about his demo. No poker this week, maybe I'll go to the gym for an extra work out, since I couldn't work out all weekend due to my pulled back muscle.

September 30

I'm riding MARTA all this week to deal with the gas shortage, it's not so bad, even if I do have to get up at 5:30. I think I'm saving money this way. CSI Miami last night was all about high gas prices and how some people will do anything for a tank of gas including getting it on with the attendant in the ladies' room, how sad. I don't know why everyone hates David Caruso so much, he's not so bad. If I'm going to be taking the bus all over town, I need to buy some pepper spray, just to be safe.

September 23

They are so cute together aren't they?-------

I sat on the Interstate for over an hour and a half because of some stupid 18 wheeler jack knifing and blocking 3 lanes of traffic. Thank the Goddess I stopped for gasoline last night and was on a full tank, people all over Atlanta are running out of gas. Tomorrow's my vacation, Yeah!!!

September 22

So it was an Angel of the Lord that pulled Dean out of Hell, and not some renegade demon. Shame about that poor woman's eyes, though. Perhaps they can be healed. How does an Ipod deck work anyway? I have a Sirius radio in my car and it runs through the cassette deck, since my car had one previously installed under the cd player. Not sure if that qualifies as "douching it up" but I like it. I've got 3 days of vacation this week, from Wednesday to Friday, yeah! I think I'll go tour the World of Coke, I've been in Atlanta 3 years now and I've never been.

September 17

Our overtime was cut again. Every 3 months this happens, at least it's only for a couple of weeks instead of the entire month. The bugs seem to be gone, for the time being at least. We'll see if I have to get medieval on them in a few days. Tonight is premiere of The Ultimate Fighter, Yeah!!! I think I'll take some vacation days next week, they come out of a separate budget and I haven't had vacation time since April.

September 16

I can't take any more of these cockroaches. At least I assume they're cockroaches, they look like it. They're everywhere. In the cabinets, in the sink, in my cat's food. I set a fogger off this morning before I left in the kitchen, let's just hope it works, if it doesn't I'm looking for a new apartment. Tonight's poker, so everyone wish me luck.

September 10

I'm off to play trivia. Last week we did pretty well, there were four of us and until the final round we were tied for third place. I just found out that Reaper could come back this fall as soon as one of the other crappy network originals like Privileged or 90210 are cancelled. Does America really need another show featuring people in their late 20's playing teenagers? I'm looking forward to Supernatural coming back next week, and finding out what happened to Dean. My job search isn't going as well as I had hoped, I may need to take a job at the local sex & tobacco shop weekends, since almost no one else is hiring. How difficult could that be? I might even get a discount on incense.

September 6

I've dropped the 4 pounds I gained, yippee. Going to look at a couple of condos tomorrow, hopefully one of them will be a match. I can't take my roach infested studio apartment much longer. I'm still looking for a second job, it's not as easy as I thought it would be. I think a lot of people are looking for second jobs.

August 25

Now that the Olympics are over, we can go back to watching regular mindless programming. I'm looking forward to the return of my shows this fall, and I'm going to pledge to watch less garbage, like cable reality shows on Vh1 and the like. In fact, if it were possible to get decent reception without cable, I could get along just fine without it, I could watch the UFC in a sports bar or something, all my favorite shows come on the regular networks, like CSI & Reaper.

My weight's up 4 pounds, yikes. I think being depressed has caused me to eat a lot of garbage over the past couple of weeks. It can't be a coincidence. It's low carb for me for the next two weeks!

August 12

I've been taken by a con artist of sorts. The person I thought was my friend for the past two years wasn't really a friend at all, in fact, I don't even know this person, at least not like I thought. Everything she has told me has been a lie, and apparently I'm not the only one taken in by her. Her family is at their wit's end because of the lies and drama. I probably got off easy, I can walk away and cut her off, her family can't. Guess I need some new friends.

Weird dream

I had the strangest dream last night. It started out pretty cool, I was taking a road trip with my uncle Kenny, we stopped by the ocean and ran barefoot along the beach. Then I came home and there were patrol cars with blue lights in front of my studio apartment, (not all that unusual) and I try to go in and can't get the door open all the way, turns out someone is inside moving his stuff in, tons of clothes and furniture. I asked him who he was, and he says he's my new assistant. He was going to be paid $8 an hour, but instead my friend talked him into free rent instead. In my studio. I was on the phone with my friend and asked her why I needed an assistant in the first place, and why is he moving so much stuff into my apartment, and she said something about trying to get my new business off the ground. Not really sure what that means, unless I'm still worried about the phone bill.

Summer Olympics

I'm looking forward to watching the Olympics this year. I never cared anything about them growing up, because I just got so tired of hearing about them back in '84 and again in '88. You couldn't buy junk food that didn't have "proud sponsor" written on it. Do Olympic athletes really sit around eating Snickers bars? Seems counter-productive. I'm in a situation with a friend of mine who may not want to talk to me anymore, I had to turn off her cell phone. It was on my account and up until now she has paid for her usage, but then she got laid off and racked up a huge bill in overage charges. Was I wrong to turn the phone off? She can't pay for the bill and it's in my name. I'm not sure how I'm going to pay for it.

High school reunion

My 20th reunion was held recently, I didn't go. High School wasn't a pleasant experience for me, not really something I want to revisit. However, I was extremely surprised to look at pictures of the event and see how different some of my former tormenters looked, and not in a good way. It actually made me feel better about myself. That's mean, I shouldn't even be thinking that, all of these people got married and had children, of course they're going to look worse for wear. Sometimes I wonder if I missed out on something by never having children, then I see a little monster running around unsupervised at the supermarket because his mother has given up on trying to get him to behave in public and I put those thoughts right out of my head.

July 30

I'm tired of being broke all the time. Rascal Flatts is playing in Atlanta this weekend and I can't even go to see them. I might need to find a second job. Anyway, going to see a sick friend after work, than straight to the animal shelter to do my volunteer work. Last night was the quarterly tournament at Stagedoor, I didn't play aggressively enough, but I didn't do that badly either, just not well enough to make the top ten. If a friend is in the hospital and asks you to sneak them food, is it wrong to check with the nurses to make sure it won't make them sick first? I think it's being a good friend to be concerned about their well being, but apparently a good friend just does what they're told without asking questions.