Homestawww... Wunnnawwww...

One of my all time, top five favorite cartoons on earth is Homestar Runner. The lovable armless, lisping fellow gets me every time. You should go check him out, and really you need to just watch everything on that site. I have, and I still can't get enough.

I am trying to be like Homestar and become a "Wunnaww" myself. (That's "runner" for you lazy people who won't go hear him say it that way.) I have decided to try this couch-to-5K thing. Allegedly, I can be ready for a 5K in 2 months. I'd like to do the WellsFest 5K, but that's only a month or so from now, so that may not work. But fall is 5K season, so I'm sure there will be another one just around the bend.

Sally has been my running partner since she came to live with me a month or so ago. She has a lot of energy, so it helps for us to get up early (6am, YIKES, Iamnotamorningperson) and walk/run about a mile every day. Unfortunately for Sally, she had to have her lady bits removed last week, so that meant a week of rest time. The first few days were fine, she was out of it anyway, but by the 3rd day or so she was bouncing around the house and looking at me as if to say, "What's the deal? Why aren't we running?"

Finally, she got her stitches out today and we will hit the road in the morning. I have enjoyed sleeping in these last few days -- especially with the wetness from Hurricane Fay -- but my midsection is expanding rapidly, so it's up at 6am and lace up the shoes time again. It is good for me. It will make me skinny and hot. I will keep telling myself this.

tap tap tap tap tap tap tap... WOOF

So that was the sound that I woke up to this morning at, oh, about 5:45am.

I have this neighbor, he is a redneck loser. I'm not being mean when I say that, he really is a redneck loser. The main reason is because of the way he treats his "girlfriend," who is the person that was tap-tap-tapping on his door this morning. AT 5:45 PEOPLE. The "woof" was Sally at the door, because it sounded like someone was tap-tap-tapping on our door.

A couple of weeks ago she was BANGING on his door at about 3am. The BF was still here at that point and when he went to see what was going on, she said, "But he can't hear me unless I knock loudly!" BF told her somebody (meaning me) would call the cops if she didn't stop.

What seems to be going on is that Redneck doesn't want Chick around except for when he wants her around. She is a cute girl, but apparently dumber than a box of hair, so she doesn't understand when he kicks her out and won't let her back in. She continually knocks, or leaves pathetic notes on the door - it's all very sad and I wish I could say something to her, but I don't know what to say exactly or how to get the point across that she is wasting her time with this dork. I don't even know her name. I wish I did. It really sucks to see someone who has such low self-esteem that she would humiliate herself for the sake of a stupid guy who obviously doesn't appreciate her at all. Maybe one day I'll get a chance to talk to her.

The B**** is back (so is the Schlitz)

Okay so I'm tired of nobody reading my blog because nobody can find it. So it's open season people! And the first thing I choose to write about is the fact that Schlitz beer is coming back, according to this article. I couldn't be happier, but I'm a little concerned because I drank that beer pictured up top three years ago in Austin, TX, and I don't remember it being anything but tasty. Guess I really do enjoy cheap beer.

Lots of life changes going on right now, most of which I really don't want to talk about. But I will say that my dog is the best personal trainer a person can have. We get up at 6:00am and go walk/run for about 30 minutes. She has some issues with pulling and nipping at the leash, but for the most part she just pulls me right along and we are both worn slap out by the time we get back home. Sally is a Border Collie/Jack Russell mix, and if you know anything about those two breeds, they are two of the smartest and most high energy dogs you can find. Needless to say, she requires a lot of exercise. She has learned to swim at the BF's parent's pool, she plays fetch indoors and outdoors, and she loves to chase my laser pointer around the room, too. I love my dog!

Two more things and then I need to run:

1. I think this Boo Boo Kitty guy really has a pretty good plan. I saw him on Larry King Live tonight (along with Pass the Biscuits, and I'll let you figure out who that is), and I like what he was saying.

2. Have you heard about the feet washing up on the beach in British Columbia? I'm fascinated. Is it a mad podiatrist? A shark with an aversion to toes? Can't wait to find out.

Don't Think Twice

For several years now, the movies that topped my All-Time, Worst Ever list, were really just two, and they came out around the same time: A.I., the science-fiction poopfest that Speilberg had to finish off for Kubrick (which explained a lot, really), and The Talented Mr. Ripley, just a poopfest all around. It makes me think there is something about having Jude Law in a movie. I'd dare say that most of Jude Law's movies stink, which is unfortunate because he is hot. Or at least, he used to be -- I think he's losing his hair now, and it's not a great look for him.

But fear not, lonely duo, for a third flick is joining your ranks. This weekend the BF and I slogged through all 17 hours* of I'm Not There, the amazingly craptacular "biopic" about Bob Dylan's life. I am not a big Dylan fan or anything -- I actually think that his songs are best done by another aritst -- but I wanted to see Cate Blanchett play him, and I just thought it would be a cool pic. Oh well. From start to finish, I'm not sure I understood anything that anyone said. It was English, for the most part, but from what I could tell it was mostly bullshit, which apparently was all that ever came out of Bob Dylan's mouth in the '60s, or since. The movie portrays the different "lives" of Bob Dylan with different characters. The one that made the least sense was Richard Gere, who was playing some sort of hermit from a Western movie that winds up confronting "the man" at a little county fair. But I will say that the best part of the movie occurred during one of these random Western scenes, when there was a surprising performance by My Morning Jacket. Those guys saved me from slitting my wrists at that point, let me tell you.


I could go on, but I won't, because I already lost enough hours of my life just watching the thing.


*It was really only 2 hours and 15 minutes, but that was the longest 2 hrs/15 of my life.


***BREAKING NEWS***

Mid-blog breaking news today... the BF and I have acquired a new pet. As I was literally typing the above rant, someone knocked on my door and offered me a puppy. A little back story: we had some neighbors who were fond of domestically disputing in public, and so the Flo-Po were constantly coming out to deal with them. A while back, they got the cutest black and white puppy that they would leave out sometimes for way too long. I was always worried about her because they never used a leash, and a lot of cars come through this parking lot. BF, being the friendly talker that he is, struck up a conversation with the lovely couple one day and found out that they were probably going to need to find a home for the dog because the landlord (a different one from ours) didn't want them to have pets. This was several weeks ago, so I thought maybe they had worked it out. But today, dude knocks on my door saying that the chick finally R-U-N-N-O-F-T and left him with the bills and the dog. He was moving, couldn't take doggie with him, and wanted to know if we still wanted to take her. BF was sleeping, but of course I couldn't say no, so.... here she is, meet Sally!





She is the sweetest. We think she's some kind of Border Collie mix, and she is smart as a whip. Now, I must go and play with her! But expect more pictures in days to come...

Yeah Yeah Yeah

I know, it's been too long. I bet nobody even bothers to check this blog anymore, but I need a space for my thoughts, so here goes!

A lot has happened since last time I guess. I turned the great 3-1, as in the number of flavors Baskin-Robbins boasts. I wasted the actual day of my birthday trying to get to a wedding in Lafayette that I still to this day do not know whether it actually went on or not. That day I learned my first valuable lesson of being 31: Don't do anything you don't really want to do. Don't do things out of obligation anymore.

Now of course, that doesn't apply in every situation -- there are things I may not want to do for work that I have to/am obligated to do or else I lose the job. And I may have family obligations that are unavoidable. But in situations like this one, where I was really going out of my way for someone who would never go so far out of her way for me, I should have sat that one out. And I will from now on!

My new job is going swimmingly. I'm headed to Vegas in a week or so for our annual retreat, and it will be nice to get away and finally put some faces with the voices I've been hearing on conference calls for the past two months.

I did another adult thing this past month and got preapproved for a mortgage loan. Scary!! It was a lengthy, pain-in-the-ass application process, and at the end of it all I still don't know if I can really afford to buy a house. The fact that I chose a social services field coupled with the fact that I have a reasonable amount of debt means that I am not worth all that much, financially speaking. It sucks that one person (in my situation) can't afford to buy a decent house all on her own. Not that I could count the BF's income anyway, because right now there isn't any, but even if he did have some I wouldn't want to include that. I want to do this all on my own or not at all. I guess I should have gone to law school or something, but then I'd have a buttload of student loan debt. It's a no-win situation. Anyway, I am going to try my luck with a different mortgage broker, but I have a feeling I may be a renter for at least another year.

On the flip side of that, though, I keep thinking about all the other things I'd rather spend money on than a mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance and repairs on a home. I want to travel. I want new clothes. I want to eat really well. I want to get my sewing machine fixed and start making a lot of stuff. I want to upgrade my cable subscription so I can get HBO. I want to take tap dance classes.

I'm not sure I could do all of those things if I were spending all my money on a home and the things that go with it.

For now, I'm just going with the flow. I'm calling a realtor who also knows a mortgage broker this week and I will see what he says.

The BF and I have been spending a lot of time at his P's pool. We are quickly becoming brown berries, and also getting into shape. I usually just float like a lazy manatee when I "go swimming," but this year I'm trying to actually exert some energy in between sunning sessions. I have decided to really bite the bullet and do whatever it takes to get my butt in shape this year. I've even *GASP* started getting up EARLY on most weekdays to work out. SHOCK! AWE! SURPRISE! It actually isn't so bad. I get up at 6am and turn on the Exercise on Demand channel, pick out a workout or two, and I'm done in 30 min. or so. And since I now don't have to be at work until 8:30, I still have like an entire hour to do stuff in the morning. I have absolutely NEVER been a morning person, but for some reason lately I really have enjoyed having all that time in the morning to lounge, eat cereal, watch the History Channel or make fun of the inane stories on the morning talk shows, and read. Good Lord, I'm becoming an adult.

I think I'll go for now, but I will make just one more comment. The Netflix fairy delivered The Kids in the Hall this past week and I was watching it last night. I used to watch this in high school all the time, and watching it on DVD made me realize 1) they must have shown a crapload of commercials during the show, because each episode is about 15 min. long, and 2) the skits themselves are really really short. And maybe 3) A lot of their skits are not so much funny as they are performance art. I guess performance art is lost on a 15 year old, because I don't remember the show being that way at all. I need to re-watch The State now too and see what else I was missing.

El Cinco de Mayo

Just watched this movie tonight. I'm sorry, but Wes Anderson is a cinematic genius. I have seen all his movies and they seem to get successively better. Not to mention the colors that he uses and the delicious soundtracks. I would like to live in one of his movies. I'd climb onto that train and snuggle up with those cute Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton suitcases and drink sweet lime for hours. And maybe get to hang out with Adrian Brody. He is so cute to me, in a freakishly skinny kind of way.

I watched this movie, smoked a cigar and drank a Yoo Hoo all by myself tonight. And it was good.

Up on the 12th Floor

Can I just say it?

I love Jackson.

When I first moved back here from Memphis, I was really at a loss for words or thoughts. I had thought I would stay in Memphis forever. I didn't think that Jackson had all that much to offer. I thought I already pretty much knew everyone there was to know around here.

I was wrong.

It was a lot like when I decided to switch colleges after my freshman year because I realized that it was actually better to be where I knew some people. And once I got to that second college, where I originally thought I already knew everyone, I was pleasantly surprised to meet people from all over that I never would have known otherwise.

Anyway... tonight I attended a meeting of a group of young professionals that really care about this city that I have always sort of taken for granted. We heard William Winter speak, y'all. I think he is my new hero. He is so wise and so kind, and has always been ahead of his time, I think.

This group is planning some really great things, and I am so glad to be a part of it. It was good to get the BF out of the house, too, and he made some promising contacts for his private practice adventure. I am calling that an "adventure," because so far that is what it has been! He's getting some cases, slowly but surely, and that is a good thing. Making money is good!

I'm not going to use this blog to talk about my job -- but the thing is, I really love my job so far. I am happy that it is something I can really jump into and get excited about doing. I don't dread getting up for work every day like I used to. Don't get me wrong -- getting up early is a bitch -- but it's okay, I have to remind myself, we like this job.

As for other jobs, I am working on an article for the new BOOM Jackson publication, and so far I'm not pulling my hair out, so that is good. It helps that BF and I have been trying our best to get out and do something every weekend, too -- especially outside stuff. There really are a jillion things to do around our fair city. So far we have:

*Walked the nature trail and roamed the Natural Science Museum
*Gotten a big batch of crawfish and eaten them at a park in Belhaven
*Gone to a show at Cafe Seven
*Visited the Zoo and heard some great jazz music
*Gone to the art museum

And this weekend I think it's the Belhaven Market. This is my favorite time of year in Jackson!