If vampires are your thing, there are a couple of movies coming out soon you might want to check out...

Underworld Evolution

Night Watch

Quote for the Day: "This time of year one should use the traditional greeting, Io, Saturnalia!, rather than the PC 'Happy Holidays' or 'Seasons’s Greetings' — It’s about time we start celebrating this time of year in a more traditional way."--Amon-hen.com

Quote for the Day: "Every time you say 'Happy Holidays,' an angel gets AIDS,"--Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

This past weekend was VERY busy, but so much fun! Saturday Fritz took me out to lunch at Mediterrano. SO GOOD!!! I got Chicken Jerusalem, which was amazing...two chicken breasts with artichokes, mushrooms, and a garlic cream sauce with a side of vegetables served over basmati rice. Yummy! I'm heating up the leftovers for my dinner as I type. After lunch he accompanied me Christmas shopping, and was nice enough to carry the heavy electric roaster I got for my mom. What a sweetie! That night we went to Adi and Anna's open house in Livonia, which was SUCH a great time! Anna is a wonderful cook, and served the best spinach pie I've ever had, rich with feta cheese and pine nuts. YUM! For dessert...creme brulee. MORE YUM!!! (How lucky am I to have so many friends who are great cooks?) Adi and Anna were gracious hosts, and we had a LOT of fun! (Bonus: I got kissed under the mistletoe for the first time EVER...by Fritz! Ah...SO wonderful!:-)

Sunday was fencing practice. It was the monthly tourney, and the format was the Valhalla Circle of Death. (Woooooo...ominous!) I rarely lasted long before getting killed, but did manage to take out a couple of people, including Fritz! How many girls get to say that they killed their boyfriend in the Valhalla Circle of Death? I left fencing a little early to go visit my grandma, which was a *very* nice time. Then, Lavinia and Fritz came over later that evening and hung out for a while. A lot to pack into one weekend, but it was all a LOT of fun, just what I needed!

Quote for the Day: "I can't be sure, but I strongly suspect that today, somewhere deep beneath the streets of Manhattan, lurks a "Curiously Minty Rat"."--Doctor Dave

This past weekend was FABULOUS! The open house on Saturday went really well. There was a good turnout, and we found out that we were getting paid to be there after all, which was great. (We were under the impression they would be sticking us with flex time instead, which would've been REALLY annoying.)

Saturday night I went over to Lavinia's and hung out with her and her 13-year-old step-sister. Lavinia got the idea to try "dog-sledding" (and I use this term loosely) on a plastic sled behind her two dobermans. Our attempts were, um, amusing. I can only imagine what one of her neighbors must've been thinking as they drove by. We then watched the first Harry Potter film, and Lavinia taught me how to play chess. I lost, but managed to take out a bunch of her pieces. Good times.

Sunday I went to fencing practice, which was a blast. I now look like I was beaten, but it was worth it. After fencing I spent a VERY pleasant evening hanging out with Fritz, which was the BEST part of the entire weekend!

For Shawn...

Quote for the Day: "If I called the doctor do you think he would change these pills from anti-biotics to anti-psychotics?"--The Food Whore

My supervisor forwarded me the following email today which beautifully sums up how I (and I suspect many of you) feel about those stupid chain emails, scams, and "informational" emails that for some reason seem to get passed around to infinity. Freakin' hilarious!

To all my friends,

As the holidays approach, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.

Extra thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat crap in the glue on envelopes 'cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.

Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone might drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from nor send packages by UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer eat KFC because their "chickens" are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer have to buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

I no longer worry about my soul because at last count I have 363,214 angels looking out for me.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).

I no longer have any money at all - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email program.

Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor!

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (CDT) this afternoon.

I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next-door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.

Happy Holidays!

Just Eleven Days...

...until Serenity comes out on DVD! You can pre-order it from Amazon.com for $16.98. I saw it twice in the theater, but still can't wait to get it on DVD!

You're a Riesling!
You're a refreshing white wine. Hailing from
Germany, your high acidity balances out your
sugars and act as a preservative. In fact the
oldest tasted wine was a Riesling from 1540,
tasted in 1961 and still in drinkable
condition. You're floral and fruity and are
perfect for sipping on a summer's day. You're a
real sweetie and go well with rich foods.


What Type of Wine Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Quote for the Day: "Nothing like mixing it up with medieval implements of DOOM."--the Baklava Queen, on my new interest in fencing.

Yeah, poking people with long, pointy objects is fun. And the scenery doesn't hurt either.

In case anyone's interested, Starbuck's Chai Eggnog Latte ROCKS! (As does their Gingerbread Latte. And their Peppermint Mocha. Such a great time of year to be a Starbuck's customer!) Yay, caffeine! Happy now.

Yay, my second P.T. client showed up! On time! (Early, actually.)

BIG Yay, I get to go into work 2 hours late today! (Because of the open house tomorrow.)

Maybe I'll get some reading done, that Bryson book's been calling to me.

Public Services Announcement

NEVER just ASSUME that your personal training appointment is automatically cancelled because the weather is bad. Especially if I'm your personal trainer. I grew up in the snow belt of Michigan and I have a Subaru w/ all-wheel-drive, so 4-8 inches of snow isn't THAT big a deal to me. If you are not going to come to your appointment b/c of the weather, or ANY reason, pick up a phone!

I could still be home sleeping, damnit!

This Saturday the plant where I work is having an open house, which I have to be at, for a good chunk of my Saturday. I could be starting my holiday shopping, or baking, or both. But no, instead I get to sit at a table handing out health info and giving blood pressure screenings for SIX BLOODY HOURS. Fun. For. Me. It was originally supposed to be Sunday, until they moved it up a day. Which they just informed us of last week. So we got to call all the vendors we had lined up for this Sunday, and ask if they could come a day EARLIER instead. Nice.

Initially I was REALLY annoyed at the date change, until I realized that having the open house on Saturday means I can go to fencing practice Sunday. At least something good came out of it, but I'd rather not have to do it at all. Who schedules an open house in December, during the heart of the holiday season? Don't they know people have a ton of other things to do this time of year? This isn't a mandatory thing for the plant employees to come to, so who knows how many will actually show up. Most of the fitness center members we've asked have said they're not coming. If that trend is typical of the entire plant, we're going to be a VERY bored bunch. Luckily my boss and coworker will be there too, so we can be bored together.

Maybe I'll try to recruit some people to go see Narnia that night so Saturday won't be a complete bust.

Emergency Naptime Procedures Implemented!

Courtesy of Fritz, it's Serenity Hand Puppet Theater. Goram hilarious!

My new bed RULES! It's SO comfortable, the perfect firmness for me, exactly what I'd pick out in a store. Except I didn't pick it out in a store. One of my former co-workers emailed me a few weeks ago saying she and her husband were upgrading their bed to a king, moving their queen to the guest room, and needed to find a home for the full mattress and box springs that previously occupied the guest room. (The frame they were keeping.) She remembered that I was still sleeping on a twin and not at all happy about it, and offered to sell me the set and deliver it for $75, all I would have to do is find a frame. (Yes, I know, 30 years old and still sleeping on a twin, how sad. Luckily I've had a futon in the living room for the rare occasion I need extra sleeping space for a, er, friend.)

As luck would have it, my parents had an old full-size frame in the attic which used to be in our guest room, before my mom comandeered it for her art studio (the guest room that is). How perfect is that?!?! I brought the frame back with me from my trip home Thanksgiving weekend, and this past Saturday the mattress and box springs were delivered. The set is practically new, they had bought it two years ago when they moved into their new house, and it had only been slept on by their two little nieces.

So, I paid a total of $75 for the bed, and promptly went out and spent almost $200 on bedding. Hey, I've been sleeping on a twin for most of my life, now I have a REAL bed, so I'm going all out! Beautiful brocade Indian-inspired quilt with matching pillow shams and toss pillow, 250-thread-count sheets, the works. Now I just need new art to match! (That will have to wait, I'm not made of money.) And of course now that I have all this SPACE, where does my cat sleep? Right on top of ME, just as before. It's a good thing she's cute. And as I stated before, it's incredibly comfortable; I've had a hard time dragging myself out of it the last several days.

Now, if I can just find someone to occupy that extra space...

Stood up...

...AGAIN! I could still be at home, sleeping in my brand new, incredibly comfortable bed. Instead I dragged myself out of bed and ventured out into the winter cold for nothing. It's called a phone people, try using it sometime.

Off to get some badly needed coffee!

Clarification: I just realized I didn't make it clear that I was stood up by a personal training client. Told you I needed coffee!

I fenced for the first time today. It was a LOT of fun and the people are really cool, so I'll definitely be going back. My arm is already a bit sore, and I'm sure I'll have some bruises in wierd places, but it's totally worth it. Now I'll have to actually officially join the SCA, so I can fence at events once I've gotten more practice under my belt.

Listening to: Korn
Watching: Vampire Hunter D
Reading: (still) A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson and The Fall of Atlantis by Marian Zimmer-Bradley

How reassuring it is to walk into my job at an AUTO PLANT and see empty Smirnoff, Jagermeister, and Schnapps bottles littering the parking lot. Makes me really glad I work in the fitness center, not down on the factory floor where apparently drunk people are working with heavy machinery and welding torches, driving hi-lows, etc. (Though I DO occasionally have to go down there to put up promotional flyers.) As I was saying yesterday, it's no wonder the American auto companies are going down the tubes.

On a stranger note, today I also saw a nearly full, completely curdled, gallon-jug of milk in the parking lot. (Eeeeewww! And, what the f**k?)

AAAAAaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Stupid...indecisive...incompetent...boneheads! I'm starting to see why the Big Three are hemorrhaging money.

This is why I get paid the big bucks! Oh, wait...