Memorable Memorial Day

Yesterday I went to Six Flags Great America with my aunt and 3 cousins. My aunt decided to buy season passes this year for her and the kids and asked me if I wanted one too. Since you get it cheaper when you buy at least 4, I said I was in. I figured I shouldn't beat myself up for not having a job; instead, I'll just spend the summer at Great America.

We couldn't ask for a more perfect day. I thought traffic would be horrible with everybody coming home from their Memorial Day weekend, but there wasn't. We didn't run into traffic either going to or coming from Great America. The weather was perfect and the lines were short. What more could we ask for?

My cousin Amanda and I both decided to get henna tattoos on the inside of our wrists. She got the Chinese symbol for Faith and I got the Chinese symbol for Tolerance.

Here's a picture of mine.



I thought Tolerance was a great thing to get a picture of. I have it facing me to remind me not only to be tolerant of others but of myself.

It was great spending the day with my aunt and cousins(18, 14, and 12). The kids just crack me up. The stuff they come up with, had me and my aunt laughing so hard yesterday. Hopefully we'll be able to go to a couple more times this summer before Amanda goes off to college. They just opened up a new water park so once the weather warms up a bit more, we'll have to check that one.

Computer Issues

OK So I know your asking why I just posted that letter from 3 1/2 years ago. Am I still that bitter you might ask? Well no, its just that I have spent the past 24+ hours trying to get that same PC working and it always gets back to the same thing. I should have never bought a computer from an infomercial.

Now adays I just use my Gateway Laptop that I bought before going to Germany, but I like a normal keyboard and monitor so much better, especially after sitting for hours on my bed working on my laptop. So I decided to spruce up the old desktop. I decided that the main problem with it is that it came with Windows ME (the worst/unstable operating system ever invented). I've tried to upgrade it to XP before but the computer came with a scanner and I can never find the drivers for XP. So last night around midnight, I decided to copy the drivers and factory restore onto my external hard drive and then delete the partitions, create 1 huge partition, format the hard drive, and install Windows XP. I did that all last night and around 4:30am decided that it was time to go to bed and continue later on.

So this afternoon when I woke up, I continued with it all. I finally got my wireless network card to work and then could download the rest of the XP drivers onto my computer. I still can't get the damn scanner to work though. I found the XP driver but when I try to use it, it doesn't work. I blame it once again on Systemax, AsSeenOnTVPC, or TigerDirect because they didn't send me the software to go with the scanner. Sure it was on my original computer setting but now that I've installed another operating system, I can't find the damn software.

Just when I was at my wits end with the scanner, what happens? Our DSL stops working. I figured out that the wireless router works but I just can't get connected to the DSL. So I called up Yahoo DSL at 1:30am and the nice gentleman on the phone walked me through a couple of things and reset my password so then I could reinstall the wireless router and get on the internet. So now its 2:30am and I finally have my DSL back but still no scanner.

My goal for the day was to get everything installed and then upgrade my memory. I ran to Best Buy today because they had a sale and luckily I wrote down all of the specs before I got there and the tech guy told me that the they don't carry the size of memory that my computer holds because no one really uses it and its pretty expensive. TYPICAL! I can't ever get a break with this damn computer. I was hoping that by upgrading my 256MB RAM, I could speed up the computer considerably. Now I need to get some advice from someone who knows a little more about computers before I go out and buy more memory.

I think I'm going to take tomorrow off from the computer work though. I'm starting to get a bit edgy. Plus I didn't even get a chance to watch my TV shows for today. So it looks like I will get to watch double episodes of Lifetimes The Division, Oprah, Oprah after the Show, and Dr. Phil.

Never Buy a Computer from an Infomercial

A copy of a letter that I sent to all relevant parties.

December 10, 2001

To Whom It May Concern:

I first saw an AsSeenOnTVPC infomercial for a computer with an AMD processor. The feature that caught my attention was the All In Wonder 128 PRO Video card that came with the computer. You could watch TV on your computer, digitally record programs, edit them, and use your TV as a monitor with this video card. Everything was perfect about this computer, in my opinion, except it didn’t have a Pentium Processor. After seeing the infomercial, a couple days later, I went on their web site and saw they now offered a similar system with the Pentium IV processor. On May 12th, 2001, I called AsSeenOnTVPC and placed an order for their Pentium IV system. Later that day, I was excited and showed my family the computer I just purchased. When I looked at the specs for the Pentium IV system, I realized they didn’t have the same video card listed as they did for the AMD Processor computer. Later that evening, I called AsSeenOnTVPC and asked if this video card (the 32MB TNT2 M64 4X AGP VGA Card with TV out) did all the same things the (All In Wonder) video card did on the infomercial I saw for the AMD processor. The man that answered the phone told me yes, this video card does all of the same things. I decided to keep the order and awaited the arrival of my new computer.

On May 21, 2001 my monitor, printer, and scanner arrived. On May 24, 2001 my hard drive arrived. I tried to plug everything in and I realized I didn’t have a place to plug in the joystick that came with my computer and my A: drive was not working. I called up Systemax (the computer manufacturer) and told them I didn’t have a place to plug in the joystick and the A: drive didn’t work. They told me to send the computer in for repairs. They told me it would only take about a week and they would install the correct card for the joystick.

I continued to try and setup the rest of the computer. Then I realized the video card didn’t have a place to plug in my cable television so I could do all of the editing. When I called Systemax they told me the video card that came with my system didn’t have a tuner in feature and it wasn’t the same as the All In Wonder video card. I asked them if I could get the All In Wonder Video card installed since I had to return the computer for repairs anyway. I said I was willing to pay the difference but I just wanted the video card with the tuner in feature. The technical support representative at Systemax said I had to call AsSeenOnTVPC because they had to give Systemax the specifications on the computer before they could make any changes.

I called AsSeenOnTVPC and told them I wanted to change the video card in my computer and I was willing to pay for the difference. I told them I already had to send the computer back for repairs so it shouldn’t be a big problem. I was told, they couldn’t change the video cards because the computers they sell are configured a certain way to give the best price and the computer I bought didn’t come with the All in Wonder video card. I then asked to speak to his supervisor but he told me there aren’t any supervisors there at night. He said I needed to call back between 9am and 5pm E.T. if I wanted to speak to a supervisor.

The next day, I called AsSeenOnTVPC and asked to speak to a supervisor and the person who answered the phone told me his supervisor was not there. I told him I wanted to change video cards and I was willing to pay for the difference. He told me I couldn’t change video cards. When I explained to him I called to double check that I was getting the right video card and I was given incorrect information, he told me, that is why they have infomercials so you know what your computer is equipped with. I told him I saw the upgraded system on the Internet and didn’t see the new infomercial. He then put me on hold for a few minutes and came back and said his supervisor said he could sell me the All In Wonder video card at cost, but I couldn’t trade it in. However, if I installed a new video card, my warranty would no longer be in effect because the computer didn’t have the original specifications. At this point I was furious, I called to specifically talk to a supervisor and this guy told me his supervisor wasn’t in and then he puts me on hold and says his supervisor said he could sell me the video card. I then asked whom I could speak with in order to return the computer. After thinking about it, I realized I wouldn’t be able to get a computer with the same specification for the same price so I decided to keep it even though it didn’t have the video card I wanted.

I got a return label in the mail around June 1, 2001 and returned the computer to Systemax for repairs. I was shocked when I didn’t get the computer back for close to 3 weeks, shipped from Systemax on June 18, 2001. When I got the computer back, it did have a new card in the back so I could plug in the joystick, but the A: drive still didn’t work. I called up Systemax Technical Support once again and told them my A: drive still didn’t work. They had me take the computer apart and it turns out, not only did they send the computer to me once, but twice without plugging in the A: drive. I plugged in the power cord to the A: drive inside the computer and it worked.

A couple of weeks went by and my modem stopped working. Once again, I call Systemax Technical Support and this time I asked them to send someone out to my house with a new modem. On August 6, 2001 a woman came to the house and installed my new modem and the computer was working once again.

Then a couple of weeks later, my computer totally crashed. I couldn’t start it up in Safe Mode and I couldn’t get anything to work. I called Systemax Technical Support and they said it was a software issue and I only had software support for 90 days and my 90 days were up. They wanted to charge me approximately $40 for each half-hour they helped me. I refused to pay $40 and instead figured out on my own how to do a factory restore on my computer. I did the factory restore and a couple days later, my computer crashed again. This time, I called Systemax Technical Support and told them I did the factory restore and my computer was still crashing. They told me to do a hardware diagnostic test and to call back when it was done running because it could take up to 6 hours for the test to complete.

I ran the test and called back the next day and told them the hard drive tests had failed on my computer. They told me I had a bad hard drive and they would send someone out to replace my hard drive. On Friday, November 9, 2001, a man came to repair my hard drive. He took the old hard drive out of my system and put the new hard drive in and tried to put my operating system on it. As he was working, I said to him “well your going to copy all of my old files from my hard drive onto the new one right?” and he told me “all of those files are gone, didn’t they tell you that?” I told him Systemax did not tell me all of those files are gone. I knew the files could not just disappear off my hard drive. I asked him if I could take the old hard drive and plug it into my brother’s computer (in the next room) so I could back up all of my files. He told me no because he might have to put the old hard drive back in the computer. I waited for him to finish with the new hard drive but he couldn’t get the Recovery CD-ROM that came with the computer to work in order to put the operating system (WINDOWS ME) on my computer. He then proceeded to format the new hard drive he installed and he called his company’s tech support number. He was on hold with his tech support company for about 45 minutes while my 60-gigabyte hard drive was formatting. When he was on the phone they told him I should have a restore CD, which I didn’t. I explained to them that I only had an ULTRA Recovery CD-ROM and a Systemax Driver CD-ROM. They tried to transfer the repairman over to Systemax, but they had him on hold so he hung up. The repairman told me his job was to make sure the hardware works, which it did, so I had to call Systemax in order for them to tell me how to load the operating system. I asked him one more time if I could backup my original hard drive and he said no. “Why, what do you have on the hard drive?” (implying I had inappropriate material on my hard drive) and I told him I had a lot of files on there that I needed. But he wouldn’t let me back anything up and took my old hard drive and left me with a blank hard drive I couldn’t do anything with until I called Systemax to get it fixed.

After he left, I called Systemax Technical Support and explained to them what happened. They had me put in the Recovery CD-ROM and when I got the same error, they told me it must be my motherboard or CD-ROM that isn’t working properly and I needed to return the computer for repairs. Sean from Systemax Technical Support gave me a Return Authorization Number and transferred me to a number that would give me return information. I got transferred and they tell me I need to return the computer to:

Systemax Manufacturing
6930 Route 36E
Fletcher, OH 45326

Postage prepaid. Now that just drove me over the edge. With all the problems I had with this computer and now they want me to pay to ship it to them for repairs. I decided I had enough with Systemax and their computer and I wanted to return it for a refund.

I called AsSeenOnTVPC and told them I wanted to return the computer and I explained to them everything. I told them I didn’t have the computer for more than 30 days straight without there being a problem. The gentleman I spoke with said I had a great case but AsSeenOnTVPC couldn’t help me because I had the computer for more than 30 days. But he did suggest I call Systemax and tell them about the problems I had and I wanted to return the computer. If I had any problems, he told me to tell them I would contact a lawyer. I asked him what number I should call because whenever I try to call Systemax Technical Support I am on hold anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. He said from 8am to 8pm E.T. if I didn’t enter a Serial Number when prompted; I would get transferred immediately.

I took his advice and didn’t enter a serial number and the phone was answered quickly by a customer service representative named Kathy. I told Kathy I wanted to return my computer and she said she had to transfer me to technical support so they could document this.

I was on hold for another hour before Technical Support answered my call. When they did answer the phone, I told the gentleman I wanted to return my computer. His response was I just went over his head and he had to transfer me to his supervisor. I gave him my serial number that showed all my problems and he said he would get his supervisor and to hold on because he had to go upstairs. I was on hold for another 30 minutes when Phil, his supervisor, answered the phone. I told him about all of the problems I had with the computer and I wanted to return it for a refund. He offered to pay for the shipping of the computer for the repairs, but I explained to him it was too little too late. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He told me there was nothing more he could do but he would transfer me to the voicemail of his boss and she would contact me on Monday. I left a message for Kelly McMullon to call me back on Monday and I gave her my case, which was what Phil recorded of all the problems I had with the computer.

Kelly McMullon called me back on Monday, November 12, 2001 and explained to me they could repair my computer but they couldn’t issue me a refund because they are not the ones who charged my credit card. I could only get a refund from Tiger Direct (AsSeenOnTVPC) since they are the ones who sold me my computer.

Now I have done a complete circle and no one can help me or offers to compensate me for the troubles I had with my computer.

I tried one last time to contact AsSeenOnTVPC on Saturday, November 17, 2001. I called their Customer Service number and spoke with Romel. I told him I wanted to return my computer and he asked why. I told him about all of the problems I had with it. He was quite mad the technician came to my house left without making sure my computer was working and he didn’t install the operating system. He asked me if I had a Windows ME CD and I explained to him I only had 2 CDs. I told him I already tried to call tech support at Systemax and they told me I had to return the computer for repairs. I explained to him I was fed up with Systemax and their computer and I just wanted to return my computer. Romel said he would talk to his supervisor but before he did he asked if I wanted a new computer and if this one didn’t work, I could return it. I explained to him that I really just wanted a refund because I don’t have any confidence in Systemax’s computers. Romel went to talk to his supervisor and came back on the phone and said I couldn’t get a refund because my computer was over 30 days old. I asked if I could talk to his supervisor and he transferred me to Javier Bellon. I told Javier I wanted to return my computer and he told me I couldn’t because I had it for over 30 days. When I explained to him I haven’t had the computer for 30 days in which it has worked properly he only said I could return it to Systemax for repairs but there was no way he would issue me a refund. When I asked him why then did Romel offer to send me a new computer, he told me Romel was new and he wasn’t aware of the 30-day policy. At this point, I started to get a little annoyed and asked why his employees weren’t trained properly and he said he should have been. I knew I was obviously not going to get any help from Javier so I asked for his supervisor and he told me his manager was Mr. Tony Jones.

I haven’t had any luck dealing with either Systemax or AsSeenOnTVPC and I have been treated unfairly. I understand AsSeenOnTVPC has a 30-day money back policy so someone doesn’t buy a computer and then decides to return it 6 months later. However, I think under extenuating circumstances they should at least try to compensate me for all the problems I had with their computer. If this were the first problem I had with the computer, I would understand why they wouldn't issue me a refund and I would send the computer in for repairs. However, neither Systemax nor AsSeenOnTVPC are taking responsibility for the computer they sold me and the problems I had. I have been transferred back and forth between the two companies and no one seems to know what the policies are. I would greatly appreciate your help with resolving this issue. My credit card was charged on three different dates for the total cost of this computer.

I would be satisfied if my credit card was credited for the full amount and I was able to return the computer to Systemax and/or AsSeenOnTVPC.


Sincerely,
AKH

Let's Get Educated

I did a little research on the internet and added more links to my favorites (on the right side of this blog). I think the only way that we are going to get what we want in this country is to educate ourselves as to what the government, OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, are doing and letting them know what we think about it. The beautiful thing about this country is that if we don't like what someone is doing, we don't have to re-elect them. The politicians know it and we know it, but we don't use that leverage often enough. Contact your representatives and let them know what you do and don't support. Even if they aren't your representative, but they are one of those that is looking for the Presidency in 2008, let them know that you won't support him/her as President if he/she does or doesn't do what you want.

We all complain and say OH I can't believe they are doing this and that. That dialogue is a good start but it isn't enough. We don't just need to be complaining to one another, we need to make sure the people who make the decisions hear us.

If your not registered to vote, do it now. Don't wait until 2008. You should be voting in every single election. That is going to be the only way that we win back seats in the Senate and House. We need to show them that we are paying attention and we are always paying attention.

If you want to keep tabs on how everybody is voting, there is an easy way to do that.

Let's all get educated on the issues together.

Surprise

I've been keeping a secret from all of you. I couldn't tell you because it might have ruined the surprise. But for the last month and a half I have been planning a surprise 30th birthday party for my brother. Finally all the stress was over yesterday when the party was a success.

It's really hard to keep anything from my brother because he is so damn nosey, but we did it. The look on his face yesterday was priceless.

Here was the plan ...

I emailed all of my brother's friends and told them to get to our house by 6pm. We told my brother that we wanted to surprise my cousin (who is visiting us from Germany) with a nice dinner since this will be her last weekend with us. So we wanted my brother to get her out of the house until around 7pm. He was hesitant because he had a surprise graduation party to go to today and he volunteered to make the cake so he wanted to do that on Saturday. He told my mom that I would have to get her out of the house for a couple of hours because he had to make the cake. (He is NEVER home on the weekends mind you, just the day that we need to get him out of the house.) So my mom told him that I had some consulting work that I had to get done over the weekend and wouldn't have the time to take our cousin out. My mom told him to make the cake on Friday night instead. Of course he didn't (the little bugger) and decided to make the cake Saturday morning instead. So he finally started making the cake around 10 in the morning and by the time he was done with that it was around noon. I couldn't seem anxious or it would have tipped him off, but I was getting really pissed because I knew that I had to clean out our basement (normally known as the storage room a.k.a. the abyss) and still had to clean the rest of the house and decorate for the party. Then after making the cake, he decides to go to the gym, comes back and takes a leisurely shower and finally gets out of the house at 3pm. I was like; you have got to be kidding me. He is never here until 3pm on a Saturday. He's normally out of the house by noon at the latest. I’m telling you, when he doesn’t want to do something, he can be a real pain in the ass. My cousin had the whole day planned out how she would help him keep her busy until 7pm. Hit some museums in Chicago, get some shopping done, go to Navy Pier. But what does my brother decide to do, he doesn’t feel like driving downtown, so he takes her to the mall about 15 minutes away from our house. GREAT, I thought, I hope I don’t drive past him when I go to get the balloons.

How my dad and I managed to get everything done in time, I don’t know, but we got the house cleaned and decorated and my mom made all of the food in the 3 hours between my brother leaving and guests arriving. Once everybody arrived, he got them down to the basement. My mom set up the dining table so when they would came inside, my brother would see the setup for my cousin’s special dinner. We already told my brother to call when he was on his way home so we could tell him if the dinner was ready or not. But we expected him to be coming back from Chicago and not 15 minutes away. So my mom came down to tell us all to keep it down they would be home soon. We had the screen door locked (how that didn’t tip him off, I don’t know.) So my mom could run to the basement and turn off the lights (our cue). We heard him come inside and of course he had to show my mom everything that he bought first. My mom told my cousin to go down in the basement to get herself a coke and then she told my brother to pick out a nice bottle of wine (in the basement) that would go with dinner. He was like, but our cousin doesn’t even drink wine, what’s the point. So my mom was like just get it so we can have something to toast too. (I’m telling you, it was like pulling teeth to get the boy to do what we wanted.) But when he walked down into the basement and we all yelled surprise, it was evident that the mission was truly accomplished. He was dumbfounded. It was great. I think his face was still flushed a good hour into the party.

I made a little video that we showed to everybody that documented the first 30 years of his life. I think when I called everybody upstairs, he was getting really scared but in the end, everybody loved my little creation. I would share it with everyone but I can't seem to find a free service that will let me put video on my blog or any website. Does anybody know of anything?

My brother's actual birthday is May 29th, so that is when we will celebrate with the family.

Madison

Yesterday was an awesome day. My cousin (who is visiting from Germany) and I took a trip up to Madison, Wisconsin. Ahhhhh Madison. It had been over 2 years since I had been up there and I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since I graduated. It’s only a 2 ½ - 3 hour drive from my house, so we left around 10 and got to Madison around 1pm. First things first, we had to get lunch and then we walked up and down State Street. For those of you who have never been to Madison, it is a beautiful city. State Street is full of lots of eclectic little shops (and bars) with the Capital at the end of it. We walked up to the Capital and they had a Veterans Museum and a Historical Museum. We went in and browsed the gift shops. They had historical documents for sale, so I bought the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. I couldn’t believe they were only $1.50 each. What a deal!






I figured I would buy a copy of them both before the President went and changed them and/or abolished them all together. Then they truly would be historical documents. I know you say, I’m just being pessimistic and that it can’t get that bad. To those I say, yeah and we didn’t think he would get re-elected. I guess we just haven’t hit rock bottom yet, which to me is sad. If this ain’t the bottom, I don’t wanna know what is.

Anyway, back to Madison. So after checking out the museums, and all the cool little shops up and down State Street, we went to the union and sat out by the lake for a little while. It was such a beautiful day and I remembered how much I loved that city.

After about 4 hours of walking, my feet and back were ready for a rest. So we headed back to Illinois. On the way back, since it was new release Tuesday, we stopped at Best Buy so I could get the 2nd Season of the Golden Girls.



You too can get your copy for only $29.99. I saw in one of the little advertisments inside that Season 3 is coming soon. WooHoo! I love the Golden Girls and even though it is on for like 2 hours a day on Lifetime, I like watching them in the order they aired. Does anybody know how many season there are?

Thoughts around 5am

OK so last night after posting my super long life's story (I really didn't mean to, I just got into a zone and couldn't stop myself), I tried to go to sleep but couldn't. I laid in bed from 3am until after 5am. When the birds started chirping and the sun started to rise, I was starting to get a little nutty. I guess that's what I get for drinking another one of those 44oz Slurpees after 4pm.

But I came up with an idea while lying in bed. Try to follow my train of thought here:

I was thinking that I will definitely be taking my husband's name. But it's gotta be shorter. But then I was thinking, if I hyphenated my name, would my kids’ name be hyphenated too. And what if my kids decided to hyphenate their names too. Maybe my lineage could get into the Guinness Book of World’s Records for the longest name.

So then I’m thinking, who could I marry and what would my hyphenated name be, etc.

How about Usher?



But I don’t know his last name so I couldn’t continue on with my obsession. But with abs like that, do you really need a last name?

How about Jesse Metcalfe?



Who’s Jesse Metcalfe? Ahh Yes, the hunky gardener from Desperate Housewives!



OK so back to my name obsession. So now I would be
A K H-Metcalfe

Now if I was really mean, I could make my daughter the 2nd and when she marries Madonna’s grandson (son of Lourdes Marie Ciccone Leon), she would then be

A K H-Metcalfe-Ciccone-Leon

I think that would qualify me for the longest name in the book, don't you think? Now let’s get back to Jessie shall we?

My MP3 Playlist

Since everybody seems interested in what Bush has on his iPod, I figured I would share with you what I'm listening to. After all, I'm just as (if not more) important than him. Why else are you reading this? (Gotcha there didn't I?)

Now I don't have one of those fancy iPod's because ... well, I'm unemployed damn it and I can't afford it right now. That's not to say that I won't be getting one as soon as my employment status changes. So I have a Rio 600 Digital Music Player that holds about 64MB. That's kind of small you might say, but I got it for free compliments of a colleague at my old employment (one of the perks of being nice to the sales force, you might say), so I'm not complaining.

Of course, all of this music was downloaded legally. (That's all I need right now, is a lawsuit. Those Republicans are just itching to get something on me.)

1. Car Wash – Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott
2. Carry Me Home - Murmurs
3. Daughters – John Mayer
4. Disco Inferno – 50 Cent
5. Don't Phunk With My Heart – Black Eyed Peas
6. Echoing - Murmurs
7. Everybody's Somebody's Fool – Connie Francis
8. Just A Little Lovin' – Dusty Springfield
9. Lean Back – Fat Joe featuring Terror Squad
10. Rich Girl – Gwen Stefani featuring Eve
11. Superstar - Jamelia
12. Piece of My Heart – Janis Joplin
13. Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That – Dolly Parton
14. You Suck - Murmurs

The ONE Band

I received my One Bands in the mail a couple of days ago.



You don't need to buy a band to support the cause, just go to their website and sign the petition. That's all they want from us, our name that shows our support.

What's it stand for? Check out their website and find out!

http://www.one.org/

44 ounce Slurpee

Nothing says summer like a 44oz Slurpee. OK Who am I kidding? You know I drink these suckers all year round.

First Communion

Yesterday was my cousin/goddaughter’s first communion. I volunteered to go with the family to the church ceremony before the party. I guess I should specify Catholic Church ceremony. Being that I’m not Catholic (well actually I don’t consider myself anything but I was christened Lutheran so I guess I can say that I’m definitely not Catholic), the ceremonies seemed a lot longer than usual at an hour and 15 minutes.

I was so happy that another one of my aunts and cousin were there to lighten the mood a bit. Whenever I’m at church, the big question and stress in my life is whether or not I go up with everyone else to get communion. I normally don’t because I don’t believe in it and don’t want to seem like a hypocrite, but being that I volunteered to go to church I didn’t want to be the only one there sitting in the pew. So, I asked my aunt if she was going up since she and my cousin are also Lutheran. I asked because I thought that the Catholics didn’t want you going up there unless you are Catholic. My aunt said, that is true and that is why she was going up there. I got a kick out of this and I decided that I would go too, just to piss off some Catholics. During the communion ceremonies, we noticed that they only had 1 glass of wine that everybody was suppose to drink out of so I opted against it. I don’t want to get any diseases from the other 100 or so people in the church. Come on now, I don’t need wine that badly. I guess a lot of people felt that way because I didn’t see too many people drinking the wine. I guess that is how the church saves money.

I normally don’t pay any attention during church ceremonies. I guess it is my way of rebelling since I never really want to go in the first place. My mom used to make us go for the Christmas midnight mass but this year my brother and I both refused, but that’s a story for another day. So normally I try to have impure thoughts while I’m at church. Either that or sing a Madonna song like “Like A Virgin” or “Erotica” during the Christmas midnight mass. I normally amuse myself for a little while with that one. After all, Like A Virgin has references to Christmas, you know the Virgin Mary (yeah right!).

Anyway, yesterday I was actually listening to what they were saying and I must say, I can’t believe people believe this shit. Come on, you are going to receive Jesus and now Jesus’s blood and body are a part of you. Let me tell you, I only want to be “receiving” Jesus if he’s my significant other, and then I’ll be receiving him more than just once a week if you know what I mean.

Getting back to the ceremonies, so they announce that there can’t be any flash photography and you have to stay in your pew if you want to take pictures because they don’t want to make the ceremonies “un-pious”. So my aunt and I were laughing because there was this poor guy a couple of pews in front of us with his video camera and we could see through his viewfinder that he was just recording the head of the guy in front of him. I told my aunt that he must not know to hold the videocamera above his head and tilt the viewfinder down so he can see what he’s recording. I told her that is what I did while I was in London and Madonna was exiting the theatre of her play. There was a whole group of us and no one could see so I just held my video camera up and everyone around me got a glimpse of Madonna through my video camera. Then I said to my aunt, “You know, the REAL Madonna.” At this point my aunt stepped away saying that she didn’t want to be near when I got struck by lightning and we both got a good laugh.

Although I did behave myself and didn’t re-enact a scene from the Wizard of Oz when the holy water touched me. “AHHHHHHHHH I’m meltingggggggggggg!” But I did think about it.

But I am glad that I went to the ceremonies because my cousin looked adorable. In her little white dress with her crown or veil or whatever you call it, she looked like a little princess.

Massage

Flickr is having a massage right now so my pictures have disappeared. What's that all about? I guess we'll have to wait until 9pm PDT.

I want a massage damn it.

I'm actually thinking of going to Massage Therapy school. It all started last year when I was in Germany. I bought the KISS Guide to Massage and started practicing on my aunt and my cousins while I was there. They say I'm pretty good.

I was thinking it would be a nice way to supplement my income while I'm working my way up the entertainment marketing career path. Or later on in life, when I have my own kids running around, it would be a nice side job to have to bring some extra money into the household.

So what's holding me back you ask? Well, I want to get some more information, talk to somebody who is doing it, find out what kind of programs are out there and which one other people prefer. There are a couple of really good schools in Chicago, but they are expensive and before I invest $9000 of my hard earned money, I want to be sure.

So, is there anybody out there that is working in Massage Therapy or knows somebody who does? If you do, leave a comment so we can chat.

Sweet Home Chicago

Chicago December 2004

This picture was taken from a window in the Aquarium.

Getting Productive

Well I'm starting to get more productive. To start things off, I went shopping yesterday. Sometimes a girl just needs to go out and buy stuff to get her in the mood to be productive. So I went to Best Buy on new release Tuesday and bought the 3rd season of Gilmore Girls, Kanye West's The College Dropout, and Lisa Marie Presley's Now What. So not only did I lift my spirits, but I helped contribute to the economy.

Then I went to work.

Around the time that I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't find a full-time job, I went on volunteermatch.com to find some way to give back. While searching, I found a post an entertainment marketing post. I felt as though this was good karma. So since January, I have been volunteering my services for a production company here in Chicago called Mrakulous Productions. They are trying to raise funds to film their documentary entitled Journey to Peace.

Not only was I interested in the project because I would like to start a career in entertainment marketing, but because of the subject matter. I thought it was very poignant in the times that we live in today. This documentary is in no way political, but just exams how we can all make a difference in the world and live a more peaceful life by looking at the lives of other ordinary citizens that did just that. It really does examine fascinating stories but I can’t express it as eloquently as their website so if your interested, check it out.

http://www.journeytopeace.com/index.php

So I drove downtown yesterday to catch up with the producer of the project and get some work done and see how I could contribute further to the project.

All in all, not a bad days work. Went shopping, and helped spread the message of peace.

Flickr.com

I got on the flickr bandwagon tonight. I posted a whole bunch of pictures on flickr.com. I actually posted my monthly limit so you won't see any new ones until next month. The most recent ones are on the right side of my blog. Just click on them to open up flickr.com and you can see the entire collection. Almost all of the pictures are from last year when I lived in Germany and my travels throughout the region.

What A Slacker I've Been

OK So I know I've gone 4 days without posting anything but hey, read the title. I can't even use the excuse that I've been so busy, because well, that would be a lie. My cousin from Germany did come in to visit on Wednesday and I have had a fun time catching up with her but really that isn't an excuse for my lack of blogging either.

I really do have alot of things on my mind and alot which can be said but I just haven't felt like putting it down on paper. Plus since I've been blogging for almost a month now, I have fallen behind on all of my magazine reading. So yes, I now have 4 weeks worth of Time and Business Week to read.

It's almost like my list of things to do keeps on growing and growing and instead of tackling one by one, I've decided to let it all just go to hell. However, they say today is a new day so I'm going to start catching up today. Granted I've started late since its almost 7 at night but hey, there's always tomorrow.