Daily Dose o' Donna: Such a Random Life

NEW HOME FOR BLOG! (Please go there for new posts!)

2008-12-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

Not only do I like to move a lot in real life, I like to move my blog, too.

I just moved www.DailyDoseoDonna.com from Blogger to Wordpress. The domain will now point there, however I'll leave this blogger blog (http://randomthoughtsfromdonna.blogspot.com) up for a little while incase people have it bookmarked the blogspot address ... so, please rebookmark the URL www.dailydoseodonna.com to always get to the new, current blog.

Congrats to the Top 40 Under 40!

2008-12-10T16:06:00.001-08:00

I saw a Times Leader insert at work on Monday about the Top 40 Under 40 in Northeast Pennsylvania. I flipped through the pages and with each turn of the page, I was like, "Wow...." Over the years I have worked, attended school, or was a part of some community project with many of these amazing folks. One is even my dentist. And one is the Co-Founder/CEO of my company, Solid Cactus-- who I am so proud of for earning this award because I see his efforts every day. One has my last name. One is even in a position I used to hold at a local radio station, even though I don't know him, I thought that was pretty cool. I am just so super proud of these folks, some I knew since they were college freshman! It's just awesome to see them have such success-- but even better yet- making such a positive impact on our community.

Then I remembered that three years ago, I pitched a story idea to the Weekender about profiling some local, civic-minded young professionals - downtown Wilkes-Barre was on the upswing finally, and many of these folks played a role. It was a cover story, which is shown above. (That was a fun photo shoot on the roof, too!) Today, three years later, three of the people were named Top 40 Under 40. You can click on the article below to see what they had to say three years ago! I just reread it and was inspired! So many of the things these "kids" were excited about working on are done-- downtown is happening, the river project is here-- things have changed and a lot has to do with what started three to four years ago with the new administration in the city!

Here is some more information about this cool Top 40 Under 40 program:
Scott's post on the Solid Cactus Blog
Official Times Leader Site
Link to the PDF of the Weekender story I did

Congrats ladies and gents!

One More Year of School- the MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes

2008-12-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

Yay! I am stoked. I was accepted into the MFA in Creative Writing at Wilkes University- I'll be finished with the MA in Creative Writing in January, and with a dozen or so of my writing pals, we're continuing on to the terminal degree and I'll be done in January 2010. The MFA differs from the MA in that it's a terminal degree, like a PhD. I am excited about having the higher degree and would love to teach a class or two part-time once I am able, but I am most excited about more creative writing residencies and being a part of this creative community longer. Write on!

Packages in the Mail

2008-12-09T17:24:00.001-08:00

Maybe it was my childhood obsession with pen pals, Ed McMahon and dreams of being an actress with thousands of fans, but I LOVE mail. Real, postal mail. To this day. I used to have pen pals that I found in my Teen Beat magazine. When I moved away to Oklahoma, I corresponded to friends with letters. I loved when we received Publisher's Clearinghouse packets because I loved scratching off the sweepstakes stuff and taking one sticker off one insert and sticking it on the proper place on another. I loved tearing out the stamps for the magazines I wanted and licking them, and placing them on the envelope. And finally, I always wanted to get fan mail. I dunno. I just did. I swore I'd write back to anyone who wrote me a letter because sending mail was fun, too.

Mail isn't as fun when you are an adult because it's mostly bills, or junk. But, I still get excited. I recently placed a few orders for myself and for Christmas gifts online, so today when I saw a white package in my mailbox, I got excited. I wondered which company it was from, and I secretly hoped it was the shirt I ordered for myself from Wet Seal. But it wasn't. I was a Christmas present for someone who shall remain nameless because he, she or it may read this. I am stoked about giving this present, too.

Which leads me to this being a very different Christmas. I am single. The longer you are with someone, the higher the budget is for exchanging gifts. And on year five, we were getting up there. This year, I have hardly anyone to buy for. I have a small family, I don't have a lot of close friends- more like a ton of acquaintances- so this year is very different. Cheaper, yes. As fun? I dunno. I don't remember what it's like to be single on Christmas actually, so we'll see. Maybe I will just buy myself an iPhone, finally!

"Plato Says..." Yeah- the Dude Rocks

2008-12-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

I was looking for quotes about Nature vs. Nurture to include in my book because I thought it would make a nice touch between the dedication and acknowledgments, since that is really the underlying theme. In my web search, I was given a page full of Plato quotes-- none of which had to do with Nature vs. Nurture- but there were some that I never saw before, or at least forgot about. A lot of these hit home, or made me think of certain people in my life, or certain experiences I've been through. It's amazing to think how long ago these words were uttered, yet they still apply today. It shows that no matter what civilization or century- we're still human. Here are some of my favorite Plato quotes- some are witty, some are beautiful and most are just smart:

At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet. -Plato (I like this because I have been in heated moments where I immediately felt like writing poetry, and I am being serious, not sarcastic.)

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. -Plato (And I always am! My philosophy sometimes is I may be the first person that was nice to someone, or the first person to smile at someone that day!)

He was a wise man who invented beer. - Plato (He really said that? Wow! Love this guy!)

Human behavior stems from three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge. - Plato

Necessity: the mother of invention. - Plato (So, so true!)

There are two things a man should never be angry at, what he cannot control and what he can. - Plato (Again, love this one. I try to be laid back at all times. Why waste energy getting mad?!)

Music is moral law: it gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. - Plato (Ah, so true. So many friends I have that are so into music that would love this one.)

And my favorite:

Life must be lived as play. -Plato

Where's the Menu Board?

2008-12-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, on Black Friday, I headed to work and en route, stopped to get a McDonald's breakfast at the Luzerne location. When I pulled up to the order speaker, something was very different. There was no menu. None. There was just an empty, metal, red circle thing which I am guessing held the menu. I felt at a loss intially, so I just ordered a coffee with three creams and a hashbrown. I mean, I know what McDonald's carries, but without the menu, I felt a tad lost.

I figured the Luzerne McDonald's just chose a holiday weekend when less people would be eating Big Macs to change/upgrade the order board. Then, fast forward today. I wanted a fountain soda. Bad. So, I pulled into the Luzerne McDonald's and again, NO menu. It's been a little while; you'd think they'd have it replaced by now.

I seriously thought of asking into the speaker box, "Hey-- what do you guys have here?" You know, throw them off a bit. Pretend I've never been to the Golden Arches before!

What is so funny about this situation is that most Americans would do just fine without even looking at the menu at the McDonald's drive-thru. Seriously! And that should scare us. We've been groomed to know what McDonald's serves, from the Big Mac to even lesser knowns, like the Asian Chicken Salad. We know about the fries. We know about the shakes. We know about the pies. We don't need the menu board. Yet, it's a source of comfort. It's pictures can perhaps change one's mind. It can help the indecisive, decide.

But really- I wonder how long it takes to replace a menu board. There may be someone in Luzerne county who never ate at McDonald's, and may very well need it.

Lucky's Sportshouse is a Nice Addition to NEPA

2008-12-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

I meant to write this post a few weeks ago, and in fact, even took a picture of my dinner to use in the blog post. For months when folks drove on upper Coal Street past Wegman's, past the big superstore that is ruining America and toward the arena, they were greeted with the old Uno Pizza building be remodeled, with a sign that said, "new concept restaurant coming soon." The owners teased us-- no one knew what was being worked on inside the old pizza shop.

Then, it was announced that it was going to be Lucky's Sporthouse. The logo is pretty cool, so even though I do not care for sports, I was interested. Then, two of my friends were meeting there one Monday for a game (something with a ball or stick, I am not quite sure) and food and beer. When I walked into the place, I was pretty impressed. Huge, open, airy, lots of TVs.... a real, super nice place. The bar was HUGE. The bartenders certainly have a lot of room to move around, which I am sure makes their jobs a lot easier. Lucky's Sportshouse has tons of beers on tap, which is great. Not as many as Arena Bar & Grill, of course- but that's the Arena's speciality. Lucky's is all about providing sports fans a more upscale place to watch a game and get some good eats.

The menu is fantastic! There's the token bar food, of course. Everyone at the bar seemed to be ordering pizza- Lucky's Sportshouse had a good selection of speciality pizzas. I opted for a real dinner. Something really caught my eye- Grits and Shrimp. I know- grits. Reminds ya of My Cousin Vinny, right? This prompted me thinking- is this a chain? I was pretty sure Lucky's was a local place because in my travels around the US, I have never seen another Lucky's, but grits? In NEPA? So I asked our extremely nice bartender (his name is escaping me, dammit- I knew I should have posted this that night), the scoop. Turns out one of the owners worked in the South for a while and learned just what you could do with grits while there.

This grits and shrimp thing was one of the most unqiue things I've tasted. It was two grit and cheese cakes- I had only seen grits look like a lumpy side dish before- but here, they were formed into cakes, either deep friend or pan friend until they were golden and crispy. Then, between the two cakes was spinach. All around the tower were pieces of shrimp and cherry tomatoes in this amazing cream sauce. I could barely drink my beer because this was so filling- I couldn't finish all of it, but did my best. It was just incredible. I'd order it again, but definitely want to try the pizza.

So- to all in NEPA who are looking for somewhere new to try, check out Lucky's Sporthouse. I am not a sports fan but still had a blast. The place draws a good crowd, has a really, really nice staff and just an overall great atmosphere.

Reflecting Back to the Inner Makeover

2008-12-02T06:11:00.000-08:00

Did you ever re-read something you wrote a year or so ago? I used to post a lot of articles on Associated Content- an user-generated content site-- where I also earn recurring revenue each month. I was really, really active there for some time. Things got busy with work and school, so I haven't posted anything new in nearly a year. However, my stuff still gets read and commented on. Today, I received an e-mail notification that I had a new comment on my article, "How I Gave Myself an Inner-Makeover."

I had to go re-read it. In July 2007, right after I left one job for another, I really made some changes. And, I still feel great that these changes are still in my life. I still live by "It is What it is." I am no longer in that relationship, however (I guess I kept on with the negative energy removal...), and yes, I succumbed back into meat eating- but everything else is still the same. It's just neat to go back and read something that you pledged to yourself a long time ago, and it feels great to know that I kept up!

So that's my shiny, happy thought for the day. = ) What can you do to change YOUR life for the better? What can you get rid of that's bringing you down? Small changes can be HUGE!

QWERTY Keyboards Great for Texting- Not So Great for Trying to Dial By Letter

2008-11-29T14:58:00.000-08:00

I haven't worked in radio for some time- geez, about six or seven years. It feels like yesterday. But at any rate, I felt it was time that I could actually call a radio station to win something. A local station here is giving away a holiday party- you qualify a few times a day to win a prize and then get entered in a grand prize drawing, yada yada. So anyway, I heard the Santa sounder and wanted to dial the station to try to be the Nth caller. When I realized my Q has a QWERTY keypad, I was in trouble. There was no way I could figure out what numbers spelled out the radio station name in time to win. Haha!

The other day when my computer was going haywire at home, I went to campus. My password to get on Wilkes was reset and saved on my home computer. I never memorized it, so I had to call the HELP desk, which is 408-HELP. I couldn't dial by number, again. So I called the main Wilkes switchboard and asked to be transferred.

Just a silly observation.

Forget the Sound, How About The Smell of Music

2008-11-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

I had a nice little trip to the mall last night, ending with a massage from the new Massage Store, ran by authentic Eastern practitioners. (That's my PC way of describing the place.) I sooo needed a massage from my long work days and long work nights on the memoir draft the past few weeks- my neck and shoulder and arms were tight as hell from all the time typing and in the computer chair. It felt pretty amazing and I slept like a rock.

I stopped at Macy's to pick up another pair of Donna Karan New York -DNKY- jeans because they fit me better than any other denim product, ever! Love DKNY. I wish I had found them sooner. I also found a cute shirt to wear for the First Annual Turkey Day Pub Crawl, a term for tonight's festivities my co-worker coined. Then, I found this cute, gray Hilfiger sweater on sale 30% off!! Score.

On the way out of Macy's, something really cute caught my eye- adorable bottles of perfume with anime-looking character shaped bottles. The brand is Harajuku Lovers. I am a sucker for packaging so I perused over to the counter. I sniffed all the samples and found that I liked Music the best. Then I remembered that last week I spritzed on the last spray of Flirtasious, my previous perfume. I was in need of something new and I was in front of a very cute bottle that contained a very nice smelling perfume. So, I grabbed a tiny bottle of Harajuku Lovers Music for $25.

Today, I Googled the perfume to get a picture for the blog post and found that this is Gwen Stefani's perfume! This makes me extra excited because she's hot and talented and kind of a girl crush I have. The perfume was inspired by Gwen's first trip to Tokoyo in the Harajuku section, where people have their own style and attitude. The website for the perfume says Harajuku stands for "anything goes, outrageous, layered and eye-catching...." Apparently, there will be a float for Harajuku at the Macy's Day Parade... another Macy's connection there... The website is super cute and fun but has a lot going on and slowed down my PC.

Video from Non-Profit Summit 2008: Three co-workers and I presented at the Blog, Blog, Blog session

2008-11-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I spoke on a panel called Blog, Blog, Blog at the Nonprofit Summit 2008, sponsored in part by CDS Creative, the company ran by my new friend Catherine Shafer. The CEO of my company, Scott, an SEO expert from my company, Jeff (and fellow blogger), Catherine and I talked about all the advantages of blogging for nonprofits-- not to mention how easy it was. I had a great time! After the session, I was interviewed for the video presentation-- check it out. You must wait until the very end to see me, but there's a lot of good stuff there pertaining to managing nonprofits-- if you wish though, you can move the dial up to around 5:00 to see my interview and B-roll footage of Catherine and the Solid Cactus gang. Click on the video for the '08 summit.

http://www.cdscreative.com/cdscreativevideos.htm

Another Round of Funny Keywords That Brought People to My Blog

2008-11-25T14:02:00.001-08:00

A few months back, I posted some funny keywords that showed up in my Google Analytics account. To those unfamiliar with the e-commerce tool, Google Analytics pretty much tells you everything about your site- where people are coming from, etc. I have it on my site just for shits and giggles to see how much traffic I get and how far visitors are from- but what I find most entertaining is HOW people find the blog.

There are some expected keywords, like my name (people search for me for some reason)- various spellings of my name and blog name, too. I also must have blogged about a few well-searched topics like Office Space, Green M&Ms being an aphrodisiac (about 40 different versions of a search for that appeared), expired driver's license and bars (almost 100 searches for versions of that), fecal matter in ice (about 30 different keywords phrases on that), lots of Pocono and Wilkes-Barre businesses since I blog a lot about what I do and where I go... But here's some strange ones-- somehow my content must have looked good to the search engines when people searched for:

are you supposed to rotate in a tanning salon
beer internet publicity tattoo (My comment: WTF?)
cats for cakes
cool laundromat names
dive bar dancer blog
donna l. white naked (My comment: Thank goodness is wasn't my name with naked!!)
elmo drink trucks
hoochies guitar
health issue, i smell a mold smell everywhere, my house, my car, my office (My Comment- that's a long search term!)
how to use a pooper scooper (My comment- freaking hysterical)
my cat is eating too much
my boyfriend caught me smoking
nightmare cat eating body
screw the banks
status orgasmus
where did okie dokie come from

Maybe I'm a complete dork- but I love this stuff!

Children Do NOT Buy Cars, So What's the Beef?

2008-11-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to a few e-mail newsletters from Advertising Age magazine for career reasons- lots of great info on trends in traditional and new media. I learn a lot.

Today's e-mail subject line was: Parents Television Council's Worst Advertisers; CW's New Sunday; Macy's Windows; It's Ad Age's MediaWorks.

The article I would like to focus on is Parents Television Council Pillories GM and Nissan. PTI isn't griping about the content of ads, but specifically where companies are advertising.

I don't have children, and as a child, I was exposed to R-Rated movies and adult content from the get-go so maybe I just don't get the whole censorship thing, but I really dislike organizations like these. As Ad Age puts it, PTI is shaming companies who advertise on risque shows. They discredit GM for advertising on the "most shocking episode" of Family Guy and also, Nissan for helping "fund the bloodiest episode of Dexter."

So the F what.

Children do not buy cars. Adults do. Adults like me, who watch Family Guy. And guess what? I am a GM fan. I like to buy American. I kinda like the Pontiac Vibe, in fact. So therefore, isn't it smart that GM and these other companies are advertising WHERE THE TARGET DEMO watches?

Ads on child-safe programming should be for things they will beg their parents for, like dolls, video games, toys and Disney vacations. Keep the car ads on the shows the adults watch.

So what are the Top Ten Worst Companies, according to the conservative PTI? Loreal, Pepsi-Cola, GlaxoSmithKline, Reckitt Benkisser (I have no idea what that is), Target, Kohl's, Verizon Communications and Toyota. This strikes me as interesting because I made the switch from Coke to Pepsi a few years ago, I shop only at Target when going to discounters, love Kohl's and have a Verizon Phone. So you see, these companies effectively advertised to me by choosing the right medium for the message.

Guess what? People who like sex, drugs, rock and roll, violence and other risque stuff really do buy stuff, too. And judging from the morals of America today, that's an incredible amount of people. I'd say these companies are just doing some smart business. = )

Back to Normal- Normal as I Can Be, Anyway

2008-11-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhh.

That's a sigh of relief that my memoir draft is complete for the purposes of submitting it to the MA in Creative Writing Office, to then be sent to an outside reader. Of course, I still have a long road ahead of me to polish and rewrite and edit until it's truly ready to be submitted for publication. The past two weeks, I kicked it into high gear and just cranked out work. My housework as fell to the wayside, and now that I am done, I have laundry, dishes, floors to clean.

At so many points the past few weeks I've been inspired to write a blog post, but then my mentor's words came into my head. I was a slacker. I lack self-discipline. I think a lot of writers do. But the thing is, with her pushing me and me ultimately finishing, I realize that I CAN write something that long. I CAN finish a book.

Now, I can get to work on all the other ideas I have now that I know I can do it. And since I have no looming deadline or due date, I can get back to my random blog posts and get back to doing some freelance writing.

I have to say, too, that I am so super proud of everyone in my program at Wilkes. On June 22, 2007 we met for the first time in Breiseth Hall at Wilkes- all eager writers with lots of ideas, but not all of sure where we wanted to focus our MA efforts, which genre we'd choose, which story idea we'd run with. Now, TODAY, we are all dropping off our final drafts. Wow. I cannot believe we've come this far. Many of us (hopefully I will be accepted) will be continuing on for one more year for the M.F.A in Creative Writing. I just want to be part of this community longer. I am not sure that I'd start a new project, as I may continue to polish my memoir... choices....

The Reasons it Hasn't Been a "Daily" Dose

2008-11-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

Last night, I received an e-mail notification that I had a new blog comment. It was from an anonymous reader who made the point that I now have an Internet connection at home, yet am blogging less. On the surface it doesn't make a hoot of sense. But, here's why.

I'm a slacker by nature, like a lot of creative people are. I realized that I was quite behind where I should be with my memoir draft- and with the help of my mentor I had to set a VERY aggressive deadline to get the draft done in time to graduate-- without having to take an extra semester. She made the comment that I blog a lot. If I had put this much effort each day onto my memoir, I would not be in this perilous situation. She's absolutely right. There are other, more personal reasons, I've been struggling with the memoir, but I wanted to check in and let the folks who read by blog regularly why I haven't had a new post in a while.

What's worse, is that as soon as I got my Internet connection- I was infected with something. I thought I fixed it- until today when the same thing happened. For that last hour and a half, I've rebooted six times. I think I am killing this computer in Office Space fax destruction styles. Or, if you watch family guy, the way Brian and Stewie destroyed the "Bird is the Word" record.

I keep the Internet closed, and Word up (haha, that sounded funny) to focus in my story. But the porn and loan and other advertisements still pop open. The only way to prevent this is to unplug my Internet. But in some cases, I needed research-- in going through the draft today, I wanted to add some stuff about George Carlin and "A Place for my Stuff" since that was a big part of my family's nomadic life. I wanted to get the wording just right, so I came to my blog where I had posted the video several months ago. That's when I realized that I no longer had flash. I tried to download it. Firefox wouldn't let me. Something must have happened when I wiped out all of my viruses and tried to increase my security settings. So, after spending an hour with help files, I got it to work. And that's how I came back to my blog- to see if the video was there. And then I decided, what the hell, let me take a break, vent and blog for a minute.

Please wish me well- I don't have much time to finish this. It won't by any means be publishable by next week, but it will have a beginning, middle and end and be able to get me to graduate. I have a lot of work to do to really finish this, but this is only the beginning.

Eating the Red Crayon

2008-11-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

I just updated my Facebook status to let the Facebook Kingdom know how happy I am that the map is getting filled up with blue states. So, I wrote:

"Donna is liking what she sees so far on the map that's getting colored in on CNN.com. Now if a small child could just come and eat that red crayon, it'd be swell!"

Then, just out of curiosity, I did some quick but thorough research and I found a little baby named Maddie who has her own website who is qualified for the job. This litle tyke will surely eat the red crayon so no more states get colored in with red this evening.
She only likes red. She will safely protect the periwinkle, the Cerulean, the royal blue, the sky blue, and the standard blue.
And here's a little tidbit of Binney and Smith trivia that has nothing to do with the 2008 presidential election but really everything to do with the election: BLUE IS THE MOST POPULAR SHADE of Crayola crayons. = )

Don't Pick Trash This Election Day

2008-11-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

A portion of Kingston Township in Pennsylvania is a whole lot cleaner, while a few co-workers and I are a little dirtier. I don't want to re-write the whole post, but you can read about the my company's Adpot-a-Roadway program here, and how a half-dozen of us volunteered the Saturday after Halloween to clean up some very strange litter. (Normal litter, too.)

However, what I could not share on my company blog was this photo. In a sheer moment of genius, I said to a pair of co-workers, "Holy crap, look at that big piece of trash. I've got that one boys!" So, I ran over and tried to bag it up. You can see it here, in Exhibit A:

Okay, so I didn't really steal the sign. Why would I incriminate myself anyway? But really, it's garbage. It's not even Red, White and Blue!

Consider this blog post a PSA. A lesson that the McCain/Palin signs don't belong in yards-- they belong in dumpsters.

Go Obama. Don't pick trash on Election Day.

Dude- if you're in e-commerce, this is the place to be.

2008-11-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Since I did not have Internet at home the past month, I was not privy to this lovely YouTube video that my coworker created from a collage of pictures from Solid Cactus E-Commerce Boot Camp, October 2008. For more information on upcoming Boot Camps, click here.

In the meantime, enjoy this little montage. I had to spread the word. And yes, I had fun as you can tell. = )

Relief!! I Feel Like Me Again! Finally! Internet at Home!

2008-11-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

The lack of Internet saga got even better. I was notified Friday that my Internet was ready. I didn't have time to mess with it Friday since it was Halloween, so I got to it Saturday. I was so exctied! I thought all I had to do was plug in everything and install the software from Verizon. No signal. I went through all the trouble-shooting with no luck. I tried it on the three jacks in the house. No luck. So, I called tech support. I explained to her that I just moved and was patiently waiting for two weeks for this date, and told her that I was unable to connect, and that the DSL light was not staying static green, instead, just blinking.

After hearing that, her first question was, "When was the last time your Internet worked?"

Duh! No listening skills whatsover. Then, she tried to look up my account info. She kept saying she can't find me. I repeated to her how to spell my name:

T-A-L-A-R-I-C-O

"Okay. I-R-C-O she said back," to which I corrected her again twice.

"I still cannot find you. Are you sure you ordered service from Verizon?"

"Yes. The number on the screen says to call you."

"Okay, it's T-A-L-A-I-R-C-O, right?"

I wanted to kill myself. She FINALLY got it right.

Then, she proceed to ask all the dumb questions like if my power was on (yes) and if I plugged the filter between the wall jack and the modem.

"No. I am not an idiot. I can follow directions, and plus, there is a huge red sticker on the modem that says not to use a filter between the wall and the modem," I told her back. "The problem where is that the DSL is not present..."

Thank goodness the call with her didn't last terribly long, but I was on hold for quite a while to get over to their dispatch department. I got to another lady who was able to help me. Luckily, Verizon has technicians that come out on the weekends. So, she scheduled me for Sunday, which is today. Chuck from Verizon just left and I know have Internet at home! The problem was that the inside line was not connected to the outside or something like that. A big thank-you to him for taking care of things!

So, I can now do all the things I couldn't do for over a month. I am so overdue on all those Facebook requests, e-mails that I needed to reply to that I didn't want to from my phone (takes too long), playing online word games, getting reconnected to WebCT for my MA at Wilkes, doing work from home, blogging, and more. I've managed to do some blogging from wi-fi hotspots, but no much else.

And the funny thing is- I am so tired from last night that I really want to take a nap instead of play online....

Halloween 1988: The Year I Dressed Up as a Bar

2008-10-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

I wrote about this as a chapter in my memoir, and I just had to dig through all my pics to find these. I am not supposed to have them. I took them from my mom years ago to show someone and never gave them back. Inadvertantly, I lost them in a sea of other pictures. A few weeks ago, I found them on a whim stuffed in a photo envelope of some concert photos from my radio days. Thank goodness I found them! Now I have electronic copies and maybe will give these back to my mom. Maybe.

I may post a portion of the chapter I wrote, but here's the nutshell version. When I was 10, my mom created this bar costume for me. I won "Most Creative" at the two fire hall Halloween parties I went to. The costume is made of cardboard, covered in contact paper that looks like wood and decorated with all the bar staples superglued to the bar- bottles, cans, shot glasses, napkins, cigarattees, etc. I was dresses as a bartender underneath with a white blouse, black slacks and suspenders with beer buttons up and down.

Now that I am 30, I can see that perhaps I was corrupted by the bar scene at a very young age and this explains a lot! haha. Seriously though- my mom was a creative and a whiz at Halloween costumes. I was very lucky. Maybe I'll go as a bar next year.

Post II of the Day: Internet Awaits Me at Home

2008-10-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Before I get too excited- I haven't tried the Internet at home, but today is the day the Internet is supposed to be on at home and today I even got the e-mail from Verizon, as show here in Exhibit A, saying its true. I already hooked up my modem and everything and keep turning it on everyday to see if it works incase they turned it on early. No luck. Can't wait to get home today to try it out.

I must send a big Thank You to the VP of Customer Service at the local office of Frontier Communications. Someone forwarded my blog post to them and he e-mailed me offering to help. I wrote back saying I appreciate his response and willingness to help, but I had already signed up for Verizon. It's a shame that things only get taken care of in some cases when a little noise is made. I do hope the company- not this local office- but the company as a whole makes some changes to make service a little easier. It is nice to know that this VP cared enough to contact me and offer help. It happend too late, but it was a very nice gesture and says a lot that there are some good people with customer's best interest at heart. I feel I need to post about it to even out my complaint post from a few weeks ago- nothing is more frustrating that not getting someone on the phone, having wrong hours posted, etc. But it's all over as of today. I think. I hope.

Centralia and Halloween Party I - A little late of a post

2008-10-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was pretty awesome. I would have added a post sooner, but being without Internet at home and sheer laziness of going somewhere with wi-fi kind of got in the way.

Friday night, a few co-workers and I met up with my creative writing bud A. and headed to Gravestone Manor, a theatrical haunted house in Wilkes-Barre, where two of my other creative writing friends work. It was pretty cool. Then, we hit up Old Tyme Charley's in Plains for a little 40lb. Head and a lot of bomb shots- Jager bombs. Grape bombs. Raspberry bombs. I also ran into some old radio buds, so that's always fun!! With a case of heartburn, we then hit up Flaherty's in Edwardsville where we pretty much closed down the place. It was nice little tour of some of the finest bars in NEPA...

Saturday, I hibernated all day until it was time to get ready for A and C's annual Halloween bash. I'll post some pics later of that. Fun times ensued as usual. I reigned champion at Beer Pong, and then the Flip Cup team I was on also rocked. My friends may have had a pole, too. And you know what that means for a drunk Donna. There may or may not be videos.

Sunday, it was a hungover road trip to Centralia... you can read more about that on the post below. But I saw a part of Centralia I never saw before- the portion of Route 61 that is closed off. It goes on for a few miles- we walked a lot of it- really getting some exercise, too-- you just don't realized it's a big hill when you go down... haha. The big crack in the road was quite impressive- trees were growing out of it. But what was even more amusing was the graffiti painted on the road. Craziness.

So much changed in Centralia since I first started going- a lot more has been torn down, but there was still cool stuff to see. I just really enjoyed the weekend. I was completely exhausted by Monday! But what a great weekend- a haunted house, a few bars, a great party, a cool road trip and still some good sleep!

I still have yet to get my TV and washer and dryer, but I guess I'm not really home enough to watch TV. My two new neighbors commented on that fact last night, as I ran into the house to change and then leave again for dinner with co-workers at Rustic Kitchen at the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino. They were outside smoking and said, "When are you ever home?!"

Spooky Hallo-Weekend Ahead! Costume Party and Centralia!

2008-10-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year. In fact, I started off a post on my department blog with that same thought. I love sweaters. I love orange. I love pumpkins. I love being scared! By the way- if you are in any way interested in e-commerce (that's sellin' stuff online) or sales in general, you should give the Solid Cactus Sales Blog a read!

HALLO-WEEKEND Part 1

I am not sure, but I have to kick-off the weekend somewhere, somehow! Could it be Hops & Barleys??

HALLO-WEEKEND Part 2

But on to this weekend. I am looking forward to the annual costume party at my friend A&C's house-- this is their first Halloween in their new house, so it's going to be bigger and better-- and louder I am sure since they are nestled in the middle of nowhere in Hunlock Creek! I am stoked for the chicken wing dip, Jell-O shots, Flip Cup, Beer Pong and seeing lots of folks I haven't seen in a while. They have mad decorations, too.

HALLO-WEEKEND Part 3

Centralia!! I am so super stoked for this trip. Two girls from work were talking about it, and I told them that I went there so many times as a kid, and then took Dave there a few years ago. In 2003 I went with my dad and step-mom and took some great black and white pics-- I scanned them in here at work, but it didn't work too well because it was a copier and I think it thought the pics were paper. At any rate, I'll still post them here. The one up top is of me in the middle of the smoke, and the one right here is with the house that was going to be razed. Anway... we have plans to drive down there Sunday afternoon and I'll be the tour guide.

Oh wait?! What is Centralia you ask? It's an old mining town in Central PA that had an underground mine catch on fire back in the late 60s. The fire is still out of control. The town is now pretty much a ghost town, but some residents still live there- the diehards that refuse to leave. Most houses are torn down- it's eerie to drive around there- smoke still billows out of the ground. There are driveways that lead to nothing. I am pretty into this wierd stuff, so every time I go, I spend hours exploring. When I went back in 03 I had my picture taken in front of a house that was x'ed off to be torn down. My dad and I went inside the house and there was so much stuff still left there. Mail, even. So now we know who lived there incase we ever want to do an article or something. The story of this town is totally horror movie material. I have plenty of ideas for movies to be set here- I am surprised none haven't been yet. There was one a few years ago about a woman whose daughter is lost in an old mine town, but it wasn't exactly like Centralia.

Here are some Centralia links:

http://www.centraliapa.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

Before I made this post, I actually just read the Wikipedia entry, and another house I have a picture of was torn down in 2007. It was a house that had brick support on either side- so it looked like it had ten chimneys. I guess we won't be seeing that this weekend. But just to be in this ghost town around Halloween will be so cool!

Barely Connected at Wegman's, But It's Better Than No Connection At Home

2008-10-18T08:57:00.001-07:00

October 30th. That's the soonest I can get hook-up at home from Verizon. Ugh. Who do I have to blow to get service quicker? Or how much extra do I have to pay? I'd do either at this point. Seriously! I can't stand this wait. I'll be living there about seven weeks without phone or Internet. My cell just doesn't cut it.

I came up to Wegman's today to TRY to do some work/play online. I was up unusually early today. Around 8:23 to be exact. I hit the sack last night right after work. I had kind of a late night Thursday and was just dragging all day. I knew if I took a nap I wouldn't wake up again to go out later, so I just caught up on sleep-- about 14 hours of it. So, I woke up and made scrambled eggs with cheese and whole wheat Eggo waffles and set off to run some errands during part of the week I always miss-- before noon on a Saturday.

I was amazed at how many people are awake before noon on a Saturday. I mean, really.... I just assumed everyone was lazy like me. I headed to the bank first, where I had to wait in line-- again, hard to think this many people want to wake up early on a weekend to run errands. I got my security deposit back from my old place and am stoked about that. Hello new washer and dryer!

Next, I went to Spirit Halloween store by the Wyoming Valley Mall and was helped by two friendly gals who helped me try on various costumes. I settled on Viking Girl but will absolutely need tights for underneath. Anyone behind me in the bobbing for apples line will thank me for those tights. It's amazing how small Halloween costumes are. I wanted to be Wednesday from the Addams Family because I really liked the wig, but they only had the outfit in a small and I am most definitely not a small.

Then, I needed a new lamp for my nightstand- I've been wanting something Eastern-themed with a red shade and I knew TJ Maxx would have one. So, I headed up to TJ Maxx and lo and behold, they had EXACTLY what I pictured in my head. I have to remember to get an extension cord, too. I can't wait to light it up and read by it. I can't wait to hang the rest of my Asian stuff up and have a really cool bedroom.

While in the aisle I saw these cool minisculptures that were inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci's Virturvian Man. They are a combination of art and history and a tribute to the way the human body moves. I went to a great lecture a few years ago at Wilkes by Leonard Shlain (who I also got to interview!) and have been since marveld by the combo of art and science. At any rate, I got one of the human hand making the peace sign, very fitting for me. I got one of a human foot with a wing on it, no doubt referring to Icarus and finally one of a man huddled up in the fetal position with wings- I will have to look that one up. But I think they are really cool and different. I was trying to find a picture of them online, but I don't remember the name of the company, but I did Google "Virturvian Man Collection TJ Maxx" and a Washington Post shopping editorial came up, but the page will not load here at Wegman so I don't know if it is about these figurines, but I'll link to it anyway....

That brings me to here, Wegmans, where the Internet is unbelivably slow, just like when I was here last week. I am struggling to load pages in other windows right now. Last time I was here, I could not upload pics to my blog. So, for three weeks now people have not been able to share the rest of my San Fran pics or see my pics from Solid Cactus Boot Camp. This makes me sad. I may have to unplug and go to Panera Bread, but that place is way too small and always so loud and busy, and so is Dunkin Donuts. They just aren't the right atmospheres to be in to work. The cafe at Wegmans in Wilkes-Barre is huge and I have a private corner and access to a great coffee bar, sushi bar and more. And if you did not see the beer selection here- oh my goodness! I am happy they got the license to sell six packs. I am going to buy an assortment of beer when I leave - Harvest Moon by Blue Moon is out. Mmmm. So much good beer in the fall! And, I am surrounded by it all right now and I am getting thirsty!

Regarding the net, I asked for help, but the guy said there is nothing wrong. Wi-Fi works fast for me everywhere else so I don't really know what the problem is, but I am growing frustrated- for example, like last time I was here, it's going on 40-minutes for 20 pictures to be uploaded. It's insane. So, here I am. Still alive without the Internet at home, but it's like I am on life support. Barely breathing. Barely connected. I miss the Internet.

Bill Maher is Pretty Much God in My Eyes Now. Wait. The Defeats the Purpose of the Movie

2008-10-16T06:14:00.000-07:00

I never saw a documentary in a movie theater, but I'll be darn, it was one of the best cinematic experiences I've ever had. I saw Bill Maher's Religuous with a friend last night and it was pretty much one of the best projects I've ever seen.

Basically, Bill Maher travels the Bible Belt in the US straight on to the "most sacred sites" in the world-- getting kicked out of many of them, might I add. The mission of Religulous? To create doubt. To make smart people reconsider their beliefs. To stump believers by asking logical, rational questions that they end up not having answers to and really look like complete asses because they can't even explain what they believe in. He interviews people from most all mainstream religions, as well as followers, including visitors to a Jesus theme park in Orlando.

I'm like Bill Maher. I am against organized religion and am a complete skeptic.- always have been. All that said, this movie was so enjoyable. I encourage everyone to check out Religious so they can be enlightened, or just learn a new way of looking at things. It doesn't matter what religion you are or aren't, this movie needs to be seen.

Of course in Bill Maher style, the movie is filled with comdey as well-- clips of various movies, old stand-up, clips of televangleists and all sorts of unbelievable stuff, all edited in such an enjoyable fashion. In post-editing, subtitles were thrown in to make fun of what interviewees were saying- showing facts to the mistakes they make. A complete riot!

I think I am going to go see this again this weeked.

To learn more about the movie:

http://www.lionsgate.com/religulous/

Landmark Torn Down in Swoyersville

2008-10-15T10:03:00.001-07:00

The title of this post is misleading, but that's really what headlines do. Not a real landmark, but the landmark I've been using for three weeks to find me new house. See, I live in the middle of a really long block. There's no real landmark to show you are getting close to my house. This will be difficult when I start inviting people over. So, I moved in the the middle unit of my buildling but one apartment in the house was still available. The "For Rent" sign was prominent in the year, easy to see from down the road.

Last night when I headed down my street, I totally passed out my own house because the "For Rent" sign was down. I had to turn around and go back. I guess I have a new neighbor.

Not One, But Two Phone Company Fiascos. Argh! Verizon and Frontier Are on My S-List.

2008-10-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Not one, but two phone companies have pissed me off this week. I like to be shiny and happy in my blog- usually. Today, while I sit on hold, AGAIN, I will vent. Mind you, not from my home computer because I STILL have no Internet at home.

Verizon Wireless Sucks The Big One:
I Don't Care How Many People Are Outside my Door With Gadgets

INCIDENT #1
We'll start with wireless. I recently had to change responsibility of my phone from the company into my name. Easy enough. Boom. Done. Okay, okay. I did have to wait for a while because the girl who serviced me at the counter at the Verizon Wireless location at the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre had not done this before. Two weeks later, I am smack-dab in the middle of a company event where I needed to reach people. One second the phone is fine. The next, I get a message, "The phone you are calling from cannot be authenticated." WHAT?

Since I do not have landline at home yet, I dialed 611, which is really a great service to have- that you can reach customer service right away. I give them credit for that. I found out that the person who switched my account over left an employer or employee ID on my account-- the company phones were to be deactiviated on the 10th. Since my accounted APPEARED to be a company phone- even after I got my welcome letter about MY new plan. So, just like that, with the flip of a switch, my phone was shut off. They apologized and immediately turned me back on. So it was really less than 12 hours without phone- but since I have no landline and no Internet it was an eternity.

So over a stupid field, I missed out on meeting up with some clients because I had no phone to call or be called on.

INCIDENT #2
So I lost my charger. Left it somewhere and it was half-broken anyway. I went to the same Verizon store that messed up my account to purchase a home charger. I told the guy, "Home charger." He had to knock on the door to the office, swipe a card to gain access and go back to the stock room to get one. He peeked back out and said, "Home or car?" to which I replied, "Home." Speaking of home, I got home, opened my bag and saw that I got a CAR charger. Partially it's my fault- I didn't check the bag.

I went to the mall the next day with the intent to exchange the charger. The girl went in that same super-secure back room. She came back out and said, "Sorry. We don't have any of those." She told me to go to the Verizon store by Wal-Mart or wait until they were back in stock. I hate driving by Wal-Mart in Wilkes-Barre so I just walked away. I need to go somewhere soon though because I am borrowing a charger. Maybe I will just use the car one for now... but still... why can't they get ANYTHING right at this Verizon store in Wilkes-Barre.

THE LANDLINE AND INTERNET: Frontier Sucks, Too
Not the people. I talked to a really cool guy from Minnesota, a state where people think I am from for the way I pronounce certain words. But anyway, I called three weeks ago to transfer service. A year or so ago, Frontier Communications bought out our local phone company, Commonwealth (CTSI). After I explained my whole situation three weeks ago, the rep informed me that they do not handle service in 18074, which is less than five miles from 18708 where I was moving from. I was told to call a different office. But it gets better- I had to go through the whole queue again. I am busy and have limited time to do these menial tasks. I could not wait on hold any longer so I hung up. Since then, I was in San Fran, busy moving and busy with a work event.

Today was the day. I called again today, when I was connected with the nice Midwestern boy. I told him that I wanted to be transferred to the right person and told him what happened last time. He said, "Why would they send you to someone else. I can help with Frontier everywhere." I trusted the boy from the Viking state and carried on.

"Oh. I see what the other guy meant. I can't help you."
"See! I told you!" I couldn't get mad though. He was so nice. He explained the whole Frontier-buying-CTSI-but-TSI-gets-to-keep-some-local-jurisdiction. He put me on hold to come back with this, "Oh, Miss Donna. It gets better. The local Frontier you have to call closes at 6:00pm."

See- I knew that. But the main Frontier site says until 7:00 p.m. They really need to implement a map and you click on it to see which service center you need to call. I work in e-commerce- something like that can be done.

I hung up, but then I realized that I am still paying for service three weeks later at an abandoned apartment. I called back to cancel that service. Turns out, I still have the final bill. I have to pay that first before I cancel. So, I had to pay that via their phone service and then I have to call back to the OTHER number to get new service at the new place.

Mind you- when I signed up for service last time, I signed up online to avoid this PHONE CRAP. I was NEVER contacted even though I got an order confirmation e-mail. When I called, the lady laughed and said, "Oh yeah- you should never place an Internet order with us. That happens all the time with things getting lost."

I'm at a loss. I'm about to get two tin cans and a piece of string. Frontier needs 24/7 service to acommodate busy professionals who don't have 30-60 minutes in their day to deal with this.

So guess what. I am going for a beer. Thanks Verizon.. Thanks Frontier. Thanks for contributing to my drinking habit. Ugh!

--sorry for any typos- I am writing this irate and don't want to edit at the moment. (Again, the beer is calling!)

Not one, but two errors on Verizon's part.

New Blog

2008-10-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

I just created a new blog for "Kids, Have You Seen My Backpack." I know, like you need another blog from me to read! If you want to though, stop by for a visit.

I Really Like B. Moss & More

2008-10-12T11:49:00.001-07:00

My cat was more active than I was yesterday. I had really good intentions. Really, I did. Wednesday through Friday was super busy at work with Boot Camp. And like usual, Friday night's finale dinner led to a great, fun night with school busses and all at the Woods on Friday. When I woke up Saturday and sensed the headache, it was an extra sign that it was a good night. To get rid of the headache, I went back to sleep. I slept on and off all day. I don't think I left my bed. When I woke up a little, I read a little until I fell back asleep. Every now and then I'd check my e-mail or Facebook from my phone, but for the most part, I hibernated. All day. Plans to go to a haunted hayride fell through. Plans to go to Target instead fell through. Plans to get up and make Ramen noodles downstairs fell through.

After all that sleep, you can bet I was wide awake and hungry this morning. I made myself four Eggo Whole Wheat waffles and had some coffee and OJ and took a shower- which felt amazing. I headed to the mall to pick up the coat I ordered at B. Moss about three weeks ago. I have this cycle with B. Moss.

1. Before I went to Oklahoma in August, I stepped into a really good sale at the B. Moss in the Wyoming Valley Mall. It was a Wednesday, but 50% off everything sale started Thursday, but you could pre-set aside the stuff the day before, get the same price-- you just had to pick it up the next day. I said I wouldn't be back for a week, but that was fine. As long as I left my card number, etc. they'd ring me up on the sale day and keep my stuff in the back. Super nice!

2. When I got back from Oklahoma to pick up my outfits, they were having another sale. This time, it was winter coats for 50% off. So, not only did I buy a bunch more regular clothes, I also ordered a lovely black, wool peacoat. They said it'd arrive at the store in 3-4 weeks.

3. Today- I was about two weeks late picking up my coat. It was still there. But like the last time I went to pick up an order, I bought even more. The sweaters at B. Moss were 50%. I grabbed a bunch of stuff to try on. The girl started a dressing room for me, while I continued to browse. When I tried on the clothes, she checked on me by name- they knew my name because they had already got out my coat. That was great service, I thought-- calling someone by name is Sales 101. I asked her to bring me a shirt in a medium instead of a large and she did, very quickly.

Once again, this store always had great sales, great service and they market the crap to me- I am on their phone list for their special "one-day sales" and also on their e-mail list. These guys market traditionally (they even do the signs on the road for their one-day sales) and via new media- they are on top of their game-- and once you get into the store, they continue to treat you well. So- if you can, shop at B. Moss in Wilkes-Barre!

Also- great service reported at the Shoe Dept. in the mall from a lovely young lady you looks like Taylor Swift-- she found me the right size boot, took all the crap out of it, unzipped it and gave it to me to try on. Reminded me of shoe-shopping when I was a kid where people really serviced you. You only really get that service at Department Stores where the men and woman have worked there for years, or local shops like our Gino's in Dallas.

After the mall, I hit up Target for random things like cat litter, velcro strips to hang pictures (no nail's allowed), letters for my mailbox (they didn't have the ones I was looking for, so I had to go to the scrapbooking aisle, haha), a card for someone and other random stuff I needed and random things I didn't need. Now I am at the office catching up on e-mails, etc. Then, it's off to Wegman's for their wi-fi.

Things Slip By When You're Busy

2008-10-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

The past three weeks have been unbelievably busy. I've moved. I was super sick. I went to San Fran for four days. I had a busy work week with our semi-annual Boot Camp. So, it really was the worst time EVER to move. I have a to-do list, a very long to-do list.

1. I still do not have internet at my new place. I've become a frequenter of the areas in Northeast PA that have free wi-fi. Sure I have internet at work, but I really can't use it for the personal things I need to, like watch porn. Not, just kidding. I mean, my blog, my Facebook and work in stuff for school. And in general, e-mail. The only link to the outside world when I am at home is my Q. But the mobile apps for the things I use suck. I really should have listened to my friends and got the iPhone when I needed to get a new cell phone the other week.

2. I still do not have a television at my new place. I made the concession in May when Dave and I split up to leave him the TV and then to NOT get a new one until I am done my memoir draft for the M.A. Turns out, I am quite lonely without a TV. Not that I ever watch it, but it's so quiet. Just for background noise, or news in the morning. Or to lure someone over to watch a movie... I will probably not get cable, but I think I need a TV. The TV stand is lonely. The DVDs and VHS tapes (yes, I have those) are lonely. And the living room just looks funny without one. Everyone is telling me to wait until Black Friday and thereafter to get one so I probably will. I trust the people who have more electronics than I.

# 1 and #2 make me feel like I am in the Stone Age. (But when I think about the Flintstones, even that prehistoric family and their neighbors had some kind of TV thing.) I get bored when I am at home, which leads to a lot more productivity at work because I work late. But when I am at home, I have nothing to do. I love to read, but sometimes I need a break. Sometimes I actually will call someone, but it feels so awkward talking on the phone these days.

3. I still do not have a washer and dryer in the new place. This means I must go to the laundromat. Ugh. I have only had to go once so far because I was between both places until last week. The good thing is that the one I must go to is a block from Hops and Barley's in Luzerne. Rather than sit there and watch the timers go, I went and put a load in the washer, went to Hops for dinner with two friends from work, went back to put then in the dryer, went back to Hops to have a few beers and then went back to the laundromat to fold the clothes. It made the chore less like a chore. Because of #1, I was dying for a laundromat with wi-fi. I will try to find one, but I highly doubt the ass-old laundromats would think of that, nor would the majority of the population who would need to use a laundromat would actually bring a laptop with them.

I would have Internet at home if it wasn't for the stupid hours Frontier has. They are only open until 6pm. I tried several times to call them on lunch, but I was on hold for 15 minutes once in the queue-- so I hung up. I rarely take a full lunch at work and I really don't want what little break I have to mean sitting there with the cell to my ear listening to crappy music. So, I get irritated and hang up. I usually work until 6-7pm, so by the time I leave work and try to call, I get the message that they are only available until 6 p.m. I forgot. Then, I did get a guy one day and after telling him everything-- he said, "Since you are coming from rural to city, you actually need to talk to someone else." I asked if I could be directly transferred. No. I had to dial back into a new number. Then, I was going away for a week and then last week was tied up with work events-- they told me I had to be on site to get the new phone and Internet hooked up-- well that just sucks. So, I decided not to call since I couldn't be available for two weeks anyway.

I really take being connected for granted now that I've been disconnectd for a while.

Wilkes Homecoming & Oktoberfest 2008

2008-10-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

After sleeping off the trip to San Francisco, I woke up around 1 p.m. Saturday in time to hit up the 5th Quarter alumni tent, which my department (Communication Studies) co-sponsored. It was Wilkes' Homecoming, and a very special one at that-- the 75th anniversary! I didn't check out the game, just the party tent afterwards, which was held on the Fenner Quadrangle. I always love going back to Wilkes-- the profs in the communication department really are like my second family. It was wonderful to see Jane, Andrea, Dr. Kinney and Dr. Stine again-- and I was really surprised to see a few alums that I haven't seen in almost 10 years. I have a special situation- I started at Wilkes in 1996-1998 and then left and didn't come back until 2002. That being said, I knew a lot of people at homecoming as I was part of two classes. I enjoyed some beer and food and reminisced for a few hours about all things Wilkes. It was pretty awesome.

I already had plans to meet up with co-workers at Oktoberfest at the Lion Brewery. Since I had a "few" at the Wilkes tent, I opted to walk to Oktoberfest-- which seemed closer than it really was. On the way, me and my old friend M. stopped to visit a fellow alum who was at work. When we got to Oktoberfest, we met up with my work friends just in time to enjoy some really awesome fireworks set to the Star Wars theme. I enjoyed many Stegmeier Oktoberfest beers and listening to 40 lb. Head, by favorite local band. I ran into a slew of people there that I haven't seen in a while, too. Good times! NEPA sure is good for a good party, that's for sure!

THE MIRROR

I did not drive home last night, smartly. I was given a ride to my car, which was safely parked in a Wilkes University lot. When I arrived at my car, however, I noticed something dangling from the driver's side door. My freakin' mirror! Being homecoming weekend at Wilkes, I am sure it was an accident. Some drunk either hit it for shits and giggles, or someone drove into it. Either way, I didn't get mad. I walked to public safety and reported the incident and asked to borrow duct tape. It's an older car, so I wasn't too worried. I'll find another mirror at the junk yard and have Dave help me put it back on. But, such is my life. Always an unexpected adventure!!

(Pics- 1- Jane, Andrea and I. 2- A slew of Wilkes commuication alums from the past 10 years. 3- Me and pals at Oktoberfest. There's more on Facebook!)

Back from San Francisco

2008-10-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

(editing on 10/12 to add pics and links- wrote this at Wegman's originally and their wi-fi gave me probs!)

I am in love with San Francisco. I returned to Northeast PA late Friday night from the three-day trip to the Bay City. The Online Market World expo was great- we met lots of great people! After the day's work at the expo, we were able to check out some of the city. My favorite neighborhood, as you could probably guess, was Haight-Ashbury. We checked that out on Tuesday, our first day in town.

I have a fascination with the 60s and in fact, sometimes feel I was born in the wrong decade. The area is still making money of the Summer of Love, for sure. (I know I spent quite a bit of dough in the various shops!) After Haight-Ashbury, we took a cab to North Beach, or the Little Italy area. A friend had told us that was a good place to find good eats. We asked our cabbie for a suggestion, and he dropped us off at a place called Rose Pistola. Mmmm. I had the sole and my co-worker had the lamb. We shared some awesome risotto balls for an appetizer. The kitchen was all open, and it included a big woodfire oven for their pizza. The chef came out to my table and fileted my sole for me right there. That was neat! Great service too from our waiter, Reuben. I loved their big, open kitchen!

After Rose Pistola, we walked around a bit. We stumbled upon the Beat Museum. We paid the $4 student rate and went through the exhibit. We met the owner, who was a really neat guy. He's been collecting beat stuff for years and four years ago opened the museum and gift shop. He had rare first editions of many books of the generation and lots of photos. It was a really neat place. After that, we were looking for a bar to have a few drinks at. We heard some blues music pouring into the street from this one bar (the name is escaping me), so we ventured in. We took a seat at the bar, which looked like it was converted from a greasy-spoon diner. As we waited for our Anchor Steam (me) and the red wine (co-worker), we gazed around and realized we were in a Steelers bar called Giordorna's. Top to bottom, left to right, it was all Steelers memoriabilia. We came all the way to California to visit a PA sports bar! I asked the bartender and he was from PA, as was the owner. This started a stream of PA people who were now living in Cali. Throughout the whole week, I'd say we met about 20 people who lived locally, but had roots in PA. After the first drink there, jet lag set in. We had plans to hang out all night, but the fluffy hotel bed won over.

Day 2 and 3 we worked at the convention all day. The second night, we hit up a really hip Sushi place called Blowfish: Sushi to Die For. The tagline comes from the blowfish legend-- anyone who eats one, dies. The place was super cool-- house music pumping through, anime playing on flat screen TVs everywhere and lots of cool Japanese action figures-- but most of the place was decorated in beautiful Japanese decor. The staff was awesome-- a really fun place to work it seems. The food was AMAZING- as were the drinks we had at the bar while we waited for our table. Blowfish Sushi was probably the best I've ever had. We had to wait a while for a cab- it was in the Mission District, but a little off the beaten path, so we had to have the matrie'd call for one. We went back to the hotel to get coats- it was pretty chilly- and then walked around downtown to find a bar. We realized that most of the cool stuff was in the neighborhoods, not downtown when we could not find a bar. We stumbled into a neat looking place called Farmer Brown. The place had a copper-top bar and lanterns made out of old burlap sacks. The bar menu had southern style stuff, and the house drink was Pabst Blue Ribbon with a shot of Jack (or something, I forget what the liquor was). Just as we sat down, the bartender said it was last call. At 11:00?? So we had one and then followed some guys from Switzerland to this club called Ruby Skye that that bartender recommended. That was pretty awesome- in this old theater which looked more like a gothic church. I was never in a club with velvet ropes before, so that was cool. Expensive, but cool.

Our last night in town, we attended a VIP Dinner Cruise around the bay with about 50 other attendees and exhibitors from the show. Our table was really great-- met some really great people. It was too foggy out to go to the Golden Gate Bridge, but we were able to see Alcatraz. That was really neat. When we got back to the hotel, I passed right out. We worked hard all week, were jet-lagged and I guess it caught up to me. The next morning, we had a great breakfast and my co-worker had an earlier flight than me, so she left. Then, me. Spent the day in the air. Overall, totally awesome trip! Hope I get to do it again soon!

I'm Going to Rice-a-Roni Land!

2008-09-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Now that I am moved in to the new place (thank goodness) and over my cold (thank goodness), I am headed off to San Francisco to represent my company at Online Market World. I'm pretty stoked because I've never been to California. Most everyone I know has though, and I've gotten tons of recommendations about where to eat and what to see. But by all means, comment away of you know of somewhere good to eat!! Something ethnic is preferred! Since I'll be working, I won't have much time for site-seeing but we are doing a dinner cruise which takes us by Alcatraz and some other sites. Looking forward to that. I am a little nervous about being in a plane for so long, but other than that, so excited to go somewhere new with an awesome co-worker and then get people excited about e-commerce! So, if I don't blog or update my Facebook or MySpace status, this is why! = ) I think what really excites me most is being in the city where the Tanners lived.

Boxes of Stuff, Boxes of Tissues: Words from an Empty Apartment

2008-09-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

It feels weird writing this blog in this apartment. I feel like I am an undercover agent for some reason, stationed somewhere doing a survelliance. I am in a completey empty apartment with just a laptop and a phone. I have no internet or phone at the new place yet, so I left the laptop and my make-shift desk up here. Aside from a few odds and ends that I have to move, everything is in the new place. But, I was called out for no new blog post in a few days so I figured I should make an appearance. = )

I am exhausted! I didn't want to bother anyone to help with the move, so I've been moving myself little by little each day this week after work. Each day, I've made 2-3 trips to the new place. It helps that I already have stuff in storage so there wasn't much to move. I did realize how many books I actually had when I had to clear out my shelves and brings stacks to the car. I made about 9-10 trips in and out of the Shavertown apartment to my car, and then the same into the new Swoyersville apartment, which was worse because my office will be upstairs. That wore me out-- big time. As I handled all the books I realized that I have more of an obession with BUYING books than READING books. More than half were never read!

I did get some help last night. I rented a U-haul and Dave helped me move my furniture- it was great. One trip and we were done, although I am pretty weak so it could have gotten done faster if I had asked someone else with some muscles to help. We were done before 8:00 and started around 6ish. So, I am all settled in-- just need to make 1-2 more trips with some things that didn't make it yet. My current landlord has been awesome with me leaving. They are going to look into what is causing the musty smell, which will be great for the next tenant. She is wonderful and if she had another property, I would continue to rent from her. But, I am happy with my new place. Two bedrooms plus kind of a secret little room off the office. I will probably throw a futon in there. I am just a few blocks from my old place in Luzerne and less than a mile from my favorite watering hole. I could walk home from Hops andBarleys if I need to. I am no longer 1.5 miles from work, but I am still under four miles and with the lights it takes less than 10 minutes. My rather large sectional barely fit in the living room, so that's a downer, but otherwise, it's the perfect size for me.It's all carpeted, too whereas this place is tiled floor so my new place is a lot cozier. I have about a thousand birds that live in the trees outside my bedroom window, so I guess I have a fully-equipped alarm clock, too.

In other news, I have the early stages of bronchitis-- not sure if it is a direct result of the mold or if it just made me susceptible, but my doctor prescribed me the Z-pack to nip it in the butt before it really develops. I am on day three of the five day prescription and starting to feel better- but yesterday was by far the worst I was. I had a client tell me he felt sorry for me because I sounded horrible! Yeah- that bad. I was struggling to talk. You know it is bad when I broke my perfect attendance streak at work- over a year and four months without calling in. I guess the medicine was kicking in and working everything out, but it was a hell day in the office, worse than Tuesday when I stayed home. Today was better- still congested but I didn't go through a box of tissues like I did on Weds. Hopefully tomorrow it will be gone and I can go back to being my shiny, happy self. There is nothing I hate more than being congested and sounding funny when I talk. I'd honestly rather have a stomach flu and be barfing all day than sound this nasally.

Jesus Stopped By While I Was Out

2008-09-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

I don't have many pet peeves. I am totally open to all people and beliefs. Except cults. I'm not a fan of cults. I'm not a fan of cults who try to recruit me.

Today when I opened my flimsy screen door, a pamphlet fell out. Today is Monday. The Jehovah's Witnesses aren't supposed to be out today, but maybe it was stuck in my door from Saturday. Thank goodness I wasn't home.

The pamphlet asked if I wanted to learn more about the bible, if I wanted help in understanding the bible and if I was willing to spend time each week learning to understand the bible. They will even come to my home if that is more comfortable for me. Sorry folks. All the brainwashed Jehovah's Witnesses do is ruin lives. I've had personal experiences with someone close to me whose family was involved in the nonsense and I saw where it got them. That's a whole book right there!

All I want delivered to my house is my newspaper, my mail, my internet mail orders and surprise deliveries from Ed McMahon-- not religious propaganda from the Jehovah's Witnesses.

My First Sobriety Check Point

2008-09-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

I was exhausted after the fair. Friday was a long night at the bar and even though I slept in on Saturday, I spent most of the day on Saturday outside in the sun watching my friend play rugby at Kirby Park (which by the way was awesome!). Long days outside can take their toll on you. After the rugby game, I headed to the Bloomsburg Fair, which entailed lots of walking. So needless to say, by around 10 p.m. I was ready to crash. So ready to crash that I opted to go home than go out again. Plus, I was in a hoodie and sneakers and not dressed to go anywhere, so when we made it back to my one friend's house for our cars, I just headed home, stretching a bit for some morsels of energy as I walked to my car.

I got onto the Cross Valley and as the highway ended and turned into 309 going into Shavertown, I saw the orange diamonds along the road indicating a sobriety check-point ahead. I freaked out. I was completely sober. However, by this point my hair was thrown up in a messy pony tail and my eyes were probably red from being tired (and not taking my contacts out for a few days, too). I never went through a sobriety check-point before, which made me even more nervous because I didn't know what to do. Do I show my license and registration and insurance? Do I just drive and only stop if they stop me? When I am nervous, I can have a tendency to mess things up so I was so nervous that my being nervous would make me look guilty that I go more nervous. Whew. That was a mouthful, but does that make sense?

As I turned the bend, I saw lots of bright lights. Firetrucks and cop cars from all the Back Mountain municipalities. I was directed to pull up to the first officer. Just like they do at the fair, he gave me those parking motions to "move up" and then "stop." My nerves were going insane because I didn't know if I pulled up far enough. Would that make him think I was drunk? The officer went over to a truck that was on the shoulder before coming over to my car. As I waited for him, I tried to be as alert as possible and not appear nervous. I knew that I looked like I could have spent a rough night out because of how exhausted I appeared. I hoped that he would notice my attire, and that he wouldn't think I'd wear an eight-year old Wilkes University hoodie to a bar. I also hoped that he wouldn't think a girl like me would already be going home at only 10 p.m. and that surely if I was drunk, I wouldn't have come home until much later.

I had my window rolled down and because I need to hold things when I am nervous because I don't know what to do with my hands, I cupped my coffee from the fair (which was still warm after an hour drive) and just waited. He finally came to my window and asked plainly, "Are you drunk?"

Like that, I froze. Of course I wasn't, but I was caught off guard with the question. I thought he'd ask how I was first, or something like that. Since I paused, I was sure he thought I was guilty. Crap, I thought to myself. This is going well.

I replied, "Oh no- I am coming back from the fair." I held up my coffee for whatever it was worth.

"They don't serve beer at the fair?" he asked.

"No- those are called fireman's bazaars," I replied- only someone from NEPA would understand the bazaars so if you are reading this and not from NEPA, sorry.

So, the cop chuckled and said,"Yeah, everyone is coming back from the fair. You have a good night."

Whew. I was thankful that I was way too tired to go out because the check-point surely would have still been going on later. As I drove, I saw several cars with people pulled over on the shoulder- I am guessing the people who did not pass.

I think that I'd have been less nervous going through the sobriety check-point a little buzzed to be honest.

The Psychic at the Fair

2008-09-21T15:37:00.001-07:00

My favorite time of year, fall, is marked by the annual Bloomsburg Fair. I checked it out last night, opening night, with a few friends. I've gone with different people each year the past two-plus decades of my life, but each year the Bloomsburg Fair is familiar. I couldn't go a year without going at least once, usually two or three times. This year, however, I tried something new. I had my palm read.

Psychics would make excellent sales people. Take this. The sign said $3.00 Palm Reading. I grabbed a five out of my purse and entered the tent. A Zelda Rubenstienish lady held up a sign as I was sitting down. A real palm reading was $10, and she had three other readings listed for up to $20. She said, "The $3.00 is just a personality read." I thought, ya got me, so I pulled out another $5.00 and forked it over to the lady just for shits and giggles. When she was done with my reading, she squeezed my hands and pulled me in close to her and whispered that she wanted to do spiritual work on me, starting at $25. Yikes. I told her I only had a credit card and no more cash and left, but if she really was psychic she would have known I very well had the cash, which I intended on spending on more fried food and a purse.

Despite her conniving nature, the psychic said some things to me that were true. Sure, they are good people readers and generalize a lot. But it is a little uncanny some of the things she said to me:

1. You recently experienced some pain in your neck and your left leg. Hmm. I was in the ER for an unexplained left leg problem. See a past blog post about this. And since I have vacated my bedroom because of the mold, my neck has been killing me from the couch.

2. You've only loved two men. Now, if by that she means two relationships, then that was right on. Just two thus far. She also told me that I would be getting close with someone soon. Hmmm.

3. You don't have just one job, do you? You do something creative. That's true.

4. You like to have fun, but not alone. You like to be with friends and you like to organize things for friends. This is true.

5. You make money but you don't know how to save money. But that's okay because you just want happiness. This is also true.

6. You will live a long and healthy life. I hope this is true.

7. A lot of people admire you, but a lot of people talk behind your back too. I am sure this is true; it's just human nature.

8. You have two children. FALSE. She looked at me real funny, paused for a bit and said, well, you were meant to have two children. I thought about this later on the ride home from the fair- I had two miscarriages. Maybe she knew I was pregnant twice?

The psychic also told me I would be getting a letter in the mail with good news, and that I would soon be making a lot more money. We'll see about that one! I myself have always been intuitive and could read things about people and sometimes even scared people by the things I knew would happen, so I can understand having a psychic vibe. Do I buy everything she told me? No- she's doing it to make money not to really help people. Am I somewhat weirded out? A little bit. Do I want to believe there is a letter in the mail? You bet. Will I count on it? Nah. Haha.

Mold should only grow on my leftovers, not try to kill me while I sleep

2008-09-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

Hindsight is 20/20. And it's not just better vision-- it sure smells a lot better too.

I made a hasty decision. I do that from time to time. The apartment is big enough for me. Sure, I had to put some things in storage, but it's a one-bedroom, so it's expected. Sure, the paneling sucks, but I can deal because it is 1.5 miles from work and I can leave at 8:55 a.m. and still make it to work with two minutes to spare. However, the more I live here, the more I realize I should have looked around for a better place.

The main issue right now is the musty smell. I thought it was just because it was an old place and that the ventilation wasn't all too great. But this past week, it has become extremely unbearable. My bedroom is on the back of the building and along the far exterior wall of the building. The apartment is situated on a luscious hill, which means it's damp. Hence the water getting in the basement and walls. I've never been down there because there is no access from my place, however there is no sign of mold or dampness in my apartment- so it's just the aroma of mold that is taking over my bedroom.

I went out on Monday night and went to bed around midnight. I shot up out of bed coughing with a sore throat at 5 am and couldn't fall back asleep for a few hours. I moved my blankets and fan out into the living room, where I also cracked the windows. There are no screens so I couldn't open them all the way because Spectra may get out.

Last night, it was worse. It was so bad I moved my bed just to be certain there was not a big ring of mold or mildew under the bed- there wasn't. My temporary bed was still on the couch, so I laid down there instead. I tossed and turned until about 3am. Every time I tried to fall asleep I took this big gasp of air that woke me up- almost as if my brain didn't want me to slumber. To get more air, I opened my front door to let air in through the screen door. I locked the screen door, but mind you, anyone and there mother could have looked in and saw me asleep on the couch (I wasn't naked) but I could've cared less. I still tossed and turned, felt dizzy and was getting a sore throat. I was a clutz in the morning and spilled a whole Diet Pepsi on me as I got of the car at work. Once I was in work for a while, I felt better-- like my brain was adjusting to good air again.

I left a message for the landlord today about it and when I came home from work, around 8:30 p.m., I went to the neighbor, who is kind of the "super" and I told him I called the landlord but wanted to know if he knew if there was a mold problem. His answer? YES. Apparently there was a bunch of junk accumulated there and they recently moved it all out of the building and found a lot of mold. They are going to work on it I guess. But I don't know what to do in the meantime. I wanted to stay in a hotel tonight- but why pay for it? My landlord should pay if it gets to that point. I think they should test this to make sure it is not toxic- because mold can kill you as a few people at work today told me. Maybe I just have allergies to mold- I am not allergic to anything so I don't know what it feels like... maybe this is it. I just hope it is not toxic mold and that I do not die in my sleep. That would kind of suck.

At any rate, I do not have a lease, so I may just give notice and move. I have other reasons besides this potential toxic mold issue. I want a bigger place, I want more windows that have screens, I want white walls, I want a dryer that ventilates out a window (mine does not so I get lint everywhere) and a bathtub shower, not a stall. There are many things I thought I could live with that I really don't want to anymore. So, I am kind of glad this mold thing is happening. Gives me a health reason to move quickly on this instead of himhawing around about moving. So, I made an appointment today to see an apartment in Swoyersville, which is right by Hops and Barleys... = )

My Boyfriend Stopped Smoking and More About My 10 Year Love Affair

2008-09-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

The headline caught ya didn't it? I am not talking about a flesh and blood boyfriend! I was at Hops & Barley's in Luzerne, PA for the first time since the Pennsylvania smoking ban on Saturday, and then again last night. I admit, I am not the biggest fan of smoking cigarettes and don't really like going home smelling like smoke. However, now that people who smoke have to go outside every time they want to light up, the conversation stops. I hang out with a lot of fun smokers. So if we are at place where smoking is banned, my smoking friends must up and leave every so often. It interupts the good times. Does that make sense?

So the headline comes from my Miller Lite induced realization last night that Hops and Barely's has been the constant in my life. Yes folks, my longest committment is with Hops and Barley's.

Think of the men I've had the past decade.

The jobs I've had the past decade.

The addresses I've had the past decade.

All have changed. Everything but my love for Hops and Barley's.

I've swayed from Hops and Barley's when I lived in the boonies-- meaning I didn't go as often. (We were taking the only break our relationship ever had.) It accepted me back as if I never left.

One of the owners of Hops came up to me one night a few years ago and said that when he Googled "Hops and Barley's" most of what came up was something I wrote! I thought about it. I've written little reviews of Hops on local bar sites. Some articles I've written for the Weekender were set at Hops and they are archived on line. I've blogged a lot about Hops. I thought that was pretty funny. I don't show up as early in the search engines now thanks to local directories exploding -- but back in the day if you were looking for info on Hops and Barley's in Luzerne, PA, you got stuff I wrote. Ha! On that list is an article I wrote for Associated Content on Best Corner Bars in NEPA, an interview with CCR's original drummer Doug 'Cosmo' Clifford where I told him I had the number to "Down on the Corner: memorized on my favorite bar's jukebox, a review I wrote of Jessica Andrew's Who I Am CD, my old Geocities page,

So, I was telling the peeps I with this realization of my relationship with Hops last night, including the bartender who's been there the whole time Hops has been open- 14 years. Today at work I was told what hotel I am staying at when I go to San Francisco for Online Market World 2008-- I immediately clicked on Restaurants and Bars on the hotel's menu and you're never gonna believe the name of the laid-back bar inside the hotel: Barley 'n Hops. Wicked coincidence.

Tonight I was going through a bunch of boxes of pictures that I never put in albums from over the past ten years or so.... soooo many of them were from Hops. It was weird to see the hair length and weight change and even the people I was in the photos with change- but the background is all the same- Hops! It's like it was one giant, decade long party. Maybe when I am feeling really motivated, I will sort through them and grab one or two per year and put them in order to see the progression!

So, this blog post is my ode to Hops & Barley's in Luzerne. Best food. Best Staff. Great beer selection. Best Crowd. Some of my best memories!

"Have a NYSE Day" Spoof Stuff- an idea from '03 reborn

2008-09-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Today's headlines of financial disaster and all that jazz with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and other financial stuff reminded me of this brainstorm I had a few years ago- I had a designer put my idea to life and I threw them up on CafePress.com, pretty much forgetting about them.

I thought of this idea where I could spoof the 60s "Have a Nice Day" t-shirts with worried eyes and a frown face and the frown being the line graph dropping. So here is what I came up with --"Have a NYSE Day" and you can buy something with this quirky little design on it, too.

The Strange Sock Saga

2008-09-12T07:33:00.001-07:00

We all have quirks. One of mine has been my odd sleeping perils, situations and habits. A new one developed a year or so ago, and I forgot about it for a while because it has been sandal season.

But now that I am wearing socks again on most days, I've been reminded of something strange. Every night that I go to bed with socks on, I wake up the next morning with the left one off. Only the left sock. The right sock is always still sungly fit around my size 8. My left sock is on the floor or mixed up in the sheets, my left foot left out for the cold. It doesn't matter what kind of sock. Still the same deal whether it is the usual ankle sock, or sometimes a longer sock. Socks that say Jingle Bells and socks with pumpkins. Dress socks. All the same thing.

Strange, huh? I would wake up every morning and do a sock check. I'd shake Dave and say, "It happened again! My left sock is off!" He reply, "That is really wierd. Hmmmm."

We were perplexed. Not sure if I do something wierd with my feet in my sleep, but yep. I wake up with one sock off every morning.

Stuff Sweet Stuff. A Memorist Strikes Gold (and Mildew and Mold)

2008-09-11T20:31:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe the crap I found. I mean stuff. Stuff. Stuff is good. I like stuff- I wrote about stuff before on this blog, and posted the video of George Carlin's schtick on stuff- it was a family favorite growing up. Here's a link to that- since I wrote that post, he passed away, so as you click on the link, think of George and all he shared with us.

So anyway- I like to save stuff. And I like to keep that stuff in boxes. Over the years, some of the boxes were transferred to Rubbermaid tubs for safer preservation. Many of my boxes of stuff have went from my house in Tulsa, to my several houses in the Poconos, to my mom's storage shed, to my apartment in Wilkes-Barre, to my house in Luzerne, to my apartment in Luzerne, to my house in Bear Creek and to my house in Sweet Valley. I've been on my own since I was 17 and some of these boxes, as just said, preceded even that. Some have not really been opened except to peek in and say, "Oh wow! I'll look at that later." When Dave and I decided to go our seperate ways, I got a very small apartment with no place for said stuff. So, I left with just what I needed, proclaiming to get a storage unit in a few weeks. Four months passed. I finally got a shed and moved a big chunk of that stuff into it tonight.

THE STUFF MEANS MORE NOW, THAN EVER BEFORE!
I have been thinking of this stuff for a while. Since I writing a memoir set from age 5 until about 16, I have been struggling for details. I knew I had pictures-- but little did I know just how much stuff I've saved. I struck gold tonight. Forget about my losing a few hundred dollars last night at the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Plains. I'm rich as ever-- in memories!

I found a journal from when I was about 14!! I only wrote 11 entries- but it's good stuff!! I now have dates of important teenage events, like the day I got my braces on. I told my mentor about how I was missing details- I couldn't remember how I met this one girl who became a close friend. I had this gang of people in 8th grade, but I didn't remember how we got together. Lo and behold, tonight I find a journal from 1991 that starts off like this: "I can't think of anything to write so I will tell you how I got my good friends...." Just like that- my answer from a young me!! I now kick myself for not writing more back then. But the material!! An amazing find! I found photo keychains with dates on them- so now I can piece together details!! I can now use these times and places as settings for my memoir. I now know WHAT I wore to a school dance. And-- where I bought it.

I found all my old paycheck stubs from when I was 13-16 working for the Tulsa World- not shabby for a young kid!! I found a clipboard I broke in half because I was having a bad day while selling papers. I found two Cadillac hood ornaments that my friend and first boyfriend (if you can call it that when you are 13) stole for me. I found MY GLAMOURSHOTS which I found once before, but shoved in a box somewhere. I found a dozen Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mysteries found brother and sister's baby pictures. I found a button from a fife & drum corp event I went to in St. Charles-- I couldn't remember when that was and now I know that dates. I found my first business card from my first 'real' job in radio. Just so much stuff. I brought some of the stuff here, but eveything else is in storage now. These are all things I have been writing about-- but now I have access to them again-- now they aren't just things in boxes!!

My old footlocker I used for Girl Scout camp, which is filled with photo albums-- these pictures that I haven't look at for so long reveal more details I have been struggling for. What's even more is that I describe a lot about Dado's house and when I was 16 before I moved back to PA, I flew in for Dado's funeral. While I was there, I took pictures of everything so I could remember Dado's house. Everything that I talk about in my book- that lacks detail- has a photo. It was as if at age 16 I knew I would need these pictures one day. There are plane ticket stubs, receipts and so much more so I can piece together the memories. I know what happened- but sometimes forget in what order. I found a Friendship Fill-in book my mom got me before we moved in OK- it has all these little details of my childhood friends, what we'd do together, etc. and just brought a smile and a tear at the same time! I still keep in touch with Jasmine and Laura more than any of the others and just saw Cori last month-- but to read my words about my friends when I was 12 is just incredible. I learned that skiing, playing outside games and playing Nintendo were my favorite things back then. I could go on and on, but I guess that is why I am writing a book!!

All this stuff I have been carting around for 15 years finally has a purpose. It's my life, in boxes. It's my research lab. It's my memory lane. It's my fact checking station.

My mentor is on a retreat until the 14th, but I CANNOT wait to tell her about all this stuff I found, especially these journals. Reading those entries brought me to my state of mind back then-- gave me a peak inside what I was thinking and feeling.

Some Cool Going-Ons @ the Workplace

2008-09-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Three Weeks With Three Cups of Tea with the Cacti
I am reading Three Cups of Tea and am enjoying the living heck out of it. I don't think I would have picked up the book on my own-- but now that we've got a book club going on at the office, I'm reading the same book with about a dozen other co-workers. I think it's an awesome idea!

Now that my reading list for the MA in Creative Writing at Wilkes University is over, I can enjoy reading whatever I want again -- which is of course usually memoirs anyway. But, now I have a thing going on that will continue to keep me in the reading habit, trying to make sure I am up with everyone else so we can talk about what's happening in the halls at work, and then of course at our planned discussions which we'll be holding after we're done. You can read more about the Solid Cactus Book Club, or as we call it, the SCBC, here at the company blog. That pic is of all my fellow office book worms.

I Still Work for One of the Best Places to Work in PA
If you keep up with my blog, you know I love my job. And lots of others do too because Solid Cactus has once again made the list of The Best Places to Work in PA. We don't know what number yet- that gets announced at an awards banquet later on this fall. You can read about this honor, again, at the SC blog as well as on the Best Places to Work in PA official website.

I Was Blessed a Lot Today
Literally- not in the wierd religious sense- but my co-workers must have said "Bless You" at least twenty times today. I felt sluggish all day-- had lots of coffee, soda, candy, ice cream and more to get my mind and body going. Nothing really helped. A few others at the office have colds, and I think I am next. I plan to finish eating my grape leaves and just crash, or lay in bed with Three Cups of Tea until I fall asleep. I haven't used a sick day yet and it's been 16 months (see above, about me loving my job) so I definitely want to get some rest to kick this thing before it settles in somewhere like my nose or my throat or my head.

The Perils of Free Trials & Contracts- Stamps.com Can Stick It, Odyssey Fitness a Waste and Blockbuster Online Rocks

2008-09-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

The Health Club Membership- The Only Thing I Lost Was My Money
Odyssey Fitness in Wilkes-Barre used to be convenient to where I worked. But since I was on the woman's side, which closed at 7:00p.m., the hours were not. Plus, I live about 45 minutes away-- so it was just so stupid to sign a one-year contract at $24.95 per month. My year was over I think in June or July. I probably could have gotten out of the contract if I really tried, but I let it go. So, I continued to wastefully have $24.95 debited from my account each month for an entire year, plus three months even thought I never set foot in the place.

Today, I was looking at my bank account online and saw this month's charge-- I realized that crap, I CAN cancel now because it has been a year. Nearly $300, down the drain. Can you believe it? I really hate that Odyssey Fitness in Wilkes-Barre does that. Everyone is talking about the new Planet Fitness in Edwardsville because it's $20 a month, unlimited tanning and NO CONTRACTS!! It makes me wonder if Odyssey really is that bad that they make people sign contracts because otherwise they'd leave. My feeling on this is why reel someone into a contract for something like a health club? People move all the time. People change jobs and shifts all the time. Why make it difficult for them to get out of a membership that they clearly cannot use? On the flip side, if someone is happy where they work out and take classes, wouldn't they continue to pay their membership? I clearly lost a lot of money, all my own faultof course, but why do places like Odyssey Fitness make you sign a contract? In hindsight, I regret doing it. It was kind of a rip-off. So- my word to the wise- don't join Odyssey Fitness in Wilkes-Barre if you aren't rock solid you'll go or you are uncertain if you will move or change your work schedule, when suddenly the gym does not jive with your wheareabouts or your schedule.

Stamps.com Can Stick It! (haha, I crack myself up!)
Stamps.com is my other gripe. I signed up for a free trial a ways back, mostly because I lived in the Boonies and never had stamps. After a month went by, I tried to cancel my free trial because, well, I never got around to buying labels to print my postage. I called Stamps.com to cancel. When you call places like Stamps.com to cancel an account, they sneakily direct you to a Retention Department, or rather, a bunch of well-trained reverse sales people. I have no idea what they guy said to me, but basically he didn't let me cancel and said to call back in another month. Whatever. I hung up because I was frustrated with him and his tactics- he was pretty much a bully. For what? Postage? Come on! I made a mental note to call back and hope I got someone not as pushy. Yeah. A whole year went by. Fast forward to now.

I have a credit card that I used to sign up for Stamps.com- I don't really use it for anything else- it was my online card that I used solely for stuff like that. Well, I had to go online and change my billing method for that card and saw the Stamps.com charge for $7.95. Crap! I forgot. Another year or more at$7.95 per month- probably at least $100 for absolutely NOTHING. I never even logged back in. Never printed on piece of postage. Why can't Stamps.com just provide good customer service, like Blockbuster.com does for their online service and let users simply cancel online, no questions asked, no bullying, no trying to save the account?

So today, I called Stamps.com today to cancel after paying them one year of $7.95 per month. I was prepared to go to someone who would talk me into staying, and she sure did. She tried to upsell me on another plan! WTF? I just told her I hadn't used it since I signed up for the free trial. She asked where I bought my stamps from. I told a white lie and said that my job lets us use the postage machine because otherwise I am sure she had a rebuttal for the other answers like, "The United States Post Office" or "CVS." She then put me on hold because she had to get "approval from a supervisor" to cancel and when she came back, she tried to keep me one more time. What the freaking bloody hell? I don't even have a printer at home because it is still at Dave's house!! I really wish I could get a refund since they can clearely see there was no activity since Day One.

(Update after post- I was curious. I googled "Stamps.com Complaints" and found a crap load. Here's a very well-constructed complaint from Complaint Board)

Avoiding the Perils
So kids, the moral of the story is- free trials (which require a credit card so they can bill you after the first 30 days) can be cool and work if you end up liking the product and using it or if you remember to cancel after the trial is up if you do not think the product or service is for you. My advice is to set an outlook reminder or somehow ping yourself close to the end of the 30 days to remind yourself to cancel. The other moral to the story is to not join a gym like Odysseey in Wilkes-Barre that requires a year-contract. If you believe that you will go often ( hahahahaha), go ahead. Otherwise, you will end up like me and a few others I knew that paid for an entire year without setting foot in the place. All that wasted money. Think of all the books I could have bought!!

Some Companies Have EXCELLENT Practices- Like Blockbuster!
Ah- back to Blockbuster... now that I talk about bad practices, I must compliment their awesome customer service department. A while back, when I still lived with Dave, we both got so busy and weren't watching our Blockbuster movies in a timely manner. I went online and easily found the place to cancel. Rather than cancel, Blockbuster had an option to put the account on hold, where you could return the movies you had out at the moment and then not be charged for six months. Wow. I didn't even have to call someone or be bullied by someone like at Stamps.com. So, instead of cancelling, I decided to just freeze my account.

Well, over six months passed, and I ended up moving on my own and have been TV-less since May. I left the nice 50-some-odd-inch plasma TV with Dave because I am nice. I could have bought my own TV, but that's a whole other story about writing and self- discipline... So when I was charged last month from Blockbuster, I immediately e-mailed customer service, told them I was one of the seven Americans who does not have a TV and asked to be cancelled. They wrote me back within the hour, refunded the $14.95 and were super-nice about the whole thing. I'll tell ya what-- I had Netflix in the past two and loved them- only tried Blockbuster to compare the two. Because I had such a positive experience with them, when I do get a TV, I will sign up through them, and will recommend Blockbuster to anyone looking for an online movie delivery service. Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get- so why WOULDN'T someone strive to provide good service??

Rock Me, Rock Me, Rock Me Sexy Jesus

2008-09-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

So it may not win an Oscar-- but I really enjoyed Hamlet 2 this weekend... it was kind of cute and it was written by a writer from South Park-- so it's offensive and hilarious and offensively hilarious. Well, rather, the movie is about an offensive musical called Hamlet 2. A stuggling actor turned drama teacher- who is dealing with personal problems (spermy) at home- learns the school district is cutting funding for art programs. He spends a few hours writing a musical called Hamlet 2 and turns his class full of "punks" into a driven group of actors and stage techies-- the show is threatened to get shut down and in comes Amy Pohler playing an ACLU rep to fight for the first amendment rights.

Just had to share a clip from the movie, where they are putting on the actual music-- which is a sequel to Hamlet, where Octavio uses a time machine and the help of Jesus to go back and save everyone who died in the original Hamlet. Again-- this won't be an Academy Award Winner, just simply a fun movie that does kind of teach a lesson:

The arts rock and in America we can say whatever we want.

Quick Hits-- The can incident

2008-09-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

I woke up today about 1:30 p.m. Ah, it feels good to sleep in on a rainy day. Or, on any day for that matter. It's me we're talking about. So, I decided to have what I call breakfast- it's still the first meal of my day- at about 2:00. I cut up some of my leftover souvenirs from Kettle Kitchen in Intercourse, PA. At the SmokeShop, I got a slab of Hickory Smoked Cheddar and a Horseradish Cheddar and a bag of sweet bologna. I threw a pile of bread and butter pickles I bought from a roadside Mennonite stand. It was a pretty German-ish breakast. I was thirsty too, so I grabbed a "Diet Pepsi" from the bottom shelf of my fridge.

I sat down at my laptop, opened that can and took a swig.

It was Miller Lite.

I grabbed the wrong can.

I continued to enjoy the beer.

By the way, yesterday I wrote about my new DKNY jeans. I don't think I will ever NOT buy jeans like this again. I wore them yesterday and felt like a million bucks when two people asked if I lost weight. It was the jeans!!

My Evening at the Mall: Avoiding the Landlord by Buying Jeans, Foundation, Shoes and More

2008-09-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

I have to admit. I don't think I bought any nice clothes in a year or so. Not that I don't have the money to, it's just that I am kind of anti-shopping, as in clothes shopping and spending the day at the mall doesn't appeal to me one bit. I don't mind spending time at a Target looking at housewares or at a Hallmark reading cards for hours and don't even get me started on the book stores- I could get lost. I like going to gift shops (especially when they are spelled "shoppe") and spending days in towns like New Hope scouring the shoppes. But I've never been a mall person except:

1) When I was a teenager in the Poconos and there was nothing else to do but hang out at the Stroud Mall.
2) When I was a pre-teen in Tulsa, OK and my mom worked at the Woodland Hills Mall and I had nothing else to do but hang out.

So, needless to say, since I like going to Target for my household items, cleaning supplies, make-up and other healthcare and beauty products, I've just bought my clothes there too. I've popped into Kohl's a few times, but my clothes really consist of Target and only because of the sheer convenience of it. Coffee? Check. Cat litter? Check. Bras and panties? Check, check.

Today after work I had to drop off my rent check. Yep. It's the 4th-- so what. I went away for the holiday weekend, which the 1st fell on, and have been working late and simply was too lazy to drop it off. So today when I went to my landlord's place of business and saw that she was still there, I didn't feel like giving a my non-existent excuse on why the rent was three days late and why I have been driving around with a check on my visor, absent-mindedly for four days. So I did want any avoidant person would do-- I drove away.

I drove away and somehow ended up at the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre. I've been in dire need of a good pair of jeans. I am one of those odd-shaped women, some call it curvy and I call it "I eat to much fried food and drink too many carbs", where my hips jut out more than my waist, so I always need a belt and always forget a belt, so I have to struggle not to bend over to tie my shoe at work-- for obvious reasons. So, I have been thinking of going to Gap for a while and just am too lazy to go-- because I hate the mall. I prefer in and out places like Target. If I want to walk a lot, I want it to be in nature. Or around a beer festival.

So, I went to the Gap and tried on about seven pairs of jeans. I settled for two (a Limited Edition type- button-tab/wide leg and an Essential cut) and a nice knit short sleeve top. I was going to leave them mall then. I really was. I was denimly-satisfied. (I made that word up.)

But then I went into Macy's because I have been thinking about getting higher quality make-up- this drug store crap is not doing my aging face and pale skin and under-eye circles any justice. Ugh. But I passed the make-up counter and accidently picked up a pair of DKNY jeans that looked really nice hanging in the wall. DKNY stands for Donna Karan as you know, so considering we share a name, I decided to pick up a pair. I mosied around and found about 11 shirts I liked- many were 40% off. I headed to the dressing room and took off my jeans, a pair I got at Kohl's, not Target and pulled on the DKNY jeans and oh my lord!! The fit. Sooo much better than the two pairs at the Gap. I felt like the waist of the jeans was so secure it wouldn't go down if I bent over, but they weren't tight. They were so, so cozy- the most comfortable jeans I have ever worn!! I tried on the shirts and settled on four. I stood there in the jeans, not wanting to get out of them. Again- comfortable!

After I plopped down over a hundred dollars at each store, I went to the Estee Lauder counter because I saw they had a gift with purchase this week (If I spent $27.50, I'd get three make-up bags, three lip sticks, an eyeshadow quad, a 10-day mascara, make-up remover and a toner). A really nice woman, Jean, helped me find the right shade of foundation and concealer, which is all I was looking for. I admit. I suck terribly at being a girl. I really do. I hate having to try so hard, so I don't-- which is why my hair is never done and I am always in comforable clothes and crappy make-up. So, when she asked what I was currently using, I shrugged. Sometimes Neutrogena. Sometimes Mabyelline. Sometimes Physician's Formula. And probably always the wrong shade. I told her I wanted something with thick coverage, something that would last all day. So, she tried four different shades on me, cleaning my face each time. I settled for the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation in Linen, a concealer... and a $30 foundation brush. Oh my goodness?! A $30 brush? Oh well. It felt neat and covered well. I splurged. I rationalized by reminding myself I didn't go out this week.

On my way back to the door where I was parked something pulled me into Payless. A mystical shoe force. I don't know. Never happened before. I accidentally bought two pair of shoes because of the BOGO signs. I grabbed two brown pairs because I usually wear jeans and something that goes with brown.

It's been a long time since I went back-to-school shopping. Really, about 12 years. But I work in an old school building. So I splurged, but not even that bad. It felt good to finally spend a little money on the actual physical me, instead of things for the house or on books. Or beer.

On my way home, I remembered to drop off my rent and then went through the drive-thru at Burger King for a Double Cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake. And I sure hope the DKNY's still fit in the AM.

Fun and Games and Writing in Amish Country

2008-08-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday, Day Three of the Labor Day writing retreat. My Wilkes writing pals and I are having a fantastic time! We have an overstocked refrigerator, lots of coolers and the entire dining room table is covered in a Junk Food Buffet-- about a dozen kinds of chips (Lay's, Dorito's, Sun Chips, Fritos, Tortillas and more), rice krispie treats, pretzel rods, cookies- lots of cookies, and oh god, so, so much junk food.

Friday, we were up late catching up and there was a major dent put in a bottle of Jagermeister. We did a reading-Mike shared from his amazing story and then we played some games. I learned a new one, "It's true for me that...." which is kind of like a cross between Musical Chairs and Truth or Dare. It was after 4 a.m. before the last of us hit the sack.

Saturday, we slept in a little and enjoyed breakfast on our own and then my contribution to the food was lunch. We had a "Build Your Own Bob" lunch, where I had chicken, shrimp, green peppers, red peppers, onions, squash, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. The grill at our rental house was a little slow, so the cooking of the bobs took longer than expected, but it was a fun project. On the side we had Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce for the chicken, Amish potato salad, coleslaw and pickles. Mmmm!! After lunch, my hangover dwindled- thank goodness.

Carol, Viannah and I took a field trip into Intercourse and stumbled upon Kettle Kitchen- a quaint, well-kept tourist-y village that had closed at 5 p.m. that day- so we missed seeing the insides, but we are going back Monday (they are closed today) to check everything out. I already took tons of pictures- there are 42 shops, a petting zoo and lots of cool things. So, so cute! On the way back, we got our picture in front of the "Welcome to Intercourse" sign and bought some baked and canned goods from a roadside stand-- the Shoo Fly pie was amazing! Just had another slice!

Later, we started to have some beverages, did some readings- Carol and I- played Balderdash-- but we were all starting to crash- long day and we up so late from the night before. I hit the sack around 2:30 a.m. Angie and I are sharing a Beauty & the Beast themed bedroom. Too cute.

This morning, Cory & Sara were in charge of breakfast- Eggs in a Nest (which I grew up with, calling them picture frame eggs) and mimmosas. Now it's about noon and we're getting ready to do some readings. We're having Taco Lunch and another grilled dinner- steak and corn and fruit salad.

As far as my reading went, my classmates gave me some great advice. I can't say enough about this group of people!

The Ghost of My Blogging Past

2008-08-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

I don't really think of my blog as a diary. But in a way, it kind of is. I don't really get too personal or gushy like you would in a diary, but when you go back an re-read things from months or years before, you sometimes get a good feeling. You remember the emotions that you were feeling at the time you wrote it. As someone striving to become a memoirist, I've realized how much I wished I had written more down as I've lived my life. I looked back at a post from June 2007. It was a point in my life where I was somewhat content with a job at a local career school, although I hated the fact that they didn't use computers and hated the fact that they laughed at me when I mentioned that we should try advertising online and maybe doing something with MySpace or Facebook to attract students. (Haha- I now laugh at that company because I work for a company now that "gets it.")

So, I found a post that captured my thoughts at the time I made the decision to leave that place-- and because I believed in my ideas, my goals and myself- I found such happiness. Here is what I wrote in June 2007:

NOW SOME ADVICE FROM DONNA FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS A PUSH:So, I was really thinking about how happy I am that I stood up for my choice in leaving my job. For those that don't know "The Man" (as I collectively call corporate America) wasn't gonna let me take off the last Friday of the residency. I don't think anyone with heart and soul would let The Man stand in the way of their dreams. Unhappy with other 'goings-ons' at the place, I decided that because they didn't see the value in letting me take off one measly day and missing a mandatory training, I gave my two weeks notice.What did I get in return for staying true to my heart, you ask?

1) A kick-ass new job @ Solid Cactus
2) 40+ new writing friends who understand the creative life!
3) Some great new writing mentors
4) A few people who I think will be close friends for life
5) Tons o' fun & lots
'o memories and jokes
6) 3 credits toward my master's
7) Motivation and energy

8) Ideas
And to think I would have traded eight hours of corporate training for all that! I made the right choice and I absolutely can't wait to continue on with this program. I seriously think this will change my life. Screw The Man. Let's write. Someone is smiling down on me....
I guess getting ready to spend more time with the peeps I met right before I wrote this last year is really reinforcing my decision. Since then,
not only has my writing grown, friendships blossomed, but things
career-wise have been awesome too. Hmmm. Think I'm happy??

Another Writer's Retreat this Labor Day Weekend! Second Annual!

2008-08-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been one year since the first time my fellow Wilkes creative writers and I have gotten together for a retreat! Last Labor Day, my friend Mike S. invited us out to his house in Western Pa. We had a blast- you can read all about it here from my blog archives. Some nice pics, too.

Then, in April, we all got together again- even a few more of us than the first time- for a houseboat weekend at Raystown Lake in Central PA. Equally an awesome time. Here is my post-trip post on that.

This Labor Day, we're celebrating our second annual Jan09 Cohort Labor Day Outing-- doing something in Eastern PA- In Amish Country, Gap, PA to be exact. We're chipping in to rent a big house for three days-- we're gonna eat, brainstorm, read, critque, help, write, play games, party a little I am sure and enjoy some relaxing time in the hot tub or just in the quiet Amish country. There are almost 30 in our cohort group, but a small group of us- about 10 (including two spouses) are coming along for the fun! I can't wait-- I am all packed. Well mostly packed. And I am sure I will forget something. And I have to stop for groceries and beer along the way. Tonight, I have been deciding what I want to read to the group. I have a few chapters I want to read to entertain, and then a few I could use some help with-- so I am torn.

A sidebar to this is we were originally going to rent a home that was suspected to be haunting, but the property manager failed to update the website- the house was no longer available for rent. That was a big bummer because I was secretly thrilled about waking up in the middle of the night with a scary looking girl jumping rope in my room. But it really doesn't matter where we are- a friend's house, a house boat or a haunted house- it's about the time together!

I can't tell you how much these weekends mean to me- and I am sure the others. Time is ticking- we graduate in January! Some of us are considering sticking in the Wilkes program for one more year to do the M.F.A. in Creative Writing. I almost want to do it not for the additional degree or teaching credentials, but to be around my comrades of composition one more year. I know that this group we have is tight and we'll stay in touch the best we can, but I am going to soak up these retreats we do, the actual classroom/seminar time we have on campus each January and June and the online correspondence with my mentors and friends.

Oh- here's some pics and info on where I will be this weekend: http://www.lancaster-vacation.com/

They Have Arrived

2008-08-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

Just to follow up from my blog post from the other day. My Amazon books have arrived. Three days early! Woo hoo. Now that I have four new books, it only makes my decision harder of what book to start reading. Of course, as a reader commented today on my last post, I am obligated to read the company book club choice first. His wife had suggested picking a name out of a hat, which is a democratic way to decide. I may have to do that because I really don't know how to pick.

But wait. I guess I did kinda pick. I was just too curious and couldn't sleep, so I did start to read the OED book and I am quite amused. I made it up to Chapter F, which in numerics, would be Chapter 6. Twenty more to go. I laughed outloud which always makes me feel kinda funny when I am home alone. My cat hears me, sure, but does she really now what a laugh is. I wish animals could laugh.

I didn't want to get invested into reading a book when I have to start Three Cups of Tea, but my book club mates haven't received their copies yet, so I didn't want to get ahead. So now I am trapped. I started another book. I must read Chapter F-Z fast. It's a quick read, so I think I can have it done by the weekend.

So, has anyone read any of the books I just bought? Any recommendations?

I accidentally spent $113.00 at Barnes and Noble today-- knowing I had a $60 Amazon order on the way...

2008-08-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

A well-read coworker, C. of mine had a grand idea: A company book club. In fact, I joked to another coworker a few weeks ago when we said we were going to start reading on or near the hammock in our courtyard that we should have a club. But that was just a joke in passing. Proving great minds really do think alike, a new book club has newly formed and our first book was just selected: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It's been on the best seller list for about 80 weeks now- and is the inspirational story of a man who built schools in Pakistan.... and way too much more to write here...

So, I went to Barnes and Noble in Wilkes-Barre to pick up the book. It was right there at the front of the store in the New in Paperback/Bestsellers area. I could have picked up the two copies I went in to buy, walked to the register and have been home and reading. But no. I did the deadliest thing you could do in a Barnes and Noble. Yep. I browsed. I ended up saying to the clerk, " I think today is the day I should sign up for the Barnes & Noble membership." I saved 10%! Woo hoo and thank goodness.

I decided to see what was out there... so I checked out the books they keep on the tables. The cover of The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: a novel of war and survival by Louise Murphy caught my eye. I was always a fan of a modern spin on an old story. This story is about a brother and sister in Nazi Poland whose dad and step-mom leave them to find safety in a forest-- they are renamed Hansel and Gretel to hide their Jewish roots. They are taken in by an older woman, Magda who tires to save them, despite a German officer who is looking for the kids-- and has plans for them. Wow. It sounded riveting. I picked it up and added it to my armload shopping cart.

On the same table, Erica's Nightstand, I saw My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler. I read an interview with Chelsea Handler in the Weekender by my pal Nikki Mascali (an incredible article) and had wanted to pick up Chelsea's book since. I am working on my coming-of-age memoir, but have some tales I want to tell about my adulthood adventures, so this book by this new comedic genius has long been a book I've been meaning to get- for both research and enjoyment. I love her humor and her openess. I figure this could be like a female Augusten Burroughs type humor.

After I picked of My Horizontal Life, it dawned on me that I really should be reading more memoirs, so I went to the Biography section. A whole crapload of titles jumped out at me. I picked up a few, read the descriptions, held them for a while and then finallly settled on one. Since I am working on a childhood memoir and am struggling a bit with some scenes and building some family members as characters, I thought this one would be interesting: Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History by Helen Stapinski. The book is billed as humorous, which I like in a memoir. It's a "story of an unforgettable New Jersey family of swindlers, bookies, embezzlers and mobster wannabes."

I thought I was done. I thought that was it. But even after getting four new books, as I walked to the front, another title jumped out at me: Reading the OED: One Man, One Year 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea. It's a book about a man who read the Oxford English Dictionary, something I've always wanted to do since I began playing Scrabble as a small child, something I believe my mother does every night. The book is 26 chapters long- you guessed it- one chapter for each letter. It's full of little tidbits about what he discovered while reading the God of All Resource Books. I figure since I love words and vocabulary, this would be a quick, fun read- much quicker and 'funner' than reading the dictionary myself. I like quirky and absurd stuff, so it's really right up my alley.

But guess what? Before this trip to Barnes and Noble, last week I ordered four books from Amazon.com-- they shipped today, as per an email I received on my phone a few hours ago. So, I now have 9 brand new books. I should read Three Cups of Tea first, but what next? What do all you book lovers think?

Oh yeah- here's what I got at Amazon: The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam- I bought this because in my "idea box" at home, most of the paper where the ideas are written are on bar napkins. (Maybe there is even one to write a book and call it The Back of a Napkin!") Amazon didn't know that part, but somehow it was recommended to me and it looked pretty interesting.

A Working Stiff's Manifesto: A Memoir of 30 Jobs I Quit, Nine that Fired Me and Three I Can't Remember by Iain Levinson- I ordered this one because again, Amazon knows I buy A LOT of memoirs so it suggested this-- successfully I may add. This sounded like a funny read.

Indexed by Jessica Hagy- Again, a recommendation from Amazon. I love bloggers and blogging and love how books can come from blogs, like Tucker Max and Diablo Cody. At any rate, the cover of this book attracted me from the get-go. She has a blog at indexed.blogspot.gom where she drawns charts and other things to share her thoughts on life. So this book is her greatest blog posts, as well as new material.

Unrealiable Truth by Maureen Murdock- I am very excited about this one- again, recommended by Amazon since I buy so many memoirs and writing books. It is a craft book (as in writing, not arts & crafts) I wish I found earlier. Many memoirists struggle with their memory -- what we write may be different than what a family member will remember- memory is a fascinating thing and this book is there to help. In Unreliable Truth, Murdock shows us how to deal with this beast called memory.

As I write about these four books that are coming in the mail, I am getting more excited for them. So now I have nine new books, not to mention a slew of other books I have yet to read like Tobias Wolfe's This Boys Life and Bastard Out of Carolina.

What I have learned just by sharing these nine titles is that I have one helluva wide range in book tastes. Funny. Satirical. How-to. Memoir. Wartime thriller. Absurd. Inspirational. Nearly Pictoral. So yeah, I'm different.

Priceline.com Nightmare with Continental Airlines: Cleveland Didn't Rock for Me

2008-08-23T18:08:00.001-07:00

I received a complaint about my blog. Apparently, I made a promise on Tuesday, August 19th that my very next blog post would be about my layover experience.

"Instead, you wrote about furniture," said this person who we will call John Dawe. "I wanted to read about the day you called me crying."

Here is a snippet of that blog to show my promise there, in black and white-- pay attention to the big, blog line:

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Days
3-4 in Oklahoma
After I checked out of the hotel on Saturday morning, I didn't have Wi-Fi until very late Sunday night when I checked back into the hotel near the airport- then, I wanted to write my final OK vacation blog from the Tulsa airport- but they charged $5.95 an hour for W-Fi. Ugh. My Cleveland layover you'll learn about in my next blog. And Monday I traveled all day and crashed and went right to work this morning and went on a shopping extravaganza after work- so ah, the final vacation post isn't happening until just.... about.... now.

So, thanks to John Dawe, I will write about my fiasco in Cleveland. I don't travel much by air. Hell, I don't travel much period. So, I was pretty happy with how my trip planned out on the way there. Both planes were on time. My rental car was there. The hotel had my reservation. Priceline.com did a great job of getting me there safely, cheaply and without any hassles.

The way back was going fine too. My flight from Tulsa was on time. I arrived to Cleveland on time. As I walked to the gate in the terminal to board my flight home, to Wilkes-Barre I noticed something on my boarding pass. Well, it turned out it really wasn't a boarding pass.

"Please check in at gate," it read. What does this mean, I thought to myself.

The uniformed lady at the gate told me that the flight was overbooked and two of us did not have seats. They were actively looking for volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for a travel voucher of $300. At this point, my flight was set to leave in about 45-minutes, which meant I was basically two hours away from being home. Four days isn't long, but I did miss my cat. And, I needed to be at work Tuesday.

"When is the next flight," I asked, feeling the tears well up.

"That's overbooked too," said the lady.

I told her about my job and my cat and asked how I could buy a ticket for a seat that didn't exist. I felt myself starting to get upset, which I don't like to do, when they lady said to me very nicely, "Please just have some hope."

When she that, it reminded me of "It is what it is" and that I really couldn't change anything. So, I decided not to get angry at her and try to think positive. I took myself over to an empty area and plopped down with my notebook, my laptop and cell phone. I texted my coworker John Dawe (who recently became a fan of Continental Airlines on Facebook, which is important to the story) and said verbatim: "I will not join you as a fan of Continental Airlines. I am stranded in Cleveland until further notice. Flight was overbooked." That was my form of venting to a friend.

I was going to call Priceline.com and speak to customer service. The only number I had jotted down was the hotel service line. I tried to hit "0" to talk to someone and maybe get the fligh department. No luck. The recorded voice simply said, "Goodbye" when I tried to trick the system. I then tried to log online- I was having wi-fi issues- said I was connected but yet not pages were open. So, I opened Google on my phone and found the regular number. That number only allowed you to buy something, not get service. In the meantime, Dawe had called me back and got me on the phone with one of the owners of our company who is a travel guru.

He had me walk to the Continental Airlines desk and ask if I could get on a flight to Philly on US Air-- they have a hub there. The lady was going to look that up, but then we had the idea to instead stay on Continental and fly into Newark. Then, I would rent a car and drive to Wilkes-Barre. I was so glad to have he and Dawe on the phone- they kept me sane. So, they switched flights, switched my luggage, gave me a deviation slip and all.

"No matter what airport I end up at, I am heading right to the bar, " I joked to the guys on the phone.

They were still on the phone with me to make sure everything worked out. I overheard someone on the speaker say, "We're still looking for one more volunteer to give up their seat for Flight # (I forget) to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton..." I asked the lady if that meant I had a seat... she said no, because I was second in line. The first lady got on the flight. Now it was just me. A few more minutes passed and a woman came to the desk- she would give up here seat. It was 3:45 and my original flight was set to leave at 4:10- the boarding just about ready to start. I asked if that meant I had a seat- Yes.

So, the woman had to change me back to the Wilkes-Barre flight, make sure my luggage was switched back, I thanked my co-workers for coming up with an alternate route for me and got off the phone and headed back to Wilkes-Barre. That woman was my hero- with not a minute to spare, she decided to wait for a new flight in exchange for $300.

I don't know who to blame. Continental Airlines? Priceline.com? Myself for not consulting my travel gurus first before booking a flight through a site like Priceline? Why do they overbook flights? I theorize because so many people can buy flights from so many different sources that the inventory doesn't sync right away. Either way, I am thankful I didn't have to go to Newark and drive back to PA- which would have taken two additional hours, or that I didn't have to stay the night in a crappy hotel and miss a day of work to take a flight the next day.

If I did get stranded for the night, you can bet I would have taxited to the real Warsaw, where Drew, Louis, Oswald and Kate used to drink at on the Drew Carey show.

If you are nice, I will buy...

2008-08-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to blog about this for the past week, but with my trip and all, I was focused on blogging about OK and memories and the like. But now, I'll share my experience of getting some great service.

Kurlancheek Home Furnishings

Since I moved into my new digs in May, I've had yet to get a dining room table. I didn't want to get anything elaborate for upwards of $1000-2000 that many dining room sets cost. And I didn't want a cheap, put-it-together-yourself solution either. For the past few months I've been getting inserts in a free flyer for this furniture store in Exeter for a five peice set for $299. Looked pretty decent. So, I went to what I thought was the store in Exeter.... how many furniture stores could this little Route 11 town have? But the name on the building said, "Kurlancheek" and that was not the name on the flyer. The Kurlancheeks used to have a store on Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre (where I bought my first bed when I moved out on my own, way back in 1997) and I think some other locations as well. I was quickly approached by a woman who I asked what I was looking for. She quickly cleared up that they were not the store on the flyer-- but didn't say anything bad about them. I was comfortable with the name; I trust the Kurlancheek name. So, I bought a pub table with four chairs for pretty much the same price- and never even considered going to the original store I was headed to-- it was a happy mistake.

But what impressed me was three days later I received a hand-writen thank-you card on personal stationery from the saleswoman. She thanked me for shopping at Kurlancheek and said something really nice in the card: "Enjoy your new table and chairs and all the happy gatherings around it." That makes a huge difference in my book. I will most definitely shop there again, and would recommend them to anyone. No pressure- just friendly service. ;)

Journey's and My Reef Sandals

Before my trip to OK, I was getting some things at the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre. I was looking for a pair of black flip-flops. You know, a cheap pair. But I didn't want them to be too cheap- not the flimsy kind. I really wasn't able to find what I was looking for. I somehow ended up in Journey's- that really cool and hip shoe store that also sells funny and retro shirts. I was perusing the sandals- not seeing and cheap flip-flops, when the salesguy approached me. Cool dude, probably a senior in high school or in college-- he was friendly, asked what I was looking for, etc. I told him I was looking for something black, but didn't see anything ... he asked me if I ever wore a Reef sandal. No. He said, "Man- you gotta try them on." So I did. Comfy. When I took off the sandal, he picked it up and said, "And the best part is, it comes with its own bottle opener!" He turned the Reef sandal over and pointed to a bottle opener. I was sold. Did I need $45 flip-flops? No. Did I need a set of $45 bottle openers? No. Did I like his enthusiasm for the products he sold and I loved that we approached me and made a suggestion, so I rewarded him with a sale. I think that's the reason I sold a lot of newspapers as a teenager- not because someone wanted or needed the Tulsa World, but probably because they saw my enthusiasm and recognized my hard work and they wanted to buy. I am in sales to this day- and I think that this trait carried through.

How did the Reef sandals fare? AWESOME! I've worn them every day since, except to work. They are super comfortable and were a huge hit at the party in OK. A little bird told me if you search on YouTube for "Reef sandals video" you just may find me in a video demonstrating them.... Seriously, though- they are cool. I just did a search for mine to put a pic up, and Zappo's has them for $50... you can get them cheaper from my new friend at Journey's at the mall!

The bottom line is that I love when people love their jobs. And I can't stand when people can't stand their job-- folks, it shines through and scares me away. I've been in stores where people don't greet you or approach you, and where the clerk doesn't even say a word- one girl actually pointed to the register at my total and was miserable the whole time. I know she could talk because she was talking before. When people hate what they do- I don't feel encouraged to buy from them. On the flip side, when I am simply browsing and someone connects with me, I end up buying something. And, when someone like Dorothy at Kurlancheek sends a lovely card- I will remember. Good service to me breeds good business- and when service is good- the best possible thing can happen-- people will tell their friends, their coworkers and their family-- word of mouth is the best advertising you can as for.

So that's why I wrote this blog. To publicly praise these great salespeople. Keep up the great work!

Days 3-4 in Oklahoma

2008-08-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

After I checked out of the hotel on Saturday morning, I didn't have Wi-Fi until very late Sunday night when I checked back into the hotel near the airport- then, I wanted to write my final OK vacation blog from the Tulsa airport- but they charged $5.95 an hour for W-Fi. Ugh. My Cleveland layover you'll learn about in my next blog. And Monday I traveled all day and crashed and went right to work this morning and went on a shopping extravaganza after work- so ah, the final vacation post isn't happening until just.... about.... now.

THE FINAL DAY IN TULSA

So- Saturday, after I checked out almost an hour late, my friend DG called me- he wanted to meet up- I wanted to get to my cousin's by 6ish, and they all live about an hour and a half from Tulsa in various towns like Krebs and Haileyville. He had to run his daughter somewhere and said he'd call when he was done. So, in between I did some more memoir research. I drove to the Yacht Club Apartment Homes, the first place I lived in Tulsa- first staying with my Grandmother and Theresa, and then getting our own place in the same complex. I actually made a video of it to help with my memoir. I recorded myself on the walks I used to take. Then, I stopped at Sonic and had a Coney and a Cherry Limeade- my first one in 14 years. (The pic to the left is of DG and I-- he is also in that pic a few posts back from when I was in OK as a teenager!)

After my enjoyable lunch, I decided to do more gallavanting- wanted to walk around the Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa-- my mom worked as a manager of a store in the food court for a while and I spent a lot of time there-- but the mall parking lot was an absolute zoo-- so I didn't go in. By then, DG had called and we decided to meet up for a beer at a place called The Fox & The Hound in Broken Arrow. It was great catching up with him! Like with J, he reminded me of things I forgot, I reminded him of things he forgot- we caught up about families and careers. My visit with him wasn't as long as with J's, but it was equally wonderful! He said something really pivotal about our teenage years selling newspapers: "Somehow we accidentally learned some morals." My memoir centers around this job and what it meant- he and I discussed how at the time it was just something to do, to earn some money and have some fun. As adults, he and I both look back and see how this job helped us be the hardworkers we both are today. Kind of neat about reuniting with these people I haven't seen since I was a kid and hearing how we were similarly affected and all consider the job one of the most important things in our lives.

THE COUSINS

I made one more stop at Quick Trip and hit my cousin's address on the GPS. I met my cousin Shawn and is girlfriend Rachel at her parent's Italian grocery (where they live in the above apartment)-- it's a 100-year-old building and just adorable. He made an kick-ass lasagna with fresh veggies and herbs from the garden and a kick-ass bruschetta-- oh my good. Amazing. We all ate dinner at my cousin Eli's groovy pad, which was walking distance from Shawn's. My Uncle Pat; my cousin Zack and his wife and daughter, Tina and Ember; my cousin Michael, Shawn & Rachel and her son Matteo, and a few friends enjoyed the awesome dinner and some drinks. After dinner, me and Pat went to get some beer and we pretty much partied into the night at Eli's- went to a bar to see a band- hung out again until about 3-4am. Eli has lots of friends and neighbors so throughout the night, I got to meet of ton of locals passing in and out of the house. We took lots of pics, videos and laughed the light away. It was incredible to see everyone again- we had one killer time. (Picture- Eli, Michael, Shawn, Me, Tina holding Ember, Zack and Pat in front.)

The next morning, we didn't get up until about 11am-- we all got ready and went up the mountain to hang out at Pat's (and where all the boys grew up) and hung out, played Balderdash and chatted. We decided to head back into town-- picked up some pizza and this time headed to Zack and Tina's house for dinner. Tina made an awesome salad and pulled out some of her homemade bread and butter pickles- awesome. All of a sudden it was almost 8pm- I decided to head back to Tulsa to get a hotel by the airport so I didn't miss my flight. (Picture- Their friend Gates, Rachel, Shawn, Friend Kyle, me, and Eli an an awesome Beatles shirt).

FINAL THOUGHTS

Taking this trip was the best idea I've had in a long time. Just being in Tulsa brought back a flood of memories. As I walked various spots around town, I could feel emotions-- like my mind/body knew something important happened at that very place. I tried to take in everything- even smells and sounds. The hardest part about writing a memoir is the details- not just the little details about people and places from long ago, but also the feelings and how I felt that long ago. This trip really helped me. I took lots of notes. I even did some research that I didn't think I'd do.

Aside from the memoir research, being back with most of my cousins (there is only one I didn't get to see of the Duffy pack- he's in NJ) was awesome. All of them now have their own places, and in some cases, their own families. I grew up with these boys at the most important part of our lives I think- the childhood years. It's with them that I learned how to be one of the boys, a trait I think I've had since I was very young. They've all done some incredible things in their lives-- many have explored a lot of the globe- and they have such strong family values yet live simple, humble lives-- I often wish we saw each other more. Love them so much!! But I'll tell ya what- even though we don't see each other very often, when we get together, we instantly connect like we just saw each other yesterday and we always stay up until dawn together- whether it's partying (now that we're older), playing games or watching the Goonies over and over again.

Day 2ish in Tulsa

2008-08-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Wow am I tired. I kind of like that everything is slower paced out here in Tulsa- speech, driving, etc. I woke up at 11:00am and was worried I was late for check-out- I called to let them know and they said, "You're good- check-out is at noon." So what did I do? Slept a little more and know I am blogging- won't have wi-fi now for a day or so- so I am checking out about 15 minutes late.

The "Quadroplex" - this is where I lived for most of my memoir. Good and horrible memories from this place!

Yesterday was awesome- I already wrote about lunch with my cousin, but after that I met up with my old friend J and we went gallavanting aroud Tulsa- he has a great memory, so we were able to find all my old houses. We heard that our one other old friend M. worked at the Wal-Mart in Sand Springs, so we headed out there to see if she was there- about 15 minutes out of town. On the way there, we got off an exit and J directed me to DG's old house- it was tinier than I remember-- he was our first friend back then who had his own place and we partied there one night- the first night I ever got sick from drinking. See? This is what this trip is all about- the good memories. We never found M. but we did get in touch- through a Nancy-Drew-like-process with DG- he doesn't know we went by his old house yet- he was busy last night but I may do lunch with him today.

D and his girlfriend J had a bunch of the old newspaper crew over here in West Tula one night- my first time being sick and some other memorable things.

Our other old crew buddy DT was going to meet up with us, but never made it. That made me a little sad. So, J and I hit up a bar called Crawpappy's- the kitchen was closed. Darn. We had a few Bud Lights, a Yager and two Rattlesnakers, which I forgot existed- again- brining back memories. After the bar, we were gonna do breakfast because I was starving but I asked if Taco Bueno was open late- they were- so we went there instead. That was a top priority on my list for this weekend! Eat at Taco Bueno.

J and I inside my first Tulsa bar experience- Crawpappy's- not a bad place. Hey-- scroll down a few posts to "Knocking on Tulsa's Door." There is a pic of me and him from 1993 and here we are today! Haha! He still likes green stripes.

Old School. No really. My Old School. And catching up with cousins....

2008-08-15T13:52:00.001-07:00

Had a great lazy morning! Slept in, wrote a blog, took my time getting ready. I made plans to meet up for a late lunch with my cousin G. and his wife M. before they headed to Texas for the weekend to see her brother- wow- talk about timing! If I came in a day later I would have missed them.

School is already in session in Tulsa, so I stopped by my old Middle School first, Nimitz Middle School, got a visitors badge and asked about what teachers from 1990-1992 were still teaching there- three of them that I had were there and all had their lunch breaks at noon- so they let me hang out in the teachers lounge until then. I found all three- they were a great three to run into as well. Mr. S. was the art teacher, but also the yearbook advisor and I was on the staff- it was his second year doing it, so he didn't remember me exactly, but he remembered the yearbook- I explained to him that I remained doing yearbook and newspaper stuff through the rest of my school years-- and we talked about how when I was in 8th grade we cut pictures with scissors and used rubber cement to make collages and for all the layouts, we used to do everything my hand with these big layout sheets. Wow! Mrs. B. was my English teacher and she was thrilled that I was writing a book- she literally jumped for joy. Mr. Y. was my civics teacher and I didn't get to tell him that for a time I was active in the local young democrats. So they were three classes and teachers I enjoyed so it was neat they were still there. Our reunion was only for five minutes, but it was neat!!

Then, I went to Memorial High School. Got a visitor pass and said I was going to the office, but I walked the whole school. I knew a guy I went to school with that was teaching math there-- I walked by a classroom and heard a very loud teacher- it was R.P!! I peeked in the window and he was in-depth in the middle of a lesson, so I didn't knock- but I kind of wish I did. I was at the school at a bad time- the bell had just rang, so it would have been hard to get to see anyone and time was ticking- I had to meet G and M for lunch.

We chose El Chico, a Mexican place with a few locations in Tulsa, but we chose the one in the mall. We had a really nice time catching up- mainly talking about our schooling, major changing, etc. They are both super smart and sharp and I wish them all the luck in the world! The great thing about my family is that we take chances and never settle-- I can see that in G and his wife too. When they graduate college, they are likely to leave Tulsa and head to the Northwest-- just like that. It's awesome.

Just thought I'd check in with a blog so I can keep these memories fresh, too. Tonight- gonna drive by the old places I've lived and walk around, try for some pics (one of the apartments became a gated community so not sure how to get in there now- but I have been known to be very resourceful) and then later try and catch up with some old friends from the newspaper crew. I asked G where some hot nightspots were so if I can't meet up with people I know, I may just go hang out on Cherry Street, where there is supposedly some great live music on weekends. Loving my trip so far.

Day 1.5 in Tulsa

2008-08-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I cannot believe I am here. Seriously. It's one thing to grow up somewhere and go back and visit every now and then- it still seems recent that way. But man- it's been 14 years since I have been here. It was hard to see Tulsa last night becauseI arrived around 10:15 Central Time and was dark. I actually had a great flight from Wilkes-Barre to Cleveland- sat next to a man I checked in behind and then subsequently saw him again in the airport bar beforehand- I had a few Lagers before the flight. It's kind of strange- every time I fly I play a game with myself in the terminal called, "Who Do I Think I Will Sit Next To." So, I won. I thought it'd be nice to sit next to him because he seemed nice, and I was the last one on the place and looked at my seat, and lo and behold, it was next to his.

We struck up a conversation and it was amazing- he's a newspaper guy. Publishes a Midwest alternative weekly like the one I used to freelance for-- and he used to work for the Village Voice- the god of all alt. weeklies. He's getting ready to launch his new website and I work in the Internet industry so we had a great conversation the whole way about the net, targeted marketing, the future of advertising, books, skydiving-- the whole nine yards. We didn't exchange information or anything, but I may try to look him up and tell him how he made my flight!

My flight from Cleveland to Tulsa was pretty bumpy. We rode on clouds the whole time. I did play the, "Who Do I Think I Will Set Next To Game." I was kinda hoping Drew Carey would be on my flight since he is from Cleveland. As I was enjoying a Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Smoothie (which cost me $6.00), I scanned D8 terminal and picked out a nice lady I thought I'd hit it off with. Turns out, the way this plane is set up, I sat next to no one. The left aisle only had one seat, so I scored gold and got a window and an aisle, the wing seat. It was so cloudy, I couldn't see a thing the whole way, but the sky cleared when we were over Tulsa- pretty cool and hopefully telling of my trip.

The landing was bumpy- the wheels were squeaky, but I landed so I wasn't going to complain. I got my purple luggage and headed to Hertz. I was given a free upgrade to a small SUV- a Mazda Tribute- also with a free GPS. I punched in the address of my hotel and let the computerized lady tell me where to go. So, I didn't have to worry about remembering my way around. I still made a wrong turn and ended up passing my old apartment-- my heart was racing- I could tell I was getting excited for my adventure. I turned around and found my hotel, checked in, called one of my friends here in Tulsa and crashed.

I just got out of the shower and am waiting for my cousin G. to call me back about breakfast. If he doesn't call soon, I am headed to my old middle school and high school. I heard that some of my old HS friends teach at the high school, which is cool. Have to get some batteries first for by DV(oice)R.

So, since I am in OK, I will say, see y'all lated.

Knocking on Tulsa's Door: Excavating Memories

2008-08-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't believe I am headed to Tulsa, Oklahoma tomorrow after work. I'm packing light and prepared to walk, talk, interview, observe and finally, just visit. Most of all, I want to excavate memories. Some for the purpose of my memoir, some with my family.

14 years since I've been there. I've seen my Oklahoma aunt and uncle and cousins since I've moved, but always here in PA. I haven't seen or really heard from anyone I went to school or worked with in Tulsa since I was 16. Thanks to social networking, I've reconnected with one of my best Tulsa friends and coworkers and have been talking with for a few months, we'll call him JP. Aside from that, very recently I've connected with a few on Facebook- but many of them do not live in Tulsa anymore. And just this week, I found two more friends- one via the online white pages (GH) and then another from GH who passed along DTs (not me, haha, same initials) number. I wasn't sure where I would stay, but I finally decided to book a room in Tulsa for my first two nights this way I have wi-fi and a reference point while I am in town. I found a hotel a few blocks from where I used to live. This is great because I can walk around my old neighborhoods!! I am stoked.

J and I before a Little Texas concert at the Tulsa Fair in 1993 (?)

Now let's get back to GH. And let me preface this by saying this will be a rare "sentimental blog entry" for me.... GH was my boss when I sold newspapers door-to-door for the Tulsa World. My first boss and a HUGE part of my life. Can't give away all the details or else you'd have nothing to look forward to for my in-progress memoir. At any rate, a few years ago I watched The Secret. One part of that DVD really struck me- about gratitude for what others have done for you and how once you start to feel that and recognized that, positive things can come your way. So, that inspired me to write hand-written letters to several people who really inspired me and enouraged me in my life, or even some that did really big favors for me in the past. One of those letters went to GH- although I was never sure if it was the correct address.

I really didn't have business cards. There was a machine at the mall and we all made our own cards. I think for $1.00 you got four.

So- one of the first things he said when we began to talk last night was, "So, I got your letter." There's long stories involved, not for this blog, but he didn't respond to the letter back then. And that's okay- I wasn't looking for people to respond. Anyway, in my letter to him I mentioned the positive impact he had during a difficult time in my teenage years, and how to this day as an adult I used things he'd taught me. I really could go on, but this is a blog post and not a memoir chapter. At any rate, he said this to me: "Your letter meant the world to me."

When he said that, I kind of choked up. I can't imagine what it must be like to receive a letter out of nowhere from someone you mentored 14 years earlier saying how much they meant in your life and life choices. It must have been an amazing feeling. Furthermore, he explained that it was actually a tough time in his life and it reassured him. He and I then talked for nearly two hours-- not really much time to catch up for 15 years-- but nonetheless it was a cherished conversation-- he told me how I always had the desire to win, and had "the fight" inside me to be the best, to be unstoppable. Back then, it was selling newspaper subscriptions door-to-door, but its still something I have inside me. He recognized that when I was 13-15 and kept me motivated to always do my best. And when I do my best, to show me that I can still get better than my best. My industries have changed, but the fire that GH lit all those years ago still burns strong. He groomed me for success. I am completely happy with my life and where I've been and where I am and where I want to go. Were there bumps? Oh god yeah. But the spirit and heart GH dug out of (I always had it- just took someone to notice and pull it out) is what kept me kicking.

The newspaper crew, led by GH and then later by M. and the guys I worked with were my life, my family. That's why my memoir centers around them. That's why I am going to Tulsa. Here's a crew of them below from an overnight sales trip to Arkansas in 1994 or 1994-- is the one giving the peace sign and DT, who I will also see is the the right under him next to me and the redhead.

My classmates in my creative writing class have read my early drafts of my memoir but it has took a complete turn. I have a great mentor who is pushing me- like GH did all those years ago- and I look forward to sharing this story with everyone soon.

Things I've Been Craving: Tattoos, Snacks, Beer and House stuff

2008-08-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to the things I've been craving. Some I got, so I didn't. "Some I got" is poor grammar, I know. I don't know why I wrote that.

ROOT BEER FLOATS

We have a really cool restaurant/deli at work. They happen to serve ice cream. One of my co-workers, G., walked by me with a dish of strawberry ice cream and it looked delicious and refreshing. So, I headed downstairs to get some of my own. Only, I took plastic Pepsi cup I use to fill up with soda (when I am bad) and water (when I am good) and decided that I would put a few scoops of vanilla in there. And then, fill it up with Mug root beer. My own home-made root beer float. To my dismay, everyone was craving ice cream today-- there was no vanilla left. I didn't think strawberry and root beer would mix, so I just ate the ice cream and took my empty cup back up stairs. But now, I am craving a root beer float like you wouldn't believe.

MICHELOB AMBER BOCK

For a short while I worked for a Budweiser wholesaler doing promotions. During this time I was forbidden to drink anything but Anheuser-Busch products. At the time I drank a lot of Yeungling Lager, so my boss suggested Michelob Amber Bock. I liked it. I enjoyed buying cases at the employee discount. Once I left Bud, I didn't revert back to Lager either. I switched to Miller Lite solely because I was gaining weight. But, I still craved Amber Bock. But, nowhere I regularly drank offered it on tap. And, I always forgot to ask for it in bottles. So, last week when I went to Bar Louie at the casino with my friend, I saw it was featured on tap. Bar Louie is based in the Midwest where AB is located- so it made sense. I was excited and quickly changed my lemonade order to Amber Bock. Mmmm. So last night I was at a pizza place and the Olympics were on. I saw some amazing divers but then was even more dazzled by the ad for Amber Bock. Twice in one week I was reminded of a beer I spent so much time with back in 2002-ish. So today after work I went to Bonanza Beverage in Dallas and picked up a case of Amber Bock bottles for a mere $21.90. Killer deal I think.

FURNITURE

I have been craving carpets, a dining room stable and storage solutions since I moved into this hell hole in May. The only way I can make the ugly ceiling and ugly paneling look better is with nice furniture. And jazzing up the place. I still think I may hold off on a TV for self-discipline reasons. But still, it just feels un-American to have one. Still, I guess I am pretty un-American because I do not shop at freaking Wal-Mart. At any rate, I finally decided to splurge. I got a nice new dining room table- pub style at Kurlancheek's in Exeter... super nice people there. I bought some area and throw rugs- a cool shaggy kind from Target. Next is a desk, some fake trees and some wall coverings and I will be set. I also bought a storage cabinet for the bedroom for all my junk. But that has to be put together so that will wait until after the Tulsa trip.

A TATTOO- Had a crazy dream

I put on my turn signal to turn into Marc's Tattooing at their new Shavertown location but I kept going in the direction of home/beer store. I've been contemplating my tattoo seriously now the past few weeks. I want to get the word "Imagine" on my back (lower or upper) or my shoulder. Any ideas?? I am not sure what font and if I want any kind of illustration with it. I thought if I stopped in I could get some ideas from the artists at Marc's Tattooing. But I figured I'd get roped into it, and if I got a tattoo now and it did make my back hurt, the flight may be uncomfortable. Aslo, I had this dream last night that made me feel better about getting a tattoo. I was at the tattoo parlor (why is it called a parlor?) and the guy injected ink inside me with a big novacaine type needle and it hurt. It was one of those dreams where you actually FEEL the pain. I woke up it "hurt" so bad. When I woke up I thought to myself, "If it is less pain than that, it'll be cool." And get this- I fell back asleep and I finished where I left off. I told the guy it hurt and he said, "You only have the top line of the Capital I. Is that okay?" I told him it was and I left.

First Grade Friends Follow Up

2008-08-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

Just had to share the photo of my friend and her six-month-old daughter. I didn't snag one of her son and husband. But wow! Beautiful children. It was also a beautiful day at Nay Aug Park- thunderstormed at the end, but it was otherwise perfect. (You can see from my hair that it was starting to get windy!) It was great to see the family again- can't believe it went from four siblings to four couples and six grandchildren. And here I am, single and 30! Haha.

First Grade Friends

2008-08-10T07:31:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty excited today. Glad the thunderstorm passed. And glad that I get to see one of my life-long friends again today. She has been in Arizona for the past several years (before that, Lousiana)-- Air Force couple. I've seen her a few times over the past few years and also met her husband, but I have yet to meet her two children. Her younger sister, who is also in the Air Force and married with children, has been living in Turkey. Her older brother lives in New York, married with kids and then her younger brother I believe still lives in the Poconos. So- the siblings- who I practically grew up with too- have arranged family vacations at the same time-- and their parents decided to rent a park today and invite all friends and family they know of. The party already started, but I am more of a late sleeper and nooner kind of girl, so I am headed up there in about an hour. Enjoying some coffee-- and wishing my pictures weren't still at Dave's-- I'd love to bring some old Girl Scout photos to laugh over.

Since I am in the middle of writing a memoir, I feel closer now to the elementary school version of these friends-- it's funny how we're 30 but sometimes I can't get the "young us" out of my memory. I recently wrote about the friend I am seeing today- a scene where she is over my house and my mom and her then boyfriend got into a huge fight-- we locked ourselves in my room and cried until we heard his truck leave. Of course that's the nutshell version- but it just makes me realize how long these friends have been in my life and how I should make a better effort to stay in touch more- even if it's though phone calls and letters because of the geographical distance.

At any rate, I guess I should finish my brew, stop for ice for my cooler (soda only, kids- it's a family park) and head up to the Electric City for an afternoon for food, fun and old friends.

Fear of Flying--- But I'll Fly Anyway, Plus Gambling

2008-08-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE
I've flown many times. I've even jumped out of a plane before. However, everytime I have to fly, I get nervous. Very, very nervous. But, once I am up in the air, there's nothing I can do. My strategy is that I sleep. I learned as a kid that sleeping gets you there quicker, whether it is a car ride home from grandmom's or for Christmas morning to come.

I finally booked my flight to Tulsa. I think I waited until the last week to book the flight because of my fear. I leave Thursday night and will return Monday night-- you can read a few blog posts down about what I plan to do. I haven't been on a plane since 2005. Wish me luck.

THE NEW CASINO
A few years ago, I flew to Vegas and joked with the people in line that I was gambling with my life by getting on the plane, and I wasn't even in Vegas yet... a few people thought it was funny and a few others gave me evil sneers. At any rate, I figured that would be a good segue into talking about the "new" Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The temporary casino has been open for years, but just a few weeks ago, the full casino opened. I checked it out on Monday- didn't win anything but I had a good time. I checked out Bar Louie after I lost my allotted gambling funds... it rocked. My kind of place- lots of beer on tap, casual atmosphere and a great menu.

I had Mom's Meatloaf fo $11.95-- it was two large slices of meatloaf (with that bbq glaze sauce, kinda like the stuff I make) atop a large serving of REAL mashed potatoes and then the dish was topped with peas. The meatloaf was amazing- had mushrooms pouring out of it. The potatoes were so creamy and buttery. My pal for the night had a burger which he said was good. We shared a Cookie-tini for dessert-- it was a HUGE martini glass (bigger than my head) filled with six large chocolate chip cookies stuck in a huge pile of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and chocolate syrup. The service was very attentive and friendly. I want to go back- just need to pass the slots. There were lots of other dining choices there too, everthing from hot dogs and Johnny Rockets to fine dining at Ruth Chris. You can see all the dining choices at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs here.

Preparation for my new license, including lip waxing

2008-08-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

I am two days late on getting my new driver's license. My temporary internet ID expired on 8/4. (read through July's entries to read more about the license stuff!) But I have good reason for not making it to the center for the picture. Nope. I have not been ill. I did not have jury duty. I was not serving in the Peace Corps. My reason is: I was in dire need of a hair cut. I didn't want the next four years of my life to include showing an ID with straggly hair.

So, today after work, I found a salon that does not require appointments. I got my hairs cut. The usual (well, I only seem to make time to get my hair actually cut and styled twice a year s so I guess technically its not my 'usual'- Gosh, I really need to spend more time on myself)- long layers and framed around my face, only this time I added side bangs. I know that when I wake up tomorrow and shower and attempt to blowdry while styling, it won't look like it does now. But anyway, Jenny did a nice job.

What goes along with a haircut? Well, I like going to the nail places to get that done. So, off to Dallas Nails. I pull up and see the guy tugging at the open sign's string. The light turned off. The door was open, so from a distance I hollered out, "Oh no! Are you closing?"

The man looked at me and said, "Eyebrows? No- go on in."

Wow. Was it that obvious? Maybe I wanted a pedicure. Maybe I wanted a color change on my nails. Nope. This guy was good. From several yards away he managed to spot my need, to catch a glimpse of my bushy unibrow. And to top it off, the woman who made my eyebrows beautiful asked, "Lip too?" This is the third time I went here and got her. So I said, "Sure." I wasn't too embarrassed being this was the third time she pointed out my light, blonde, hairy upper lip.

So today- I lost hair on my head, hair on my brows and hair on my lip. Kind of reminds me I need to shave my legs.

Peace.

An Action-Packed Weekend: Drinks, Music & War (Paintball, that is)

2008-08-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

Some weekends I sleep the weekend away. You know, R&R to the fullest extent. Sleep. Nap. Read. Eat. Nap. Sleep.

This weekend though, I realized how much fun you can have actually being awake!

Friday, I had a great time with co-workers at the Arena Bar & Grill- we kinda got the VIP treatment from the staff there, which was quite awesome. Tomorrow, the owners of Arena are having the grand opening of their second location, Metro Bar & Grill in Dallas, PA-- I am pretty sure a bunch of co-workers are going to head up to help them kick off their new location. I am uber-excited because not only is this new bar near work, but also very close to my new apartment, so maybe I found my new local bar. By the way, I blogged in more detail on my company's blog here.

Saturday, I headed to Bethlehem to meet three of my Wilkes creative writing gals-- we spent the whole day at Bethlehem Musikfest, which is going on all week. It's probably one of the largest music festivals there are.... We had an amazing day watching artisians, eating wonderful food, listening to great music and catching up on where we are with our books/screenplays.

I love these ladies so it was so great to see everyone again. Two of us stayed the night at the other's house- had some great pot roast stew her husband made (complete with veggies from their garden) and we fell asleep watching a horror movie. Incredible day- side bar- we saw a kick ass Celtic rock band called Finn's Fury. The band rocked-- check them out here. I bought their CD after the first song. I wanted to stay longer for their show, but we only had one day at the fest, so we wanted to continue to walk around. We got all sorts of samples- Wii socks, toothpaste, Burt's Bees stuff and fans from the to-be-opened-in-2009 Sands Casino.

The next morning, Sunday I was off to v2.o of Cactus Paintball- we had a smaller group this time, but it was still a blast. I drove to Skirmish U.S.A right from Bethlehem. I blogged about it on the company blog here-- but man, it sure was a good time. I bought my first paintball gear- a mask. The rental wasn't tight enough and kept fogging up, so I sprung he 29.99 and got my own- worked out much better.

After Skirmish, since I drove myself, I was able to pick up two hitchhikers- they were young teens, maybe 13 or 14, my brother and sister's age. They were lugging their paintball bags and had their thumbs up, so I gave them a ride-- they would have had to walk about eight country miles to the one kid's house. It was my good deed of the day. However, I got turned around in their development and ended up in Brodheadsville- I know the area, just didn't know the development would put me down that far-- so by the time I made it back to 115 near Long Pond- they had blocked the road to let out the race traffic from the PA 500 so I had to detour and thus ended up in some traffic. So, I ended up being an hour behind my friends to meet them for beer and wings. So much for karma.

The weekend didn't seem to end- Monday I hit up Hops and then the new casino and tonight I went bowling. We had some beer and pizza- and I was so starving from my shopping excursion after work, that I had to get a bag of Bugles from the vending macine while waiting for the pizza-- and guess what! Taped to my Bugles was a coupon for a free game of bowling! I won a prize!! Booyah!!

I had so much fun the past few days and got to hang out with so many great people!! I think I need to sleep, but needed to blog before I forgot!!

Cats 'n Cakes -Slash- Grooming & Grub (I was torn what to call the post so I used both)

2008-07-29T18:22:00.001-07:00

The past several days (okay, weeks) I've been noticing that my cat is shedding quite a bit. It's summer. Animals do that. But I've been sweeping up cat hair every day, and when I come home on lunch and Spectra gives me love, I must use the lint roller before returning to work. Then it dawned on me. I need to brush her.

So, I brushed her. And I brushed her. And I brushed her. The hair was coming off in gobs. I made this huge pile, and yes, this is from one ten-year-old feline:

And then, there was so much hair,

I was able to make this kitten for Spectra to play with:

And then, I made peanut butter pancakes for dinner. I was tired of Mac & Cheese. Tired of 99-cent Celeste brand microwavable pizzas, Deluxe flavor. I was tired of tuna sanwiches. I was unhappy with the fridge. I was unhappy with the cabinet I keep my non-perishables, like all the pasta and rice and noodles and Ramen. What was I to eat? I almost scadaddled and headed to BK, but then I opened the big cabinet, where I keep baking stuff and the oils, and drink mixes and suddenly:

HALLELUJAH! Angels sang along with the harp in the background and what did I see? Aunt Jemima! Reses' Peanut Butter Chips!! Eggo Syrup!!! Spray Butter!!!! Does it really matter if you make pancakes at 8:30pm? Of course not!

So, I made four pancakes. I had some trouble with skillet because my apartment is quipped with a crappy stove, so they weren't perfect looking, but in taste. Holy freakin' cow. Delicious.

There is an even funnier story on why I had all these ingredients. If you can't tell that it was purchased while very drunk, then look closer. I had to chuckle to myself when I saw the picture I just snapped. It huge yellow letters in a huge blue banner, it says, "Easier Open & Close!"-- check out how I opened the box, haha. But yeah, the story is very funny. It may end up in my memoir.

Okie Dokie Here I Come.... Most Likley

2008-07-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

I hate that I am actually writing a blog about going to Tulsa, Oklahoma before I have the plane ticket. But, I am a firm believer that writing things down helps "make it happen." Most motivational speakers will tell you that.

So, here I am writing about a trip that I still need to get a ticket for and that I still kinda need to plan more for. But last I checked, I can go round trip for $269. That's not a shabby deal. Renting a car for two days on top of that may not be too bad either. I haven't had a vacation in years, so this is close to one as I'll get. Three days of reminicising. I don't need many plans- I'll flop somewhere. I still know people there. Or, I'll just get a hotel. Since I was small, I've had an infatuation with hotel rooms.

This whole trip to Tulsa is all to help me with my memoir, a literal trip down memory lane. A few other memorists in my class have visited their roots- but the problem with my story is that most of it takes place 14oo miles away. But- I've been meaning to visit anyway, so may as well pop in and see my cousins and then do research:

My Plans:
1) Visit Nimitz Middle School
2) Visit Memorial High School
3) Eat at Taco Bueno
4) Go to Woodland Hills Mall
5) Visit all old houses:
a. Yacht Club Apartments
b. Villa Fontana Apartments
c. Duplex off 51st Street
d. Perhaps the house in Muskogee if I feel like it
6) Visit Tulsa World Building downtown
7) Drive aimlessly throughout neighborhoods I used to knock doors on (Selling newspapers)
8) Drive by my orthodontist's office
9) Visit the hospital my brother and sister were born at
10) Meet up with as possibly as many people as I can that I knew... you never know what detail that will job
11) Visit my relatives in McAlester area -- that will jog some memories too

I'll bring my digital recorder so I can talk about what I see... and then snap a ton of pictures to add to my memoir research wall. When I have pics of the past in front of me, it helps me remember. I will practice saying, "pop," "y'all," "fixin' to," and "right yet."

OTHER COOL THINGS THIS MONTH
-Bethlehem Musikfest and visiting with some gals from my creative writing class
-PAINTBALL with my Cacti co-workers- not as many people going this time around, but I am so stoked about this-- http://www.skirmish.com/
-A picnic arranged for my friend Cori and her brothers and sisters- she lives in AZ and her sister is overseas in Turkey and her other brother is in NY-- so while it is a family reunion of sorts, a bunch of friends are invited too- I see her once every few years- but I have never met her two kids, so I am thrilled!

So yeah- anyone with any ideas about Tulsa today- lemmee know! I heard things are very different now. I am sure I can find my way around still..... If I had the time, I'd drive there to relive the whole moving experience.

Hummus Orgasmus

2008-07-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Mmm. I recently updated my Facebook status, at 3:31 p.m., to inform the world that I was indulging in the most glorious of treats: roasted red pepper hummus, in which I was dipping sun-dried tomato Wheat Thins. Instantly, I received two comments on my status message:

Andee: Your status is making me horny...'cause roasted red pepper hummus is always orgasmic. (3:41)

Lauren: your status sounds delicious. (4:18)

I responded to Andee with this: If you are horny just by reading my status message, imagine me, here with the roasted red pepper hummus. I'm kinda squirmin' in my seat it's so good. I think I need a cold shower.

Yes, girls and boys. It's that good. How could, me, Andee and Lauren all be wrong?? Huh? I am a big fan of the red pepper hummus at the Wegman's Mediterranean bar, however usually get the Athenos brand or the Cedar's brand because it is all that is usually available where I shop most. However, Sabra Hummus is much better, although harder to find. My local Mr. Z's expanded, the one in Dallas, Pa., so now they carry more brands, one of them being Sabra. The lady at the check-out this afternoon even gave me the thumbs up when she scanned and bagged the yummy hummy. Sabra's classic flavor is very good also, and comes with pine nuts on top. That's what I think I like the most about Sabra Hummus- that it comes will other goodies, not just like a dip.

Sabra Hummus is the smoothest, creamiest hummus I have ever tasted, seriously. And, it is oozing with olive oil and red peppers when you first open the container... I kinda mixed it all together with my first cracker today. But, I thought since I got some feedback on my status message that I would expand it here, with a blog post called Hummus Orgasmus, because it is.

Check out your local deli section today for this glorious and healthy treat!

I Wanna Write Superpokes for Facebook & Relaxing Saturday

2008-07-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

I've had quite the relaxing weeked. I've needed one, too. It's been pretty non-stop between working and writing for school. Mental strain and drain is sometimes more of a reason than physical labor to just sleep....

I've started completely over with my memoir and I must say, it is worlds better than my first draft. And- even after the first 50 pages, I've gotten some great guidance from my mentor Bev (Riding in Cars With Boys), and I am pretty much going to revise these 50 before moving ahead-- which just with revisions alone, it will turn into about 80 pages I am sure.... It's amazing the memories that flow out when you get prompted from an unbiased source... Bev went through all 50 pages with me during a phone conference and she'd ask, "Why did you feel that way?" or "Well, what did he look like?" -- all these obvious questions that made me think I was rushing through the first chapters to get to what I thought was the focal point of thebook.... turns out, I've missed a lot of details. I have never been more excited to write, thanks to her encouragment and honesty. It's what I really needed....

One of the main reasons I went out on my own in May was to focus on the writing, so I have to. I am cheating myself if I don't. I gave myself the freedom, now it's what I make of it. I have to admit I've been enjoying freedom by going out a lot, too.

So- I kinda went off on a tangent there.... I was originally going to blog about how I've caught up on sleep. And it felt good. I slept in until noon on Saturday. Read a book. Fell back asleep, woke up at 2:00. Read a little more. (Crackpots, Sara Pritchard... lovely!) Got up, did a few things. Decided I may go to a camping birthday party. Was going to shower and get ready, but laid down again. Woke up at 6:00. I repeated the lounge, read, nap cycle until about 2am when I actually went to bed for the night. (haha) And then, I slept in until about 11:00 on Sunday. No one can understand how I can sleep so much except Dr. Dellarosa from the Wyoming Valley Sleep Disorders Center. But that's a whole other story. But today, I feel refreshed. I have some writing to do, must go get some food and stuff for the house and then will spend the day revising/rewriting.

But, I was on Facebook earlier today, and I just am in love with the SuperPoke application. It's fun. There's something for everyone. It made me realize that I could write some pretty good Superpokes. I wonder if they accept freelance submissions? I think that'd be pretty sweet if I was responsible for people poking each other-- but in another sense, by throwing a good party, I could do the same thing. Haha.

July is Bursting With Birthdays, and Other Things That Make Me Happy

2008-07-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

I don't think I have ever gone out this consistently over a matter of weeks in honor of co-worker's birthday celebrations. But it's cool. I like it. I had one two weeks ago that kicked off this Cacti birthday month, and then last Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, tonight and then one on Saturday, too and perhaps one next Thursday. I chalk this up to just working at a fun place that attracts a lot of Cancers. After all, we are pretty darn neat.

Speaking of working with neat Cancers at a neat place, when I hear other people say certain things about their jobs, it makes me feel happy. I just read a former classmates status message on Facebook. It was something like, "Yay! Today is dress down day!" Ahem? That's everyday where I work. And I love it. It's little reminders from the outside world that confirm that I am completely happy every day at work.

From partying so much lately, I must say that maybe I am a little banged up and bruised- I may get clumsy sometimes and maybe once, earlier this week I took a good fall. But it was all in the name of birthday goodness.

The Driver's License Woes of Donna Talarico

2008-07-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have a license to drive. Had one since I was 16. In fact, I wrote a memoir chapter about the fateful day I managed to pass my driver's test, the day I drove us home from the testing center and ended up on the sidewalk and the day my mom drove us the rest of the way home.

I am also 21. I mean, I am actually 30. So, what this means is that I am old enough to drive and I am old enough to drink, even though those two things should never be done together.

So, let's talk about my recent driver's license woes. If you read my blog, you will recall a past driver's license issue. On Sunday, January 20th, seven months to the day from when Incident #1 this week happened, I blogged about the time a national chain restaurant located in Wilkes-Barre would not serve me because my license was cracked. I made a promise that I would get a new license. But six months passed, and since I have been busy working and writing and reading (for school), I just did not make my way to the local driver's license center. The closest I got to the driver's license center in Hanover Township was when I went to Nanticoke for a co-worker's birthday party. So, over the seven months, my cracked license got worse. It's faded, peeled and just a mess. In my blog post back then, I joked and said my license "expired" as a pun-- as in death, not as in the expiration date printed on the license.

So, a half year later, I plan to meet a bunch of co-workers and Wilkes friends at a local bar that has a great Sunday happy hour. I am the first to arrive, so this means it is my responsibility to reserve the table. This bar is not my regular bar, but over the past several months, I have been there for this Sunday happy hour, and the week prior, I was there with about 50 co-workers for a dual going away party. So anyway, the bouncer tells me he cannot let me in. I instantly think that he means it is because of my cracked license.

"Your license is expired," he says.

I think about this. I turned 30. That means I had a birthday on July 16th. Licenses expire every four years the day after your birthday. Shit. He would not let me in, but I pleaded my case with the manager, who did not recognize me but did remember the party the week before. He said I was being nice and said he could let me in on the condition I filled out a waiver and left my license at the front door. Great. I ended up having a wonderful night and was very thankful. Pays not to give people a hard time for doing their jobs, but at the same time, being able to do something that you are of legal age to do. However, one problem. I leave my cracked, expired license at the bar. The bar is closed on Monday and Tuesday. I have another co-worker's birthday to celebrate on Tuesday at a bar that I have only been to once. Crap.

Tuesday comes along. In the meantime, I tear apart the apartment looking for my camera card. Can't find it. I renew my license online and print it out. Thank goodness I had a passport from when I tried out for Survivor all those times. I have a valid photo ID, plus a temporary license, which is also valid when accompanied with your expired license, but figure I just have a few days until the new camera card comes and I can go get my new license. But....

We start at one bar on Tuesday night. I get in without a problem using my passport. Around 10pm, I drive just a few blocks, only on one street, to get to the second bar. Flashing lights. I get pulled over. Turns out I ran a red light-- not trying to. Just must not have been paying attention; probably texting. The cops asks for my license and registration.

Gulp. I would say this is bad luck, but really, it was good luck. He accepted by passport and temporary license. It took me a while to find the registation because Dave and I just traded cars and I never opened the glove box until this very moment.... the card was wrapped up in a napkin. Haha. The cop just told me to be careful. Whew.

So boys and girls- pay attention to the dates on your license. When a bouncer wants to hang on to your license, remember it when you leave, because the bar just may close for two days in a row. And just incase, get yourself a passport-- it can save your butt. (P.S. My license is still at the bar, in their cash register and it is Thursday. Guess I need to get it to turn into the center....)

The Birthday Party Made the Company Blog

2008-07-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to John Dawe, everyone can now relive a moment from mine and Matt's birthday celebration, when another co-worker took the stage. Listen to the cheers at the end-- there were a ton of us there. It was awesome. Check it out.

http://blog.solidcactus.com/ - main blog page.

Oh, and while you are on the blog-- you can learn a lot about my awesome company.

A Forgotten Blog- I Dug Up More Online History

2008-07-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

So it's true. And I even forgot about it. I had a blog before Daily Dose o Donna.

I was being a dork and Googling myself and I found that I once took a stab at blogging before-- and I can't even log in-- not sure what address I had- it must have been before my gmail account. At any rate, it was called "Rants in Her Pants: Donna Talarico's Blog." And I made a whopping two posts in 2005:

--Directory Assistance vs. Pennsylvania Geography: Constant battle for hungry drivers and newspaper stringers

And

All Bladders not Equal and Other Ramblings from recent weeks...

It's funny to stumble across these things. Hehe. I remember those two incidents happening like it was yesterday.

I Felt Out of Touch With The World. I Was Scared.

2008-07-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

Wired or wireless, I've always been connected. A little too connected. A little too dependent on being connected. So this morning when my cell died--- my charger was in my car; my car was left at the bar-- and my Internet connection failed, I felt anxious. I could not check my email. The world was ending. I could not see people's statuses or mood updates on the various social media outlets. I was having trouble breathing. I couldn't text. My heart was racing. It was an emergency. And then my friend J (who gave me a ride to my car) and Frontier tech support saved me from my dangerous lapse into another time when there was no e-anything. I'm better now. Ahhhhhhhh.

My Twenties Are Over ... and I Am Okay With That: Donna enters 30-hood- a lifetime summed up in a blog post

2008-07-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, 30 seemed so old. Heck, so did 21. I mean, 30 is a milestone birthday I guess, at least according to the greeting card companies. It's a new decade, so that's something special I suppose. But what I am not, is old. 30 is not old. Since I have been 29 for 364.5 days, I must say that I truly feel younger than ever, even though each day I've been growing older. The past few years have been pivotal- I finally graduated college, I started a career in ecommerce at an excellent company and I've started and am more than halfway through my Master's in Creative Writing. I recently also made some choices in life that have given me independence- the freedom to truly find out who I am and what I want to be. So, the late 20s have been the best years of my life, but I know the 30s will only get better.

Recently, I was trying to remember dates for the memoir I am writing- I was trying to get a focus on the years 13-16-- they seem so distant- but to help, I had to physically draw a map- so I thought I'd share the timeline of my life up until now.

1978- born in Philadelphia as Donna Ploshay.

1979-1981- learned to walk, talk, pee in a toilet, moved a lot

1982- started nursery school; mom got remarried and I get new last name too; moved to Poconos; travel to music shows on weekends

1983- started kindergarten at Tobyhanna Elementary Center; travel to music shows on weekends

1984-1987- no major life events, continued elementary school, was a great Girl Scout; played Mrs. Do Right in "Invasion of the Quarter Snatchers"; travel to music shows on weekends; go to Disney World

1988- 1989- mom got divorced; we moved around & mom met Joe who'd be stepdad

1990- move to Reading, Pa for part of 7th grade, back to Poconos for part of 7th grade and then to Tulsa, Oklahoma to finish out the year at Nimitz Middle School; my most nomadic year

1991- got braces and contacts; had my first boyfriend and first kiss; join fife & drum corp; start job selling newspapers door-to-door for Tulsa World & Tulsa Tribune newspaper

1992- little brother born; mom got remarried; I got drunk for the first time; start high school, join marching band (flute)

1993- Still in high school; still working for Tulsa World; quit marching band; little sister born; lost my virginity (details reserved for the memoir!); join school newspaper staff, The Sentinel, try working at McDonald's for little while but went back to selling papers

1994-Get driver's license and first car, move to Muskogee, OK to start 11th grade; move back to Poconos to finish 11th grade; start working at Big Boulder Ski Area, Split Rock Resort and Piggy's

1995-Start senior year, still have those three jobs, join local radio station's high school intern program; editor of high school newspaper and on yearbook staff; pretty uneventful

1996-1998 Won high school a rock concert, get in first car accident, graduate high school, move to Wilkes-Barre, start at Wilkes, get first apartment, get my cat, Spectra, work briefly at Red Lobster and Taco Bell, work in radio part-time, start dabbling in writing and internet stuff; organize protest on campus, join every possible communication studies club there is; present petition to city hall to allow roller blading in downtown Wilkes-Barre

1998-2001- Leave college at end of sophomore year to work in radio full-time, do really cool things, some that can't be printed, go to Memphis 2x, Nashville 3x; win some industry promotion awards, start freelance writing locally; Turn 21; HIGHLIGHT: Meet my birth father!; have first long-term relationship with boy

2001- leave radio to go back to school, but don't go back to school yet; have a stint at Best Buy and then start as admissions rep at local career school; still freelancing; first real break-up (but it was all good)

2002-2004 Start back at Wilkes part-time to finish degree; still working at school- GO SKYDIVING & Go on TLC for reality show called Help Wanted and place 2nd; still freelancing; meet new guy and move in with boyfriend for first time

2005- quit work to finish degree; enjoy being a full-time college student again; still freelancing; self-publish, Kids, Have You Seen My Backpack? And Other Inspirational Stories of Non-Traditional Students.; get pregnant, miscarry (twice).

2006- start working at same school again, but still have two more college classes to finish; still freelancing

2007- Resign from job at school when they don't let me change schedule for school; start at Solid Cactus, graduate college with BA in Communication Studies, begin Wilkes' MA in Creative Writing program; have College Prowler guidebook on Wilkes published; get engaged

2008- Here I am. What next?

P.S. Wanted to add more links, but I got lazy. Wanted to add pictures, but they are all still at Dave's house. I'll perhaps update with some baby pics later. ; )

Diving into Dive Bars

2008-07-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I was supposed to go on a dive bar hunting adventure, which I haven't done in a long time. It's pretty cool to stumble upon a gem of a dive bar, where the beer is cheap, the folks are nice (albeit usually a little odd, but then again, I am too) and if they have food, it's usually pretty damn good. Sometimes, the best places are off the beaten path.

We ended up going to one bar to meet someone my friend knew, so it wasn't technically a dive bar hunting adventure like we planned, but it surely was a dive bar. There was some interesting stuff going on between an chunkier woman and a man without his shirt on -- but had his sunglasses on - and I wished I had my video camera because I would have be a YouTube star contributor, but it was entertaining. But even though it looked odd to me, it was second nature at this place, as no one seemed to mind. So, I let it go too. The beers were cheap the shots were $2.50!! Wow! No wonder we did so many.

But the whole point of my story is that sometimes its more fun to give your regular bar the night off and go somewhere, the opposite of Cheers, where NO ONE knows your name. You can get fun and get silly and no one knows you. It's great.

I also realized how old I am getting, which isn't a bad thing. But I just don't dig dance music of today, all that hip-hop stuff from the late 90s until now. I mean, I don't hate it, but I prefer it at a dance club. So anyway this bar had an older DJ, so I thought my request for Bon Jovi or Tom Petty or something fun from the 70s or 80s would have been an immediate play. But no. An hour passed and me and my friend were getting tired of the music. So, I reminded him and he said, "Oh, I thought you left. I will get it on soon." So, it was almost 1am before I heard the catchy beginning of "American Girl" and me and my friend went nuts, but noticed that everyone left the dance floor. It was kinda comical, but I didn't car. I danced with my Miller Lite bottle, bopping around to my favorite song while everyone else in the bar got a refill or went pee. Then, he segued right into Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" which brought everyone back on the floor, and everyone who wasn't dancing was singing along and fist-pumping, and I happily thought to myself, "I did this!" Then, the DJ went back and played "We Are Family" and "It's Raining Men" before going back into the shit music. So, at least I had a string of four songs I knew and had fun listening to.

The music last night just made me realize how much I enjoy the songs I grew up with, and how I never get sick of them and how I can't get into most of the music today, namely the hip-hop. Maybe it's a sign of me turning 30 and how I never wanted to let go of the teen years? Not sure. But whatever it is- let's not forget that good music.

Cork Soaker Video

2008-07-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

Over an awesome Sushi lunch the other day, me and two friends from work were talking about funny videos. My one friend started talking about the legendary SNL Cork Soaker skit. We were in hysterics just listening to his rendition-- so I had to find the video online. Surprisingly, I couldn't find it on YouTube, but ended up finding it on Trook- so enjoy. Cork Soakers- Janet Jackson is also on this episode.

Little Things that Bother Me

2008-07-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

This will be a quick post. Just have to vent about one of those little things that irritate me. I was at Sheetz with a friend this afternoon paying for my fabulous Iced Chai Tea when I noticed all the stars with names on them- the typical charity where you donate a dollar and get to write your name. This Sheetz is right by work, so I looked at the stars while the cashier counted my change to see if any coworkers had bought a star. Then I noticed one that stood out:

JESUS LOVES YOU in shaky black Sharpie.

Why must people use a that vehicle to spread their religious nonsense? Ugh. Just write your freakin' name and leave the propheting to someone else. It made me mad. But then they called #750 and my refreshing cool drink was done and then I felt a little better.

My Mysterious Leg Incident

2008-07-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Ouch. Freakin' Ouch. That's all I can say about the ungodly pain that hit my left leg the earlier this week. I woke up in the middle of the night, Tuesday with an incredible throbbing pain in my left leg, front upper thigh area, and then spreading around my knee and then down a little to my calf. I didn't fall back asleep until around 4ish in the morning. I waited for it to go away because I am afraid of all things doctor and I didn't want to have to call. But suffering all day at work, trying to mask the pain, just wasn't working-- of course I googled and WebMD'd "left leg pain," "pain in my left leg" and "dull pain in left leg" and other appropriate keyword phrases and blod clot was one of them. I started a new BC pill, and that is one of the more serious side effects of the pill, so I got a little freaked and called the doctor.

My doctor sent me to the hospital for a stat venus doppler. The experience at the hospital left a lot to be desired because no one could figure out where I was supposed to go- radiology or cardiology and I really didn't care what -ology it was. There was bickering between all the techs and staff, etc. as to whether it should be an ariterial or venus doppler- because my doctor had given a verbal order since it was stat-- and it was just after 4:30 and the main staff had left. So, they finally figured it out after paging my doctor twice. I had the ultrasound done on my leg-- man oh man is that gel cold. When she pushed in, you could hear my blood pushing through my veins or arteries or whatever. It was kind of cool. Negative per the tech, but the doctor would look at them in the morning.

Not that I wanted a blood clot. I just wanted to reason for the pain. So, I went home and went straight to sleep. That's right- I didn't even check my email! I had another horrible night sleep and the pain got worse. When I finally got out of bed and started to get ready for work, I decided instead of going straight to work, I'd do the ER first. This was the quickest service I ever got in the ER. I was checked in, given my wristband and called into the triage nurse within ten minutes. I guess my body was sensitive to pain because when the nurse turned on the automatic blood pressure machine and it got to the point where the thingy gets really tight, tears started streaming down my cheeks and I guess I wimpered a litte so she ripped the thing off and then did it by hand and took me right into a bed.

The PA came right over and pushed and prodded on my leg and asked questions. She disappeared and a doctor came back and he did the same thing. All they did was give me Flexerol, a muscle relaxer and a pain medication- not the good kind, haha- and sent me on my way. It took a while for the meds to kick in. I went to my pharmacy and then back to work. Today it's Saturday and the pain is still there a little- I didn't take anything yet and it's 2ish. So, I thought maybe it went away, but I was taking them all week and today is the first time I missed a note.

Sidebar: Drinking while on muscle relaxers is fun, but they kind of made me conk right out after a while.

Friday the 13th & Guitar Hero.... I Need More Practice.

2008-07-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

So last night, I made the trek to my old college pal and former roommate, J.'s house-- he lives near Marshall's Creek. At any rate, it's hard to believe I've known him 12 years. Wow. We're getting old. We relived some memories by eating Hamburger Helper and watching Friday the 13th, the original, with Kevin Bacon. We always watched that movie when we lived together, and then later in the night, he'd barge into my room with a glow-in-the-dark Jason mask and do the music that always came on in the movie when you knew someone was going to die. I'd scream and he'd say, "Why are you screaming, Donna? You know it's me." And then I'd say, "I don't know." And then we'd laugh and go back to bed. But anyway....

But what was most fun about last night is when J. said, "Donna, you know how when you get drunk you always play air guitar?"

After feeling embarrased about my drunken habit, I said, "Yeah....why?"

He said he had a surprise and he pulled out a Target bag with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. He had a Wii and his brother had Guitar Hero and he was addicted, so he had to buy one for himself. So, I helped him put the guitar together and soon, we were playing. I really, really sucked at first and realized I lack hand-eye-coordination which is why I never was good at sports, sewing or even the flute when I played in school. I got booed of stage everytime and was pissed because there were really good songs, but since I kept f-ing up, the music didn't play. So, I took one turn and then let J. take like three turns.

I ended up beating Foghat's Slowride and the one song by the Killers and also Hit Me With Your Best Shot... we had a blast and before we knew it, it was after midnight and I think we started around 7, with a little break for Hamburger Helper. The music was awesome, but we were upset that there was no Bon Jovi. So, I think I want a Wii. But no TV for me until January, as stated in a blog post earlier this week. But seriously, Guitar Hero is pretty addicting. Once I started to get the beat and quit focusing on the colored dots, I improved. I still didn't get higher than a 71% of all notes hit, but hey, it was my first time.

But what a fun, laid back night. Something different. A trip down memory lane mixed with something really new and cool-- that reminded me I am a true white girl. No rythm.

Happy & Hungover July 4th

2008-07-04T11:57:00.001-07:00

Ugh. I feel a little sick today. But it was so worth it. What a good time last night. I can handle my beer, but it's the shots. Those darn shots. After a morning of getting sick and being dizzy, now, at 3:00 pm, I am finally feeling better.

I've learned that sleep is the only sure-fire cure for a hangover, at least that works for me. I've tried many things in the past and these few things also really help with a hangover, for me at least:

1. Drinking loads of Gatorade the next day- which usually makes me feel better, but I also have to pee a lot.

2. Having a teaspoon of honey before going to bed- but when you are drunk, how can you remember that? It does work though.

3. Eating a greasy 1am breakfast- this is a fun cure. I always feel okay the next day when I hit up Denny's or Perkin's or a local diner.

I wrote an article once on a Hangover Patch, but never tried them. I have a friend who swears by those hangover pills, which I guess have charcoal or something that helps. I should check those out, except for the fact that I cannot swallow big pills.'

But today, it was sleep for my hangover cure. After waking up sick, I ate some bread to soak up any remnants of the alcohol, had some water, took two Tylenol EZ Tabs, put on my lavender-scented sleeping mask and went back to bed. For hours. And it felt good.

What is your hangover cure? What works for you?

Long Weekend Coming Up & Time Flying

2008-07-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

First off, I must say that I cannot believe how time flies. I called my mom last night and a man answered the phone. I haven't heard my little brother talk since Christmas, and wow, did his voice get deeper. He's a young man. I am excited that they moved back from Virginia-- I hope that I can now be more of an influence in his and my sister's life. They are in HIGH SCHOOL. I am working on my memoir for the MA (as well as for personal reasons) and the time period I am focusing on is before and just after they are born. Wow, does time fly.

I am also going to visit my old college buddy and former roommate J. tomorrow-- I cannot believe 12 years flew by since I first met him. 12 years! We still laugh about our freshman follies like they happened yesterday. Time to create some new stories to tell. The macaroni and cheese one is getting old.

I have been at my job a year as of a few weeks ago. I can't believe how time flies.

Time flies by so quick- and I know that all the fun I have this weekend will also be just a memory.

Happy 4th of July everyone. I can't wait to eat some burnt hot dogs this weekend. That's seriously my fave part of 4th of July. Oh, that's right. Last year I failed at being a vegetarian around this time because of hot dogs. Not a cheesesteak, not a T-bone steak, not fliet, not prime rib. A freakin' Ballpark hotdog. Mmmmm.

A few changes

2008-07-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

So, after coming back from residency I have a fresh outlook on my memoir project. To meet my deadline, I pretty much have to be dedicated to write two hours or more per day. To do this, I must 1: sacrifice sleep and 2: social networking time.

1. SLEEP
I've always been a wake-up-with-exactly-as-much-time-as-I-need-to-get-ready-for-work kind of girl and then to hibernate all weekend, except at night when there are things happening. Some of you know about me sleeping disorder, for which I am no longer taking medication for since Health Care in America Sucks. So, waking is tough for me.

Since I am really dedicated to my full-time job and often work late, my mentor suggested the best thing for me to do would be to get up early and write for two hours. Getting to work at 9am is a contstant, as opposed to what time I get home each night. Since I moved, I am less than two miles to work, so I actually do not have to get up that too entirely early. Maybe 6:30 until 8:30 so I can still have time for last minute stuff before I head out the door. This will take some adjusting, but the most important thing I was missing last semester, aside from support at home, is self-discipline (which kind of was detered anyway without the support: I almost gave up).

So, to keep on a schedule and make this work, I must get up early. I did yesterday and today. However, yesterday I had to write a freelance piece for the Ebiz Insider and then this morning Dave stopped over to pick someting up and we got to talking, and then I finished a few chapters in The Glass Castle and now am writing this, so while I've been up two hours earlier, I haven't written on the memoir in this time slot yet. I worked on some pages last night, however. Practice makes perfect is what the trite saying says. If my body can adjust to this change, then I am set. Plus, I won't feel as rushed going into work- I'll be relaxed.

2. SOCIAL NETWORKING
I can't help it. I get home from work, check my email, check MySpace, check Facebook and then somehow two hours pass and I've beat my high score on every word game on Facebook. I play Word Twist, Word Challenge, Bubble Words, WordScraper, Text Twist, and my favorite, Scramble. I am an addict to these word games and I HAVE to stop. I am wasting way too much time. It goes back to the self-discipline. I already do not have a TV and have been reading more. I don't think I am going to get a TV for a while. The only reason I really want one is for when I am bored (which I shouldn't ever be because I have so much work to do) and in case I to want to invite someone over to watch a movie, but I could always go to someone else's house. (And besides, we all know what "coming over to watch a movie" really means anyway.) And, I have to keep the Internet closed when I am writing so when I hit I lull I don't repeat my Word Game downfall in mid-paragraph. Maybe I will hook up my old desktop as a Wilkes faculty suggested a January panel- great advice- have one computer with ZERO internet access so you can just write.

So those are my issues. I need less sleep and less time online and then the writing will get done. I live alone now, I have no TV. I have the motivation of my mentor and classmates and no DEmotivation of someone who does not understand the creative writing life. I CAN do this.

Back from Residency #3 - A Week of Creative Writing and Fun

2008-06-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

My third residency for my MA in Creative Writing at Wilkes University is over. ; (

As I pulled away from my parking space at the University Towers apartment, the lump formed in my throat. As I turned left onto Northhampton Street, I could feel the tears welling up. As I turned left at the McDonald's onto Wilkes-Barre Boulevard toward the highway to my house, it came out. I bawled. I made it home okay, but it was through a stream of tears.

That always happens when I leave the creative writing residency. It's a completely emotional experience. Only this being the third of four residencies, the bonds with my classmates and faculty are tighter, the work is better and we're all getting closer to being done.

Why did I cry? First of all- the people. I've written about this before on this blog, after the first and second residencies- When you are a writer, it's very hard to find people that understand you. So, the common thread we all share brings us tighter together, even though we see each other less than those in our daily lives. Some of my classmates had some breakthroughs in their own work this week and that made me so happy-- I am so proud of everybody. And it's not just the work we do- but the residency is filled with late night fun... there was not one night-- okay, morning-- that I did not go to sleep after having a great time with my classmates- whether it was at a bar, having an impromtu concert in a dorm room, playing board games or just shooting the shit while eating junk food. I think I saw the sunrise five times.

I also was brought to tears because I have more direction in my own memoir. I was struggling this past project semester (this is where we work from home between on-campus residencies) not only with the work, but not having the support I needed at home. Leaving the residency with a better direction, suce great inspiration from my mentor and classmates, having had an emotional breakthrough about what I want to include in my book and learning that I did make the right choice to move on my own recently really brought me to those "happy tears."

IF YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER--- JOIN US....

The creative writing program at Wilkes University is a force to be reckoned with. This week, we learned that several of our classmates ahead of us now are being represented by agents, are having screenplays optioned, are being published-- it's not just the writing, it's the networking and the community that takes place on campus. That combination can really set a writer up for success. There are other creative writing programs out there- not saying any names- that kind of mold a student to be the writer that school wants- maybe not allow a certain genre or something. At Wilkes, everyone has his or her own distinct voice and that's what makes this program different. That's the Wilkes difference. Other programs, a graduating class produces 30 of the same book... here, it's a grab bag!

If you are into poetry, non-fiction, fiction, screenwriting or playwrighting- you've got to consider the Wilkes University MA in Creative Writing. http://www.wilkes.edu/.

I am considering the MFA- Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Wilkes. Not so much for the advanced degree, but I think just to have one extra year there!

Okay-- sorry if this blog was way too sentinmental... Oh yeah- and to check out videos of our impromptu concert- check out my friend Jon's blog: http://www.jonwritesforthescreen.com/.

My Geocities Page: An 'Ancient' Internet Artifact that I Dug Up on Google Today

2008-06-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

It's kind of funny that I ended up, "working for the Internet" as I said, buzzed during a Sunday happy hour last week. So, I don't work for for THE Internet, yet an Internet company, an ecommerce company to be exact. (But it was funnier the way I said it when I was tipsy....)

In 1995, my friend Jenn G. and I started a column, which I came up with the name for, in our high school newspaper: Nothing But Net. We both fell in love with this novel idea of interconnected computers and reviewed websites each week. I am in the process of moving so I do not have those papers with me-- but I should see if any of those sites are still around!

The Internet was still pretty new to the common household user, but Jenn and I were hip and with it. So hip and with it that we made the front page of the Sunday Pocono Record story about young people and the Internet. They interviewed us about the 'net, computers, and whatnot. We were famous for a Sunday and everyone at school was talking to us and everyone at school wanted us to help show them how to use it and how to create email addresses. Jenn was amazed at Yahoo and the directory they were building. I can't take credit- she built a Geocities site before me- but once I got off to Wilkes, I started my own site.

Anyway, back to high school. Jenn even knew was SPAM was back then and was quoted in the Pocono Record talking about it, which is hysterical-- she put her email address on something and got "spammed." She ventured into computer science and while we fell out of touch, I know she worked for some big time companies in the Internet industry and am sure she still does. She got more into the technical stuff that I am not smart enough for. I've dabbled it in as a hobby. She is a whiz.

Now that I work "for the Internet," I am up with the latest trends, at least within ecommerce and also all the Web 2.0 stuff- or at least I try to be. So, when I see someone who has a really old school site, I chuckle and think of my first website- a Yahoo Geocities website. No business's site should look like that! Haha. I am not a programmer now either- I work in sales- but it's cool to think back then how I learned HTML myself and how to create tables and make links and create email links, etc. I should be quite proud of myself that I learned all that back then before there were all these online resources od Dummy/Idiot books published and out there.... But of course by today's standards- my Geocities site blows-- you can still do Geocities, but they have SiteBuilder and all these other WYSIWIG editors to build a personal site. But it's still a very fun trip down memory lane to see this site- and it's funny that mostly everything still works on it, althought the mail address is long gone- and I cannot log into geocities to change anything- but I don't think I want to. This is an ancient artifact that should be preserved.

So, for shits and giggles, check this out. Check out the backgrounds, the animated gifs and all the old school personal website stuff.

Looking back at my content, it's actually funny because I still drink at the bar I did back then. I started the site in 1997 and I guess the last time I updated it was after I turned 21. Now, I'm about 30.

http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/Stage/3464/

Be sure you visit the about me page: http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/Stage/3464/stats.html

The "guest book" which is pretty much an obsolete thing nowadays, is pretty funny too-- it brings back a lot of memories-- it's before SEO was really big and there is this one guy who searched for "donna radio" because he was from some foreing country and that was a station there, and I came up. So, I had searchable keywords back then! hehe

Cheers to Yahoo Geocites!! Haha. Anyway- just wanted to share it. Laugh with me, because it is funny.

A Day of Errands

2008-06-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

Since my dryer's heating element burnt and my new dryer won't be here until Tuesday, I did something I haven't done in a while. I went to the laundromat. It has hot. But, it did the job. I didn't have to wash AND dry, so that made it less painful. When I lived in Tulsa, they had this cool laundromat called Duds 'n Suds which had a snack bar, TV lounge, pool table, video games and even served beer. I wish there was a place like that around here. Not that I want to always have to go to the laundromat, but if and when I do need to, it'd be cool to have a hip place to go. There was a nice older man there that I struck a conversation with. He was pissed that people leave the clothes in the dryer and then don't come back.

After the laundromat, I went to Kmart to get an iron and an ironing board. Since I've been a few days without a dryer, I realized that I didn't have an alternative method to the "Donna Ironing Method" which is spray down the wrinkled shirt with a water bottle and then put in the dryer for 15 minutes. So, I thought I should invest in an ironing board and iron. Makes me feel domestic though and I don't like it one bit.

I decided to hit up Deb and that wasn't a good idea for two reasons. 1) The clothes there are in junior sizes or plus sizes. Nothing fit me. And I know. I tried a lot on. 2) There was a crazy lady who entertained me while I was trying on the too small tank tops.

This woman was in the dressing room.... a girl and her mom approached the dressing room. I could here them say, "Are you almost done? You just wanted to stop in quick and now my frozen foods are melted. Hurry up." (They must have been next door at Price Chopper first.)

"Yay! The food's getting cold, " screamed the girl. (It really wasn't getting cold- that's just what the little girl said.)

"Okay, I'll hurry," said the crazy lady. I wished I had a tape recorder. This woman was going off-- her friends had left and said they'd be in the car.

"Oh, I'm so messy! Oh, I need to tip this lady. This poor lady. I'm so messy."

I was holding in the laughter as I took off one top and put on another.

"Where's my money? Did I lose my money? Oh fuck, why am I so messy? I need my own car, I need my own car, I need my own car so people don't have to wait for me. Oh God, Oh God."

This is when I wished I had a camera.

"What time do you close Deb lady?" she hollered. A woman yelled 6. "What time is now?" The lady yelled, "4!"

"Oh goodness I have time to clean up. Why am I so messy?? I want to buy this but I don't have time. Nothing fits me. Nothing. I need my own car."

I wanted to flippin' pop my head underneath the dressing room to see what was going on. I was limited to bringing in three articles at a time, so I had no clue what kind of mess this lady made. When the lady finally left, I didn't have a shirt on but I opened the door anyway and held a t-shirt to hide myself- I had to see what she looked like. She was storming out..... I could only see the back of her.... from the back, she seemed somewhat normal. A little overweight but I wish I could see her face and teeth. I think she was fucked up on some serious drugs.

When I exited, I told the "Deb lady" that the woman was nuts. She said that the crazy lady threw all the clothes on the rack by the front door on her way out.

So, that was entertaining. I actually found two shirts that fit. The next stop was Price Chopper. I wanted to get a hanging plant, but everything looked wilted, so I went back to my truck. I didn't realize this before, but right by my door were three smashed cars of whipped cream. All I could think of was how Price Chopper is open 24.7 and that some teenagers either bought or stole these cans and did whippets in the parking lot. They're fun, sure. But the high lasts a minute. Then you get a headache. Then you can't use the whipped cream.

Then, I went tanning. They make you show your eyewear. They are eyewear Nazi's. And it's cool because I wear the eyewear to protect myself and always do. It's just funny to have a really tan teenage girl as, "Can I see your eyewear?" They won't let you in without it.

Then I went to Walgreen's by my house to by cat litter because I forgot at Kmart and Price Chopper. I ended up spending $70 when all I needed was cat litter. Don't you hate that?

So, now I think I need a beer and I will do just that. Happy Hour Sunday. Whew. What a day.

My Friend Just Published....

2008-06-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I posted this on my other writing blog, but this one gets more traffic.

My friend and classmate, Andrew P.H. Clyde just released his first book, LithiumBuzz. Here is the book jacket flap:

Picture this: A love story that isn't a love story at all, but is the memory of the story of a love story.

Confused yet?

Lithiumbuzz is that story.

Marcus Dolby is not well. He's 30. He's got serious mental health issues. He's losing his mind. His fiance just died. And to cap off the high times, he just got out of a mental hospital after an accident involving a kitchen knife and his neck.

But there's something he has to do. His fiance died while carrying his child, and her parents don't even know they were seeing each other. To make this right, Dolby decides to drive across the country to tell her parents about the child, and reveal his relationship with their daughter to them.

There is a catch, however. Upon leaving Hartford on his way to New Mexico to break the news, he loses his medication. So where does that leave us?

Picture this: A love story that isn't really a love story, but is rather the memory of a love story as told by a total psychotic...

Lithiumbuzz is that story.

You can get it here.

Faith Hill Remembers, Me. Sort of.

2008-06-15T07:37:00.001-07:00

There's nothing like running into an old radio friend. Long story short, I was at Happy Hour last week and ran into an old coworker of mine, M.L. He had an extra ticket to Dave Matthews Band, so I agreed to go. First of all, the concert rocked. Admittedly, I am not the biggest DMB fan because I always felt it was too mellow for me. But, live, there is a lot more energy. I also really dug his fiddle player.

But second- the best part about this night was the reminiscing. I can't believe its been nearly ten years since some of the memories we conjured up. But since I am working on a memoir for the creative writing program, looking back and reflecting with people from my past has been a priority. So, there were nearly a dozen hysterical stories that me and my friend recalled while DMB played in the back ground. We were in a private party tent with three areas and a bar, so there was room to talk unlike if we had regular seats so that was cool.

By far the best story that made my night was when he told me that there was this new artist that stopped by his radio station a few weeks ago- and that she used to be a back-up singer for Toby Keith, but before that, for Faith Hill and now she has her own deal and a new single out. Before he said her name, I guessed. "Is her name Mica?" That was a different name and I somehow knew who it was because I met her once and her name stood out because it was different. "Mica Roberts," said M.L.

So, M.L. brought up the 1998 Faith Hill show at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre. It was just before Faith hit it really big and she was still playing in small theaters. A really cool band The Warren Brothers opened the show. This was the last date on this tour, so it was a big party afterwards at the Ramada Hotel's bar, Keenan's Irish Pub. There was lots of beer and booze flowing and it was mainly the bands and the record people- Faith didn't come down. But then she made an appearance and everyone cheered and we all did a toast to her.

Then, because I am silly, I asked the DJ if he'd play a silly song- The Hokey Pokey. I went back to the group and told them what I requested and a lot of the band did not even know that song. So, I urged everyone to come up and do it when it came on. So, there I was, doing the Hokey Pokey with Faith Hill and have pictures of it too. (I will repost when I scan them-- I still have all my pictures at Dave's house). It was a riot.

So, Mica told M.L. that she remembers that night and in fact was talking to Faith about it not that long ago. M.L. scanned in his copies of the pictures and emailed them to her-- she loved them. What a night! When I worked in radio, I got to do some pretty cool things. But I always wondered if the artists remembered this stuff, too since after all, they do it after every show in every town. But apparently my crew made an impression and my silly drunk antics are now a memory of one of country music's leading ladies, Faith Hill as well as an up and comer, Mica Roberts. So, she may not remember me personally, but Faith remembers something I spearheaded!! (And let's not forget the contest I came up with for our listeners prior to that- The Faith Hill This Kiss Kiss-Off which earned me and the station a Country Radio Broadcasters Promotion Award- 2nd Place, Medium Market!!)

That wasn't even the end of what happened that night, but hmmm... I'll save what happened later for the memoir!

Being so good you get noticed-- and being a teenager agin

2008-06-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

I was tanning today. Fake tanning in the fake sun. I was the only poor soul who opted to lay between two plastic pockets of ultraviolet lights to get even hotter than the scorching heat outside-- I mean it-- the tanning salon was a ghost town.

But, as I was laying there, sweating but turning more golden, I was listening to Charlie Daniels, The Devil Went Down to Georgia. I don't know if my tapping my hands and feet will affect the amount of fake sun my pale skin absorbed, but I was playing along. I got to thinking how I saw The Charlie Daniels Band live at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre several years ago. It was one of the best shows I've been to- this guy can fucking play. He had a fiddle tech who brought out a new bow after nearly every song- he tore the thing to shreds he played with such heart and emotion. So as I lay there naked (but I accidentally left my socks on) listening to Charlie Daniels, I thought he must be the best fiddle player ever. And then I thought about how Charlie Daniels was getting old and that made me sad to know that in a few years, he may not be here. But then I got happy again because he did something THAT well, that everyone knew him for it.

I got to thinking how great it must feel to be THAT good at something that EVERYONE knows who you are. I meet a lot of people who are good at what they do-- but that's just it. Me and a few others know what they excel it. A local karaoke bar may know how good a person can sing. A local restaurant may be known for a chef who makes the best desserts. A local high school team may have a great track star--- but why does talent always have to be confined? I know that not everyone will be famous or make it big or move on from their hometowns-- but it is cool to know that if you want it, you can make it happen. Imagine everyone- aside from your mom and dad- knowing what you were made to do? Imagine being THAT good at something that everyone knows you for it. Like Charlie Daniels and his fiddle.

*****
I had the greatest weekend. Seriously. Invigorating is the best word to describe it. I won't get into details here on a public blog. But, I felt like a rebellious teenager again. I am nearing 30. In a month and six days I'll be 11 years older than the teenager I once was. But this weekend, with a gang of friends I was more youthful than I have been in a long time. It felt nice this weekend to be brave, uninhibited and free.... ah....

I did journal about it... so perhaps it will be in Memoir #2 since the first one is about childhood.

Cheers,
Donna

Back From a Blogging Hiatus

2008-06-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

I'm back to posting. I cannot believe how long it has been since I wrote a post to the blog, but as you can see from the previous post, I just moved. That, and work has been busy. I've finally kicked my school work in high gear and I've also become addicted to this word game on Facebook that has sucked up an enormous amount of my time. So everything but that latter is a valid reason for not blogging.

The past few weeks, I've had random things happen and then I meant to blog about them, but didn't and now I kinda forget what they were. So, let me just rehash the past month.

MY NEW APARTMENT
My friend Andee said it best, "Ghetto can be very inspiring." The paneling on the walls here is odd and the bathroom has some strange pegboard wall. So to say the interior is interesting would be correct. But, it has character and is different and I think that suits me well.

The handyman still did not fix the outlet at the kitchen counter, so I make coffee from the TV stand in the living room. I don't have a TV- I left that for Dave because he deserves it. I figure I will get a TV, but I am not going to until after June 28th. I want to finish my memoir draft before I get sucked back into 6-hour CSI marathons on Spike TV every Sunday. My dryer broke two days ago, so I need to get that looked at too, or I may have to venture to the, GASP, laundromat. Ugh. Although it is a scorcher and could probably air dry my clothes- but then again, I don't have much in the way of a drying rack. I have a couch and a bed and a coffee table and two end tables. I need so much still. I need a desk, I need a dresser and a need a storage cabinent thingy. So, I am settled, but yet, not settled. But I can sleep, cook, shower and write. That's all I really need.

I think two people have called me on my new home number since I have been here. The first time, it was a weekend morning and it was Dave. I kept hitting the alarm clock. Both the phone and the alarm clock are new and I hadn't heard the phone ring yet, so I didn't know what it was. So, that was comical.

I realized that I waste a lot of food. I already had to chuck two loaves of bread. Since I live alone and really don't eat now since I have no one to cook for and am too lazy to just cook for myself-- so I buy groceries, but then they all go bad and I throw them away. I finally learned this week that instead of buying a whole gallon of milk, I can buy a half at a time. Instead of buying the bigg ass half and half, I can get a pint. Of course, that lasts a while anyway. I threw away these great onion pouch bread pocket things-- there were eight in the bakery bag... and I couldn't have the same thing eight days in a row, so they went bad. I bought a loaf of wheat bread-- I had three sandwiches, but then the bread went bad. Mold. Ick. The only thing that seems to keep is Diet Pepsi, Miller Light and iced tea. I fare okay in the bevergae arena, but I can't keep food to save my life.

FREEDOM
It's weird being nearly 30 (one more month to go!) and somewhat starting over again. I work with some of the coolest people in the world and I have so much fun hanging out. Right now, I am having my second cup of tea with honey because I have no voice. I had that much fun last night. Not that Dave or I ever had to ask each other permission to do things, but it is just cool to be on your own and just pick up and do something. I like that. Being in a relationship is nice too, but I forgot what living on my own meant. I've also reconnected with a few older friends I haven't seen in a while that maybe I didn't hang out with because it was just too hard to get together, so it's nice to just be able to do what I want without having to leave someone out. I have so many people I need to go see- I want to see Laura in DC-- she's lived there for years and I just never took the time to drive down. I want to go to Tulsa to see my family and old friends -- and also to do research for the book.

The important thing for me now is to just take time for myself- I am in the process of writing that memoir, and am really in a discovery phase-- it's strange to be this old and then are still learning about yourself- but I guess we all do, every day. Having my own space right now is the wisest choice I made. I can focus. Who knows where I will end up-- maybe being on my own was something temporary and things will go back to the way they were just two months ago. Or, maybe I will end up being a cat lady. Or, maybe I will meet someone. But I am not looking. The bottom line is that- I am just taking each day as it comes.

WRITING
My third creative writing residency is coming up in two weeks- June 20. I cannot wait. I absolutely can't. For anyone who just has that dream of writing a book- look into the MA in Creative Writing program at Wilkes. Even if you don't want to be published- just for personal enrichment- do it. This program is amazing. It's low residency which means that you start with an 8-day residency, then have a "project semester" where you learn two genres. Then, you come back for the second residency, choose a genre to specialize in and come with your story pitch-- you spend the week, in addition to classes, pitching your idea- you leave that Saturday assigned to a faculty mentor-- all whom have been published and we have some crazy, talented and successful authors on the faculty-- then you spend the next "project semester" drafting. So, that's where I am at. These next 8-days are less structured- we do readings, meet with our mentors and gain direction for the final "project semester".... between June and January- we revise. I go back in Jan. 2009 to graduate, read and also get to meet with agents, etc. So, that's the program in a nutshell- more like the mechanics of it because i didn't even get into what happens outside of class- the hilarity that ensues when you put a few dozen creative people together in a dorm or a hotel-- with or without alcohol. The friendships that are formed are amazing, the mentor-student relationships that are formed are too.

So, that has been my life recently. All good positive stuff. Are things hard being on my own? Sure. Can I manage? Yes.

I have so much stuff

2008-05-11T05:39:00.000-07:00

Comedian George Carlin once said, "A house is just a place for your stuff. You get a bigger house, you get more stuff...." (Okay, I am editing this post because I just found this classic bit on YouTube of George Carlin's A Place for My Stuff.)

So true. I am moving from a house to a smaller, one-bedroom apartment that doesn't have a lot of built-in storage. What to do? I save everything. I'd hate to part with stuff since sometime in the future I'll surely have a bigger place again. I have filing cabinets of nearly all the notes I took and papers I wrote from college, and even back to high school. I have boxes upon boxes of memorabilia from the days I worked in radio. That's all cool shit I don't want to part with. I have every birthday card I've received. I have bins of stuffed animals I was given over the years. I have jeans I probably won't fit into again, but want to save them just incase.

And the books!! That's one set of stuff I won't part with, but I've tried reducde clutter over the years, so I bought lots of books on clutter.... never read 'em and now they are part of the clutter.

I am thinking that either Dave can let me keep a small area in that attic -- but I will still sort through all the shit-- until I get a bigger place or I will just rent small storage unit. The most important thing to me is since I am starting over, I don't want the clutter there. I move in by Tuesday-- when the new shower is getting installled- it was special order because of the tiny space- but that is not enough time to sort through everything. Some of the stuff has never been unpacked from when Dave and I moved in together three years ago!! Like I really use it, right? But I think it is comforting to me knowing that I still have all these memories, somewhere.

So-- I better stop blogging and get to packing and loading the truck. Then, I get to go to Target or Big Lots or Office Depot a little later to find me a new desk. I am excited about that!

Back to that George Carlin clip, A Place for My Stuff-- this has a special place in my family. We've moved so many times that back in the 80s or whenever it came out, it became a family favorite and a family joke.

Solid Cactus Featured on NBCs The Office

2008-05-10T15:36:00.001-07:00

Solid Cactus has gone Prime Time! NBC's hit show's The Office featured its Job Fair episode on Thursday, May 8. And, one of the vendors at the ficticious job fair at Pam's alma mater, Valley View High School was NEPA's own Solid Cactus. From our company blog, it appears that NBC actually contacted us for some props.

I am posting two pictures from the episode, which you can clearly see the Solid Cactus banner sharing some stage time with Steve Carrell and Jenna Fischer. If you look really close, you can see the one of the extras is wearing a Solid Cactus shirt.

Let's see what kind of resumes we get now!

Tonight, Grilled Cheese. Tomorrow, Hickory Burger. Sonic is PA-Bound!

2008-05-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Grilled Cheese. Tomorrow, Hickory Burger.

Well maybe not exactly tomorrow, but soon Sonic will make a home in Northeast PA according to today's Times Leader. I am stoked to hear that a few business folks are looking to bring this fast-food chain to our area. I used to live off Sonic when I lived in Oklahoma, the state where Sonic is from! So, tonight I made myself a delicious grilled cheese, but soon I can savor the yummy Sonic menu. And, get service from my door window. (Oh- and that pic- I lifted it from someone's flicker- those aren't my 70-year-old hands....)

Thanks to network and cable TV, people of Northeast PA have been teased by Sonic for year and years. I heard many people I've watched TV with over the years ask, "What's a Sonic?" And because I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma I can say that I've eaten there many, many times. I think there is one is Western PA. I remember stopping at one on a drive to Nashville.

I just can't wait for Sonic to get here- seriously! There have kick-ass tater-tots and Cherry Lime-Aid-- oh an over the years they seem to have added so much to their menu. I used to always get the Hickory Burger meal with a side of tater tots. Hopefully they still have that! Oh, and the chili cheese dogs. Awesome.

So, just wanted to throw up a quick blog post to make my excitment known about Sonic coming to PA!

Here's a link to the Times Leader Story, Sonic Expanding into NEPA.

What I learned from Augusten Burroughs

2008-05-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

When you were a teenager, do you remember having heart palpatations when you were at a New Kids on the Block concert and you were close to, say, maybe Donnie Wahlberg? Yeah. I felt that way yesterday at the Free Library of Philadelphia when Augusten Burroughs walked on stage. 12 or so hours later, I still kinda have those butterflies.

My fellow Wilkes University MA in Creative Writing friend and classmate, Angie and I, along with her avid-reader friend, Shannon trekked into the city of brotherly love to see Augusten Burroughs read from his new memoir, A Wolf at the Table, which by the way is getting rave reviews from places like The Washington Post.

I cannot put to words how I felt when I read Running With Scissors. That book really gave me the courage to write my own memoir-- but at the same time, it also entertained the hell out of me. I don't think there is anyone else on this Earth like Augusten. In Running with Scissors, we learn that as a kid he loved shiny things and dreamed of fame. Now that he has it, guess what? He's just like you and me. He's honest, sincere and just so super-freaking inspiring to people like me. And he is funny as shit, too.

I did the unthinkable. I wrote him a fan/thank-you letter this morning. It's so strange-- when I worked in country radio, I had the really cool opportunity to meet some big names in the music biz-- and not so much with the big stars, but I also got to hang out and do some really cool things on a personal level with lots of singers (many who turned out to be one-hit wonders) that have had a lot of mainstream radio success. They were all cool, but it was so usual for me. I didn't get excited about meeting someone famous anymore. I don't get star-struck easy is what I am trying to say. Meeting Augusten was very different. He's truly someone I have related to for years. And I met him. And when he signed my book, he gave me writing advice and recommended a book to read (Elizabeth Berg- The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted.) There were hundreds in line ahead of us- but he didn't rush us. He wasn't tired. He wanted to talk to us. He's so humble.

I am not ready to share my story with the world just yet through this blog- but there are some things I never had the courage to put on paper yet-- some painful things I want to include in the memoir. Through reading Augusten, as well as the support from my Wilkes mentors, things are really coming together for me on the writing front. Finally. I am drafting it now, and will hopefully one day get to see it printed.

In his reading- which was FANTASTIC- he was just so animated. A Wolf at the Table is a little different than his past memoirs- this one is a told a little more seriously because as Augusten explained, he didn't have the humor defense mechanism developed yet- he was a lot younger. So as an aspiring memoirist, it was very cool to hear about this being in a totally different voice because it was a different time in his life. But Augusten Burroughs does not hide behind the podium. He walks around the stage with a wireless mic and tells us a story- he doesn't read to us. He shared it like he was talking to a few friends- not an auditorium filled with fans. He also reads his own audio books. I also listened to Running With Scissors and my god, did he do a stellar job. Makes me wonder why he never got into film or theater.

During the Q&A, he was just so open. He gave some great writing advice as well, describing the memoir process like I never heard before. Someone in the audience had asked if Augusten felt Scissors helped create the memoir craze-- which of course led to some "lying memoirs" so Augusten commented on that with an answer so amazing that I took notes on my checkbook (I didn't have my moleskine). The answer itself was one that I have been sort-of taught- that a memoir is the way we remember something. But the analogy he used was awesome. Maybe I'll post it later, but Angie and I were both blown away by his advice. He also quoted Einstein, that there is no one point of relation in the universe. We all see things from a different perspective. It was powerful. The whole freakin' night was just powerful.

And- if you have not read Augusten Burroughs. Do it. Read Running With Scissors first-- if you read that, I know you will fall in love with him too. Then, Dry. Then read the others- Possible Side Effects was great and so was Magical Thinking. I actually was with Augusten from the beginning because I bought Sellevision when it first came out- that's his only novel. I was a communications major, so I was always fascinated by TV stations..... Buy them from your favorite bookstore because I want his sales to soar. However, if you want you can also use the library or if you are local, borrow them from me.

But by golly, read Augusten Burroughs. Turn off the freakin' TV and read a reality book-- a memoir.

P.S. Speaking of courage, I have more. To really focus on my career, education and writing, I have decided to move into my own apartment in Shavertown- less than a mile from where I work. Out of respect for Dave, I won't publicly write a blog about the whole thing or share those kinds of feelings right now, but wanted to at least mention it because it goes along with this whole theme here-- but please know that everything is fine- it's on good terms and just something that I need to do. This week has really been a week of change! So, here is to new beginnings.

P.P.S- I didn't realize that I've blogged and written so much about him: http://randomthoughtsfromdonna.blogspot.com/search?q=augusten+burroughs

Solid Cactus Proud

2008-05-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

Did I ever mention that I love my job?? This article explains some of the reasons why.

Check out this great story in today's Times Leader on Solid Cactus- this story was from a report on our Ribbon Cutting last Monday.

http://www.timesleader.com/business/20080504_04solid_cactus_sd_ART0.html

Been a few weeks! Happy Anniversary to my blog!

2008-04-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

I've had this blog for one year.... as of April 16th. I wanted to go all out and create this anniversary post, but things were a little crazy the past few weeks, so I missed out on my anniversary blog post. Damn.

Last weekend, I headed to Seven Points Marina on Raystown Lake to spend three nights on a houseboat with a few of my friends my the MA in Creative Writing Program at Wilkes. I can't tell you how awesome the weekend was. It is just so great to get together with people who have a common dream-- and then to spend the weekend sharing our work with each other, getting feedback, advice and whatnot. And the fun.... what a great time. Good food, drinks, games and lots of adventure, that's for sure. If anyone is looking for a fun weekend or week get-away, I highly recommend that you consider renting a houseboat at Seven Points Marina on Raystown Lake. The staff was wonderful and the houseboats are super cool. We have an 8-sleeper, but they let us look at the next "ship" bigger, a 12-sleeper which was brand new last season- a lot more modern than the one we had.

Our boat had a deck on the stern and bow and also a roof with a hot tub and lounge chairs. We had two "bedrooms," the stateroom and salon, as well as guest rooms in the "bowels" which had two full mattresses on either side, dowstairs. There was a bathroom, or the Head and a kitchen/dining area and a living room areas and of course, the captain's chair. We had a dinghy that we towed along that came in quite handy when we became stuck the one morning.

Raystown lake is beautiful! It is a man-made lake-- a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-- they flooded the area, and in fact a little town, to create this lake for recreation and energy. It was just so peaceful to be out on the lake- and it's not really in-season yet, so we had this lovely environment to ourselves! Aside from Seven Points Marina, there are also camping areas, hotels, resorts, hiking trails and lot of other places to stay around this lake.

Lots more happened in the past few weeks since I blogged- and I had all these ideas for blog posts, but they are all kind of old news now.

Like- they are finally doing some work on Route 118-- that's making headlines. Hopefully this road will become safer because frankly, I hate driving home every night.

And also- I am so tried of gas prices. It almost cost me more to drive the 3.5 hours to Raystown than my share of the houseboat rental. That's sad. All these poor tourist places may start to lose money because people can't afford the extra few hundred dollars to drive there. A plane ticket from Wilkes-Barre to Orlando may have been less money! Cripes.

I'm Walking a Little Funny Today

2008-04-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Paintball post coming soon.

Just a random post- tanning, CDs, NPR, old friends and the like

2008-04-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

This week has been great. Lots of good stuff.

Writing & the Memoir
Had a great writing workshop with some Wilkes U. creative writing classmates and friends on Sunday, so I am feeling all sorts of motivated. I've been getting some great feedback from my mentor as well. I finally understand what some of my roadblocks have been and have some ideas on how to get over them. The first thing is to turn off the Internet and get writing, meaning I really should not be writing this. My big thing now is to reconnect with the people I was close to at ages 13-16- so I spent a few hours on MySpace and Facebook last night to find some old friends. Memories are already flooding back at just the mere sight of someone's name.

Tanning
I'm not just a white girl. I am a very white girl. I used to tan regulary a few years back, but I let myself get back to being Casper-esque. I feel healthier when I am darker, so I am now committed to tanning and getting a nice glow. And then maybe next is to whiten my teeth. (Years of coffee stains and my dentist swears I smoke.)

CDs & Wayne's World
My next blog will be about how I like tangible things, so I'll elaborate. But today, I went to Wayne's World, which is in the same plaza as the new tanning place. The smell of incense filled my nostrils and I went back to high school where I lived for spending my ice cream parlor money on incense and Dead t-shirts and other rock-and-roll apparel at Gallery of Sound in Mount Pocono or Living Dyes at Blakeslee Corners. So, I bought 10 incense sticks for a few bucks, a really cute Dead shirt and a local artist's CD. The sounds of guitar lessons at Wayne's World reminded me that I really want to learn guitar someday.

NPR
Tonight American Idol is doing a fundraiser which I guess is cool. But part of me just hates that fact that all these celebs and muscians-- that became famous the 'hard way' are being part of a show dedicated to insta-fame. Not that the Idol contestants aren't talented, I just mean that in the old days, people packed up, moved to Nashville or LA or Seattle or Austin with nothing but their guitar/keyboard and a notebook full of songs and poems and paid their dues and played their hearts out for years and years until they finally were at the right place at the right time. Now, people on Idol get stylists, make-up artists, etc. and record deals even if the lose. Okay, this could be a blog post on its own, but what I meant to say is that I pledged my annual membership to WVIA last night for George Graham's show, specifically- local and unique music every night. And of course, I also want to support WVIA for its NPR affiliation- I love Morning Edition and Fresh Air. So, $120 per year to get the best news and music. Worth it.

Okay- enough rambling. Time to microwave some corn. I was supposed to rotate 1/4 way ten minutes ago.

The School Bus: My Favorite Shot

2008-04-05T23:24:00.000-07:00

I have to thank Jimmy R. and my days at Froggy 101 for learning how to ride the bus. The school bus is my favorite shot.

I've been doing more school busses as of late, and wanted to write a tribute to them. In 2003, I was actually paid for an essay I wrote about the school bus shot for a book called The Buzz on Beer- I am not sure if my essay didn't make it, or if the book wasn't published. At any rate, I tired tirelessy the last few days to located the essay. No luck- that was two computers ago.

So, what is a school bus? A school bus was long before Jager Bombs. But, it's a similar type of shot. It's a mug filled a quarter the way with orange juice and a quarter the way with a draft light beer. It's served with a shot of Amaretto. This shot works best with glass mug and glass shot glass. Then, you drop the shot glass in the mug and slam it. It tastes so smooth! Yummy! I love them.

I was introduced to this shot my a record guy from Nashville when I worked in radio. It became a popular shot among the radio staff and we always did them at our regular hang-out, Hops and Barley's. After the first few times of getting them there, the bartenders knew exactly what the school bus was. But, I must take credit along with the old radio crew for spreading this to NEPA. Everytime Jimmy would come to town, he would jingle his keys and say, "Ya'll ready to ride the bus?" At the big Country Radio Seminar one year, be made a bus pass- it was a laminated pass with a professionally drawn caricature of him driving a school bus. That's what he was known for! The School Bus shot. I still have this bus pass, by the way. I'll try to find it so I can scan it in here.

The school bus can be messy. While dropping the shot glass in is the best way to do it, the bar staff will be upset if they have to follow you with a mop. So, try to respect the floor and ease the shot in. : )

I've been doing a lot of school busses lately with my new co-workers and they are quickly becoming a favorite! I've included a few recent pics!

So- spread the wealth. Teach your local bartender how to do a school bus. And remember, school bus safety: don't drive your own car if you've done too many busses.

My First Ticket

2008-04-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

I've been know to live life in the fast-lane. However, I don't drive there.

I am a slow driver. People pass me all the time. People ride my ass all the time. In general, I think I piss other drivers off. I'm a 29-year-old grandma driver.

Yet, Wednesday morning, I was given my very first speeding ticket. It's like a life milestone. Your first tooth. Your first step. Your first word. Your first "time." Your first beer.

Your first speeding ticket.

It was my first day at our new location in Shavertown, so I took a different route to work. Work is now about 12 minutes closer for me because I don't have to go into Wilkes-Barre on the Cross Valley, or through all the lights on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard. I have a short-cut that I can take which leads me right to the road my new office is on.

My first day going to my new workplace. I am driving on Sutton Road in Shavertown, which has some gorgeous houses. I dream of living on this road, actually. So, 1) I was extremely hungover. 2) I was in la-la land and 3) I was starting at houses, left and right. Next thing I know, I see flashing lights-- no siren though.

I do a double-take because I thought these lights must be intended for someone else, but I realize that I am the only car on the road, so I pull over.

I was quite embarrassed because if you are a regular reader of this blog, then you will know about my letter to the editor a few months ago-- about speeders and terrible road conditions on Route 118. So, I tell the cop this, as well as the story about it being my first day. I still got a ticket. $164. I was nice, polite, didn't object or anything. It is what it is. He was doing his job, and I was now late for mine.

48 in a 25.... yikes. That's almost double, a co-worker pointed out to me. It didn't feel like I was going fast. Maybe since the road is hilly and curvy, I was caught while I was coasting? I don't know.

I wanted to say to him, "Oh thank goodness you got me this morning because I was shit-faced when I drove home from Hops last night..." but I didn't think that he'd think it was funny. Haha. I sort of wondered if my breath still smelled like alcohol. I read Tucker Max, I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell, and he actually had his own breathalizer and was still reading drunk the next morning. I mean, I doubt I was, but it was a funny thought to actually get a DUI the next morning on your way to work.

And, as Murphy's Law would have it, I did win a Spiff at work-- $100! Collected it that same morning, which was quite comical. Last time I won on the slots (five years ago), my car broke down, so as Donna Luck would have it, win money- something happens to my car, or in this case, my driving.