What the Heck Was Going on in Chicago This Weekend?!

THE SHOOTING CONTINUES

At Least 40 Shot, Seven Killed Over The Weekend In Chicago...One-Year-Old Girl Among The Wounded... Police Blame Gangs For Most Of The Violence  

Red Line Fire Injures 19 People On Near North Side

 

Chicago Rocked By Storms, 70 MPH Winds Reported

 

Losing My Soul (almost)

And by soul, I mean iPhone.

A couple of weeks ago, P and I went to Denver to visit J.  We had a blast, which I'm sure we will get to in another post.  This post, however, is about my life changing forever.  Almost.

We arrived Friday afternoon.  J was, of course, late picking us up. We started playing a game where we would point at someone that obviously was not J (some really old lady, some man, etc.) and say, "Here she is!"  While that was amusing, it got old pretty quickly.  So, we started texting J.  She couldn't answer our texts because she was driving, but she did get to hear the dings every time she got one of our several dozen messages.  P and I are fun, aren't we?

We went to Tokyo Joe's which, other than J and our other friends, is one of the things we miss most about Denver.  P and I averaged about one visit per week when we lived on 12th and York.  That probably speaks to the many "puffy" pictures of us from our days in Denver.  I can still order my usual without missing a beat!  Big white chicken bowl with brown rice, vegetables and Oyako sauce.

After TJs, we went to DU.  P bought one of every hat in the bookstore (at one point, he said something like, "I'm going to get a hat everywhere we go."  And he wasn't kidding.) and I got Dad a shirt for Father's Day.  On the way out of the store, J ran into her nemesis -- the one she called in sick to that very morning!  We also dragged J upstairs in University Hall where we all met many years ago.  It was as depressing as I remember it.

Then we made our way to J's house where we met Brian!  I use a "!" because this was the first time P and I were meeting Brian, and he made a VERY good first impression on us.  Which was very much a relief given the last time we met one of J's sig others (the week of her wedding).  But let's not dwell on that right now.  Dave?  If you're reading this, we all hate you.  And Mike, if YOU'RE reading this, I don't care if you've "never hated anyone".  We have and we do.

We all went to The Highlands (tm) that evening, J's favorite place in Denver.  Specifically, we went to Highland Tavern, where we met J's and Brian's friends.  It turned out to be a very fun evening of drinking way too much, and getting to know each other.  P and I had shots for the first time in I-can't-remember-when -- rumplemintz.

Then we went back to The Friends' house only to realize not a one of us was sober enough to drive back to J's.  So, we called a cab.  I've only been in a cab one other time in Denver, back when P and I were first dating, and I drunk dialed him.  And our relationship even made it through that.

When we got back to J's, we also realized that not a one of us had keys to the house.  All of the doors at J's (for once) were locked tight.  Luckily her bedroom window was unlocked.  After frantically detaching the screen from the house and chucking it, we lifted the window and climbed precariously on the glass-topped patio table.  I put my hand on a rusty nail (don't worry, I have a tetanus shot!) and promptly bled all over.  Equally as promptly, I was kicked off the table.  P climbed inside and let us in.

As I was about to fall into bed, I said, "I can't find my iPhone".  And then I fell fast asleep.  Cut to the next morning.  I woke up, sat straight up in bed, and freaked out.  I tried calling the bar and my phone several (hundred) times, to no avail.  I had no idea where I might have left it.  When everyone else woke up, I told them what had happened.  Brian casually mentioned that he had the card for the cabbie from the night before.  Who gets a card from a cabbie?!  I called and left him a voicemail to call me back, explaining that I might have left my phone in the back of the cab.

Back when I bought my iPhone, I was offered the option of purchasing "mobile me".  One of the features of that software would have allowed me to track my phone wherever it was.  Being my mother's son, I'm cheap.  So, I didn't purchase said software.  P managed to find an app that would do the same thing.  We were able to track my phone to within 35 meters of where it was located.  It was in a cab!  We could hearing it ringing inside.

Being the frantic person that I was (and typically am), I immediately knocked on the door of the house the cab was parked in front of.  A tiny woman whose native language was not english answered.  After listening to my probably incoherent story, she said that her husband would be out in five minutes.  He was in the shower.  When the cab driver finally came outside, he didn't act scared at all that we had TRACKED HIM TO HIS HOUSE.  He got my phone out of his locked glove compartment and gave it to me.  He did make a point of saying that he had gotten my message, and that he had planned to call me back.  Apparently he had worked until 3am.  None of us had cash, so I couldn't tip him.  But I did get his card, and I do have his home address, so I will send him something.

I'm really not sure what I would have done if I had not gotten my phone back.  But every single possible scenario was racing through my head as we were racing to that poor cabbie's house.  Including what might happen if it was NOT the cabbie's house when we got to where the phone was.  For the rest of the trip, I was the running joke.  Everyone would look at me every time we left anywhere and say, "Do you have your phone, David?"

I purchased mobile me when I got home, too.

Sit, Fergie, Sit! Good Dog!

In exactly one day this weekend, Fergie learned how to sit!  She will sit without food, but it takes her longer.

The Future of Peeing

The Future of Peeing

Fun Things to do When You're Bored at Work

I was looking at the Denver Public Library's historic images database online--specifically, for pictures of one of my favorite Denver neighborhoods: the Highlands.  I found the black and white photo of the intersection of 32nd and Zuni, taken between 1900 and 1905: "View of Denver Tramway Company trolleys, Berkeley - Elitch number 56 and number 73, with passengers and conductors, in Denver, Colorado. Advertisement on the cattle catcher reads: 'Broadway The Eternal City, Hall Caine's Greatest Play, Jane Kennark, All Star Cast.'"

The photo below is 32nd and Zuni today (Google street view)--sans trolley lines (although, they are probably still there, underneath the asphalt), but the building on the corner is the same one.

Stop Chicago gun violence

No wonder people that have never been to Chicago think that if they come here, they are going to get shot. As of April 26th, Chicago had seen 113 victims of homicide. That's the same number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during the same period. And the overwhelming majority of those homicides were due to gun violence. If you want proof, go to this site for tracking homicides in Chicago. It's gotten so bad in the city that several state representatives have suggested bringing in the National Guard to help stop the violence. While that may be a temporary solution, what's needed is stricter gun laws. And not just in Chicago but all over the U.S.

Check out some statistics that the Brady Campaign has put together:

• Every year, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are shot or killed with a gun
• Since 1968, over 1 million people have been killed by guns in the U.S.
• Our looser gun laws show: in 2006 our firearm homicide rate was 6 times that of Canada, 13 times that of Germany, 15 times that of Austria, 26 times that of Australia and Spain, and 31 times that of England and Wales
• In 2008, 67% of homicides were committed by guns
• A gun in the home is 7 times more likely to be used in assault or homicide than in self defense and guns are used to threaten or intimidate 4-6 times more than they are used to prevent a crime (and those gun-toting, violence-glorifying 2nd-amendment nutjobs argue that the answer is MORE people owning guns to protect themselves... INSANE!)

I won't pretend that I've ever been a proponent of gun ownership. I'll never understand how people can rationalize owning a handgun and wanting to carry a concealed weapon. In my mind, that can only lead to more gun violence. But that's a huge element in our society. And they are powerful. Did you know that Tennessee just passed a law allowing handgun owners to carry a weapon into any establishment that serves alcohol? Of course, they have to do it responsibly and can't drink alcohol or else they face fines. Yeah right, that will work. Are people absolutely f***in' nuts? And in Georgia you can now carry your gun into certain parts of the airport. Why, people? WHY? WHY IS THAT NECESSARY!? I know of two states that I've never been to that I will continue to stay out of.

I know I'm generalizing but I'm guessing that most of these NRA member, 2nd-amendment supporters live in BFE middle of nowhere... places were gun violence isn't a multiple-daily occurrence. So I propose a program to get these people to see the other side of gun ownership and the consequences of lax gun control. We fly them into cities like Chicago and force them to go to the funeral of every child killed senselessly by a gun. They could start with the funeral of someone like Cynia Cole, who was only a year old. Make them witness a mother or father's anguish. They could also attend several funerals for one family that lost 4 members who were shot to death in their own home (pictured at the top).

It must be easy to argue for the right to carry handguns when the only thing that threatens you is a rogue pheasant. Come to Chicago and we'll stick you on the south side where unfortunately the gun violence occurs most often in this town.

Ornery as hell!

Remember Soul Patches?

I think P&D do.  Don't you guys?

Bored at Work?

Play with Flies!

Q: Where are you working that there are this many flies?

Don't you wish your boston was cute like mine?

Fergie Update

Today we took Fergie for her 2nd vet visit. On her first visit, March 22nd, she weighed 3 lbs 1 oz. Only 3 weeks later, she's a whopping 4 lbs 7 oz. She's growing in front of our eyes!

She's getting better at the walking thing. Now she only occasionally stops and pulls back, not wanting to walk. Okay, more than occasionally but a lot less than before. I have to admit though the look she gives you when she does it is adorable! Totally stubborn! And taking her for a walk is also hard because we get stopped by people wanting to say hi to her

CONSTANTLY! And the funny thing about having a dog is that we have people in the neighborhood that know her name and we know their dog's name but we don't know people names! There is Tybalt, one of the big dogs that initially really freaked Fergie out... she lives down the street from us and is very sweet for such a big dog. And then there is Val, another Boston 2 buildings down from us... also owned by 2 gay boys. Yes, we've been mistaken for them already being the other 2 gay boys with a Boston.

Anyhoo, RuPaul Drag Race is on so it's time to go but I leave you now with Fergie, 9 weeks...

So far so good...

We've hit a few milestones already with Fergie. First of all, as I'm sure some of you knew, one of our biggest concerns regarding getting a puppy was how the cats would react. That has gone surprisingly well. Like REALLY well, all things considered. Absolutely no hissing. Only one minor incident of back arching... and it was not by who we would have thought (AKA Cole, the pu**y) but rather Sheila, who is herself more dog than cat. Once Fergie bounded after Sheila and the poor cat didn't know what to do, ran away and hid under the futon.

The second is that she's pooped outside twice now! And she seems to know what the wee wee pads are for. She's still not so fond of the outside world. For example, cars seem to freak her out. And other dogs. And the cold. And the sky. And rain. And, of all the luck, the day we brought her home (which happened to also be the first day of spring) it was snowing! She did NOT want to go outside. AT ALL. Not even in her stylish new coat (which, admittedly, is too big for her... so much so that she can't really walk in it... more like stumble backwards).

Right now she's sleeping comfortably in David's arms. We can expect to be woken up tonight at about 2 am and 4 am. But it could be worse!

She's finally here!

A few clips from Fergie's first days with us in her new home. Make sure you watch until the very end and pay attention with the sound up...

FERGIE!

It's quite obvious from the polling that our puppy's name is Fergie. To be exact, her name is Ferguson Eunice Germanotta-Ciccone.

Here's the latest picture! Two days and counting!

Telephone Video!

Warning: Do not watch at work, unless you don't care about cursing, homicide and nipple tape in the workplace.

But DO watch. P and I love this song.

Puppy Picture!

T-minus one week until puppy 2010!

Per Carrie's Request...

I forgot how much I love the Oscars.  Well, really, I have such fond memories of the Oscar parties P,D and I used to throw.  We would spend all day making apps, then get dressed up, then have everyone fill out ballots and win prizes.  The BEST part, though, was making catty comments during the show.  Oh, good times.

We had tossed around the idea of linking our Oscar parties, but the one Brian and I were going to host was a much more laid back affair (Bag of Stacey's pita chips and some hummous), plus we had a time difference.  (AND some technical difficulties as we decided to pause tv until our 2 guests got there, then everytime we tried to rewind or fast fwd, it would skip ahead to live tv, so I think we missed a lot.)  I think we should coordinate next year...  maybe we should switch between Chicago and Denver?

Today, I am enjoying looking at pictures from the after parties.  My new favorite couple: Sandra and Jesse.  Most likable celebrity: Gabourey Sidibe (and her mom who laughed heartily at Steve Martin's joke about his first role being as a poor black child, too).  Least likable: Vera Farmiga (or Veal Parmigana as I like to call her.  It helps me remember he name.)  What am I not getting here?  She seems listless to me.  And interesting looking at best.  Also: Woman I Would Most Like to Age Like: Sigourney Weaver. 

An amusing after party shot:

AVATARIZE YOURSELF

Fergie o' the Week

A bit awkward, Fergs, but that's ok. You're still cute.

WTF, McDonald's?!?

I haven't eaten at McDonald's for LITERALLY years. But if there was any chance of that happening ever again it was destroyed by the latest commercial for their Filet-O-Fish. This commercial has played on just about every commercial break for about the past two weeks. And I hate it with a passion. So much. I want to go deaf and blind when it comes on.

And could someone please tell me what the hell it means? Seriously, I want to know! A singing fish calling on the cell phone? HUH?! OMG, just thinking about it makes me angry! Who is the marketing genius that came up with this? Because they should be fired. Now. I'll wait, McDonald's.

Thought for the day

I can never be one of those people who stocks up on food. Why? Because I will eat all of it, probably in one sitting. OK, I'm not THAT bad, but still.

One of my employees just showed me her "food drawer". Said drawer is literally FULL of goodies, and my mouth started watering immediately. If that was my drawer, it would quickly turn into a "food compartment" within the drawer, and eventually would be nothing but a few random loose almonds, a paperclip or two, and an unidentifiable piece of hard candy with lint stuck to it.

Weekly Puppy Picture!

Oddly Specific

 

I found a website called Oddly Specific.  And it totally cracks me up.

Things to Do When You're Bored At Work Part...

I think I've mentioned this before, but when you look at any Blogger blog, at the very top is a link to "Next Blog" which randomly brings you to another blog.  I just did this for about 15 minutes and in that short time, here is what I discovered:

1. Most bloggers put up their own unique header.  I guess I'm surprised.  You have to know how to at least cut and paste code and where to put it.

         1a.  This fact makes me want to pimp our blog.

2.  One out of every 3 blogs is about a family.  Either an entire extended family (with family pictures where everyone is the same general shape and size), a newlywed couple (with LOTS of coupley pictures suggesting getting married is just one big adventure!), or 2 or more children (again, with lots of cute pictures suggesting parenting is just one big adventure).

        2a. I don't mean to sound annoyed, I actually think blogs are a great way to stay in touch.  Not sure about having a PUBLIC blog, though...

3.  One out of 3 blogs is pretty Christian.  I only find this surprising because it's blatant Christianity--I didn't have to read far before Jesus came up.

4.  Cool blogs have pictures.

5.  I ran across TWO blogs whose personas were named Seraphine.  Weird, huh?

Time for more Maddy pics!

My niece Maddy is adorable and I've been a busy uncle. So I've been unable to post pictures of her. But my brother sent me these a few days ago. Look at her! She's adorable. And FYI, the fauxhawk is her signature look.

Weekly puppy picture!

Home ownership...

... is great, don't get me wrong. But today, we experienced our first holy-shit-we-need-to-do-something-about-this-now episode. I was innocently doing a load of laundry when the washer stopped running. At first, I thought nothing of it and assumed the load was done. I walked over and realized it was in the middle of the cycle. And no, it wasn't something simple like the power outlet tripping. I'm not THAT bad. I fiddled with it for five minutes or so and got it working again. But it's been a horrible machine since we moved in. It's one of those all-in-one dealies (washer on the bottom physically attached to the dryer -- the standard condo type). It's also circa 2002. It also doesn't dry anything very well, and has a buzzer that you can't turn off.

Cut to D & P at Sears. That's right, Sears. The place I pick on my parents for going to. We met a nice salesman (Hi, Dennis!) who helped us with stackables. Interestingly, he advised us against purchasing one specific brand, which also happens to be the brand that stopped working this morning! Everything was fine until he started asking questions that we couldn't answer. In this respect, I AM that bad.

1. Is your dryer vented? My answer: a confident yes. And it is, it's just that what I thought was the vent was actually the drain pipe. The vent was on the back.
2. Is it gas or electric? My answer: I think it's electric. WRONG! It's gas.

To answer both of these questions, we had to come home, look and go back to the store. I'm sure poor Dennis thought we weren't coming back. I actually started sweating in the store when I couldn't answer his questions. But, it's good thing we did that, because we don't have the option for an electric dryer and it costs more to get the gas version.

In any event, we now are the proud owners of a new washer and dryer. Pretty, efficient, stackable and new -- delivery on Tuesday. It even makes this friendly beeping sound when you turn it on, as if to say "Hello again, D! What can I help you with today, good sir?" It's also very quiet, which is good since our current one is not and is just off the living room.

I'm also the un-proud owner of a Sears card. Between that and my itemized deductions for 2009, I feel ancient.

Poll Open!

The poll is now open. We're workshopping five names. Polls close on March 20, the day we pick her up.

Puppy! (continued)

It's official! We've put down our deposit! The breeder provides weekly picture updates here. We pick her up on March 20!

Puppy!

At long last, we're getting a puppy! We've been on a waiting list for a while now waiting for a Boston Terrier. Technically, we probably could have had one by now if not for the fact that we don't want to potty train a puppy in Chicago in the winter. Today, I got an email from the breeder! We have three to choose from, all females. My favorite (not that you can tell anything from a week old lump of a puppy) is "Fergie", mostly because I find that name adorable. Though we probably will still change it to something less appropriate for a dog. Like Estelle or Stacey. We would get her at the end of March, which SHOULD be the tail end of winter.

My big argument with P right now is that I want to do doggy daycare while she's a puppy. He thinks it's a waste of money. I don't want some tiny little baby animal to be locked up for 9 or 10 hours a day. All she'll do is cry, pee and poop. Doggy daycare is not unlike childcare in that it's $$$, but I don't think we'll need to do it forever. Just until she's able to control her bladder and pooper.

In any event, here's my favorite. You're really not missing much by not seeing the other two. They all look the same to me.

Overheard on the train

*Middle-aged white man (MAWM) who looks much older than I assume he is sitting on train. Wearing a "Phat Farm" coat, which I could not get over. And a fuzzy, dirty "Elmer Fudd" style cap, but not checked -- totally covered in fur. This is all making him sound funky and hip. He was neither. He was gross and most likely purchased all of these items at a yard sale or thrift store. Again, not in a funky/hip way. More like in an old way. Anyway, he coughs.*

*[Younger] man (YM) sitting in front of him speaks*

YM: "Dude, cover your mouth!"
MAWM: *grumble* "I did!"
YM: "No. You didn't. Fourth time, man. Fourth. Time."
MAWM: "Oh, like you can see me with your back to me?"
YM: "I can in that reflection in that window right THERE!"
MAWM: "Oh, right."
YM: "Unbelievable."
MAWM: "There's no laws saying you can't cough on buses." [note: we were on a train, not a bus. But even so, his point was stupid. It's not about laws, it's about common courtesy.]

*friendly woman sitting across from YM asks a question.*

"Would you like to switch seats?"

*My thoughts instantly went to, 'WHY would you want to sit next to all that?!' Apparently she's nicer than I am.*

YM: "Naw, thanks. I already got the swine flu from this one."

*YM switches seats when people exit train*

New glasses!

After four years, I'm getting new glasses. Same manufacturer as before. Just four years ago, I would never have dared look at something like these. Thanks to the friendly gay guy at the glasses place for making me branch out with my current pair.

I Have Been Waiting for This: PajamaJeans

 

"We were noticing that people were wearing their pajamas on airplanes and in grocery stores. But a lot of people have mixed feelings about it because they think it's inappropriate and sloppy," Stacey Buonanno, merchandising manager for The PajamaGram Company, maker of the double duty "denim," explained to StyleList.

"A lot of people wear their workout clothes out. But we thought it would be easy to take a pair of jeans, style them similar to a yoga pant, give them all the jean detailing, but make them stretchy and soft so that you wouldn't mind wearing them to bed," she told us.

Cleaning Question

I can't ask either of my blog colleagues this question. P's laundry can't seem to find the hamper, and I'm starting to think he doesn't know how to use a dishwasher. And then J, well... J can barely keep herself clean, much less offer advice in this area. So I look to our loyal readers to help with this question (my guess is that my sister-in-law is going to be the first to answer).

We have natural stone throughout our master bathroom. Annoyingly, there is exactly one cleaning product in all of Target that is safe for natural stone. Believe me, I read all of the labels. Just ask P who stood there sighing the entire time. And let me tell you, that one product does nothing for that teeny tiny spot of mildew in the corner of the shower. I've scrubbed (and scrubbed) and it's not coming out. Does anyone have any suggestions? It's really starting to stress me out, which probably surprises no one. My last resort is to ask via Facebook comment, so you know how serious this is.

And before anyone asks, no. That's not a picture of our shower, but that scenario is the picture my brain paints for me every Sunday when I'm scrubbing the shower 'til my fingers are tiny bleeding nubs.

Oh what we won't do for 55-inch, 1080p, 240 Hz goodness...

D and I are RIDICULOUS when it comes to wanting the latest, greatest technology. Only 2 years ago we bought our first flat-screen HD TV. But it was only 720p, probably like 60Hz... nothing compared to better, newer TVs capable of up to 4x the Hz and 1080p resolution. We became obsessed with getting a new TV... partly after being at D's parent's home and seeing their newer TV. But we couldn't settle for just any TV. No, we wanted the new "LED" TVs. Samsung's 55" is gorgeous and is only 1.5" thick.

So we went to a certain chain electronics store over New Year's weekend. Without much hesitation we bought the TV we wanted because the financing was available for a limited time. We thought we would just take it home in David's tiny car. But as soon as they brought the box up front we knew there was no way it would fit. So we arranged to have it delivered the following Wednesday, which was agreed upon partly because the teenage sales associates at the store assured me that the delivery service would arrange a convenient time for me (considering I do have a day job!).

The following Tuesday the delivery service called and said the delivery was scheduled for 11:30-1 pm the next day. I told them that didn't work for me and that in the store they explained I could find a mutually-agreed upon, flexible time. Their response: "that's not how this works, sir!" So since we were going to be in Minneapolis the following weekend, I had to reschedule the delivery for over a week later, Saturday the 16th. I wasn't happy but went along with it.

Fast forward to Friday the 15th, the day before it was supposed to be delivered. I got a call from the delivery service informing me that, "unfortunately, sir", the delivery of our TV didn't come from Samsung. Forget the fact that I had a TV I could have taken out of the store a week and a half prior. So they were hoping that the shipment would come in at the end of the following week and rescheduled me for a week out, the next Saturday. The more I thought about it, the more pissed I got. Add to that the fact that I could find the same TV on Amazon with a guaranteed 2-day delivery for $500 less.

I decided I was done with this particular electronic store. I was going to cancel the TV ("return" is the wrong word 'cause we hadn't gotten it yet!). So I called the 1-800 #. The woman couldn't direct me to the order number (which didn't exist!) on my receipt and told me to call the delivery service to cancel the order / get a refund (she didn't even try to talk me out of it or ask why I was upset!!). I called the delivery service and they cancelled the delivery but informed me that I needed to contact the store it was purchased from in order to get my money refunded. (Again, no questions regarding WHY I wanted to do this or any attempt to talk me out of it!). Sooo I tried calling the store....SIX TIMES with no answer (and yes, they were open). D and I decided to drive 20 minutes out to the store.

We got to the store and waited in line at customer service and when it was my turn, I took the receipt to the girl working and she was like, "OK, let me get someone from Home Theater..." As annoyed as I was that YET ANOTHER PERSON couldn't help me and was passing the buck, I didn't say anything. But no one from Home Theater came up. But the girl didn't explain why they needed to come up. Then a manager found out what I was trying to do and got on the headset to Home Theater with an urgent, "I need someone to customer service right now... we have a $3000 return!"

With that frantic message, someone from Home Theater was there in less than a minute. He introduced himself and asked what the problem was and I explained. At first he said, "so you initially missed the delivery..." and I abruptly corrected him with "NO, I was told they would work with my schedule by people here in YOUR store!" I then said I was done dealing with them and that I could get the TV for $500 less on Amazon. So he said, "That's not how we do business and this isn't acceptable, we will make this right so my manager and I will take $100 off the TV AND I GUARANTEE you will get your TV tomorrow." I reluctantly said okay. But his manager was right there and actually told him to take $350 off the price (read: they have a price-match policy).

They took our phone numbers and as we were walking out, the manager said they would give us a call the next day.

Sure enough, the next day I got a call at 12:30 asking if we were going to be home as they were about to leave the store...

When they got to our place, we looked out the window and realized that they had loaded our TV in the manager's personal pickup truck!! He and another Home Theater employee brought our TV up. I was so shocked that I tried to tip them but they wouldn't accept it. Long-short: we bitched and got the manager to personally drive our TV to us!!!

I was done with this company UNTIL the manager did this. Don't get me wrong, I still think aspects of their customer service are shitty as hell. And I also know that this wasn't a completely altruistic action: I'm sure the higher ups really frown on the loss of a $3000 sale and such a loss would have hurt this particular location's sales for the month.

Was it worth it, you ask? OMG, you have to see this TV for yourself. Come visit. That's for another blog post. I'm tired...

Gaga v Caca

I'm not proud to admit it, but I've taken a liking to Lady Gaga. I know, I know. I tried to fight it, but it's all just so damned catchy! My favorite song (and video) by far is "Bad Romance". Why? I don't know. But I also like the parody. See for yourself.

"Your blog is dead" part deux

So I feel partly to blame for the blog dying.  As with most things, I was really excited at the beginning, then lost interest.  Well, SEEMED to lose interest.  I didn't lose interest in the blog, I just lost interest in anything I thought about writing about.  There were things to write about, to be sure, I just worried that the subject matter might bring the blog down a bit.  ("I Found Him Going Down on a Prostitute" and "I Just Got Screwed Out of Every Financial Contribution I Made For the Past 3 Years Because My Mental Health Depends upon Him Being Completely Out of My Life" were a couple of the posts I ended up deleting)

But it's a new year and things have certainly been looking up for this young lady!   I have found love again.  And I am ready to share it with the world!  His name: Adam Lambert.*

I have never been an American Idol fan, but once I discovered Kelly Clarkson (and even some Carrie Underwood, thank you Kelly), I decided I shouldn't be quite so derisive of the concept.  I still never watched it, but would give a listen to the finalists, none of which impressed me.  Until (obv) this past season.  Megan made me watch the finale.  Being a sucker for a boy in eyeliner, Adam quickly caught my attention.  His voice, his range, his attitude all made him a standout in my eyes.  But it was still a passing fancy.

Then, on my way to the airport to see P&D recently, I was in Walgreens buying chewable Dramamine when I spotted Adam's cd at the checkout. I listened to it on the way to the airport.  Let me tell you, I was entertained.

First of all, he collaborated with the guy from The Darkness which accesses a part of my glam-loving brain I'm not sure I'm really in touch with.  It's so PRIMAL.  A tall, lean boy all glammed up with a range that sends chills throughout my body...  who can resist?!

So anyways, the CD is good.  REAL catchy.  Go ahead.  Put it on.  I'll sing along and make ecstatic faces at my favorite parts.

But my love for Adam was kicked up a notch when I saw him on Oprah yesterday.  I realized another primal draw he has for me is that he resembles a young and slender Elvis.  And he actually seems nice and fun which are qualities I appreciate in the objects of my affection even if there is no way I can actually confirm that their public persona is a true depiction of who they are.

And I found it HIGHLY entertaining to see the older women in Oprah's audience (including Oprah herself) singing along and going crazy for young Adam.  Until I realized they are probably all my age.  And until I realized I myself was crazy for young Adam.  Then I decided all the older ladies in the audience weren't as unseemly as I first thought.

I realize telling you about my own personal obsession with *heart*A.L.*heart* probably won't convince you of anything but keep in mind: I'm not exactly the type to fall for the runner up of American Idol nor am I the type to tear up when a 20 year old kid walks onstage (ON THE TELEVISION).  I would just suggest you watch THIS:

World Unity @ Yahoo! Video

or THIS:

Adam Lambert Feeling Good - American Idol TOP 5 2009 @ Yahoo! Video

Then go buy his CD so we can talk about it.

*apologies to BMS who, because he doesn't ever want an internet presence will not be blogged about.  But he is the first among my new loves : )

"Hi, your blog is dead."

"Hi, your blog is dead." That's how I was greeted on Facebook one day from my brother. And he's right. The first post of 2010 for the blog is on January 18th! Yikes. I can only speak for myself (and if you'll note, I was the last one to post anything), but the holidays seemed to take a lot of my time. Maybe that's because they were never-ending this year!

It all started with our party, of course. Shortly thereafter, we headed to NY for Christmas. Since most of you have never experienced a Nelson Family Christmas, let me give you a little taste of how we roll.



Can you find P in that picture? No, that's Regis! He's the one in the snazzy pajamas.

This was an extra special Christmas because it was our first with Carmencita (the 'Cita). Here she is saying, "Yay, Christmas!"



Grandma had an especially good Christmas. Here she is showing off her new shoes (and her shocking level of flexibility).



She also got a magnifier.



This is a pretty good picture of my parents. Mom usually has her eyes closed.



Next we have a bad picture of me (but a cute one of the 'Cita), P with his new friend the giant freshwater shark, Carmen with her folks, and Carmen with Oma.









It was a quick trip, but we plan to go back to see everyone very soon. More on the rest of our Christmases in another post.

I heart "Glee"

Our poor neighbors...

Found some videos! Trust me, this is the LEAST offensive to the ears, so imagine WORSE singing the rest of the night. Plus, you can see J's rack, and she was the one taping!

And we did warn our neighbors.



Some more party prep.

Cookies: A Series

Last weekend, J-Diddy came out to Chicago. It was her first time seeing out condo. It was also the weekend of our Christmas party. It was supposed to be a much larger affair than it ended up being, but there were several last minute "something-suddenly-came-ups". We would not be deterred! We still made cookies enough for all, whether they showed or not!

The cookies were delicious! We made pumpkin chocolate chip, almond butter kiss, Mexican wedding, sugar (with canola oil -- which ended up tasting a bit fishy *grimace*), and sugar with butter cookies. We neglected to account for the 2-hour chill time for the sugar cookies, so we were frosting them while people were arriving. As a result, they looked like we had taken them to a local kindergarten class to decorate. Also, we didn't end up using many of the tons of cookie decorating items we purchased. But all in all, it was a fun night!

Also, it's not intentional that I'm only including pictures of me in this post. Turns out, through all the karaoke, food and drinks, there literally isn't a single flattering picture of anyone from our party. Not that these are flattering of me, but... well, think of these as an early Christmas gift.

Am I boring you?

Cat Cams: What DO Cats Do Home Alone?

Republished from Huffington Post, which sites http://www.friskies.com/scratchingtonpost for the original story.

LOS ANGELES — What do cats do when their owners are away? There was one way to find out – "cat cams."

Fifty house cats were given collar cameras that took a photo every 15 minutes. The results put a digital dent in some human theories about catnapping.

Based on the photos, about 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping.

"What surprised me was how active the cats were. I believed my three cats were sleeping during the day," said Jill Villarreal, an animal behavior scientist who collected the data for Nestle Purina PetCare's Friskies brand of cat food.

The 777 photos studied by Villarreal showed the cats looking at a television, computer, DVDs or other media 6 percent of the time and hiding under tables 6 percent of the time.

Coming in at 5 percent was playing with toys; eating or looking at food finished at 4 percent.

Will the cats get movie cameras next? "We are in the think tank now," Villarreal said.

A formal request to Carmen...

Shakira - Loba (Official Music Video) - Amazing videos are here

Baila! And have your parents tape it.

If you've not already seen it, catch Carmen's sweet moves here.