for the record, the summertime sounds station on launch is the best. if you want to bob your head as you im me (ahem, "work"), you should take a listen....

have you ever tried dusting off your phone and your stapler and your tape dispenser with tape? it's highly effective.

yes. work is that interesting today.

i rolled into my office parking lot 20 minutes ago...and i totally fell asleep for 20 minutes before i got out of the car. i've been really sleepy on my way to work lately. it's time to consider a closer place of work.

i ate too much.

don't you hate when you eat yourself stupid? i think i'm still full from yesterday....

[at the movies]: wanna get concessions? i have $5 off. "okay."
[after the movie]: wanna go to b-dubs? it's 30 cent tuesday. "okay."
[after dinner]: wanna go to coldstone and get super awesome ice cream? *pause* "okay."

i'm so stupid! although there isn't a single item that i can eat myself stupid with. (well except for oreos, but that's only because when you dunk the oreo in milk you have to put the whole thing in your mouth or else the cookie will fall apart. thank goodness for the orDIPeo.) my brother eats a lot of ice cream. A LOT. he can eat more ice cream than anyone i know. it's actually pretty gross. hehe. (love you ny!) eric will eat dessert no matter what (especially if cookies are involved). in fact, if given the opportunity, he would probably eat dessert first and last. kimmie is a fan of dip-type foods. crackers and spinach dip, apples and caramel dip, chips and salsa....i think she would like pita bread and hummus if she ever tried it.

do you think that if i drink a lot of water i'll feel better? (the logic lies in the dilution factor. hmm...)

"see? this is what happens when you always wait until the last minute to get gas."

most memorable quote of the 'BLACKOUT OF 2003' by my mom. mmm. thanks, mom. really. can you please pick a worse time to begin a mini lecture?. gridlock. 90 degrees and humid. no gas, therefore no a/c. i'm just trying to get home! it was amazing that i even got through on the phone. but that's my mom. super practical and conservative with the gas tank. she's one of those that thinks she has no gas when the needle dips below the 1/2-full mark. 1/2 tank?!! that's like to ann arbor and back with gas to spare! anyway...i can laugh about it with her now. i know those mini lectures come from her wanting us to learn from our mistakes...and if we learn from that mistake then we can save her the worry next time. i love her to death.

i wonder what it must be like for her to have to bear the sole parental burden of worrying about us three kids for these last 6 years. today marks my dad's 6 year death anniversary. i remember when he got sick and when he got better and then sick again and then God finally took his pain away forever and left me sad and angry and confused. and then there was healing. and now it's today. six years later. i hardly mention him partly because it's weird to have people not know what to say besides "i'm sorry" (when there really isn't anything to say) and also because if you get me at a fragile moment, i'll probably start crying. i used to have to leave the room during the father/daughter dance at weddings because i would get so so sad knowing that my daddy wouldn't be at my wedding to dance with me. but no tears! daddy's in a Better Place (or on his way there, i'm still praying) and i have the most wonderful family ever. plus my mom rocks on the dance floor. i'll dance with her instead. =D

conclusion of the morning: more trucks on the freeway = more traffic. much more.

woohoo!! gary and mads have the most precious baby girl. happy birthday lucia!

we're sooo spoiling that little girl.

i am wearing new pants. =D

i haven't gotten new clothes for fun in a long time. it's actually kind of nice to not really really need (actual meaning: want) to have the latest and greatest in clothes...or to constantly buy new clothes (constantly=once a month or more frequently). it's nice to have that desire to be replaced by "i could either get these really cool shoes that i may or may not wear a lot or have a nice dinner with eric" or "i could get this awesome bag or not get it so we have money to go to mammoth in december". life's so different when your money isn't just your money. there's really no room for unbudgeted selfishness. the only thing that's a little funny is that since you share money, when you get each other gifts...the gift is technically from the other person, but then is it really because you kind of half paid for it? and if you're spending one person's income and saving the other person's, then you didnt' even half pay for it if you're the one whose money is being saved. heehee.

so back to my new pants...i love them. that's it. i'm basically excited about new clothes and wanted to share. that stuff about sharing money was just a tangent.

so not to keep talking about this site....the wooded one...i know you're probably all hating it as much as me....so the woods. four weeks going on five. it's been hot. i have a weird tan line. i've been soaked in bug spray. it has sucked. today was the last day of it, and lo and behold on our way back to the site after lunch we get a phone call:

"um, when you guys get this message you need to come back to the office because the job has been cancelled."

WTH?!!!! i'm not really mad (although the last few weeks have been pretty torturous)....because despite the woods and stuff it has been a really good site. some really good stories...lots of deaths and suicides and psychos...cool stuff like electroshock bathtubs and labotomy observation rooms....met some interesting characters and learned a lot of stuff for work. i suppose the best part is that i don't have to write up the monster report. although it might suck when the developer calls us in two months saying the project is back on and can you get us that report and remember all that stuff from 3 months ago? but we won't worry about that right now.

i'm a little bit giddy. this news has created a buzz around the company, and i've also just consumed a very large caramel frappaccino. i should work. i've been completely useless today. (hmm..that must be the coffee talking.....)

it has gotten to the point that when i drive and i see wooded areas i think "wow, that would be really crappy to walk through." it's bad when i close my eyes and i see thickets and branches and vines and prickers. and the thought "they don't pay me enough to do this" goes through my head. a few realizations:

a) the project manage and developer officially suck for making us walk 5 hours a day through the bush for the last 4 weeks.
b) walking 5 hours a day through the bush for 4 weeks causes my leg to ache and ache and ache, thus making me miss our last soccer game (arghh...)
c) bone injuries ache more when it's going to rain or is raining
d) off! with deet is great bug spray
e) although d)=true, there is nothing that will keep icky deer flies from attacking you constantly.

but no worries! the light is visible at the end of the tunnel.....one more day to endure, and hopefully i will never have to return. =D

p.s. 54 days and counting...

hahahaahahah...working from home! la la la la la!

apparently my last entry made me sound like i was in a deep upsetting state. not so. there wasn't really much of a need to feel better as there was a need to eat chocolate. hehe. i'm not sure that made sense. but it's good to shed a couple tears now and then, no? i mean, if you never cried just because people don't usually cry, what would happen when you finally did cry? all emotions and pent up "tough guy/girl" tears will just all cascade into an avalanche of deep hiccuping sobs, a stuffy nose, and an inability to speak until said hicupping sobs subside. it's kind of nice to be able to cry with someone. not that both people will be crying....but that you can freely shed tears and the other person will just understand that it's necessary to cry and won't fall all over the place trying to comfort you because it's not really needed. (that was a really bad run-on sentence. i seem to speak in those quite often.)