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August 30, 2004

Here is a tidy laundry

Here is a tidy laundry list of packages that I have sitting on my dining room table, waiting to be mailed. You may notice your name on the list and say "wait... wasn't she supposed to send that months ago?" The simple, pathetic truth is YES. I have been SO bad about sending out these things. I knit, I sew, I glue, I thieve, I buy, I package.... and then they sit there. So sad.
 
I am trying to embarrass myself into actually SENDING these things by posting a list here.
 
Packages that need sending :
  • Jules - swag from the Comic Con
  • Jason - swag from the Comic Con
  • Baby Miki - embroidered Spiderman sweatshirt
  • JenB & Charlotte -  felt patches for skirts and such
  • Dan - prizes for the Fish Naming Contest
  • IA - goodies to sway him back to the internet
  • Tamara - embroidered Star Wars dish towels
  • Luke - Baby Hulk books
Gifts that need finishing :
 
  • wrist cuffs for G.T.
  • scarf for Choppa
  • tea towels for Good Boss
Ok, I am reasonably embarrassed now... but take a small bit of pity on me, since school starts this week and I won't have every single stupid night free to knit, sew, bake, and be lazy!
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Posted by giddygirlie at 2:09 PM |

August 29, 2004

Weddings are always so

Weddings are always so much fun. The ceremonies make you all sappy and sentimental. Make you want to squeeze the one you love. The receptions are always a good time. Seeing people you've not seen in a while, reconnecting with old friends. We had a blast at Jake & Holly's wedding on Saturday. I posted a few pictures that I snapped, until the official wedding pictures are posted online by the photographer. I don't know why I didn't get more pictures!
 
There were the Phillips Brothers, who are always a hoot. Congrats to Ryan & Rosie Phillips who got married recently in an unannounced ceremony in Las Vegas. Apologies to the "young kids" like Austin and Ryan C. that Ryan (Winn) just can't accept have grown up... he says to them "what are you now? 15? 16?" "um, dude, we're 20" and then Ryan falls to the floor astonished. Yes, sweetheart, you're the only one caught in a time warp who doesn't age. Apologies also to the family of the bride for my husband's freaky behavior. He's got something in his brain that just isn't wired right, and whenever he sees a Great Aunt or Grandmother sitting during a disco song, he feels compelled to lure them to the dance floor and make 'em boogie. Mind you, they weren't complaining... I'm just sayin' he's developing a reputation for freaking grandmas during "Rumpshaker" that may or may not be appropriate for a man of 28.
 
On behalf of all us rockin' folks at Table 20, I'd like to say that a good time was had by all. And to the losers at Table 16 who envied us the whole night... haw! haw!... hope you enjoyed the dirty dishes we had delivered! And kudos to the kick ass chick on the waitstaff who agreed to deliver them. Man, that was awesome.
 
Raise your glass and toast to the happy couple!
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Posted by giddygirlie at 9:48 PM |

August 25, 2004

Today I had to visit

Today I had to visit Knott's Berry Farm to perform a site inspection. Site inspections at theme parks are always fun, since you get a little bit of time to goof off, in addition to the plain and simple fact that you're NOT AT WORK. Our visit to the Disneyland Resort last month was awesome and really inspiring and made us all sell Disney event as incentives, which is way cool. Knotts, however, was a challenge.
 
First, it took me speaking with more than 10 people and call backs over a week to finally reach someone who knew what I meant by "site inspection". Then, when I finally found the one person, she was very hesitant about helping me... insisting that there was no reason why I would need to see the banquet halls and group areas if I wasn't booking a group right away. There was no clearer way for me to explain than what I repeated a hundred times : If I am going to consider booking a group and spending $10,000 there, I want to see the place first.
 
So today I went with 2 of my favorite co-workers and got the Bum's Rush tour of the facilities. The lady was nice enough, I suppose, but did nothing to upsell the property or point out the finer points. In fact, more than once she walked us dead center into an embarrassing situation for herself. On top of that, she claimed that since she's in Marketing that she has no idea what's going on inside the park (WTF?!) and didn't know the names of the rides, gave us poor - and incorrect -  information AND booked our tour on the same day that there was a concert hosted by KIIS fm, the local Top 40 station, including such minor artists as Ashlee Simpson (!!) and JC Chasez (!!!). She seemed as surprised as we did at the extraordinary amount of tweens that were clogging up the few available walkways, trying to secure a primo viewing spot for the show (still hours away).
 
But this is Knotts... people who really don't care about their jobs, who aren't looking to attract more crowds, gain profitable business, or even be polite. And, excuse me, but it doesn't take a certified event planner to see that an August afternoon, during heavy construction and traffic constriction, several ride closures, difficult navigation through the parks AND a concert series just don't mix. Fortunately, no one at Guest Relations is getting paid more than $8 an hour, so they could care less how long you complain about long lines, expensive admission prices, and crowded walkways. So yak away all you like about how unhappy you are... no one is listening. And until someone does, Knotts will get none of my business.
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Posted by giddygirlie at 4:20 PM |

August 24, 2004

I am testing out this

I am testing out this new fangled "blog by mail" feature... I hope it goes well! I have composed this post in an email and sent it in to auto-post to my blog. God speed!

Just in case this does actually work, I wanted to thank everyone who has been kind enough to make a fish name suggestion. I have been scribbling them all down on nametags and assigning new nicknames to everyone I know. Thank you everyone for all of your creativity and humor!

The official name for Blue Beta 2004 is... [drumroll].... Overlord Prong.

Holy. Crap. Why didn't I think of a name starting with "Overlord"?! I love it. Absolutely smitten. Dan, you're the best. I am sending swag your way a.s.a.p.


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Posted by giddygirlie at 9:15 AM |

August 20, 2004

I used to look at

I used to look at Fullerton as a really cool town. I used to toodle up there in my Kharmann Ghia to see the ska bands of the day in old warehouses that were converted into makeshift teen night clubs. I still marvel at the beauty of the Old Town. The brick buildings, the antique stores and classic video arcade. I love being able to eat spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese in a refurbished train depot. I love buying unique shoes in a store filled with incense smoke and girls with green hair. I love walking into a hipster dive bar. But today I realized something. Just across the street from the beauty and heritage that I love about Fullerton is the reality that is Fullerton. Desperate souls running in the heat to catch a bus. Homeless men panhandling outside of a discount clothing store. Generic grocery stores that don't have club cards or a matching set of shopping carts and have armed security standing outside, just in case the desperation explodes. Babies with crackling coughs being tugged along through shopping malls, where the air conditioning is free and the ambience is thick with Ranchero music and the Spanish language. Fullerton is a place where restaurants have names like "Mary #2" and the menu is adhered to the window by cheap vinyl stickers in abbreviations that are nearly nonsensical. Where $2.99 can buy you a meal, $10 can buy you 5 t-shirts, and $15 can buy you car insurance. Today, I saw a store that sold pagers, cell phones, and car registration.

As I drove through, I was overcome with sadness. Pangs of guilt prickled my spine. I felt sorry for these people, who have no where else to go. Victims of bad-luck stories, young parents, incomplete educations. My heart aches for the children who grow up, never knowing the difference. Living and breathing this run-down way of live, never hoping for more, never wanting better. Destined to be surrounded by gangs and thieves. Where visiting friends and family in jail is a regular occurence and a dentist is a foreign concept.

But then somewhere, at the back of that guilt was something worse... the need to go home. To go back to my little niche neighborhood that is safe and clean and warm. Where the trees are plentiful and the landscaping managed professionally. Where the dry cleaners are bustling and the gas prices $0.30 higher. Where the houses all match and the cul de sacs end in plush forest belts. Where the pools sparkle and new cars shine. Admittedly, I do not belong here. My scrimping and saving and constant financial panic would wash away if I would only concede defeat and go somewhere else... to a place like Fullerton, where I can afford to live, and where some might say that I am doing well for myself. But this is where I came from and not where I am going. I fight even harder to stay ahead, to keep running from a place like that. I don't know if anyone's destiny can really be changed, but I am paddling furiously to stay on top of this wave and not get pulled under and ultimately shipwrecked in a place like that.

"A nice place to visit but/ I don't want to die here /I stay on my toes/ whenever I go by here" - Mighty Mighty Bosstones

"If you lived here/ you'd be home by now/ but if I lived here/ I'd be dead by now/ I'd put a little bullet/ in my head right now" - Mojo Apostles


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Posted by giddygirlie at 2:14 PM |

August 17, 2004

Welcome to the semi-annual "name

Welcome to the semi-annual "name that fish" contest sponsored by the Giddy Girlie! Please follow the guidelines below and you could WIN a fabulous prize*! You may enter as many times as you'd like, but you have to play to win... so let's get started!


Guidelines :

  • the fish is a blue male betta fish [no, I didn't take a picture of my fish, but this is exactly what he looks like.]
  • he needs a name
  • "Captain Kitties" has already been taken

*the prize has yet to be determined, but I swear it will be something good.... a gift card for Target or Starbucks or a foot massage from an unlicensed event planner - who knows?!

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Posted by giddygirlie at 9:34 PM |

August 16, 2004

do you ever see something

do you ever see something funny and laugh (out loud, no less) and then snap your breath back in your throat because you realize at the last second that they are making fun of you?

Latest example : http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/081304/week-end.gif


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Posted by giddygirlie at 12:27 PM |

August 15, 2004

For his birthday, Ryan finally

For his birthday, Ryan finally went to see Ruben, who is the most bad-ass tattoo artist I know. Ruben did an absolutely phenomenal job and I love everything about it.

Ryan drew the image of the skull with batwings and added in his own 'crossbones' of a nib & paint brush, which are his inking tools. Ruben "juiced" it up with some truly awesome shading and in about a week, the two will start collaborating on background for it, starting at the shoulder and then working down his arm.

I am totally in crush with it, and now I am excited to be getting my next tattoo. It's been like 3 years since I got my last one and it's been too long... I already have it all picked out and now I just need to get some damn balls and get under the gun. To see the picture of Ryan's tatt up close go to my photo site : http://giddygirlie.buzznet.com maybe I'll even upload some pictures of my own tattoos, so you can see how uncool I am.


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Posted by giddygirlie at 9:19 PM |

August 13, 2004

this site scares me more

  • this site scares me more than a little and reminds me to tip my waxer (via www.arjbarker.com)
  • He's rough around the edges, but Jesus does love you (via Styro)
  • I have signed up for AudBlog ... just because I can. Prepare yourself for 10,000 watts of pure "oh my gosh, that's what she sounds like?!" chills that will run amok on your spinal cord
  • Aquafresh Extreme Clean Toothpaste : tastes like an orange/menthol cough drop and foams up like shaving cream and pukes my gag. Thankfully, it is pay day, so I can upgrade back to mint flavor toothpaste that DOESN'T foam like bubble bath. And also 2-ply toilet paper. Woo hoo!
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Posted by giddygirlie at 12:25 PM |

August 12, 2004

I got about 4


I got about 4 hours of sleep last night, which apparently to new mothers and grandmothers and everyone at work, is plenty of rest for "a girl of [my] age". Why do I feel like I have been run over by a truck??

I think that my inner Golden Girl is trying to escape... tonight my plan is to eat a slice of cheesecake, reminisce about Saint Olaf and tell stories that begin "Picture this, Sicily 1923". Then maybe finish my Star Wars embroidery and update the ol' website.

Sidenote : the guy off my FT page was on Conan O'Brien recently. WTF-tard?!


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Posted by giddygirlie at 3:29 PM |

August 10, 2004

"When are we gonna grow

"When are we gonna grow up? When are we gonna admit that we ain't goin' nowhere and we look like idiots. Jumpin' around like monkeys on a Tuesday night for free. Dreamin' of escargot and eating Chef Boyardee"

"20 hour days, 11 drink tickets - but rock-n-roll is enough to stick with it"

Yes, I am still quoting "Modesto" by Mojo Apostles. Yes, it is still in the CD player. Set on repeat. So sue me. I have a crush!

I think I also love that song because it accurately depicts my life. Between the (lame ass) fact that I eat dinner at least once a week from the Chevron - Have A Chips* & Snapple do a body good! - and that I drag my sorry self out to these shows at night just to prove that I am still young and hip and ...um... whatever. Tomorrow night, you will see me working a 7-7 shift, going out for Ryan's birthday dinner, then heading to the Liquid Den for the latest Taint travesty of a show. It's gonna be a long day, but hey... I'm young and hip. Right? RIGHT?!!

On a much more serious note, and all my self-pity aside, I have just learned that a friend of the Mojo's, Dalty, is in for some emergency surgery and has landed hisself in the hospital. The Mojos are playing shows to help raise money, so if you can make it to their shows, please do. I have half a mind to drive my stupid self up to the Bay Area, just for that reason**. Check out the Amputees website for info on their eBay auctions and other fundraisers to help Dalty. Do it because you're a good human being. Do it for me.

*no, it's not a typo... they're called "Have a Chips" and they are made by the Hare Krishnas in Laguna Beach who, suffice it to say, make themselves a mean corn chip!!
**also, I am a selfish bitch and would hardly be able to keep myself away from my favorite Bay Area Bloggers!!


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Posted by giddygirlie at 11:09 PM |

August 9, 2004

I could cite about 100

I could cite about 100 things just off the top of my head about how lazy I am. And I don't mean that oh my gosh I didn't wash my car this week kind of lazy or even those damn cobwebs in our 50' vaulted ceilings are piling up again kind of lazy. I mean serious lazy. Lazy like I'm-watching-this-on-TV-because-the-cat-is-asleep-on-the-remote kind of lazy.

Here's just one example :

This morning I am digging through the dryer for the matching sock to the one I have in my hand. I thrust my little monkey paw in, and snag out every pink sock that I can see... no luck. So instead of taking the laundry out of the dryer and - god forbid - folding it and putting it away, I used the side of the dryer - you know? those little parts that stick out on the barrel? - and turned it, so that the clothes tumbled over. Surely, the sock would show itself now, right? No. Tumble again... searching searching searching... aw, fuck it. Where's my other sandal?


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Posted by giddygirlie at 8:18 PM |

August 8, 2004

I was thinking the other

I was thinking the other day of all the musicians that we know and who play shows at seedy dive bars and run down night clubs a couple of times a week, and although these kids have talent, they're just doing it for fun, and the $1 - $60 per show that they might be making isn't enough to pay the bills. Instead, everyone still has a day job. I was thinking of all the weird things that people do for money that doesn't all necessarily reflect the kick ass stage performances that they give. For example, some of our most rockin'-est, kick ass friends have these jobs :
  • comic book artist (guess who?)
  • mail room clerk
  • manager of a Japanese water heater company
  • appointment setter
  • taxi driver
  • long shoreman
  • tattoo artist
  • translator for Japanese comic books
  • elementary school music teacher
  • 3rd grade teacher
  • salesman
  • waiter
  • bartender
  • visuals artist
  • mortgage broker

...made me think of all the bands who have "hit it big" and what they did before they were household names. If anyone knows, by all means chime in...

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Posted by giddygirlie at 10:16 PM |

August 6, 2004

It is with equal parts

It is with equal parts elatement and embarrassment that I show you all the chosen partyware for my upcoming fiesta.




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Posted by giddygirlie at 1:14 PM |

August 4, 2004

So I need your help

So I need your help - gasp! surprise! shock!

Ryan & I are attending a wedding in 2 weeks and I am still at a loss as to what to get these people as a gift. Here's the sitch : Jake is an old friend of ours, who we don't really see very often. As I understand it, he and Mrs. Jake are temporarily living with friends or family (I'm not 100% clear on that part), the point being that they don't have a place of their own just yet. So I don't want to buy them a blender of Foreman Grill or whatever when they don't have a place to store and won't use for a while. As far as I can tell, they also aren't registered anywhere (names aren't on any registry that I've found), so I don't know what they even might want... normally, I might go for the personal gift, but Jake isn't the kind of guy who might like embroidered tea towels or a knitted iPod cozy, and I don't really know Mrs. Jake. To add insult to injury, Mr. & Mrs. Jake make a good bit of money, running their own business, so I think it would be awkward to give them a sappy card with $100 inside (and truth be told, I live on a budget, so a gift of $1,000 just isn't possible). Am I being too touchy? Doesn't everyone like free money?

Any ideas? Is there any universally wonderful wedding gift? I think back to some of the beautiful things that Ryan & I got at our wedding, and some of the nicest things actually were the gift cards for Bed, Bath & Beyond or Target... but then again, we had our own place and were just super excited to buy ourselves a matching set of silverware. Jake bought us a really nice DVD player - even enclosing the receipt and mail-in rebate for 15 free movie rentals. So I feel like I at least owe him equally nice... but what?

I'm stuck in one of those "what to buy the people who have everything" conundrums. *sigh* Any words of advice or even free candy bars are appreciated....


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Posted by giddygirlie at 10:48 PM |

August 2, 2004

I am the oldest of

I am the oldest of my cousins*, and that was supposed to mean something. It's supposed to make me special somehow. Growing up, I was the one that was consulted for advice, seeing as how I am the oldest. I was the one that could keep a secret and sneak out a window. I was the one with her own car and a license to drive and mischief on my mind. I was supposed to be the first at everything, but lately I am coming in dead last.

I am so bitterly jealous of the upticks in everyone else's lives that it makes me want to scream. I know it's petty jealousy, so keep your "voice of reason" comments to your own damn self. I know that I have plenty to be thankful for, but it gets hard for me sometimes when I see my younger cousins buying steel faced refrigerators for their new house, or bouncing their god damned gorgeous babies. Especially when I am fretting over rent money on my stupid little 2 bedroom apartment with my rented appliances. When they buy a new car with their bonus money or win a sales contest at work and get $5,000 for a vacation. I want to rip my hair out when they are upgrading the diamonds on their wedding rings and all that I can afford is to stay home and vacuum and have sex, just to break the monotony of housework, all the while hoping that maybe - just maybe - one of those little freakin' speemies can make it to Virginia** and I can join the ranks of motherhood and have an adorable baby that will make their babies look like freak shows in comparison. Or maybe I should wait... postpone it all and have a Sex and the City life of swinging and threesomes and strangers and rock-n-roll...

Egads, you probably just learned WAY more about the "real" me than you ever wanted to, and I am sure at least one of you can turn this selfish post into your Psych 101 term paper. Sigh.


* this isn't true, Cousin Ryan is actually older, but he was/is a pain-in-the-ass boy, so he doesn't count
** after a sex ed. class at school, my friend's niece asked her "Aunt Gail, I understand the part about the periods, and about the difference between boys and girls... but how do the speemies get to Virginia?"


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Posted by giddygirlie at 1:17 PM |

August 1, 2004

This weekend we went to

This weekend we went to a swell BBQ hosted by Marco, and all the "tracer" nerds were there. I just about wet my pants laughing when they brought up a recent interview with David Finch in which the interviewer asks how he can justify using a computer program to do his inks when so many artists are out of work. Baffled, David asked the interviewer what he was talking about, and the interviewer alluded to his use of "Livesay", believing it to be a computer program.

Apparently, this is a rumor that has been circulating the internet for a while now, saying that there is a comic inking computer program called "Livesay" that some major artists are using to ink their works, rather than to pay a finishing artist. As funny as it is to think of Inkbot x2000, I assure you, John Livesay is a real live person. He does a mean robot, but I can attest that he is made of flesh and blood.

Also at the party was a girl that recognized my name (Actually, she said that "Ryan & Mia" sounded familiar). She started naming off a lot of people that she thought that we'd know... but no hits. Then about an hour later it hit me - she was the T.A. for my anatomy class a year ago. I finally have an eye witness that I am an excellent dissector (no one in my personal life ever had the guts - har! - to see my A+ cat dissection or my 'display worthy' sheep brain dissection). Everyone's heads snapped in the usual fashion - "you dissected a CAT?!" It's in the name of science, people! ... plus, the cats that are used by anatomy students are all cats that were euthanized for whatever reason (elderly, sick, etc.) by shelters who use the profits to fund spay & neuter programs. Anyway, it just goes to show how small my world is... I can't go anywhere without running into people that I already know. The universe is telling me something.. what that is, I don't know. Maybe it's just as well to be confused for a computer program rather than have people think you're a heathen for dissecting animals.


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Posted by giddygirlie at 10:22 PM |