Lent

So, I'm very curious, my readers - what did you give up for Lent?

I gave up Catholic mandated traditions.

Someone in the past suggested I give up being judgmental for Lent. This doesn't work - I operate on the 'if it ain't broke' mentality.

Meet Me in St. Louis?

I'll be out of town this coming weekend. This is the first time I've been out of town in a LONG time. This is not, and I repeat, NOT an excuse to not check this blog - a lot of comments may arise (especially since we now have anonymous) that will surely be worth reading. I hope to have good pictures when I return. :)

Shoutout to a Newly Discovered Reader!

You know who you are.

Any sarcastic responses and this above will be the 'giveaway' item!

I Knew This Would Happen

Ever since I started the birthday shoutout thing, I knew I'd drop the ball on a close friend/major reader's bday. And I have already. Twice. In fact, probably a third time that I can't think of offhand. So I apologize in advance to future friends with birthdays. Since the two birthdays I missed were those of men, I'm trusting they haven't thrown a fit, cursed my name or deleted me from their phone. Anyhow. With no further ado....

Happy (very) belated b-day Steve! (January 16). I can't wait for the wedding (even though I can do without the pressure of finding a hot date), and next time, Coast Sushi's on me!

Happy b-day Matt! (February 22). I can't wait for the baby girl. And, we, too, need to do sushi, as you said earlier. Drop me a line when your schedule has some openings.

(Editor's sidenote: Anonymous, please forward me your birthday. Thanks.)

For Those Who Take Everything Literally

It says:

Best Wishes Suzanne
Under Neat That
We Will Miss You!

Fat Tuesday

So, despite being raised Catholic, I do not celebrate 'giving stuff up for Lent' (one of my very first posts on this very blog was on the subject of this matter - you can find it under 2008, March). However, that isn't going to stop me from celebrating Fat Tuesday, the day of indulgence beforehand. And my mom picked up a strawberry and whipped cream paczki (poonchkey) and an oreo cream paczki from a cute little corner bakery for me. MMM. I am not usually a sweets person, but this got the better of me. I may have been too quick to judge Lent - I may need to celebrate Fat Tuesday year round.

$4 Coffee?

Ok, with the state of the economy - everyone comments on how Starbucks is in danger, people aren't going to keep spending $4 on coffee, etc. I do agree with that Starbucks' profit margin is a a little absurd. However, I have never had a problem with Starbucks (with the exception of their overly-chatty baristas), because I have always looked at them more as something to do. They are a good place to meet a friend or have a first date - and compared with other options, spending $4 at a coffee house is pretty much cheaper than all other options for 'going out somewhere' (movies, going out to eat, drinks, etc.). So, I am going to make a very non-scientific and possibly inaccurate prediction that for the morning crew that Starbucks is losing - they may be gaining more evening guests and therefore might be ok in this horrible economy. At least I hope they will. :)

Sorry - slow news day.

In Case You Were Wondering How Many Shopping Days You Have....

This blog's birthday is March 17! March 17 I'll have been a blogger for a year! I can't believe it!!

This blog shares a birthday with Mia Hamm, Gary Sinise, Billy Corgan, Kurt Russell, Patrick Duffy, Nat King Cole, Rob Lowe, and is one day off from my good friend Courtney, so I consider it in good company.

My Latest Interest....

So, until recently, I've never been into listening to whole CDs. Back in hs, I would buy CDs and very rarely listen to the whole thing - only once in a while. It was more that I would put it on to listen to a certain song, then change it to another cd with a certain song. I really would have loved an ipod/itunes back then. Then, in college, I would make CDs of various songs ('I made you a mix tape'). Now, I have an ipod/itunes.

However, somehow, my latest interest (aside from blogging), has become listening to whole CDs. It kind of started with Taylor Swift, but it's really expanded. I looked up artists that I really liked a song from, then downloaded the whole CD. Now I understand the whole 'really good album' concept - I thought it meant moreso that someone ended up having a lot of singles from an album. Anyhow.

Any 'good album' recommendations? Anyone else out there like me, in this respect?

Just Wondering....

Does Pepsi still, you know, exist? I remember them making many frantic efforts to get ahead of Coke (Pepsi Blue, Pepsi Holiday Spice, Clear Pepsi, the blind Pepsi/Coke taste-test, Britney Spears as a spokeswoman, the list goes ON AND ON). I feel like I still occasionally see Pepsi in stores and restaurants, etc., but I feel like I haven't seen an ad for them in forever. And more importantly, are they even trying to get ahead of coke any more? Or have they just weakly accepted defeat? Hmm.

In Case the 'Professional Listener' Doesn't Appeal....

George Costanza, on possibly switching career paths:

George: I like sports. I could do something in sports.
Jerry: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. In what capacity?
George: You know, like the general manager of a baseball team or something.
Jerry: Yeah. Well, that - that could be tough to get.
George: Well, it doesn't even have to be the general manager. Maybe I could be like, an announcer. Like a colour man. You know how I always make those interesting comments during the game.
Jerry: Yeah. Yeah. You make good comments.
George: What about that?
Jerry: Well, they tend to give those jobs to ex-ballplayers and people that are, you know, in broadcasting.
George: Well, that's really not fair.
Jerry: I know. Well, okay. Okay. What else do you like?
George: Movies. I like to watch movies.
Jerry: Yeah. Yeah.
George: Do they pay people to watch movies?
Jerry: Projectionists.
George: That's true.
Jerry: But you gotta know how to work the projector.
George: Right.
Jerry: And it's probably a union thing.
George: (scoffs) Those unions. (sighs) Okay. Sports, movies… what about a talk show host?
Jerry: Talk show host. That's good.
George: I think I'd be good at that. I talk to people all the time. Someone even told me once they thought I'd be a good talk show host.
Jerry: Really?
George: Yeah. A couple of people. I don't get that, though. Where do you start?
Jerry: Well, that's where it gets tricky.
George: You can't just walk into a building and say "I wanna be a talk show host".
Jerry: I wouldn't think so.
George: It's all politics.
Jerry: All right, okay. Sports, movies, talk show host. What else?
George: This could have been a huge mistake.
Jerry: Well, it doesn't sound like you completely thought this through.

For My Mom, Because I Know She Came Through for Me

I did not have a Valentine this V-day. Although I don't mind being single, it was a little sad to not celebrate a holiday. However, every Valentine's Day, my mom prepares a cute little gift basket for me. I haven't seen her since before Valentine's Day, but I have a good feeling on this one....

New Career Possibilities to Consider during this 'Economic Downturn'

From an ad on the side of Gmail:

Need Someone to Talk To?
Call Mandy, a Professional Listener A Sympathetic Ear Ready to Listen
www.sympatheticear.net

In case the field of 'life coach' is saturated....or, perhaps, for those who wanted to become psychiatrists but didn't have the patience for graduate school

Did You Ever Notice?

Did you ever notice - sometimes when you're typing via aim/text/gchat/whatever your electronic form of communication of choice - if you accidentally type a question mark - there's no easy way to take that question mark back. Really, unless you ignore the question mark (which can completely change the meaning of the sentence) - the only real options are re-typing the entire statement with the intended punctuation or saying the uber-awkward 'no question mark'. To undo one single unintended keystroke, it takes 16 new keystrokes!

Maybe it's just my noticing, because apparently I find myself needing to reneg on a question mark quite often. I don't know why I find myself in the situation so often, but I do. If anyone can think of an easier/better way to get out of it, you know, please advise.

Bush, on the Economy....

Late Night....

So, last night (Thursday), I kind of ended up being out until 12:30. Oops. It started out as a quick drink for a good coworker's 50th birthday (I said the fateful words 'I'll stop by, but only for an hour or so') which turned into getting invited to the auto show party which turned into stopping in four separate bars and staying out late on a work night. Oops. This would normally be bad news, but the auto show party was a work function with all of the top members of the company, so if anything, it was a good opportunity to mingle.

Anyhow - I found, at many points throughout the night, me saying to myself "I should go home". However. Life is short. But you know what is even shorter - the number of opportunities to go out and truly live it up! I find myself regularly in the situation where a good amount of my good friends (and I love you guys) are settled down or settled in or something of that nature where people just aren't going out much any more. It's not that I'm a party animal, but when an opportunity to go out and do something fun presents itself, I have a hard time saying no because, let's face it, it's hard to say where the next 'going out' opportunity is coming from.

Although some of you might be reading this and thinking 'loser!!' - I know I'm not alone in this one. Thoughts?

Who Will Be My Valentine?

I expect anonymous might have some words....

Mary Kay Update

On my lunch break, while I was getting coffee at the local high traffic starbucks, I happened to notice two twenty something 'business' looking women sitting at a table. I watched them, in a period of 5-10 minutes, Mary Kay three women. Each seemed equally caught off-guard, equally elated to receive a 'you look so great', and equally let down when they realized what it was really all about.

However, they both definitely noticed me yet did not dare approach. I can only assume that a) they read this blog, b) they could smell the cynicism a mile away or c) there was nothing even remotely compliment-able about me today. I'm going with b.

The Snuggie....

Your thoughts on the snuggie?

Someone had to bring it up. It seems to be the biggest informercial fad as of late. Jay Leno calls them the 'opposite of lingerie'. Hmm.

Editor's note: File the Snuggie under "why the hell didn't I think of/patent that!?!?!??!"

The Stalking Resumes....

Apparently, the Chicago Dianetics Center knows about my book goal for the new year and would like to get one of their titles on my 'to read' list:

Subject Line: Here is a book that does what you don't expect a book to do

It tells you HOW. It tells you the basis of things, and the most basic of
things is life itself. This then is a book about life.

THE PROBLEMS OF WORK

By L. Ron Hubbard

Just get it, read it, try it, and you'll never be the same again.

Call 847-824-62** for your copy today.

DO IT TODAY

Another Impulse Buy....

I don't know why I bought a second Ipod. Well, I do -my first one was a little messed up. A few songs shy of a full cd, if you will. And the new nano is just so tiny and cute (if not completely necessary)....

Anyhow - when I went in to the apple store and brought my old pod with, the employee took a moment to browse through my music selection. I honestly would have rather he looked through my credit card statement or underwear drawer. Is it just me, or is this a personal thing? I don't want someone looking through my entire i-tunes collection. There's a lot of what you might expect, however, there are some eccentricities that I'm not quite ready to expose yet. Let's just say I'd like to keep the skeletons in the closet. Is it just me?

It Happened Again....

Once again, I had the recurring dream (not sure if it qualifies as a nightmare), that I was back in college. It was senior year and I was supposed to perform with the Illinettes and I didn't know the dance routine and I was scrambling to learn it.

I do not know why I keep having these back in college dreams suddenly out of the blue....I suppose it is time to start researching this matter more....

He's Just Not That Into You

So I just saw the movie "He's Just Not That Into You". Despite it's flaws (such as the blatant product placement of Crest whitestrips), I loved it because of its random hilarious moments.

However, I love the book too - and I know some friends who have great criticisms of the book for it's keen ability to point out the blatantly obvious. For example, here are some of the chapters from this book:

--He's just not that into you if he's not calling you
--He's just not that into you if he's having sex with someone else
--He's just not that into you if he's breaking up with you
--He's just not that into you if he only wants to see you when he's drunk
--He's just not that into you if he's married (or other insane variations)
--He's just not that into you if he's disappeared on you

Now, don't get me wrong, yes, this all makes a LOT of sense. However, I do know PLENTY of women who have held out hope and continued to pursue a man who fell into one or more of the above categories (I, of course, always protect the guilty). Some would probably say something about women wanting the 'bad boy' or wanting something they can't have. I don't think that it's that necessarily. And I don't think it's that women don't realize the above men aren't that into them. It's that I think they think these men can, and will, become into them and become decent, wonderful boyfriends/husbands with a little helpful nudging.... Why do women think this? I, personally, don't, so I don't really know.

Anywho, whenever I find myself on the receiving end of something such as a text message from a male counterpart - I ask myself "What Would Greg Say". And I can only encourage others to do the same. :-)

Expressions I Hate....

"Can't See the Forest for the Trees"

People don't really use this much any more. Don't get me wrong, I get what it means, generally (something to the extent of 'missing the point'), but it doesn't make sense. I really hate it. Where did it come from? Why? Why did, at some point, people use it like crazy?

Exploring my Myers-Briggs

I am an ENTJ in the Myers-Briggs personality test.

In short - there are 16 different personality types. If you're not familiar with the test and various personality types - you are probably better off googling Myers-Briggs personality types or going here.

Anyhow, as I said earlier - you're looking at the blog of an ENTJ. Here are the personality traits I possess, according to various sites dedicated to the subject. Upon reading this - I ask you - is this me?
· Able to cut straight to the chase in any situation and not be sidetracked by non-essential issues.

· A propensity for leadership which follows naturally from their ability to control and manage real time/real world situations.


PROS:
· A talent for factual analysis unbiased by prejudice or emotion.

· A “can do” approach to life which makes the working environment a positive place for them.

· A strong regard for positive social and economic institutions, structure and government.

· Second to none time and space management skills, everything organized and in its place.

· Able to constantly synthesize and adapt new ideas and concepts into strategies for business, social, financial or environmental development.

ENTJ’s who have a well-developed Introverted Intuitive function to complement their dominant Extraverted Thinking will enjoy these very special gifts:

· A talent for creating great benefits through the addressing of social justice issues.

· The ability to recognize and mediate their potentials in accord with the expectations of others.

· An approach to life which includes an awareness of the differences between their needs and those of others.

· Able to know when to stop and take stock of life and recognize the qualities of the moment.

· A talent for showing others the way to get past difficulties in their outer life

· A broadening of their own ambitions which includes rather than excludes others from the decision making and the benefits which flow from their achievement.

CONS:

· May be unable to understand other people’s needs where these differ from their own.

· May unwisely assume their ideas are the only right ones and are therefore being fully implemented by others.

· May become childishly petulant or angered when confronted by situations which require feeling judgments.

· May become so engrossed in a plan or ambition that personal needs and the needs of others are forgotten.

· May take every decision not made in agreement with their rational beliefs as a personal rejection.

· May be easily taken in or manipulated by others via agreement with their rational attitudes.

· May become obsessed with small obstructions and difficulties to the point where the overall plan is forgotten

· May believe natural limitations are actually ailments which ought to be eradicated

· May assume others are ever plotting against them.

· May believe only their own view of the world or a situation is correct, even to the point that they make it into a kind of dogma which must be followed by those around them.

General

ENTJs have a natural tendency to marshall and direct. This may be expressed with the charm and finesse of a world leader or with the insensitivity of a cult leader. The ENTJ requires little encouragement to make a plan. One ENTJ put it this way... "I make these little plans that really don't have any importance to anyone else, and then feel compelled to carry them out." While "compelled" may not describe ENTJs as a group, nevertheless the bent to plan creatively and to make those plans reality is a common theme for NJ types.

ENTJs are often "larger than life" in describing their projects or proposals. This ability may be expressed as salesmanship, story-telling facility or stand-up comedy. In combination with the natural propensity for filibuster, our hero can make it very difficult for the customer to decline.

TRADEMARK: -- "I'm really sorry you have to die." (I realize this is an overstatement. However, most Fs and other gentle souls usually chuckle knowingly at this description.)

ENTJs are decisive. They see what needs to be done, and frequently assign roles to their fellows. Few other types can equal their ability to remain resolute in conflict, sending the valiant (and often leading the charge) into the mouth of hell. When challenged, the ENTJ may by reflex become argumentative. Alternatively (s)he may unleash an icy gaze that serves notice: the ENTJ is not one to be trifled with.

Misc

On personality trait measures, score as Ambitious, Forceful, Optimistic, Egotistical, Adaptable, and Energetic
Least likely of all types to report stress resulting from work or finances
More likely than average to suffer cardiac problems
Among the least likely of all types to believe in a higher spiritual power
Among top 4 types in college GPA
Among most likely to stay in college
Personal values include Home/Family, Achievement, Creativity, and Learning
Overrepresented among MBA students and small business owners
One of two types most likely to be satisfied with their work

I see some statements here flagrantly inaccurate for myself, however, I see somethings embarrassingly dead on the money....

Random Observation

Ok, I know like five people who are pregnant right now. Jokes aside - why now? Is there a specific time it's right now, as opposed to six months ago, or six months from now? I believe all of these pregnancies are right around the second trimester. I found out about three of them on facebook. Do you ever notice this goes in spurts? I will notice tons of pregnant women, then nothing for a while. I suppose the only response to this question would be a bunch of semi-lewd jokes. So maybe I'm not asking anything right now.

Fun with my New Toy....

This is how I live











As you can see, I share my room with multiple animals....

How I Spent My Day....

So one of my new years resolutions (which I did not disclose on this blog) was getting more organized. This is one of those very non-specific non-measurable resolutions in the sense that even if I got just a teeny-tiny bit more organized, it would technically be a success because I would be "more" organized than before.

Regardless, I am aiming big with this resolution. I decided to de-tchotchkify my room - or at least cut them down significantly. It's an adult bedroom; it should look like one (stuffed animals withstanding). I also got rid of a lot of old clothes that I have an unfortunately habit of wearing if they are around. All in all, I am happy with the result. Now that I have decluttered my room, it is time to move on to cleaning out other aspects of my life, which will be a much bigger task.

Thanks MLK!

I have the day off today because the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is a floating holiday at my place of employment. I thought the day after the superbowl was a good choice for said holiday. I am celebrating with an oil change, an emission test, some Target shopping, and maybe, just maybe, a new ipod.... Stay tuned to find out.