I shagged Snape!! July 29, 2004 ~ 4:32 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedAw, fuck a duck, it won’t show on the blog. Blogger must hate it. or maybe it’s geared towards LiveJournal users. But check out this Quiz. My results said I was well known for “managing to shag Snape”. Yeah, baby! C’mere, Severus.
The One About the Metrosexuals July 29, 2004 ~ 11:08 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedWatched Rescue Me last night, big surprise. I also told mom to watch it, as she’s a Denis Leary fan, and I guess she liked it. She sent me her favorite quote from it in an email this morning. :)
Really, the more I watch of this show, the more I love it. It hits just the right balance between emotions and humor, and I appreciate it more every time I see it. The firefighters trying to wrap their minds around the concepts of metrosexuals and “ball waxing” last night was a gut buster. But there is also a lot of attention paid to how the various firefighters are working through their post-9/11 traumas. Some in better ways than others. And I also love the non-verbal writing: there are some truly beautiful and haunting images in this show, the kind you don’t see too often on TV. If you haven’t watched it yet, do yourself a favor. Start. Because otherwise you are gonna be left scratching your heads on Thursdays when I post about that week’s episode. I’m seeing this as my summer Apprentice - a show I will watch week after week and have to talk about. Without the Donald’s bad hairdo.
Oh, and Traci, we’re golden on the taping. One ep down, two more to go, and you get your first installment. Just like Time/Life!
Not talking July 28, 2004 ~ 9:54 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedSo the majority of my mother’s family and I are now incommunicado. “Deceased” to each other, as it were. I was very upset about it for most of the day. And then I realized something…no relationship, familial or otherwise, entitles someone to torment you or make you feel like less of a person. There’s a word for that. Abuse. And since I had it within my power to break free of that abuse, I did. I sent an email saying “If you don’t want to talk, then fine. Let’s make it mutual.” Because I’m an adult, and I don’t have to put up with that shit.
So thank you everyone who sent me nice comments, emails, or just good vibes. I really appreciated those today. Special thanks to Mom, who helped me put everything in perspective, and Lori, who made me laugh all day with Monty Python quotes and political humor. Love you both.
Ye Gods. July 28, 2004 ~ 12:47 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedWell, kids, I’ve figured it out. We’re coming up on a full moon. Not just any full moon, though. The second full moon of the month. A blue moon. This means that the crazies are out in full force. In my office this morning we had a student that wouldn’t take no for an answer, and started telling me off because I wouldn’t agree with her (I was showing her the requirements for her degree and she didn’t like what I was showing her apparently). I just walked away. She left soon after I stopped paying attention to her. Two more seconds and we would have called security on her. Did not need that today, after reading certain comments on ye olde blogge.
On that note…certain comments here are down and dirty. I’m leaving them for the moment while I track down IP addys and email addys and suchlike. Then they’re gonna get deleted, because I agree with Steph about blog ettiquette. This is my place, and quarrels, family or other, do not belong on it. I have my email addy in the corner for a reason - if you have a problem, email me, don’t shit all over my cyber domain.
Other than that…it’s another rainy day in Brooklyn. It pissed down (I really like this term and think Americans should use it more often) rain all day yesterday, but I went to Rick’s anyway. Because the Youngest told me she liked doing her summer math homework with me because I’m fun. I’m such a sucker. I went, and we were crafty together. I brought all my embroidery floss that I’ve been collecting since fifth grade, and we made friendship bracelets together. She made me one, and put beads on it, and I am proudly wearing it today. And will continue to wear it until it falls off, because I love it. She made it for me which meant a lot to me. We also made God’s Eyes, which she learned how to make from a friend. She made Rick one, she made her mom one, and I made her one. Because I had to give her something back after she gave me my lovely bracelet. :) I love this child. And her sister. They keep me sane, and make me laugh. Rick’s got two really great kids. Thank you all for reading through my mushy little post.
Oh, and thank all of you for the nice posts. I know we all say this, but it deserves to be repeating. You are wonderful friends, and as my definition of family extends, I count you all among my family. The good side. ;) Love ya!
Ha. July 27, 2004 ~ 11:56 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedThe Youngest told her father that she was sore this morning from all the running around she did yesterday. Well, that makes two of us, but now I don’t feel so bad. Especially since I piggybacked her two blocks and up to the apartment. I am sore, but now I feel better about it. Even though Rick just said that I was “not so spry.” This was compared to the child, but still…open mouth, insert foot, honey.
Things I Hate July 26, 2004 ~ 11:14 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedNo, that list would be too long right now. Let’s settle for things I don’t hate.
- Rick - his softball team clinched the Division Championships today. I was there. Although later one too many beers combined with too much testosterone made him annoying, it never devolved into hate. And after we were home hanging out for a while, and the testosterone poisoning wore off and he was rational again, I remembered I love him. And told him so.
- The Youngest - because we got to spend most of the day hanging out. We painted our toenails, we did some summer math homework, we discussed the geography of Manhattan and which way is North, South, East, and West, and we played several mean games of hide & seek tag. And ran through playground sprinklers. When I left their apartment, she was reaching the whiny stage of the day, but hey, I got to go home. I would mention the Oldest, too, but she’s at camp for two weeks. But I like her, too. I guess we can keep both of them.
- My mom - yeah, like I’d ever hate her. But really, she stood up for me to my aunt this week. Because my aunt is looking for someone to blame for my cousin’s being sent to Iraq, and it seemed like Julie’s war protesting was a good place to start. So thank you, mommy. Looking over your brothers and sisters, I think I got the best part of the gene pool. Yeah, except for the bad back and knees and stuff. I’m not looking forward to that.
- Dinner. We went to a place that had killer ice cream and $1.50 pints of Coors Light. And no, I didn’t eat the ice cream while drinking the beer…much. We’ll be going back there.
Alright, ya know what, I’m gonna go for things I hate:
- While I don’t hate my aunt, I hate her misguided ideas. Look, I know your son’s going into a warzone. Don’t pick fights just to pick fights. I want him to come home, too. And I was protesting the idea of a war being fought for purposes of greed. I wasn’t protesting the troops. I was protesting them being over there for truly pointless reasons. I want them all to be home, safe with their families who love and need them. And you know what? Next protest, I am right back out there, baby. Because it’s what I believe in.
- I hate the fact that my aunt has decided to stop talking to my mother, when my mother’s responses to aunt’s insanity have been well thought out and justified. Hey, we don’t have to agree. We’re different people. No problem. But to write her own sister off because of those differences of opinion just sticks in my craw. Life is just too fucking short.
- I hate waking up to Rick’s ex’s voice on the answering machine at 8:30. WTF?!? We are sleeping! He will be playing softball later because it’s Monday and his Monday routine doesn’t vary, so why are you calling???
- Fruit flies. Why are they everywhere? Just why?
- I have to go back to work tomorrow. That blows big hairy moose cock with handles.
- Jesse, after puking on my foot on the couch yesterday, forcing me to do a laundry run, also decided to piss on the floor tiles. I cleaned it up. I used the odor remover stuff, I mopped it twice with Pine-Sol, and the little fucker did it again while I was gone today. I just scrubbed the floor but good with a brush and the odor remover stuff. Hopefully, this will put an end to the Piss Crusader.
- I am 26 and had to take breaks from playing tag. I’m not old. Where did the energy go???
Alright, I’m going to bed. Because sooner or later, it has to get better. And if I sleep through some of the sooner, the later will come faster.
This rant has been brought to you by the Corporation for Pissed-Off Julies. And by Readers Like You.
They shoot horses, don’t they? July 24, 2004 ~ 10:47 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedWell, let’s see. Trip to Lowe’s - accomplished. Sealant bought - accomplished. New toilet seat bought because the old one was cracked and attracting under-seat mildew - accomplished. Sealant applied and smoothed out - accomplished. Toilet seat installed - accomplished. Feeling nauseous - accomplished. Wait, that last one wasn’t on the list. And yet here it is anyway. Fun. The sealant will take 24 hours to set, which means, I guess, that I am showering at Rick’s tomorrow before I pick up the Youngest from her friend’s. No return of the fruit flies or the maggots yet, which is aces in my book. I called the landlady and told her what was going on here in the hopes that she’ll send someone over this week. And now I’m tired and nauseous. I think I’m just gonna call it quits for the day. I’ve been through enough, haven’t I?
Fruit Fly Invasion July 24, 2004 ~ 6:11 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedFruit Flies in the shower - aaah! Why? Okay, I think I know why. I have a shower stall, not a tub. One of those vinyl fitted shower-stall things. And because I live in a basement that was not originally designed to be an apartment, the water doesn’t go away down a pipe. It goes about three inches down a pipe, and seems to stay there. Of course, I know it doesn’t. I mean, it doesn’t overflow into the shower, it just stays at that level. Whatever. But I think the fruit flies like the “standing water”. I’ve noticed a couple of them here and there over the past few weeks. Big deal. Brooklyn is having a fruit fly invasion, as near as I can tell. Everyone’s got them. So I kill them as I find them. I bought a drain cover so they can’t get in or out, and I put some vinegar down the drain, hoping to make the water acidic (or is vinegar a base?) and thus not hospitable to fruit flies. No problems.
Until I can home from Rick’s this morning and found like ten of them crawling around the shower. ew. So I sprayed the suckers with the pet/kid/food-friendly Ortho bug spray I bought a while back when I was having Invasion of the House Centipedes. Killed the fruit flies dead. I rinsed them (and some more bug spray, just in case) down the drain. Came back a half hour later to clean the bathroom to notice a bunch of little…well, they looked like short threads. What that hell is this? I asked myself. They were fruit fly larvae. The equivalent of fruit fly maggots, basically. I think they had crawled out of the drain. I sprayed those suckers down good, and then ran super hot water on them for five minutes. When I shut the water off, I noticed some of the sealant around the drain had peeled up. I peeled it off. No harm, or so I thought. However when I just went back to the bathroom, I see that the sealant had been covering a crack in the vinyl. And I just know that if I don’t do anything about this, I’ll have a leak. Not that I wanted to take a shower with fruit fly maggot corpses anyway, but I need to fix this. So I’m off to Lowe’s to buy sealant. Shit.
Oh, and my Marine cousin is getting shipped to Iraq in two weeks. I have a very bad feeling about this. I’ll go to Lowe’s after I finish my beer.
Post Office July 23, 2004 ~ 11:21 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedI have to go to the local post office today to drop a Circle journal in the mail to my friend Colleen. A Circle Journal is a book that two people write in and send back and forth. Much like notes in high school. Lets us know what’s going on in the other one’s life. I like the Circle Journal.
I don’t like the post office. The line is always 25 people deep when I get there, and invariably half of them don’t speak English. Russian, Chinese, Spanish, anything but English. Yeah, that’s helpful when you get to the window. I feel a rant coming on…*rant* I’m all about keeping touch with your heritage. I think it’s wonderful that you can speak another language. I think you should keep doing that and pass that on to your children. But I also think if you’re living in America, you should learn English, dammit. If I went to France to live and didn’t speak French, would they make allowances for me? I think not. They would laugh at my ignorant American ass. But here…don’t speak English? Oh, that’s okay. Well, I don’t think it is. My ancestors had to learn English, goddammit. And they still could speak German at home. They all could speak German, even after they had been in this country for decades. But they spoke English when they went out in the world. *end rant*
So I’ll deal with that at the post office. And I will also deal with the world’s slowest postal employees. Because, dammit, Colleen needs our Circle Journal. And then I’ll go into Manhattan and whine about it to Rick and play with the Youngest.
Thought of the day: Denis Leary on Jim Henson - “If I die when I’m 56 years old and a fucking sock is singing at my funeral, I’m gonna pop out of the coffin and say “What the fuck is this?!?!?!?”
Rescue Me July 22, 2004 ~ 4:39 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedI watched Rescue Me last night on FX. No, I didn’t really watch it. After the first five minutes, I fixated on it. It was like the TV was the only thing in the room. And when it ended, I watched the encore presentation that followed, just in case I missed something the first time around.
What’s so great about this show? So many things. First, Denis Leary. I love his sense of humor. I’ve mentioned before that I own his No Cure For Cancer tape, and listened to the song “Asshole” so many times that I’ve about worn it out. He rants, but he’s got a point. I wish my rants had a point. Anyway, Rescue Me has his sense of humor - my favorite scene was where he was offering his kids money to talk about their mom’s new boyfriend. “Who knows about a plan to move to California? No one? Alright, that will be the $50 question.” But this is not all fun and games, kid. It’s poignant, too, in an off-beat way. It’s a show about the FDNY post-9/11. How could it not be? Denis Leary’s character lost four friends in 9/11, including his best friend and cousin, and is haunted by these dead and others. Hands down best shot of the whole first episode is him walking up the beach and his dead are following him, something he can never escape.
I can’t explain the show any better if you haven’t seen it, so watch it! Wednesdays at 10 PM, on FX.
