It’s Friday the 13th August 13, 2004 ~ 12:04 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedBad if you’re a Knight Templar, okay for everyone else. And how many of us are Knights Templar? Really, I learned this in The DaVinci Code. Friday the 13th is considered unlucky because it was on a Friday the 13th that the Pope sent out a command for the Knights Templar to be attacked. Unlucky ever since.
Unluckily here, we’re in for more rain. On top of the two days of flash flooding we’ve already had, thanks to asphalt and concrete convering everything so the rain has no place to run into, Charlie is coming. Who invited him? I know I didn’t. My little basement home is already so damp I’m sticking to the damn tile floor in my bare feet. My sheets are slimy feeling and lead me to hbave dreams of swimming in the ocean. And there’s mildew growing on my back wall. I’m not lying. There was apparently a flood down there a couple years before I moved in, and the mildew is in the walls because of that. Can’t get it out. Yuck.
I’m just gonna crank up the airconditioning this weekend in the hopes of drying out. I’d like to stop feeling like the captain of a submarine, ya know?
Well, day-mn August 12, 2004 ~ 4:51 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedTwo interesting things just happened here:
One, a totally irate student came in, yelled at my staff, intimidated them, and wouldn’t leave, even though my office was closed. I had to call Security on her ass. She was a big girl who could’ve easily taken my ass, especially with the golf umbrella she was holding. Scary when she was yelling, scarier when she was glaring at me silently, with her nostrils flaring. I was dealing with her calmly, but then she started yelling that she wanted to see the other auditors she had already intimidated.
I said “I’m the supervisor here, you need to talk to me at this point. They were right in what they told you, you won’t be graduating until September because you didn’t complete all your requirements prior to June 1.” She yells (and I couldn’t make this up if I tried) “I don’t care if you’re the supervisor. You can be all you want to be. I want you to tell me that I’m graduating in June.” Although I should have said “Damn skippy I can be all I want to be, I’m an army of one!”, I just told her I couldn’t do that, then informed her I was calling Security to escort her out. She stood there another few minutes to make sure I wasn’t bluffing, and after I got off the phone with Security, she walked out. I later found out that another part of the Registrar’s office had already called Security on her. I love working with the public.
Second, NJ’s Governor McGreevey has just resigned and come out of the closet in one fell swoop. I predict that the Republicans will have a field day with this. The Catholic Church will have an even bigger one - he was already banned from Communion for supporting Stem Cell Research.
Wowie. Fun day all around.
Rescue Me August 12, 2004 ~ 11:24 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedGood God, was everyone having sex on Rescue Me or what? Rick called about five minutes in, and I told him “Watch this show, they’re having sex.” His reply “They can’t have sex on cable.” My response “Flip the frickin’ channel, you’re missing it.” His reply “Damn. But they’re not actually having sex. She couldn’t keep looking at him like that unless she was double jointed if they were actually having sex.” We hung up. My mother called, and she was watching the show, too. I told her what Rick said. She said “Sure she could.” I said “I don’t think I could.” She replied “Yes you could, think about it.” I said “I don’t want to be having this conversation with my mother. I’m hanging up.” I hung up. And then I got to watch the rest of the episode in peace.
So, my critique: much better than last week, which was so pitiful I didn’t even write about it. Aside from the sex, which was fun to watch, of course, there was some great tension between Tommy, his wife, and her boyfriend (who was being a complete bastard and crossed the line in a couple of places, IMHO. Who is he to say who the daughter can go out with? She’s not his kid, or even stepkid!). I loved the church scene where all Tommy’s “dead” are gathered in the pew, and he catches a glimpse of his daughter among them - that was beautiful. And also loved the conversation between Tommy and his cousin about “the guilty look” and the “repertoire of faces”. Hysterical. I can’t wait till next week!
Oh, and Traci, it taped. The storms held off, and the cable stayed on. Week three in the can! 
Random musings August 11, 2004 ~ 3:24 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedFor starters, it’s suddenly pouring out. We’re talking rain of Biblical proportions, build an Ark, can’t see the other side of the Quad-type rain. Hope it clears up a little before I have to go wait for the bus and subway.
Second, I’ve realized why my posts sometimes devolve into incoherent ramblings in the middle. I’m writing most of these at work, and invariably I get called away from a post to work on something. Does this mean I’ll stop blogging at work. No, of course not. Just means that I need to write shorter posts. Or at least try not to walk away in the middle of a paragraph.
Third, I was really amused to see that certain members of my family who wished to consider me deceased are still reading my blog. How do I know this? Well, those of you with blogs already know. But for those family members, I’m gonna spell it out “Barney style,” as the saying goes. I’ve got a spiffy little tracker attached to this blog. I got it to see who was interested in what I was blogging about. The tracker tells me who visits, when they were here, for how long, and (here’s the best part) how they got here. So I know if you came in via…oh, I don’t know…a link sent to you via email. Just in case you were curious. Because hey, apparently some people just can’t get enough of the Rabid Rabbits and Psycho Squirrels. Including some random person who found me by Googling “rabid poptarts”. lol.
Last…it’s still raining. Pleh. But Rescue Me is on tonight!
The Great American Shout Out August 11, 2004 ~ 3:00 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedI don’t normally post emails verbatim on the blog (I think this is a first, as a matter of fact), but this was too good not to. Besides, I think I might have missed a few of you on email. But hey, I sent it to Rhonda! 
“Al Franken and Ben Wikler have called for:”THE GREAT AMERICAN SHOUT-OUT”At the moment Bush appears on television to accepthis party’snomination for reelection, Americans everywhere willfling open theirwindows and yell out a message:”FUGGEDABOUDIT!”"
The Village August 11, 2004 ~ 11:09 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedI saw it! I finally saw it! And my advice to all of you is…go see it! So, so, so much better than the regrettable Signs (which was my first date with Rick, btw.) Whereas the highlight for me in Signs was recognizing someone I knew (the crusty shopkeeper watching TV), The Village was great start to finish. I couldn’t tell you my favorite part. It had twists and turns in the tradition of The Sixth Sense, and while I could predict some of them, the final twist I didn’t see coming at all. Of course, I didn’t see the final twist coming in Sixth Sense, either. Maybe I am slow.
Overall, a great story. Not scary in the slasher-movie sense of the word, but there were a couple of jump-worthy spots, and a few people in the theatre with us shrieked a little. It’s beautifully shot - one thing you have to say for Shyamalan is that he has a wonderful eye for the camera. And yes, he does have a cameo. It was a fun night, and for anyone who was pissed at Signs like I was for actually showing the aliens for seemingly no reason: The Village shows the “aliens” (in this case called “Those We Do Not Speak Of”…a little Harry Potter-esque, but hey) and there’s a reason. And it works! I don’t want to give anything away, but I’ll give it some high praise. I didn’t see any plot holes. And it was a real thriller.
One more time…go see it.
On day 6 of the boss’s vacay… August 10, 2004 ~ 4:03 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed…the substitute supervisor actually caught up with her own work, in addition to doing everyone else’s work. And there was great rejoicing throughout the office. Or at least in one small corner of the cubicle kingdom.
Ah, hell, who am I kidding? I’m the only one with anything resembling a cubicle. And my “cube” is just a partition so that I am not looking the person whose desk is across from me directly in the face 24-7. A pox on open floor plan offices!
Did anyone see the Daily Show last night? Bill Clinton was a little serious, but I loved Jon Stewart. “Do you ever look at the Halliburton mess and just think, “C’mon, guys, Travelgate???”? And also loved putting the supposed Swift Vets in their place. Go, Jon!
I also just finished reading The DaVinci Code, at record pace. Even with work and staying with Rick Sunday night, I got the book read inside of 48 hours. It’s an excellent book (yeah, I know you told me so, Kimmie-san), and something that I think everyone would enjoy. Read it! Now!
Alright, I want to get some more work done before I leave so that I can do some of the things that have been sidelined in the past month. Catch ya all later.
Beatdown August 10, 2004 ~ 9:39 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedOkay, this one’s irking my taters, so here’s the recipient of my first Beatdown:
Students who email me from multiple email addresses requesting the same damn thing from all of them, and get huffy with me because they “haven’t received a response” although I emailed them twice at each address, and then proceed to misread the information I sent them when they finally bother to check their emails 5 days later and ask another stupid question, you deserve a beatdown with a copy of Outlook for Dummies!
Well, well, well. August 9, 2004 ~ 9:39 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedAccording to Senff’s blog, he’s going to be in New York September 18. Let’s see, it seems like something else is happening that weekend in NYC. What could it be? Hmmmm. Oh, yeah, the Miller Beer concert with all sorts of rock legends. I wonder if the vacation timing is purely coincidental, or if some British rock legends will also be in New York that weekend?
My head hurts & I want a beer August 9, 2004 ~ 4:32 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedJust got through with the task from hell at work. There is a problem student who has been hassling everyone in this college, it seems like, to get away with murder as far as degree requirements. Well, he got past his department chair but my supervisor caught him. Too bad she’s on vacation again this week and the student is meeting with my big boss tomorrow. So guess who got the whole shebang thrown on her today? That’s right, me. I’ve been sitting at my desk for a good hour and a half checking his transcript against the requirements for four majors, trying to find out where he has been “double dipping” (using the same courses for two different majors - a big no-no in these parts), seeing if there was any way he could actually get another major, checking his GPA, all that good stuff. And now my head hurts and I want beer. Or hard lemonade. Or something alcoholic, dammit.
And let me tell you, I’ve never met this student, but I despise him. I hope they kick him out on his ass. “Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you!” as I once heard on Jerry Springer.
Half hour, then I can get out of here. Thank Goddess.
