Well, I spent my day in a leisurely way... Got up LATE, went shopping with momma, did lunch, ran a couple errands, watched season one of Sex and the City, and talked to a few people before composing the daily blog entry. After talking to my mom about the newest blog members, she posed an interesting question: What does someone have to do to be a member? Very good question Miss Becky. Very good question indeed...

So that got me thinking. I talk to almost all my members on a regular basis, so I know it's not like they've fallen off the face of the earth. And I understand that you kids are VERY busy folks with wonderfully rich and meaningful lives, but here's the thing... I started this thing as an outlet for me to entertain others, and I invited others into the process so that I could also be entertained. (And while I will admit that I do get a great deal of entertainment from the comments I get from my regular readers, and I admit that a few people who I've been introduced to at parties and whatnot who have said "Oh, you're the girl who writes up Liz's Fun Time Happy Hour... I love that! My friend showed me, and it's so funny, I read it every day!" which I do find a little flattering and a little weird... Only because people who have never met me are keeping tabs on me daily, but I digress.)

So anyway, I ask myself, what am I requiring of my contributors? The fact is that I originally placed no constraints on how much or how little my friends and co-conspirators would put in, because I wanted this to be a fun, laid-back thing that people enjoyed reading and jointly PARTICIPATING in! So here's the thing... I looked at the situation with my poor dear Dave. If Dave can find the time to read my recent mangle of thoughts, and compose an entry in spite of all his assorted family drama, surely my other members can pry themselves away from their business for 5 minutes to drop a line or two on the blog, right? I mean, I'm not asking for a once-a-day commitment or anything. Hell if I were to get one entry a week from all the people who have been invited to publish posts, I'd be tickled pink... I'd be beside myself! But the fact is that I don't expect that now either. (But I don't think that between 5 and 15 minutes a week would be too much to ask...) At this point I'll say that I'll take whatever I can get, but that's only because I know a lot of my contributors don't have access to cable internet during the summer, and I don't wish dial-up internet usage on anyone! But once summer ends, I'm putting the smack down kids! Believe it!

I don't want this turning into a full-on rant, so I'll just quit while I'm ahead. Wear a lifejacket when boating or participating in other watersports, always swim with a buddy, and enjoy the quote of the day!

QOTD
8.2.04 - "I hate you and your choco-cremes! But my ass thanks you, because it was just telling me the other day that it needed something else to hold onto!" ~ Becky

(Oh, and for those of you who don't know what choco-cremes are, you're missing out on a thin slice of heaven, so come to the Ville and give them a try sometime!)

The Admiral is back... I've made arrangements for Kirsten to contribute once she is back online and in communications. So we welcome another new member to the blog... Even though we know she won't contribute for a little while. Meanwhile we anticipate the introduction of an Evansville contingent, Miss Brittany Griggs! She should be joining us within the next week or so and enlightening us with her entries from the Ville and all the joys of USI! Special-Griggs is joining the happy hour because she is considering starting her own blog to keep herself occupied in her typical Evansville boredom, and she wanted to get her feet wet here. I know you kids will just love her, because she rocks.

I talked to Phil, he's still beat from his trip to Vegas, (because he did it right) and based on the specific viewing of all the phone calls, I just gotta say that this poor guy just has to have the worst phone-call-timing EVER. I mean really. He called during VERY tense moments in sporting events, he called when I was trying to wrangle a 2 year old and a 100 lb dog, there were other instances too, but you get the picture! If he wasn't so sweet, we might have a problem here, but he's just as endearing as he can be.

As for Thursday evening, things went well, dinner at O'Charlie's is never bad, tot wrangling went pretty well, and I have no real complaints... I should go ahead and post the most amusing exchange I had with my sister today:

Becky: Jessica, go watch him.
Jessica: What? Nobody else cares anymore?
Liz and Becky: Nope.
Liz: He's replaceable! Eh, you've got another one on the way, nobody will even notice he's gone.
Becky: I would... I'd get more sleep!

As far as everything else goes, I'll go ahead and give a shoutout to C-Murda, because I can! She's my girl!

Look both ways before crossing the street, and enjoy they quote of the day!

QOTD
8.1.04 - "OH, it's so weird that you show up now! We totally had a Scheller moment a couple hours ago... That fuckin' hearse pulled up next door again! And I said 'Is that a fuckin hearse?' and here you are, just a couple hours later!" ~Momma Griggs

Hey, everybody... let's give our newest member a warm welcome!

Welcome to the program LuRK!!!!
(that's Leo to you other folks)

and in other news, it's Feeney's birthday!!

Happy Birthday Emily Feeney!

 

Well a fine, good morning to you my friend!
I think it's official. Not only am I turning into one of those girls I hate, I'm also going to hell again. (The latter is not a direct result of the former, but both are bad, and they both warranted mentioning.)
So what makes me think that I'm turning into one of those girls I hate? Well only a few people are going to hear all about that one... the people who I trust to love me anyway, in spite of my slow decent into loathesomeness.
As for me going to hell, Ben and I discussed it, and the fact is that while I am bound to be in really good company, I am still rather upset about going to hell. It's going to happen, and not because of something as innocuous as calling my mother a Lep, or joking with Murda about a guy with one leg. No, it's much worse. This has pretty much cemented my place in hell, right next to Stalin and my philosophy professor Dr. Seigfried. It's just a reality I've come to terms with. (Murda, DO expect a phone call about all of this.)
Fortunately there are some things that have gone quite well.I got my new phone yesterday, a day earlier than expected, (which is saying a lot for the fine people at UPS and Nokia).
I have plans to go to lunch and a movie with my mom, because she has the later half of the day off, and that rocks.
After that I have plans to go out and hang with my sister and the man (My nephew is the man!) and go to dinner with them because my step-mom will be in town.
I hope this brings all you kids up to speed, I know a few of you Chicagoans are keeping tabs on me via the blog, so that's the itenerary for today.
Maybe a night out with Special-Griggs is in order... we'll see!
Don't run with scissors, and I'll catch you on the flipside!

Well kids, here's the latest scoop.

Jennie is big-pimpin in Chicago while I'm away. She misses me, but her harem of men has been keeping her busy in my absence.

I'm finally getting my new phone tomorrow, which means that I will be able to call people with the number 8 in their phone numbers once again!

Lunch with Becky was GOOOOOOD. Never underestimate the value of time and money spent at Red Lobster!

Margarita night with mom was not good, because I was forced to listen to her co-worker bitch and moan about how awful her life is. LAME-O! I thought the margaritas were good until I realized that the mix was way too sweet and it made my tummy hurt. I went to bed early.

I also spent part of yesterday visiting with the A.O. crew. They love me, they miss me, I'm still glad I didn't return this year, and all is right with the world. Even going on my very VERY limited time there this summer, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this will be Ethan's last year. I think he's gotten a little too fed up with the bullshit downtown, and in typical Evansville Parks and Recreation fashion, they have run off another of their best workers. Lock-dog will most likely also be done after this year... 7 years is a long time. No shame in hanging up the whistle now. I'll still have to stop out at Lloyd pool, visit the whipper-snappers out there.

I still haven't called Shannon, even though like 8 people have asked me about it. I'll probably do that sometime this weekend. I'll also have to paint some this weekend... I really gotta wrap up the Faith project, and send it on it's way. (I know it would be appreciated no matter when it arrives, but I think the sooner it's done the better) (And by the way, the people at the airport LOVED it.) Well, I gotta get moving, so I'll check back in with all you kids later on! BE GOOD!

QOTD  (In honor of my return to the A.O.)
7.29.04 - "Scheller, you know, after last year, I never thought I'd say this, but man... I miss you! And to be quite honest I wish we'd have gotten you back this year! It has sucked without you!" ~ Ethan Browning

7.30.04 - "This summer has sucked without you! Scheller, we need you back... We needed you for cross-words... They're really hard without you here!" ~ Special-Griggs!

7.31.04 - "I broke a guy's nose! I broke a guy's nose playing volleyball, and my team said the hit looked really good too!" ~ Special-Griggs

I'm sorry Liz. I just haven't been infront of the computer much the last couple weeks. Here's an update for you.

-Met a girl. her name is Aaryn (wierd). She must be cool cause i spent 48 straight hours with her and we didn't try to kill each other. I'm afraid i'm just using her as a security blanket... haven't had the time/energy to contemplate though

-Grandfather is dieing. He's down to 120 pounds and is unable to talk. I'm dealing with it well, but the family is taking it really hard. My grandmother is his second wife so there are two families fighting over control of the situation. It's tough, I've been on the edge of tears for so long now. That's life though huh

-switched to the day shift at work. which is cool, but there is so much to do. I can't get much time to myself and i'm pooped by the time i get home. It's kinda scary cause i don't know everything i need to to do the job well, so I'm becoming a thorn to the people around me. Luckily I learn quickly.

-Friends from the past have recently come back into my life. Which is cool. A buddy I hadn't talked to in 3 years invited me out a couple weeks ago and we've been going to gym together ever since. He's the only person of real importance, but I've talked to 4 other people I hadn't seen since high school in as many weeks. Through these contacts I've found many bars i didn't even know existed. Hooray beer!

-Went through 1600 bucks last time i was in NYC(3 or 4 weeks ago) and still haven't recovered. So my diet has been downgraded to beer and raman only. I've found it a great way to loose weight though and have dropped to just under 200 pounds. I'm pretty sure that's a healthy weight for someone of my height (6'2" or 3").

-Lastly, while all this is going on I've been playing referee in some twisted game of wits inwhich there are three teams: Mom, Dad and brother. My brother decided he'd rather live with mom than suffer through his teen years with dad. Dad is hurt, as he should be, and has taken an aggressive approach to the situation. Mom has been forced into playing an aggressive defense and neither will talk to the other at this point. My brother has been chastised by everyone 'cause he spent the entire summer sitting on his butt instead of finding a job. Of course i'm the only person who hasn't pissed anyone off so i'm forced to pass messages and pacify egos.

I don't know. I guess everyone has things like this going on in their lives. I'm dealing as well as I can, just feel spread kinda thin. I'll call ya chica.

Well, for those of you who have been keeping tabs on little Faith, (who you might know as the reason for the Faith project,) she has passed on. After 7 and a half weeks of bringing joy into the lives of everyone who ever knew her or heard about her, little Faith has left us. We are grateful for the time we did get because it was so much more than we had ever originally hoped for. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all your thoughts and prayers, as they are greatly appreciated. The bright point of light in all of this is that we've got another person on our team up there, just one more person looking out for us.

****Faith Anne Messina ~ 6.1.04 - 7.25.04****
 
On a lighter note, I want to congratulate Ben on FINALLY turning 21! Way to go Ben! You made it! Now we can party out on the town with you, instead of keeping it in the confines of our places of residence!

As far as the rest of my homecoming has gone, I'm still pretty happy about being here. Within 10 minutes of my arrival in town I ran into a guy who I briefly dated last summer, and a guy who I worked with three years ago (he sucked at life almost as much as he sucked at lifeguarding, so we made him cry and eventually he called it quits... No loss). I gave Lauren a call, (I don't know why...) and her birthday celebration is this weekend but I will not be able to attend because it's up at the cabins and I'm too poor to finance the necessary liquor purchases and gas for the trip. I ran into coach Lensing (HS soccer) at the grocery store, and I remembered why I never liked her.  All that aside, I had a pretty mundane first full day back in the Ville... Got up, ran errands, dental appointment, lunch, more errands, visit with sisters and the man, dinner, and some whatnot... You know. Nothing special. Tomorrow holds a lot of promise though, because I've got lunch with Becky and margarita night with my mom. Fun times.

I guess I should go ahead and note that free laundry rocks, and that dial-up internet service makes me want to kill myself. And I still miss my Dave! (Dave, call me when you get a chance hun. I never know when to call you anymore because you keep changing up the schedule!)

QOTD
7.28.04 - (talking with Becky about the bun in the oven)
Liz: Well, what do you want?
Becky : [very quickly, and very sure] GIRL! Er, um... I mean it doesn't matter, as long as it's healthy.

OK, so here it is… THE LONG-AWAITED COLUMBIA RANT! (And like I said before, this entry is not in any way shape or form an attack on my former-roommates, so if that's what you're looking for, just don't even waste your time.)

Let's start at the beginning shall we? Early last June Emily and I left our respective homes to come up to the city and find some new digs! So we looked at a bunch of ads, we talked to an apartment finder service, and we happened across an ad hanging on a doorpost. We found the address listed and took a look. It was nice, or so we thought.  Late last July moving day rolled around, and the apartment looked exactly the same as the day we looked at it before. Meaning the place had not been cleaned. And by that, I don't mean that it had been given a once over so that it at least met minimally livable conditions ... NO. While the landlady had told us that the carpets had been cleaned, amazingly we still managed to fill an entire full-size vacuum bag with all the crap still on the floors the first time we vacuumed. Funny, usually when someone has the carpets cleaned professionally all that crap gets picked up, not left for the tenants to pick up with a normal vacuum. Sarah (the landlady) also mentioned that the whole place had been re-painted before our move-in date. Once again this is very amusing because there were stains from a beverage that had been splashed or something on the walls and ceiling of the front room.

Since we're on the topic of the front room (for those of you familiar with the layout this became known as the sunroom, the blue room, or my studio) Other problems with the front room included baseboards so filthy that my mom and I had to scrub them with a toothbrush, and they were still NASTY. Not to mention the screens that were on the windows, that is, if you can call those screens. The windows that actually had screens on them had screens that had so many slices and holes in them that they might as well not have even been there. Screens are usually in the windows to keep dirt and bugs and the like outside… well we'll get to the bug problem in a minute, but let's just say I was less afraid of ANY bug that could have flown in my window than those already dwelling in the apartment. But I digress, back to the windows and screens. Throughout the apartment, the majority of the windows did not stay open on their own. Instead they had to be propped open with a large assortment of items, from fans, to other screens, to pieces of wood, to phone books and pens. This was not the only problem with the windows... I should mention that in several of the windows there was a large collection of cigarette butts, pennies, garbage, candy wrappers, and other assorted filth that had no business there if someone had supposedly cleaned before we moved in.

Moving on back to the living room we'll address the most significant of problems that seemed to get its start here. BUGS! And when I say bugs, I don't mean we had an ant problem or even cockroaches... Cockroaches I could have dealt with, but no, instead we had something that was a cross between the nastiest, creepiest, and crawliest of bugs... It was what appeared to be half silverfish and half centipede.  Now admittedly, as far as girls go, I'm not the most feminine or girly, but the sight of one of these things crawling on the wall, or ceiling, or floor was enough to make me squeal, and get on top of a table in terror. Unfortunately my roommates were apparently even more terrified because I usually had to "be the man" and take care of it. My skin is crawling now, just thinking about these suckers, so let's move on.

I suppose that since we're on the topic of pests, I should mention that for a brief time we also had mice... It's not really a fun thing to be sitting on your floor, and catch a glimpse of something moving only to find on closer inspection that it is, in fact, a small grey rodent winking at you. These are not the kinds of little friends I want in my place of residence. 

My room is next in line, so let's just go there. I'm going to pretend that I didn't know it was an easy little walk for the critters who made their home in the living room, because I only ever saw one or two in my room, and that was only at the height of their existence when they were in EVERY room on occasion. My room wasn't really supposed to be a bedroom, it was originally planned as a dining room, but once I had curtains up it wasn't so bad as a bedroom. I actually rather liked having it up in the front because it afforded me privacy and space that the spare room (the tiny room that should have been my room) could not. My only real beef with my room was less with the location of my room, and more with the location of our building. But since this was a problem I experienced most often in my bedroom I'll go ahead and place it here. My room was located on the east wall of the apartment building, and this means that it abutted an alley which was frequented not only by the normal traffic of cars, but also by thugs looking for a fight, drunks looking for a place to pee, and the assortment of neighborhood bums… but all these things are a part of living in the two - six, so these were the least of my problems. The real problem came around between 6 and 7 AM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Yes, that's right; the garbage men don't care if you're a snoozing college student who has just pulled an all-nighter to get your lab results and your research project in APA format for your 9 am class, or if you're trying to sleep off your hangover from last night's drinking binge, they just care about dumping that dumpster, and doing it in the loudest and longest possible way. After enough of this, we not-so-much-morning-people seriously consider homicide as a very serious option. Unfortunately the knowledge that the garbage company would just send another truck with more guys makes this a less-than-practical option to start the homicide for beginners program. Other than that, my room was pretty sweet.

Up next is the kitchen. Our green tiled kitchen that had tiles coming off the walls, a linoleum tile floor that had been blackened from lack of cleaning, an oven vent that very obviously had been CHEAPLY replaced with a vent that did not fit the intended space, a garbage disposal that despite being "fixed" three times worked for a grand total of about a week the whole time we lived there, and assured us of having only one properly functioning/draining side of the sink... Obviously we were making great strides at quality in the kitchen. The fridge was ok until the start of August, but rather quickly declined in functioning thereafter. And so the landlady came twice to have it "fixed" as well, but when it's the middle of summer in the city, in an apartment with no air conditioning, and the fridge and freezer are consistently as warm and stale as the inside of the dishwasher, we got a little tired of having to wait for a repairman. Eventually, after a few attempts at repairing the old crap-hatch fridge, and once all our food had spoiled, and Emily's insulin became questionable we asked for a replacement. We got one.

 Next came the room that was originally intended to be my room. The tiny spare room was just that, tiny. We never really used it for anything other than storage, so no real problems there. Moving on down the line... We head to the bathroom.

 The pink bathroom was such a joy to all of you who experienced it, wasn't it? For those of you who didn't ever have the pleasure of seeing it for yourself, it was a tiled wonder, roughly the shade of pepto-bismol. Toilet function was fine, sink function was fine, so the regular temporary daily guests never got the full understanding of the joys of the pink bathroom. Those who had any extended stay started to understand. But only living there can make it fully rant-worthy.  From the day I moved in until the day I moved out we told Sarah (landlady) about the tiles coming off the wall in the shower. For those of you who  A) did not see this particular case for yourself, or B) don't know anything about tiles in showers, this problem could have been easily solved with a little bit of silicone caulk if it had been taken care of right off the bat. And like I said, on move-in day I could see this being a problem, so I went ahead and mentioned it to Sarah to try to nip it in the bud before it became a bigger problem, but she didn't bother to fix it when it was easy, water seeped into the cracks and the wall rotted away to nothing, and the tiles fell off to reveal a big nasty black hole. Of course, when I called to tell Sarah about this, it wasn't fixed right then either. It took her a couple of weeks to get back to me and then she just decided to put up a shower curtain on the window side to prevent more water from getting in the hole in the wall. Three months later, when it was time to move out, the hole was still there, but it was no longer our problem. On more than one occasion we had to call in the plumber because taking a shower meant that the water you were showering with would turn into a bath for your feet and ankles, often right up to your mid calves. This doesn't seem so bad on the face of things, but when that water SLOWLY drains away, you are left with the nastiest layer of scum and filth on the sides and bottom of the tub that you can imagine… You don't realize just how grubby you are until your shower drain stops working.

As far as the two back bedrooms, the adjoining room and the other bathroom, I can't really comment on them because I was never back there. (That was pretty much exclusively the roommates' domain, so I didn't spend much, if any, time back there.)

So there you have it, the Columbia Rant. I hope it lived up to all your expectations, and I'm sorry if you guys think I left something out... If I left anything out, anything about the apartment itself that I bitched to my readers and friends about, just let me know, and I'll write up any necessary amendments. Otherwise, I think this rather lengthy entry about covers it... Damn near 2,000 words on the matter.

As far as the new place goes, just about all the very small kinks ironed out. The dishwasher is fixed, the walls were painted the day after we moved in, the tiles in the bathroom were replaced, and now all we have to deal with is the occasional hiccup with the building's internet network, and the way that our kitchen sink has been a little off since we got the dishwasher fixed.

That's that. So here's the quote of the day:
QOTD
7.25.04 - "Can you imagine passionately moaning 'Oh, Larry'?" ~Jennifer talking about Larry.

7.26.04 - "Bring me your groin!" ~Chris (fortunately she's a trainer!)

7.27.04 - "Where did you find this boy, a magical treasure chest?" ~ Kirsten

Yeah... I'm not going to lie. I was really not seeing this Phil thing panning out. Before the date even began, I was actually trying to figure out ways to bail early if my hunch proved correct. But I made the decision to go ahead and give it a shot because there was nothing for me to lose by going... Fortunately for all parties, my hunch was wrong, and instead of counting down the minutes and seconds until it was over, I had a great date! Phil was nervous and charming, and brought me roses. He was very sweet and polite. And basically I had a terriffic time! 

I know a few of you have gotten all of the details of the evening... and I'm sorry if I bored you girls with what I considered the highlights of what I considered to be a great date, but I was overdue, so I was dying to share!

So that's the short version.

As for today, I got up, got my nails done, ran around with C for a bit, we watched the game (cubs win), and painted a bit. Phil gave me a cursory day-after-date call, thus sealing his place in the Lizzle good date hall of fame. I think I'm going to go ahead and put up the quotes of the day, and stop boring you kids with this nonsense!

QOTD
7.21.04 - "Yeah, well, I mooned the easter bunny." ~ Phil

7.22.04 - (I'm going to double up on the days because we were quoting the lines while watching Top Gun) "I feel the need... the need for speed!"  and "Never leave your wingman!"- C

7.23.04 -
Liz: "You can be my wingman anytime!"
C: "You can be mine!"

7.24.04 -
Liz: "This is what we train for!"
C: Yeah, I'm going to have to use that one on my team at our last game... aww hell, I'll probably use it at the first game!

There are a lot of things that really confuse me. Boys for example. They are by far the top on my list of confusing things. They claim to be such simple creatures, but nothing could be further from the truth. Take for example the fact that for a little while now, I was in a personal drought where I couldn't get a decent looking guy to even look in my general direction, but now all of a sudden I've got boys out the wazoo. I don't get how I'm repulsive for so long and all of a sudden I've got like 5 guys vying for my attention. And doesn't it just figure that I hit a good stride less than a week before I'm due to go home for an extended period of time? I think that's just my luck. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that.
 
Another thing that confuses me is how to deal with an insult when it comes from someone who is supposed to be my friend. (I'm sure that she'll read this, so I'm not even going to try and dance around the name) I was actually quite insulted when Rachel called me this evening to find out about the finish of the Cubs game. I was not offended that she called, but when the conversation turned to her having to work in the morning, she called me a "lazy-ass" and I resent that quite a lot. I understand that Rachel has two jobs right now, and that I'm not working at this particular moment (Because I CHOSE to take a week off before going home,) but she called me a LAZY ASS! And I'm not gonna lie, that kinda pissed me off. And while I only took exception to it while we were on the phone, the more I thought about it, the more upset it made me. Maybe it's just me. I don't know.
 
Anyway, I've supposedly got a date with Phil tomorrow, and I'm also supposed to see Alana late in the evening because she is coming to the city for the VanHalen concert. (which I had a chance to get tickets to, but couldn't because they were a bit out of my price range at the moment... and that's another pisser!) I might use that to get out of the date, because I really don't see this Phil thing going anywhere... But if the date starts off well enough, then I think Alana would understand if I spent the evening seeing where that goes. She's awesome like that!
 
Side note: Since I had a job for another week, I'll do the Columbia rant THIS WEEK... IT WILL BE UP BEFORE I GO HOME!

HOLY COW... LIFE IS GOOD! This was a truly terrific weekend for the Lizzle! Friday was a quiet night in because I knew I had my last day of work on Saturday. Work went well, and I came home, got a nap in and got ready for a fun night. Alana came into the city, and so me, Jen, Ben and Spoolie (Lana-mama) drank heavily here for a few hours, and then Ben left to go to some party off the blue line, and we three ladies went down to southport. We went to Cullen's and Blue Bayou, had a few rounds, and went to Wrigleyville where we started a round, and Jennie started feeling bad. The plan was for us to follow Jennie out the door once we finished our round, but Alana wanted to dance, so we danced, and Jennie couldn't find us, so she left. Alana and I danced for a while, I found a boy to dance with, and kiss, so it was worth sticking around. (Speaking of that boy, I think he broke some kind of boy-law, because he called me today... And I thought it was against the rules for boys to call girls the next day.) And at some point I did drunk-dial Nate. So anyway, Alana and I ended up walking home... Yes, we walked all the way from Wrigley to my apartment! We were joined by some weird little Mexican guy, who didn't speak the best of english, and I didn't remember his name more than 5 seconds after he left us. But we got home a little after 3 and all in all it was a really good night out. I got up this morning to see my Spoolie off, and then went back to bed for a little bit, got p again, and got ready to go to the game.
 
It was a GREAT day at the ball park, sunny, warm but not hot, a nice breeze blowing in. The seats we had were SPECTACULAR! Only five rows behind home plate... And I got to see my husband pitch, so it was great! The only way it could have been better is if it had been a win. But it was still a GREAT day at the ballpark! I came home and took a nice nap, and got a call from Phil (the guy from the bar) and he wants to go out sometime this week, so that's a bonus! That pretty much wraps things up in a tidy little bow.
 
Here are some really great quotes of the day:
 
QOTD
7.17.04 - "She can ride a pelvis like no other!" ~Ben talking about some girl.
 
7.18.04 - "Or, just shoot it in my face, yeah! That's a new one!" ~ Jennifer (and yes, she was talking about that sexually!)
 
7.19.04 -
Ciara: "Oh it says I need fertilizer for it"
Chris: "You don't need fertilizer... Just poop on it."
 
7.20.04 - "Well, I called him an ass-fucker, but I said it in the most loving ass-fucker way possible" ~Jennie talking about her now homosexual ex boyfriend

I don't know why I even bothered to invite people to contribute on here... Nobody does it. I've gotten like 2 entries out of Dave, but he has since fallen off the face of the planet, and pretty much everybody else has been loafing on the job. Lazy bastards. Am I gonna have to put the smack down on you jack-mo's?
 
As for everything else that's going on at the moment;
I got free books, I need a pedicure, I fully intend to soak my co-workers at work on my last day, Atkins diet still sucks, Alana is gonna come to town to party down, and I'm going to the Cubs game on Sunday (5 rows behind home plate!!!) HOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAY! Life is good.
 
 
QOTD
7.16.04 - "What can I say? I get drunk, I get naked!" ~ Jennifer.

Well good evening all, after being without internet access for the better part of 3 days (which is maddening for someone like me, who has a very serious internet addiction,) the internet is FINALLY back on! In the meantime, my few loyal readers have called in complaints of going through blog withdrawal. (My own mother called in a complaint, despite talking to me on the phone every day... ) What can I say to that?  I don't know... But I'm back now, so take a couple of deep breaths to calm down and compose yourself. It's all going to be ok. I PROMISE. So the last few days have treated me kindly.  I had Monday, Tuesday, and today off! It has afforded me some time to go to the beach, shop, and paint (three things that you all know I LOVE!!)  I also took some time out to schedule my trip home, scheduled my visit with Cousin Tarreck (and scheduled in a Cubs game!) and found out that I'm going to be an aunt again! My oldest sister is preggers again! YAAAAAY!
 
 So tomorrow is Friday, which means it's pay day, and almost my last day of work! Yep, that's right, Saturday is it for my flower slingin' days this summer! So Saturday night we're celebrating! Alana will be in town, Ben will be coming over, Jen will be around, and I'll see if Nate-y-kins and company would be willing to try again at that rockstar effort. (This will only fuel the rumors of my attempts at boss seduction, I'm sure, but I'll risk it!) 
 
During the internet outage, we also saw the this year's Midsummer Classic... Better known to the masses as the MLB All Star Game! The AL with their Yankee-fied manufactured team won the rights to home field advantage over the real players of the NL. I guess I should mention that Bill Simmons wrote an article singing the praises of Houston... Yes, that's right! He hated it only a few short months ago, and now he loves it... I guess that's what a Superbowl win will do for you. Here's a link to the full article, but I'll just give you my favorite part here: "One other highlight: When Sarah Silverman was asked the old, 'All right, if you could make out with anyone playing in the game, who would it be?' question, she glanced around and saw [Matthew] Modine, Charlie [Maher] (Bachelorette reject), [Nick] Lachey and the Apprentice Guy, finally answering, 'I guess Ernie Banks.' These are the moments that should make the actual telecast." I should actually warn you, you won't really see a lot of the comedy in this article unless you have a basic knowledge of the old-school baseball players.
 
As for today, I slept in, went to the beach, came home and worked out, showered, napped, read, and watched my Cubbies cruise to victory over the Brewers. Laughed at some Craig Counsell batting, and as an important side note, I'll say that we are very troubled over the loss of Mark Prior, this time for elbow discomfort. Kyle also had a spotty inning with a sterling finish. That hippie needs a haircut like it's nobody's business though! He's not quite to Johnny Damon status of needing a haircut, but still...
 
Well, that's the recap for now... So here's the quote of the day!
 
QOTD
7.15.04 - (I had just finished answering a customer's question)
"Hey, uhh... Was he a he?" ~Chris K.
 

Happy Homerun Derby day!!!

Went shopping with C today out at Old Orchard (never a cheap trip) But anyway... C is uber-excited about getting her new laptop, and tomorrow I'll be painting... Putting final touches on the Faith project. It's a sad way to spend the day, but it's an act of love. As for everything else, Jennie's doing something illegal at work... But we don't know what it is or why, Alana is considering coming to the city this weekend to party, and Ben is less than 2 weeks away from being 21. That's the daily status update.

QOTD -
7.13.04 -
Liz: "Yeah, C, I'm practicing the fine art of boss-seduction"
C: "Yeah well, it's not a skill that everyone has... You've just got your hand in the right pocket!"

7.14.04 - "whoa! My butt is vibrating!!!" ~C

Baseball fans will understand why this gets it's own entry:


HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
GRIFFEY TORE HIS HAMSTRING!
BAAAAAAHHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA!

Well well well... Welcome back to the Happy Hour, children! I hope that everyone else had a stupendous weekend. I know I did. Friday night was a pleasant night in, time to watch a couple movies, paint, etc. I stayed up late to work on the Faith project, and got up to go to work on Saturday. C had a headache, so I had the joy of the old commute on the train and the bus. I arrived at Evanston, and within 10 minutes, we were done, so we went out to the Virus (Niles West) and we kinda putzed around until lunch time. While at lunch, Nate called, convinced that we were deliberately avoiding him... After missing him once again at lunch time (which only fueled his suspicions of avoidance) we met up at Niles and got some actual work done. About that time C showed up because she was just THAT BORED. We had some laughs, made Chris crazy for a little bit, found out that Nate apparently does not have a bellybutton, and at 3:30 I took off. I ran to Jewel for some liquor, took a shower, and got a nap in, so I could be fully charged for the impending night out. Jennie and company went out to dinner, C crapped out on us to go and do RA stuff, and I waited for Nate... And then I waited some more... And when I thought I was done waiting, I waited some more. Things being the way they are in Alabama, and getting a rather grim update didn't improve my mood and desire to go out. But after a couple of phone calls, it was time for me to get out to the bar, and get drinkin! After completely missing the free beverages at HiTops, Nate magically appeared and we all met up at Barleycorn's. (Apparently SOMEONE forgot to set an alarm, and didn't even wake up until 9:45) In spite of the late start, we still had a very good time. After several rounds, and lots of laughs, we were of the opinion that it was time to move on. So we walked down to O'Hagans, but decided to forego O'Hagans and go to some other place down on Belmont. We had a round, and someone decided that we needed to go get some food. So we walked down to Clark's and as soon as they were ready to seat us everyone crapped out on us, so Nate and I were the only ones left, but we had a decent meal, and a nice conversation, and at about 3 we decided to call it a night. It wasn't a rockstar effort, but still a very good time! High quality all around.

I'm going to steal Jennie's Brian!! He's a doll!

QOTD
7.11.04 -
Bret: "Hey Liz, can I call you Jiz?"
Liz: "Yeah, you can call me Jiz, but only if I get to call you Bertie"
Bret: "Bertie? That means I get to call someone else TALKIE! We're quite a group, Jiz, Talkie and Bertie!"

7.12.04 - "Here, hold my wallet and my keys, I'll hold my boobs and run!" ~Jennifer

Work today was a riot. Very little actual work was done, but there was a lot of laughter. The highlight of the day came pretty late when we were out at Niles (also known as "The War Zone") after significant rain impeded our efforts, we elected to make signs and such to pass the time. So when the time came to put the signs up, Nate climbed up on the racks, and put the tape on his bottom lip so that he could use both hands to put the sign up... While this doesn't seem nearly as funny in print, seeing a guy with a large roll of tape dangling from his bottom lip actually is quite amusing. As if I was not already amused enough, the time came for Nate to use the tape and he tried to pull it off. This presented a bit of a problem. As he began to peel the tape off, panic set in. Nate's bottom lip is coming down, his eyes are bugging out, and the laughter begins. By the time I realize that he has pulled off part of his lip, drawn blood, and is apparently very near being in tears, I am literally on the floor, rolling with laughter, laughing so hard I'm crying and nearly wetting my pants! I had to apologize later for laughing at the poor guy because he was in pain, and he did draw blood.

I think I'm forgiven. And if I'm not forgiven today, then tomorrow I will be for sure, because he's coming over for a few rounds on Winona, and then we're going out to get obliterated. I look forward to these things. (I look forward to them quite a lot!) The down side to today was that the idiots at Home Depot-Evanston sold my orchid, even after I expressly told them that I was coming back for it, and I put it inside the cash register kiosk. BASTARDS! And the true low point of the day came just after work when I got a call from Ashlei. All was going well, and then she dropped the bomb on me. She is not returning in the fall. Instead she will be going to Bowling Green. This makes me very very sad. We will miss her immensely. It would have been easier to take if there had been some kind of indication that she was even thinking about transferring, and if she had told me sooner after the decision was made. I understand and accept that her happiness comes first, but that doesn't mean that we won't miss her like the dickens. Fortunately she will be visiting next weekend, and several more times throughout the coming year if all goes according to plan.

Poor Faith's condition has been rapidly deteriorating, so the need to get to work on the painting has become greater than ever. (That is, in fact, how I'm spending my evening tonight) I also have other projects lined up for my brother, my oldest sister Becky, Mark, Rachel, my mom, and one for the new apartment... So with that laundry list of things to work on, I better get going on those! You kids behave and I'll let you know how things go.

QOTD
7.10.04 - "Well if it hasn't already happened, you will lose every remaining ounce of respect once we go out drinkin' on Saturday." ~Nate

This week has been pretty quiet, I get up, I go to work, I sling flowers, I come home, I eat some dinner, watch the Cubbies, catch the 10PM SportsCenter, the 11PM airing of the Sunday night sex show, and go to bed so that I can do it all again. That's pretty much it. As a pleasant change of pace, the plan for tonight was to have dinner, chill for a bit and then go out for drinks with Nate, Shannon, and Dustin, but things didn't pan out, so we'll just have to drink at hi-tops on Saturday. (For those of you who are interested in attending the VIP party Saturday night, contact me for details.) As for Friday, I wanna see Anchorman, so if anyone is up to an evening at the movies, give me a call or an IM to let me know. Anyway, life is pretty monotonous (but delightfully so) at the moment, so I'll give you the quotes of the day for yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and let that be that.

QOTD
7.7.04 - "Yeah well I finally got so bored that for the last hour or so I've been sitting here actually talking to the snoods." ~The Admiral

7.8.04 - "I HAVE GAS!" ~Ciara

7.9.04 - "Yeah, well I have to admit that now that I think about it, when I did it, it was mildly arousing!" ~Kirsten on wiping her ass with her March madness 2004 bracket.

I'm glad that I didn't immediately launch a personal attack on Erin and Emily yesterday evening like I really wanted to. Because today I gave it some thought, and you know what, it's not worth it. I had a conversation with Erin yesterday evening that informed me that the away message she had up was not about me, but based on the rest of that conversation, it might as well have been. Basically she informed me that it was obvious that we were not friends anymore, even while we were living together. (This actually was news to me) Yes, it was obvious that we were not close friends, but I'd still have called both of them friends. And while I have thought better of it all, and have decided I am not going to launch a personal attack on here and hash out all my grievances, I will say that I put forth a consistent effort to better our friendship, but was so consistently rebuffed that it became quite obvious that they were not interested in being better friends with me. But still, that's not what this is about. This entry is to announce that there is no real animosity here, and what happened, happened. It was all just a lot of the same petty bullshit that happens to other people every day when they live together. It's not going to benefit any of us to air things out on here, and it's not worth it to me to be petty and catty over things that are already history. I'm going to let bygones be bygones, and drop the matter. I think they are both talented, intelligent girls, and I wish both of them the best... In the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

The Columbia rant will still go up as originally planned. It will consist of basic gripes about the old apartment, and landlady, not about the roommates. Plan on seeing it either this weekend, or early next week.


QOTD
7.6.04 -
Liz: Well, generally, if anything goes wrong, I blame you.
Nate: You blame me?
Liz: Yeah, it's because things here are usually your fault.
Nate: yeah, well, I've come to the conclusion that pretty much everything REALLY IS my fault anyway, so that actually works out quite well.

I could be totally off base here, and it might just be my own paranoia, but I think that my last blog entry might have pissed off my old roommates. The reason I think this is because when I came home from Alana's party today, I see that Erin's (my old roommate's) away message reads as follows:
"...(in case you read this) do you honestly think you're that GREAT of a person? like you have AAANY room to bitch and complain...i'm so curious as to what you tell your friends because lord knows when we were your friends you LIED about 3/4 of the shit you bitched about to us. Thats okay though...its no surprize that you're not the bigger person to admit to the truth and keep your lies to yourself...hey, whatever makes you come out to look like the better person right, you Mother Theresa, you! The people who were actually there know the truth anyway"

I don't know for sure, but after re-reading my last entry, and seeing this message, I'm led to believe that it's probably about me. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. If the message is directed at me, then I find this rather amusing, because (A)I haven't even put up the official Columbia rant, which WAS going to be entirely about the apartment, the neighbors, and the landlady, (B) I REALLY don't know what it is that I'm supposedly lying about 3/4 of the time, because I really didn't talk to my old roommates much at all (generally limited to exchanges of about 4 sentences on a daily basis) and if I ever did bitch to them, it would have been about people that they didn't even really know, and (C)Half of the things I said in the last entry had nothing to do with the Columbia rant anyway, they were instead tangential references to a rant I had a couple months about about a cheese sandwich, and a rant that I haven't even begun to compose yet (which has nothing to do with the former roommates), because I don't see a need for it. I was not even going to start in on personal attacks, but if YOU want to make it personal, then FINE. THE GLOVES CAN COME OFF ANY TIME YOU WANT, SWEETHEART! You want to talk about the truth, then the truth is what will come out, because this indirect "if you read this" putting-it-out-there-but-not-putting-a-name-to-it horse shit is for the birds! You don't want to start, because this is a marathon I'm very capable of winning. And I don't even want to see that Mother-Theresa-I'm-better-than-you-but-I'll-be-a-martyr-crap, because I've never made myself out as a anything of the sort. And if I'm wrong then I'll say it.

While the message might not have been about me, I doubt it. If I'm way off base here, I'm sorry.

I had a great time at Alana's (even though her dad thinks I'm a lesbian, and makes fun of me for being a hoosier.) We ate good food, drank good drinks, talked a lot of shit, played a lot of Bacci, and watched as the Cubs swept the Sox... Beautiful.
Thanks Alana-mama and family for a terriffic time!


Other than that, I'll just say I'm irritated... and we'll get into why a little later.

7.5.04 -
Larry: "Hey, what are you doing over there?"
Liz: "I'm sitting over here on your couch, watching some SportsCenter and trying to hear it over you loud asses."
Larry: "You know, you're going to make some poor son of a bitch a very good wife."

After a long day at work, it's been a quiet Saturday night in for the Lizzle. Jennifer left to go visit Nicole, and so I was kind of left to my own devices. So what did I do? I throw a huge 4 kegger in the new apartment! (No, not really, JACKASS!) No, I actually took a nap, had some dinner, and ended up watching a movie with my Mark Joseph... I love him! He's my special boy!

I've received a few complaints about the fact that there is STILL no Columbia rant up... I promise you kids it's coming. I PROMISE! I have one more week of working as a flower slinger, and then I've got all kinds of time to work on it. The more I think about it, the better this rant gets though. It'll happen, just give me time. I think it has taken me living in my new place for a while to realize just how bad things had gotten on Columbia. I guess I had forgotten how awesome college living could be, so I was fine with being miserable. But alas, misery no longer! Jeebus, I'm not getting into this now, I don't have the time, and I'm not presently of the inclination to put real effort into it. And as we all know, this is not the kind of thing that I want to half-ass. My rants are glorious and legendary for a reason. (People are still talking to me about the cheese sandwich-spaghettio rant! Which I'm going to have to revisit in the not too distant future because... Well... I'll just say I can see this one coming from a bit of a distance... And it ain't gonna be pretty when it goes down.) I think things are getting to the point where I'm going to have to stop being vague and just lash out and make direct personal attacks on people. I guess people are not perceptive enough to realize when they are the ones doing all the shit that I'm ranting about. Stupid sons of bitches!

Happy fourth of July, kiddies!

QOTD
7.4.04 - "I'm getting all hairy! I'm getting hairs on my chest... I'm getting hair on my nipples! I have hairy nipples! I have to shave my nipples!" ~Mark on becoming a big boy!

Dave made his return. Huzzah!

C will get a kick out of the fact that I went out with Jen, and of all the guys in the city of Chicago, and of all the names those guys could have had, while I was at Cullen's I got kissed by a not-altogether-attractive guy named Phil. (And this IS funny.) Alana can also appreciate that I saw Eric playing at one of the bars that we went to, and it wasn't Irish oak, Cullen's, or blue bayou... So it was somewhat unexpected.

I am a drunk ass.

7-2-04. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD.

QOTD
-
"What's the worst that could happen? You'd see my Kooch? WOO! (as she moons me) ~Jennie trying to justify the lingerie

Hail Liz!

Long time no see and i'm sorry for that. I'm going to NYC again this weekend and this time I'm taking a couple friends. So expect pictures'n'stuff when i return. Love ya babe. Have a happy 4th everyone!!! :) oh and don't do anything i would do... really... i'm not smart

QOTD
7.2.04 -
Nate: (sarcastic) Yeah, I was thinking of pairing you and Megan up, and letting you two go around to the other stores together, since you're best friends now...
Liz: Yeah, if you did that to me, I'd have to slit my wrists.
Nate: Funny, that's probably what Megan is doing as we speak.

I miss Dave. A lot! Maybe some day I'll get him back, but right now, Johns Hopkins has him, and I guess they need him more than I do.

We went to Niles for work today. Fortunately Megan and Bob had the day off. But as of Saturday, they are done for the season, so when we're rolling around next week, we won't have to deal with them, and that's nice.


QOTD
7.1.04 - (in a deep voice and a thick Russian accent) "You strong! Like bull!" ~C, admiring my cart wrangling at Niles

C sliced up her heel at work today, a little bit of blood, and a whole lot of comedy. But I will say this, NO MORE SNS FOR LUNCH... EVER. On the whole, it was a good day though. Lots of watering, lots of chatting. I'm also pleased to announce that since I rock, and the girls I work with rock as well, we get to keep our jobs while everyone else gets the axe... and that's nice! I got a call today from Nate to let me know that if we were interested, we will get to keep our jobs, and roll around to the other stores to clean things up on a daily basis, we'd get to stay on, after eveyone else is told that there are no hours left. But we're keeping it on the DL because everyone else thinks that NOBODY has any hours... We're so awesome!

QOTD
6.30.04 - "Yeah, I was sweeping, and I just happened to turn, and I saw it... Doug's butt crack! And not two minutes later, he tried to tell me he had no butt and no hips, and I was so ready to say, 'well then what was that?'" ~ Chris talking about seeing Porkchop's bottom.