Long and Lazy Weekend Edition

Yay for long weekends and when you actually don't have to work during them. That seems to be the case for me, and it also appears that I will spend this nonworking weekend around the ol' house. Not jet-setting around the country. So, I plan to clean the house, which is very exciting. And tonight we're going to Spring Hill to have dinner with Steve's mom and tomorrow maybe up to the club to see a comic we know and like. Sunday I think we're going to invite some people over for a little bbq action (I'm going to make herb-rubbed grilled scallops--with fake scallops! Vegetarianism has come a long way. We'll probably have burgers, too, for the nonadventureous among us). Speaking of vegetarians, Steve and I went to the monthly dinner with the Tampa Bay Vegetarians on Tuesday. They do it every month on the last Tuesday of the month, patronizing different vegetarian-friendly restaurants around the bay area. It was our first dinner with the group and it was pretty fun. It helps that it was at one of our favorite restaurants, but the people were really nice and we had a good time. We'll probably go to the next one. Last night we saw The Dark Knight, finally, because I like to be a good month behind the rest of the country. I thought it was good; very well done. It's been quite a while since I've seen a movie in the theater. Saturday the garbagemen are coming around the neighborhood and picking up big garbage, so everyone has got their shit out on the curb, including us. We got the garage cleaned up pretty well, and I even threw away some stuff I've been holding onto since the 1990s. And I think that's it for exciting news from me! So, here are the Random Thursday Questions and I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!!

1. Have you ever knowingly used someone to get something you want?

Not really in an soap opera evil twin kind of way, but yes, I'm sure I've used someone on some level to get something I want.

2. In your opinion, is there a particular part of the world that produces exceptionally engaging or interesting people?

I like the Irish in general. But I think engaging and interesting people can be found all over the world.

3. What is an instant buzz kill for you?

The po-po.

4. Are there any general assumptions you find have some truth to them?

Nobody likes a whiner.

5. If you had a personal assistant, what tasks would you delegate to him/her?

Watering the plants, some light housekeeping, I'd have them write down the names of people I didn't like in a little book and then strike a line through them.

6. What would your ideal personal assistant look like?

Alfred.

7. Have you ever seriously choked on a piece of food?

I think when I was a kid I choked on a piece of steak and maybe I got the old upside-down treatment with a whack to the back. I might be making it up, though. Keri? Do you remember this?

8. What sayings or colloquialisms are unique to your geographic area?

There are so many different types of people in Florida, I don't think there's one saying or colloquialism that sums up the whole area.

9. Is there the contact information/address of a deceased person in your email address book or cell phone roster?

No.

10. In what ways are you inept?

I'm not very good at small talk or most kinds of advanced math (however, trig--loved it). I'm not great at keeping secrets.

~Bonus Question~Who; what; when; where; and why?

Who: Me.

What: Done working for today.

When: Now.

Where: My house.

Why: TOO lazy!!

California, ssp, ssp. (just for you, Kers)

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen (is there a single dude who reads this blog? Identify yourself). I am back, bitches, from a quick jaunt to San Francisco. I truly am a jet-setter. Jetsetter? I have to question every word now, one of the perks of being a proofreading copyeditor. I guess I always did, though, and so the career is a good fit. Anyway, back to my jet-setting ways . . . Steve and I flew out to the west side for my good friend Cory's wedding. We left early Saturday morning, got in that afternoon and were picked up at the airport by these fine people:

Good friend from high school Natalie and her husband Richard. We went to the Fisherman's Wharf and did a little sightseeing, shopping, and one-beer drinking. Then it was back to the hotel to check in and meet up with these fine people for dinner:
Good friend from high school Marigold, her husband Steve, and their little boys Huck and Milo. We went to P.F. Chang's (where we had to wait an hour and a half for a table! For reals.) and had a lovely dinner with some lovely wine and laughs. Then it was back to the hotel for some cigars and good times with Cory's sister Megan, her husband, their cousin, Natalie, and Richard. The wedding was at 10:3o am the next morning so we didn't go too crazy. Although Steve did get a little drunk (I think it was the scotchski). We made it to the wedding, up a very tall and winding mountain in Berkeley; it was a really beautiful location, even though I kind of wanted to throw up a little of last night's wine on the way up there. The wedding was very pretty, the food was excellent, and we hung out there talking, laughing, and enjoying the day until about 3 pm. Here's me at the wedding, looking quite stylish:
Afterwards, we headed to Cory and Natalie's (also the bride's name) apartment for more hanging out, drinking, and laughing. It was great. I got to see Cory and finally meet Cory's bride Natalie, and she was very sweet. And I got to see Cory's family, another friend from high school (Matt Davis) and his wife, meet Richard, laugh my ass off with high school friends Natalie and Marigold, see high school friend and best man Courtney, meet his wife Brianna (also very sweet and also very pregnant), hang out a little with Marigold's Steve, knock bottles of beer off tables and watch them crash to the floor in a sudsy mess, see my Steve interact with my high school friends, and meet and hang out with possibly the cutest kid in the world, Huck:

Then it was back to the hotel for a second, grab the train to the airport, and head on back to Tampa. We got in Monday morning. So, a whirlwind, but definitely worth the trip. I would like to get back to San Francisco and check that city out a little more thoroughly--it was a cool place. So, this week has been work, work, work. Saturday Mandy's coming to Tampa to do a little recon on the wedding dress, so that should be fun and girly. AND, it is Thursday, so I'll throw some Randoms at ya.

1. In what ways are you naughty?

Naughty by nature.

2. What do you continuously find yourself justifying?

The cost of a haircut. That's not true since it's not continuous, only recent.

3. Other than you, who know you the best?

Keri, Steve, Cosmo.

4. In your opinion, is there a particular part of the world that produces exceptionally odd or strange people?

The part the O'Dells hail from.

5. How spiritually evolved do you think you are?

I think I'm at level 4.

6. When was the last time you were awestruck by the attractiveness of a stranger?

I'm rarely awestruck by anything.

7. Do you have a secret bank account or money stash that no one knows about?

No, but I have a secret best friend.

8. In what ways are you a survivor?

I don't have time for this question.

9. Is there someone that you just don't like, despite your best efforts?

If I just don't like someone, I generally don't make an effort to like them.

10. If you were in a plane that was plummeting to the ground, what would be your final thoughts?

First of all, I'm glad wasn't a question last week, right before I took a plane to California. Second of all, I don't know what my final thoughts would be. If I was alone, it would be about all the people who weren't with me, probably. And a general "damn it!"

~Bonus Question~When was the last time you were naked in front of someone other than your partner or spouse?

I can't remember. Gynecologist last year?

All right, folks, Steve's back from his double feature at the movies and making fake hot dogs and I gots to get me some of those. Peace out.

"Live in danger. Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius."

I googled "funny quotes"--I was bored--and first a website with a bunch of dumb homemade "funny" quotes came up. Along the lines of "Girls are like phones, we like to be held and talked to but push the wrong button and we disconnect." Needless to say, I kept looking. And I found famous funny quotes, which was more my style. Then I saw you could click on the famous person's name and get a bunch of quotes from them. There were people like Woody Allen, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Friedrich Nietzsche, and W.C. Fields. Wait, what? Nietzsche? For some reason, I always thought he was a rather somber fellow. Well, he's got a million of 'em. Maybe not a million, but a page. And I don't really think he was aiming for funny exactly, but if you read them and in your head think of him delivering the lines like a stand-up comic, the quotes do come across as one-liners. This: "Two great European narcotics, alcohol and Christianity" certainly sounds like the beginning of a bit to me. Anyway, that's it. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Also, put this picture of me, my hair, and Keri in your brain and try and forget it.

Parsimonious Persimmons!

Wuz up or down? That's how I used to start many a middle school note to a friend. I sent this picture of my leetle dog to the paper and hopefully they'll publish it in one of the Wednesday issues:

Isn't he the cutest? I just love that Junior Mints. So, today is a workday, tomorrow is a work morning and then a shopping afternoon (I need some shoes for the wedding I'm going to next weekend), and then a work evening. Sunday more workski. I seem to do a lot of it. Except right now. Oh, and we might have the book club meeting on Saturday afternoon, too. Actually at the mall (maybe P.F. Changs?) so as to save some time and kill two birds with one stone and all that other mothajazz. The book was my pick this time, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. I'll tell you guys, if you're looking for a feel-good novel, this is the one! Full of hope and happiness. Wait . . . that was another book entirely. The Road is not full of hope and happiness, but it is definitely worth a read. And I see that they are in post-production of the film based on the book which I find quite interesting. I didn't think "they" (Hollywood, not Bernie Horowitz) would want to make a movie out of this bleak, bleak tale. But they did and we'll just have to see how it worked out. Okey dokes. On to the Random Thursday Questions because I feel I've wasted enough of everyone's precious time. (Is that passive-aggression?)

1. How would the person who likes you the least describe you?

Annoying? Obnoxious? I don't know who this person is, but they had it coming.

2. How would the person who loves you the most describe you?

Funny, kind, smart. Annoying and obnoxious.

3. How would you describe you?

Overworked.

4. What is your favorite song at the moment?

I don't like to play favorites.

5. When was the last time you displayed false humility?

I don't know. Sometimes I think the lady who writes these has a really specific event that happened to her in mind when she asks certain questions.

6. Do you have any hypochondriac tendencies?

Many, many, many. I always think something's wrong with me.

7. Do you have a shit list, and if so, how many people are on it?

No, I don't. But I think it would be really funny and creepy if someone had an actual list entitled "Shit List" and wrote the names of people they didn't like on it.

8. Have you ever accepted an invitation to an event and then canceled because something better came up?

No, I don't think so. I've canceled for other lame reasons, though.

9. Do you have any obsessive compulsive traits?

Many, many, many. Locks, stoves, little weird rituals for things--I'm getting worse as I get older, so my friends and family have that to look forward to.

10. Have you ever slept with someone on a first date?

What?

~Bonus Question~Have you ever had a hemorrhoid?

Maybe. I'm not sure and I think if I did, I would know it. Once I had 'roid rage.

All right, then! I'm off to read more about gendered liberalization and you're off to do whatever it is that you do.

I should be working . . .

. . but I'm having trouble concentrating. Perhaps the high-jinks we got up to last night are to blame, perhaps the general burnout I'm experiencing after busting serious ass the past couple of weeks could have something to do with it. We hit the town to celebrate Steve's birthday last night. Bar-hopping around the South Tampa and Ybor scenes. Some nice appetizers (flatbread pizza--highly recommend it) at Timpano's in Hyde Park, the Corner Bar (a little disappointing), then down to Ybor for a cigar at King Corona's, a jager-bomb at Reservoir, and a nightcap at Fuma Bella's. We met up with Keri and a friend of hers from work and a good time was had by all. That's me and Keri at the Corner Bar at the relative beginning of the evening. She curled my hair for me and I was feeling pretty cutesy. There's Keri and Steve at the King Corona stage of the night. I think Keri was being an assassin. That's a weird word to write--assassin. Kind of silly, really. So, yes, it was a fun night and today I don't feel like reading. I didn't feel like reading yesterday either so I'm getting a little behind as I like to do. Which means I'll be working overtime this week to make up for it. Eh, who cares, I say. I did finish the Africa book on time; it was a good one. And I'd like to send the author a thank-you note for already using the en dash instead of the hyphen between page number ranges, thusly saving me oodles of time. Oodles, I tell you. Well, I punked out on the Random Thursday Questions this past week and Kers stepped in to save the day again. So, I'll get to those blokes and then I'll have to bid you all a fond adieu.

1. When showering- in what order do you wash and clean yourself, including hair? Were you taught or did you perfect your own strategy??

Usually I lather up and then shampoo, put conditioner in, shave, rinse conditioner, then get the f out of the shower because I don't like it in there. Self-taught.

2. Who is the biggest gossip in your family?

I think we all like to talk a little trash. I know I do.

3. Who is the most influential person in your life right now?

I don't know.

4. Have you ever been constipated, and if so what did you do?

As a little kid, I remember an incident after I went to Girl Scouts camp for a weekend and apparently just held it the whole time. I don't remember what was done for it. And Keri seems to remember another time when she was babysitting me and I was in some pain and she had to call around for remedies but I don't remember that.

5. What reality TV Show would you want to be on right now?

I agree with you, Keri, and go with the Dog Whisperer. Also maybe one of the home shows where I'm moving on up to a bigger house with more than one bathroom.

6. Do you have a certain word or phrase you always use that you are aware of? If not- ask your friends/ family for the answer...

I'm not sure--what do you think, Keri?

7. What video game would you challenge your friends to for a $1,000,000 prize.

Certain friends--Mortal Combat. Mario Kart minus Coley/Toad.

8. Out of all the people you know- who would you vote for President?

Steve or Keri.

9. If you were President- what would be you number 1 change? And who would be your VP??

I'm going to take a pass on this one because I don't have time to come up with a good answer right now. VP--PM.

10. What is your favorite- cheeseiest- movie of all times?

Back to the Beach comes to mind. Big Trouble in Little China was kind of cheesy but a pretty awesome movie with some good quotes.

~Bonus Question~ What is the weirdest game you ever made up to play when you were a child, an original home-made that makes you laugh to this day?

Lost Kitten. Enough said.

Thanks for the questions, Keri! Back to work . . .