Chicago

It's been over a week since my adventure in Chicagoland (they actually call it that), but I am just now getting around to blogging about it. I also have pictures to post on FaceBook, but I have yet to that as well. I've been neglecting the blog in general lately mostly because I haven't had much blog worthy to write about. In any case, a blog of my trip follows:

Every year, my in-laws ask for a Christmas list. Being 27 years old, I find this challenging every year. I haven't come up with a true Christmas list since I was maybe 10 years old, but I've been reluctantly doing it the last three years. The list is usually small and not well thought out, but my mother-in-law always gets me awesome things anyway (yay Kitchenaid mixer!). Well, this year I was thinking about it and I reached deep down into myself and found the ten year old that used to ask for outlandish and selfish things. She shouted at me rather matter-of-factly, "A gift card for Southwest to use for a trip to see Tiffany and Jonas!" And low and behold, that's what I got for Christmas. Actually, I got a Visa gift card from my in-laws and a Southwest card from my sister. I was good to go! Tiffany and I decided that spring would be a good time for the trip, and Jonas recommended that I come before the Edvard Munch exhibit left the Art Institute in April. So we decided upon the last weekend of March.

I flew out Friday night on probably the best flight of my life. The duration of a flight from Port Columbus to Chicago Midway is about 50 minutes. My particular flight encountered some turbulence; this combined with the shortness of the flight led the captain to decide not to serve drinks on the flight. This worked out perfectly for me. I was tired after a day of work and waiting around in the airport, so I leaned on the window and fell asleep. Without the disturbance of a drink cart and flight attendant, I slept the entire flight. I woke up to an announcement of our arrival into Chicago. It was surreal. I didn't remember a thing! Plus, after factoring in the time change, I got to Chicago before I left. Quite nice.

Tiffany and Jonas had taken to train to Midway to meet me. They greeted me with a three day CTA Pass and we were off. We got on the train and Jonas pointed out various buildings and landmarks, despite the difficulty seeing them in the dark. It was nice though and gave me a taste of the plethora of Chicago information I would glean from him the rest of the trip. We transferred from the Orange Line to the Red Line that eventually took us to Tiffany and Jonas's neighborhood in Uptown.

The couple's apartment was located in a nice residential neighborhood full of 1920s and 1930s buildings and houses. We entered through a gate into the courtyard of their building and then entered their apartment. I expected a teenie-tiny "urban" apartment. You know, the ones you hear horror stories about from New Yorkers. But I was pleasantly surprised to see a large light filled apartment.

That night, we went to a lesbian bar (now that I say that, I'm not sure it was an actual "lesbian bar," but in the least it was a bar with many lesbian waitresses and patrons) and had a really good pizza. It wasn't Chicago style deep dish, but it suited me just fine. I probably couldn't handle all the fresh tomatoes that generally top a Chicago style pizza anyway. Our pizza did have really good veggies including broccoli and lots of cheese. It was a good way to end a long day.

Saturday was a fun day. We began the day by doing a little shopping. We went into a few boutique-type shops as well as many shoe stores. Jonas, ever the shoe salesman, tried to talk me into a pair of knee-high black suede wedged boots. They fit well and were a good price, but just not very practical. I did buy a scarf and an awesome purse hook. After that, we continued onto Navy Pier via the train and CTA bus. It was quite cold and I imagine Navy Pier is much more enjoyable in nice weather. We were unable to ride the Ferris Wheel since the weather kept it from being open, but I did find Justin a Bears shirt, bought my nephew a post card, and saw the stained-glass museum that is located there. I love stained glass, especially Tiffany glass with it's art nouveau style. After Navy Pier we went to Millennium Park for a visit cut short by the weather before we began our journey to the Second City training stage.

Tiffany had gotten us tickets to see a Second City show on their training stage. The main stage was currently showing a satire on the Illinois governor and Tiffany figured I wouldn't really find it that funny. I was happy with her choice of Rubbed. It was a musical about a man who turns to selling marijuana and discovers a genie in his bong. The genie teaches him valuable life lessons about happiness and contentment. It was funny and entertaining. Very good time. After the show, we ate at Dinotto, an Italian restaurant around the corner. It was Earth Hour and the restaurant was participating, so we enjoyed our dinner by candlelight.

On Sunday, Jonas had to work at the Art Institute so it was a girl day. Despite the snow, we ventured out to have a fun day. Tiffany and I went to the Chicago History Museum. It was really nice and very informative. They had a collection of Lincoln artifacts, which was very cool. After the museum, we started walking along Lincoln Park toward some cool shopping. We found lots of cool shops and an awesome Belgian waffle place. We walked quite far, but it was a nice afternoon. We went back to the apartment and waited for Jonas to get home from work before going to a burger place in their neighborhood for dinner.

I had taken Monday off work, and wasn't leaving Chicago until later in the evening. So Monday, Jonas and I were able to hang out most of the day while Tiffany worked. I hadn't spent any time with just Jonas since he moved to Cleveland from Rosehill Plaza. For those who don't know, Jonas lived across the hall from me for a few years while Tiffany finished her masters at Case. So while Tiffany and I are old college buds, I have a relationship with Jonas separate from Tiffany. Tiffany's co-workers thought it odd that I was going to spend the day with Jonas while she worked. From an outsider's prospective, this would seem weird, but the three of us never thought anything of it.

Jonas and I set off for the Art Institute early in the morning. We got downtown too early, so we took the opportunity to see Millennium Park in the sunshine. We also went across the street to an old library building that is now a cultural center. It is home to the largest Tiffany glass dome. It was gorgeous, and the room itself is beautiful as well with mosaic tiled walls.

We then proceeded to the Art Institute where Jonas was able to get me in for free. We saw an exhibit of photographer Yousuf Karsh who photographed many personalities of the 20th Century. I was also surprised to see pieces that I didn't know were housed there, like Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat (dodges things thrown by Ferris Beuller fans). American Gothic was on loan, so I wasn't able to see that which bummed me out. But the Edvard Munch exhibit was definitely worth timing my trip to see. I have to say that I didn't know (or perhaps more accurately: remember) much beyond The Scream, but I now have a really great appreciation for him as an artist. The exhibit was organized by theme. For example, all of his works pertaining to romance were in a room together, the ones showing angst in another. They also had works by Munch's contemporaries of the same theme in the room to show comparison. While I like Munch's dark side, it was nice to see that some of his work wasn't so "emo." I am really glad Jonas got me into the museum and showed me the exhibit. It was really a good day.

In all, I had a great trip. Despite some rain and snow, Tiffany and Jonas taught me how to get around town like a native. I enjoyed riding the train. I was also pleased to see that what people say about Chicago is true. It's a large city with a Midwestern feel. People were friendly like the guys at the waffle shop and the woman at Corner Bakery who offered to foot the bill for my sweater that I snagged in the bathroom. It was fun to get away for a weekend, see some sites, get a mental workout, and spend time with friends. I hope to make it back and bring my husband along for the ride.

Are YOU in this blog?

A few years back a friend posted a blog like this, and I always thought it was a good idea. I've been very introspective lately, especially when it comes to the people in my life. So I thought I'd do this so all the things I want to say will be said.
1. You're probably the truest friend I have. We've known eachother for so long and been through so much together. There have been times when we aren't as close, but we always find our way back to one another. You make the effort to maintain our friendship even when it's hard, and for that I love you.
2. I never thought I'd drift away from you like I have. You were such a big part of my life for a while and I asssumed you'd stay that way. You are probably the only one who saw me at my very worst and I thank you for your support. It took a lot to get past some of the secrets you kept, but I know you had your reasons. I hope you understand my reaction to them. Hopefully we can drift back together over time when life is less hectic.
3. I'm so glad to be back in touch with you. I didn't remember how easy it was to talk to you. I can tell you just about everything. After all this time, it's amazing that we are still on the same wavelength.
4. You are my best friend. You are my partner in crime. You are just as dorky and silly as I am. Love you!
5. I didn't want to be your friend. I wanted to hate you. But I can't. If I think about it long enough I get creeped out, but I try not to do that because you are such a great person. I love you and your family very much. I am glad to have you as a friend.
6. You are the greatest addition to my life. I am very glad to have met you, and I'm glad we've grown so close. You continue to support and inspire me.
7. I wish you didn't let others get in our way, but you do. I feel bad for you, I feel that you've made the wrong decisions, and I wonder how you let things happen like that. I will keep tyring to made our relationship right, but it will never be the same and we both know it.
8. I am so sad that you're not around anymore. I am so happy for you, and I know you are doing what is the very best for you. I love that you make effort in our friendship and I hope I am doing my part. Our lives are changing so fast, but our friendship and bond is still there after all that we've been through. I think that is the test of true friendship.
9. I am so happy that you were brought into my life. You're truely a good person. I hope we continue to be friends.
10. I've come to realize that you are selfish and self-centered. You search for the things and people to make you happy, but nothing ever works for you, and I think that nothing ever will. For a while I made you happy and you were eager to have me around. But for whatever reason, I stopped making you happy and you moved on to others. I spent so much time, energy, emotions, and money trying to keep you happy and get back on your good side. But I have decided to stop. It kills me because for whatever reason, I still want your acceptance. But as of now, I have no more to give you.
11. You are doing so well in your life, and I am proud of you. I am glad to be back in touch. We can always have a great time remembering the past and how crazy we were back then. So nice to have old friends back.
12. I apologize for anything I did to hurt you. If I could go back to that time, I would take it all back. I am happy that you are able to be my friend despite what happened. I hope we grow closer.
13. I'm not sure how we went from being the super close duo we were to not even speaking. I know you went through some tough stuff, and I wish you would have let me help. I am glad to still have your friendship back again. It is stronger now, and I hope it gets back to what it was.
14. Your friendship surprises me. From the beginning I felt unworthy of you. But here we are still friends, and I am very happy for that.
15. You are a great friend, but you wear me out. At times you are so needy that I tire of you. Other times, you are MIA. I wish you didn't let men affect your life like that. I will always be your friend despite everything.
16. We've never been super close, but I want to be and think we can. I feel for you, and I think we have more in common than you know. I am going to make an effort to be a good friend to you.

It's almost Chirstmas

December is already half over. Amazing how it seems to fly by every year. I have one more weekend to Chirstmas shop, and I still have no idea what Justin and I are going to buy when we do go shopping. It really frustrates me that they are his parents, yet he hasn't even thought about what to get them. Instead, it's up to me to stress about it. I may be working on Saturday since we're super busy at work and that only makes it harder to get everything done. I also agreed to babysit on Friday. Oh well, it will get done and Christmas will be wonderful.
This year, I purposefully did not make my birthday public on Myspace and Facebook. The last few years, I got bombarded by birthday wishes--more than I've ever gotten in my life, but it's all very fake. My birthday often gets ignored since it's sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm often disappointed by the effort my friends put into my birthday. I have thrown parties, bought gifts, made cakes, and received nothing in return time and time again. The one major exception to this rule is James who has lovingly shared his birthday with me for years. All through high school he included me in whatever celebration or party he had and last year, he came to Columbus and we celebrated together.
So this year, I didn't make my birthday known to anyone who wouldn't remember on their own. I got texts from James and Tiffany. A card from Sarah Jewell. Myspace comments from Ashton and Lauren and again from Sarah. Brian was sweet enough to find belated comments for me. And Erin even said happy birthday on her status. So six friends. That's it. It just reenforced what I already knew; that I'm a better friend to some of them than they are to me. Jonas would call them "Clearance Friends" and I agree. However, I have a hard time letting them go. I have met some really good new friends lately and reconnected with others. I should just foster these relationships and appreciate the friends who appreciate me. But it's hard to just write people off you know? But thank you to everyone who remembered my birthday and took the time to say something.
Other than that revelation, my birthday was great. My parents visited with my grandma. They met the dog and we had lunch. It's so nice to have them visit. I really enjoy that Grandma lives with them now. I get to see her when I come home and she's able to travel down with them when they come. I tell my family and friends that there's an open invitation to my house and I love visitors.
Well, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. We'll be hosting our casual New Year's thing again this year, so feel free to come by. Like always, it's laid back and not that fancy. But we always seem to have a house full of people.

Maybe I'll revive it

I stopped posting blogs on here when I began to use Myspace more and more. It felt dumb to blog in two different spots. But recently some friends have started blogs on here and I wanted to follow them, so I resurrected by username. I've decided to start posting blogs on here once again. I realize that it's a move further from Myspace and into the Facebook world, and I'm okay with that. I don't think I will give up Myspace just yet, because I have too many people I've reconected with on Myspace that don't have Facebook pages. I am however going to begin the transition to Facebook and this Blogspot being my primary means of social networking.
All that being said, you folks who I've just recently reconected with might be interested in reading my past posts. I have enjoyed making fun of myself and the craziness that was '04-'06. Back story: I was graduated from college, very very single, living in Rosehill Plaza in Reynoldsburg, working for CVS, mainly third shift, babysitting for Ryan and Quinn, and completely obsessed with Vince Vaughn. Enjoy the hilarity that was my crazy self!

Bob would be proud

I took this politcal philosophy quiz. I am 100% Libertarian and 95% Pro-business Republican. Good to know.

You scored as Libertarian. Libertarians believe that you have the right to live your life as you wish, without the government interfering, as long as you donâ??t violate the rights of others. This translates into strong protections for privacy and property rights, and a weak to non-existent social safety net. Libertarian 100% Pro Business Republican 95% New Democrat 60% Foreign Policy Hawk 50% Green 45% Old School Democrat 40% Socially Conservative Republican 35% What's Your Political Philosophy? created with QuizFarm.com

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash

I saw Walk the Line this afternoon, and it was phenomonal! It was actually better than I had expected. Every actor is positively terrific. I was genuinely surprised by Reese Witherspoon's performance. I always see her with the cutesy romantic comedy type roles, and I was skeptical when I heard she was playing June Carter Cash. She is absolutely fabulous. No Legally Blonde or Sweet Home Alabama about it. Everyone is good. Tyler Hilton plays a convincing Elvis. Waylon Malloy Payne is an eerie Jerry Lee Lewis. Great casting.
I was a bit uneasy about Joaquin Phoenix singing in the film. My first thought was, "How can you make a movie about Johnny Cash and not have Johnny Cash's music in it?" However, I saw an interview with Joaquin Phoenix and he said the director explained it to him like this. If you want to hear Johnny Cash, listen to a Johnny Cash record. If you want to see an artistic interpretation of his life, his relationship with June, and his music, go see Walk the Line. After hearing that and seeing the movie, I am okay with the choice.
My favorite thing about the movie is the portrayal of the music scene that Johnny Cash was a part of. It's no secret that I am a huge fan of older music, so to see scenes about Johnny touring with Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis was very cool. I would have loved to live at that time and seen them live.
I can't close this entry without mentioning Shooter's performance in the movie. It's short, but great! He has short hair in one of his scenes, which is just odd to me. And the other is the Shooter I am used to. His song from the movie is on the soundtrack and it's awesome.
Go see the movie!

Mandy, You Could Be In St. Croix

Don't you just love talking to your parents? A call home can always take an unsuspected turn. Usually I get an earful about what my aunt is doing or what my dad bought that week. Today, I got some crazy news about my ex boyfriend. Jason is the guy I dated in high school and my first semester away at college. He was a nice guy, but he really wasn't happy that I decided to go away to school and he had some issues in the, uh, uh, uh, yeah-- that area.
Excuse me, I digress. My mom was talking to my second cousin, Jensen, at a family function this past weekend. She asked where he was working, and he said that he changed oil at Valvoline. This is the very same job that Jason got while he was in college. The last I knew, he was still working there because although he graduated college, he couldn't find a job as a teacher. My mom asked my cousin if Jason still worked there and he said no. Turns out that Jason has moved to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands to work for a friend that has opened a Valvoline-esque oil change place there. How f-ing random is that!?!? What's your ex up to? Oh, he's living in the Virgin Islands changing oil. And my parents still don't understand why we broke up!

My Lists

I've always wanted to do this, and I finally sat down and made myself do it. I have come up with a list of my top ten movies and my top twenty songs. Here they are.

Movies
10. A Cool, Dry Place- The Vince movie that really sealed the deal with me. Oh the dance!
9. Dazed and Confused- Reckons back to my high school days. Funny and quotable! Check you later!
8. Office Space- So true. It is so true.
7. Almost Famous- Kate Hudson is great, the story is endearing, and the scene on the bus when they sing Tiny Dancer is classic.
6. Dodgeball- Everything I think is funny wrapped up into one movie. Terrific cast: Stephen Root, Justin Long, Jason Bateman, and of course Vince Vaughn! Love him as Peter LaFluer.
5. O Brother Where Art Thou?- Even though this movie has sad emotional attatchments for me, it's still great. The music and the Cohen brothers' dialouge are just perfect.
4. The Royal Tenenbaums- My favorite Wes Anderson film. Wonderful ensemble cast and my favorite line: "I'm a widower too."
3. Swingers- Funny and meaningful. Vince will always be Trent Walker. And "that scene" was seriously life changing for me. Laugh if you want.
2. The Wizard of Oz- My first true obsession. Still entertaining.
1. Good Will Hunting- Definitley my favorite. Great story, great dialouge, superb acting. Love it.

Songs

20. "Patience" by Gun's and Roses
19. "O Holy Night" preferably sung by a man
18. "Amanda" by Waylong Jennings--NOT the Boston song!
17. "Blister in the Sun" by The Violent Femmes
16. "American Pie" by Don McClean
15. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
14. "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond-- ;)
13. "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" written by Bob Dylan sung by Peter Paul and Mary
12. "Let it Be"
11. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel
10. "Blowin' in the Wind" another written by Bob Dylan
9. "Me and Bobby McGee" written by Kris Kristofferson-- I like his version of it and Janis Joplin's
8. "Soulful Shade of Blue" by Buffy Sainte Marie
7. "Big Blue Frog" by Peter Paul and Mary
6. "Lonesome Blues" by Shooter Jennings
5. "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash
4. "Poems, Prayers and Promises" by John Denver
3. "Precious Memories" by Tennessee Ernie Ford
2. "City of New Orleans" by Arlo Guthrie
1. "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" written by Kris Kristofferson-- Again his version or Johnny Cash's

Well kids, there you go. Go download all those songs and rent those movies.

Some Time Off

I have five days off, and it could not come at a better time. I am literally exhausted from work this last week. It's a good exhaustion, but exhaustion nonetheless.
My sister is coming for a visit this weekend, and I am very excited. She wants to do some Christmas shopping around here, hoping to find things that she can't at home. I know we have bigger malls, but they are still malls you know? Oh well, I haven't been shopping with her in a while and she knows how to shop! I am hoping to get her to go out with me to a bar or something. Show her that I don't just sit at home and do nothing. Then maybe she can report back to my parents that I do have friends and am not two steps away from lying lifeless in the bathtub.
There are a lot of good movies coming out soon and I really want to get a chance to see them all. I always say that I am going to see all these movies, but I always end up having to rent them. Oh well. Zathura and Walk the Line are definites even if I have to go by myself after work. I cannot wait to see Walk the Line! I love Johnny Cash so much and I've listened to his music since I can remember. I was very sad when he died. "Johnny Cash died! Who cares about the damn Pope?!?"

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I haven't posted in a while because I suck. No other excuse. I just suck. News in my world: I got put back into my old store on a semi-permanent basis, there is an open position with CVS that I am in the top running for, and I didn't make enough of an impression on Vince for him to forget about Jennifer Aniston. Maybe I should have talked more...
The last few days have been absolute Hell at work. I've been busting my ass setting Christmas and moving stuff and moving Halloween. I think my hard work paid off though and my manager definitely took notice. She told me today that Dale, another manager that I've worked with is going to talk to the DM about me and the manger trainee program. Let's hope it goes well.
So here's my random story to make this post worth while. When Sara and I met VV, we asked a random guy wearing a badge what to do with our passes. He was helpful and ended up walking us down to see Vince and he's the one who snapped our picture. The other day, a few pictures of him and Vince walking in a park showed up on the discussion board. Some people inquired who he was, so I shared that he worked for the Wild West show and that he had taken Sara and I down to see Vince. Well, Christine, the woman who runs vince-vaughn.com, posted back that the man's name is John and he is the publicist for Wedding Crashers, The Break Up, and the Wild West Show. Then another person gave his full name and said he is also Vince's publicist and was the "head guy" of the Wild West show. So now I feel like a crazy fool. I can't remember what I said in front of this guy, but I know I was talking like a crazy woman to Sara before and after our meeting. I also feel weird that we approached him with our passes, since he was obviously important. Not to mention that my dad keeps refering to him as a roadie! It's just crazy I tell you!

Happy Birthday R!

R is four years old today. I can't wait to hear how his outer space birthday party went on Saturday. I have known him since he was 16 months old! It's amazing how quickly kids grow up. Just wanted to wish him a happy birthday!

Pic To Prove It

I have been visiting my parents for the last few days, but I finally got a chance to digitize my and Sara's pic of us with Vince. I successfully posted it on the obsession board, so I am going to try it here. I hope it works.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/econgirlmanda/011_25A.jpg

I think you can click on the link.

Hi I'm Vince

Last night was the Wild West Comedy show and it surpassed all of my expectations. I attended the show with Sara, Josh and Nate. We drove downtown, parked the car., and after a small detour around the state building :) we made it to the theater. The ushers showed us to our seats which were definitely kick ass California gansta style seats. We were in the second row of the orchestra pit about ten feet from the stage. They were playing Johnny Cash over the sound system, so I was getting very stoked for the show.
I'm not sure how it started, but I began talking to a girl who was sitting in the first row across the aisle from me. I mentioned vince-vaughn.com and how excited I was for the show. The usher for our section joined the converstation and asked about the show and the comedians. I mentioned what I knew about the comedians and stuff. I must have been wearing my excitement on my sleeve because and older gentleman sitting next to me leans across the aisle and hands me two after show passes. He says, "Would you like these?" I could not believe what was happening! I asked him if he was serious and said, "You don't want them?" He shook his head and replied, "No. My son gave them to me." I took them and told Nate and Josh that they were going to have to hang outside for Sara and me after the show.
After that, it was very difficult to focus on the show, but we tried. Even Sara was amped and she isn't as obsessive as I am. The show was awesome, and it was very cool to watch Vince live. He can totally work a crowd. Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from A Christmas Story) was a guest, as was Keir O'Donnell (Todd from Wedding Crashers). The comedians were great and the show was very entertaining. I especially liked the Sweet Caroline sing along. Vince can dance for me anytime!
After the show is when the night went from great to phenomonal. Sara and I had no idea what to do with our passes or where to go. I spotted a guy with a headset on and a badge. We asked him what to do and he instructed us to stand by one of the exit doors. We did so and it was very cool because all four comedians walked out of that door. It was awesome. The guy working with the show came back and told us to follow him. He lead us backstage and through halls and doors and down stairs and over the rainbow and through the secret passage way to where the dressing rooms were. Along the way, I think I spotted Vince's sister, but I'm not sure. Some people working with the show said hello and asked how we liked it. They were all very friendly.
Once we were down by the dressing rooms our guy told us to wait in the hall and he went into a room. I could hear Vince's voice. We were then instructed to go into the room and the guy took my camera so we could get a picture. We walk into the room and everything turned into one big blur. Vince was seated at a couch with Peter Billingsley and Keir O'Donnell. He stood up and walked over to us, shook our hands and said, "Hi I'm Vince." I think he thanked us for coming out or something. Then he introduced us to Peter and Keir who both shook our hands. Peter asked if we enjoyed the show. I have no idea what I managed to utter as a response. Then we got our picture taken with Vince, who put one arm around me and one around Sara. Then we were kinda ushered out of the room.
The whole night is so surreal, especially the actual meeting. I remember it, but yet I don't. I remember not being able to speak and just repeating everything I heard Sara say. I also remember being nervous to look at Vince. After we were introduced to Peter and Keir, I couldn't make myself look back at Vince. Very strange. I will say though that what I did see was wondeful. He is absolutely gorgeous in person. He took my breath away. I know it sounds cheesey, but that's exactly what happened. He is very handsome. Tall. Great hair. Polite. All three of them acted genuinely glad to meet fans, even though I am sure it gets tiresome. It was just the best experience ever.

T-minus 2 Hours

I am so freaking excited right now! I cannot contain myself. We're about ready to leave for the Vince Vaughn show and I am going crazy. Sara is very excited after hearing VV on the radio this morning and that makes me very happy. I have the best friends in the world. They are so supportive, even if it is a little scary.
Who put a nickel in you? Wind it down!

It's 4 AM. Do you know where your children are?

I am not keeping up with my resolve to post more entries. I guess I just don't have that much to say. Let's face it folks, the life of a third shift supervisor with CVS is just boring!
The big news in VV world is that he had started smoking agian. I was a bit sad to hear the news, but not surprised. My mom has tried several times to quit and I have stopped being disappointed when she fails, so when I heard Vince had started again it was pretty much expected. I have come to the realization that cigarettes are just that powerful of an addiction and that's why I have never tried one. If I never even take a drag off one, then I will never become a smoker. The way I see it, I have too many vices already. Chipotle, Diet Pepsi, red-headed sluts, Vince Vaughn, music that no one else likes.
The Wild West Comedy Show is in a week, and I am still extremely excited. The guys in the show started a blog on mySpace and it's pretty cool. They don't write too often (gosh who has a blog and then doesn't post every day) but they've started to pick it up a bit. Right now they are in Arkansas and going to Alabama, so I'm sure they're writing out of boredom! If Vince gets bored in Columbus, he can hop over here to Reynoldsburg and I will entertain him. I've got plenty of 100 Grand bars (his favorite-don't ask how I know) and tons of board games. Taboo, Balderdash, Pit, Jenga, hot sex with Amanda. Wait, that's not a board game, that's a bed game!
There is Shooter Jennings show in Cleveland on the 18th of October and one in Athens on the 20th. I want to go to one of them, and the one on the 20th seems more doable, since it's on a Thursday. It'll give me something to look forward to once VV's WW Comedy Show is over.

Two Weeks Baby!

VV's WW Comedy Show is in two weeks, and needless to say, I am STOKED! Everytime I think about it, I get all excited and giddy. In two weeks, I will be in the same state as Vince Vaughn. I will be in the same city as Vince Vaughn. I will be in the same building as Vince Vaughn. I will be within 100 feet of Vince Vaughn. I am going to see Vince Vaughn live and in person! Oh. My. God. *breathes into paper bag
Back to reality-- There was a really creepy guy in my Reynoldsburg store Monday night. He came in once and was a little odd, but we get odd people all the time. He had on an orange Reynoldsburg Youth Soccer shirt and plaid pajama pants and he looked kinda dirty I guess you would say. He bought a few things and left only to return a few hours later in the same getup minus shoes (F-ck shoes! Listen to this guy with shoes). He then started to roam around the store and I went up to the register to wait for him to check out. As he walked by I noticed his eyes were squinty and he was breathing kinda weird. I thought that he might be sleep walking. He walked over to the deoderant and was fiddling around with the sale signs and tearing them off and resticking them all sideways and stuff. I started to get a little creeped out and went to get the other person who was working that night. She came up and we stood there and watched him for a bit. He was still just fiddling around with the signs. Then, he took a big bag of M&Ms and tried to stick them into his pocket. The other lady was like, "Sir can I help you with something?" He looked over and said no and took the candy out of his pocket. He left the aisle, walked around a bit more, and then came to get rung up. He had glasses on so his eyes were no longer squinty and he seemed relatively normal at this point. I rang him up, he said thanks, and left. A few minutes later, he came back and asked if I knew where his shoes were. I told him that he didn't have them on when he came in and he said, "Oh. They must be outside." He was the most random guy ever. I gotta stop working the third shift!

Engagement Party

Saturday night was Sara and Josh's engagement party. We had such a fun time! The food was good, the company was great, and the alcohol was plentiful. I definitley need to learn to keep track of how many shots I take. I had a little too much to drink and had to leave early, but it was very fun up until then.
The party has gotten me very excited about the wedding. I can't wait to shop for dresses and shoes. I want to pick out hairstyles and all that. I am so happy for Josh and Sara and their day is gonna be so much fun!

Pit-L Row BB

I have procured tickets for VV's WW Comedy Show. I got four seats in the orchestra pit row BB. I think that's the second row! Second row! SECOND ROW! I will be close enough to smell Vince! Needless to say, I am extremely excited and counting down the days until the show (25). Sara and Josh will be joining me, and I think Bruce is going to take the fourth ticket.
On a sadder note, our Buckeyes lost last night. I think they held their own against Texas though. The announcers were the worst, and they kept talking about Vince Young. God, you would have thought we were watching the Texas quarterback show! Oh well, what are you gonna do?

Bruce

I found out some pretty sad news last night at work. Bruce, a pharmacist in Pickerington, is leaving CVS. He mentioned to me last week that he had an interview with Merck and I guess he got the job. He is tired of working third shift and he is just not able to work retail during the day. Bruce lost his legs a few years ago and is in a wheelchair. He's without a doubt the most inspiring person I've ever met. He is a very positive, outgoing individual with the best attitude toward life. I am going to miss seeing him at work, but I think the new job will be better for him. I am just very thankful that I met him and was able to get to know him.

Are You Ready to Rock BK Broiler?

Many of you have told expressed your disappointment in the quantity of my blog entries. Thus far, I have taken the "quality not quantity" approach and only posted an enrty when I had something fun or worthwhile to say. I would also make sure I was awake enough to form clear, grammatically correct (for the most part) sentences. That being said, I will now start to post about really stupid things that you all care about even less than Shooter Jennings and Vince Vaughn. I know it's hard to believe, but I do have thoughts in my head that do not revolve around the two of them, and I am pretty sure you don't want to hear about these either. But if you must have two entries a week, two entries are what you're going to get.
I had a very stressful beginning to my week at work. I was scheduled to work two stores on the same night and both managers were less than helpful in resolving the issue. It all worked out after I fudged the schedules and sent a clerk from Pickerington to Reynoldsburg for the night. I did what I had to do. There was a bright spot in the otherwise stressful situation. While in Pickerington Monday morning trying to find a solution to my problem, I happened to glance over at the DVD rack. CVS gets its DVDs from an outside company, and the titles that get sent are usually the really cheesey movies that you catch on TBS on a Saturday afternoon or some off the wall bomb that a now famous star made before they took acting classes. Occasionally one will find a good movie like As Good As It Gets or The Big Lebowski. Monday happened to be my lucky day. Sitting on the second to last shelf of the rack was a copy of The Prime Gig, one of the few Vince Vaughn movies that I like but do not yet own. Vince's handsome face was right there on the cover next to the $9.99 price sticker (that's $7.99 after my discount-do the math folks!). It totally made my day better.
I have a long week ahead of me, but I do have Saturday off for the big game. Not sure if I am staying in town or going to my sister's house. She's having a little game watching party and I think it would be fun, but I also want to see Sara go nuts. What's a girl to do?
Hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend. Be looking for another entry shortly since that's my new thing now. I can't say that it won't suck, but there will be something to read. And cross you fingers for me Firday morning. I will be buying my Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show (God that's a lot to type!) tickets and I want kick ass, California gansta style seats.